Focusing on Other Things
Well, it’s all but official. We’re heading to another lockdown by next week. Will I be davening at home or with a minyan is still up in the air. But, it seems certain, that at least I’ll get to enjoy my Sukkos--in my Sukkah.
Of course, nobody is happy about this. But of course, everybody has themselves to blame. The government, for opening up so quickly, having silly rules, silly counting mechanisms for the sick, not enforcing the real rules, empty threats, etc., and the people, for not being careful. You have mass anti-Netenyahu protests, mass weddings in the religious world, full bars and pubs, people not being careful with masks. And now, we all have to go to lockdown which will cause tremendous financial hardships for many people.
It’s an important lesson. Don’t think that your actions affect only yourself.
Okay…on to more positive things.
There's a famous Gemara regarding Rebbe Elazar ben Shimon, who once met a very ugly man. As he passed him, he asked him, "Are all people in your city as ugly as you?" To which the man replied, "Go and complain to the one who made me." At that point, Rebbe Elazar begged the man for forgiveness.
It's a very strange Gemara. We're not speaking of some regular person with bad middos. We're speaking of the son of Rebbe Shimon bar Yochai. Obviously, something deeper is going on.
Rav Meir of Premishlan gave his own interpretation of this Gemara. When Rebbe Elazar passed this man, the man was in the middle of davening. And throughout his davening, his face was contorted, and he was making strange gestures with his body. Rebbe Elazar did not approve of this, since this is not how you speak to the King. He therefore reprimanded him for his conduct. When the man told Rebbe Elazar to speak to "his Creator" about it, he was "putting blame" on Hashem. And for what?
This man suffered with all sorts of thoughts throughout his davening. No matter how much he tried to concentrate, his mind would automatically carry him somewhere else. When he was fighting these thoughts, his face and body would contort in strange ways. Therefore he said to Rebbe Elazar, "You were born to holy parents and were raised in a holy environment, so you have no problems davening with pure thoughts. I, however, was not born in such a situation. Therefore, I'm plagued with these terrible thoughts throughout my davening, and each time I daven, I need to fight them with all my strength. So, go speak to your Creator…He made me this way."
Rav Yaakov Meir Schecter writes that we learn two things from here which are important to remember, especially during the next few weeks in which we increase our davening. The first is that unwanted thoughts in davening are not necessarily your fault. When you have issues with focusing, you don't have to be down on yourself. You were given a certain mental capacity (to concentrate) and a certain soul. You can only work with what you have.
Rav Schecter continues to explain that while the person was right in that regard, Rebbe Elazar was right as well. This person was fighting these thoughts with "frontal assaults," doing his best to keep these thoughts out of his davening. But this is not necessarily the right approach.
It's known that a person can only think of one thing at a time. Yes, he can switch between thoughts, but he cannot think of two subjects at the same time. Therefore, instead of fighting to rid oneself of these thoughts during davening, or bad or depressing thoughts at any time, one should "simply" try to focus on another thought.
Regarding bad thoughts in the street, he should focus on something pure, like Torah, or at least something neutral or pleasing, like a funny story you heard, maybe something from work, or set your mind on something else that you can focus on. (Where I live, which is mainly secular, many women suffer allergic reactions to clothes on their bodies in the summer. “Thankfully,” there are many dog owners as well, who let their dogs go wherever they wish. One member of the Kollel remarked that we need to be thankful for all the “treats” that the dogs leave in the middle of the street, so we’re so focused on where we are walking that we are forced not to look up at other things.)
With davening, the best suggestion is to simply put your finger on the words in the siddur and say each word, one at a time, focusing just on the simple meaning of the words themselves.
By fighting the Yetzer Horah front-on, you are rarely going to win. He needs to be pushed off to the side. By focusing on the simple meaning of each word, one can slowly build himself up to concentrate more and more in his davening, and to push evil or depressing thoughts out on the street.
Our Actions Have Consequences
With possible chemical attacks in the horizon, my wife and I did our inventory of gas masks and discussed the idea of making sure the kids are comfortable in them. We saw a video on the Homefront Command on how to unpack and put them on. However, two things really bothered me about it: 1) It told us that we are NOT to open up our kits unless needed and 2) Given our location to the launch sites, we have 30 seconds from the launch time (or detection time, I’m not clear on that) to unpack, put together, and put on all the masks for the entire family.
That didn’t make me feel good.
I’m also wondering how the mask will work with my beard?
Oh well… I hope not to have to find out.
“And all the nations will say, ‘Why did Hashem do this to this land?’” (Devarim 29:23)
I saw an interesting quote from Rav Schach concerning this pasuk, which is extremely relevant to the current military and political situation in Israel.
Moshe warned us that even the non-Jews, after seeing the destruction of Eretz Yisroel, are going to wonder how is it that the Jewish nation deserved such a level of destruction. The next pasuk answers such a question: “Because they abandoned the covenant of Hashem, G-d of their fathers that He made with them when He took them out of the land of Egypt”.
No other nation in the world has ever enjoyed a covenant with G-d, Himself. History has proven the existence of this covenant over and over again. It’s bad enough when a person breaks his covenant with another person, but do so, with Hashem?
In our world, when a person, as an individual sins, he is listening to his Yetzer Horah, and the result is between himself and Hashem. However, when a community as a whole, decides to work against Hashem, THAT is a break in the covenant.
There is a man in charge of his country’s military assets only 60km from where I live (17 km, if you count Lebanon), who has shown the world that he has no problems using chemical weapons. He’s threatening to use these weapons on us if he himself is attacked by the United States (makes sense, no?). All this is coming on the heel of a major blow that this current government has given the Torah world in terms of budget cuts (up to 66% cuts, and yes… we’re certainly feeling it), forcing yeshivos of all stripes (Chareidi or Religious Zionists) to close, all in order that the government should gain control over them or to shut them down completely.
Should we not be a bit worried when a country that calls itself the “Jewish homeland”, makes such an attack on Torah institutions? It’s easy to say, “Ah… nothing will come of it!” However, the Torah continues:
“Perhaps there is among you a man or woman, or a family or tribe, whose hear turns away today from being with Hashem, our G-d, to go and serve the gods of those nations; perhaps there is among you a root growing. And it will be that when he hears the words of this oath, he will bless himself in his heart, saying, ‘I will have peace, though I go as my heart sees fit’ – there by adding the drunk with the thirsty” (Devarim 17-18)
Do we not have what to worry about? When a person (and his party), who wears a kippah, openly declares war on Torah, abandons those who supported him, and sides with another anti-Jewish party… should this not be a sign that PERHAPS something is not good here?
Continues Rav Schach: “This is why it is such a serious matter when Jews organize themselves into a secular political entity and declare secular law to be above that of the Torah. WHEN THIS HAPPENS WE MUST BE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR INFIDELITY. As Torah Jews, we must recognize our responsibility to protect the entire nation from harm. Therefore, we must try to balance the scales on behalf of non-religious Jews, by learning more, increasing our awe of Heaven and improving our fulfillment of the commandments.”
The safety of the citizens of Israel, does not rest in the hands of Washington or Jerusalem, nor the American or Israeli military: It rests in those who keep Torah and mitzvos.
With Rosh HaShanah around the corner and an evil man in control of chemical weapons only 60 km away from major Jewish population centers, we should truly be fearful for our future and should use whatever time we have now to see to it that the future is a bright one.
Have a wonderful and meaningful Shabbos!
Initiating True Change
My wife and I had another... discussion the other week.
I recently purchased a new suit for Shabbos, since a gift certificate fell into my hand.
My wife wants me to finally retire my weekday jacket and use my old Shabbos jacket as the new weekday jacket. I replied that I don't like throwing out clothes that are still usable. She pointed out that my jacket is falling apart, graying, and fraying at the seams, and that I have to listen to her.
I, using my vast Talmudic knowledge, quoted the Gemara in Brachos which talks about the fact that everybody is surrounded by demons that are obviously invisible. The Gemara goes ahead and gives examples of where you can see evidence of these demons. One of the results of these demons is that they fray the garments of Torah Scholars. Obviously it’s clear that I’m a Torah Scholar then and even if I got a new jacket, it will only fray shortly after. Makes sense?
She didn't buy it.
"The matter is very close to you in your mouth and heart to do it" (Devarim 30 14)
Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz notes on this pasuk, that regardless of how far a person is, if he resolves to change, he can have an immediate effect on himself from that one resolution.
When a person makes a verbal commitment to change for the positive, that commitment will have a major impact in his personal growth. We're not talking about a mental note. We're talking about saying out loud, "I am going to control my anger", "I am going to say the first bracha in the Amidah with concentration".
The actual act of saying it out loud will have an effect on you. Certainly repeating it will help you internalize that message. All the more so when you are at that “crossroad of temptation”. By closing your eyes and verbalizing your commitment, it will work wonders towards overcoming your yetzer horah.
Once you begin to internalize the message, you will find it easier to initiate the change in action as well. This is an important lesson to keep in mind with Rosh Hashanah just around the corner.
Learning Properly
With Shmittah beginning this week, my wife and I have to make a decision.
There are two minhagim ('traditions') in Israel, which differ on one small point, yet have profound consequences.
There are three main ways to get produce during Shmittah:
1. Through Otzer Beis Din. The farmer, as per halacha, does not work his land, declares the produce ownerless, and Beis Din (Jewish court) comes, harvests it, and brings it to the store. Since, the produce was ownerless; the fruits are cheaper than ever. You just pay for the 'travel' expense.
2. From produce outside of Israel. Since it's not from Israel, it has no holiness.
3. Arab produce (from Israel), which we get during the other six years as well.
The question is: what is the status of Arab produce in Israel? Does it contain holiness or not?
Minhag Yerushaliyim (Jerusalem) says 'no'. It's like produce from outside of Israel and can be treated in any way.
Minhag Bnei Brak says 'yes', and each vegetable must be treated properly, and cannot be thrown away in a normal manner.
Both are completely acceptable and both have very big people keeping it. However, if you hold Minhag Bnei Brak, you will be running your kitchen and shopping in a more careful way for the next year and a half.
With Shmittah produce, you have a mitzvah to 'guard' it , by treating it with respect. If you don't, you do an aveirah (sin).
So, if you keep Minhag Yerushaliyim, there's no risk, since it has no holiness, yet at the same time, you're not performing the mitzvah.
However, with Minhag Bnei Brak, every time you treat it properly and 'guard' its holiness, it's a mitzvah, AND the food you are eating contains holiness. However, you get a black mark if you treat it improperly.
Right now, since we've been brushing up on our Shmittah education and asking questions, we're leaning towards Bnei Brak. This happens only in Israel and only once in seven years. It's too hard to pass up on this opportunity.
Okay, on to more Torah!
"And you will hear these words and bless yourself in your heart saying, "I will have peace, I will go with the whim of my heart..." Devarim (29:18)
A few years ago we spoke of this pasuk and said that this can refer those that change around the Torah to fit their desires. After "correcting" what they believe Hashem somehow made wrong, they will be able to live their lives in a happy, "Jewish" manner.
This pasuk can refer to another type of personality that we all contain a little of.
The more time I spend learning, the more time I realize what little we know. In the mornings, we learn halacha. We start with the Gemara, move to the Rif, Rabbenu Yona, the Rosh, the Rambam, the Tur, Beis Yosef, and finally the Shulchan Oruch and Mishnah Brurah.
Unfortunately, most Jews have no idea who these names are.
Simply put, they are the basic “founding fathers” of Jewish law. In order to know, understand, and render halacha, you need these as a mere beginning.
However, most people are satisfied with their lot. They have no need to know who these great rabbeim are or what they have to say. They can read about Jewish law in a Jewish paper, internet, or an Artscroll book. Suddenly we know all the important things, we know the halacha, and we are free to render judgment. We pat ourselves on the back when we 'know' what we're talking about, and we feel free to argue in halacha with others.
We live in true ignorance, and thinking we know it all, we live in bliss.
Hashem gave us the Torah to learn, understand, and integrate into our lives. When we have a question, whether in halacha or in Jewish outlook, we have two options:
1. We can say, "Well, I believe..."
2. We can sit, learn, ask questions, and understand.
If we walk around thinking that we have all the Torah we need, we will continue to fool ourselves for the rest of our lives. With our lack of knowledge, we will only continue to fall in our growth.
Or, we can learn and strive to understand the Torah the way it is meant to be. We can sit and toil for hours and days to find out the underlying reasons for halachos or beliefs, and truly know Torah. It might not be as 'quick and painless' as the first option, but it will lead us to live a proper life as the Torah wanted us to.
With that, I wish you all an excellent Shabbos!
Everything is a Mitzvah!
I learned a very important marriage lesson this week.
Whenever my Rosh Yeshiva or his sons or brothers has any computer issues, he comes to me thinking that I actually know what I’m doing. On several occasions this past month, he has had some issues and questions in which I helped him out with.
Earlier this week, he gave a shmooze for all the Kollel wives concerning Rosh Hashanah. Thankfully, my wife was able to attend. Afterward the shmooze, my wife approached the Rebbetzin Rosh Yeshiva and re-introduced herself, since they do not see each other so much. After the Rebbetzin heard my wife’s last name, she told her how much she and the Rosh Yeshiva appreciate all the help I gave them.
Let’s be clear on something, folks. My Rosh Yeshiva is a very busy person. He’s constantly on the move with people to see, places to go, and Torah to learn. Yet, nonetheless, he finds time in his day to speak to his wife about such ‘mundane’ things as who helped him with his computer problem. Nothing deep, nothing big, just sitting and keeping her up to date with everything in his life.
"You are all standing today, all of you, before Hashem" (Devarim 29:9)
This week's parsha is always read the Shabbos before Rosh Hashanah (by the way, next Shabbos is Rosh Hashanah for those of us who haven’t realized it). It serves as a reminder on what Rosh Hashanah is about: Standing before Hashem.
Rav Avigdor Miller says that the above pasuk serves as a positive-mitzvah (compared to a negative - "don't do this" mitzvah). How is this so?
Mesillas Yesharim says, "Man is veritably placed in the midst of a raging battle. For all the affairs of the world, whether for good or bad, are a trial for a man".
The Chovos Halvavos says that at first glance it seems that all the actions of man can be broken down into three categories:
1. Mitzvah
2. Aveirah (sin)
3. Rshus (something that is permitted to do, but is not a mitzvah)
After close examination, he realized that really there are only two categories: Mitzvah and Aveirah.
What is Mesillas Yesharim and Chovos Halvavos trying to say?
Every action that a person takes is a mitzvah or aveirah. How is this possible? Is playing tennis a mitzvah or an aveirah? How about brushing one's teeth? Or going on vacation? Aren't these examples of "rshus", things that are neutral?
They answer, "No". These acts can be a performed as a mitzvah or an aveirah.
The Shulchan Oruch states, "All one's deeds should be for the sake of Heaven". As Rav Miller said, "When a person eats breakfast, he should think, 'I am eating breakfast to have the strength to serve Hashem'. How long does that take- three seconds?"
"I have placed life and death before you; blessing and curse, and you shall choose life so that you will live" (Devarim 30:19)
Unfortunately, a person usually comes to realize how much of his life he misused when he is much older. Every second can be used earning reward. How? By "choosing life". What is considered "choosing life"? Is it sitting and learning all day? Is it doing acts of kindness? Is it davening? Is it raising your children properly? Yes and no. The answer is dependent on whether or not you are transforming that action into a mitzvah.
When we exercise, we should have in mind that we are doing so in order to keep ourselves healthy to serve Hashem. When we take a vacation, we should do so in order to relax ourselves physically and mentally in order to better serve Hashem. This is true in all actions. You could be cleaning your washroom, and with the proper mentality (i.e. cleaning for Shabbos), it can be counted as "choosing life".
With Rosh Hashanah quickly approaching, it behooves us to try to implement this mentality. By beginning now, we can transform so many mundane activities into mitzvos. We can easily 'rack up' more mitzvos in the next week then we did in the past month!
With this, I wish you all a great Shabbos!
Tshuva is Closer Than You Thought
My apologies for not getting a dvar torah out last week; I was down with something that's been going around here. During my sickness, I was giving some thought into a new halachic insight. As we all know, since I keep bringing it up, people outside of Israel keep two days for Yom Tov on Pesach, Shavous, and Succos, while those living in Israel keep only one. Now, Rosh Hashanah is a bit different. Everybody keeps two days. Okay, fine, I can deal with it. However, since people outside of Israel keep one day of Yom Kippur, perhaps people living in Israel should only keep a half a day? Just a thought... on to Torah!
"For this mitzvah that I command you today is not hidden from you and it is not distant... It is not in heaven... Nor is it across the sea... Rather, the matter is very near to you, in your mouth and your heart to perform it" (Devarim 30:11-14)
The Ramban (30:11) writes that based off of the previous pasuk, "this mitzvah" refers to the mitzvah of tshuva (repentance). About tshuva, the Torah continues and says, "it is very near to you, in your mouth and your heart to perform it".
Rav Avraham Pam asks, "Is this really so?"
Anybody who has learned even a little bit of writings on tshuva, such as Shaarei Tshuva or Rambam's Hilchos Tshuva, knows that tshuva is a very difficult process. A person is considered as if he did tshuva if Hashem can 'testify' that he will never return to his past deeds. His tshuva has to be so complete, that it seems as it's extremely difficult to do.
Rav Pam notes that many people are "cold" during the period of Elul and the Yomim Nora'im (Rosh Hashanah through Yom Kippur). They believe that changing themselves around so much is too difficult a task to accomplish. They put their heads down, go through the motions, eat their honey and apples, say slichos, fast on Yom Kippur, and hope it all passes by as quick as possible so they can return to their "regularly scheduled program".
Says, Rav Pam, this is a tragic mistake. Elul is the time when "I am my Beloved's and my Beloved is mine" (Shir Hashirim 6:3. In Hebrew the first letter of each word of this verse spells out 'Elul'). This is THE time of the year, where Hashem is "closest" to His creations. Being that He IS G-d, Hashem understands the situation down here on earth, and understands that we will slip and sin. However, this period of time has been created specifically to rectify our behaviour and mode of conduct so it matches that which Hashem wants from us. So, what can we do?
Take a businessman as an example. Here he is, burdened by a failing business. He has no money, yet tons of debt to pay off. At this point, the only option he has is to declare bankruptcy. While according to civil law, he would be under no obligation to continue to pay off his debts, the Torah does not allow it.
What would an honest businessman do? He would speak to his debtors and plead for more time. On top of this, he would gather together some form of token payment to give to them, showing that he will do his best to pay them back, despite his current situation. As things begin to improve, he will continue to pay off his debts little by little.
This is applicable to every Jew during this time. We have all sorts of faults and sins, but nonetheless, during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur we beg for more time. While we cannot possible fix everything all at once, we give a 'token gift' to Hashem. We take on one small thing to work on to show that we are serious. From there, we can and will slowly pay off our 'debts', as the Talmud (Yoma 39a) says, "if a person sanctifies himself a little, he is sanctified greatly (by Heaven)".
So, how does a person figure out what they should work on? Rav Pam gives an answer based off of the above pasuk, "The matter is very close to you". A person should choose to work on something that he feels is close to him and can achieve success in.
The Netziv writes a similar suggestion based on the pasuk, "Follow the path of your heart" Koheles (11:9). There are different paths to serve Hashem. Some people put a bigger focus on prayer, some on charity, some on learning Torah, etc... (while obviously not ignoring the other paths). Some people simply feel more of a connection to some types of mitzvahs. The Netziv suggests that a person should "follow the path of your heart". Take what has more meaning to you and put more of a focus on it. Instead of running around trying to perfect everything, find something close to you and work on perfecting that. Obviously this needs to be done in conjunction with a rav who knows you and can help guide you.
With all this in mind, we can see how tshuva IS "very near to you". By finding the right mitzvah to work on, we can show Hashem that we really DO wish to change this year, that this 'down payment' is just that: a down payment. Hopefully, the rest of the year can be used to pay back the rest. On that note, have a great Shabbos!
My most humble apologies for getting this out late. I've been working through lunch this week, trying to convert a program from Active Server Pages to Java, all without having an ounce of knowledge in Java. The cool thing about it is, I got to set up a separate server to run it, and now I have three monitors in my workspace, bringing my Nerd Value up several points. Okay, let's move on to Torah!
"And he will bless himself in his heart saying, 'Peace will be with me, though I walk as my heart sees fit'" (29:18)
Just a warning. Figuring that Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are just around the corner, and it's always good to get cold water splashed on your face around now, this dvar torah will be a little more straightforward than others in the past. Obviously, this is only to serve every one of us as a wakeup call.
The pasuk in the Torah warns us of a psychological thing that occurs in people. Despite hearing warnings of what will happen if we don't obey the Torah, we like to say to ourselves, "It's all right, I'm okay, it'll be the guy next door who gets it, since he's really deserving of it". This is a giant no-no.
Rav Zvi Pesach Frank offers some insight into this pasuk. He believes that it's directed particularly to those who believe that walking around doing 'good deeds', will automatically put you into the category of a "good Jew". He believes it is his good heart ("...as my heart sees fit...") that will ultimately save him. "So what, if I don't do other mitzvos...at least I have a good heart", he will say to himself. According to Rav Frank, this is exactly the person who the Torah is speaking to. While having a good heart is imperative in Judaism, it is not the sum of all things. Just as the heart is one of the central organs of the body, and a person cannot survive without it; no matter how healthy that heart is, if the liver or brain dies, so does the body. I believe it was Rav Zev Cohen, who was once asked, "If I give money to charity, and help the homeless, yet I don't do other mitzvos, does that make me a good Jew?". His response, "No...A good person? Absolutely. But to be a good Jew, you must do your best to improve in EVERY mitzvah that you can do."
The Chofetz Chaim (who lived earlier this century) writes that this pasuk refers to groups of Jews who "translate" the Torah differently. They have bold "new" approaches, in keeping Judaism alive. In their minds, they do not sin, since they "walk as my heart sees fit". Instead of meeting head on in battle with the Yetzer Horah, they give up more and more, all the while convincing themselves, that their "interpretations" are correct.
Both of these lessons apply to both those who are religious, and those who are not. It is human nature to not look in the mirror and look at ones ways, in an honest and truthful manner, and that is something we need to overcome during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. We must take note of which mitzvos we are doing well, which ones we have improved on since last year, which ones we need to improve, and which ones we have not touched, yet we know in our hearts, we should try to do. We are not obligated to reach super-lofty levels in merely a few weeks, but we are obligated, as the pasuk says, to take a hard look at ourselves, and see where we can truly improve ourselves.
He is Standing in Front of Us
"I call the heaven and the earth today to bear witness against you" (30:19)
Like many of you, I'm sure, I've always wondered why Hashem has chosen the heaven and earth to be witnesses to his declarations. Well, Rashi and Rav Moshe Feinstein "tag up" to give us some insight into this manner.
Rashi comments that if heaven and earth, which are not subject to reward and punishment, do not go against Hashem's will, how much more so should we, who ARE subject to reward and punishment, be careful to do His will.
Well, everything seems nice and pretty with this Rashi, but Rav Moshe Feinstein has a problem. How could we compare the heaven and earth, which are inanimate objects with no free will, to mankind (or womankind if you prefer) who do possess free will, and CAN go against Hashem's wishes, if he (or she) so feels. One way to look at this problem is based on the Rambam, who holds that the angels (who "control" heaven and earth, basically the heavenly version of middle-management) actually DO have the freedom of choice to do what they want. So why is it that Saturn doesn't break off its orbit, head straight to earth, and use its rings to slice this planet in half to raise itself as the new super-power of the Solar System? Simple! Because the rings are made of giant ice-chunks and won't be able to cut through the earth's crust...that's why! Duh! But, I guess there's another more "spiritual" reason that it doesn't happen. Even though these angels have freedom of choice, they are so aware of Hashem's presence that they would never even think of not following His orders.
Your average human being is not going to stand on the railroad tracks while a train is coming at him at Mach 2, even though he has free choice. Why? Because he is acutely aware of his situation. If he stands on the tracks, the train will hit him. If the train hits him, he will feel much pain and anguish. No. He won't feel anything, since his head was disconnected from his body a split second beforehand. Did I make my point clear enough? Just as this person is not going to stand on the train tracks since he knows exactly what is going to happen, the angel is not going to disobey Hashem, since He is right there in front of him.
So what does that leave us with? Simple. We should strive to constantly have in mind that Hashem is a reality who is constantly, "standing in front of us." We will always have the freedom of choice, but when we "see" Him in front of us every minute, we would be foolish to do anything against His will. Have a great Shabbos!
Waiting for Moshiach
"Then Hashem, your G-d, will bring back your captivity and have mercy upon you, and He will gather you in." (30:13)
The Rambam learns from this pasuk that we have an obligation to believe in the coming of Moshiach who will finally bring us back to Israel in the final redemption. In fact the Brisker Rav says that it is not sufficient to believe in the concept of Moshiach, but we are obligated to look forward to his coming each and every day. Hence we say in our davening, "For we hope for Your salvation every day." Rav Schwab writes that we have unfortunately become impatient. "We want him NOW. We don't want to wait!" We forget that we cannot bring Moshiach down to our level, rather we must raise ourselves to his. Moshiach will arrive when we do tshuva (repent) and are worthy of his coming.
What does it mean to wait for Moshiach everyday? To expect that he might arrive any moment? If we truly believed that Moshiach could arrive any moment, would we build such fancy homes and live expensive lifestyles? Why should we bother if Moshiach could show up any moment?
Rav Nachum Zev Ziv makes an analogy. Imagine a house where a member of the family is very ill. They know the doctor is coming, and they all sit around and wait for the doctor to arrive. A knock at the door! They all immediately rush to open the door...only to find the next-door neighbor. The return to the living room, shortly after another knock on the door! ...This time it's the mailman...again and again this is repeated, but nonetheless the family members get excited each and every time there is a knock at the door, without losing faith in the doctor, since they KNOW he will be there shortly. Finally, after the long wait, the doctor arrives and cures his patient. No matter how many false alarms there were, the family's hopes did not dim. This is how we should wait for Moshiach!
Three days ago we heard a very big knock at the door. For decades now, the leaders of the Jewish people have all said that we are in the days of Moshiach's coming. Even this week, we are told that things are moving at even a faster pace. Moshiach can easily be waiting at the other side of the door. The question is: are we really ready for him?


by Rick Weinberg, Editor-in-Chief, California Business Journal
Ted Nichols developed a revolutionary process for cleaning and dehydrating pipelines that made him an industry icon and saved clients thousands of dollars.
By Rick Weinberg, Editor, California Business Journal.
EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK IN AMERICA, in every industry, throughout the industrial and technological revolution, there are pioneers. Some big, some small. Some famous royalty like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, some not so well-known.
It’s difficult to know exactly where Ted Nichols fits in. But if you talk to anyone who works on pipelines in the U.S., Nichols is as famous as some of the most prominent pioneers of American industry.
What Nichols did was pioneer a new, more effective way of cleaning and dehydrating pipelines that has saved companies hundreds of thousands of dollars over the last half century. Specifically, he established dryer improvements, “pig” design and a more efficient utilization of labor in the pipeline dehydration field.
“He’s one of the founding fathers of the drying process and the methods of cleaning as we know it today,” says Shayne Robertson, who was so impressed with Nichols’ revolutionary procedure that he left a competitor to join Nichols Pipelines Services, Inc.
Nichols’ innovative improvements eliminated the need for companies to use outside labor and lease expensive equipment, saving them hundreds of thousands of dollars. He also speeded up the drying process by specialized pig design and equipment modifications.
Basically, what Nichols did for the industry is akin to what Charles Hall did when he discovered the method of producing aluminum more inexpensively, enabling it to be brought into wide commercial use.
“Ted is the one of the primary people responsible for simplifying the cleaning and dehydration pipeline cleaning process,” Robertson says. “He did what no one else could do and what no one else thought of at the time.”
Of course, Nichols downplays his role in this significant industry improvement, saying in his Southern twang, “Ah, shucks, it wasn’t that big a deal.” Well, it was. Maybe small in the big scheme of things, but big nonetheless in the pipeline industry.
“The big thing was having a more efficient utilization of labor,” Nichols says. “At the time, no one really thought that the on-site labor crew could be taught quickly enough to clean and dehydrate the pipelines.”
But Nichols thought otherwise. And he proved it. He took his best-trained supervisors – which were far more knowledgeable and experienced than the competition – and he dispatched them to the work sites, thereby eliminating potential problems, speeding up the drying process and saving his clients money. He also hired local pipeline contractors, rather than out-of-the-area contractors, to speed up the process and save money.
Prior to that, upon finishing the prep and preliminary work, crews would wait around for an entire new crew to arrive on-site to finish up. But Nichols thought to himself, “Why wait? Let’s teach these guys here how to do it, we’ll use our equipment, and we’ll save ourselves a lot of time and money.”
Nichols’ clients always appreciated his knowledge and experience, as well as his honesty, integrity and his straightforward business approach.
Nichols’ business approach comes from what his parents taught him at a young age: “Mother and Dad always taught us boys, ‘Your word is your bond, do a better job than expected, and your customers will always come back,’” Ted says.
“He’s a wonderful man who is very trustworthy,” says Ted’s wife of 47 years, Cindy. “Once he gets a client, they never want to leave him.”
James Stavinoha of Troy Construction in Houston is one of those customers who’d never consider doing business with anyone other than Ted Nichols.
“He’s a super guy — straight up, fair and honest,” Stavinoha says. “He’s a pleasure to work with because he’s fair and there’s never an argument about anything. He always delivers what he says he’s going to deliver. He’s a class act.”
Little Rock Roots
Nichols was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, and he grew up in Star City as the oldest of three boys. He attended the University of Arkansas, where he received his Bachelors degree and later did post graduate work in law and management.
While working at Vulcan Materials in Odessa, Texas after college, Ted became friends with Frank Lamberton. Later on, when Lamberton opened a branch in Houston in 1979 of Parkem Industrial Services, which included pipeline services, he hired Nichols as manager of pipeline services.
That was the beginning of Nichols’ work in the pipeline industry. He later worked at ABC Nitrogen Services, Nitrogen Pipeline Service, Coulter Services and Pipetronix before starting his own business in 1998 with the help and financial support of J.W. Gully, owner of Sunbelt Equipment Marketing.
“He always wanted to have his own business,” Cindy Nichols says, “but with having to educate our two daughters, Candace and Caroline, and having a secure job with good benefits, Ted waited until the time was right.”
Since raising the curtain on his business, Nichols has cleaned and dried thousands of miles of pipeline throughout the U.S.
“He’s special in our industry,” Robertson says. “He’s made the process easier and better for everyone.”
“For 40-plus years, there’s nothing I enjoyed more than working in this industry,” Nichols says. “There is nothing that couldn’t fit me better.”
Editor’s note: Nichols Pipeline Services was sold to Weatherford International. Since then, Nichols has started T&C Rentals, Inc. which rents and sells pipeline dehydration equipment throughout the U.S.
To view the magazine version of this article, click here.
Copyright © 2013 California Business Journal
[California Business News Information]
[Rick Weinberg is Editor-in-Chief at California Business Journal. He is a well-known journalist, writer and reporter who has worked for the New York Times, FOX and ESPN. He launched CalBizJournal.com to focus on California businesses and business professionals and California business information and news.]
Tags: AmericaAmericanCaliforniacollegecommercialcontractorsfocushonestHoustonindustrialinformationintegrityjobsjournalistlawlocalmarketingNew YorkNicholspigpipelinereporterrevolutionaryted nicholsTexas
THE NEW ART: POP SHUI
THE SIDEMAN
Rick Weinberg, Editor-in-Chief, California Business Journal
Rick Weinberg is Editor-in-Chief at California Business Journal. He is a well-known journalist, writer, reporter and on-air talent who has worked for the New York Times, FOX and ESPN. He launched California Business Journal to focus on California businesses and business professionals as well as California business news and information. Contact: Rick@CalBizJournal.com / 949-648-3815
Worried About Cybersecurity For Your Business? You Should Be
Rewriting The Narrative: The Future Of Work


Film Shorts
Chow, Baby
Eats Feature
Blotch
Winner’s Circle 2020
Route DFW Food Truck Guide
Gallery Week 2020
Dads & Grads 2020
St. Patrick’s Day 2020
Margaritas & Mardi Gras 2020
Alive & Kicking 2020
EATS Magazine
Fort Worth Weekly
Home News Cover Friendly Fire
Raising questions about 9/11 gets an Army sergeant demoted for “disloyalty.”
STEPHEN C. WEBSTER
These days, Donald Buswell’s job is not as exciting or dangerous as it once was. For the past few months, his working hours have been spent taking care of some 40-plus wounded soldiers at San Antonio’s Fort Sam Houston medical center.
The work is sometimes menial, even janitorial, but he doesn’t mind. After all, Buswell has been where these men are — three years ago, he too was recovering from wounds received in a battle zone in Iraq. “I truly consider this an honor,” Buswell told his dad not long ago. Still, it’s not exactly where Buswell expected to be after 20 years of well-respected service in the Army. Since joining the Army in 1987, he had risen to the rank of sergeant first class, serving in both Gulf Wars, Bosnia, Rwanda, and Korea. He ended up with shrapnel scars and a Purple Heart and, back in the U.S. after his last tour in Iraq, a job as intelligence analyst at Fort Sam Houston. He couldn’t have foreseen that one e-mail could derail his career and put him on his way out of the Army. One e-mail, speculating about events that millions of people have questioned for the last six years, was all it took. Sgt. Buswell wants to know: What really happened on 9/11? And he said so in his e-mail. In the few paragraphs of that August 2006 message — a reply not to someone outside the service, but to other soldiers — Buswell wrote that he thought the official report of what happened that day at the Pentagon, and in the Pennsylvania crash of United Airlines Flight 93, was full of errors and unanswered questions. “Who really benefited from what happened that day?” he asked rhetorically. Not “Arabs,” but “the Military Industrial Complex,” Buswell concluded.
“We must demand a new, independent investigation.” For voicing those opinions in an e-mail to 38 people on the San Antonio Army base, Buswell was stripped of his security clearance, fired from his job, demoted, and ordered to undergo a mental health exam. (He was also ordered not to speak with the press. Information for this story came from documents, conversations with Buswell’s family members and friends, and sources within Fifth Army who asked not to be named.) As if all that weren’t enough, Fort Sam Houston’s chief of staff penned a letter accusing Buswell of “making statements disloyal to the United States.” His father, Winthrop Buswell, said that his son “is one of the most patriotic people I know.” “Donald saw something that his conscience led him to dispute,” he said. “That’s just the type of man he is.” For his dissent, Donald has paid a heavy price. Baghdad’s early light danced across the surface of a man-made lake. For Buswell, that April 2004 morning was the perfect time for a run. Behind him, the soldiers of Baghdad’s Camp Victory were, for the most part, not yet stirring. The path he took was a historic one: In the palace just a couple of hundred yards away, surrounded by the lake, Saddam Hussein was in custody, locked away in a former torture cell. Five miles into the jog, Buswell paused to catch his breath, and something splashed in the water nearby with unusual force. He jumped back, surprised, and surveyed the area with care.
Seeing no threat, he resumed his run, heading toward a couple of Iraqi men painting a small building. Seconds later, Buswell heard a growing whistle and turned just in time to see a 122mm rocket barreling toward him. He dove out of the way, and the round hit several dozen yards behind him. Picking himself up off the ground, he saw another white trail forming over the water. He started running again, but had made it only a few steps when the force of another impact blew him to the ground. Shrapnel, rocks, and dirt rained down on him. Ahead, a fourth round hit the Iraqi painters, blowing off body parts and engulfing them in flames. Horrified, Buswell ran toward the men and tried to extinguish the flames. The men were still alive, screaming in agony. Then, he heard the increasingly familiar whistle of another rocket and once again hit the dirt. The one that struck the nearby road was a dud, like the first that hit the water. Had it exploded, Buswell probably would have died. When he turned to look again at the two Iraqi men, he saw they were dead, their bodies charred and smoking. “It was like the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan,” his dad recalled him saying. By this time, troops from the camp were running toward the scene. Only when the first of those soldiers arrived and screamed for a medic did Buswell realize he’d been hit. Sharp flakes of metal were embedded up and down his left leg and all over the right side of his back.
The relatively minor wounds Buswell suffered that day were his first in a battle zone, despite the fact that he’d served in southern Iraq during Desert Storm a decade before. In his first few years in the Army, Buswell had been a metalworker and had dealt with explosives. Since 1990, he had been an intelligence analyst. Buswell’s wounds were cleaned and bandaged within an hour of the rocket attack, and he rejoined his unit almost immediately. But 2004 had more — and more pleasant — developments in store for him. Two months after the attack, he returned to the United States, to Fort Hood in Central Texas, and married his girlfriend Lori, officially becoming step-dad to her 11-year-old daughter Kaitlyn, who calls him “DD” (Daddy Donald) for short. In one of those strange quirks of war, Buswell had actually met Lori’s ex-husband and Kaitlyn’s dad — Darren Cunningham — while both were based at Camp Victory. The two became close friends. When Cunningham, a military police officer, was killed in a rocket attack in October 2004, just a month before his retirement, Buswell became even more of a father figure for Kaitlyn — and in some ways helped Cunningham’s family deal with his death. For the next two years, Buswell worked at his intelligence post at Fort Hood, then was transferred to a similar job in San Antonio. But as he worked, he studied and read about what had happened on 9/11 — and came to the conclusions that would get him in so much trouble. The terrorist attacks of 2001 had a profound effect on Buswell. Before the much-disputed presidential election of 2000, Buswell shared with his father a view that very few held at the time. He was convinced that if George W. Bush won, he would take the country to war with Iraq to finish his father’s work. He believed the younger Bush would be too beholden to oil interests — and feared what that would mean for America’s foreign policy.
When the planes hit the World Trade Center towers on 9/11, Buswell later told his father, he figured that war with Iraq was coming, even if the country had nothing to do with the attacks. Being a loyal soldier, he kept his views private for a long while. “He didn’t want to rock the boat,” Buswell’s father said. “Like all of us, he was somewhat in shock after what happened on 9/11.” And, as he told his father, his job was to serve. He was proud to do it, no matter who was directing policy. By the time he was transferred to Fort Sam Houston, Buswell had developed strong opinions about what had happened. He had come to believe that the World Trade Center attacks were aided by persons on the inside and that the planes that crashed into the towers were just one component of a larger, more complex attack. The career soldier had effectively become a member of what’s known as the “9/11 truth movement,” which has continued to grow in spite of news media coverage that has generally refused to take the questions seriously. The movement includes many factions, espousing theories from the somewhat plausible to the really out-there folks who talk about space weapons bringing down the New York towers.
The doubters include people like Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who recently agreed to distribute Loose Change Final Cut, a 9/11 conspiracy movie, and actors Charlie Sheen and Rosie O’Donnell, whose 9/11 dissents have been well-publicized. In light of his new job, Buswell wanted to make sure his superiors knew of his views. He went to Chief Warrant Officer Mario Torres, a legal advisor to his division at Fort Sam Houston. Buswell told Torres he would not be willing to write reports or give speeches that required him to say things he didn’t believe regarding 9/11. He shared with Torres his belief that the facts contradicted large parts of the official story of what had happened that day, calling the attacks an “inside job” — one of the central beliefs of many truth movement members. Torres didn’t see a problem: Buswell would not be working on anything related to 9/11, he said, and compared the sergeant’s views versus the official story to liking beer over wine. His concerns dismissed, Buswell went to work.
It was only a few weeks later, on Aug. 2, when Buswell received the e-mail that knocked his career off its tracks. The unsolicited message was sent to him and 38 others by someone who gave his name as Larry Anderson. No such person could be located at the San Antonio fort, and Buswell’s superiors declined to comment or to talk about the sender of the original e-mail. The e-mail’s subject line read: “F4 vs. Concrete Wall.” The message referred to “loony liberal reasoning” that there must have been a conspiracy involved in the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon because there allegedly wasn’t enough airplane debris left behind for the building to have been hit by an airliner. Anderson referred to a film clip showing, he said, an Air Force engineering test in which an F4 Phantom fighter jet crashed at 500 mph into a heavily reinforced concrete wall surrounding a nuclear reactor site. The jet “turned to vapor,” Anderson claimed, thereby explaining the lack of plane wreckage at the Pentagon. Later that day, Buswell committed the same infraction as Anderson: From his Army computer, he sent a mass reply to all the folks who got the initial message. Buswell’s crime was clicking the “Reply All” button — a mistake he still regrets. The comparison between the F4 and a 757 hitting the Pentagon, he wrote, “serves only to muddy the issue,” because the fighter jet hitting a concrete barrier hardened to nuclear containment standards is very different from a plane hitting the Pentagon.
The real issue, Buswell said, was that the official story on what happened that day “is filled with errors. “We all know and saw 2 planes hitting the WTC buildings,” he wrote. “[W]e didn’t see the 757 hit the Pentagon, nor did we see the plane crash in Shanksville, PA. Both the PA and Pentagon ‘crashes’ don’t have [the] tell-tale signs of a jumbo-jet impacting those zones! “The Pentagon would have huge wing impacts in the side of the building; it didn’t. Shanksville, PA would have had debris, and a large debris field; it didn’t.” He went on to express doubt that “some Arabs in caves with cell phones” had been responsible for the tragedies of that day. “I mean, how are Arabs benefiting from pulling off 9/11?” Buswell asked. “They have more war, more death and dismal conditions, so, how did 911 benefit them? Answer: It didn’t. So, who benefited from 9-11? The answer is sad, but simple: The Military Industrial Complex.” The idea of a 9/11 conspiracy, he added, is neither “Liberal Lunacy … nor is it Conservative Kookiness.” “People, fellow citizens we’ve been had!” he wrote. “We must demand a new independent investigation into 911 and look at all the options of that day … Even the most incredulous theories must be examined.” Not an opinion one might have expected from a career soldier — but then, expressing opinions, especially those of dissent, is the American way.
The e-mail exchange hadn’t seemed particularly important to Buswell, he later told his family. He found out differently the next morning. His key wouldn’t open the door to his office. That was the first clue Buswell had that something was wrong. In short order, he was informed that a “15-6 investigation” had been opened regarding his use of the military e-mail network. It’s the same designation given the investigation into the Abu Ghraib torture scandal. Over the next few days, Buswell was informed of the removal of his security clearance, subjected to intense scrutiny and intimidation, and alienated from other members of his intelligence division when he was relegated to secretarial work while the investigation went on. He was fired from his job and demoted to platoon sergeant. In a letter appointing Major Edwin Escobar to lead the investigation, Col. Luke S. Green, chief of staff of the Fifth Army, wrote, “SFC Buswell failed to obey a general order or regulation when he used his Government issued email account to send messages disloyal to the United States [emphasis added] with the intent of engendering disloyalty or disaffection for the United States in a manner that brought discredit upon the United States Army.”
Green added that Buswell “allegedly asserts that he has information that proves a conspiracy on the part of the US military industrial complex to attack targets within the United States (e.g., The Pentagon), opinions which he asserts publicly and over Government email systems.” However, no other documents related to the investigation mention Buswell’s opinions or question his loyalty. Officially, he was charged only with violating an Army policy regarding use of the military’s e-mail network. Winthrop Buswell said his son has acknowledged the infraction, but also noted it was the first time he’d ever heard of the rule being enforced. Green, at the behest of Lt. General, Robert T. Clark, deputy commanding general of the Fifth Army, ordered that Buswell undergo a mental health exam. However, the physician in charge of the medical center’s mental health division declined to administer the test, saying that Buswell’s actions did not warrant it. Buswell fought back. He contacted U.S. Rep. Charles A. Gonzales of San Antonio to register a complaint. Gonzales subsequently requested information from the Army about the investigation, but according to his aides, no other action has been taken.
The request was given a congressional inquiry case number and promptly put aside. In another sense though, Buswell has given up — at least on the idea of continuing his Army career. He filed retirement papers, set to take effect April 1, 2008. “Donald expressed to me his disappointment in the Army after all that has happened,” said his father. “I raised my son to love America. He still gets chills when he sees the flag flying and hears our national anthem. He’s committed his life to serving our country, only to get tossed aside like this. It brings me great sadness.” When his son gets out, he said, he plans to become an advocate for the 9/11 truth movement. For the last 10 months, Buswell has spent his days tending to the needs of wounded Iraq War veterans at the San Antonio medical center. “The service has mostly been good to Donald,” said the elder Buswell, a painter and retired locomotive engineer from Loudon, N.H. “He wouldn’t have made a career out of it if it wasn’t. But after all the controversy and the investigation, the thing that surprises me most is how he reacted to being fired. When they assigned him to the medical center, he told me, ‘Dad, I truly consider this to be an honor.
To be given such an important task as some kind of retaliation against me is confusing, but it is truly my honor to help these men and women right now.’” On the other hand, the elder Buswell said, his son’s empathy toward the soldiers now in his care isn’t surprising. “He provides great solace to the soldiers,” Winthrop said. “He is a good listener and knows what they’re going through, having been in Iraq and suffering injuries there as well. They truly appreciate him.” Family members say that’s par for the course for Buswell, a guy who delivered a Father’s Day present to Darren Cunningham from his daughter back in 2004 and even consulted Darren about raising his friend’s daughter, from whom Cunningham had years earlier become estranged. “I don’t know what I’ve done in my life to deserve such a blessing, but having Donny around has helped me and my family deal with losing Darren,” said Glenn Cunningham, Darren’s older brother. “I really admire and respect Donny for that, and because of how principled he is. Some people don’t have the sense of honor that Donny has.
And, you know, Donny … He says things sometimes that get him into trouble, but he says them because he feels it’s the right thing to do. And I really, deeply respect that.” To this day, Winthrop Buswell said, his son still cannot believe the military would come down on him so hard for sharing a view widely held across the United States. “Donald really did nothing wrong,” his father said. “He responded to an e-mail. How many of us in civilian life respond to e-mail forwards from co-workers or friends? Is that really a crime? … He is convinced, as I am also, that the 9/11 attacks are not what they seem. We love this country. I even voted for Bush in 2000. Sadly, I must say that I do regret it.” He shares many of his son’s doubts and questions about what happened six years ago. “When you look back at that day — that terrible, terrible day — it seems almost like another lifetime ago,” he said. “Donald believes bombs were planted in the towers and that the investigation exhibited a number of very questionable characteristics. Like, how could fire melt the steel core of the towers? Or, why did the 9/11 Commission not talk about World Trade Center 7? That [building] fell around 5 p.m., but we don’t know why. And if it is true what we’ve heard recently, that a physics professor at [Brigham Young University] found elements of steel-cutting agents in the melted steel from the towers, why is that met with cries of insanity? There is a possibility that what really happened was much more than what we were told.” Not everyone close to the Buswells shares those views.
Glenn Cunningham, who has become close friends with Buswell, much like his brother Darren, does not put much stock in conspiracy theories. “I’m not one for conspiracies, but from what Donny is saying, it really does sound kinda questionable,” he said. “But I haven’t looked at it. I’m not in any movement … And I just can’t imagine what people expect to come out of it. Of course I want to know the truth. Truth is always important, and if they’re lying to cover something up, we should find out. But then what?” Winthrop Buswell isn’t strident when he talks about 9/11. He just raises questions and encourage others to do the same — and that’s all his son has done, he said. “I pray Donald does not get in further trouble for standing up and speaking with his conscience,” he said. “I wish we were not all swept up in it. But here we are. So what will we do? “Donald told me once, ‘Dad, I hate feeling the way I do. I just hate it. And if I’m wrong, gosh, I’ll just apologize to no end. But I can’t deny where the facts have led, and I can’t tell you how disappointed I am. The evidence just seems so prominent, and the question must be asked.’” “Sadly, I agree with my son,” concluded Buswell. “I want the truth. Nothing less. We should all want that.” Stephen C. Webster is a freelance journalist in North Texas. A version of this story appeared originally in the Lone Star Iconoclast, published in Crawford, Texas.
buswell
buswell’s
Previous articleThe Art of the Botanical
Next article’Chuting Fish in a Barrel
Reflecting on Betsy
Ed Huff on Reflecting on Betsy
Fivegray on Feeding Funkytown
Roy on Reflecting on Betsy
Nathan Michell on One Night in Miami: To Be Young, Gifted, and Black
Jerry D. and Shirley L Cooper on COVID-19 Vaccine Registration Portal Now Open
817 arlington art band bands bar call city comedy dallas Dallas Cowboys director events features film films food fort fort worth gallery good it’s life live music local movie movies music people play restaurants reviews school show stars story tcu texas theater tickets time work worth year years
Since 1994, Fort Worth Weekly has provided a vibrant alternative to North Texas’ often-timid mainstream media outlets by offering incisive, irreverent reportage that keeps readers well informed and the powers-that-be worried.
Contact us: question@fwweekly.com
Film Shorts // January 13-19, 2021
Remembering MLK Jr: Five Days of Events in Fort Worth
Buck U: TCU Men’s Hoops’ Measuring Stick
Around Fort Worth2575
Blotch2523
Film Reviews1316
Random Stuff866
© Copyright © 2020 Fort Worth Weekly, All Rights Reserved. Site by Ardent Creative
That Bloody Crossroads


Fanwen Kong
Home Our Team Fanwen Kong
Attorney at Law / Patent Attorney
Mr. Fanwen KONG received US patent litigation training in the United States. At the same time, he is qualified as both a patent attorney and an attorney at law in China. His main areas of practice involve patent invalidation, patent administrative litigation, patent infringement litigation, and trade secret infringement litigation. Mr. KONG started his career life as a neurosurgeon for 10 years and then switched to practice law as a patent attorney from 2005. Since then, he has focused on patent cases and trade secret disputes in the fields of machinery, electronics, medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry, etc. His client includes a large number of domestic clients, and some cases represented by Mr. Kong were selected as the top ten cases of the year by Hunan Provincial Higher People’s Court, Hubei Provincial Higher People’s Court, Anhui Provincial Higher People’s Court, and Shanghai Higher People’s Court, respectively.
Mr. Kong is a member of the Patent Law Committee of Beijing Lawyers Association, an appointed expert in the Expert Advisory Committee of Supreme Court’s Intellectual Property Case Guidance Research (Beijing) Base.
Mr. Kong represented the US chemical giant Ashland Company in suing a Suzhou company for infringing the patent “Anionic Water-In-Water Polymer Dispersion, Method For The Production Thereof And Its Use” and trade secrets. The case was selected as “Top Ten Cases of 2012” by the China Lawyers Intellectual Property Practice Forum and the 10th Annual Meeting of the Intellectual Property Committee of the All China Lawyers Association and was selected as one of the eight typical intellectual property cases by the Supreme People’s Court in October 2013.
Mr. Kong represented the US ICON IP, Inc. in suing Jinan Yibang Industry Co., Ltd. in a patent infringement retrial case, and the case was selected as one of the ten typical patent cases of 2014 by the China National Intellectual Property Administration.
Mr. Kong represented the US Freemotion Fitness, Inc. in suing Changzhou Yingcai Metal Products Co., Ltd. in a patent infringement case, and the case was selected as one of the typical cases of the Supreme Court.
Mr. Kong represented Changsha Shenxiang General Machine Co., Ltd. against Hunan Guangyi Technology Co., Ltd. in a patent infringement dispute. After the first and second trials, the court retrial, the Supreme Court direct retrial, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate demurrer, the Supreme Court review, patent invalidation, the first and second trials of the administrative litigation, and other procedures of the patent infringement litigation, he won the case in the Supreme People’s Court. This case is the first case of the patent infringement litigation of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate against the Supreme People’s Court, and earned high attention in the industry.
Mr. Kong cooperated with European attorneys to successfully represent the world’s largest Vanillin manufacturer SINOCHEM in response to a case relating to a Vanillin invention patent dispute initiated by the global chemical giant Rhodia in the Hague District Court of the Netherlands and won the first and second trials. The case, as a typical case involving foreign interests, was selected in Selected International Cases compiled by the All China Lawyers Association in 2018.
medicinal chemistry, machinery, electronics
patent invalidation; patent administrative litigation; patent infringement litigation;


From The Desk of Risto Pakarinen
Ristory
Someday Jennifer
🇨🇦 Someday Jennifer
🇫🇮 Jonain päivänä Jennifer
🇸🇪 En dag, Jennifer
🇩🇪 Wunderbar wie Jennifer
Henry Baker’s afternoon adventure
Posted on July 19, 2018 by Risto
Henry Baker hated his name. He wasn’t crazy about the Baker, but it was his last name and he considered it a given. Besides, it was the only thing he had left of his father.
No, Baker was fine. Even Mom thought so. It was Henry he had a real beef with.
He loved his mother very much but he hated his name, and that was a problem because while she loved him very much, too, she may have loved the idea of having a son named Henry just as much.
Henry knew that names were important to Mom. Whenever he made a new friend, the first thing Mom wanted to know was his or her name – (not that he had many girl friends) – and then she’d consult her big book to see what the name meant. Whether it was popular but not too popular. Whether it hinted at foreign ancestry, whether it reminded her of a celebrity or a scientist, and whether she knew (and liked) someone by that name.
In fact, names were so important to Henry’s mother that she even told Henry to call her by her name instead of “Mom”. She was Elizabeth. (And never Liz or Lizzie, not Beth, Ellie or Libby, or Betsy or Bitsy, not even Lily). She was Elizabeth Baker, Mrs Baker to Henry’s friends, and Elizabeth to Henry.
And when you’re eight years old, there’s not much you can do about anything, that much was clear to Henry, but it was just as clear to him that there’s always something even an eight-year-old can do.
For Henry, that thing was telling everybody his name was Hank. He hated being Henry because of all the names he had ever heard, Henry – he thought – was the worst fit. Henry was the name of a boy who collected stamps and sang in a choir, went to bed at 8pm, and had Eggs Benedict and a cup of coffee for breakfast. A Henry knew nothing about football, not even the names of the three best players of all-time (Pele, Maradona and Platini), a Henry was clueless about punk and rock, and a Henry probably didn’t like Tarzan because “while we share most of our genes with the primates, it’s highly unlikely that a human could become the king of apes”.
Henry was the perfect name for a dullard, a simpleton who used long words, but who was clueless about how things worked no matter how many books he read. A Henry was simply a short grown-up, while Hank, well, he was the exact opposite of that. Hank was a man of action. Hank was street smart, Hank was popular, Hank was the one everybody would run to in a crisis.
Hank did not drink coffee.
On a hot summer’s day, a Henry would lie in his bed with a wet towel on his forehead, while Hank, on the other hand, had better plans. On a hot day, Hank rode his bike to the cliffs to go for a swim, or climb the ladder to the roof of their apartment building and have a private picnic there.
Today, on the hottest day of the summer, Henr–, um, Hank had an even better idea. Downstairs, all the way in the basement where the laundry room was, and the sauna, and the storage rooms, there was also a mysterious blue steel door that Elizabeth had warned him about.
“I don’t want you to go in there by yourself, Henry,” she had said. “It’s not dangerous, it’s just a cellar for potatoes and wine and such. Nothing you’d be interested in.”
“Is that where we get out potatoes?”
“No, Henry. We don’t have anything in ours. It’s empty. Go ahead, have a look, I’ll wait for you by the door.”
As soon as he had run in, he had felt the cool air on his skin. It was like a wet blanket on a hot summer’s day, but the difference between a Henry and a Hank was that a Hank would never use a wet blanket.
Hank grabbed a sandwich and the latest issue of Tarzan with him and skipped down the stairs – all 24 of them – to the first basement door. Hank opened it with the key that was hanging on a shoelace around his neck, and kept on walking toward the second basement door, which he also opened with the same key, and walked along the corridor toward the laundry room. About halfway through it, he stopped at the blue door, and pulled the metal handle on the door. The handle was stainless steel – these are the kind of facts Hank knew – and it had an interesting built-in locking mechanism that Hank decided to have a better look at later.
The door was heavy, heavier than any other door Hank had ever opened, but he managed to pull it wide open – of course – and as he stepped in, he was greeted by the sweet cool air he remembered from his earlier visit.
“Aaaaah,” he said, and as he walked all the way to the back, he heard the door close behind him. He leaned against the wall, and opened his Tarzan comic book.
He took a bite out of his sandwich, and let out another satisfied sigh. Life was good.
Four minutes later, the lights went out and Hank was sitting in the dark. He got up and feeling his way back to the door, tapped the walls to find the light switch but he couldn’t find any. He decided to open the door a little bit to get some light in (but to also keep the cool air in) but there was no handle on the inside.
He took a bite out of his sandwich and glanced at his watch. When he had got the watch as a birthday present just a few weeks earlier, Hank had been impressed with the dial that was coated with phosphorescent paint that glowed in the dark but now he was happy to see that it really worked.
It was ten to four.
He kicked the door a few times but it stayed shut. He tapped the walls from both sides of the door again but found no light switch. The darkness was starting to get to him. It began to hurt his eyes, and he started to see things.
He shut his eyes for a while. That helped. He could see clearly. Not with his eyes, of course, but he could assess his situation. The door was shut. There was no other door. Hank realized that he was trapped.
He opened his eyes again and checked the time. It was five to four. Elizabeth would come home by five, “at the latest”, she had said. When she got home and couldn’t find Hank, she’d come for him.
But surely others were walking along the corridor all the time, too, going to the laundry room or to get their bicycles, especially on a nice day like today. Hank walked to the door and pressed his right cheek against the cool blue door and filled his lungs with air.
And then he yelled at the top of his lungs.
“HELP ME, I’M STUCK HERE!”
No answer. Hank closed his eyes again. He always thought better with his eyes closed because that way, his brain had no distractions.
Yelling like that had been stupid. He remembered a Tarzan adventure in which the king of the apes was stuck in a cave and that it was important to use air sparingly. He could be stuck in the cellar for hours, even days, and he’d need the air. He had half a sandwich left, but in his backup plan, he was ready to kick in a neighbour’s storage space door and eat some of their potatoes.
What if nobody came, though? What if he’d be in the cellar for two months? Elizabeth would become a broken woman, and a neighbour would tell her that growing potatoes was good for her soul and she’d do it and then she’d bring her sack of potatoes to the cellar, and find Hank on the floor. Or Hank’s remains.
Just like in the Tarzan adventure in which he finds the lost city in the jungle.
“Stop it, Hank,” he said. “Somebody will come … sooner or later.”
He could barely see his watch’s dial anymore but he thought it was 4.30. He had been inside for forty minutes and he wasn’t cold, or hungry. Or sleepy. He was fine. He was more than fine. He was super fine.
He sat down with his back against the door, so that he’d hear any voices or footsteps from the other side.
Elizabeth would be angry at him, because he hadn’t left her a note on the kitchen table. How many times had she told him to always leave her a note. How many? Ten, at least.
“Even if you only go to the bathroom when I’m not home, I want to see a note on the kitchen table about it,” Elizabeth had said.
She hadn’t meant it literally, but for the first few weeks Hank had left a note on the table when he had gone to the bathroom, and then, slightly ashamed of his henryness, he’d thrown the notes into garbage right afterwards.
No note and no Hank would drive Elizabeth crazy, but she’d also go look for him. Maybe she’d call the cops. That would be embarrassing. To be carried out of the cellar by a policeman.
“We found your son, Mrs. Baker. The little monkey had fallen asleep in the potato cellar,” he’d say.
Hank was not going to fall asleep. He sat up and pressed his ear against the door again.
Time passed, but Hank had no idea how long he had been inside the cellar. He couldn’t see his watch anymore. He couldn’t see his feet or his hands, either, which was a strange feeling. He knew he was wiggling his toes, but since he couldn’t see it, he didn’t quite believe it.
There’s nothing in the dark that’s not there in the light, Elizabeth used to tell him when he was a kid. When he was six and afraid to go to sleep because he thought there was something under his bed. He had been such a Henry then.
He almost laughed.
And then he almost cried.
And right then – right then – just when Hank was about to burst into tears, he heard the sound of the second basement lock rattling, and then the door opening.
“Henry?” somebody said.
“Elizabeth?” he yelled.
“HENRY?”
“ELIZABETH?”
A pause. Hank was afraid that Elizabeth was going to turn around and walk away.
“HENRY, ARE YOU HERE?”
“I’M IN THE CELLAR”, Hank yelled and beat the door with his both fists. He kicked the door, too.
He heard footsteps in the corridor and how they stopped at the blue steel door. The handle made a clinking noise and the door opened. Hank took a step back, Elizabeth took a step inside the cellar.
“There you are!” she said and wrapped her arms around her son.
Elizabeth smiled and kissed him on the forehead.
“That’s right, Henry. Mom’s here,” she said.
“Mom and Hank,” Hank said and squeezed Elizabeth.
“Mom and Hank,” Elizabeth said.
This entry was posted in Fiction, Inspired by a true story by Risto. Bookmark the permalink.
Let's talk! Write a comment below.	Cancel reply


U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John C. Whitehead told a news conference in Tunis that Washington regrets the killing last month of Khalil Wazir, the PLO’s top military chief. “We confirmed . . . that the United States . . . found it a reprehensible action on the part of Israel and that we had absolutely no knowledge of the incident or participation in it,” he said. Pressed to explain whether this meant the United States now openly accuses Israel of the killing, he said: “Well, of course, none of us know for sure, do we? But we haven’t heard denials, so we can only assume.”


Home>Ingredients>Herbs & Botanicals
COVID 19: Industry Perspectives
CBD executive anxious but hopeful during pandemic
TAGS: Ingredients
In a first-person account on COVID-19, the founder of Colorado-based CBD marketer Bluebird Botanicals expressed "hope and optimism" that most people in the hemp industry will "ride out this storm and find new, creative ways to thrive."
Brandon Beatty | Apr 20, 2020
As I write this, I’m on “dad duty” filling milk bottles for my two toddlers at home. Like much of our team, I’ve been working from home full-time since the second week of March. Our company rolled out this measure to preserve the sanitization of our laboratory and minimize potential exposure to our production staff. These workers are crucial to maintaining normal operations of the business and are still showing up to our facility every day.
The extent of this crisis has become much more real in a personal way over the past several weeks. Between recently learning that my cousin has tested positive for the virus and seeing the daily news reports about the now-historic unemployment rate, it’s really hitting home in both a literal and figurative sense. My personal anxiety levels have certainly increased, and my top concern every day is for the health and safety of my family, friends and employees.
From a business perspective, COVID-19 has also resulted in an economic crisis that’s impacted every industry—the hemp industry being no exception. Fortunately for Bluebird Botanicals and many other CBD companies, food and dietary supplements have been designated as essential by the government. Other non-essential hemp companies, however, have been forced to shut down for an indeterminate amount of time. Those with primarily e-commerce businesses are still fortunately faring well compared to brick-and-mortar companies now in dire straits.
Even for Bluebird and other essential e-commerce businesses who are able to keep going, this crisis has intensely shaken up our operations. We’ve scrambled to shift suppliers and increase inventory to protect against stock shortages if an outbreak were to occur in our office, all while already running on a skeleton crew with half of our employees at home. We’re fortunate enough to not be in “crisis mode,” but it’s certainly cost us extra time and money in addition to diminishing our wholesale revenue.
There is hope, though, for those of us in the dietary supplement industry that our businesses will be able to sustain through the crisis. Market research studies have shown the supplement industry has fared well in previous economic downturns such as the 2008 recession. Even during times of financial hardship, health appears to remain a top priority for consumers, and thus, their supplement purchases continue and, in many cases, increase.
The fact that a health crisis is at the root of this economic recession suggests the above trend will only strengthen this time around. In fact, we already have some proof that this is occurring. The New York Times reported that sales of vitamin C supplements have grown 146% in the past month while Google Search Trends reported a massive uptick in online searches for terms, including vitamin C. On the CBD side, Bluebird is also continuing to benefit from solid e-commerce sales performance and organic search traffic.
It’s difficult to predict what the future holds for the hemp industry or for the global economy. The industry may consolidate as non-essential and brick-and-mortar companies are forced into closure or selling. However, we have hope and optimism that most of us will be able to ride out this storm and find new, creative ways to thrive.
I’ve observed over the past month that this global pandemic is a humanitarian issue that requires us all to set aside our ideologies and borders and find new ways to work together and connect as a community. We are all one, and we have the ability to forge the path ahead together and support one another through this crisis.
Fortunately, I’ve already seen this happening. From the massive outpouring of support for frontline workers to the new virtual relationships connecting people from across the world, this crisis has forced a shift in the way we see each other. While this global emergency will surely continue to disrupt our lives for the foreseeable future, our communities are coming together. I find this refreshing after having witnessed a growing divide over the past five or so years. Despite the fear and uncertainty we’re facing today, perhaps we’ll still emerge from this crisis as a better society.
Brandon Beatty began his career in the herbal industry in 2009 when joining the Ananda Apothecary, an online retailer of herbal extracts based in Boulder, Colorado. He founded Bluebird Botanicals in 2012 and has served as its CEO throughout his tenure. Brandon is a dynamic professional who is widely considered a leading expert in the hemp-CBD industry, and he has been involved in a handful of influential associations over the last six years. In addition to his work at Bluebird, he currently serves on the board of trustees of the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) and the board of directors of the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, both of which are playing fundamental roles in the quickly evolving hemp industry.


Rain Confesses He Feels His Career As A Singer Is Almost Over
Rain revealed that he feels like he has almost passed his prime and will soon end his career has a dancing singer.
Rain recently attended Viral Fest Asia 2017 in Bangkok, Thailand, and prior to his performance, he talked about where he is currently headed in his career.
He mentioned that his career as a dancing singer is almost at its end and, because of this, he wants to give back to his fans with an even better song than before.
Rain compared his career as a dancing singer to that of a professional athlete.
“Just like an athlete, dancing singers reach their prime at some point in their careers. Personally, I feel that I don’t want to dance anymore once my body starts slowing down, when it can’t follow the beat of the music.
But in my next album, I want to be able to show a dance that the younger singers can’t keep up with. I think I can show off this side of myself 1 or 2 more times.”
Moving on to his acting career, he mentioned that his upcoming movie Uhm Bok Dong is currently around 40% complete and will be released in August. Rain may also appear in a drama in the second half of 2017, but he is as yet undecided.
“If I end up accepting the drama offer I got, my new album would probably be released in December. If I don’t accept it, the album will be out in November.”
Source: Star News [1] and [2]