In the news:

The first article gives some interesting information on Yom Kippur:

Yom Kippur: Israel Stops and Reflects

Below are just a few highlights; there is much more in the article and it is a worthwhile read.

The highest of the High Holidays – Yom Kippur – is to begin on Friday night, and Jews around the world are completing their last preparations for the solemn day that ends the Ten Days of Penitence.

The prayers for Yom Kippur, which begin with the Kol Nidre prayer said at night, then take up most of the day, are replete with the various concepts of teshuvah, as well as acknowledgement of G-d’s goodness in affording mortals this opportunity to exonerate and improve themselves.

One of the dramatic prayers is a review of the High Priest's preparations and one time yearly entering the Holy of Holies in the Temple, during which the each member of the congregation prostrates himself before G-d.

The end of the fast is signaled by a dramatic, lone shofar-blast and the immediate singing of "Next year in rebuilt Jerusalem". In many Israeli synagogues, this is a signal for joyous dancing as the fast's end signals a lightening of spirits.

Another article (below) is worth reading in its entirety:

Palestinian UN Declaration Exposes Media's Agenda

The Palestinian Authority’s (PA) actions at the U.N. on September 23 have effectively ended the near-future possibility of a peaceful two-state solution between Israel and a Palestinian state.

Even if the U.S. doesn’t veto the Palestinian request for statehood, how would it be achieved through this process?

The only way, presumably, would be through war.

Israel certainly isn’t going to give up half of Jerusalem because the Palestinians claim it as their own. And there won’t be any so-called “right of return.” It would certainly harden the positions, and be a de facto end of any sort of peace process, which has largely been a charade anyway for the past two decades.

A few more facts that are worth noting:

These facts remain incontrovertible. Until 1967, Israel didn’t control the West Bank, Gaza or East Jerusalem, and yet the Arabs went to war against Israel three times—in 1948, 1956 and 1967. Israel offered statehood to the Palestinians three different times: in 2000, 2001 and 2008, each time rejected.

So why won’t they accept such an agreement today?

“Because saying yes would have required them to sign a final peace agreement that accepted a Jewish state on what they consider the Muslim patrimony.”

Gantz: Israel must always be war-ready

In a special holiday interview, IDF Chief Benny Gantz explains his operational doctrine, says military working tirelessly to ensure enemy forces never surprise Israel again

How Obama Got Around Congress Withholding $200 M In Aid To The "Palestinians"

A story in the UK Independent says that the US Congress showed its displeasure with the 'Palestinians' going unilaterally to the UN by withholding $200 million in aid that was supposed to be disbursed to Mahmoud Abbas' little fiefdom by the end of this fiscal year, which ended October 1st.

Obama Administration was aware for some time that the final $200 million might be withheld by Congress and informed the 'Palestinians' in advance. The Obama Administration promised the 'Palestinians' that they would do their best to head this off, but when they couldn't, an arrangement was made with the Saudis to make up the missing $200 million in advance.

A scant ten days ago, the Saudis gifted Mahmoud Abbas and the 'Palestinians' with the exact sum the US Congress was withholding from them...$200 million.

...it's almost guaranteed that the Saudis either received the money from the Obama Administration directly to give to the 'Palestinians' or more likely, that the Saudis supplied the cash in exchange for an American quid pro quo somewhere else down the line.

Lets take another peek at the Wall Street Protests:

Occupy Wall Street crowd failing to attract average people

For the moment lying about on mattresses, strumming guitars under starlit skies; lining up in the great outdoors for meals delivered during texting appeals to the starved sense of adventure for people with nothing

With media hounds like Code Pink and Greenpeace running the show, breakouts of internecine fighting among the hordes is all but inevitable.

So far fair weather and Mother Nature have smiled on Obama’s rag tag, sanitation challenged army.

A sudden change will send the disaffected youth back to Mama’s basement leaving the colonels of the army to fight amongst each other trying to prove who is most influential and powerful.

The Meaning of 'Occupy Wall Street.' The Confusion on the Left and the Right

The “Occupy Wall Street” protests have created a major problem for the Obama administration and the Democrats.

Undoubtedly, the occupation and protests have been encouraged by the constant refrain of the need to “tax the rich” and the calls to have “millionaires pay their fair share” that have come regularly from the White House.

Having heard the president and his team engage in regular rounds of class warfare, we should not be surprised when scores turn out and act like taking over public space with signs attacking the wealthy will somehow lead to a resolution of the very real problems facing our country.

And this; you have to love the obvious contradictions that are just too rich to ignore:

There are also many younger highly tech-savvy people. CNN’s Erin Burnett interviewed one unemployed software engineer, who, as she pointed out, was sitting with his laptop Apple computer and other varied products from the late Steve Jobs’ company.

Dan, who seems to be a nice young man, was asked by Burnett whether he included Apple among the corporations he was protesting. Surprised by the question, Dan answered that their “design is elegant.” Undoubtedly, he seems unaware that Apple trades at close to $400 a share on the very stock market he is protesting.

Marxism versus the Middle Class

Obama's out there waving around one of the richest men in the world (Warren Buffet) in his attempt to sell average Americans on his "millionaire's tax."

But the real focus should be how it is going to affect those at the bottom. Obama and his surrogates have been floating the idea of 250K or 200K as the possible cutoff. Now, it should be pointed out that there is nothing stopping them from making the cutoff as low as 150K or 100K -- we're still in the idea phase, after all.

The bottom line is that the middle class will be hurt by this tax scheme more than any other group will. The lower class won't be hammered by these rates. The upper class has armies of accountants to protect their assets.

And this is how Marx wanted it.

Marx's idea has often been called a "classless society," but this characterization constitutes one of the biggest myths in modern history.

What Marx wanted was a return to the "natural order" -- a medieval society where there is a ruling upper class that owns all the property and makes all the decisions while the lower peasant class does all the menial labor.

And this quote provides the "bottom line":

Guess which class Buffet, Obama, King, and Edwards are going to be in and which class the rest of us will be pushed into.

Marxism's bad history will also be ignored.

Why is it that despite fifty years of gentle Communist guidance, most people in Cuba dwell in horrid conditions?

Why is it that after ten years of feel-good fanfare and hype, there is still an impoverished population in Venezuela?

Hollywood types love to tell us everything is great in these nations. Everything probably does look great from the five-star hotels in ritzy tourist areas or from the sections where the government-appointed tour guide decides to escort such people.

A Second Open Letter to the So-Called '99%'

The fact is, indebted students like the man above and the ones who are still posting their pictures at the “We Are the 99 Percent” site have been scammed. That much is true.

Or rather, they bought into a scam and are now reaping their reward. The scam wasn’t perpetrated by the corporations, and not by the banks, but by the educational establishment that keeps coming up with ever more irrelevant degree programs to keep more and more professors tenured and insulated from the real world.

The benefit to students and to the future of the nation isn’t even close to being an afterthought in most of the ivory tower.

Also see this very interesting and insightful article:

Occupy Wall Street: Who Wants to Hijack the Movement