Mr Bagel Chatter

Mr Bagel is Back

2008-01-10T07:40:00.000-08:00

Yes its true, despite a spectacular absence of blogging for over two months, Mr Bagel has returned.
Mr Bagel has been 'moving' from a remote country location to a more civilised part of Australia.

Moving has required Mr Bagel to do five seperate trips of over 2,000kms each, despite selling what we thought was almost all of our worldly possesions, we still had to do five trips to move our 'personal belongings'. Which raises one very valid point, how personal can 5 trailers worth of belongings be? Do you think Mr Bagel might just be a horder? mmm?

Anyway after selling all our furniture we have been rushing around buying beds and fridges and lounges and just about everything else required to life a civilised life. Now that Mr Bagel has moved to civilisation he has decided to stop talking to the soccer ball with a wig. (Tom Hanks.)

We've only been in town a week but, living where there are shops, and services is such a refreshing break from living hours away from the most basic shopping. Its taking some adjustment, I generally spoke to about 3 peaople a month where I lived, now I see hundreds a day.

Mr Bagel: Thank you to all the well wishers and the emails I received

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Israel's purchase of German Volkswagens opens wounds

2007-09-29T22:12:00.000-07:00

- Your comments and discussions are most welcome -
on articles which appear in Mr Bagel Chatter.

JERUSALEM - Retired agronomist Shmuel Elhanan speaks German and talks fondly about his parents' house in Berlin.

But like many Israelis and German-born Jews in the United States and elsewhere, Elhanan, 77, has a love-hate relationship with his homeland.

He is a Holocaust survivor of the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz. For decades after World War II ended, he refused to set foot in the country responsible for killing his family and millions of other Jews.

So Elhanan was angry when he learned recently that the Israeli government will begin buying Audi cars from Germany's Volkswagen. Skoda, a Czech automaker also owned by Volkswagen, will fill out the government's fleet of cars over the next four years.

VW's history includes using slave labor during World War II. Hitler himself was responsible for the prototype design of the VW Beetle and the company went on to build military vehicles for the Third Reich.

"It's a very hard thing to understand," Elhanan said. "Why would our leaders want to drive in German cars? Do they understand the impact ...?"

Germany, Israel now allies

For decades after Israel's founding in 1948, it was virtually unthinkable for anyone living in the Jewish state to buy German products, especially from companies that were part of the Nazi war effort. There are an estimated 240,000 Holocaust survivors living in Israel today.

But the anti-German phenomenon faded as time passed and wounds healed. Germany is now one of Israel's closest political and economic allies.

Volkswagen contributed to a $1.7 billion survivors' fund set up by 12 German companies in 1999 to acknowledge "remembrance, responsibility and the future." VW also established a separate fund for surviving workers and families of the wartime slave labor force.

Tens of thousands of Israelis visit Germany on holiday and educational trips each year. Israeli stores now stock all types of German-made goods: kitchen appliances, consumer products and clothing. Israel also relies on German-made weapons for its armed forces.

Yet both Israelis and their government have tended to shy away from German cars.

German imports represented only 8 percent of car sales in Israel last year, a small number that industry experts say is due to the lingering unease about the role modern-day manufacturers played in the Nazi era and the high cost for luxury cars.

Israeli officials have used Volvo cars for more than 20 years, so both business analysts and politicians reacted with surprise when the government announced this month that the Audi A6 and Skoda Superb models would become the new autos for the government.

A spokeswoman for the Finance Ministry said the government considered three major factors: price, safety and maintenance costs. She declined to provide details about the cost of the contracts with Audi and Skoda.

Mr Bagel: I considered buying an old Volkswagen Beetle a while back as a runabout, then I remembered who was responsible for its initial design. That was enough for me.

I'm not so sure I would feel comfortable owning a German car.

Much publicity is given to the gestures that Germany has made towards the sufferers of the Shoah. But there's one very hard to ignore fact.

Why are Jewish communities forced to fund raise to build synagogues which were destroyed by the Nazi's? Making well publicized gestures still does not account for the enormity of the damage the Nazi's caused to Jews.

Germany really can't undo the physical and emotional pain and suffering caused by the Nazi's, but it certainly could help with the rebuilding of Synagogues especially in Germany.

If Germany was really interested in forgiveness then they have a long way to go. Including replacing all the places of worship which were wiped out by the actions and hate of the Nazi's.

Making gestures of compensation to living individuals 60 years on, is simply an exercise in cynical cost effective accounting. Why weren't they made when the vast majority of Jews who suffered due to the Shoah were still alive?

What do you think? Would you/do you drive a German car. Are you comfortable with the Israeli government's plans to procure cars for their fleet from the German manufacturer?

References:
Startribune: Israel's purchase of German Volkswagens opens wounds

Mr Bagel Chatter: Express Yourself!

Technorati tags: VW * Volkswagen * Skoda * Audi * Israeli Government and German cars * German cars and Israel * commentary * Bagel Chatter * Bagel Chat

Israel row over Harry Potter saleSanctity of Sabbath broken

2007-07-19T15:43:00.000-07:00

The worldwide launch of the latest Harry Potter is provoking religious controversy in Israel.

Bookstores will be opening on the Sabbath, the Jewish holy day, to sell the final instalment to eager fans.

Most shops are normally closed for trade on the Sabbath, which runs from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday.

Religious politicians are accusing the bookstores of putting profits ahead of religious sensitivities for agreeing to open their shops.

The Israeli Industry and Trade Minister, Eli Yishai, has threatened to fine any store that opens on Saturday.

Israeli law forbids businesses to force their employees to work on the Sabbath.

Advance orders

"I think it's a little chutzpah [audacious] of them to open the stores just to make money," Associated Press news agency quoted Israeli member of parliament Avraham Ravitz as saying.

But the booksellers remain unrepentant.

Steimatzky, part of Israel's biggest bookstore chain, is hosting a gala event in Tel Aviv to launch the book.

The chain says that it has received ten of thousands of advance orders for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and has no plans to cancel or postpone its event.

"We are required by the publishers to start selling the books at this time," said store buyer Nancy Ayalon.

The Harry Potter books have sold more than 325 million copies worldwide and have been translated into at least 64 languages, including Hebrew.

Mr Bagel: Ok, so what do people think? Is this acceptable that an Israeli Book chain allows the breaking of Sabbath over the release of the final Harry Potter book?

References:
BBC: Israel row over Harry Potter sale

Mr Bagel Chatter: Express Yourself!

Technorati tags: Harry Potter * Harry Potter and Sabbath * Sabbath Broken * Israeli Book Stores break Sabbath * Avraham Ravitz * Steimatzky breaks Sabbath * Harry Potter sold on Sabbath * news * commentary * Bagel Chatter * Bagel Chat

The Whole World Is Watching Have you say!

2007-06-28T06:33:00.000-07:00

By Thomas L. Friedman
The New York Times
The Whole World Is Watching

The blogosphere has made the global discussion so much richer — and each of us so much more transparent.

Three years ago, I was catching a plane at Boston’s Logan airport and went to buy some magazines for the flight. As I approached the cash register, a woman coming from another direction got there just behind me — I thought. But when I put my money down to pay, the woman said in a very loud voice: “Excuse me! I was here first!” And then she fixed me with a piercing stare that said: “I know who you are.” I said I was very sorry, even though I was clearly there first.

If that happened today, I would have had a very different. I would have said: “Miss, I’m so sorry. I am entirely in the wrong. Please, go ahead. And can I buy your magazines for you? May I buy your lunch? Can I shine your shoes?”

Why?

Because I’d be thinking there is some chance this woman has a blog or a camera in her cellphone and could, if she so chose, tell the whole world about our encounter — entirely from her perspective — and my utterly rude, boorish, arrogant, thinks-he-can-butt-in-line behavior. Yikes!

When everyone has a blog, a MySpace page or Facebook entry, everyone is a publisher. When everyone has a cellphone with a camera in it, everyone is a paparazzo. When everyone can upload video on YouTube, everyone is filmmaker. When everyone is a publisher, paparazzo or filmmaker, everyone else is a public figure. We’re all public figures now. The blogosphere has made the global discussion so much richer — and each of us so much more transparent.

The implications of all this are the subject of a new book by Dov Seidman, founder and C.E.O. of LRN, a business ethics company. His book is simply called “How.” Because Seidman’s simple thesis is that in this transparent world “how” you live your life and “how” you conduct your business matters more than ever, because so many people can now see into what you do and tell so many other people about it on their own without any editor. To win now, he argues, you have to turn these new conditions to your advantage.

For young people, writes Seidman, this means understanding that your reputation in life is going to get set in stone so much earlier. More and more of what you say or do or write will end up as a digital fingerprint that never gets erased. Our generation got to screw up and none of those screw-ups appeared on our first job résumés, which we got to write. For this generation, much of what they say, do or write will be preserved online forever. Before employers even read their résumés, they’ll Google them.

“The persistence of memory in electronic form makes second chances harder to come by,” writes Seidman. “In the information age, life has no chapters or closets; you can leave nothing behind, and you have nowhere to hide your skeletons. Your past is your present.” So the only way to get ahead in life will be by getting your “hows” right.

Ditto in business. Companies that get their hows wrong won’t be able to just hire a P.R. firm to clean up the mess by a taking a couple of reporters to lunch — not when everyone is a reporter and can talk back and be heard globally.

But this also creates opportunities. Today “what” you make is quickly copied and sold by everyone. But “how” you engage your customers, “how” you keep your promises and “how” you collaborate with partners — that’s not so easy to copy, and that is where companies can now really differentiate themselves.

“When it comes to human conduct there is tremendous variation, and where a broad spectrum of variation exists, opportunity exists,” writes Seidman. “The tapestry of human behavior is so varied, so rich and so global that it presents a rare opportunity, the opportunity to outbehave the competition.”

How can you outbehave your competition? In Michigan, Seidman writes, one hospital taught its doctors to apologize when they make mistakes, and dramatically cut their malpractice claims. In Texas, a large auto dealership allowed every mechanic to spend freely whatever company money was necessary to do the job right, and saw their costs actually decline while customer satisfaction improved. A New York street doughnut-seller trusted his customers to make their own change and found he could serve more people faster and build the loyalty that keeps them coming back.

“We do not live in glass houses (houses have walls); we live on glass microscope slides ... visible and exposed to all,” he writes. So whether you’re selling cars or newspapers (or just buying one at the newsstand), get your hows right — how you build trust, how you collaborate, how you lead and how you say you’re sorry. More people than ever will know about it when you do — or don’t.

Bagelblogger: What say you? Will the new generation be accountable to a digitalized CV of their every possible interaction? Is the Web bringing in an era of 'Big Brother' or is the individual both more able to express themselves and paradoxically more accountable for their actions? Is the practice of anonymity on the blogosphere an attempt to counter act this, or is it simply a preventative measure against being sued for libel; whilst being able to attack opinions one disagrees with?

Make sure you say what's on your mind!

Article Credit: New York Times subscription article
Photo Credit: Thomas Friedman. (Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times)

Mr Bagel Chatter: Express Yourself!

Technorati tags: Thomas Friedman * New York Times * Computers * Internet * Blogs * Blogging * Google * Google * Blog revolution * news * commentary * op ed

JIB Finals Voting Results - Real Time

2007-05-21T07:02:00.000-07:00

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Mr Bagel needs your help; and would like to set a few things straight...

2007-05-16T14:40:00.000-07:00

The Final Countdown:

Well its five hours to go until the voting for the JIB awards finish.

There's a half a world between me and the rest of most of you.
Living in Australia, in the outback is very hard. I don't have the usual 'Jewish connections', in fact I see my Rabbi and Shule in Sydney, very rarely every time I do a 4ookm journey to Sydney.

We will be moving in 6 months time back to Sydney from this beautiful but very remote place that we live in. Its tough being were we live, unlike most of you, you see the Internet as simply a auxiliary connection to a few Jews speckled around the world.

The fact of the matter is, to us Danielle aka Baleboosteh, and myself Aaron ,aka Bagelblogger you are our world.

It may sound really lame, but every moment we spend on the computer on the Internet is in an effort to try to connect with other fellow Jews. For us there is at the moment no other way.

You are our family, and like families we do argue, we do disagree occasionally.

Now I will not deny that any one voting for Danielle or myself in the next 5 hours would be greatly appreciated, the voting in our class is very very tight.

Danielle: Best Photo/Graphics Blog

Aaron: Best of the Rest

Aaron: Best Designed Blog

But I'd like to talk about something else.

Something more important than winning.

I'd like to talk to all the fellow bloggers out there (like us) who dont have 350 commenters visiting their blogs, the bloggers who sometimes question themselves why they blog, and do they really get the return of the energy and emotion that they put in, back out.

All the smaller bloggers who have tirelessly advocated for Israel, tirelessly spread positive words and wrote advocating on Jewish issues.

There will be a few happy winners to day, they will get their JIB award for best..., whatever.

Some of them will go on and announce to the world 'Winners of 17 blog awards in the Jewish and Israeli Blog Awards', something that they should be ashamed of.

To the organization that pretended to support these awards, but actually used them as a cynical self promotion exercise, you should be ashamed of your selves. You will now have the chutzpah to publicize your 'awards' and announce yourselves as the award winning blogs of....

To these blogs and to their owners, you have done a disservice to yourselves and to the other bloggers which blog with such a passion.

The greatest disservice is the theft, yes strong word, theft of an award which should go to the bloggers who blogged all year round, not just when the awards are coming up.

To the bloggers who slogged it out, and wrote regardless of the lack of acclaim and thanks, who receive very little recognition, you are the real winners of these awards. You are the ones most worthy.

The bloggers who wrote 70 posts a month or more during the Lebanon War, not the bloggers who wrote 19 posts in the whole of 2007.

I would like to address the real winners of this years JIB Awards competition.

The bloggers who refused to compromise, refused to do things they knew weren't right. They refused to vote for themselves more than once. They refused to change they're behaviour despite the presence of Arutz Sheva and other organizations blogs.

This was never a level playing field, It was never a fair test of who has a good blog, it was simply, who was best at ambush marketing themselves, sending the largest number of spams, getting the best media campaign and even to the point of acting unethically.

There's only one winner in these JIB's, and its not the people who won JIB awards, its the people who refused to compromise on what they knew was right and what is wrong.

Your know who I'm talking about, and to those people you are the winners.

Shalom Aaron
Mr Bagel

I live in Australia so 10pm vote closing time is not 10 pm closing time for me.
I've woken up especially early to write this post, its 5 am, and its is absolutely freezing.

I wish all the ethical jbloggers out there the best of luck.

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Jew and the Carrot Voting History last 36 hours

2007-05-16T04:56:00.000-07:00

Click read more to see the graphic showing
voting progess over the last 36 hours.

This reference is put up for the public record

Regards Mr bagel

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Akiva reports on reasons why the voting was temporarily halted

2007-05-16T02:19:00.000-07:00

In a bizarre scenario Mr Bagel happen to be on the computer burning the early morning oil, I noticed Akiva was logged into his gmail account.
Which for me was surprising as I dont think I've ever had more than one conversation with Akiva via gmail. I don't think either of us are the 'messaging guru' type.

I glanced occasionally noting who might be on board the Gtalk express but was really too occupied to take any real notice.

After finishing the New Mystery Blogger Series in the wee hours of this morning I decided it might be a good time to see how much I'm being trounced in Best Design Blog [results and voting] and how well (yay!!) in the JIB's I'm going in 'Best Of the Rest Blog' [results and voting]

Now I happen to care about the results of the JIB, and I make no apologies for this.

Best New Blog
Best New blog is an interesting category as its a good indicator (or should be) of rising stars of the JBlogosphere I have been keeping any eye on it to see who is who in the zoo.

Now I was pretty surprised considering the technorati ranking and traffic that Jew and the Carrot gets that they have managed to all of a sudden tally- 465 votes.

Jew and the Carrot

I brought this to Akiva's attention:
(I have no malice I don't know who runs this blog nor do I overly particularly care)

Akiva has stated:

"Our investigation has shown a valid cause for the vote surge you spotted with The Jew and The Carrot. Turns out this blog is associated with an organization, and they emailed the whole organization to come vote. 5 minutes after their email, the vote surge started. The surge did not show any symptoms of previous hacks, all votes appeared kosher, only the pure volume. (And that's why we suspended to do more research, a hack that clean would require an immediate stop to maintain integrity.)

We have now actually received an email from another org blog, noting the surge via the email (seems they share some members, who forwarded the email to them), and intend to do the same.

If the JIBs are run in the future, clearly rules about HOW and WHERE one can ask for votes (like, only on the blog or be disqualified) as well as specific categories for organization, professional, and media blogs versus private bloggers must be created.

--Akiva

BB: Akiva makes some good points, what do others think about this?

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Im Sorry but This is So Wrong!!!Oh Gee I didn't realise that... was an Arutz Sheva blog as well

2007-05-13T15:22:00.000-07:00

If you think this is a recommendation list then good for you,...

If you click on any of these links then you're even more stupid than the rest of the bloggers in the JIB's including Mr Bagel! And Believe me we have been Stupid!

I want to be sick....

Now I'm going to get a lot of flack for this post, but I'm not going to sit here and watch these Awards be stolen away!

Too be quite frank I am sick of hearing 'We will adress that next year'

I want every single Jblogger to look at this list and if you were beaten by any of these blogs you need to ask yourself was it fair that these blogs were on a National newspaper and you weren't?

Then you need to go to the paper and ask your self, why?

Why didn't the committee say something?

Why will they only act next year?

Now before you go saying I'm acting in self interest.

Right, now I'm actually Leader of Best of the Rest

If you think Mr Bagel might just be slightly sarcastic about the fact there are so many blogs directly associated with Arutz Sheva that got a major mention on the page below then you might be just a teeny bit closer to the truth.

Have a look how many of them are actually either winning or coming a place. Then think about how many bloggers that have blogged all year are going to miss out on that finals badge because they were gazumped by Arutz Sheva blogs.

Jewish Blog Awards Empower Alternative Voices

by Arutz-7 Staff

[Its just we dis-empower the alternative voices by not mentioning any of them except the ones that are by our staffers and our associates.-BB]

Several of Arutz-7’s own blogs, as well as some authored by Arutz-7 staff, have made it into the final round of JIB voting:

Fundamentally Freund – Arutz-7's first blog, by Michael Freund - Best Overall Blog (click to vote), Best Jewish Right-Wing Political Blog (click to vote) and Best Israel Advocacy Blog (click to vote)

Tamar Yonah – Israel National Radio's long-running star broadcaster - Best New Blog (click to vote) and Best Jewish Right-Wing Political Blog (click to vote)

Israel Beat - Israel National Radio's famed host of Jewish Music show The Beat, Ben Bresky – Best Jewish Music Blog (click to vote), Best Jewish Podcast: Jam Session (click to vote) and Best Jewish Podcast/Audio/Video Blog (click to vote)

Eishet Chayil - Israel National Radio show host Malkah Fleisher's blog - Best Cooking Post (click to vote)

Kumah – Arutz-7 News Editor Ezra HaLevi, Israel National Radio Program Director Yishai Fleisher, Radio Host Malkah Fleisher, Correspondent Gil Ronen, Radio Host Ze'ev Orenstein and Photography Contributor Pinchas Orbach and others - Best Group Blog (click to vote), Best Contribution / Jewish Blog that Made a Difference (click to vote), Best Slice of Life in Israel Blog (click to vote), Best Designed Jewish Blog (click to vote), Best Israel Advocacy Blog (click to vote), Best Jewish Humor Blog Post: Becoming a Real Israeli (click to vote) and Best Jewish Religious Blog-Post: The Shabbat Candle Ladies (click to vote)

Israel Perspectives - Israel National Radio Campus Radio talk-show host Ze'ev Orenstein's long-running political commentary blog - Best Jewish Right-Wing Political Blog (click to vote)

ADDeRabbi - Arutz-7 Latest News Correspondent Elli Fischer's long-running blog - Best Jewish Religious Blog-Post: Ball-Playing Rabbis (click to vote), Best Torah Blog Post: Why God Chose Abraham (click to vote), Best Jewish Picture or Video Post: Sukkot on Campus (click to vote) and Best Jewish News-Post: The RCA Conversion Scandal: What's the Real Issue? (click to vote)

Point of Pinchas - Arutz-7 photography contributor Pinchas Orbach - Best Jewish Photo/Graphics Blog (click to vote), Best Series: Only in Israel (click to vote), Best Jewish Picture or Video Post: "It Shall Come to Pass": 7 NBN Summer 2007 Flights (click to vote) and Best Jewish Personal Blog (click to vote)

Additionally, two Arutz-7 live-blogged photo essays cross-posted on the Kumah blog are in the finals for Best Jewish Live Event Coverage Blog-Post: Vineyards Uprooted, Trees Destroyed, Media Silent Because They Were Planted & Tended by Jews and We Return to Homesh! Ben Bresky's photo coverage of the Jam Session that took place in Arutz-7's studio was advanced to the finals in that category as well. (click to vote)

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A Piece Of My Mind - JIB Finalists

2007-05-12T23:40:00.000-07:00

Cross posted at Baleboosteh - originally posted 2nd May

As many will know, I have been feeling a bit annoyed over the past few days. There have been somethings I have wanted to say. The time has come to say something because it has really been eating away at me.

Batya has posted an article today, which for me is just the tip of the ice burg, you can read it here.

In the article Batya speaks of the difference between blogs with a large base of readers due to lots of friends and family and those who are 'media-based'.

She goes on to say:

"Dry Bones is great, but he has been featured in the Jerusalem Post for decades. He shouldn't be running in JIB Awards against ordinary bloggers, even the megas. The same goes for Tamar Yona of Arutz 7. She's a major radio personality there."

This is the comment I have left on Batya's blog:

"Hi Batya,

I understand where you are coming from and I agree somewhat.

Dry Bones does have a great blog and it is very popular.

Tamar Yonah however, may be a 'major radio personality', but she certainly is not a 'major' blogger.

Check her technorati ranking here
Rank: 536,218 (22 links from 9 blogs). It seems she gets hardly any traffic to her blog, yet she managed to get almost 200 votes all up in the 2 categories she was nominated in, even beating Aussie Dave in one of them!

Now, I ask, these are 'blogging' awards aren't they?

I don't remember the JIB's being radio awards?!

It was never supposed to be a popularity contest, it is supposed to be about awarding quality blogs, but now it seems its a contest who can rort the voting the most, it seems you don't really even need to have a blog."

I am sick of it. I am sick of the amount of people who have rorted these awards, and who expect other bloggers - 'real bloggers' not to say anything. It is not just this one, it has happened in other categories also. There were a few other blogs that either have basically very few readers and/or post very rarely and yet have somehow managed to get heaps more votes than some of the very well known bloggers who have large readerships.

This is certainly not a case of sour grapes - and I don't care what anyone says about that, but, I was against a similar blog in the 'Best Personal Blog' group I was in. The 90th Minute, this blogger also happens to be a journalist with articles appearing in publications including Haaretz, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Jerusalem Post and European Jewish Press. Her technorati ranking can be found here, she is ranked Rank: 1,083,235 (8 links from 4 blogs)

Considering her readership and traffic to her blog, I find it hard to believe just over 100 votes have been from legitimate readers and not from the fact she is in the media and able to pull votes that way.

Another 'blog' that is in the service industry is JobMob. JobMob is a web site which helps people find jobs in Israel. They qualified in the JIB's for Best New blog with 79 votes (placed 2nd behind Tamar Yonah) and just missed out qualifying for Best Overall Blog with 68 votes. Both nominations of which I find a joke.

It seems that some journalists/ media organisations and service industries are using these awards purely as a promotional campaign to expose themselves to traffic and further their media profiles.

It is the real bloggers who are suffering because of this. The awards have been well run by the committee, but in hind sight, there really needs to be some form of criteria for each category for blog nominations to prevent this sort of abuse - it is not what the awards are supposed to be about.

---------------------------------------

UPDATE - 12th May

Seems voting can be quite a strange thing.

We all know the finals are underway, but there are blogs that finished the last round of voting on, say, 140 votes that in this final round have only 20 votes after almost 3 days of voting. For example:

JSpot: 140 votes last round - this round after almost 3 days: 20 votes (at time of writing)

Muzzlewatch: 206 votes last round - this round after almost 3 days: 17 votes (at time of writing) and also in another category 213 votes last round - this round after almost 3 days: 18 votes (at time of writing)

90th Minute: 50 votes last round - this round after almost 3 days: 2 votes (at time of writing) they actually won their category of best personal blog last round.

There are many more examples and also plenty of examples of the reverse - that is blogs who scrapped through last round with a small score but have managed to significantly increase on that score this final round after almost 3 days of voting.

There are also some real stand outs who are going really well with gathering voters. Help! I Have A Fire In My Kitchen went straight through last round along with all that were nominated in the Kosher Food category. So far he has 216 votes! I wonder what the final vote tally will be there, sounds like it will be huge.

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JIB JIB Awards JIB's Jewish and Israeli Blog Awards

Steamrolled by an A7

2007-05-12T12:20:00.000-07:00

by Aussie Dave on May 11, 2007 10:27AM (IDT)

Hey, my koala got rolled!

But in Tamar Yonah's defense, she at least partially seems to understand that the purpose of the awards is not to win, but rather bring exposure to blogs that deserve a wider readership. And she hearts Israellycool, so I've been softened up a bit (not just by the steamroller, I guess).

Her employer, Arutz Sheva, on the other hand...they have an article on the JIBs, but instead of trying to do good and bring readers to the plethora of Jewish, Israeli, and Israel advocacy blogs on display, they are merely asking their readers to go to specific Arutz Sheva affiliated blogs and vote for them. What's more, when I pointed this out to them, they did not publish my comment. So I've decided to try again.

"Not sure what happened to my original comment, but I'll try again.

Guys, the whole point of these "awards" is to introduce new readers to Israeli, Jewish, and pro-Israel blogs. So I would hope you would encourage your readers to look at the other such blogs, rather than just ask them to vote for Arutz Sheva affiliated blogs. After all, these "awards" are meaningless as actual awards. I should know - I invented them. "

Now that I've alerted this to a wider readership, I wonder if they'll publish the comment or - more importantly - encourage their readers to explore the other blogs.

By the way, their article makes no mention of the JIBs' real purpose, except "to provide recognition for bloggers." This is so not the purpose of the JIBs. But I guess it would have helped if they had bothered contacting me.

Update: Well, they've now published my comment, but are still not making any attempt to promote any blogs but their own.

With thanks to Dave at IsraellyCool for this post

Original article here: Steamrolled by an A7

Thank s Dave! IsraellyCool
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JIB JIB Awards JIB's Jewish and Israeli Blog Awards

thanks for inviting me

2007-05-12T10:54:00.000-07:00

First of all, thank you Mr. Bagel, I'm proud to join.

I have a lot to say about how JIB Awards is progressing, but most is/was going on in private email discussions.

I hadn't expected to get into the finals, so I feel good about it.

I've gotten my votes without sending letters to all the email lists and everyone in my addressbook. I just wanted to see how ordinary people see my blogs. Even though Arutz 7 sometimes posts my articles on their opinion page, I don't get paid in any way, and I'm not one of the blogs they're promoting in the awards.

Yes, it seems like some blogs are getting mega publicity. Not only aren't all the voters bloggers, but not all the voters even read blogs on a regular basis.

You don't have to be a CPA's daughter (which I am) to see that it distorts the numbers. But since we can't change the rules mid-ride, let's just hope that some of those "doing a friend a favor" will get hooked and start reading blogs and even blogging.

Shavua Tov!

SShh! Whatever you do don't press that button!

2007-05-12T08:19:00.000-07:00

Life is about choices, just like in the movie The Matrix,
in life you get to metaphorically chose to
take the red pill or the blue pill.

Well you've got another choice now, which is to ignore this page or
press that button, which one is it going to be?

If you think you can handle
it click the picture.

JIB JIB Awards JIB's Jewish and Israeli Blog Awards

I'm going to Win the JIB Awards!

2007-05-10T12:43:00.000-07:00

Originally Posted Mr Bagel 10th May

With the JIB Awards about to begin their final round of voting, I thought it might be a good idea to reflect in a positive way about what it all really means.

Some of us are going to be madly running as fast as we can towards the finish line, ringing up neighbours, friends, emailing people we have neglected in a sudden display of ummhh 'sincerity', all to hasten our arrival to the finish line.

Some of us are so focused on the tape at the end of the race, that I wonder have we actually considered what is at the finishing line?

Could it be that Just like Willie Coyote we're busy inventing new ways to go faster and get more votes only to realise that once you have passed the finishing line their may actually be nothing there?

As in this metaphor that I've 'appropriated' from Warner Brothers', its not always the first to get somewhere that wins.

These are my first JIB's and in the spirit of positiveness and candidness I've done some things I'm not so proud of.

I've neglected my friends, I've neglected my family, I've been so busy 'with the awards' I haven't visited the people I know will still be there when this is all over.

In a moment of clarity and self realisation, I'd like to pause and share something with you.

Being involved initially in helping with these awards, was for me something I was very proud of.

I really did have only noble intentions, in fact I would have been quite happy not to run.

But whilst I was busy helping with these awards initially, something happened.

I changed from being an 'us' to a 'one' of them. I don't know why, I hadn't changed in any great way, but I felt a disconnect from the JBlogging community as a whole, I've never felt before.

Needless to say, after spending so much time working on a certain project and to think i had finished it, only to have it fail, I felt disappointed, and some what bitter.

That's the down side to my experience in helping with these awards.

I may sound like a broken record but I would like to make two observations:

1. Any one that helps run the JIB's in general is worthy of our respect.

2. Any one that helps with these awards, needs professional help.

Whoa? Yes, I ask you look at the track history of the Jewish Blogging Awards.

Its path is strewn with more dismembered bodies (people who wanted to make a difference) than the total number of awards given out.

These awards haven't all been bad for me thou.

I've got to meet some blogger who I would not have normally had the chance nor inclination to talk with. Some of them I argued seemingly about every single point, but given the chance to meet with them in real life now I would jump at the chance.

I've focused on making changes on my blog which all though requiring more work will ultimately make both my blog more enjoyable to read, and blogging more enjoyable to pursue.

I've formed an incredibly good friendship with a blogger. One of those very rare friendships you know will last as long as you do.

I've had people who normally wouldn't come to my blog actually come to check it out.

Whether they come with friendship in mind doesn't really matter, they came and that in itself gives the chance of friendship.

If I could change anything about myself and the JIB's what would it be?

I must admit I have in some ways I admired Cosmic X's position, he has refused point blank to seek the 'prestige' of these awards. Something which I know is in the Torah, and I think for good reason.

When we allow ourselves to be overtaken by our own sense of importance, or our own sense of what seems important to us at the time, we neglect the really 'important' things in life.

The partner who you have stopped talking to because you're so 'busy now', your children who you keep sending away telling them to find something to do, when all they want is what they had previously and seem to have in some way have lost - your love.

You know, as I sit here and type, I no longer 'imagine' winning a an award, I simply sigh, wish they would finish, and hope in some way I can make it up to the people I do love and have let down.

Shalom Aaron.

Always FreshBagelblogger
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