The world is a very complicated place, and during our short time on Earth, I believe, it is our responsibility to do what we can to make the world a little less complicated. We must do as much as we can with the time that we have, whether that time is spent helping others or enjoying yourself. There are a lot of people in this world whose actions have made things very complicated, but we need only view these as opportunities to create positive change, not as an indication of a new normal.
And with that smidge of wisdom, here’s what you missed in the news this weekend.
Creating Universes, Destroying Universes
Over the weekend, 46-year-old Robert Bowers made the world that much more complicated when he walked into Etz Chayim (“Tree of Life”) Synagogue during Saturday-morning services and opened fire at the members of the congregation. Bowers killed 11 people, and severely injured six others.
After a firefight with Pittsburgh police officers, the shooter was taken into custody and charged with 29 federal counts, including 11 counts of obstructing the excesses of religious beliefs resulting in death. Armed with an AR-15 assault rifle and three handguns, Bowers screamed “all Jews must die” and proceeded to shoot into the pews of the synagogue.
While this is terrible and tragic, it is a horrific trend in American society where dissident residents feel empowered to use lethal force as a means of expressing their opinions. It is said in Jewish texts that if you save a life, its as if you’ve saved the world, but if you destroy a life, and kill innocent civilians, you destroy the world. If we make attempts each day to make the world less complicated, vicious acts like these will cease to exist.
That Cloud Looks A Lot Like IBM, Weird…
IBM (IBM) showed the tech industry that their company’s head is in the cloud when they announced their plans to acquire open software company Red Hat for $34 billion this weekend. For those of us who don’t know a tortilla chip from a microchip, let me explain cloud computing for you. The cloud refers to software and services that function via the internet, as opposed to a program being physically on your computer. For example, if you store documents and files using Google Docs, the information is not stored on your hard drive, but rather “in the cloud.”
IBM (IBM) said that this deal is perhaps the “most significant tech acquisition of 2018,” given that Red Hat is currently partnered with the company’s top competitors, including Amazon (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT), and Google (GOOG).
Top 10 Worst Halloween Costumes To Put On Your 8-Year-Old
I would say that Halloween costumes walk a pretty fine line in terms of what is socially acceptable and what is morally repugnant. Granted, if you are an adult going to a “grown-up” Halloween party, you can get away with a lot more than a child can. A man in Owensboro, Kentucky crossed that line when he decided to dress as a Nazi soldier and dress his son as Adolf Hitler.
According to several news outlets, the father allegedly chose the costumes because he is a history buff, not because he wanted to stir controversy or make an anti-semitic statement with the help of his son.
Rabbi Gay Mazo, a rabbi at the local synagogue in Kentucky said in a statement that this costume choice was absolutely inappropriate and the father should be ashamed of himself.
“A good rule of thumb would be: ‘if your costume calls to mind an event where millions were killed, choose another costume. ”
–Rabbi Mazo, Temple Adath B’nai Israel
