sorry - Filene's Basement mini-chain (we have several in town - and I'm in the same town as Vortex).

ack! double-post!

I've done a bit of writing on it, though...mostly from the perspective of experiencing an easier time getting public assistance because I'm white and well-spoken. It bothers me tremendously and makes me want to advocate for those who don't have those qualities (I'm not sure what else to call them; that may not be the best word).

Advantages?

sorry - Filene's Basement mini-chain (we have several in town - and I'm in the same town as Vortex).

If I had time, I'd swing by. But, the Fates have spoken, because I have to pick my mother up from her pedicure at the Elizabeth Arden across the street from the Nordstrom's with my $60 bra.

Advantages?

Duh. Yes. And, in disturbing news, that's the word used by my prof this morning. Fortunately, we've worked through it, and he no longer thinks I'm trying to ask for advantages over the other students. Ugh, though.

ION, no work school tomorrow! SNOW DAY!

Besides, the one on Connecticut Avenue may still have lingering pepper spray issues ....

(for those not in DC, over the weekend they had to evacuate the store because something - pepper spray, last I heard - had been released into the air and people were coughing, their eyes watering, etc. ended up with a bunch of emergency vehicles blocking the entire street, one person went to the hospital - more for safety's sake than actual injury, released that day. they did get evacuated to the Mayflower Hotel, which is quote posh.)

There was never anything as good as Headless Body Found in Topless Bar, but what really is?

Still the champ, though I'm fond of the local Tsunami Corpse Lagoon! which went on in great detail describing the giant salt water crocodiles who went to buffet on human remains after a tsunami tragedy in Indonesia.

the one on Connecticut Avenue may still have lingering pepper spray issues

Sounds like they have a problem with the ventilation system.

TralalalaLAAAA! Today I purchased several nice bras (this is an annual event, people - in Thailand, boobs do not happen in Fay Size, apparently, so I cannot buy bras until I come home) and a gorgeous skirt which was all the more gorgeous because it was reduced to £16 instead of £35.

I looked up Hamsa. I find it interesting that both Islamic & Jewish traditions share it.

Huh! Yeah, I looked it up too, and was gobsmacked to see that it's the symbol I know as the Hand of Fatima! Don't know what I was expecting, but that wasn't it.

...on a vaguely related note, I nearly posted about something yesterday, and then worried that it was going to offend people and didn't; specifically I was concerned that it might seem to be a disparagement of Shir's sister, and that isn't my intention at all. I'm very glad that I have not found myself in a position of having to make such a decision myself. I honestly don't know which way I'd jump, if I were in the position of having to join the army. I certainly understand the impulse to help protect one's friends and family, and that's a noble and honourable wish.

That said, when I randomly heard about the existence of the Shministim yesterday, it made me feel hopeful about humans. After some consideration, I'm sharing the link here.

About the shministim: OK, obviously I have a lot to say about it.

All in all, I think that giving 2-3 years from your life to improve your country when your 18 is an excellent idea. Especially when the country is young and need all the help it can get and you get to learn a lot and grow the fuck up while doing so, which happens. That's the socialization in Israel, and sometimes, when I hear 28 year old overseas students in my campus I'm shocked to hear the how immature the seems to me. So the problem that some Shministim are using the movement to to the whole "hell, I don't want to give anything back and do what's good for me" agenda. Especially the girls, who 80% of them are gonna to clerical work in a base in Tel Aviv, let's face it.

Now, as for the IDF. Yes, it's doing immoral things. But, we need an army. I believe in making the society of my country as less militaristic as possible, and giving the option to do a volunteering year(s) instead (I did mine before army service, and trust me, I didn't kill anyone while serving). But they don't offer any alternative. What if every single 18 year old will decide not to enlist? Will they stand aside while their family might get hurt?

I believe in a change within the system. I know the 2 years I did in the army were pretty much pointless, and I did a lot more for my country in the few months of volunteering year. But take my sister as an example: a commander on the border with Gaza Strip, and I guarantee you she saves lives everyday, on both sides, while risking her own. And she's within the system.

All in all, the Shministim aren't giving an alternative, only getting the problem worse: and misusing the name of the original Shministim letter, who really was justified IMHO. I just believe that a real change has to come within the system itself.