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This is a submitted sponsored story. CCN urges readers to conduct their own research with due diligence into the company, product or service mentioned in the content below.
At the core of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) production cycle, people play a fundamental role. Although 80% of AI success is based on pure data, machine learning datasets are still hand labeled, demanding a lot of human effort. Following the completion of a dataset, AI models must be created by data scientists.
The world of AI is paved with misconception. The current state is not about superintelligence, computational power, or sophisticated algorithms, like most people think. The focus is on labeled data and cognitive-based tasks such as pattern recognition.
Dbrain, a Blockchain platform dedicated to collectively building AI apps, aims to link AI developers and businesses with crowd workforces from low-income countries. The scope of the project is to make AI accessible to businesses of all sizes, while allowing the people to earn money in exchange for their contribution and skill in building AI apps. Data providers, online workers, data scientists and businesses can join an entire AI production cycle that brings AI to real life.
A stronger AI production line powered by Blockchain
To achieve its vision, Dbrain leverages Blockchain to enable crowdworkers to do simple tasks on data labeling and validation. Following their contribution, they can earn cryptocurrency for their efforts. This way data scientists have the information they need to train neural networks and create AI apps, while businesses reduce costs and benefit from a simpler integration.
The solutions proposed address core pain points in AI, which are well-familiar to the Dbrain team. Founders have already launched several AI businesses, including a top-ranked Icon8 chatbot, Connectome.ai solutions for industrial quality control, and Flocktory.com, a B2B company in AI valued at $20 million USD in 2017.
Dmitry Matskevich, Dbrain founder and CEO, says that while creating previous AI solutions, they were trying to solve the problem of combining privacy and top-notch data mapping in different ways. After realizing that almost any approach would imply transferring the data to a third party, Blockchain technology seemed like a much more scalable alternative.
The Dbrain platform works on the Ethereum network and relies on smart contracts. It uses Blockchain protocols and deals with fundamental AI development and adoption challenges, such as dataset quality, trust and security, and infrastructure costs.
A crowdsourcing network for the people
On its path to develop AI apps, Dbrain aims to create a crowdsourcing network first. By creating an ecosystem that reduces the resources in completing tasks, the end goal is to bring down developers' and data scientists' efforts regardless of dataset size. The platform aims to fulfil its vision through SPOCK, a protocol that automatically validates data quality and guarantees real-time, fair and transparent billing to workers and task requesters.
Sharing critical information with third parties creates challenges. To prevent leaks, protect client's interests and store future revenues of data owners, Dbrain leverages the PICARD protocol. Downloading datasets will no longer be required as data scientists can train their neural networks and sell AI solutions later on to their business partners safely and securely.
Furthermore, the Dbrain platform provides user-friendly labeling tools to crowdworkers based on mobile and web apps, as well as a Telegram chatbot, streamlining AI deployment without adding infrastructure costs.
New job opportunities for the unbanked
There are 2 billion people around the world without a bank account. Many can't afford one due to high banking fees. Others do not see banks suitable for their financial needs — which means they are unable to contribute to the economic growth of their country. Blockchain technology may be a solution because it fosters financial freedom in a transparent, scalable and efficient manner.
Using Blockchain, these 2 billion unbanked could be entitled to a legitimate digital identity. Dbrain is connecting the growing demand of AI on labeled data with the vast global supply of eager online freelancers. By leveraging the platform's internal currency, the Dbraincoin, crowdworkers can get paid instantly in Crypto and withdraw their earnings in ETH anytime with a single click.
In terms of solutions, Dbrain core technologies have already proven their value to clients across various industries, including fintech (Micromoney, Chronobank), Internet of Things (Maeco), travel (Finalprice), and e-commerce (Proskater, Kupivip, Carprice).


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It Happened To Me: Being Raised By A Single Dad Made Me The Woman I Am
Ah, you really can't beat sharing stories to make you feel like you're not alone in a situation – we can all identify with a bit of true-talk after all. Not only that, being open and honest about real things that happen to real women is the fastest way to smash taboos and get us all talking about tricky topics. There's no such thing as an over-share.
Here, Rachel 22, tells us what it was like to be brought up by just her dad…
"My mum and dad split up when I was about two, so I was too young to remember all the details of how I came to live with just my dad. My mum left our home and moved away, so I would only see her in the holidays and it was this way all throughout my childhood until I went to live with her for a year when I was 17. Because of this, my relationship with my Dad is so much better than the one with my mum and he did an amazing job of bringing me up.
"My dad is a very laidback person. He tries to make a joke of everything and his one-liners kill me. I've heard them so often! Every birthday he tells the same dad-joke – on my 22nd he said, "oh it seems like only yesterday you were 21". He always tries to lighten the mood and he's there for me when I really need him – even now that I've left home. There have been times when I've had an empty fridge and he'd just bring me some stuff from his own freezer to feed me.
"My dad can also be quite huffy and very impatient, two traits I have definitely inherited. He's extremely intelligent though, we can watch any game show on the TV and he knows all the answers. I did pretty well at school and was in the top sets, so I guess I got that from him too.
Daddy's girl
"I'd say the best thing about being raised by a single dad is the bond that you form. A lot of women aren't always close to their father and tend to lean more towards their mother, but my relationship with my dad is excellent. He's still the person I turn to when I need advice, or even just a whinge. We speak a lot and never argue. He'll come and stay with me or I go and visit him and we aim to see each other at least twice a month.
"But it wasn't all plain sailing growing up without a mum. A single dad with a daughter has to learn the girly side of things. Your dad doesn't know all the make-up tricks, latest hairstyles and fashion trends. I could tell him what I wanted and he would buy it for me, but he couldn't teach me new things.
"I think the thing he struggled with the most, was me growing into a woman. The teenage years probably hit him the hardest, when I no longer wanted go out and get scruffy in the woods with him – I wanted to be out with my friends instead. Their was a period of general withdrawing, where I stopped being my dad's friend in a way, but I know now it was all part of being a normal teenager.
"Because it was a man calling the shots, I think I was raised a little bit of a tomboy when I was small but I didn't mind. I preferred to be having fun and I didn't care what I was wearing – I'm still not the girliest of girls to be honest. When I reached my teenage years I started wanting to be more feminine and took a bit more interest in different clothes and makeup. Dad was sweet and would buy me the things I wanted and let me choose how I wanted to look.
"Looking back, I was quite a moody teenager, but my dad dealt with my strops with a pinch of salt. He just let me get on with it and eventually I'd forget why I was in a strop and everything would be okay. I wasn't really a problem with boys though, I used to have lots of male friends instead and I didn't really start dating until around 16. My dad knew about him but didn't ask many questions, he didn't want me to shut him out of my life so he left me to it.
"I did feel like I could talk to my dad about everything though. I went to him when I was struggling at school and confided in him when I was being bullied. And as I got older, he was there to support me when I split up with boyfriends or if I fell out with best friends.
Period talk
"When it came to periods and puberty I did call my mum first – because I wasn't sure what it was when I started. She then told my dad and we talked about it together. We couldn't ignore it because it was only us two in the house. My dad was really great through it all. There were times when I'd come on my period and be stuck on the toilet without anything and he'd quite happily run to the shop to get me the essentials.
"He spoke to me about sex after I did sex education at school. I had a book all about it and Dad was happy to answer questions for me. We talked more about practicing safe sex than actual sex, but he dealt with the situation really well. It was a little embarrassing but also nice to be able to have that conversation with my dad – I know a lot of men would shy away from talking to their daughters about it.
"A couple of times I did speak to friends' mums about things too. A mate's mum told me about upper lip waxing and invited me round to do it for me. However, there weren't many things I felt I had to ask another woman that I couldn't just discuss with my friends or my dad if need be.
Father figure
"I think being raised by my dad has helped me not focus on material things such as clothes and make up and not to have hang-ups about my body. Living with a man, there just wasn't the constant picking and obsession with self-image like there is with a woman. I am fairly comfortable and confident around both sexes and all types of people. My dad has brought me up to be polite to people and to always think of others.
"My best memories involve the stuff we used to do together. On a Sunday afternoon after dinner we'd go for a walk or sit and play games. He was unbeatable at Connect 4! He took me kayaking, camping, walks and bike rides. I remember once walking through the woods and we had to slide down a hill covered in wild garlic, he never got the stains out of the clothes, and our house stunk for weeks. My dad also never once said a bad word against my mum in front of me so as not to taint my view of her.
"I have a little boy of my own now, he's 16 months old and loves his granddad very much. I find myself going to my dad for parenting advice and I aspire to be as good a parent as he was with me. I hope one day my son looks up to me like I look up to my dad."
Do you have an experience you'd like to share? Get in touch to tell us your story.
If you haven't signed up to Pink Parcel yet, it's time to start enjoying your period! Subscribe here and you'll have everything you need (and want) sent directly to your door.

subset: commoncrawl


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Black-Handed Henry's Potion
Black-Handed Henry's Potion Party, a dice matching game for 2-4 players, using the Super Dungeon dice. Players assume the role of a captured alchemist, trying to complete Captain Henry's potion before the others. Of course, as bad guys, a little sabotage may be in order.
This stand-alone dice game comes complete with a full set of 16 Super Dungeon game dice, rules booklet, 8 unique Alchemist cards featuring new and exciting characters, and 8 unique potion recipe cards.
2 - 4 players
20 - 60 minutes
7 years and up
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Rajesh Gouri
Co- Founder & Director
A serial entrepreneur, passionate about building useful products and services leveraging technology.
In my 10 years of professional career, I started as an entrepreneur early in 2007 when I co-founded "Indian Flavours", a tiffin service, in Pune. It scaled quickly and in 6 months Indian Flavours became the second largest tiffin service in Pune. It was a great learning experience.
I am the founder at Travelyft - a data driven marketing solution for Travel Industry.
I am the founder at Pointific - a leading Performance Advertising Network in India with a focus towards BFSI industry.
I am a co-founder at Rouse Digital, a Mumbai-based startup building an O2O (online to offline) marketing product for FMCG industry.


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Accord, Civic, CR-V Perform Well in Honda June Sales Figures
Another month, another impressive performance from the Honda Civic, Accord, and CR-V. Though Honda division was down 4.3 percent for the month, Honda June sales were quite strong at 129,023 units, many of which can be attributed to Honda division's three heavy hitters.
"Despite an easing of the pace in June, the larger sales trend throughout the industry remains robust," said Jeff Conrad, Honda division senior vice president and general manager. "Our core products remain strong and though we're still filling its supply pipeline, the new 2015 Fit is selling very well and we expect it to add yet another strong pillar to Honda sales in the near future."
The Accord and Civic were Honda's number one and number two volume sellers with 32,329 and 32,301 units, respectively. The Accord was up 2.1 percent year-over-year, and the Civic was up 8.7 percent.
Despite not crossing the 30,000 unit threshold, the CR-V's 26,129 units were good for a 6.1 percent year-over-year increase and solidified the vehicles' best-ever half-year sales figure (154,692 models).
Acura sales were down 18.6 percent, with only the MDX showing sales gains in the month of June on the way to closing out its best-ever six-month sales performance of 30,644 units sold.


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Old Jews, New Jews
Judaism is one of the oldest living religions in the world, and it owes its continuous existence to religious observances that are articulated in the written and oral Torah. But the modern world challenges traditional practices, and statistics show a growing trend of Jews taking non-Jewish marriage partners.
The Chief Rabbi of the UK and Commonwealth, Lord Jonathan Sacks, on a recent visit to Australia argued that there is a Jewish renewal in the UK and he articulated why Jews should remain true to Orthodox Judaism.
Social Psychologist Dr Bethamie Horowitz of New York University questions the traditional definitions of 'who is a Jew', and argues that in America, Jews are creative in their Jewish practice, and are adapting it to the modern world.
Supporting Information
Track Title: Shofar – Ho lachmo
Artist: Laszlo Sando, chief cantor/ Chamber Chorus and Orchestra of the Hungarian State Opera
Composer: Trad. arr. I. Patachich
CD Title: Music of the Bible
Record Co/ Number: White Label HRC 047
Duration: 5.24
Track Title: The End
Artist: The Beatles
Composer: Lennon/ McCartney
CD Title: Abbey Road
Record Co/ Number: Apple/EMI 0946 3 82468 2 4
Duration: 2.07
Track Title: One Day
Artist: Matisyahu
Composer: Matisyahu Miller, Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine
CD Title: Light
Record Co/ Number: Epic 8869 756 7322
Duration: 3.26
[Music: 'Can I Interest You in Hanukkah', Jon Stewart, with Stephen Colbert]
Rachael Kohn: Yes, that's Jon Stewart of The Daily Show singing, 'Can I Interest You in Hanukkah'. He's a TV celebrity in America where being Jewish is as natural as apple pie. Hello, I'm Rachael Kohn and I've cheekily called today's Spirit of Things 'Old Jews, New Jews', here on RN.
We'll hear from one of America's leading trend spotters in Jewish life. Dr Bethamie Horowitz explains why Jews have adapted their religious traditions to America, and how it's working.
But there's an argument for leaving well enough alone. Judaism is one of the oldest living traditions, and at 3,000 years and counting, its survival through persecutions, expulsions and the Holocaust owes much to the consistent practice of Judaism. No one is a more eloquent advocate of that than the Chief Rabbi of the UK and Commonwealth, Lord Jonathan Sacks.
Recently in Australia to mark the end of his Chief Rabbinate, he made time to talk to me.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, welcome to The Spirit of Things, it's great to be talking to you here on this sort of farewell tour, isn't it?
Jonathan Sacks: Sort of, as Chief Rabbi, and I couldn't possibly leave this job without coming back to Australia one more time. It's one of our favourite communities.
Rachael Kohn: We often hear in Australia that the Jews in Britain are leaving in numbers, but you were recently reported in The Australian Jewish News as saying that Jews in Britain are experiencing a renaissance. What are the signs of that?
Jonathan Sacks: The signs are very significant. Number one, the percentage of Jewish children at Jewish day schools has gone up in 20 years from something like 25% to almost 70%. There has not been a change like that in the history of our community, which goes all the way back to 1656. So that's immense and it's impressive.
Secondly, there has been an absolute renaissance of Jewish cultural activities, from Limmud, which is the festival of learning which has now been exported from Anglo-Jewry to 47 different venues around the world, from Los Angeles to Moscow to Israel itself.
Rachael Kohn: And including Australia, I must say.
Jonathan Sacks: And including Australia, absolutely, and we are very proud of Limmud Australia. And things like Jewish Book Week where you will get 8,000 people coming in the space of a week. It is, I think, pretty much the biggest of its kind in the world, bigger even than the one in New York which has a Jewish population 20 times the size of British Jewry. So this is actually a community that is flourishing.
Between 1945 and 2005, the Jewish community suffered a year-on-year demographic decline. In 2005 that decline stopped, and the community today is growing, slowly but growing, and that without any influx from other countries.
Rachael Kohn: What do you think is driving the Jewish renaissance which, as you say, is religious as well as cultural? And can I ask you, do you think that the religious is as strong as the cultural?
Jonathan Sacks: I think so. I think I wanted synagogues to become much more than just houses of prayer. So today most of our synagogues have huge adult education programs, family education programs, they've become community centres. And the rabbinate today is much more willing to go out to the people instead of just expecting people to come to them. So I see very, very good signs, and I don't see any sign that Jews are leaving Britain, any more than they have done in the past. There's always been a steady stream of Jews from Britain to Israel, as there has been from every Jewish community, especially from Europe because we are much closer to Israel than, say, American Jewry is or Australian Jewry is. So yes, it's a community that is flourishing.
Rachael Kohn: In a powerful little book that you just published called Letters to the Next Generation you answer a series of very pointed questions asking basically 'why be Jewish?' Why did you write that book?
Jonathan Sacks: Because that's the kind of question people ask, especially students on campus. You know, for centuries 'why be Jewish'…well, what else am I supposed to be? My parents were Jewish, my grandparents were Jewish. There was no secular space in which to be just anything you choose. So ceasing to be Jewish meant in fact converting to another faith, and most Jews at most times stayed loyal. It was really the opening up of Europe in the 19th century that created the possibility of there being that neutral space where you didn't have to have any religious label at all. But that was more of a promise than a reality because simultaneously with that we saw the birth of that extraordinary and terrifying phenomenon called racial anti-Semitism. So I think it's only now, decades after the Holocaust, where Jews really can leave without feeling huge pangs of guilt. So we have to make Judaism just so attractive that people will be driven by the positive power of Judaism than the sheer inertia of habit.
Rachael Kohn: One of the themes, though, in your book, Letters to the Next Generation, is that being Jewish is kind of full on, it requires a great deal of time and practice and commitment and will, and one gets a sense that the next generation, the younger generation, are somewhat reluctant to take on a fully religious Jewish life.
Jonathan Sacks: In London we live just around the corner from a road that people who are as old as I am and can remember the Beatles will be familiar with, it's called Abbey Road, and that's where they recorded all their songs, and of course the last full album they did together was called Abbey Road, and it ended with a wonderful line from Paul McCartney, 'The love you take is equal to the love you make.' And I think the same is true of Judaism; the Judaism that you take is the Judaism that you make. The more you put into it, the more you get out of it.
And I think young people today are looking for some of the positive aspects of Judaism, the way Judaism is so supportive of marriage in an age where marriage has suddenly become very fragile. It has incredibly strong communities in an age when community elsewhere is atrophying, and it is a religion that does not force you to abdicate your critical intelligence. It is a religion of study, and what we call argument for the sake of heaven. So I think it says a lot to young people, and I'm finding that many young people are much more religious than their parents were. Not all, but most, many.
Rachael Kohn: But a great many of Jews today, and actually the majority of them numerically are Reform Jews, that is, those who belong to the more modernised version of Judaism, which started about a century ago, and I wonder whether the reluctance to take on Judaism at times is because of that rift between Orthodoxy and Reform.
Jonathan Sacks: Let's just backtrack for one moment and let's get it in perspective. Reformed Judaism started in Hamburg in 1817, so it's almost two centuries old. Reformed Judaism is in the majority in the United States but it is a minority in Britain and virtually every other European as well as Commonwealth country, a sizeable minority, something like 25%, but no more than that. So British Jewry and Commonwealth Jewry and European Jewry remains traditional and predominantly and sometimes overwhelmingly Orthodox.
The second thing is that we have formulated a set of principles in British Jewry that have integrity and that actually work and have removed the at times very real tensions between Orthodox and non-Orthodox Jews. And the principles are these; on all things that affect us as Jews, regardless of our religious differences, we will work together regardless of religious differences. On all matters that touch on those differences, we will agree to differ, but with respect.
So I work with non-Orthodox rabbis on interfaith, on welfare, on support to Israel, on fighting anti-Semitism, and many other areas, where they affect us regardless of what kind of Jew we are, whether they be Reformed Jews, secular Jews, it makes no difference. And on the issues that divide us, we respect our differences. We don't ask them to become like us and we don't expect them to ask us to become like them. And that is a respectful relationship held together by the fact that almost every Jew in British Jewry works together with a Jew who is not like them in our great welfare or Israel organisations. So I think we've had a good relationship over the past ten years. There were times before then when there were tensions, but we have resolved them by a principled stand which has integrity.
Rachael Kohn: That sounds pretty happy and hunky-dory, as they say. But there have been moments of tension, and you were reported as saying that the Reform movement is destroying Judaism.
Jonathan Sacks: No, I was reported as saying that and that was in 1996. There were at that time, in '96 and '97, some tensions, and I said I cannot allow this to continue, let us work out a principled way of working together and living together. We're a small people and we have to be able at times to work together despite our differences. So the principles that we've laid down are principles that do work, and the tensions of 15, 16 years ago no longer exist today.
Rachael Kohn: So you accept that Judaism incorporates many different ways of being Jewish, that Judaism can live with the many traditions and still retain a dialogue and a friendship? Because there certainly is a degree of tension that at times erupts into quite ugly rows.
Jonathan Sacks: What makes Judaism unique is that it is both a religion and a people. That means that some Jews are bound to other Jews by ties of religion, and we're bound to other Jews by ties of peoplehood, shared fate, shared memories, shared suffering for that matter. So there are always bonds that will bring us together, even when other bonds seem to drive us apart. And I think there is no other way than developing a principled response to that, because if we are only willing to live with, work with and give respect to the people whose religious beliefs are exactly like our own, we will land up as very lonely.
Rachael Kohn: Well, it's 20 years since the movement for the ordination of women, and I wonder whether that difference between Reform and Orthodoxy will ever be healed. That is, Reformed Jews do ordain women as rabbis, but Orthodoxy does not. Can you imagine an Orthodox Judaism in the future in which there would be female rabbis?
Jonathan Sacks: It all depends by what you mean by rabbi. If you mean the modern sense, the person who leads services in a synagogue, the answer is no. But in the classic sense, the word rabbi means 'my teacher'. So can there be women teachers of Torah? And the short answer is of course there can and of course there are.
In the previous generation the greatest teacher of Bible in the Jewish world was a lady called Nechama Leibowitz who everyone read and was instructed by. Today I would say that title has gone to a beloved friend from way back, Dr Avivah Zornberg, we were together at university. Avivah is, again, like Nechama Leibowitz, an Orthodox Jew who is one of the great teachers of Torah. So in the classic sense there never was a problem.
Rachael Kohn: In the past Hasidism was treated as a heresy and banned by Orthodox Judaism, and yet Hasidism and specifically the late Lubavitcher Rebbe had a great influence on you.
Jonathan Sacks: Yes, of course. Don't even think of taking seriously the idea that this movement or that movement is heretical. Judaism is bigger than that. What is heretical and what isn't I leave to the Almighty. The Hasidic movement is a good example of a group that was originally regarded as beyond the pale, which today has revitalised the whole Jewish world. Without the Hasidim what would we do for joy?
Rachael Kohn: How do you feel about the fact that you, a most eloquent exponent and proponent of Judaism, had a fully secular philosophical training at Cambridge University, whereas the Hasidism today generally avoids secular training in the humanities.
Jonathan Sacks: I tend to think that a lot of people are afraid of exposure to ideas very hostile or contrary to their own. As a defensive reaction, you don't expose yourself to those things. But if your faith is strong and you have confidence in it, you're not afraid of anything. My doctoral supervisor at Cambridge was the late Sir Bernard Williams, possibly the greatest philosopher of his age, and a principled atheist. But he never once ridiculed my beliefs, and I learnt an enormous amount from him. So if faith gives you the confidence then you can take on any intellectual challenges, but some people don't feel like that, and I think the Jewish people is big enough for both possibilities.
Rachael Kohn: Your latest book, The Great Partnership: God, Science and the Search for Meaning, contributes to a growing number of books by both clerics and scientists, and I remember Robert Winston, also a member of the House of Lords, as you are, writing a book from the scientist's perspective. Why do you think the debate between religion and science has become so controversial today?
Jonathan Sacks: Two reasons. Number one, almost every self-respecting intellectual in the 18th century thought religion was going to die, and here we are in the 21st century and it hasn't died at all. Today, for instance, Christianity is growing fastest in, of all places, China, which 50 years ago Mao Zedong declared to be a religion-free zone. So I think it has bewildered some of the sceptics and agnostics and atheists. How come religion keeps going and is perhaps stronger today than it was a century ago, certainly two centuries ago?
The other reason of course is the rise of militant groups who combine religious beliefs with political objectives, often the word used is 'fundamentalism', and I think that is a genuinely frightening phenomenon, and if scientists are afraid of it, well, so am I.
[Music 'The End', The Beatles, Abbey Road]
Rachael Kohn: Beatles fan, the Chief Rabbi of the UK Jonathan Sacks, agreeing with the scientists there. You can hear him on Big Ideas where he spoke to Norman Swan about religion and science. Just go to the RN website to find the audio. This is The Spirit of Things, I'm Rachael Kohn.
Last year, Britain's urban riots where kids terrorised communities and looted stores just for the fun of it prompted community leaders, including yourself and the Archbishop of Canterbury, to call for a re-moralisation of the West. But Rabbi Sacks, what hope is there for that today, the idea of one moral standard?
Jonathan Sacks: What I argued is you have a very precise historical parallel in Britain and the United States in 1820. In 1820 it was not safe to walk the streets of London, there was an enormous amount of social disruption, in Britain through the Industrial Revolution, in America through the movement of young people from farms to towns. And the problem of youth violence, broken marriages, illegitimate children and so on was huge in both countries.
By 1850 in both countries there had been a re-moralisation. At that point, from 1850 to 1950, you can actually trace the downward graph of violent crimes and births outside marriage. So Britain and America were re-moralised. So to talk about today and the possibilities...if it had been done then, it can be done now. The environment is very similar. Whether it will happen, I don't know.
I personally think this has much more to do with the breakdown of family than with the breakdown of faith, I don't think this has much to do with religion per se as to do with the fact that today or it least in 2009, the last year for which I have the figures, 46% of children in Britain were born outside marriage. That means that a lot of kids are growing up without a stable relationship with their biological fathers. So the fundamental socialising agency of adult males, of parents, of fathers, is simply not there, and you're getting a lot of kids growing up without any sense of discipline.
Rachael Kohn: As you say, it doesn't perhaps have a lot to do with religion but perhaps to do with people. And I'm wondering whether it speaks to your comment about faith in humanity. In your book Letters to the Next Generation you say to those who lost their faith in God after the Holocaust, the question is not how can we ever have faith in God again but how can we ever again have faith in humanity. But it seems you must have a great deal of faith in humanity or else you wouldn't be so committed to lifting them up.
Jonathan Sacks: Well, I get it from God actually. If there's one thing that is clear to me reading the Bible, God has enormous faith in us, much more than we have in ourselves. And I just feel that we've got religion wrong, upside down, for centuries. The real question is not what good reasons do we have to believe in God, the real question is what good reasons does God have to believe in us? And the fact that he does is not for me a source of optimism but it is a source of hope. And I've argued that Judaism is a religion of hope, I even call it the voice of hope in the conversation of humankind.
Rachael Kohn: So it's a matter of just recognising that God loves us and therefore we have to earn that love and to behave in a way that is satisfying in God's eyes.
Jonathan Sacks: I think there is no greater gift that anyone can have than to be brought into this world by loving parents. It's a tremendous privilege, but it's not something that we choose, and sometimes we just don't have it, it's luck. At the same time, though, to believe that there is a loving force that brought us and the universe into being, that's a transformative belief. The belief that God created the universe and us in love and forgiveness and really asks us to love and forgive others is, I think, the simplest and most powerful moral vision that the West has ever known.
Rachael Kohn: And I imagine this is a vision that helps you a lot in your interfaith work. You've been a paragon of it. I would say, to quote the title of one of your books, you've been a paragon of the dignity of difference. What is the future for Jews in their relationship to both Christians and Muslims who the latter number 100 times more than the Jews, and Christians even more than that?
Jonathan Sacks: Yes, we're a small people, which means that there is probably a good reason to build friendships across faiths. One of the most extraordinary phenomena in history, certainly in the history of the West, is the fact that the Catholic Church since Vatican II and Nostra Aetate has really transformed its relationship with Jews. And whereas Jews and Catholics met for centuries with mutual suspicion, today they meet as respected and cherished friends, and that's very impressive. Between Jews and Muslims there are even more commonalities because...you know, just theologically and legally Islam is closer to Judaism than either are to Christianity.
And there were ages, especially the period of the 12th century when there was something, at least in Al-Andalus in Spain called convivencia which is what we would call good neighbourly relations in an age of tolerance. And so we have a historical precedent to work on, those incredible Islamic philosophers like Avicenna and Averroes who had an influence on the great Jewish philosopher Moses Maimonides, who had a great influence on the Christian thinker Thomas Aquinas.
The fact, again, of having a historical precedent is very important because it tells us that such things are possible. I think we have to work that way in the 21st century because our powers of harming one another have grown with every century. The potentially destructive forces that we have at our disposal today are immense. So I think we'd better heal because otherwise we are going to harm.
Rachael Kohn: But in the centre of all of that is Israel, which is so important historically and religiously to Jews, but is the big stumbling point for Muslims and even many Christians. Do you see that being resolved in the near future?
Jonathan Sacks: I think I have to say something very blunt here. There are at least 82 Christian nations in the world, there are 56 Islamic ones, and there only ever has been one Jewish state, the state of Israel, a tiny country the size of Wales. I don't know how many Israels you'd fit in Australia, but a great number. Israel represents one-quarter of 1% of the land mass of the Arab world, of the map of the Middle East. So you have this one tiny country, it is the only place in all of history...Jews have been scattered over every single part of the world, but in 4,000 years no place ever accept Israel have Jews been able to do their thing that we assume to be the natural right of any nation, which is to construct their own society in accordance with their own fundamental principles.
So I think if you cannot accept the existence of the state of Israel, then you cannot accept the existence of Jews as a people, and that to me is just inhuman and blind. Can there be a resolution of the Israel/Palestine conflict? That is something else entirely, and the truth is there can and must be a resolution for one simple reason; everyone concedes the Israel/Palestine conflict as a zero-sum game, either Israel wins or the Palestinians win, and that is simply and blatantly untrue. From violence, both sides lose. From peace, both sides gain. And therefore peace is in the interest of both Israelis and Palestinians.
They once said about one of my predecessors, the late Chief Rabbi Hertz, that he never despaired of a peaceful solution to a problem once every other alternative had been exhausted. I think today in the Middle East every other possible solution has been exhausted and there is no way forward other than peace.
Rachael Kohn: Let's hope so. Rabbi Sacks, you'll be retiring from your post as chief Rabbi of the UK and Commonwealth at the same time as the Archbishop Rowan Williams will be stepping down, I believe. What has been your relationship to the Archbishop given that you are a strong supporter of Israel and he's made statements expressing anger and bafflement at Israel and doesn't seem to have made the same kinds of statements regarding hamas?
Jonathan Sacks: I have cherished my friendship with Christian leaders in Britain of all branches of Christianity and in particular with the two archbishops of Canterbury that I have served alongside with, George Carey and Rowan Williams. Rowan Williams I count as a cherished friend, and Rowan Williams introduced a debate into the House of Lords just a few weeks ago which I was more than happy to participate in, calling attention to the persecution of Christians throughout the Middle East. So I think we have stood together on many issues. He is a doughty fighter against anti-Semitism, and whenever we've needed support he's been there. He and I took a mission of the leaders of all faiths in Britain to Auschwitz, which was a very powerful experience for all of us who were there. And we've worked very closely together. Friends can disagree. Or to put it the other way around, you can disagree and still be friends. And I think Rowan Williams has been a true friend who has stood by the Jewish community on many issues, and he's been a great blessing to Britain.
Rachael Kohn: Gosh, what will Britain look like without the two of you?
Jonathan Sacks: Slightly fewer bushy eyebrows.
Rachael Kohn: Finally, we've already mentioned that Jews are a small nation, only half of 1% of the population in Australia. Is it possible to hold onto the faith and still make a difference in the world?
Jonathan Sacks: We've been doing that for 4,000 years, I see no reason why we shouldn't continue. In Deuteronomy 7, Moses has a very powerful verse, he says, 'God did not choose you or set his love upon you because you were numerous. You are the smallest of all people.' So we've had that fate for 3,300 years, and somehow we've made a contribution to humanity out of all proportion to our numbers.
I think Judaism exists not just for Jews, but it is a sign of hope to all small peoples, to everyone who finds himself or herself in a minority, to any group who has suffered persecution. I think the Jewish experience of history has shown that you can go through all of that—exile, dispersion, persecution—and still come out affirming your faith in life, still come out celebrating life, and still come out giving and contributing to every aspect of the wider society. So I expect Jews to carry on doing the improbable, as they have been doing ever since the days of Abraham, and I do think that Abraham and the faiths that he has engendered demonstrate the ability to defeat the power, the logic of probability by the power of possibility.
Rachael Kohn: Said like a true philosopher Rabbi. In your 20 years you've made an enormous contribution through media, through your books, through your meetings with leaders and even with students around the world, so I imagine you'll be continuing to make a contribution in this next chapter of your life, which I imagine involves quite a deal of travel.
Jonathan Sacks: Well, I'm leaving this job because I want to accelerate a little bit. I've got an awful lot of books that I have to write. There are an awful lot of people out there that I would love to teach and study with as a global Jewish community, and there is a set of problems facing all of this in the 21st century with respect to which a Jewish voice ought to be heard. So there's huge amount of work to do. I will have done this job for 22 years and I think the time has come to invite a new face to take the community to places that I couldn't take it to, and in the meanwhile I will be teaching, writing, travelling, broadcasting and trying hopefully to join my voice to the voice of so many others of different branches of Judaism, of other faiths and of none, joining in this human conversation which is what God enjoys listening to.
Rachael Kohn: Well, we look forward to hearing your voice in all its myriad forms. Thank you so much for being on The Spirit of Things.
Jonathan Sacks: Well, every blessing and I wish you continued success.
Rachael Kohn: That was the Chief Rabbi of the UK and Commonwealth, Lord Jonathan Sacks. He's one of the most prolific Jewish authors today, and on The Spirit of Things' website you'll find information about his books and a link to his website, as well as some pictures from his visit to Australia.
Singer songwriter Matisyahu was raised a Reconstructionist Jew, became an Orthodox, then Hasidic Jew, but recently appeared on the internet without a beard, saying he didn't need facial hair to be a good Jew. 'One Day' was the official theme song of the winter Olympics in Vancouver 2010.
[Music: 'One Day', Matisyahu]
There's a famous saying from a book published decades ago that 'America is different'. It referred to the experience of Jews in America as opposed to Europe. The freedom to be Jewish was unparalleled, and it led to all kinds of creativity, including the invention of blue jeans. But this is a program about religion. And in America, Jews were no less creative religiously. Bethamie Horowitz is a social psychologist at the Steinhardt School at New York University with a specialisation in contemporary Judaism.
How large is the Jewish population in America, and have those figures changed over the years?
Bathamie Horowitz: There are about 6 million to 6.5 million Jews in America, although it does depend how one defines Jewish. It's about 2% of the American population.
Rachael Kohn: So quite a bit smaller than the Jewish proportion here, which is half of 1%.
Bathamie Horowitz: Here it is much smaller, yes, and of course we are also spread out over a very big country. Here I am in Melbourne and I know I'm coming to Sydney soon, and I think you have about 50,000 Jews in each city roughly...
Rachael Kohn: Yes, the concentrations are very much in Melbourne and Sydney, with a few elsewhere.
Bathamie Horowitz: Right, but those city sizes...that population is very small for America, so in New York, which is maybe 1.5 million Jews...
Rachael Kohn: And that's where you're located. What is the general breakdown between progressive and Orthodox?
Bathamie Horowitz: First of all 'progressive' is a term that we don't use in the United States around Judaism, that's the European and Australian model. The non-Orthodox denominations—Reform, Conservative, and a very small group called Reconstructionist...well, let me start...Orthodox is about 10% of the total, so it's very different than what you have here.
Rachael Kohn: So what you're saying there is the non-Orthodox is by far the majority of Jews in America.
Bathamie Horowitz: Yes indeed.
Rachael Kohn: Isn't there another category, and I think you've already alluded to this, of people who identify as Jewish but are not exactly fitting into those denominational categories of Orthodox or Reform?
Bathamie Horowitz: Yes, there is, and in fact if you ask people in the United States, 'What's your denomination,' there are plenty of people who will say, 'Well, I don't have a denomination.' It's about 20% of people who don't, even in a survey, answer that question. The issue of Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, is almost a scale of practice in the average person's mind; how good a Jew are you? 'I used to be Orthodox, I used to do a lot, now I'm Reform.' A person who belongs to a Reform synagogue though would view themselves as a very good Jew, even though their practice is very different from Orthodox practice. So there's two different things going on, there is denomination, which is an affiliation with a movement, and then there's a sense of whether a person feels that they're Jewish or not, which may not be strongly tied for it least 20% of the Jews in America with any of the movements, they'll say 'I'm just Jewish'.
Rachael Kohn: So does this reveal a degree of adaptation and adaptive tendencies of people finding ways to be Jewish or identify, even if they are perhaps in a mixed marriage?
Bathamie Horowitz: Absolutely. I would say that in the Orthodox world you hear that mixed marriage practically is non-existent because if somebody is Orthodox and they marry somebody not Jewish they kind of leave the Orthodox world unless that person converts. The denominational movements, as they get more liberal, have had to reckon more with how to relate to intermarried families, and that the more creative and more embracing...certainly the Reform movement has been more embracing, there's been more debate within the Conservative movement, but it's become such a reality in the United States that Jews and non-Jews have created families together, it is nationally about 50% of marriages involve a Jew and a non-Jew.
And then at the individual level what happens is that...intermarrying doesn't mean they want to give up their Jewishness. It used to mean, if somebody intermarried, that you were looking for a way to not be Jewish anymore. Actually, to put it better, you are looking for a way to make it in America and your Jewishness 100 years ago used to be something that was a stigma, and that's certainly not true any more. Many Jews who intermarried don't feel they are going to be giving up their Jewishness and they are not giving up their Jewish families, and the movements have had to accommodate that.
Rachael Kohn: I guess the whole question of Jewish survival in America has always been a big issue, and particularly after the Holocaust. So when sociological studies were being done in the '60s and '70s and '80s, what were they focusing on and what were they finding?
Bathamie Horowitz: I think they were mostly focusing on how Jewish were American Jews. And they had an image of what a good Jew was and they were looking at religious practice by and large as the measure of Jewishness. The people they were interviewing in the mid-'60s and by the '70s were already the children and the grandchildren of immigrants. They were seeing declines in practice from the earlier generations they had studied. The immigrants practised the most, they were kosher-keeping, candle-lighting, fasting on Yom Kippur and on Ta'anit Esther, and by the time they were interviewing the adults of the '60s and '70s they were seeing that a lot of those practices weren't being kept. And so the story the sociologists told was one of decline, and it looks like Judaism was on the demise in some way. So it played into the anxieties that the Jewish community had about itself, and that had some support in the statistics at that time.
Rachael Kohn: I guess the whole question of 'how Jewish are you' all depends on who asks the question. I mean, if it's from an Orthodox point of view, I guess a lot of people would fail if they are not feeling all the commandments. But if it's a Reform or a more liberal definition of Judaism, then the answers are going to be different.
Bathamie Horowitz: Right, and what we've seen certainly in the more liberal movements are different ways of practising, new practices, traditions that are being reinvented in those movements that weren't being captured in the surveys. Let's say, a baby naming, that you would do a Simchat Bat, instead of just doing a bris for a boy, you might do something to honour the birth of a girl. Or adult Bat Mitzvah. There are plenty of girls who never had a Bat Mitzvah, adults of the 1960s and '70s, and at that point coinciding also with the feminist awakening and movement in the United States, people started to become more connected...there was the whole movement of adult Bat Mitzvah, women studying and then stepping up to the Torah. That's obviously not something that would happen in the Orthodox world, but it certainly did happen and continues to happen.
Rachael Kohn: And of course it led to women rabbis in the Reform movement.
Bathamie Horowitz: Yes indeed, in 1972 Sally Priesand was the first Reform rabbi ordained, and...when did the Conservative movement begin to ordain? I think it was in the early '80s.
Rachael Kohn: Can I just ask you, for people who wouldn't know, the Reform movement originated in Europe, but it really didn't take off there in a big way and certainly the Holocaust intervened. In America it was really big. So what are we talking about there historically?
Bathamie Horowitz: I would say both Reform and Conservative were big and I would say very American, as is also the more recent movement called the Reconstructionist movement. But in terms of Reform, it began in Germany. By the 1860s and '70s it did take off in the United States. And the concept there was that, for instance, services rather than being all in Hebrew would include the language of the vernacular, the language of everyday people, and so having the services in English.
The Reform movements actually went very far...they've had a pendulum swing. For a long time they moved towards mimicking the Protestants at one point, and there were even a very small minority but a minority of Reform congregations that had their services on Sunday. I don't think it happens anywhere anymore. The Reform movement now, the pendulum has swung where people feel that Jews in America needs to be more Jewishly connected, and the Reform movement has had a lot of Hebrew...their services are more traditional than they used to be.
But the point was that it related to the issues in people's lives more. Instead of having people meet the bar that was set by Orthodox Judaism, they changed the bar a bit so that people would find ways to keep their Judaism as their lives adapted, as they became American. The issues of, let's say, working on Shabbat. But the point with the Reform movement and I would say also the Conservative movement was they tried to have a mixing and matching of things coming from tradition but being reformed and reframed in the American context in ways that would let people keep it.
Rachael Kohn: So would you say that the Reform Jewish movement in America is pretty robust, despite the fact that it adapts to secular society and other movements like feminism and the rise of the acceptance of homosexuals, that it still retains a vigorous sense of itself?
Bathamie Horowitz: I would absolutely say that. First of all it's about more than one-third of American Jews identify as Reform, so just numerically it's a growing part of the American Jewish population. In America I would say people are trying to trying to find ways to both be Jewish and be American. America's a very religious place, as you can see if you follow the Republican presidential debates, how much the evangelicals and the Protestants, whatever, everybody is asserting their religiousness. The Jews are no less able to assert and feel comfortable saying they are Jewish and wanting to have places where they express their Jewishness, although they are not God-thumping believers, that's not the Jewish mode. The Jewish mode is about connecting to people and community and tradition.
Rachael Kohn: I want to ask you about that, that sense of peoplehood. How important is the Jewish ethnic or group identity as opposed to its religious identity?
Bathamie Horowitz: I would say it's a very important component. I don't think that people themselves, if you ask them 'Tell me about yourself as a Jew', that they would say, well, I'm ethnically this but I'm only religiously that. But if you look at it as a sociologist you see that there are plenty of people who follow what I would call Jewish patterns, but those patterns aren't religious. So one of the ways that is distinctive in America is the Jewish liberalism politically. Jews have been known to, as they say, not vote their pocketbooks. The Jews are doing very well in America in terms of their socio-economic accomplishments, and yet they consistently...even though there are Jews who are Republican, the vast majority of Jews vote Democratic, it's like 80%. And that is an ethnic pattern, if you will.
The other way it comes up is in popular culture. So you have major personages, including, let's say, Jon Stewart of The Daily Show who is on every night, I actually turn to him for my news because I think he's a very thoughtful analyst, even though he is also a comedian, of the events of the day, but almost every night he'll say something about his own Jewishness, and he's not a particularly religious guy but he's comfortable being Jewish and he's out there with it.
Rachael Kohn: Well, I've called this program 'Old Jews, New Jews', and I guess he would be an example of the new Jew, the kind of identity that is strongly Jewish and yet not necessarily supported by a lot of ritual practices.
Rachael Kohn: I have no idea of his ritual practice, except that he did say around Rosh Hashanah...somebody in the audience asked him what would he be doing for Yom Kippur, and I think he basically said he'd be broadcasting, which doesn't make the Jewish community happy. But he is very comfortable being Jewish in America, and I think that is the defining feature of American society right now as compared to 100 years ago. A hundred years ago being Jewish was a stigma, as I said earlier, it was something you wouldn't want to broadcast, and 100 years later it's something somebody can be completely comfortable about.
I'll give you one example which is that in 1999 in December, just before the millennium, Bazaar magazine, which is one of the big women's magazines, had a spread about different socialites and actresses, and the feature was 'What will you be doing on the turn of the millennium? Where will you be, what will you be doing?' It happens that New Year's Eve that year was on a Friday night, and when I was looking through this magazine, I almost fell on the floor because I turned the page and there was an actress named Ellen Barkin, she is Jewish, and she said, 'What New Years Eve? It's 5760. I'm a Jew, I'll be having Friday night,' or something like that. And I was amazed. I said, 'Oh my gosh.' I ripped the page out, I said, 'I need this for my research.' I can't imagine that Lauren Bacall, she is Jewish, she wouldn't have said that about herself in 1950 or 1960, and Vogue magazine or the very same Bazaar magazine would never have published that about her. That's a huge change.
Rachael Kohn: Absolutely, indeed, they all changed their names...
Bathamie Horowitz: And they coloured their hair and they changed their noses. Rhinoplasty and the invention of Clairol happened in the '40s, of ethnic women wanting to look Anglo. That happened not only to the Jews, it happened to the Italians, to…anybody who had curly black hair and a big nose was not going to be fashionable. And today we know that there is a wide variety of ethnicities that people appreciate. So in a way it is jokey, on the other hand it is an indicator of the way things have changed in the United States.
[Music: 'Can I Interest You in Hanukkah', Jon Stewart]
Rachael Kohn: The proudly Jewish Jon Stewart, who interviewed Barak Obama on The Daily Show. I think he must be the first comedian in history who has had the President of the United States of America on his program. This is The Spirit of Things on RN, and we're looking at 'Old Jews, New Jews', and I'm speaking to a decidedly new Jew, Dr Bethamie Horowitz.
Well, what things haven't changed? And I want to get back to the relationship between Orthodox and Reform. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, who I just spoke to, said relations are okay. Would you say that they are okay in America between those two groups?
Bathamie Horowitz: I would say that they're fine actually. I think at the level of communities there is a great tolerance for diversity. I don't think it makes people who are concerned about Halacha practice…
Rachael Kohn: That is Torah practice.
Bathamie Horowitz: …Torah practice happy, but the Jewish communities in America have learnt that they have to work together and that there is a great value to having diverse options for people to express their Judaism. The alternative is that when you only have a binary choice, a yes or a no, 'are you practising and Torah practising or not', you basically are going to lose a lot of people. And where there are different options and a wider range of ways to be Jewish, it lets people legitimately find ways to connect. Because I found in my research that people don't do well with the labels a lot of times but they have a lot of meaningful connections through their family, through their reading of history, their consumption of culture, seeing movies, being moved by stories that will pull them towards Judaism. It's not foregone that somebody who hasn't been practicing is necessarily going to keep leaving. That was an old model, when being Jewish and being American were separate entities, that if you were too Jewish you couldn't make it in America. That's all changed and now people need more options about how they can connect.
Rachael Kohn: So Jewish really takes on a very broad definition, it's cultural and it goes all the way to religious practice, and somewhere in that umbrella you might find a spot for yourself. Is that what you're saying?
Bathamie Horowitz: That is what I'm saying, and I think it's been a great strength of American Jewry that it's developed a way to have more of an open tent, a wide tent under which many expressions can flourish.
Rachael Kohn: One last question; what do you think of a suggestion that America should have a Chief Rabbi? The UK and the Commonwealth has a Chief Rabbi, there has been discussions here about whether Australia should have a Chief Rabbi. What would you say if someone suggested the same thing for America?
Bathamie Horowitz: I find it so anti-American, I would find it a really strange and I would be pretty vocal against it. I think that one of the strengths of America, one of the characteristics of America is that it's highly voluntary and each group has found a way to grow what it needs to have. And among the Jews...I think because we haven't had an official single voice, it lets the plurality exist in the first place. And the other thing is you have to remember that in England and in Europe, and I don't know about here, there is government support of these things, but the church and state separation in the United States means that what goes on in each of the religious groups, it's self-organised, and so we have this multiplicity because of that.
Rachael Kohn: Yes, and of course the Chief Rabbi of the UK is also in the House of Lords.
Bathamie Horowitz: Right, and the American piece was that we should have many flowers flourish and it's true within the groups as much as it is among the different religions. So I think that's been a great strength, although it's meant that we've had to learn how to have a meta-conversation, a conversation over and above the politics of each group. We've had to learn to be able to think about how to relate to one another in ways that don't shut each one out and that allows space. Why should it be my business what the Orthodox do if it is not impinging on me? Or why should it be an Orthodox person's business to say what I do, and whether that makes me a good Jew or not?
Rachael Kohn: Bethamie Horowitz, it's been so interesting talking to you, thank you so much for being on The Spirit of Things.
Bathamie Horowitz: Thank you for interviewing me. It's been a delight Rachael.
Rachael Kohn: That was Dr Bethamie Horowitz who has designed, conducted and directed leading research projects on Jewish identity in America and Israel. She was the guest of the Shalom Institute at the University of New South Wales and the Australian Association of Jewish Studies. She's at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development at NYU, in New York City. Don't forget you can download the audio of this program from our website.
Production was by me and Geoff Wood with sound engineering by David Lawford.
There's been an incredible response to Ross Fitzgerald's Spiritual Diary, both on The Spirit of Things' website and on POOL, ABC's social website. I've a wonderful time reading what all of you have shared of your spiritual diaries, and by talking to each other we're building a community of spiritual diarists, including a Franciscan monk and a retired British banker in France, a gifted photographer, and some poets and budding philosophers. Just go to the Spirit of Things website and find a link to POOL. Get spiritual, get personal. I'm Rachael Kohn and I'll meet you right back here on The Spirit of Things next week at the same time, on RN.
- Rabbi Dr Jonathan Sacks
- has been Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth since September 1, 1991, the sixth incumbent since 1845. He is widely recognised as one of the world's leading contemporary exponents of Judaism. Prior to becoming Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Sacks had been Principal of Jews' College, London, the world's oldest rabbinical seminary, as well as rabbi of the Golders Green and Marble Arch Synagogues in London. He gained rabbinic ordination from Jews' College as well as from London's Yeshiva Etz Chaim. He is the author of 24 books, the latest being The Great Partnership: God, Science and the Search for Meaning 2011. He was knighted by Her Majesty The Queen in 2005 and made a Life Peer, taking his seat in the House of Lords on 27th October 2009, where he sits on the cross benches as Baron Sacks of Aldgate in the City of London.
- Professor Bethamie Horowitz
- Prof Bethamie Horowitz is a socio-psychologist and Senior Research Scientist at New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development. With 25 years of experience researching major issues facing the Jewish world, she is a former Director of Planning and Research at UJA-Federation of New York, where she conducted the1991 NY Jewish Population Study and developed the groundbreaking Connections and Journeys Study, documenting patterns of Jewish engagement among baby boomer and younger American Jews. An astute observer of American Jewry, she is a former columnist for The Forward and researcher at the Mandel Foundation Israel. Her research career began focusing on conflict resolution and images of war and peace in the Middle East.
Further Information
- Presenter
- Rachael Kohn
- Producer
- Rachael Kohn / Geoff Wood


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The closest train station to Hamilton Technology Park is Hamilton West, at 2.4 miles. To get there on foot it will take about 45 minutes:
By Motorway
If driving south from Glasgow take the M8 then on to the M74 (Carlisle). Stay on the M74 until Junction 5, then take the A725 exit to East Kilbride/Coatbridge/Bellshill/Edinburgh/A8. Follow signs for A725 then take the B758 exit for High Blantyre. At the roundabout take the first exit on to Hillhouse Road then turn right on to Technology Avenue. At the roundabout take the first exit on to Bell Drive.
If driving North towards Blantyre on the M74 exit at Junction 5 and follow the same directions as above.
There is free parking at our Hamilton office.
Other Options
We can arrange a meeting in a different location at no cost for you. Our team is happy to accommodate your needs and meet you in a more confidential environment if you require.


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Graduated in Softwares from pune, Jignesh Parmar is a versatile personalities in terms of technical knowledge. He has expertise and sense of Design, Development, Internet Marketing, Social Media Engagement and there is an endless list to it,
He has helped many brands coming over an obstacle of getting stuck into transition of expansion from unknown to know brand. The clients says only one thing about him once he gets out from the meeting room 'Genius Brain' .
to know more about how he can help you and your business write to him directly at : firstname.lastname@example.com


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PeakFit Challenge Cardio Interval Burn
Michelle Dozois, 2011
This is a 65 minute mostly kickboxing cardio workout. Michelle leads in a spacious white/ hardwood room with a group of background exercisers. You wont need any equipment for this workout. Some modifications are shown.
The workout is structured that you start with a basecamp move, move into ascent and then climb and finish with almost 30 seconds of peak intensity. You perform five 10 minute intervals for two rounds each (a total of 10 peaks). The majority of the exercises are kickboxing inspired and Michelle does a great job of blending high and low impact into this heart pumping workout.
Exercises include: lots of good punch & kick combos (nothing complicated though), hi tuck jumps, triple run, shuffle, hitch kcks, torso twist, double step touch to floor touch, hi knee fence hoppers, skaters, jacks, scissors, bob & weave, bang the drum w/ a hop, hi knee run, sprints, and pendulum jacks.
I rate this a low advanced or very high intermediate cardio workout. The sequencing of the exercises building in intensity allows you to keep going for the duration in this workout. My heart rate stayed high the entire time but I didnt get what I would consider anaerobic at any point. A great challenging but do-able cardio workout. Not for beginners, thats for sure! Michelle does a fantastic job in this one- and all the exercises were easy to catch onto but not boring at all.


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Job Description
My Client is an Award winning company established 20 years ago, they specialise in Building Management Systems and are looking for a BMS Service and Maintenance Engineer to join a dynamic team. They heavily invests time, training and development into everyone who comes into the business with opportunities to grow and progress.
The Position:
I am looking for a BMS Service & Maintenance Engineer who can demonstrate the ability to work well under pressure, who's self-motivated and has the ability to maintain great relationships with clients. You will be from a BMS background and have undertaken official BMS Manufacturers training holding their certifications.
- Minimum Trend 963 Engineering, System Engineering & IQ Engineering
- Good Mechanical Plant Background
- Strong Communication with Clients and Customers.
- Service & Maintenance
- PPM's & Breakdowns
- Upgrades & Repairs
The Location:
You will be based in the South East.
Why Should You Apply?
- Up to £45,000 Annual
- 31 days Holiday
- Company Car/Allowance
- Phone & Laptop Provided
- Medicash
- Overtime Available
If you feel you possess the skills required for this role or would like to contact me to find out more feel free to give me a call on 0117 973 8090 or 07566226758. Alternatively you can send through your updated CV to email@example.com with the view of getting you an immediate interview if suitable.


text: What a perfect day for outdoor hockey at Nat's Stadium! Game started on time with bright sunshine and clear skies with a couple F-16's Flying By to add to drama! Caps started out strong and the Hawks came back, but in the end the Good Guys from DC prevailed–no cheating Toews!


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- Home
- Real sports
- Tennis
- Current Page
CoCo Goes Loco: Vandeweghe Smashes Yet Another Racquet At Australian Open
As you may know, Coco Vandeweghe is the daughter of former New York Knick Ernie Vandeweghe, the niece of former Nuggets, Knicks, Trail Blazers and Clippers forward Kiki Vandeweghe, and the daughter of former olympic swimmer Tauna Vandeweghe. She plays tennis, and has her own line of racquets, most of which she's destroyed in fits of rage.
Vandeweghe advanced to the third round of the Australian Open with a win over Pauline Parmentier (6-4, 7-6) on Wednesday, but not before smashing her racquet into kindling and tossing it into the crowd late in the second set set. Here we go:
Coco Vandeweghe wrecks the racket pic.twitter.com/s1pGaHTqbR
— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) January 18, 2017
.@CoCoVandey gets generous with her (smashed) racquet #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/jcTCVfZnpX
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 18, 2017
Vandewhehe is quite the naughty girl, it turns out. It was the third time in three weeks she's destroyed a racquet. Also, she smashed her racquet and later refused to shake hands with a chair official at the U.S. Open this past August. And at the 2015 U.S. Open during her second-round loss to Bethanie Mattek-Sands, she completely obliterated her racquet after falling behind 5-0 in the first set.
Be the first to know
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Our Privacy Policy
At ONCA we're committed to protecting and respecting your privacy.
This policy explains when and why we collect personal information about people who visit ONCA, our gallery and website, how we use it and how we keep it secure.
We may change this policy from time to time so please check this page occasionally to ensure that you're happy with any changes. By using our website, you're agreeing to be bound by this Policy. For more information about GDPR please visit the Information Commissioner's Office.
Any questions regarding this policy and our privacy practices should be directed to ONCA's Data Controller: sent by email to ku.gr1555880965o.acn1555880965o@ofn1555880965i1555880965 or by writing to ONCA, 14 St Georges Place, Brighton, BN1 4GB. Alternatively, you can telephone 01273 607101.
"We" refers to ONCA.
Last updated: April 2018
Who are we?
ONCA supports the wellbeing of people and places by increasing awareness of, and engagement with, environmental and social challenges. We are a space for meeting, thinking, learning and celebrating art, always encouraging artists and audiences to ask big questions about difficult issues.
ONCA embraces diverse perspectives and needs by modelling and fostering inclusive creative practices. We are proud to help people imagine, and move towards, thriving futures. To do this, we partner with local and international artists and organisations. We specialise in creative learning projects with children and young people. We do all this from our gallery and performance space in Brighton, UK, where we host a range of events – some led and curated by us, and some by visiting artists and companies who hire the gallery.
Upstairs at ONCA we also run workspaces for artists, charities and businesses.
ONCA is a registered charity 1150539 founded in 2012.
What information do we collect about you?
The personal information we collect might include your name, address, email address and telephone number. We collect your contact details when you sign up for one of our events, join our newsletter, make a donation or become an ONCA member. We also collect information about you when you complete a survey or leave feedback at an event or exhibition. ONCA is responsible for any of the data collected in this way.
If you make a donation online or purchase a product from us, your card information is not held by us, it is collected by our third-party payment processors (PayPal & Sumup), who specialise in the secure online capture and processing of credit/debit card transactions.
How we use this information
As a registered charity we rely on donors and supporters to help spread the word about the vital work we do. With your consent, we use your information to communicate with you by email, telephone and occasionally post to keep you up to date with news from ONCA.
Any information you choose to provide us with will be treated confidentially and is never shared with or sold to third parties. You can change your preferences or unsubscribe from our communications at any time by clicking the 'unsubscribe' or 'update my preferences' link in our newsletter or by emailing ku.gr1555880965o.acn1555880965o@ofn1555880965i1555880965.
We may use your information to:
- process a donation that you have made;
- process orders that you have submitted;
- to carry out our obligations arising from any contracts entered into by you and us;
- dealing with entries into a competition;
- seek your views or comments on the services we provide;
- notify you of changes to our services;
- send you communications which you have requested and that may be of interest to you. These may include information about campaigns, appeals, other fundraising activities;
- process a grant or job application.
We review our retention periods for personal information on a regular basis. We are legally required to hold some types of information to fulfil our statutory obligations (for example the collection of Gift Aid). We will hold your personal information on our systems for as long as is necessary for the relevant activity, or as long as is set out in any relevant contract you hold with us.
How we protect your information
We keep your data safe on a secure server, which is regularly updated. Your information is only accessible by senior trained staff. We will never share your personal information with third parties.
How can I access the information you hold about me?
At any time you have the right to request a copy of the information we hold about you. We accept requests by post (proof of identity is needed so we can ensure we are providing data to the right person). Please contact ONCA's Data Controller: by email to email@example.com or by writing to ONCA, 14 St Georges Place, Brighton, BN1 4GB. Alternatively, you can telephone 01273 607101.
Other websites
Our website may contain links to websites run by other organisations. This privacy policy applies only to our website' so we encourage you to read the privacy statements on the other websites you visit. We cannot be responsible for the privacy policies and practices of other sites even if you access them using links from our website.
In addition, if you linked to our website from a third party site, we cannot be responsible for the privacy policies and practices of the owners and operators of that third party site and recommend that you check the policy of that third party site.
Our site uses cookies to help us analyse traffic. For help deleting or controlling cookies, please visit aboutcookies.org.


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Today, a funeral procession was held south of Seoul for the 46 South Korean sailors that were killed or still missing following the mysterious sinking of a South Korean warship on March 26th.
Thousands arrived to pay their respects including President Lee Myung-Bak who placed medals of honor besides photos of each of the fallen soldiers.
Our hearts go out to the families who lost loved ones and to the country who has lost some of its bravest young men.


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George L.Purchased E cigarette starter kit and after trying numerous brands, including the vapor juice, find that I much prefer the e cigarette. Was a smoker for over 60 years and due to health issues needed to quit. Having the e cigarette made a much easier transition.
Joanna K.I'm super happy with the non-nicotine e cig. It's a perfect size, about 4 inches long without a cartridge maybe. It's got a little thing on the end that lights up red when you inhale. The charger and the cartridges are packed nicely and easy to use. I'm really happy with this. Thank you.
Shirley M. W.I bought the Non- Nicotine E Cigarette Starter Kit I have been a smoker for 50years and these helped me to stop from smoker they are great''
rcgal gal
Lupe L.Excellent product. I started using this product to stop smoking. I smoked almost two packs a day and now I smoke maybe five cigs with morning coffee. I plan to stop completely in the next week.
Jane J.I quite smoking over 10 years ago and feel so much better, although I have gained some weight. I thought that vaping a non nicotine e cig might take the place of evening snacking. I am pleased with the starter kit I got. I like the tiramasu flavor and will be trying the caramel next. It is a non calorie replacement for snacking at night.
Mikayla StarrI love it. It was just what I was looking for. Something with no nicotine and the repetitive motion.
bernarda oliveri love the prime vapor with no nicotine it takes getting used to but when you are it is great i recommend it if you really want to quit
Tracy PedersonSuper easy to set up and get started. I can't wait to try more flavors. The latte flavor is tasty. Shipping was quick. I've already recommended to friends. I have nothing negative to say.
antoinette karpavery pleased with the product. I have used other vapors and they have given me mouth sores and a very sore throat. I do not have those effects with these products. I like the size of the "cigarettes' and my favorite flavors are the menthols.
Mary GrittenVapor is actually nice and thick, tastes good, and package delivery was prompt. My personal favorites are the triple mint and morning blend. I've tried several different ecigs and this one tops them all, and not just because it has non nicotine flavors. No throat hit though, I need to try some of the low nicotine flavors.


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I do believe the little dog is a lot smarter than we give him credit for.
This came to me the day he followed me into the laundry room and his little water bowl was there, empty. He started scratching at it. I looked at him. He looked up at me. I gave him some water.
Last night, I was at the kitchen sink. His bowls were by the laundry room door. I heard all this racket behind me and then that familiar noise of the bowl being scratched at. I turned around to find him behind me, with his water bowl, looking up at me intently now that he had gotten my attention. Yes, I did fill that dish with some water.
Here's the odd thing – his food bowl is green, his water bowl is blue. Otherwise they're the same. He does this with just the blue bowl. Now if I can harness this knowledge to make him more behaved and housebroken, we'll be in business. Otherwise, I'm just going to have a pushy little dog on my hands, whose always following me around with a bowl.


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For the first time, astrology and culinary insights are combined in a fully-fledged cookbook. Lucy Ash invites you to find out from your astrological sign what kind of cook you really are (messy? orderly? intuitive? meticulous? extravagant? frugal?) - and from your friends' signs, what kind of guests they'll make, how to match them, and what to feed them (are they artichoke soufflé types? pork-pot-with-pepperoni palates?).
It's all in the stars. And after discussing each sign of the zodiac - its ruling planet, element, characteristics, dominant flavours and colour, herbs, fauna, and cell salt - Lucy Ash provides delectable recipes and menus, imaginatively designed to delight those born under that sign.
For example.....
Taureans (James Beard was one) like simple, earthy foods. Taureans make courteous guests - they're not picky eaters. But with their harmonious connection to the earth, they'll especially love Lucy Ash's creamy Curried Parsnip soup, her Moussaka, or her Spring Stew. Her Chocolate Charlotte will appeal to the soft, sensual side of the bull's nature.
Geminis have a more intellectual response to food. They like dishes that are fun and novel-and that can be easily rustled up in minutes. Lucy Ash would create an Asparagus Soufflé for this talkative and airy sign, and they'd love the slender curves of her Coffee-Hazelnut Charlotte for dessert.
Leos (Julia Child and Napoleon) are creative cooks, given to impressive, extravagant dishes with sweetly pungent flavours. Serve them Lucy Ash's Gingered Chicken with Apricots (a golden bird, the colour of Leo) and a choux Pastry Ring - soft and round, echoing the shape of the sun - with a Chocolate Sauce fit for kings.
Beginning with Aries, March 21 - the start of the astrological year - and ending with Pisces, Lucy Ash takes you through all twelve signs of the zodiac, with 240 glorious recipes for every course, astrological taste, and cooking temperament, in this superb, one-of-a-kind cook-book.


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MakersThere are no makers yet
You need to become a Contributor to join the discussion.
Kristofer™Hunter@kristofertm · #6 Hunter. Location-based data addict.
I love trying different hot sauces. I can see this being a hit for a few people in an office to go in on for their lunches. Some coupons listed on their website: 1) AMIGO for 10% off your first subscription order (coupon applies to renewals, as well!) 2) AMIGOS for $10 off your first subscription box 3) AMIGOZ for $5 off at our Hot Sauce Store
Ryan Williams@ryanstu89 · Food & Beverage Ops, Finance & Writing
Live this although I can only go through hot sauce so fast. Office share is a great idea!
Claudio Martins@claudiomartins · VP of Engineering (TapInfluence)
I got some of their hot sauces. Truly delicious. Definitely worth it.
David Carpe@passingnotes · Thinker & Layabout
if love a smaller version - maybe half the price but with tiny sample bottles
Justin MitchellPro@itsthisjustin · Keeping remote teams in sync @ Yac.Chat
I could swear this was already on PH, but this is by far my favorite thing i look forward every month. I get so excited when I see the shipment notification


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The current system of UAV laws in Australia is a patchwork of laws that does not cover privacy with UAVs very well according to their Serious Invasions of Privacy in the Digital Era report.
You can get the report here, in PDF, summary, or hard copy format.
According to ABC Rural, there needs to be a uniform series of privacy laws for UAVs across the country, to even out state and territory laws. A cattle group has come out in favor of the changes as they are worried about animal activists and other "unauthorized" uses of drones.
It will be interesting to see where these law changes go, as of now you can fly UAV as a hobby or for commerical purposes with a certificate from the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority.


text: This project is a reconstruction of the old Carrillo Hotel built in 1923. As the building required significant seismic upgrading, it was decided to remove it and build a new ninety-seven room boutique hotel. The building has been designed to be a landmark structure given its prominent location at a major getaway to the City of Santa Barbara. Its Andalucian style has been carried into the interiors, creating a sense of grand hotel reflecting the architectural heritage of early California.


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HBC caters for all ages and levels of rower.
Our current members range from the new youngsters who are now coming in age 10! all the way through to our highly experienced Masters at the other end of the scale nearing retirement.
The club has been growing in numbers since the high profile stimulus which was the London Olympics. We now have a Junior Squad in excess of 40 in number and our older Juniors have now moved on to row with the seniors.
The club is run entirely by volunteers and with our Junior sessions, Novice Senior sessions and a good social following it is a fun and lively place to be. We are actively looking to expand our novice seniors section so if you are interested in coming to give rowing a go just let us know. Take a look at the appropriate training times for your age and experience.
Whether you are young or old, experienced or novice, there is a place for you at HBC.
Come down and get a feel for the place!


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Ass Kicking Monday – Why Fearing This Will Keep You Poor!
While not all people feel uncomfortable by this, many do. The problem is the more you feel uncomfortable by it the less you will do it yourself and all successful people do this. So whether you like this or not, you will have to learn to become comfortable with it in order to become wealthy one day.


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$15.00 - On Sale
Let others know, that we in stand for the national anthem. #Respect #WeStand Antique royal blue tshirt, front design features BEFORE THE MOTORS START, WE STAND AND CROSS OUR HEARTS with pistons crossed. Back side has an bald eagle with wings out and a banner with WE STAND. Small - 2X $20, 3X - $22, 4x - 5X $25.


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LISTSERV Archives
AFRIK-IT Home
AFRIK-IT May 1999
Re: Jos Magic
Kathryn TOURE <[log in to unmask]>
African Network of IT Experts and Professionals (ANITEP) List
Mon, 3 May 1999 09:31:01 +0100
(86 lines)
-----Message d'origine-----
De : Jeff Cochrane <[log in to unmask]>
À : [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date : lundi 3 mai 1999 02:39
Objet : Jos Magic
Greetings Afrik-ITes!
Imagine a university computer laboratory with perhaps 30
workstations, fully networked via a fiber campus backbone with full
Intranet access plus Internet mail, requiring only a pipe to the Internet
for global Web access. Fill the room with undergraduate students
(yes!) working on term papers, spreadsheet assignments, and
multimedia experiments. A small cluster of students wait at the door
for their appointed time of access. A lab monitor tells those at the
workstations when their own time is up to make room for the
newcomers. A generator chugs in the background to keep things
I'm sure such undergraduate labs exist in many places in Africa, but
most of the ones I've seen are monopolized by faculty and perhaps a
few very senior graduate students. Many computers I've seen in
African universities spend most of their hours as what one American
staff member at Jos calls "virtual fish tanks," with colorful aquatic
screensavers occupying the CPUs in empty offices as their lecturers
are away in class.
Jos is not like that. I found Jos to be truly amazing.
I'm told the Vice Chancellor deserves full credit for committing funds
to purchase most of the equipment that I saw in the lab. Gateway
donated one of the servers I saw, which given its power is now fully
utilized as a multimedia production workstation. Cliff Missen, whom
many of you know from this forum, has transferred to Jos from his
home at the University of Iowa to help with some of the local
networking installations, and had a bit of influence over the decision
to park computers in an undergraduate lab rather than on professor
desks. Cliff also brought along a significant container of accompanied
baggage full of donated computers from Iowa. The US Information
Service and the Fulbright program made the exchange possible.
There is a competition on the Jos campus that has attracted quite a bit
of enthusiasm. The grand prize winner will have constructed the best
Web site. I saw clusters of enthusiastic students excitedly discussing
the latest twists in Shockwave animation and sound, and was shown
quite a few creative html applications. I'm fairly handy these days with
animated gifs, but I wouldn't dare venture to compete with these
Cliff tells me that young students arrive with no preconceptions about
what the Internet can or cannot do. His philosophy has been to
furnish students with the very best software and equipment, and then
to permit them the "face time" (time physically in front of a computer)
to learn and be creative. The foresight of the university's leadership in
investing in the necessary equipment and infrastructure, and the
foresight of the Nigerian government in making the funds available to
the university, has made it all possible.
A most impressive experiment.
Of course there is more to come. The Nigerian telecommunications
regulatory commission has been a bit slow in granting a license for a
VSAT, but funds are available for immediate installation once the
government gives the word. Everyone is hopeful that this will happen
soon. As was pointed out to me, if you search the Internet for
information on Jos, everything you'll likely find will have been written
by someone not in Nigeria. A VSAT would cure that problem in a
Jeff @ Abuja
SETA Corporation Senior Analyst
USAID/M/IRM/CIS: Program Technology Transfer
USAID/AFR/SD/PSGE: AfricaLink
[log in to unmask]
1325 G Street NW Suite 400
Washington, DC 20005 USA
Tel +1 (202) 219-0463
Fax +1 (202) 219-0518
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- 1 pound tomatoes on the vine
- 1/3 cup of Kalamata olives
- ½ of onion
- ½ cup cubed Greek feta
- salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of grape seed oil
- few sprinkles of grated Parmesan
- parsley (optional)
Wash and slice the tomatoes. Add half of the olives, the sliced onion, and the feta. Sprinkle with some salt to taste, but not much. The parmesan, the feta, and olives might provide sufficient salty taste. Add the 2 types of oil. Top it with parmesan and the rest of the kalamata olives. This serves 4.


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Out of My Head, Onto the Field
A Collection of Short Stories About Sports and Mental Health
Publisher Description
Over the last year, I discussed the impact sports and physical activity have had on various people. From close friends to athletes, in this book you will find personal stories and interviews about the positive impact physical activity can have on one's mental health. Hopeful it can help you get out of your head and onto the field.
While I share these stories for free, charities and associations can be found in the book that would appreciate donations or volunteers. Canadian Tire's JumpStart program is also an excellent way to pay it forward in your own community.


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Oatmeal Rim Shallow Medium Bowl
Oatmeal Rim Shallow Medium Bowl
Wheel-thrown and hand-formed from stoneware clay
White glossy body with speckled oatmeal rim
Approx. 5.5cm (h) x 21cm (w)
Dishwasher and microwave safe
Personalise your order: Get names and/or dates imprinted on your ceramics for only $8 per piece. Personalised orders are made to order and take 4-6 weeks. Please email email@example.com
Add To Cart


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Modesto, CA
Nashville LegacyTime : 3:00 PM Matinee
Venue : Gallo Center for the Arts
Address : 1000 I St, Modesto, CA 95354
Contact Website : http://www.modestocca.org
Jason Coleman and Meagan Taylor bring their "Nashville Legacy" to the Modesto Community Concert Association at the Gallo Center for the Arts!
MODESTO, CA — Jason Coleman and Meagan Taylor bring new life to the "Nashville Sound" pioneered by their legendary forerunners – Jason's grandfather Floyd Cramer and Meagan's uncle Chet Atkins – in this nostalgic concert, "Nashville Legacy." You'll hear Jason and Meagan perform songs like Floyd's "Last Date" on piano and Chet's "Freight Train" on guitar, as well as the music of Patsy Cline, the Everly Brothers and Elvis Presley, all of whose careers were impacted by Floyd and Chet.
Click BUY TICKET button for information on how to purchase tickets.


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Released: January 10, 2019
For sale, your location: Revelations about data sales
Source: Ben Popken, NBC News
Recent revelations about companies that traffic in personal location data — and how easy that information can be acquired for a few hundred dollars — have led to renewed calls for the regulation of the collection and sale of such data.
A mobile data industry executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity to protect confidential business relationships, told NBC News that while many cellphone companies sell real-time geolocation data to preferred partners, there are "dozens or more" of such companies buying data from the cellphone companies. Those companies in turn may repackage and resell it to "over a hundred" other companies.
Read Full Article: For sale, your location: Revelations about data sales