Mad Spammer? ...... Mois?

I've been kicked out of a fair few places in my time.... out of class for mucking around, out of Bnei Akiva (melbourne of course - I'm from Sydney) camp for much the same, clubs for not wearing a tie.

All of these incidents had some form of reason for cause and effect, with the ousters being pretty vocal in why the ousting was being carried out.

This week, I joined a facebook goup called "Tales from the hood", a Mitzpe Nevo, so called action group. Thought it might be a bit of a laugh to see what people posted. As it turns out, the group, moderated by a guy who likes to blow his own "horn" (now there's a play on words that I won't apologise for), encourages people to report on the weather in different parts of Mitzpe Nevo on the same day, launches an "investigative report" on who leaves old books outside the pizza shop, some pretty silly comments about Jacob Richman's "MA-Chat group (which provides a valuable source of information and networking) and comments on who drinks what at the carlebach minyan kiddush. There was one potentially interesting report on kids throwing stones, but didnt see any follow up.

But I digress, a few days after joining, I check out the group and lo and behold, I'm booted out. No message saying "mate we don't want your type here" or some more polite version. Just a comment by the horn blower about a "mad spammer".

OK, so I join again, and lo and behold, kicked off again, with another comment by the horn blower apologising for not pressing the "permanently excluded" button and yet more comments about the "mad spammer".

This was interesting. I know that I take individualism to a high plane and make my own mold (yeah I know... I'm in my fat stage yet again and need my own mold anyway) and probably am a bit mad/eccentric....but I have never spammed anyone (at least not by any definition of spam that I have seen).

Anyway, I thought that it was pretty cowardly of the horn blower to use his exclude option without at least having the courtesy of sending me a message, and I told him so via his facebook page, and even left him my mobile, in case he was man enough to give me a call.

Well, he didnt give me a call......ergo, the second part of the above sentence

"Don't assume" she said

Traci was right.....I went a bit over the top on the last post and apologies are definitely in order for making a point at Miriam's expense. as Miriam said after I sent an apology.

"Everybody has a right to his or her opinions and I would never want or expect an apology for your opinions. However, it would have been nice if your email included an apology for completely twisting my words around and making gross assumptions- NONE of which were true. You should be careful with the assumptions that you make in the future and the slander that you seem to enjoy spreading"

It wasn't meant to be slanderous, but yes, I did twist things around to suit my own assumptions and opinions.

But for the issues I raise, I dont apologise. I've lived enough years in this city as to be identified with its supporters.

I consistently vote for Benny Cashriel as mayor because I believe that his track record is way above anything any of the opposition so far could offer (this is not a personal attack).

I cannot abide religious coercion. I dont believe that HaRav Deutch is good for the city and the politics that brought him here was unfortunate to say the least.

I saw an Ohr Tora Stone school torpedoed a few years ago, Maale HaTorah took its place. Different Hashkafat olam, but the potential for another takeover is there

I think that people who divide their houses into apartments for business (as opposed to an internally accessed apartment that has planning approval (one only) for parents or kids) should be be prosecuted.

I think that the city planning department is a bit too rigid in certain issues, but given the last point, maybe thats understandable.

I think that the city rates are still too low and could be raised a bit more.

I am no saint and have made more mistakes than most.

All of the I,I,I stuff above is to stress that these are my own opinions. They are written in this blog and I welcome comments of any sort. Try not to be "bachyanim" or "yefe nefesh"

The blog is not professional (no way will I ever make any advertising money out of this) and is meant to be provocative so I guess I'll keep on getting into trouble. Its written badly as well...... tough (mostly for me) though

And Miriam (Shear) and Leora....there is tons of stuff I like about Maale Adumim and its inhabitants

My friend Jacob once told me off, saying that as far as he was concerned, I could write anything I wanted in a blog, but that superfluous discussions shouldnt be posted to MA-Chat, so in that spirit, I every so often post a link and usually say that comments should be in the blog and not on MA-Chat. Forgot this time
If people decide that they have to respond within MA-Chat, thats unfortunate and gets on Jacob's wick.

Shavua Tov to all
I'm off to eat some more humble pie

Mrs Teitelbaum and Mr Yoel in the same week. Maale Adumim heading for Satmar?

Pretty cryptic title to this blog right?
Well, this weeks dose of small mindedness on MA chat and in the local "Maale Adumim" paper got me motivated enough to write my bit.

Firstly, there was a heck of a lot of discussion around the sign at the entry to the city. Legitimate discussion that went a bit over the top, but ok, every body has an opinion. The issue being fairly well resolved by the mayor deciding that only municipal announcements would be put up and not commercial advertising (cigarettes and alchohol)....not perfect, but ok.

BUT, along comes a Mrs Teitelbaum (the Satmar Rebbes family name) and opines that Maale Adumim should stop spending moneyon making the city clean, tidy and pretty, and instead give the money to Torah institutions.

Now dont get me wrong. I am clearly in favour of promoting a an education system that gives all students (in state schools) a basic religious background, so that maybe kids will know enough about their heritage so as not to campaign against mezuzot as religious coercion.
The state religious and Torani schools dont have that problem, but a lot of monitoring needs to be done so that what happened in Emanuel doesnt become an epidemic.

But this is what Mrs Teitelbaum wants. Let the city look like a slum and funnel money to Torah institutions. She doesnt say for example, that more money should be spent on activities for the youth of Maale Adumim. Or that money should be spent on furthering education in general, or even aiding some of Maale Adumim's more disadvantaged population. No, she wants Maale Adumim to go the way of Bnei Brak and Geula.

The second thing that got me a bit aggravated, was the article in the "Maale Adumim" paper about the owners of the Mitzpe Nevo markolet who want to add a second storey to the existing building for extended commercial purposes.

Here's the link to the title. The person who is leading the objections to this move is called Yoel....coincidence....Yoel Teitebaum was the previous Satmar Rebbe, who's ilk are closer to the Taliban.

What are the objections? Some say (according to the rag) that the markolet is not that busy and extending it is not justified - Is this based on a study that they have done? Have they heard the owner's reasoning for the expansion? Maybe the expansion would benefit the neighborhood?

Some say that instead of extending the markolet, another markolet should be built further down the road. - Again, is this based on wishful thinking, so that people wouldnt have to walk an extra hundred meters? Has anyone thought about the number of clients needed to make a business like this viable? And if there is a surplus of people living in and around HaGilgal, maybe its because so many property owners have turned their houses into illegal apartments??

The best for last. Some say that expanding the commercial centre would bring undesireable people into the neighborhood. Women without head covering and immodestly dressed. Because, as was written, "Mitzpe Nevo is known for it's conservative way of life, where most of the women wear head coverings and traditional dress. Where the rabbinical judgement is carried out with a "high hand" and the appearance of undesireable visitors, especially in the summer, with provocative dress.......would cause tension and for educational and modesty considerations, it would be better for these people not to set foot in the neighborhood"

Maybe it would have been more honest for this Yoel guy, who lives apparently next to the markolet, to say that an expansion would bother him for say, blocking views, causing shade, more noise.....that's legitimate. Bringing in a taliban lifestyle would be sad.

So there we go....Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach

FOR REAL??? Next we'll have a mehadrin bus system

Arnona Increase - And a comment re illegal apartment rentals

Maale Adumim, which most resident would agree has an outstanding standard of living, is raising its city rates by approximately 6%. This after many years of having very subsidised rates compared to other cities, in particular Jerusalem.



Despite the relatively low rates, Maale Adumim is a very well kept city and consistently wins awards for being so.



However, Maale Adumim is no longer the small settlement it started out as. There are almost 50,000 residents and an infrastructure that (whether cleaning, roads or education) must be maintained while costs only increase.



The city's budget is made up, in no small part, by rates and building fees, the former, untill now being subsidised by the government.

It is reasonable that at some stage, the government would require that the city become more self sufficient, which means an increase in rates.



Of course this decision has caused a minor furore with the loudest wailing coming from the city representatives of the section of Israeli society that would spend all their time in Kolelim if they could and would turn Maale Adumim into a welfare city like Beit Shemesh, Betar and Modiin Elite.



The city should not succumb to pressure and apply the rate increase as soon as possible.



As an aside, the issue of people dividing up their houses into apartments came up this week. My future neighbor (we are building on two adjacent plots), who's father bought him the plot of land so that he would live in Maale Adumim even though he would rather live in the Tel Aviv area, let slip that he was intending to divide a whole floor into two apartments, because otherwise he couldn't afford his rates.



I very politely suggested that maybe he consider building a smaller house, and then let him know (because its better to be up front and honest about these things), that the day he starts dividing up his house, will be the day that he (and the city) gets as huge a civil suit as the courts will allow, for depreciating the value of my house and the street. That is why the city, when giving building permits, have a form that the owners have to sign, indemnifying the city from suits filed in civil court.

In a conversation with a city employee on this issue, I was informed that the city's power to sue people who illegally divide up their apartments is much less than that of a citizen. This seems to be accurate and to anyone who suffers from excess noise, lack of parking and overloaded infrastructure, may I suggest that being "a good neighbor" and suffering in silence (there are a lot of you) is tantamount to being a sucker of the first order.



I did explain to my rather shocked future neighbor what my reasoning was, however I don't think we are on the same page.

Bloody Cheek of some people

In this weeks edition of the "Maale Adumim" local paper was an article that really highlighted the absolute cheek of people who think that the worl owes them everything and that they have no accountability.

Apparently, the Maale Adumim Municipality is suing a homeowner for the astronomical amount of 300,000 NIS for unpaid rates.

The homeowner in question, a woman who was not identified by name, applied to the courts so as to be able to present an argument against the City.
Her argument being that for all the years in question, the city had made a mistake in estimating the size of her house and that it was not 800 square metres, but 732 square metres and therefore she had not paid any of her rates (the paper writing this in the most blasee fashion as if they actually sided with this woman)

What absolute bullshit!

I would like to know how this woman got to build 732 metres (if not the whole 800). Which city official in the planning department approved that? On what size plot?
Where was the opposition when that happened?

And why in hell did the city wait so long to sue this woman?

I think that someone's priorities are a bit wrong

How NOT to succeed as an "Atzmai"

This is one post that for several reasons, I'd rather not be doing. However it was prompted by my friend Gidon's post, titled, "How to succeed as an Atzmai" and "How much money should you aim to make as an Atzmai"



As usual, I apologise for my unprofessional writing style.



An Atzmai, for those who don't know, is someone who is self-employed and may or may not, employ others but doesn't operate under a company structure.



As Gidon wrote, the process of opening a file with the Tax, VAT and Social Security authorities are fairly straightforwards. The problems arise gradually and innocuously.



I think it is a mistake to rate how much money one wants to make, against the tax levels one has to start paying from. Obviously, it is natural to want to earn as much as possible, and certainly more than if one was to do the same job for a wage. Otherwise there would be no point to being self employed.



The factors to think about besides what levels of earning one pays tax at (and whatever I write here is more than likely far from complete), include



1. Day to day living - Food, clothes, entertainment, holidays etc

2. Permanent expenses - Mortgages, Rates, electricity, gas, water, school fees, phones etc

3. Insurances - Health, life, house, car

4. Savings - Kids (weddings, Bar Mitvah's), Pension (we all get older and want to make sure that whoever is going to wipe our arses etc will have some respect)

5. Taxes



Then of course, once one has a budget, there's the question of making sure that the minimum amount that we need is really going to come in each month and what will you do if it doesnt.

Of course we are talking about an average person who has not inherited money and doesnt have a rich daddy.



OK, so now you have a budget, you are confident that you've got a clientelle and you go to the authorities and open up files.

You start working, but sooner or later, clients are late paying, or you've got a slow period. You still have to pay your taxes, and if you earned "X" for the last few months, and now you declare half that amount, flags will be raised and you may be audited. Do you have the time or the experience to answer the sort of questions you will be asked? Because the first assumption the tax authorities have is that you are hiding income.



Then of course, there's the stage that most people get to especially after the first audit (or "friendly interview") and thats like a self-fulfilling prophecy. You get some income, and dont write a receipt (for any number of reasons). You rent out a part of your house, you declare expenses that you think are legit, but are not. I know, this all sounds like something that any intelligent person would be careful not to do right? But I can assure you that there are lots (and lots) of people sitting in the country's jails, who are inherintly decent people, who got caught up in a cycle of trying to delay payment of taxes to keep their heads above water "just for a while" and then fell deeply into the tax avoidance pit. More often than not, its the small income self-employed who fall into this category, simply because of the temptation of trying to save by doing things themselves.

Of course I am not saying that its not worth being self employed. It can be. BUT....I am definitely saying that its not worth dealing with the tax authorities unless you are a professional. You would not treat yourself medically from reading an encyclopaedia, nor would you represent yourself in a court of law....people do, sometimes successfully, but many times with disastrous results.

Budget in the cost of an accountant/book-keeper. The rules change all the time and if you want to be able to concentrate on the important things (like keeping your time for working and relaxing and not on dealing with authorities), don't create a stumbling block for yourself. The professionals stop you from making mistakes and allow you, when questioned by the tax authorities, to refer all questions (and responsibility) to them.

Again, this is just my own opinion for what its worth.

Laying the foundation stone for E1, or just political scoring?

This week, with great fanfare (and expense to the taxpayer), Mayor Benny Cashriel held a "groundbreaking" ceremony at the E1 site (what is supposed to be a new neighborhood providing contiguous building between Maale Adumim and Jerusalem).

Attending were some scores of high school students, mostly from the religious schools, a smattering of the Maale Adumim population and a grand score of two members of Parliament.

As Rafi Ben-Hur (the leader of the opposition) succintly, if not a bit harshly, put it in his weekly column, this was a total waste of public funds, whose only purpose was to score some publicity for Cashriel and did bugger all for really getting E1 of the ground.

As Rafi rightly said, today's population of Maale Adumim is very different to those who founded the city. Back then people were willing to camp out on the barren hills and brave real danger in order to fulfil a dream of settling the land. The leaders were focused and less politically motivated because they had nothing to lose.

Unlike today.

Cashriel, despite last year's show of moving the municipal offices to E1 (which lasted all of two weeks) will not do anything radical that might endanger any future job he might get in the Likud heirarchy when he quits (or gets voted out) the Maale Adumim municipality.
What is called for, is actual building on the E1 site, even if just a few houses but with the authority of the leadership.

The pity is, that Cashriel has done a superb job of making Maale Adumim an exceptionally good city in just about every way. However too much of a good thing, at least in my opinion, is damaging the city more than doing good.

In order to keep his authority, Cashriel, like all good dictators, has surrounded himself with yes men, who are at best mediocre or just plain frightened.

While this sort of government could, (and did) work with a smaller population, with the city reaching a population of 40,000, something has to give.
In fact, we are seeing some deterioration in education and there is an increase in violence. Both are issues that have been central to Cashriel's stand as mayor (Education and Quality of Life is what Maale Adumim has advertised consistently - and so far, rightly)

I dont know if Cashriel will win, or even stand for another election, however he should act now, so that his last years wont be seen as a fizzle for both himself and Maale Adumim.

As far as E1 is concerned, a bit of courage is called for. There are enough people who would rally for that.