Best EU

From Yahoo:
"What Every Country in the European Union Does Best"

The European Union has 28 member countries, and much like snowflakes, they’re all special in their own way. Every country excels at something — and to that end, we found one thing every EU nation is the best at… even if it’s having the most experience working with robots.

Austria: Lowest unemployment

During the past year, Austria had the lowest unemployment rate at an average of 4.9%. Compare that to Greece’s unemployment rate, which NASA is still trying to calculate.

Belgium: Most recycling

Originally, it looked like Belgium was going to reign as “Most Van Damme.” But alas, Time Cop is pretty much Hollywood-only these days. Instead, Belgians ranked best at recycling packaged waste. They may not be burning their trash like the Swedes, but Belgians sure do know what to do with those boxes they get from Amazon.

Bulgaria: Cheapest electricity

Bulgaria is the place to be if you’ve got a roommate who never shuts off the lights after leaving the room. The only problem: it means you live in Bulgaria.

Croatia: Least noisy housing

Croatians get the most peace and quiet, with only 10% reporting they suffer from hearing noise at home. But what about houses with super creaky floors, eh, Croatia? What about that?

Cyprus: Best at handling euro coins and notes

A whopping 78% of Cypriots said they have no problem distinguishing and handling euro coins, and 91% said they could distinguish and handle euro notes. Which makes a ton of sense, seeing how big of a tax haven the country is. Cyprus is more than willing to help you handle your dough.

Czech Republic: Best at drinking beer

Out of all the things to be best at, the Czech Republic has the coolest bragging rights. Czechs have the highest per capita beer consumption in the world, at a yearly rate of 148.6 liters per capita. And all this in a country without sororities or fraternities.

Denmark: Most dancing and singing

Here’s a sleeper statistic: 35% of Danes report having danced in the past 12 months, and 38% report having sung. If you were to lay odds on which countries did these most frequently, Greece would be a 2:1 favorite, Italy at 5:1, and Denmark would be 400:1. Thanks for being good at everything, Denmark.

Estonia: Least wasteful

Belgians might recycle more than anyone else, but the good people of Estonia are the least wasteful altogether. Just imagine Estonia as your neighbor who squirrels away old lawnmower parts, only to figure out how to get your broken down car running again with them in six months.

Finland: Most tourists

Finland: Tourism capital of Europe. It’s true. Well, in terms of residents who actually go on trips, seeing how 88.5% of Finns have taken an overnight trip for personal tourism in the past 12 months. That’s gotta be some kind of record.

France: Lowest obesity rate

It’s hard to believe a country that was founded on soft cheese, baguettes, and surrendering could have the lowest obesity rates in Europe — but it’s true. Perhaps France just had eating well down to a science before junk food really came into the picture.

Germany: Happiest with employment

This is the least shocking “best” on this list. The most highly populated country in the EU, Germany, still manages to have enough jobs to go around. Germans = efficient.

Greece: Lowest rate of tuberculosis

Here are three things Greeks love: eating food their mothers made, talking smack about the Turks, and not having tuberculosis. The country has a rate of only 5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

Hungary: Least illegal spending

Everybody pays for things that don’t get taxed sometimes, like when you pay a babysitter, buy from a lemonade stand, or decide it’s easier to just hire henchmen and pay them in sacks of money with “$$$” printed on the side. Some countries do a lot of off-the-record economic activity (**cough** **cough**  Italy), and others, such as Hungary, reportedly do very little.

Ireland: Fewest divorces

Ireland has the lowest divorce rate and also the highest fertility rate, keeping in motion its plan to never break the stereotype of the Irish-Catholic family with more kids than a goat farm.

Italy: Highest life expectancy

The life expectancy for an Italian is 82.03 years, with two major exceptions: Mario and Luigi’s lifespan depends on the prevalence of Super Mushrooms, and is inversely correlated to the number of Goombas and Hammer Bros.

Latvia: Most likely to give a public official a gift

Latvians are so generous, 67% of them figure, “Why wait for Christmas or a birthday — public officials deserve recognition year-round!” …or public officials are just really corrupt and require at least a bundt cake to get any pot hole fixed.

Lithuania: Most secondary school graduates

93.4% of Lithuanians complete secondary school. In comparison, 93.4% of Americans can’t find Lithuania on a map. It’s definitely somewhere in Eastern Europe. Probably.

Luxembourg: Highest foreign language proficiency

The average student in Luxembourg learns 2.5 foreign languages in school, which is kinda weird, because what does half a language look like… Esperanto? But by adulthood, 61% of the population can speak three different foreign languages at a conversational level. Here’s the thing: the country has three official languages, and so much money, Luxembourgers can afford to learn another language before they go on vacation.

Malta: Most optimistic about future

If your country had a dog that looked like this named after it, you’d be pretty optimistic, too. In reality, though, Malta has a kickass unemployment rate, which is less than half of any of its Mediterranean neighbors.

Netherlands: Most people who’ve quit smoking

Smoking is a gigantic public health problem in Europe, but fortunately, 30% of the Dutch have already quit smoking tobacco cigarettes. However, there may be a thing or two still available to smoke in Amsterdam.

Poland: Biggest producer of apples

Poland produces more than 3 million tons of apples per year, but only about 900,000 tons of pork, so Poles are definitely going for seconds of applesauce with their dinner.

Portugal: Highest cork production

Nearly half of the world’s cork supply comes from Portugal (about 49.6%). Everyone would be drinking a lot more boxed wine if it weren’t for the glorious corks of Portugal.

Romania: Lowest cocaine use

Romanians are not very interested in seeing films in theaters, but they’re also uninterested in doing cocaine. So who knows what they do on first dates.

Slovakia: Most work experience with robots

This is a real statistic someone tracks. More Slovakians reported having previously worked with a robot either at home or at school. Maybe “The Jetsons” actually takes place in Slovakia, and not the future. Or maybe Slovakia is the future…

Slovenia: Fewest teen moms

Perhaps it’s because of excellent access to birth control, or because young Slovenians are too busy studying German to have sex, but the country has the lowest incidence of teen moms. Not to be confused with “Teen Mom,” which airs on MTV Czech in Slovakia.

Spain: Most popular Erasmus destination

What are most people looking for when they study abroad? Warm weather, nice beaches, and an excellent selection of ham. Spain checks all the boxes, and then some.

Sweden: Most Internet users

94.8% of Swedes have Internet access. The other 5.2% still have to walk back to IKEA or call on a rotary phone to figure out how the hell to assemble their new end table.

UK: Lowest homicide rate

There have been a lot of high-profile British murderers: Jack the Ripper, Harold Shipman, Voldemort. But the UK actually has the lowest homicide rate at only 0.3 per 100,000 inhabitants. Those Brits… so polite.

 

 

^ This was interesting. ^

 

 

https://www.yahoo.com/travel/what-every-country-in-the-european-union-is-best-108947653697.html

 

70: Auschwtiz

From DW:
"Auschwitz's unspeakable horrors remembered 70 years on"

Seventy years ago, the Soviet Red Army liberated Auschwitz. Politicians, survivors and their families gathered Tuesday at the camp to remember the horrors committed by the What kept him alive in Auschwitz, Marcel Tuchman says, was the belief that "civilized people would end the horror." For years, he says, he clung to the hope that the humiliation, death and starvation would be stopped by those outside the barbed wires. Tuchman shrugs: "Little did we know that many just didn't care." He smiles a twisted, wry smile. The 93-year-old Tuchman is one of the 300 survivors and their relatives who, together with government officials, church leaders and others from all over the world, gathered outside the "gate of death" of the former Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau Tuesday to commemorate its liberation 70 years ago by the Soviet Red Army on January 27, 1945. Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski told the more than 3,000 visitors that the German occupiers had "made my country a place of extermination." He spoke inside a tent built especially for the event, above the illuminated railway tracks on which prisoners had arrived to the satellite camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the snow-covered barracks and barbed-wire fences visible through the gate. People were turned into mere numbers in Auschwitz, he said. It was, he added, Europe's duty to remember and defend its values. "From this place we are condemning all manifestations of hatred, anti-Semitism and xenophobia," he said. The Germans built Auschwitz in 1940. It first served as an internment camp for Poles and then, from 1942 onwards, as the largest extermination camp in Europe: Estimates vary, but it is generally accepted that at least 1.1 million people from all over Europe were killed in Auschwitz, mainly Jews, but also Roma and Sinti, political prisoners, and prisoners of war. In 1947, it was turned into a museum. As the number of survivors - many of whom are now in their 80s and 90s - is dwindling, the commemoration was focused on their stories and testimonies. Halina Birenbaum, prisoner "No. 48693," told the packed audience, many dressed in somber black, that Auschwitz was a "bottomless pit of hell," full of stinking mud, barbed wire, "a disgusting mass of people in lousy wet rags, wearing muddy clogs." "Nothing," Birenbaum, who was born in Poland and now lives in Israel, added, "reminded you of anything remotely human." By saying those words, she said, "I am reliving this horror." The survivor Roman Kent said that one minute in Auschwitz was like an entire day "and a day was like a year, a month an eternity." The smell of death, he added, permeated the air, human skeletons roamed the camp, "just skin and bones, but still alive." His message to the world leaders gathered in the audience, he said, was that "we must all remember and teach others to remember."Nazis.  Then, he said, the Holocaust and other atrocities, such as in Dafur and Kosovo, as well as the recent attacks in Paris, "will have no place on the face of the earth." He warned of attempts by the media to "sanitize the Shoah so that it appears less wicked and brutal." That, he added, obscured the truth. Kazimierz Albin, who was caught when he tried to join the Polish resistance and was brought to Auschwitz with the first group of Polish political prisoners in 1940, recalled the sirens that used to echo through the camp whenever a prisoner had escaped. And, yet, he said, the sound was one of hope: the hope that the outside world might learn of the crimes of the Nazis in the camps. Only 10 percent of the escapes were successful, he says; those who were caught were killed. Albin last heard the sound of the siren in early 1943, the day he escaped from Birkenau. "That sound continues to vibrate in my subconscious ever since," he said as dusk gathered around the barracks and the heavy snowfall coated the three journalists broadcasting live outside the tent. When he took to the stage, Ronald S. Lauder, the head of the Jewish World Congress, warned that a storm "of anti-Semitism was sweeping through Europe." Jews were being targeted in Europe again, he said, "because they are Jews." Synagogues and Jewish businesses were being attacked, he said, and young Jewish boys were afraid of wearing their kippahs - also known as yarmulkes, or skullcaps - in places like Budapest, London, Paris and Berlin. The year 2015, he said, "looks more like 1933," adding that Jewish families were starting to flee Europe. Governments had to stand up to this new wave of hatred, Lauder said: Anti-Semitism had led to Auschwitz: "Don't let this happen again." The snowfall had stopped by the time the survivors and others had filed out of the tent and past the railway tracks that had brought so many to their death. Under the former death camp's harsh floodlights, they put down candles to honor the many who, unlike them, had not survived or escaped Auschwitz's previously unimaginable horrors.


^ It's important to remember what happened, the murderers, the victims and the survivors. It  is also important to know that many people around Europe and the world knew exactly what was going on and did nothing to stop it. That last part is especially important because it shows the indifference that most humans have to suffering. It has been 70 years since Auschwitz was liberated and yet the majority of Nazis, Germans and their collaborators were left unpunished with many living openly and even receiving government pensions. A people and country can't claim to be sorry for something like the Holocaust when they are caring for the murderers (or are the murderers themselves.) ^

http://www.dw.de/auschwitzs-unspeakable-horrors-remembered-70-years-on/a-18219723
 

Snow Emergency

From the BBC:
"Snow emergency declared in US"

An emergency has been declared in several US states as a storm bringing hurricane-force winds and 90cm (36ins) of snow barrels down on the north-east. Non-emergency vehicles have been banned on New York City's 6,000 miles of roads after 23:00 local time. "Recognise this as an emergency, this is not business as usual," said Mayor Bill de Blasio. Heavy snowfall is forecast from Philadelphia to Maine, falling up to four inches an hour in some areas. New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts have declared states of emergency and 50 million people are expected to wake up to a foot of snow on Tuesday.

 

In other developments:

• 5,000 flights in and out of airports along the East Coast cancelled
• New York Governor Andrew Cuomo urged commuters to work from home on Monday
• he also warned that public transport and major roads could close before evening rush hour
• New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said state offices would close at lunchtime
• wind gusts of 75 mph or more are forecast for coastal areas of Massachusetts

Glenn Field of the National Weather Service in Taunton, Massachusetts, told the BBC on Monday afternoon that the storm will be worse than previously thought. Hurricane-force winds of up to 80 mph (129km/h) will batter Cape Cod, the islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, he said.  Mr Field said the heaviest snowfall will come in the early hours of Tuesday, with 15 inches expected between 0100 and 0500 local time, and 30 inches in total in parts of Massachusetts. During a Monday afternoon press conference, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio urged residents to stay out of the way of the 2,300 snowploughs clearing city streets.  "You can't underestimate this storm," the city's mayor said. "What you are going to see in a few hours in something that is going to hit very hard and very fast." Similar bans for non-emergency vehicles will be in effect later this evening for the states of Connecticut and Massachusetts and would be likely in the rest of New York state.


^ While I am not one of those people you see on TV freaking out about every snow storm and rushing to the store to stock-up and to buy my first shovel (despite the fact that it's almost February and you should already have one.) I did go into town today to do my regular errands  - which did include getting some groceries. I believe you should always be prepared (that's probably the Boy Scout in me) and so I get ready for winter when it's September. I get lots of firewood, have the propane tank filled, check the whole-house generator, check the snowblower and start buying lots of frozen and non-perishable foods (when things are on sale) so that I can just stay home when there's a major snow storm. We are expected to get around 20 inches of snow from this storm and that won't be a big deal since we have received up to 28 inches of snow at a time. I have seen posts on Facebook (along with the picture above) about how people in Boston and New York City are going over-board on the hysteria. In a snow storm (unlike many other natural disasters like hurricanes) the only thing you can do is stay home. If you do that and have the essentials then there's no reason to worry. ^


http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-30978320

Holocaust Remebrance Day

From Fox News:
"Some Holocaust lessons being forgotten as survivors gather at Auschwitz 70 years on"

A decade ago, 1,500 Holocaust survivors traveled to Auschwitz to mark the 60th anniversary of the death camp's liberation. On Tuesday, for the 70th anniversary, organizers are expecting 300, the youngest in their 70s. "In 10 years there might be just one," said Zygmunt Shipper, an 85-year-old survivor who will attend the event in southern Poland to pay homage to the millions killed by the Third Reich. In recent years, Shipper has been traveling around Britain to share his story with school groups, hoping to reach as many people as he can while he has the strength. "The children cry, and I tell them to talk to their parents and brothers and sisters and ask them 'why do we do it and why do we hate?'" he said. "We mustn't forget what happened." But as the world moves inevitably closer to a post-survivor era, some Jewish leaders fear that people are already starting to forget. And they warn that the anti-Semitic hatred and violence that are on the rise, particularly in Europe, could partly be linked to fading memories of the Holocaust. Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, says that the recent massacres in Paris, which targeted Jews and newspaper satirists, are proof of growing hatred and extremism. It's a message he plans to stress in a speech Tuesday at the former site of Auschwitz-Birkenau, where the Nazis killed more than 1.1 million people, most of them Jews.
"Shortly after World War II, after we saw the reality of Auschwitz and the other death camps, no normal person wanted to be associated with the anti-Semitism of the Nazis," Lauder said. "But, as the Holocaust grows more distant and survivors disappear, extremists grow more bold in targeting Jews. Stoked by a false narrative that blames Israel for a litany of the world's problems, anti-Semitism is resurgent and deadly." Distance from the Holocaust is only one factor behind the rising anti-Semitism, and experts also fault the ease with which hateful propaganda is spread on the Internet and the growing presence of radical Islam in Europe. In Hungary and Greece, far-right movements have grown stronger amid economic decline. "Fading memories are one reason for the rise in anti-Semitism, but anti-Semitism was always there," said Abraham Foxman, national director of the U.S.-based Anti-Defamation League and a survivor himself. "We have hidden it, made it unacceptable, made it un-PC, but we never really eliminated it. The consciousness of what anti-Semitism was, of Auschwitz, was prevalent; it kept the lid on it. It wasn't acceptable to be anti-Semitic." Despite the troubling trend, there are also reasons for hope. Mainstream society has become more vigilant, and Holocaust educators say that interest in the Holocaust keeps growing. Also, anti-Semitism remains a huge taboo for most politicians and mainstream societies in the West. Political opposition to anti-Semitism will be underlined by the presence Tuesday of the presidents of Germany, France and Poland, along with many other European leaders and royalty.In Germany, which has stressed Holocaust education for years, leaders, media and most citizens show little tolerance for anti-Semitism. A recent example came just days ago, when a photo surfaced of an anti-immigrant leader, Lutz Bachmann, sporting an Adolf Hitler moustache and his hair combed over like the Fuehrer. Comments also emerged in which he called refugees "cattle" and "filthy." Though he called the photo a joke, German leaders and the media found nothing funny. Their condemnation was swift and resolute, and Bachmann immediately resigned from his role as a head of the anti-immigrant group he helped found, PEGIDA. But condemnation of anti-Semitism hasn't stopped it from growing in Muslim immigrant communities in Germany. Since the Gaza war last summer, there has been an increase in attacks against Israelis, synagogues and Jewish institutions. In Paris last summer anti-Israel protests turned violent, and anti-Jewish fury was on display in Belgium and Italy. "Everybody is afraid, everybody," said Levi Salomon, the spokesman for the Berlin Jewish Forum for Democracy and against Anti-Semitism which tracks anti-Semitic crimes and helps victims. "In Germany it is not as extreme as in other countries. We haven't had any murder cases yet, but still people are worried."
In recent years there have also been deadly attacks on Jews. Last May a shooting killed three people at the Jewish Museum in Brussels and in 2012 a rabbi and three children were murdered in the French city of Toulouse. One troubling question: Could anti-Semitism grow even more in coming years, when school children will no longer be able to have the life-altering experience of learning about the Holocaust directly from someone who was ripped away from a mother, who endured indescribable hunger, cold and torture, who witnessed chimneys spew out the smoke of burning bodies?Holocaust educators are struggling to film as many survivor testimonies for future generations as possible, but there is no replacing the emotional impact of hearing directly from a survivor.
Eva Umlauf, an Auschwitz survivor who lives in Munich and also speaks to school classes, believes the culture of remembrance will inevitably change because "the era of the survivors is coming to an end soon" — she just doesn't know how. She observes that German youth already have much greater emotional distance to the war than earlier generations. "Their perception of the Holocaust is abstract. These kids are already the children of those born long after the end of the war — there isn't really a direct connection anymore to the great-grandparents who lived at that time in Germany," said Umlauf, who was born in 1942 in a labor camp for Jews in Slovakia. In November 1944, at the age of 23 months, she was taken to Auschwitz with her pregnant mother. Today the 72-year-old is believed to be the youngest survivor who will attend Tuesday's commemorations. Yad Vashem chairman Avner Shalev also laments that the world will be a poorer place without the survivors and the moral example they set. By and large, he says, they are individuals who saw the worst of humankind but still mustered the energy after the war to rebuild their lives, putting their faith again in humanity's best side. "The most astonishing fact for me and many others is that the heritage of the survivors is a very optimistic one," Shalev said. "They didn't come out of the war desperate and bitter human beings who wanted to take revenge." That optimism, Shalev says, gives many of them hope that the world will continue to remember what happened to them "maybe not for eternity — but for a long time."


^ Tomorrow is Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 70th anniversary of Auschwitz's liberation. I wanted to make sure I included this now in case the storm tomorrow knocks the power or Internet out. It is important for people today to not only learn about the Holocaust, but to also see how anti-Semitism has been a long practice throughout history and that unless people actively work to stop it an event like the Holocaust could easily happen today. ^

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/01/26/some-holocaust-lessons-being-forgotten-as-survivors-gather-at-auschwitz-70/

VA Regions

From the Stars and Stripes:
"VA: Major restructuring will streamline services, set standard regional boundaries"

The Department of Veterans Affairs announced a major restructuring effort Monday to streamline its often disjointed bureaucracy by standardizing service regions in the country and increasing coordination between them. For years, the nine organizations within the department have divided the country into their own regions with little or no coordination. By June 30, VA aims to have the entire department under the same service boundaries through a program called MyVA, breaking the country into five regions. Officials said in a conference call with reporters that the move is a cornerstone of VA Secretary Bob McDonald’s push to overhaul the scandal-ridden organization. The VA does not have an estimate for how much the restructuring will cost, officials said, nor are there many details about what the changes will mean for veterans’ care. “The overall transformation will take a while,” said Scott Blackburn, the Director of the MyVA Program Management Office. “There will be a lot of analysis and we’ll know a lot more of the answers over the next couple of months.” The department has been undergoing changes since a national health-care scandal cost former Secretary Eric Shinseki his job, following revelations that patients languished for years on secret lists created to make wait times appear artificially short. Some veterans died while awaiting care. In addition, the VA has been criticized for a backlog of hundreds of thousands of disability claims and a confusing bureaucracy that often frustrates veterans seeking care and compensation for service-connected injuries. The hope is that MyVA will make it easier for veterans to interact with the department. “Ultimately, this reform will improve the Veteran experience by enabling Veterans to more easily navigate VA and access their earned care and benefits,” McDonald said in a released statement. One change, for example, allows call center agents to suspend or resume certain benefits payments without making veterans go through additional steps. Officials said MyVA is the largest restructuring in the department’s history, though details on exactly what it will entail or how the changes will be made were not announced Monday. In terms of employees, Veterans Affairs is the second-largest department in the federal government, after the Department of Defense. Bob Snyder, the executive director of the MyVA Program Management Office, said despite consolidation in some parts of the department, he does not anticipate job cuts. “There is more than enough work to do across the VA,” he said. “This not about cutting jobs.”

 

^ I am interested in hearing more about the restructuring and how these new regions will be able to better serve veterans. ^

 

http://www.stripes.com/va-major-restructuring-will-streamline-services-set-standard-regional-boundaries-1.325880#

Northern Program

From the Stars and Stripes:
"North Korea seeking short-term English teachers — for a fee"

Looking to beef up your teaching resume? Like to get off the beaten path? North Korea, one of the most reclusive countries in the world, might be just the answer. London-based Juche Travel Services, which arranges travel packages to the North, is now offering volunteers one-month stints teaching English and tourism management and development at the Pyongyang Tourism College. Even though the North isn’t exactly known as a travel hotspot, Juche Travel’s David Thompson told the Mirror newspaper that the country wants to expand its tourism services in coming years and needs more foreign-language skills and travel expertise to do so. The company hopes to run the program in May and November. Volunteers will visit “scenic places of interest” across the country on weekends, according to Juche’s website, but Thompson said they will not be allowed to move freely. Previous visitors to the country have been tightly controlled by government minders and prevented from interacting with locals, and have reported having their cell phones confiscated. Many said they suspected their computers and hotel rooms were bugged. But Thompson said that “by building bridges and engaging with the country, you are helping to break down mistrust and preconceptions that have persisted for the past 60-odd years. That can only be a good thing." While the program is being run on a non-profit basis, volunteers must pay an “arrangement fee” of 1,000 euros, or approximately $1,117, to cover the costs of their stay.

^ This sounds like a typical North Korean idea: bring people to help them and yet charge them for the "privilege." ^

http://www.stripes.com/north-korea-seeking-short-term-english-teachers-for-a-fee-1.325793

Survivor's Street

From Yahoo:
"On Haifa's 'Survivors' Street', memories of Holocaust live on"

It has become known as "Survivors' Street" -- a small road in Haifa where about 100 Holocaust survivors are living out their last days side-by-side, keeping alive memories of the Nazi genocide.

The quiet and shady street was initially only the home of a social centre that supplied meals to the elderly in this northern Israeli port city, where many Jewish immigrants settled after fleeing Europe by boat.  But in recent years it has been transformed, after the group running the centre, Yad Ezer ("A Helping Hand"), noticed how many of those it was serving were Holocaust survivors. "When they would pick up their trays you would see more and more of them with a number tattooed on their forearms," said Tami Sinar, the group's coordinator. In 2007, Yad Ezer began buying or renting all the buildings on the street to provide subsidised housing for elderly Holocaust survivors. About 180,000 Jews who survived the Holocaust are currently living in the Jewish state, according to the Foundation for the Benefit of Holocaust Survivors in Israel. Many of them are struggling, with nearly a quarter living below the poverty line.  With the help of donations and grants, Yad Ezer installed lifts in every building and created communal spaces where residents can relax and play bridge, as well as pick up their medications. They also built a restaurant which ensures they get two proper meals a day.  At a recent lunchtime, there was a rush for the lifts and the corridors came alive with a procession of tapping canes and shuffling walkers, as old men in caps and elderly ladies, their hair dyed in every hue, headed for the dining room. Shoshana Colmer, 95, amused visitors with the story of how in 2013 she was elected "Miss Holocaust Survivor" during a beauty contest laid on to entertain the residents.  But the emotional scars of her time at the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz -- which was liberated by the Red Army 70 years ago on Tuesday -- have never left Colmer. As Colmer talked, her neighbour Hava, five years her junior, tidied her room and spoke of how the survivors continued to comfort each other.  "We live the Holocaust all the time, we talk about it, we dream about it, at night we wake up to the cries of others, or even from our own cries," Hava said. "When I hear Shoshana crying at night I get up and go to see her and say a kind word... that's how we helped each other when we were in the camps." When these elderly survivors first arrived in the emerging Jewish State in the 1940s and 1950s, the focus was on building something new rather than looking to the past.  But the memory of the Holocaust has since taken a central place within Israel.  Numerous ceremonies are held for survivors every year and classes about the genocide are compulsory in schools. Older students are likely to make at least one class trip to the former twin death camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau created by Nazi Germany in Oswiecim, southern Poland. Still, Judith Hershkowitz -- another resident of "Survivors' Street" -- worried that memories of the Holocaust may fade when Israeli families no longer have survivors among them. Seventy years on, it was clear that awareness of the Holocaust was not what it once was, she said, explaining that even with her own great-grandchildren it was only after studying it at school that they approached her about it.

"I don't really know what they make of it," she said.  But Sinar of Yad Ezer had little doubt that even after all the residents of "Survivors' Street" are gone, their memories will live on.  "I am sure that we, the second generation, will never let these things be forgotten."

^ I wonder if these survivors knowingly moved to the same street together. I know that people who have gone through a similar event tend to seek out people like themselves so maybe they did. ^


http://news.yahoo.com/haifas-survivors-street-memories-holocaust-live-045052631.html
 

Russia Junk

From MT:
"S&P Downgrades Russia's Sovereign Credit Rating to Junk"

Ratings agency S&P said on Monday it had cut Russia's sovereign credit rating to BB+ or below investment grade with a negative outlook, and said Russia's economic growth prospects have weakened. The ruble fell after the news to 67.63 against the dollar , or 5 percent lower than the previous close on the Moscow Exchange. S&P had warned in late December that it could deprive Russia of its investment-grade credit rating as soon as mid-January, following a rapid deterioration of the country's monetary flexibility and a weakening economy. S&P said in a statement that external and fiscal buffers were likely to deteriorate due to rising external pressure and increased government support to the Russian economy. The downgrade, from BBB- to BB+, marks the first time in more than 10 years that Russian sovereign debt has been rated below investment grade, in what some call 'junk' territory. It could not only harm Russia's image among investors, but also push up its borrowing costs, as many mainstream investment and pension funds have rules preventing them from buying anything not classed as investment grade.Russia's economy is expected to slide into recession this year, as Western sanctions over Ukraine spur capital flight and inflation, and an enduring slump in oil prices sharply depresses Russia's export revenues.


^ They knew it was coming  and while I'm sad it will affect the ordinary Russians I'm sure most will just blame the West rather than admit reality. ^


http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/s-p-downgrades-russia-s-sovereign-credit-rating-to-junk/514927.html

"Hisrtoric" Nor'easter

From USA Today:
"Northeast braces for 'possibly historic' winter storm"

The Northeast was bracing Sunday for a major winter storm with howling winds and up to two feet of snow forecast for some areas Monday and Tuesday. Blizzard watches were already in place for the New York City area, much of New Jersey, parts of southern New England and Long Island ahead of "this major, possibly historic winter storm," The Weather Channel reported. "It's one thing to get a foot of snow," AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tom Kines told USA TODAY. "You throw in 30 to 40 mile-per-hour winds and it's a recipe for disaster." New York City could see up to 20 inches of snow, the National Weather Service predicted. Parts of New England could see two feet. "Monday night and Tuesday rush hours could be horrible -- if there even is a Tuesday rush hour," Kines said.

^ While we  are not in the blizzard warning area we are supposed to get 24-26 inches of snow. At least it will be all-snow and no ice like we have been getting this winter. ^

http://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2015/01/25/northeast-possibly-historic-blizzard/22310869/

Foreign Idioms

From Tedblog.com:
"40 brilliant idioms that simply can’t be translated literally"

It’s a piece of cake. You can’t put lipstick on a pig. Why add fuel to the fire? Idioms are those phrases that mean more than the sum of their words. As our Open Translation Project volunteers translate TED Talks into 105 languages, they’re often challenged to translate English idioms into their language. Which made us wonder: what are their favorite idioms in their own tongue?
Below, we asked translators to share their favorite idioms and how they would translate literally. The results are laugh-out-loud funny.

From German translator Johanna Pichler:

The idiom: Tomaten auf den Augen haben.Literal translation: “You have tomatoes on your eyes.”
What it means: “You are not seeing what everyone else can see. It refers to real objects, though — not abstract meanings.”

The idiom: Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof.Literal translation: “I only understand the train station.”
What it means: “I don’t understand a thing about what that person is saying.’”

The idiom: Die Katze im Sack kaufen.Literal translation: “To buy a cat in a sack.”
What it means: That a buyer purchased something without inspecting it first.
Other languages this idiom exists in: We hear from translators that this is an idiom in Swedish, Polish, Latvian and Norwegian. In English, the phrase is “buying a pig in poke,” but English speakers do also  “let the cat out of the bag,” which means to reveal something that’s supposed to be secret.

From Latvian translator Ilze Garda and Kristaps Kadikis:

The idiom: Pūst pīlītes.Literal translation: “To blow little ducks.”
What it means: “It means to talk nonsense or to lie.”
Other language connections: In Croatian, when someone is obviously lying to someone, you say that they are “throwing cream into their eyes (bacati kajmak u oči).”

The idiom: Ej bekot.
Literal translation: “‘Go pick mushrooms,’ or, more specifically, ‘Go pick mushrooms!'”
What it means: “Go away and/or leave me alone.”

From French translator Patrick Brault: 

The idiom: Avaler des couleuvres.Literal translation: “To swallow grass snakes.”
What it means: “It means being so insulted that you’re not able to reply.” 

The idiom: Sauter du coq à l’âne.Literal translation: “To jump from the cock to the donkey.”
What it means: “It means to keep changing topics without logic in a conversation.” 

The idiom: Se regarder en chiens de faïence.Literal translation: “To look at each other like earthenware dogs.”
What it means: “Basically, to look at each other coldly, with distrust.” 

The idiom: Les carottes sont cuites!Literal translation: “The carrots are cooked!”
What it means: “The situation can’t be changed.”
Other language connections: It’s bit like the phrase, “It’s no use crying over spilt milk,” in English.

From Russian translator Aliaksandr Autayeu:

The idiom: Галопом по ЕвропамLiteral translation: “Galloping across Europe.”
What it means: “To do something hastily, haphazardly.”

The idiom: На воре и шапка горитLiteral translation: “The thief has a burning hat.”
What it means: “He has an uneasy conscience that betrays itself.”

The idiom: Хоть кол на голове тешиLiteral translation: “You can sharpen with an ax on top of this head.”
What it means: “He’s a very stubborn person.”

The idiom: брать/взять себя в рукиLiteral translation: “To take oneself in one’s hands.”
What it means: “It means ‘to pull yourself together.’”
Other languages this idiom exists in: Translators tell us that there is a German version of this idiom too: “Sich zusammenreißen,” which translates literally as “to tear oneself together.” And in Polish, the same idea is expressed by the phrase, “we take ourselves into our fist (wziąć się w garść).” 

From Polish translator Kinga Skorupska:

The idiom: Słoń nastąpił ci na ucho?Literal translation: “Did an elephant stomp on your ear?”
What it means: “You have no ear for music.”
Other languages this idiom exists in: Our translators tell us that in Croatian, there’s also a connection made between elephants and musical ability in the phrase, “You sing like an elephant farted in your ear (Pjevaš kao da ti je slon prdnuo u uho.).” But in the Latvian version, it’s a bear who stomps on your ear.

The idiom: Bułka z masłem.Literal translation: “It’s a roll with butter.”
What it means: “It’s really easy.”

The idiom: Z choinki się urwałaś?Literal translation: “Did you fall from a Christmas tree?”
What it means: “You are not well informed, and it shows.”

From Kazakh translator Askhat Yerkimbay:

The idiom: Сенің арқаңда күн көріп жүрмін
Literal translation: “I see the sun on your back.”
What it means: “Thank you for being you. I am alive because of your help.”

From Croatian translator Ivan Stamenkovic:

The idiom: Doće maca na vratancaLiteral translation: “The pussy cat will come to the tiny door.”
What it means: “Essentially, ‘What goes around comes around.’”

The idiom: Da vidimo čija majka crnu vunu predeLiteral translation: “We see whose mother is spinning black wool.”
What it means: “It’s like being the black sheep in the family.” 

The idiom: Muda LabudovaLiteral translation: “Balls of a swan.”
What it means: “It means something that’s impossible.”

The idiom: Mi o vukuLiteral translation: “To talk about the wolf.”
What it means: “It’s similar to ‘speak of the devil.’”
Other language connections: In Polish, “O wilku mowa” is the equivalent.

From Dutch translator Valerie Boor:

The idiom: Iets met de Franse slag doenLiteral translation: “Doing something with the French whiplash.”
What it means: “This apparently comes from riding terminology. It means doing something hastily.” 

The idiom: Iets voor een appel en een ei kopenLiteral translation: “Buying something for an apple and an egg.”
What it means: “It means you bought it very cheaply.”
Other language connections: Spanish translator Camille Martínez points out out that when something is expensive in English, you pay two body parts for it (“it cost me an arm and a leg”), whereas in Spanish you only pay one — either a kidney (“me costó un riñón”) or an eye (“me costó un ojo de la cara”).

 

^ It was interesting to see how a different group of people see things. ^

 

 

http://blog.ted.com/2015/01/20/40-idioms-that-cant-be-translated-literally/

Straight Ally

I was sent this by a friend on Facebook and thought it went with the "Straight but not Narrow" viewpoint nicely.

One Ban Less

From Yahoo:
"Federal judge strikes down gay-marriage ban in Alabama"

Alabama became the latest state to see its ban on gay marriage fall to a federal court ruling Friday, as the issue of same-sex marriage heads to the U.S. Supreme Court. U.S. District Callie V.S. Granade ruled in favor of two Mobile women who sued to challenge Alabama's refusal to recognize their marriage performed in California. Alabama was among just 14 U.S. states where gay and lesbian couples were still barred from legally marrying. Judges have also struck down the ban recently in several other Southern states, including the Carolinas, Florida, and Virginia. The bans have been upheld in Kentucky and Tennessee, two of the cases that will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in April.  Alabama is the latest of numerous states where federal judges have ruled the bans unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear cases asking it to overturn gay-marriage bans that lower courts have upheld in Kentucky, Tennessee, Michigan and Ohio. The appeals from gay and lesbian plaintiffs are also asking the high court to declare that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry everywhere in the United States. In Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, South Dakota and Texas, judges have struck down anti-gay marriage laws, but they remain in effect pending appeals.

^ Slowly, but surely all the bans will be struck down and homosexuals will finally have equal civil rights in the US. ^

http://news.yahoo.com/federal-judge-strikes-down-gay-marriage-ban-alabama-002032316.html;_ylt=AwrSyCPP5cNU.mkAI6DQtDMD

Mariupol Attacked

From the BBC:
"Ukraine crisis: Rebels 'begin offensive' on Mariupol"

Eastern Ukraine's main rebel leader says he has launched an offensive against the government-held port city of Mariupol. His comments came after a series of rocket attacks which Ukrainian media said had left 27 people dead and many others injured in the city. Grad rockets hit a market in a residential eastern area of Mariupol, the city's police chief said. Since April, more than 5,000 people have died in fighting in the east. The rebels have seized a large swathe of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. More than a million people have been displaced. Rebel leader Alexander Zakharchenko said on Friday that he did not want truce talks with Kiev. A ceasefire was agreed in Minsk in September but never fully took hold. Many hoped that the lower level of hostilities it introduced would last, but the BBC's David Stern says that the fighting is beginning to approach what was seen last summer. Mariupol has a population of 500,000 and is in a highly strategic position, sitting between rebel-held eastern areas and Crimea, which was annexed by Russia last March. The city saw heavy fighting in August.

"Today an offensive was launched on Mariupol. This will be the best possible monument to all our dead," Alexander Zakharchenko was quoted as saying at a memorial ceremony in Donetsk. Unverified video footage on Saturday indicated that a number cars, houses and apartment buildings had been struck and were in flames. Our correspondent says the attack appeared to come from a multiple-rocket launcher, which fires a large number of missiles over a spread-out area. Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has called for an urgent session of the UN Security Council to discuss what he says is Russia's role in the conflict in eastern Ukraine, 5 Canal TV reports.  "Russia is not only breaching the Minsk agreements - Russia is violating the fundamental principles of international law and humanity.  "They are stopping at nothing. The rockets even hit a children's shop," it quoted him as telling a meeting in Kiev called to discuss the escalation in Mariupol.  The head of the OSCE security and monitoring group's mission to Ukraine, Ertugrul Apakan, described the shelling as a reckless, indiscriminate and disgraceful attack aimed at a heavily populated residential area. "I condemn this violent act in the strongest terms and call for a full investigation of the incident. "This dangerous situation can't continue. We need an immediate ceasefire."  In another development, the rebel mayor of Pervomaysk, west of Luhansk, has been killed, reports say. The body of Yevhen Ischchenko was found in a car. Three other men were apparently killed along with him. The local rebel leadership blamed Ukrainian agents, but other sources said it was the result of infighting. Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany have all issued calls for an end to the fighting.
Ukraine and its Western allies say Russian regular troops are fighting alongside the separatists, using Russian heavy artillery and tanks. Moscow insists that only Russian "volunteers" have joined the rebels.

^ It doesn't seem like a coincidence that a few days ago Russia reportedly sent 9,000 troops and weapons into eastern Ukraine and now there's a new offensive (both at the Donetsk Airport and now Mariupol.) Russia needs Mariupol to connect itself with it's annexed Crimea. It seems that they (the Russians) are double-talking. They constantly call for an end of the violence while at the same time keep supporting the ethnic Russian terrorists. The rest of the world needs to do  more than talk and make more sanctions to end the war in the Ukraine. Innocent men, women and children are being killed and wounded while we watch it on TV and do nothing. The Ukrainian people continue to do a great job of showing their patriotism, their desire for peace and freedom despite dealing with over-whelming odds against Russia. ^

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30967949
 

Memorials And Museums

From Wikipedia:
"Holocaust Remembrance Day"

Tuesday is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Here is a list of Holocaust Museums around the world.

Argentina
Museo del Holocausto de Buenos Aires (Holocaust Memorial Museum, Buenos Aires)

Australia
The Jewish Museum Holocaust and Research Centre(Melbourne, Victoria)
Sydney Jewish Museum (Sydney, New South Wales)

Austria
The Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service
The Judenplatz Holocaust Memorial (Vienna)
Mauthausen Concentration Camp Memorial,(Mauthausen)

Belarus
The Pit, a memorial in Minsk

Belgium
The Jewish Museum of Deportation and the Resistance (Mechelen)

Brazil
Holocaust victims memorial at São Paulo cemetery (São Paulo)

Bulgaria
The Organization of the Jews in Bulgaria

Canada
The Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre (Montreal)
The Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre (Toronto)
The Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre[5] (Vancouver)

Croatia
The Memorial to the Holocaust of Murdered Serbs and Jews in Jasenovac (Jasenovac)

Estonia
Holocaust memorial at the site of Klooga concentration camp (Klooga)
Memorial at the site of Kalevi-Liiva (Jägala)

France
Musée départemental de Résistance et Déportation[6] (Agen)
Musée de la Résistance et de la Déportation (Charente) (Angoulême)
Musée de la Résistance d’Anterrieux (Anterrieux)
Centre de la résistance et de la déportation du Pays d’Arles (Arles)
The Museum of the Resistance and Deportation (Besançon)
Musée de la Résistance, de la Déportation et de la Libération du Loir-et-Cher(Blois)
Musée de la Résistance de Bondues au Fort Lobau (Nord) (Bondues)
Centre Jean Moulin (Bordeaux)
Musée de la Résistance et de la Déportation de Bourges et du Cher (Bourges)
Centre National d’Etudes de la Résistance et de la Déportation Edmond Michelet (Brive-la-Gaillarde)
Mémorial de Caen(Caen)
Musée de la Résistance (Castellane)
Centre régional de la Résistance et de la Déportation de Castelnau-le-Lez (Hérault)(Castelnau-le-Lez)
Musée du souvenir de Châlons (Marne) (Châlons-en-Champagne)
Musée de la Résistance, de l’Internement et de la Déportation de Chamalières (Chamalières)
Musée de la Résistance Nationale de Champigny-sur-Marne (Champigny-sur-Marne)
Musée de la Résistance de Châteaubriant-Voves-Rouillé (Châteaubriant)
Mémorial du Vercors (Vassieux-en-Vercors)
Mémorial Charles de Gaulle(Colombey-les-Deux-Églises)
Mémorial de l’internement et de la déportation (Compiègne)
Musée de la Résistance et de la Déportation (Fargniers)
Musée Départemental de la Résistance et de la Déportation de Forges-les-Eaux (Forges-les-Eaux)
Musée de la Résistance, de la Déportation et de la Seconde Guerre mondiale (Frugières-le-Pin)
Musée de la Résistance et de la Déportation de l’Isère (Grenoble)
Maison d’Izieu mémorial des enfants juifs exterminés (Izieu)
Musée départemental de la Résistance et de la Déportation (Loiret) (Lorris)
Centre d'histoire de la résistance et de la déportation (Lyon)
Musée de la Résistance et de la Déportation (Tarn-et-Garonne) (Montauban)
Musée Bourbonnais de la Résistance Nationale (Allier) (Montluçon)
Musée de l’histoire vivante (Montreuil)
Musée de la Résistance et de la Déportation (Nantua)
Musée de la Résistance Henri Queuille (Corrèze) (Neuvic)
Centre de recherche et d’étude azuréen du Musée de la Résistance Nationale (Nice)
Centre de la mémoire d’Oradour-sur-Glane, village martyr (Oradour-sur-Glane)
Mémorial du Maréchal Leclerc de Hauteclocque et de la Libération de Paris et Musée Jean Moulin (Paris)
Musée de l’Ordre de la Libération(Paris)
Centre de documentation juive contemporaine & Mémorial de la Shoah, (Paris)
Musée de la Résistance (Peyrat-le-Château)
Musée de la reddition de Reims (Reims)
Musée pyrénéen de la Résistance et de la Libération, dans l’Ariège (Rimont)
Centre Historique de la Résistance en Drôme et de la Déportation de Romans (Romans-sur-Isère)
Musée de la Résistance en Morvan (Saint-Brisson)
Mémorial de la Résistance et de la Déportation de la Loire (Saint-Étienne)
Musée de la Résistance bretonne (Saint-Marcel)
Le Centre européen du Résistant déporté au Struthof (Natzwiller)
Musée de la Résistance et de la Déportation(Tarbes)
Musée de la Résistance et de la Déportation de Picardie(Tergnier)
Musée Départemental de la Résistance (Thônes (La Balme-de-Thuy))
Centre Régional Résistance et Liberté (Deux-Sèvres) (Thouars)
Musée départemental de la Résistance et de la Déportation(Toulouse)
Musée vauzélien de la Résistance Nationale (Nièvre)(Varennes-Vauzelles)
Musée départemental de la déportation et de l’internement (Varilhes)
Mémorial de la Résistance (Vassieux-en-Vercors)
Musée de la Résistance (Rosine Perrier) (Villargondran)

Germany
The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (Berlin)
Französische Kapelle des Oflag VI A (Soest)

Greece
Holocaust memorial outside of the archaeological site of Kerameikos (Athens)

Hungary
The Budapest Holocaust Memorial Center (Budapest)

Israel
The Ani Ma'amin Holocaust Museum (Jerusalem)
Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority (Jerusalem)
The Forest of the Martyrs (Jerusalem)
The Ghetto Fighters' House (Western Galilee)
Massuah- Institute for Holocaust Studies (Tel-Yizhaq)

Italy
Museo della Deportazione (Prato)
Museo della Shoah (Rome)

Macedonia
Holocaust Memorial Center for the Jews of Macedonia in Skopje

Netherlands
The Anne Frank House (Amsterdam)
The Hollandsche Schouwburg (Amsterdam)
The Jewish Historical Museum (Amsterdam)

Poland
The Auschwitz Jewish Center (Oświęcim)
Radegast railway station (Łódź)

South Africa
The Cape Town Holocaust Centre (Cape Town)
The Durban Holocaust Centre (Durban)
The Johannesburg Holocaust And Genocide Centre(Johannesburg)

Sweden
The Stockholm Holocaust Monument (Stockholm)

United Kingdom
Beth Shalom Holocaust Centre (Nottinghamshire)
The Imperial War Museum Holocaust Exhibition in London
The Institute of Contemporary History and Wiener Library (London)
The Hyde Park Holocaust memorial, in Hyde Park, London.

United States
The Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio[61](San Antonio)
The Kennesaw State University Museum of History and Holocaust Education(Kennesaw, Georgia)
The William Breman Jewish Heritage & Holocaust Museum(Atlanta)
The Baltimore Holocaust Memorial, (Baltimore)
The Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education & Tolerance (Dallas)
The Children's Holocaust Memorial and Paper Clip Project at Whitwell Middle School (Whitwell, Tennessee)
The Cybrary of the Holocaust
The Desert Holocaust Memorial (Palm Desert, California)
The El Paso Holocaust Museum and Study Center,(El Paso)
The Florida Holocaust Museum (St. Petersburg, Florida)
The Holocaust Awareness Museum and Education Center(Philadelphia)
The Holocaust History Project
The Holocaust Memorial Center (Detroit)
The Holocaust Memorial on Miami Beach (Miami Beach)
The Holocaust Memorial at California Palace of the Legion of Honor (San Francisco)
The Holocaust and Tolerance Museum (Chandler, Arizona)
Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center (Skokie, Illinois)
The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous
Liberation (Holocaust memorial),New Jersey's Liberty State Park
The Museum of Tolerance (Los Angeles)
The New England Holocaust Memorial (Boston)
The New Mexico Holocaust & Intolerance Museum (Albuquerque)
The Nizkor Project
Oregon Holocaust Memorial (Portland, Oregon)
The Simon Wiesenthal Center (Los Angeles)
The Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation at University of Southern California (Los Angeles)
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (Washington, D.C.)
The Virginia Holocaust Museum (Richmond, Virginia)
Museum of Jewish Heritage (New York City)
Holocaust Center of Northern California (San Francisco)
Holocaust Museum Houston (Houston)
Holocaust Memorial for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania)
Holocaust Memorial (Milwaukee)

^ These are some of the world's Holocaust Memorials and Museums. Most will have something this Tuesday for Holocaust Remembrance Day. ^

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Holocaust_memorials_and_museums

 

Daesh

From Yahoo:
"A Top US General Now Calls ISIS By The Name They Hate"

A top US general in charge of US operations against ISIS in Iraq has started calling the militants by a derogatory name that the group despises.  At a press conference on Thursday, Lieutenant General James Terry used the name "Daesh" almost exclusively while discussing ISIS. Terry said he had began to use the term Daesh instead of ISIS at the request of Middle Eastern partners in the anti-ISIS coalition who wished to draw a sharp line between the group and Islam.  Terry's decision to call the group Daesh follows a general trend towards addressing ISIS by the name that the groups views as highly pejorative. Within the past few weeks Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot has taken to calling the group by Daesh, as has US Secretary of State John Kerry.  “Daesh hates being referred to by this term, and what they don’t like has an instinctive ­appeal to me,” Abbott said. Daesh is an acronym for the Arabic version of ISIS's name: al-Dawla al-Islamyia fil Iraq wa’al Sham. ISIS supporters take offense at the name as the abbreviation crucially leaves out the Islamic portion of the name.  Likewise, according to The Guardian's Ian Black, the Daesh acronym "entered the ever-adaptive Arabic language big time: in the plural form – 'daw’aish' – it means bigots who impose their views on others." As could be expected, ISIS has responded to the use of Daesh in its territories in predictably brutal methods. The militants' leaders have threatened "to cut out the tongues" of anyone caught using the term Daesh. 

^ My dad, who is working in Iraq with the Kurds, says they use Daesh instead of ISIS. Anything to make the terrorists know we hate them and mean  business is good enough for me. ^
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/top-us-general-now-calls-171413931.html