Tag: Human Capabilities

70% of today’s Holocaust survivors will be gone in the next decade

I posted this for reader mosckerr. I often post directly for some people but have never before named anyone unless I say I read their blog. Occasionally, I call some people out for being nice or for being an asshole without saying who they are. mosckerr however, has made some very thoughtful comments to my blog and is a faithful reader. I respect the opinions of the written comments and I’m amazed that someone would take the time to research a subject so well or be that educated on the subject.

Previously, I worked with a man who was in Auschwitz and read his book (Avraham Harshalom) so I noticed this article and wanted to post it.

Here is a link to mosckerr’s blog in case you want to read more.

Here goes:

Some 70% of living Holocaust survivors will be gone within the next decade, according to a new demographic report entitled Vanishing Witnesses, which was published on Tuesday by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference). 

Claims Conference President Gideon Taylor said the report stresses the urgent need to preserve Holocaust survivor testimonies for the purposes of commemoration and education. 

“This report provides clear urgency to our Holocaust education efforts,” Taylor stated. “Now is the time to hear first-hand testimonies from survivors, invite them to speak in our classrooms, places of worship and institutions. It is critical, not only for our youth but for people of all generations to hear and learn directly from Holocaust survivors. This report is a stark reminder that our time is almost up, our survivors are leaving us and this is the moment to hear their voices.”

Holocaust survivor Marianne Miller speaks while her son Israeli comedian Adir Miller standing next to her during a ceremony marking the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, Jan. 27, 2025. (Photo: Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90)

The report forecasts that by 2040, only a small number of Holocaust survivors will remain alive, largely due to their advanced age. The median age of survivors is 87, with approximately 1,400 individuals over the age of 100. Women make up about 60% of the surviving population.

As of October 2024, an estimated 200,000 Holocaust survivors were living across 90 countries, with nearly half– around 110,000 – residing in Israel.

In comparison, roughly 170,000 Holocaust survivors lived in Israel at the beginning of 2022. The report projects that the number of Holocaust survivors in Israel will drop to only 62,900 by 2030. The number of living survivors are also expected to fall dramatically in the United States and the former Soviet Union countries. 

Greg Schneider, Claims Conference executive vice president, warned that time is running out for firsthand Holocaust testimonies. 

“We have known that this population of survivors would be the last, our final opportunity to hear their first-hand testimonies, to spend time with them, our last chance to meet a survivor. These are our final years to honor them, make sure they are living in dignity, care for them and provide for their needs. The work we do negotiating with the governments of Europe on behalf of survivors is critical to their existence – nothing could be more important, more urgent, as we see what little time we have left to ensure their wellbeing,” Schneider said. 

In 2024, it was reported that 25% of Israel’s Holocaust survivors live in poverty and loneliness, frequently being forced to subsist on minimal pensions. 

Tziona Koenig-Yair, the associate executive vice president of the Claims Conference in Israel, echoed the calls to preserving survivor testimonies for future generations. 

“Their stories are an irreplaceable piece of our collective history. We must ensure that the lessons we’ve learned from the horrors they experienced remain etched in human memory forever,” Koening-Yair said. 

She concluded by stressing the need for assisting and improving the lives of the rapidly dwindling Holocaust survivors. 

“This is the order of the day – care for them, ensure they live out their lives in dignity stolen from them in their youth, and preserve their testimony so that future generations never have to endure those atrocities again.”

Among the voices featured in the Vanishing Witnesses report is that of 110-year-old Nechama Grossman, one of the world’s oldest Holocaust survivors, who lives in Arad, located in southern Israel. Her son, Vladimir Shvetz emphasized the importance of preserving the memory of the Holocaust survivors. 

“She lived through the worst of humanity and she survived. She raised her children, her grandchildren, her great-grandchildren, to teach them that unchecked hatred cannot win. We must remember her story, remember the Holocaust, remember all the survivors; learn from it so that her past does not become our future,” Shvetz argued.

The 98-year-old Holocaust survivor Leonard Zaicescu vowed to continue telling the younger generations about the horrors of the Holocaust. 

“As long as I am still alive and have strength, I will do everything I still can so that future generations will learn about what happened.”

Pinchas Gutter, one of the last survivors of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, also stressed the need for the few remaining Holocaust survivors to speak up amid growing trends of Holocaust denial. 

“It’s sobering to see exactly how few of us Holocaust survivors are left. We have an important piece of history that only we hold and only we can tell. I hope in the time we have, we can impart the learning from the Holocaust so that the world will never again have to endure that level of hate,” Gutter said.

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Hegseth Calls For Equal Physical Standards For Men And Women In Combat Roles, Criticizes ‘Slipping’ U.S. Requirements

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a memo on Monday ordering men and women to meet the same physical fitness requirements if they want to work in combat positions, while saying the Pentagon had “allowed standards to slip.” 

“Different standards for men and women in combat arms, MOS and jobs, that’s not acceptable,” Hegseth said in a video posted to X, using the abbreviation for “military occupational specialty,” or job type.

“We have to have the same standard — male or female — in our combat roles to ensure our men and women who are under our leaders, or in those formations, have the best possible leaders and the highest possible standards that are not based at all on your sex.”

The memo, released by the Pentagon on Monday, stated “As the nature of warfare evolves and the demands on our Service members grow more complex, it is imperative that we assess and refine the physical fitness standards that enable our readiness and lethality.”

“I am directing the Secretaries of the Military Departments to develop comprehensive plans to distinguish combat arms occupations from non-combat arms occupations,” Hegseth wrote in the document. “This effort will ensure that our standards are clear, mission-focused, and reflective of the unique physical demands placed on our Service members in various roles.”

“Additionally, for certain combat arms roles, it is essential to identify which positions require heightened entry-level and sustained physical fitness. These roles, which are critical to our military’s mission success, demand exceptional physical capabilities, and the standards for them must reflect that rigor,” the memo continues.

“All entry-level and sustained physical fitness requirements within combat arms positions must be sex-neutral, based solely on the operational demands of the occupation and the readiness needed to confront any adversary. In establishing those standards, the Secretaries of the Military Departments may not establish standards that would result in any existing Service member being held to a lower standard,” it also said.

The newest memo comes after Hegseth ordered a review of military fitness and grooming standards earlier this month. The Secretary of Defense has vowed to bring back tougher standards while rescinding ”woke” policies that don’t align with warrior ethos, rebuilding a stronger military and reestablishing deterrence. 

“Our standards will be high, uncompromising, and clear,” he said in a January 25th memo to service members. “The strength of our military is our unity and our shared purpose.”

During his trip to Japan, Hegseth announced a plan to upgrade the U.S. military command in the country, which he described as necessary to combat China aggression.

“We share a warrior ethos that defines our forces,” Hegseth told Japanese Defense Minister General Nakatani in Tokyo, adding that Japan is “our indispensable partner” in “deterring communist Chinese military aggression,” including across the Taiwan Strait.

Hegseth said Japan is a “cornerstone of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific” and that the Trump administration would continue to work closely with the Asian nation.

The latest change also includes placing a combined operational commander in Japan, who would be a counterpart to the head of a joint operations command that was established last week by Japan’s Self-defense forces. 

The latest change also includes placing a combined operational commander in Japan, who would be a counterpart to the head of a joint operations command that was established last week by Japan’s Self-Defense forces. 

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There is no race or religion when you are being shot at. When you have to save a fellow soldier, you want someone who can haul your ass out of there, not someone who filled a quota. That person got reduced physical requirements, the only way they could pass, but that doesn’t make them qualified to be a soldier.

Hope She Doesn’t Think Of Me – The ‘Paranormal Writing’ Ability of a Gifted Girl Described In a Declassified CIA Document

A study from China, archived in the CIA database, demonstrates the ability of a gifted girl to physically write on a piece of paper inside a closed container using her mind.

Do paranormal abilities exist? This bold question is often based on belief rather than science. But looking at parameters that can help determine if something is real or not in our world, like peer-reviewed publications, video footage, and the ability to experience something, then yes, paranormal abilities do exist, and there are many different examples to choose from that clearly illustrate this.

These abilities are studied and trained at the highest levels of government and military, yet within academia, it’s almost completely ignored, unacknowledged and ridiculed.

A quote from the Chinese Institute of Atomic Energy pointed out in 1991, in a study archived by the CIA:

“Such phenomena and paranormal abilities of the human body are unimaginable for ordinary people. Nevertheless they are really true.”

In the study, the Chinese researchers provide multiple examples of a Qi Gong master who, under double-blind controlled conditions, was able to teleport small objects out of containers from one location to another using nothing but mental influence (breaking through spatial barriers).Multiple test subjects were able to do this including gifted children. This is just one example of research and published observation of this type of phenomenon under tight controls.

Another great example and the main subject of this article, comes from a study published in The Chinese Journal of Somatic Sciences by researchers from Fudan University, a major research university located in Shanghai. The study is/was also documented and translated by the CIA at the time, but not approved for release until the year 2000.

The study is titled Investigation Into The Force of Parapsychological Writing. It explains that parapsychological writing is only one form of paranormal abilities displayed by humans, and cites a “large number of experiments” where this type of phenomenon has been demonstrated and documented repeatedly.

“Parapsychological writing includes a number of complex parapsychological phenomenon including moving the writing instrument, breaking through spatial barriers and thought directed writing. These paranormal phenomenon cannot be explained using modern scientific knowledge. However, the recording of paranormal phenomena, especially of the accumulation of data on experiments conducted using strict scientific methods must eventually approach and disclose the truth about this unknown realm.”

Study

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If I could do this, it would be like having the Force. I’d be messing with everyone.

AI On Weird Phobia’s People Have

I had to ask

  1. Arachibutyrophobia: The fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth.
  2. Nomophobia: The fear of being without your mobile device.
  3. Xanthophobia: The fear of the color yellow.
  4. Turophobia: The fear of cheese.
  5. Somniphobia: The fear of falling asleep.
  6. Coulrophobia: The fear of clowns.
  7. Pogonophobia: The fear of beards.
  8. Triskaidekaphobia: The fear of the number 13.
  9. Ablutophobia: The fear of bathing, washing, or cleaning.
  10. Geniophobia: The fear of chins.

I thought number 8 was about Friday the 13th.

The fear of Friday the 13th is known as friggatriskaidekaphobia. It combines the word ‘Frigga’, which is the name of the Norse goddess after whom Friday is named, and ‘triskaidekaphobia’, which is the fear of the number 13.

I added these:

The fear of having houseguests is called “domatophobia”. It is derived from the Latin word “domus” which means house and “phobos” which means fear. This phobia can cause intense anxiety and discomfort for individuals when they have to host guests in their home.

The fear of small talk is known as “homilophobia”. It comes from the Greek word “homilia” which means conversation and “phobos” which means fear. This phobia can cause individuals to feel extremely anxious and uncomfortable when they have to engage in casual, superficial conversation.

20 Characteristics of High-Agency Men – ANTROPOMÁXIMOLOGIA

This is what it would be if men were men and not trying to be trans-testicles to invade the girl’s locker rooms and beat the hell out of girls’ teams in sports.

Here’s how to be a man and not a pussy, here goes.

Back when I lived in Mexico in my early 20s, I came across a document (its author unknown) entitled “ANTROPOMÁXIMOLOGIA.”

It roughly translates to “the study of maximum human development.”

It’s all about how to develop yourself to the utmost. It contains 20 attributes of individuals who make a difference in the world and do great things. In other words, the attributes that make for high-agency men.

Here are the attributes that make the difference, “the added value” that distinguishes people who achieve success in their endeavors.

  1. They are never satisfied with their level of development; they always want to exceed what was previously done.
  2. They avoid comfortable situations. They do things they may not like because they understand the importance of doing them.
  3. They have pressing goals. They not only feel they SHOULD do something but they are driven by their own will that they HAVE to do it.
  4. They never blame others. They solve problems. Any task is a challenge to be overcome.
  5. They like and encourage taking risks. However, they take these risks judiciously and in moderation—never recklessly or without calculation. They evaluate and proceed with tact and without fear.
  6. They have VISION; they can foresee in their minds the outcomes before embarking on the execution of the proposed plan.
  7. They are not slaves to work. However, if they need to accomplish something, they will work 24 hours a day if necessary.
  8. They handle pressures well. They recognize that no one is interested in whether they are nervous or pressured. They know that only they decide what to do with their lives. They need the tension of demand but trust in their decision-making capacity.
  9. They are objective. They are not selfish. They let others receive recognition for an achievement when it is deserved.
  10. They understand the nature of energy. They know that if they apply enough energetic force, they will be capable of moving anything.
  11. They know the meaning of nurturing. They build and nurture others, always leaving things better than they found them.
  12. They understand sociability. They enjoy others but do not depend on them, stepping away from friends and having fun if there are more important or higher-priority tasks to handle.
  13. They use and understand self-discipline. They do not let habits, desires, and faults control them because they have developed the ability to control themselves.
  14. They have COURAGE. They are not reluctant because others do not dare to do something. They make decisions and do not hesitate.
  15. They have confidence in themselves. They do not doubt or waver. Their confidence is nourished by action and deeds.
  16. They understand the importance of living in the present. They do not live on the laurels of yesterday nor with the aspirations of tomorrow; they aim for the best in the present.
  17. They do not worry about past mistakes and never base today’s decisions on yesterday’s errors. They expect and live for the success of the present.
  18. They recognize that experiences come individually and not in groups. When they receive training, they apply the lessons to themselves and do not hide behind or dwell on the mistakes of others.
  19. They are quick to forgive, forget, and move forward from where they are. They know how to forgive their own faults.
  20. They understand the importance of empathy; they are capable of interpreting the feelings of others, developing this quality to the fullest.

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I hit 18 of 20

In what ways does hard work make you feel fulfilled?

In what ways does hard work make you feel fulfilled?

This one is easy. My Mom told me about this when I was young. It’s our task in life to overcome. You have to climb the mountain and achieve.

To leave it there is easy and lazy, but the question is about being fulfilled. You feel that way when you achieve, accomplish, or figure out the difficult issues in life.

Humans need to over overcome. Complacency is unfulfilling.

Great Sayings – Einstein On Being A Genius

Don’t let others get you down.  Don’t live your life by others version of what you should be.  It’s hard to buck social peer pressure and be yourself, but that’s what it can take sometimes to find the real you.

Stop wasting your life on social media to define yourself by others.  In fact it looks like staying off of social media except for family and a few actual friends looks like it makes your life better anyway.

It’s hard to seek your dreams.  You have to pay the bills and raise the kids, so sometimes your dreams or reaching your capabilities doesn’t come in your 20’s like it did for Albert.

That doesn’t give anyone a free pass for not trying their hardest to do their best.

Great Sayings – Simon Sinek

“Panic causes tunnel vision. Calm acceptance of danger allows us to more easily assess the situation and see the options.” — Simon Sinek

 

It’s a practiced skill, although true leaders seem to be born with it the ability to put aside feelings and deal with it.  It’s why Army Rangers and Navy Seals can enter a hostile situation and execute.  Many drives by sports teams to the winning score are by level headed leaders who see the goal and understand the situation. Adding perceived danger only clouds the situation and adds complexity.

 

Covid-19, It’s Another Pearl Harbor – We’ve Been Through This Before And We Do It Best

Update:  On April 5th, the Surgeon General compared the Corona Virus to Pearl Harbor.

There are events in history that cause a divided nation to come together.

Some have been pandemics and others have been wars, but there are times defined by history that people put their selfishness aside and gather to do what is best.

As an example, I could pick the Spanish Flu, SARS, MERS, H1N1, Y2K, the Swine Flu, the Space Race to the Moon or any number of events, but I’m going to use Pearl Harbor.

I wasn’t there, but our nation was divided as to whether we should enter another World War or isolate ourselves and hope the problem would go away or others would solve it.  This all changed on December 7, 1941 when our country was forced into the events of the world.

We could have cowered to the attack and ask them not to do it again.  Neville Chamberlin tried to appease Hitler this way and it didn’t work out so well.

THE MIGHT OF THE USA

Admiral Yamamoto, the architect of Pearl Harbor knew that a surprise attack to take out our Navy was the only real chance for Japan to stop the USA so they they could expand their reach in the Pacific Rim.  After all, he had studied and lived in the USA and knew that our forces were depleted after WWI.  He also knew that he couldn’t attack us on our own soil.

What also turned out to be true was that if the attack didn’t work, that he would awaken the might of the greatest industrialized nation in the world and unite our country to defeat evil.

On December 8th 1941, men young and old were lined up to enlist to fight for our survival.  They knew that they would be leaving loved ones behind and there was a distinct possibility that they wouldn’t return alive.  They put their fears aside and were willing to fight for our survival and the future that we enjoy today.

Not long after, women went to work in the factories.  We had to ration rubber and metal for war supplies, but everyone did their part.

Companies changed their direction.  Auto makers went from making cars to building bombers.  Scientists invented new weapons to win, not to just survive and suffer.  Our nation came together as one because we had a cause to fight for.

After the war, the greatest achievements in technology, medicine and space exploration happened at a speed heretofore never accomplished.

WE’VE BEEN COMPLACENT AND DIVIDED

All of that progress created wealth, comfort and abundance and we lost our focus.  It’s no secret that we’ve been a divided country.  I’m not here to point fingers because there is enough of that going on through the tradional news and social media.  All of it has a bias one way or the other and it has been pulling us apart.

We haven’t had a common enemy to rally against since the downfall of the Soviet Union.  Instead, we’ve been feeding on ourselves instead of pulling together.  There is a strain of hatred for what we have been that defies the achievements that built our country.  I have read celebtards and sports figures that say we have never been great.  This just proves that they have no appreciation for the sacrifice and achievements that gave them the fame and fortune to preach from their soapboxes.  It also denies our ability to do it again.

We as humans need a cause to believe in and to fight for, whether we are handed or invent it ourselves.  Conversely, politicians have been poisoning us with their desire for power and control.  They have been playing a game of capture the flag on their own islands and haven’t put the good of the country and the people first.  They have been building their power base by taking away our freedom through regulation.

Our government was set up with a system of checks and balances to ensure that no one had the power like the monarchy who we defeated to become what we are.  We now potentially suffer from what the history of the world has suffered from since the beginning of time.  That is the selfishness, greed and desire for power that has aflicted man since the expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

There also has been a faction for globalization that has tried to deplete our greatness by moving manufacturing offshore to the point that we could be held hostage for medical supplies.  Our spirit of nationalization has been tested by the border fight and ideology fueled by hate of the President.  It has ratcheted up these last few years in a power struggle because there was no enemy other than from within.

We have been eating ourselves instead of fighting together.

THE CORONA/COVID-19/CHINA/WUHAN/WHATEVER VIRUS

We now have a new Pearl Harbor.  We have been attacked by a new enemy who ambushed us again.  It is time for us to realize that we have a fight on our hands  Opportunity for success or failure knocks at the door of the fate of our country.

To do that, we need to go back to the spirit of 1941.  It was the people who came together in both the public and private sector, not the control of the Government that helped us save ourselves.

We can go back to being the humans that have struggle to fight against, rally together and overcome (both the virus and the overbearance of the governement regulations).

THE SILVER LINING

There is a great opportunity if we do the same as our forefathers.  Manufacturing in America again can help us right ourselves to help reunite our country and help other countries as we’ve done before.

We are beginning to see the automakers making ventilators, factories starting to make facemasks and other birth pains of our possible re-emergance to self-sustainment.  It can be done.

Before you manufacture in the USA instead of cheap labor offshore, there needs to be a construction boom to prepare production facilities.  After that, the job creation of made in in America is limitless, profitable and will help us help ourselves and others if they want it.

We already have become energy independent by producing enough oil so as to not be dependent on countries who hate us.

Our pharmacuticals are all made offshore by countries that have threatened to cut us off.  We need to do the same in the drug industry to continue our trend of independence and strength.  Through this can we help the rest of the world and save our nation from being held hostage for needed medical supplies and energy.

Most of all, we need fix our goverment and make them serve us instead of us serving them.  Companies and individuals need to be let loose to invent, design and create to defeat this latest Pearl Harbor instead of being told when and what we can or can’t do.  It’s time to limit their power and continue the greatness that history proves is inside of us.

Great Sayings – Abraham Maslow

“If I were dropped out of a plane into the ocean and told the nearest land was a thousand miles away, I’d still swim. And I’d despise the one who gave up.” — Abraham Maslow

 

I’ve been in some dark places before either in life or just competition.  They say in the Marines that there is always an end to whatever pain you are going through so don’t give up.  You’d be amazed at what you can accomplish.

They train Seals until exhaustion, but it’s said that they are only at their 60% level and have a reserve.  How do I know?  If someone pointed a rifle at them, they could still run some more.  It’s said if you get to your end and someone offered you $100 to go 30 seconds more, almost everyone can and will do it.