IHop in Roxbury, NJ

Hi big fella!


-- Post From My iPhone

Highway 80 West

In new Jersey on the way to the Poconos for the Rubinstein Family Reunion. I wish I could figure out how to post photos with this app...


-- Post From My iPhone

Serenity

The rest of the world seems to melt away during a snowstorm at Turtlebrook. Tomorrow it will look different, more real - but today it is nirvana. A haven from the craziness of life in Manhattan.

Caution -- Slow Blogger Ahead

Seriously, I have no idea how people find the time to do this. We took a forty people on a ten day trip to Israel after the High Holidays. Great trip. That's me in the Golan Heights with Syria in the background. Then catching up after being away for ten days and the usual craziness of our lives in NYC. Tomorrow 23 people are coming over for Shabbat dinner and I need to get ready.We returned from our trip just before the election. I was a nervous wreck -- never have I invested so much in an election -- financial or otherwise. I know we would have moved on and the country would have survived if McCain-Palin won, but hallelujah, they didn't. I am not someone who cries, but I was very teary when CNN called the election for Obama at around 11 PM. If anyone can focus the country in a positive direction, he will do it. Too much to write about and not enough time so that is it for now.

Barack Obama on Israel -- Notes from this morning's breakfast with Dennis Ross

I had the privilege of hearing former Ambassador Dennis Ross speak about Barack Obama’s Middle East policy at a breakfast this morning in Manhattan. My abbreviated take on what Ross said is:

Israel today faces existential threats from Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas.
Eight years of Bush foreign policy have made things much worse for Israel. Then, the Iranians could not convert enriched uranium, now they are close to having nuclear weapons. Hezbollah and Hamas have vastly increased their weapons aimed at Israel.
The U.S. is on the sidelines with everything happening in the Middle East except Iraq. If we are on the sidelines, America’s position deteriorates and that threatens Israel’s existence. We cannot afford four more years of this.
Obama demonstrates character, teamwork and is an effective leader. Ross spent five days with him on the Middle East tour and observed him in action. He is an active listener. Doesn’t become defensive when you tell him he is wrong. Instead asks why and he wants to know. In meetings, Obama has his agenda, but he listens and then returns to his agenda, creating relationships in the process.
In meetings with Israeli leaders, Obama demonstrated he has a command of the issues and focused primarily on Iran. Obama understands the sense of urgency about Iran. If elected, he would likely send representatives to the Middle East during the transition in order to jump start diplomacy.
Iran has economic vulnerabilities and economic sanctions should be imposed.
Engagement (talking) with Iran will create a context in which there are options other than military force. With today’s path the only options are an Iran with nuclear weapons or the use of force.
Obama’s position on Jerusalem is that articulated at Camp David and by all administrations since 1979: Jerusalem is Israel’s capital, it should never be divided again, and its status will be resolved by negotiations.
Obama will work for peace in the Middle East without illusions. He “gets it.” The stakes are very high. We need someone who understands the context.
Iran and Syria are states – they are not going away. If we don’t talk with them, the issue becomes our refusal to talk, not their bad behavior.

Some of these points represent Ross’s point of view as advisor to Obama.

When asked about McCain’s Middle East policy, Ross stated that he does not know who is advising him or what his policies are. For people who say “McCain is good for Israel” his response is: “Look at the facts. Do you want more of the same? Bush allowed Iran to become an existential threat to Israel, while Hezbollah and Hamas gained strength.”

Jewish Americans for Obama website:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/jahome

Ladies Delight

Just got these great new "Typhoon" sea kayaks for my birthday and I set a goal to paddle out to "Ladies Delight", our lighthouse which is having its own 100th birthday this year. I made the trip yesterday with Peter and Keli in the chase boat. All was calm and glassy at the north end of Lake Cobbossee, but as I paddled out, it became choppier with a brisk north wind. It was an exciting, bumpy ride. I finished the three mile round trip in about an hour and fifteen minutes. Next goal is Horseshoe Cove. I usually windsurf in the afternoon, but we haven't had much wind, so the kayaks are a terrific addition to the fleet!


All was calm at the launch.

Peter said Keli wouldn't let me out of her sight and whimpered the whole time.





Goal achieved!
















Happy to be home.










The lighthouse is on Ladies Delight island and is maintained by the Cobbosseecontee Yacht Club -- the country's oldest inland waters yacht club.

Location, Location

I'm happy to report that the robins have returned to Turtlebrook. More specifically to one of the beams on our front porch. This year they chose a different beam. No babies yet, as far as we can tell. The deer, robins, mice, fox, and turtles have free rein on the property most of the time, since we only visit on some weekends. So the porch beam must seem like and ideal location until a long weekend comes along and we show up. It was a source of much angst for the robins who abandoned the nest while we were around and hovered in nearby trees, hopping from branch to branch, twittering away.

Since they were so shy, I took this photo with my new teleconverter lens for the Canon G9.