Yesterday and today much of the public sector went on strike.

For a change I didn’t feel it, or even feel threatened by it (though I know people were affected), in fact my Post Office was even open, which was the only service I needed yesterday anyway.

I just kept thinking, when Amir Peretz ran a strike as head of the mafia Histadrut we knew it was serious. The country would shut down for unknown lengths of time. His economic terrorism would cause billions of dollars in damages. The courts were ineffectual in breaking the strike (a shame they couldn’t prove to be so weak when it comes to their attacks on Judaism).

But now he was completely out of the picture.

Instead he is contending with his failure as Defense Minister, his failure as head of the Labor party, and his biggest failure - leaving the one place that actually made him one of the most effectively powerful people in this country, the head of the Histadrut.

I’m actually completely disappointed with him.

Here is a man who knows how to be destructive, who knows how to be vicious, who knows how to use force and pressure to get what he wants, yet when push came to shove he failed in his biggest test, the Lebanon War.

While you might argue that perfecting economic terrorism is not the same as perfecting the defense of the country, I would argue differently.

Both require the absolute desire to achieve your goal, destroying the will of your enemy, and convincing your followers to do everything in their power to make it so.

Histadrut members crippled this country on the word of Amir Peretz, yet Amir Peretz couldn’t get his senior staff of generals to build up the required will to obliterate the Hizbollah enemy.

I admit that Israel is economically socialistic, so he wasn’t fighting an uphill battle for acceptance of his Marxist ideology, whereas the country has been so brainwashed into surrender ever since Oslo and particularly Gush Katif, that he was fighting an uphill battle to convince his generals that the IDF is actually supposed to win, much less, actually fight the enemy.

Peretz must be eating his heart out. He could have taken out this country for weeks if he was still the head of the Histadrut. The only other people capable of doing that are Hizbollah.

Perhaps he’s playing for the wrong team?

Daniel Doron wrote a wonderful piece about Milton Friedman, someone who very seriously influenced my understanding of economic theory and it's affect on and in the real world.

You can read it here in the JP.

I also recommend reading his books.

At 6:00 AM Olmert surrendered to Hamas terrorism this morning. 75 minutes later, in continuation of their usual game of “Who me?”, Arab terrorists in Hamas occupied territories fired a Kassam missile into Liberated Israel.

Thus transforming Olmert’s shameful and dangerous surrender to terrorism into an unconditional (shameful and dangerous) surrender to terrorism.

They also shot three missiles just minutes before the Olmert surrendered.

What’s interesting is how the Israeli government keeps surrendering. Starting with Rabin, then Barak, then Netanyahu, then Sharon, and now Olmert.

Was Arafat (and now Abbas and Hamas) really wrong then in not accepting another Arab state on a silver platter (as everyone says)?

The answer would appear to be an unequivocal no, he and they were not wrong.

We’ve all talked about how the Arabs keep missing opportunities, but the reality is that they’ve simply had more patience and a longer outlook than the Left-leaning Israeli.

Before, when the Israeli Left capitulated they felt magnanimous and superior. The Left were doing the Arabs a favor (while punishing the religious and the settlers – a double bonus).

But the Arabs have their own plans.

Yes, they want a State, but they want the whole one (Jew free except for Adam Shapiro, Amira Hass, and Tali Fahita). So they waited. They attacked. They harassed. In the end they got nearly the same regions Israel first offered them, but with absolutely no strings attached, and for a price that they consider free.

But they got even more. They wore the Left down.

They pushed the Left into a place where all the Left can say is “take, take, take”. But to add insult to injury the Arabs still say “no”, because they want it all, and know with their tactics they will get it.

Olmert is considering bringing in Ehud Barach as his replacement Defense Minister. The man is a genius in one thing – running away. This past Lebanon war was possible, only because he turned tail.

So now, the missile tempo from Gaza may slow down, but it will be just like in the North. The terrorists are rearming, repositioning, retrenching, and bringing in better, more advanced, and more daunting technology to attack us, while the border communities wait for the inevitable barrage that will destroy their lives once again.

And Olmert and Co. will congratulate themselves, perhaps give a few undeserved promotions, and begin to discuss how to dismantle more Jewish communities to now surrender the biblical heartland of Israel.

This will be as terrorist attacks from the Arabs in Judea and Samaria reach unprecedented levels.

Moshe Feiglin wrote this weekend that the only response to this government is laughter at the level of ludicrousness and absurdity it has reached. Laughter has brought down bigger and more corrupt governments than Israel’s. He believes it signals their end.

That’s very Breslevian of him. I wish he was right, but I (respectfully) disagree. I hardly see anyone making jokes of these jokers.

Feiglin has a new (moderated) blog. Check it out.

The JP has two excellent op-eds today.

The first is by fellow blogger Israel Medad. It also appears on his blog here. He discusses Peace Now's nonsense claims regarding land ownership under the settlements.

A must read (Medad, not Peace Now).

The second is by Evelyn Gordon who says "How to stop the Kassams".

"Whenever politicians or army officers say that there is no military solution to the problem of Kassam rockets, my reaction is: Just how stupid do you think we are? After all, more than 1,000 Kassams have been fired at Israel from Gaza over the last 12 months, yet not a single rocket has been fired at Israel from the West Bank during this period.

So unless you believe that West Bank terrorists, unlike their Gaza counterparts, have no desire to launch rockets - an assumption that defies both logic and the facts (the media periodically report on Palestinian efforts to start a West Bank Kassam industry) - the obvious conclusion is that the army has succeeded in preventing Kassam fire from the West Bank."

Voices of Reason.

Israeli Ambassador to the UN is under fire for asking the French how they would react if France was hit by cross-border missiles. Apparently you aren’t allowed to ask questions that raise the issue of moral equivalence.

That is OK, because Yossi Sarid manages to whitewash Eichmann Barghouti, when he unequivocally said that the dispatcher of terrorists bears less responsibility than the terrorists he sends. He said even more, but it was all pretty vile.

Meanwhile, Olmert is threatened by the success of Arkady Gaydamak’s vote buying. I personally have no problem with Arkady using his wealth any way he pleases, and while I can think of better ways to help the people of Sderot, all I can say is “Good for you Arkady”, if this helps out the people of Israel, and makes you more popular in the process – just don’t turn into another Sharon and twist your power and influence into something evil.

It turns out the fence is what in Israel is called an “Israbluff”. Doesn’t work, doesn’t do anything. See for yourself.

There was a nearly successful attempt to blow up an El Al plane (and others) in Germany. The plot was foiled because the terrorists didn’t offer enough money to the baggage handler. B”H Arkady is on our side.

Olmert & Peretz are fighting with each other. Who cares.

And suprisingly Dalia Itzik actually said one thing smart today when she said the Supreme Court shouldn’t have the right to invalidate laws passed by the Knesset (In my opinion it probably does not have the right, but merely grabbed it and no one had the guts to fight Barak).

And one smart thing is always better than none.

And that’s the news, and I’m outa here.

We fight the terrorists, and we fight all of those who give them aid. America has a message for the nations of the world:

• If you harbor terrorists, you are terrorists.
• If you train or arm a terrorist, you are a terrorist.
• If you feed a terrorist, or fund a terrorist, you're a terrorist -- and you will be held accountable by the United States and our friends.
  
  - President George W. Bush, November 21, 2001

hattip: Lurker

Is someone who protects a known terrorist innocent, or are they accessories to terrorism?

In line with the general idiocy of the left when it comes to defending Israel, the state has displayed what I can only describe as a series of idiotic concessions to terrorism.

First of all, it is now revealed (well, we knew it already) that it is apparently IDF policy to warn terrorists that the IDF is about to bomb their house.

Secondly the Palestinians, understanding the Left’s weakness got smart.

This time they sent 100 supporters of terrorism to protect the house and terrorist - by acting as human shields.

And as they predicted the IDF backed down.

If these Palestinians willingly want to protect terrorists and their property – then they have become accessories to terrorism too and are legitimate targets.
Wake up Israel. (The UN is going to blast us anyway).

And this is more interesting because in the wake of Beit Hanoun, the press is reporting that residents are now trying to stop the Kassam launchers from launching near their homes. (I’ve discussed this in the past).

"Some in Beit Hanun were saying that after the shelling last week of the Al-Atamna family and the extensive killings of civilians, some prominent local families had expressly threatened members of the Qassam cells. In one instance, they say, an armed man identified with Fatah put a gun to the head of a Hamas activist who was busy laying cables to launch a Qassam rocket. The message was clear; the would-be launcher ran away."

It’s time Israel learned that given the right incentives the Palestinians will stop terrorism on their own. Taking out the 100 supporters of terrorism would have provided great incentive for them to stop further attacks, and not try such a stupid thing again.

Instead the IDF displayed the crippled morals of the Left and decided to let our deterrence and fear of the IDF drop to the point of pretty much no return.

As an interesting/disturbing point of information, I returned from counter-terrorist training where I spent much of the time as the terrorist. I learned quite a bit about terrorist tactics, but the most interesting thing I learned is how a terrorist thinks.

Let me be quite unequivocal here.

Any terrorist sent on a mission (if he’s had any training whatsoever) is 100% aware in advance that no matter what weapons he brings with him (suicide belts, grenades, machine guns, knives) into a settlement, he is going out on a suicide mission. Period.

I played out dozens of scenarios and short of surrender before the attack (and occasionally cut-and-run if he is very lucky), there is pretty much no way for a single or small group of terrorists to survive the counter-assault (going in as a larger organized unit is different). Their goal, once inside, is to kill as many people as possible before being killed. There is no alternative. There is no escape (except to Allah).

This is the mindset of any terrorist that crosses the border into any settlement.
It’s important to keep this in mind when considering what they are planning to do as it defines every action they will take.


Here is a very interesting website to read. Perhaps there is hope.

General Barnicke: Where have you been soldier?
John Winger: Training, sir.
Soldiers: Training, sir.

General Barnicke: What kind of training?
John Winger: Aaaaaarmy training, sir.
Soldiers: Aaaaaarmy training, sir.

General Barnicke: Are you telling me that you men finished your training on your own?
John Winger: That's a fact, Jack.
Soldiers: That's a fact, Jack.

I don’t know how many people have noticed the little green bar on the right side of my blog.

It’s a counter that counts days, specifically the numbers of days since our soldiers were kidnapped and Hizbollah hasn’t been disbanded.

Unfortunately the counter has reached a milestone. It has broken 90 days.

The Reservist Protest at the Knesset also folded up its tent today. And as expected, the current inquiry didn’t really find the real culprits (that commissioned the inquiry) except for a few scapegoats (some guilty – such as some generals, and some not – such as the reservists).

And meanwhile Olmert plans to expel more Jews.

Life in Israel moves on as if nothing ever happened and no one has learned anything.

Through an unplanned and unexpected turn of events, a disguised JoeSettler (and family) went and visited the offices and studios of Arutz-7 this evening (which someone had left accidentally open, unlocked, and mostly unattended – which made the whole outing possible).

(Please note the previous comment in parenthesis is humor- I was on a private tour and the doors were opened wide for us, and the staff was all there to greet us. I received some very concerned emails from people that I gave away state secrets. Not to worry. Besides, no one is going to find the studio anyway through all those one-way steets.)

Here are some photographs from inside this secret location.

To begin with, outside the building are prominent signs explaining that the studio broadcasts over the internet only and not the radio – for obvious reasons (not that one should assume the cops can read).

Inside, as you walk in is a letter from one very prominent Leftist to another very prominent Leftist, demanding the government immediately stop funding Bar-Ilan University as they advertise on the Arutz-7 website and internet show – which in his eyes must be completely illegal to do (unbelievable!) .

Next we see JoeSettler Jr. hosting a show when a surprised local technician walked in on him right in the middle of a live broadcast (didn’t he see the red light was on outside the room?)

And talk about an ipodcasting studio!

The Arabs, for some reason, are all worked up that they caused the death of their fellow Arabs in Beit Hanoun when they attacked Israeli citizens from within (or around) that town.

The Arabs really have Chutzpa when it comes to venting at Israel for hitting them back - but the world accepts it, so why not?

S.P.Q.A. does an interesting analysis on how Arabs really estimate and assess the value of the lives of their fellow Arabs (it includes Iran too, so it is perhaps more of a Islamic estimation on the value of their lives) .

You can read it here.

Olmert is back to capitulating. He announced today:

"You can read my lips: 'I'm ready for territorial compromises‚ and I haven't changed my mind," Olmert said in an interview with Newsweek-Washington Post.
In the interview, Olmert breathed new life into the realignment plan, which would see Israel retain highly populated settlement blocs within Judea and Samaria and relinquish isolated areas. Until now, analysts had assumed that Olmert had dropped the plan.

Not this analyst.

And why wouldn't he restart his realignment plan?

He now has Lieberman in his pocket, shoring up his coalition against any chance of collapse.

He even hinted he would give away the Golan to Assad.

The Left can never learn from (even recent) history, and those that are in it for the power don’t want to learn.

Same difference.

Hatred of Judaism and of Religious Jews is a powerful thing in Israel.

In the State of Israel there are people are willing to lose a hundred million dollars - just to spite Jews and Judaism.

The McDonald franchise in Israel is owned by Omri Padan – not someone known for his favorable attitude towards Judaism (understatement).

There is a McDonalds that sits in the Ramat Aviv mall.

The Ramat Aviv mall is owned by Lev Leviav – a religious Jew who keeps his malls closed on Shabbat.

In 1997, Omri Padan said, he “will not surrender” and make his Ramat Aviv McDonalds kosher – even though it was already to be closed on Shabbat.

In the year 1999, the Avi Chai Foundation did a study that found that 58% of the Jewish population in Israel will only eat kosher (and if that didn’t specifically include basar v’chalav, they also found that 44% of the population keep completely separate dishes for milk and meat).

Yet strangely enough (well not ,when you consider the hater), Omri Padan, with the hurdle of not being open on Shabbat no longer an issue, made an unambiguous decision to choose to not serve over 50% of his potential clientele.

Now there are those of you that are whispering that is would cost him more to be kosher – I will remind you of his obscene TV commercial where he said that the meat and cheese that comprise his cheeseburgers are all kosher products.

So, with a 50% population that only eats kosher (and at no extra expense), Padan chooses to keep less than 10% of his McDonalds kosher, and even then it is when he had no choice (such as in the Jerusalem Bus Station which will only allow kosher vendors). More so, he chooses to keep them non-Kosher particularly in Jerusalem where far more than 50% of the residents keep kosher.

There is even a Kosher McDonalds in Buenos Airies with its much smaller Jewish/Kosher population. (picture)

I would assume that McDonalds (with their respect for local values and customs, even though they even make mistakes at home) quickly realized that they made a huge mistake giving Padan an (apparently) exclusive countrywide contract. They must not have know he was an extremist. But they certainly realized soon enough that they had locked themselves in with someone who was willing to put his Hate before their bottom line.

This week, McDonalds (USA) acknowledged their mistake when they unilaterally decided that Padan must comply with their wishes and make his Ramat Aviv restaurant Kosher – against his will.

Furthermore, McDonalds has made the decision to modify their signs to clearly differentiate between kosher and non-kosher branches in the same towns, resolving the issue that the Rabbinate won’t mix and match kosher certificates where the public (residents and tourists) might be easily confused.

McDonalds even has a precedent for altering their signs when they modified their signs in France to comply with French legislation on store signs.

In short, it would appear that McDonalds USA is finally beginning to wake up and realize that Padan’s hatred must be scrutinized and restrained – because it is limiting their growth in the Israeli market.

And if you didn’t know it, Omri Padan is also a founder of the hate group Peace Now - which explains why there is no McDonalds anywhere in Yesh(a).

Burger King, on the other hand, did open “over the green line” in Maaleh Adumim (annexed by Israel if you don’t remember), but Gush Shalom, Peace Now’s doppelganger, ran a campaign which shut it down.

Personally, I would tell McDonalds that while I appreciate their concern for their bottom line, they are wasting their time as I have far too many friends and acquaintances who will not eat at the Kosher McDonalds so as to not financially support Omri Padan and his Crusade of Hate.

To begin with before you even think to comment here, read this first.

There is no doubt in my mind, come Sunday we will begin to see headlines and articles declaring the revealed limits of Chareidi power, how the Chareidim are no longer the Masters of Jerusalem, and Yair Lapid will of course come out with a daring piece declaring everything he couldn’t say before the parade as to the real reasons he actually supported the parade.

And all these articles will show what we already saw last year and what we knew from long before.

These various destructive, antagonistic, and provocative actions aren't and weren’t done for the “good of the nation”, but rather to hurt specific sectors as Lapid proudly brayed in his recent article.

Replacing “Settler” for “Chareidi” Lapid’s article would say, “The Israelis merely felt that the Chareidim should be taught a lesson in humility and perhaps in democracy too” and “the chareidim learned that their power is limited.”

And isn’t that what we are really talking about here?

While certain sectors yell and scream “Freedom of Expression”, “Freedom of Speech”, and of course “Freedom from Religion” I only see thousands of police and soldiers being deployed to kick Jews out of their homes, and to protect a purposely confrontational parade, but when it comes to protecting our rights, I don’t see anyone deploying those same forces to allow me to safely pray on the holiest site in Israel – the Temple Mount.

In short, we see through this façade of liberalism and openness and recognize that Yair Lapid showed the real face of his society – hatred of the Torah and Judaism and those they believe represent it, and nothing less than that.

This is a culture war, and it is far easier (for the Left) to destroy than (for the Right) to build.

Think I’m wrong?

When the thousands of Gush Katif expellees receive permanent housing, when I can openly and safely pray on the Temple Mount, when Jewish citizens of Yesh(a) aren’t thrown into administrative detention or barred from their homes without charges or having committed any crime, when the police protect and not beat up someone blowing the Shofar on Rosh Hashana at the Kotel, then I will quite possibly begin to consider that things have changed.

But until then all the evidence proves me right.

There is no doubt (as Sharon proved) that Israeli politicians are the worldwide experts at openly manipulating and circumventing the law to their personal benefit.

As the Jerusalem Post article on Shimon Peres shows, Israeli politicians can be broken up into two groups.

The first, those that openly break the law and get caught.

The second become so intensely familiar with the law, they can openly take the same exact improper actions but without “officially” committing a crime.

Peres’s Center for Peace alongside Peres’s “Peace Technology Fund” is one such dubious example of questionable financial activities and political conflicts of interest.

Donations and investments go in and out of different Peres Pet Projects, yet somehow Peres comes out of it completely clean (or the investigations are inconclusively closed, or never opened in the first place as we see today), even as his investments and political activities intertwine and create clear conflicts of interest when it comes to what is good for Israel.

So now Shimon Peres won’t be charged (surprise) for illegally receiving some very large donations because he managed to time it exactly so he received them during a two-week limbo period.

I don’t fault Shimon.

His behavior, just like Sharon’s and Olmerts is the standard for Israeli political society. He is simply smarter, and better connected than many other politicians (and certainly must have juicy stuff on a lot of people), so he gets away with it – at the country’s expense.

We don’t even need to discuss administrative detention against (obviously settler) Israeli Citizens, one just needs to look at Peres see the Rule of Law in Israel is one broken rule and the attitude towards it is that it is just a tool to hit your opponents over the head with.

One of the most ubiquitous scenes in Israel are Israelis throwing barbeques on Yom HaAtzmaut, so many Israelis that they even will set them down in the middle of an island on the highway for lack of room anywhere else.

I am not the first to note the (instinctive) connection between the development of this custom and the sacrifices we used to offer in the Beit HaMikdash.

In fact, before the Temple was centralized, people used to offer sacrifices everywhere – in other words - barbeques.

Outsiders apparently tend to see sacrifices as some primitive throwback to idolatry, yet it was anything but.

What is a sacrifice?

It is many things, but one thing it certainly is, is the elevation of a mundane process (slaughtering, cooking, and eating) into something more sublime.

It is an expression of gratitude to G/d and recognition that not everything is ours, even when we think it is, and we have to return something back to the Giver, if when it is not something needed by the recipient.

But think about it, the Beit Hamikdash was more than just a Steak House.
Picture what was going on there.

There was a house band (the Leviim) that would sing and play in the courtyard – even on Shabbat.

People would come to offer their sacrifices and hear their favorite music as the dinner was cooked and served.

I was thinking that during Elul they probably played a variation of “Knocking on Heaven’s Door”, Nissan was of course “Smoke on the Water, Fire in the Sky”, and in Bayit Shlishi I won’t be surprised to hear a variation of “Lola” on Purim.

Simchat Beit HaShoeva must have been like a Music Festival with different bands in different sections of the courtyard.

Of course the house band changed every month so it never got boring, and I’m sure each Cohen Gadol had his favorites tunes that set the tone for his tenure. I little more of the Ramones for Ezra, while Aharon preferred Billy Joel.

And once your animal was slaughtered and freshly cooked, you sat down to eat with your family, perhaps with the new fruits if the season was right. The music of Kol Achai for your listening pleasure.

And the scene! Imagine the Inbal (formerly the Laromme) Hotel on the first night of Sukkot or Pesach. Nothing compared to what was going on around the Beit HaMikdah. Friends meeting, eating meals together, and celebrating whatever they were celebrating.

And elevating their meals and evening whether personal or national into something more than just physical into something holy and meaningful.

Personally, I can’t wait until the third Beit HaMikdash is rebuilt.

Well, the Reform movement has finally inaugurated its first public fast day.

They are calling it the Fast of Rabin.

Personally I plan to adhere to it as religiously as every other Reform Jew in the world adheres to every other Jewish fast during the year (with the possible exception of Yom Kippur).

And so, exactly like every Reform Jew in the world will be doing on that particular day, I will be doing the same thing - Yes, I will be eating.

What’s interesting is that they are calling it that probably to raise a similarity in your mind to the Fast of Gedalia (uh, how many Reform Jews know who he was to make the connection?).

But there is one main difference. Gedalia’s assassination essentially brought about the end of Jewish independence and habitation in the Land of Israel.
Rabin on the other hand was merely another "Victim for Peace" on the Left's idolatrous altar of human sacrifices. (You all do remember the sick Leftist mantra of “Karbanot l’shalom” ("Sacrifices for Peace") after every bombing. Don’t you?)

Really, there isn’t really much difference between one guy killing Rabin, verses Rabin, Peres, and Beilin giving the Arabs lots of weapons and free access to kill lots of Jews, except that Rabin, Peres, and Beilin are directly responsible for the deaths of lot more Jews than “he who shall not be named”.

But I guess when you outsource it’s easier to evade liability (or maybe it’s a numbers game, and you need to kill a lot of people, like all those on the Altalena, in order to go scot free).

Oh and Gedalia was a tzaddik, so there may be two main differences.

Anyway, as always, remember to make your annual pilgrimage here.

And here is a rather intriguing photo and video.

There seems to be some confusion as to what the JoeSettler blog is about.

There are those that think they can use it as their soapbox for whatever they believe in. There are those that think it is a place for dialogue between diverging viewpoints. There are those that think it is a place for rebutting what I say (or at least making the attempt).

Let me make this clear.

JoeSettler is my soapbox.

I hear leftist and anti-religious drivel all day long on the news, from my friends, and from my colleagues.

I started this blog because the Left decided to expel 8000 Jews from their homes – and this is my answer to your evil act – whether you participated, anticipated, or simply appreciated it.

This is a blog about, and from the perspective of Israel and Torah Judaism, with emphasis on the Torah mandate of conquering and settling all of Eretz Yisrael (from Tel Aviv to Rafiach Yam).

The objective of this blog is to promote a Jewish State in Eretz Yisrael as opposed to a state full of Jews like we have now.

If your opinions are anti-Torah, I’m not interested in seeing them here.

Don’t take it personally (or do take it personally, that’s your business), but my site isn’t here for promoting your ideas or creating dialogue. Nor am I interested in wasting my time arguing with you when your philosophies and values are so diametrally opposed to mine. When you start off so wrong on the basics, any common ground is transitory, and ultimately the conclusions will be in opposition. Sharon proved that last summer.

JoeSettler is for promoting my ideas.

If you want clarification, that might be one thing, but if you want to argue. Go away. I’m not interested.

I’m sorry if you don’t like my attitude on my blog, but too bad. I’m forced to hear your type of drivel all day long and this is my place to vent.


I would also recommend this prerequisite basic reading list before participating in this blog to ensure you are well founded in the basics of any post and understand the actual underlying innuendos and allusions as opposed to your imaginary suppositions:

(In no particular order)
• Tanach
• Rabbi Chaim Zimmerman
• Rabbi Eliezer Berkovitz
• Rabbi Meir Kahane
• Rambam
• Siddur
• Yoram Hazony
• Rav Kook
• Rav Shimshon Refael Hirsch
• Rabbi Slifkin
• Rav Steinzaltz
• Ramchal
• Maharal
• Rabbi Sol Roth
• Clausewitz
• Moshe Feiglin

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3322160,00.html

(Thanks Jameel)


(Everyone is outing me today!!!!)