Slashdot Mirror

European history is in large part a story of invasion, conquest, and the resulting ethnic and sexual mixing. Some Jews may still hold to the myth that their ancestors managed to hold themselves aloof from all of this homogenizing, but this is to choose mythology over history. After all, if the myth of racial purity were true, modern European (and American and Australian and South African, etc.) Jews would look (and act) just like those Jews whose ancestors remained in the Middle East and never joined the Diaspora. But instead, those Middle Eastern Jews look and act very much like (surprise!) Arabs. I've been told (but never confirmed) that there are very old Jewish communities in the Orient whose members look quite Oriental. Then there are the Falashas of Ethiopa, Jews who claim to trace their ancestry directly back to the Jews of biblical Israel; they are quite black. Even the Levantine nose is not universal among European Jews. It is, on the other hand, common in the Levant, and not just among Levantine Jews.

nearly every Jew I've met is strongly in favor of the Jewish state. Maybe there is something to that.

"Consider how many years it took before American Jews gathered the nerve to criticize Israeli policies in the occupied territories. They were afraid of being labelled "Jewish anti-Semites," a wonderfully designed phrase - designed to make Jews who criticize their own people feel particularly guilty. And even now, a non-Jew who dares to criticize the policies of Israel or of any official Jewish body can expect to be attacked with the "anti-Semite" label. And it works. Who can forget the Six Million? Who can forget the Holocaust? (You can't, because we won't let you!) Criticize anything Jewish, and we'll link you to the Nazis. And you'll run for cover. If you write anti-religious essays, you probably already limit yourself to anti-Christian rhetoric and leave the Jews and their religion alone; that is to say, you avoid even the risk of being labelled an anti-Semite. Thus, the effectiveness of the label in stifling criticism is precisely why Jews are so overly quick to use it." -- David Dvorkin, "Why I Am Not a Jew"

Is saying that Jewish laws are probably based more in practical guides to avoiding ancient diseases rather than commandments from God anti-Semitic?

Aaargh. I've been on the publisher about that for months. Aaargh again.

If you want, please check out my father/coauthor's site, which has more information ... and a Harry Turtledove blurb.

Also, having looked at the guy's website and found his picture, it's no surprise he's unemployed. Look at him. The guy's a total ass-choad.

It is evident that he HAS spent a substantial amount of time over the years improving his skills, to the end that he has better (certainly broader, likely deeper) IT skills than 99% of Slashdot readers.

And his reward for this? He's too expensive. The "improve your skills" meme is not successful when facing offshore competition at 10% of the wage rate.

The skills he has to improve in order to stay employed are those that cannot be shipped offshore, like becoming a plumber or an electrician. Of course, this means he is required to throw away a career he has invested over 30 years in, along with all that vaunted training and experience.

I would like to think there is a case for a domestic IT industry, but until the dismal sciences recognize the benefits of a diverse local economy over a specialized global economy, all the arguments are going to be slanted towards cutting business expense by gutting the middle classes.

One of the major reasons Linux is so successful outside the US is that foreign governments recognize that it would be nice to have an IT industry of their own, one that does not send all the profits overseas. They're not switching to Linux to be better positioned to export IT jobs to India or China.

In case you're including Dvorkin in the unskilled group, you should know he has an MS in mathematics and once worked for NASA (among other sweet gigs).

It's too bad he puts that info at the bottom of his awful four page resume, under an avalanche of HR keywords.

Interesting article. But he's a little too positive about U.S. President George W. Bush. (As in, not negative enough.)

Another subject: Why does G.W.B always have a puzzled look on his face? Because he's puzzled.

Employers don't just want a list of programming languages and work history, they want to get a sense of who is applying.

damn, this guy is OBSSESSED! Check out the link at the bottom of the article page. I can totally agree with people wondering about the policies of the president, and even not liking him as a person, but insulting someone's daughters and his family is going a wee bit far... hard to agree with his "I'm a nice guy" comment after reading his list...