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If he is so stringent with regard to shomer negiah, what was he doing on a bus in the first place? What if the bus had arrived at his stop while it was still crowded with women? Would he have pushed past them in order to get off or waited until the crowd thinned, by which time he would have to take another bus in the other direction?
“everyone paskens with R’Eliezer” Sorry, but that is simply incorrect.
“I’m glad you partially admitted to utilizing others [sic] research without attribution” Fine, next time I will provide the exact link. It doesn’t seem to bother you when others here post articles taken verbatim from a source without giving attribution.
rabbiofberlin, thanks for the kind words. The research is partially, but not entirely, my own. They are, however, entirely my own words in terms of phrasing. (And you’re right about the Talmud Yerushalmi, that bit I never learned myself!) Looking through the sources I posted, I would say that I personally learned about half of them, which I think is pretty good, though I wish I had had time to go through everything. (And there were additional sources that I learned and sources that I did not learn that I just didn’t add to the post because it was already getting too long. Instead of listing every source I had learned and ignoring those I hadn’t, I chose the ones that I felt were most relevant and compelling.) I first learned many of these sources about two years ago when I spent a great deal of time, both in school and independently, researching this exact topic. We had a unit about it in school, and since the topic was close to home, I took it as a jumping-off point and continued to do independent research after the papers and tests were graded and we had moved on to the next subject. Many of the girls in my class felt that the unit was pointless (“Well OBVIOUSLY we’re allowed to learn Gemara, otherwise what are we doing in this class???”) but I really enjoyed delving into the source material. This thread compelled me to go back and revisit many of the sources I hadn’t looked at in two years, so Joseph, you should know that a woman undertook Gemara study on your account!
Will Hill, I respect your opinion and R’ Eliezer is just as venerated as Ben Azzai. I also see that you would think it hypocritical to discuss the sugyas with me in depth, and I respect that as well. However, I must tell you that I am insulted that you assumed that I had not learned any of the mekorot I posted on my own but rather pulled them from a database. As you see above, I did learn some of them, but no matter. Whether you thought me incapable of such sophisticated study or simply could not conceive of the idea of a woman learning Gemara in this way, I don’t know. Just try to be a little more considerate next time.
What could possibly be inappropriate about women driving? I am not disagreeing here to disagree, I literally DO NOT UNDERSTAND what the issue is. It makes no sense to me.
What’s next? Should women sit in their houses with the curtains drawn all day since after all “kol kevudah bas melech penima”???
I read Eats, Shoots and Leaves; I have a paperback copy sitting on my bookshelf back in America. It’s a great book; highly entertaining as well as informative.
labochur, I have learned Bereshit and spent a good deal of time on the “ezer k’negdo” portion. I’m not sure why you mention this pasuk- do you think this is a proof that man is nothing without woman, or the other way around? Either way, I don’t think it holds much water. “Lo tov” is not the same thing as saying “man will be nothing alone.” I am a feminist, but that does not mean c’v that I think women are better than men (as some people assume; I don’t know where these misconceptions about feminism originate!) So I’m not a fan of people who turn it around and say “man needs woman, man is nothing without woman, women do all the work and men take the credit.” On the contrary, I believe that both men and women are necessary in this world to balance each other out (hence the ezer k’negdo.) I have heard all these quotations before, like “behind every great man is a great woman” but my problem with this is that it puts women very much behind the scenes and also belittles men’s accomplishments, neither of which I would ever want to insinuate. Actually, there are certain streams of radical feminism which actually believe the world would be a better place without men; they just haven’t figured out how to eliminate the troublesome issue of procreation! I categorically distance myself from these radical feminists and would never want to be associated with them or their belief systems.
“joseph: you are wrong.”
“mariner, You are wrong”
That type of talk is not going to get us anywhere and is just childish.
Joseph, as has already been said, just because something is legal does not mean it is morally right. Unfortunately, I believe you are correct when you say that the kollel guys will “continue to accept every dollar in available food stamps.” We do need a certain percentage of Klal Yisrael to be engaged in full-time learning, but a) not every bochur out there should just jump on the bandwagon, and b) Goldman Sachs analysts are productive, just in a different way than kollel guys. Doubtless the latter is a much more fulfilling way to spend one’s time, but there simply aren’t enough resources for everyone to do it. Therefore, if one has the brains and the patience to be a Goldman Sachs analyst, by all means do that and don’t go to kollel- but if you are really dedicated to the cause, donate a good portion of that 600k to the kollel guys. Just as women receive merit and are rewarded for enabling and encouraging their husbands and sons to learn, so too are donors who provide the financial means for this learning to happen. So, spiritually, it’s a win-win all around.
No, but I do own an iPod touch, which has the same applications as the iPhone. In terms of apps, I would recommend it, although I don’t know anything about the other features of the iPhone. There are a good number of free apps and many of those that cost money have a free version that has limited features; you can try it to see if you want to purchase it. My favorite application is 2 Across. I downloaded the free version first and then decided to pay the $10 for the full version. It was so worth it; I get access to tons of crossword puzzles from different newspapers, including one featured NYT puzzle every week (and everyone knows those are the best!) The app is easy to use and I actually find that I get more answers on the app than I do writing on real crosswords from the paper since it’s much easier to write and erase- plus you can check your answers to see if they’re right, and a little red X will show up if you got a letter wrong. I’ll stop raving now; I’m just a crossword fan 🙂 Anyway, apps in general are great. Can’t speak for other features of the iPhone.
Oh, come on, I don’t think anyone believes that Dr. Pepper knew that by heart. He got it from the Internet, probably, or a textbook. I know some people who have memorized a good number of the digits of pi, but no one I know is crazy enough to memorize more than the first hundred digits (and, in my opinion, that’s already pretty crazy!)
Oh, and one more thing.
“A true feminist till the end!”
Yep, and proud of it, noitallmr. 🙂
“it doesnt taste the same and it doesnt cost the same”
Produce that has traveled hundreds or even thousands of miles will have to be sprayed with some kind of preservative. If you grew up eating this stuff, the taste of an all-natural, organic fruit that was not exposed to pesticides and got to your table only a couple of days after being picked will be strange at first. Since coming to Israel, I’ve noticed that I eat a lot more salad. At first, I was unnerved by the taste of the produce, because it was just so different- but in a good way! Because everything here is grown locally and in season, not frozen (how else can you get strawberries in midwinter??) it is so much fresher and juicier, and I don’t know how I’ll ever go back to the bland stuff in the US!
Organic farmers need to pay extra to the government in order to receive certification, so this naturally raises the price of the produce slightly. Also, the market for organically grown food is still small, although it’s growing at an exponential rate. As the demand increases, more farmers will switch over to organic, and then the prices will likely go down as organic produce becomes widely accepted, not feared and scorned.
“The Rambam lived in a time and place were [sic] wife beating was common and even condoned”
So here we attribute this to the society in which the Rambam lived, yet on other subjects, like women learning Gemara, the very suggestion that poskim who frown upon or outright prohibit it are a product of their times is “insulting and bordering on heresy.”
Inconsistent much?
Because, despite what some people here have said, I believe that there is NO inherent contradiction in being an observant Jewish feminist. And because my birthday is February 2nd (02/02).
I am a critical reader and I wouldn’t have written the $21 figure if it hadn’t been substantiated from numerous sources. I’ve done my homework. Joseph, if you’re going to call the Washington Post and New York Times “rags” then I wonder what you read. Is a federal source good enough for you? (By the way, these newspapers get their information from Reuters and the Associated Press, which are also highly reputable. Journalistic bias is inescapable, but you highly exaggerate it.)
http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/faqs.htm
Since the passage of the Farm Bill, benefits have risen slightly, so you’ll see if you scroll down the page that the average benefit is now $24 per week as opposed to $21. Still, I can’t imagine living on that amount and I don’t think anyone should call it easy until you try it. Again, benefits will vary depending on the situation. I believe the minimum benefit is just $14 while the maximum can be as much as $176. So, head, I’m not surprised that you know people getting more than the average benefit. Also, these are national figures; the statewide figures differ. For example, the average food stamp benefit is Massachusetts is lower than the nationwide average benefit. Maybe in New York it’s higher.
ICOT:
14) communiCATion
15) copyCAT
17) intriCATe
18) dupliCATe
20) purifiCATion
24) unsCAThed
The rest have me stumped.
Okay, you got me- but notice I asked a simple, polite question instead of going off on a rant.
Nearly anything one says can lead to lashon hara. Are you advocating a complete Ta’anit Dibur?
I’m a vegetarian, but I still remember the taste of meat, and I don’t feel that I’m missing out on anything. The Gemara says that for every nonkosher animal, there is a kosher animal that tastes just like it. Well, I think that for every kosher animal, there is a vegetarian food that tastes just like it. Granted, certain brands of “fake” meat are clear losers, but if you know where to look, you can find the right stuff. It does taste like real meat.
head, “some newspaper” is the Washington Post. If you don’t trust their standards (and it is one of the most respected and well-known newspapers out there!) I don’t know whose you will.
Food stamp benefits vary depending on the size of the family and their assets (any savings they have in the bank as well as income of any kind automatically lowers the amount of food stamp benefits for which they are eligible.) However, the average American family living on food stamps receives $21/week.
The minimum benefits of the food stamp program have not been raised since the mid-70s despite inflation. $21 may have been sufficient for a week’s worth of groceries in 1975, but it isn’t in 2008. Maybe it’s “easy” to live on $21 if you have access to newspapers that advertise sales and a car to drive to the stores that feature them. But citizens who are poor enough to be eligible for food stamps don’t have any of that. They can’t get coupons and often are restricted to one or two grocery stores that are walking distance from where they live, so comparison shopping is not really an option.
Shtark, where does that quote come from?
Whole wheat, organic and all-natural foods are nearly always better tasting than their preservative-laden, waxy counterparts. Do you really want to eat a piece of fruit that has been sprayed with chemicals and then sat in a truck for thousands of miles before it got to your table?
And how about we give the bochurim’s wives a break? The men should realize that they do not live in a full-service restaurant and appreciate all the work their wives do to keep the house clean and have a hot meal waiting for them when they come home.
Shtark, have you ever eaten whole wheat and organic food? On how many occasions?
Joseph, your sources are incomplete. You quoted R’ Eliezer’s opinion from Sotah, but left out Ben Azzai’s. Ben Azzai states that a man is required to teach his daughter Torah She’Baal Peh.
The issue is not as clear-cut as you make it out to be. Even the Rambam, who seems to deal harshly with women who learn Torah She’Baal Peh, states that they will receive a reward for their learning (albeit less than a man’s reward.) Where do you ever see someone receive a reward for something that is prohibited? That is completely counter-intuitive, and the only logical answer is that the Rambam did not issue an actual prohibition. In fact, the Perisha suggests that the Rambam was against women being taught Torah She’Baal Peh by their fathers, not women learning it independently. (This is in the majority of cases- the Perisha states that tiflut does not apply for a grown woman who has demonstrated herself to be more grounded than most women. Such a serious-minded woman who deviates from the “rov hanashim” to which Rambam refers may be taught Torah She’Baal Peh even by her father.)
R’ Mayer Twersky concurs, stating that in the case of women who learn Torah She’Baal Peh from their fathers, a problem arises because the Torah is “imposed upon women. Study which is not self-initiated is especially vulnerable to inadvertent distortion and frivolous trivialization.” It is exactly this type of “frivolous trivialization” to which the Rambam objects, and R’ Twersky suggests that self-initiated study does away with the problem. (Also note that the Rambam makes no mention of prohibiting women to be taught by men who are not their fathers.)
This view is also consistent with the Talmud Yerushalmi, which states (Ketuvot 2:10) that one should not teach Torah to a slave, but he is permitted to learn on his own. (Women are often grouped with slaves and minors in halachic matters.) In Succah 2:1, we see that the slave Tavi was even allowed to sit underneath the table in the succah and listen to the Sages discussing Torah. Therefore, women may be present while men learn and can absorb material in this passive way.
The Sefer Ma’ayan Ganim makes an important distinction about the sugya in Sotah:
“What was said in Sotah 20a, ‘anyone who teaches his daughter Torah is as if he has taught her tiflut’, perhaps applied when the father taught her when she was a child…However, women whose hearts prompt them to approach the labor of Hashem through conscious choice of the good- it is incumbent on the scholars of their generation to praise and cherish them, to organize and strengthen them.”
Also, see Nedarim 35b, where the case is given of a man who has sworn not to receive benefit from another. This “other” is forbidden to teach him Torah, as this would constitute benefit, but is permitted to teach Torah to his sons and daughters.
Finally, let’s look at the Rambam’s wording. “Tzivu hachachamim,” he writes- the Sages commanded. Everywhere in the Mishneh Torah where this wording is used, it does not constitute an actual issur v’heter, but connotes a general exhortation of what the Rambam believes to be desirable behavior. Never in the Rambam’s writing does “tzivu hachachamim” precede an actual statement of halacha. (Also note that R’ Eliezer’s wording does not constitute an actual prohibition either!)
Even if you hold by the opinions that do prohibit women from learning Torah She’Baal Peh, the Talmud may not fall into this category. The Rosh rules that it is a positive commandment to write Sifrei Torah as well as Mishnah, Gemara, and books of Rashi commentary. (There is disagreement on whether or not this still applies to Sifrei Torah- but all agree that it applies to the other books.) How can this be so, since it says in Gittin 60b that it is forbidden to transcribe the oral tradition? It must be that when the Talmud was written down, it acquired the status of Torah She’Bichtav and ceased to exist as Torah She’Baal Peh. Therefore, men who teach their daughters Talmud are not teaching them tiflut.
“according to the jewish law a ladys (sic) knees are not allowed to show at all.”
This is the problem I have with the common understanding of tznius. Nowhere does it say in the Torah that a woman is required to keep her knees, elbows, and collarbone covered. Obviously, men and women must both ensure that we dress modestly and do not attract attention to our bodies, but the standards that I see used today by some go so far beyond what is really necessary. I don’t see a problem with either skirt in the example above, and outside of certain communities where men are used to seeing women completely covered up, I don’t think the average man would get excited by the sight of an uncovered knee.
“it is easier to live on MOFES (Medicaid, welfare, food stamps & Section 8/HUD) and not pay tuition, get breaks on food, etc. since you are in Klei Kodesh than having to pay tuition, and have to work for your food (the curse of Adam).”
It may be easier in terms of what one is physically doing, going out to work vs. sitting and learning, but it is particularly difficult to “live” on the meager handouts the government gives, especially for large families (as is often the case with those who choose to learn in kollel.) Those subsisting on food stamps receive only $21 per week, or a dollar per meal. Can you imagine purchasing a week’s worth of groceries for $21? (And frum families don’t have the option of taking advantage of McDonalds’ Dollar Menu!)
In the past year, countless lawmakers as well as ordinary Americans have taken the Food Stamp Challenge, which is to step into the shoes of those living in the poorest sectors of American society and live on $21 for one week. If you Google “food stamp challenge” you can find dozens of blogs about how difficult (and eye-opening!) the experience was. I read one blog by a frum woman who said that she couldn’t afford to have Shabbos guests for that week because the budget was so tight. Here’s an article about the challenge from the Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/21/AR2007052101349.html
For thousands of Americans, this is daily reality because they cannot find jobs or cannot work for whatever reason. I don’t understand why anyone who is capable of working would choose instead to take this route.
When you say “before” the knee, do you mean above or below?
Havesomeseichel, by that logic, you seem to be endorsing suicide. Shouldn’t you have the right to kill yourself as long as no one else is harmed? But what about the family, friends, co-workers etc. you leave behind, who will grieve for you?
If you want to “poison yourself” with unsafe bullets and are not concerned for your own well-being, think about your loved ones who would certainly want you to take care of yourself. If you won’t take the necessary precautions for your own sake, do it for theirs.
intellegent,
I thought somebody might say that. Look, men and women are different; I’m not contesting that. But it’s a big leap to make from “different” to “unequal”. Marriage should be an equal partnership. Even if the man and woman have different roles (which, as you said, is not always the case) they are still equally important.
Some meat substitutes that are just as tasty and much less expensive, not to mention healthier:
Tofu
Tempeh
Seitan (warning: not for those with gluten allergies)
Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP)
Morningstar Farms and Garden Gourmet are two kosher brands that make delicious pseudo-meats. You can find their “schnitzel”, “hamburger”, and “sausage” products etc in the frozen foods section of any supermarket.
I am trying to convey that the bakery example is really not so different than the Facebook example. Yet the bakery example is laughed at while the Facebook example is taken seriously. Why is that?
There are many “kosher groups” on Facebook which do give a person the opportunity to come “closer to Gan Eden.” I have seen groups entitled “please say tehillim for so-and-so”. There is also a group called “Debating Judaism” which is essentially exactly like this Coffee Room, but with a greater variety of opinions represented.
Yes, there was a long discussion about it, and it was closed (for a reason!) Let’s keep to the topic at hand and not restart that controversy.
Assuming that the boy in question is not opposed to women learning Gemara, it depends if she is clearly trying to show off for him or genuinely loves to learn. If the former, she needs to learn to relax and present a true picture of who she is. If the latter, he needs to appreciate that this is a part of her personality. Maybe he’s not looking for a “chavrusah”, in which case he does not have to keep dating the girl. But there are plenty of boys out there who will see the beauty in what she is doing and like her all the more for it.
My father z”l was a baal teshuvah. He met my mother shortly after becoming religious and did not know a lot about Judaism. Since my maternal grandfather z”l was an Orthodox rabbi, my mother was knowledgeable enough to help my father with his learning (starting with teaching him to read Hebrew!) She told me once that when one of her friends from seminary heard what she was doing, the girl said to my mother, “I don’t know about this. I think the guy is supposed to know more than the girl.” I think a good portion of the “shidduch crisis” stems from this type of attitude. Why is it that the men need to be older, taller, smarter than the women? It’s like the pattern of male dominance is set up right from the start, so that there is no chance of the two being equal partners in a marriage.
No doubt I will get all sorts of anti-feminist responses to this calling me names and declaring my views heretical, but I couldn’t hold back. This issue touches a personal nerve.
“Go compare a bakery, which we need for daily living, to Facebook- something we don’t need but only want.”
So maybe a man should always send his wife to the bakery instead of going himself. Or maybe all bread and baked goods should be made from scratch.
“Since these stories generally do not occur in bakeries, it is considered ok to enter a bakery.”
But you can never have too many fences, right?
(In case it’s not clear: I’m playing devil’s advocate, not making serious suggestions.)
Shkoyach mentioned that there are no legal parking spaces within a 5 block radius.
So, Joseph, I think what yoshi meant is to park 6+ blocks away and then walk the rest of the way.
Yashrus20, I really don’t appreciate being called a pig (and that’s quite an understatement. I hold back from using stronger language to express my hurt and disappointment because I for one don’t wish to offend anyone.)
Nobody is advocating marrying a girl just because one feels sorry for her. It doesn’t do anyone any favors to build a marriage based on pity when there is no attraction or love. (Yes, both need to be present in order for a marriage to work.)
I am no authority on the shidduch scene and cannot say with any level of credibility what is causing the “crisis”. (Neither can anyone else on this forum; I would wager that no one here is a shadchan or they would have spoken up by now.) Nevertheless, I do see a lot of shallowness in what many, though certainly not all, bochurim are looking for, and as has been said before, the girls have a similar issue. It bears repeating that many of the girls who are rejected out of hand because of their weight are not in fact obese or unhealthy, but simply do not match up to whatever unrealistic standard the boys want, be it size two or four or whatever the case is.
Girls who are at healthy weights for their body type (everyone is different, so it’s impossible to impose a uniform standard) should not be expected to lose weight in order to get a shidduch. I say this not out of spite, but out of concern for the girls’ well-being, not to mention self-esteem. A girl who tries to completely change herself around to please a mate (this can apply to weight as well as personality, habits, likes and dislikes) will find herself in a failed marriage. She will be unhappy because she is forcing herself to go against her nature, and he will be unhappy because he will eventually discover that his marriage is based on a lie and that his wife is not the person he thought she was. This, of course, is an extreme example, but it does happen.
I don’t know where you get this idea that Bais Yaakov girls are better looking that modern girls. I have heard many people say the opposite, but having been exposed to both groups, I don’t think there is a general difference. Each girl is an individual and so should be looked at subjectively. There are attractive Bais Yaakov girls and unattractive Bais Yaakov girls, just as there are attractive modern girls and unattractive modern girls. Mind you, attractiveness itself is subjective, so a girl might be attractive to one bochur and not to another. I overheard a conversation just this morning between two men on a bus discussing the attractiveness of Israeli girls as opposed to American girls. They each had completely opposite viewpoints.
Upromise is a great website that has lots of coupons and discounts.
Wait a second, let’s be dan l’kaf zechut here. There are a few different ways to look at the situation. Since you were only passing by and saw through the window some boys whom you don’t know personally, there could be a lot more that you don’t know that would explain what you saw. Here are two possibilities: (Obviously I have taken two extremes and there are infinite in-between possibilities, but this should give the general idea)
1. They are under the age of 21 and are in the bar illegally. They attend yeshiva because their parents force them to but do not feel a real connection to Judaism; therefore, on this particular night, they have chosen to blow off classes and have left the yeshiva without asking permission from the rosh yeshiva. They are in the bar with the express intention of getting drunk and their conversation revolves around women.
2. They are over the age of 21 and are in the bar legally. They are respectable bochurim from good family backgrounds and are an asset to their yeshiva. On this particular night, one of them has just come back from a shidduch date with the news that he is engaged to be married. Overjoyed for him, his friends decide to go into the bar and make a l’chayim. They have double-checked the brand name of the alcohol with their Rav to ensure that it is kosher, and they are not missing any classes by sitting in the bar.
No doubt you will say that the second situation is highly unlikely. However, so is the first one, and it is our responsibility to assume the second situation since we really do not have very many facts.
“People like you and I, though mortal of course, like everyone else, do not grow old no matter how long we live. What I mean is that we never cease to stand like curious children before the great Mystery into which we were born.”
-Albert Einstein (excerpted from a letter he wrote to Otto Juliusberger in 1942)
According to Jewish law, she has been an adult for a year already. I’m not saying that you should treat her the same way you would treat a twenty-year-old, but just remember that even though she will always be your child, she is already well past the midpoint of her childhood and is steadily gaining in her ability to make decisions on her own and exercise her own judgment. I have a thirteen-year-old brother, and sometimes I have to consciously remind myself that he’s not a little kid anymore. I know it can be hard to acknowledge that children outgrow childhood, because he’ll always be “my little brother”, but at the same time he amazes me with his intelligence and maturity.
I can’t imagine what could possibly be in Yated that would be inappropriate for a thirteen-year-old. Nevertheless, if you are uncomfortable with her reading it, you have the right to take away that privilege. Just do her the courtesy of explaining in a rational way why you do not want her to read it. If she can understand what exactly is so objectionable about the content, she will be less likely to seek it out elsewhere, away from your watchful eye.
Noitallmr: A teacher!
“Halachah IS right and wrong.”
Yet I think we would all agree that there are plenty of things one could do that would be *technically* within the letter of the halacha but would nevertheless violate it in spirit. For example, it would be technically halachically permissible to leave a TV on before Shabbos in order to watch it after Shabbos starts (this is assuming one already owns a TV and watches it during the week; let’s not get into the TV discussion here.) But doing this would without question be wrong for a person who is Shomer Shabbos. I remember asking my fourth-grade teacher this question, and I’ll never forget her answer: “Well, you certainly could, but the question is whether or not you should.”
Teenager, if you are a sophomore in college, how are you still a teenager? Or is your username a misnomer?
David Bar-Magen:
I’ve been there.
There’s a wonderful article in the Jewish Press about Facebook. Here’s the link:
http://www.jewishpress.com/pageroute.do/37077/
(The widowed high school friend she mentions in the article is my mother.)
No, it can’t be healthy, but just look how filled the Torah is with such relationships. We have Lot and his daughters, Chava and her sons, etc. Before the world population was large enough to allow for genetic variability, there simply was no other choice but to marry one’s close relatives.
I think Reuven and Chaim might feel out of place at a U2 concert…if you had left the names as Adam and Larry, then it might work 🙂
I don’t have access to a Gemara right now, so I can’t look up the Rashi on Pesachim, but here’s my guess. The man’s parents each had children from previous marriages who later married each other. Thus, the couple are each his (half) siblings but they are halachically allowed to marry since they aren’t blood related to each other.
I don’t believe she said anywhere that they “require” it.
How on earth did the comment “keep pounding him” (even if it was later retracted) appear in the very topic dealing with keeping a respectful tone of discussion?
I don’t understand the practicalities of the sources that say that a woman is required to cover her hair even within her own home. Is she supposed to keep it covered while bathing? Sleeping? What if she is alone in the house with her husband? Isn’t it supposed to be “reserved” for him, or may he only see it while they are actually having relations?
Joseph, as I have said, I’ve done ample research on Wal-Mart and examined the corporation from EVERY angle. This means I’ve looked at pro- as well as anti- Wal-Mart sources. Those two websites happened to pop into my head as I was writing my response because they are two of the most comprehensive and informative websites out there. They may be funded by unions, but the information available on the sites deals with other issues at Wal-Mart as well (and believe me, there are plenty!) I haven’t been “parroting” information from those sites; in fact, I didn’t even look at them for confirmation before posting my reply. (You see that I quoted the NYT and not either of those websites.)
I don’t see how an observant Jew or any ethical individual can shop at Wal-Mart. Not all of what they do is illegal (although a great deal of it is!) but regardless of what American, Canadian or other law says, it’s categorically wrong. Yes, they’ve made a great success for themselves- at the expense of their store employees, overseas workers, and often even their customers.
There’s a very fine distinction in the judge’s ruling which I think you may have overlooked. True, Wal-Mart had the right to close the meat-cutting department, but only if they met certain conditions (which they did not.) The corporation did not have the right to stam close it without negotiating with the workers, and they broke the law in doing so. That’s why the judge ordered them to reopen the department until they had fulfilled these conditions.
(P.S. It seems that you and I view this forum differently. I never think of it as “fast-paced” because I only post when I have the time to sit down and read through the replies slowly before writing my own well thought out response. I suppose others here just dash off replies, but that’s not the way I do it. As I said in another topic, correct spelling and grammar shows that some careful thought went into a post and that it was read through at least once before the writer pressed the Send button. It’s just proper stylistic form to write (sic) when quoting a grammatically incorrect sentence to show that the mistake was made by the original writer and not the quoter.)
MySpace also has much more lax security measures than Facebook.
I assume the New York Times is a good enough source for you?
“If its (sic) within their legal rights to close a store, before or after unionization, I say go for it.”
That’s exactly the point, that in the Quebec example, it most certainly was NOT within their legal rights.
I really hope your penultimate statement was not meant as an accusation of plagiarism.
Feivel, I suppose technically “I am a liar” could work, but it doesn’t fit as neatly as the other answer. If you subject all answers to the test of “its truth value cannot possibly be determined” then you essentially create a whole host of potential answers. Why couldn’t the soldier have said “My father’s name is Daniel?” The enemy has no idea what his father’s name is, so he can’t evaluate the truth of the statement. Perhaps this is a weakness in the riddle itself. (I didn’t write it; different versions can be found online.)
Squeak, I don’t think the answer could be 27. That’s why I originally said 31, because I was assuming that the snail climbed 1 foot a day, but on the 30th day he still would not be “out of the hole” yet; it would take him another day to get onto solid ground. If he climbs 3 feet a day, that means he climbs 3 feet a day and no more, not even the few inches that he would need in order to climb over the lip.