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Gaffney, Jr.: The Leaker Shield Act JWisdom: Why You & I Never Die: A Jewish View of Immortality, Part II by Rabbi David Aaron May 12, 2008 Chosen Words: A newsletter for personal and spiritual growth gleaned from classic biblical and other sources that will help you enhance your day to day life. Likely the most constructive three minutes you will spend today Mark Steyn: Israel's 'doom' could also be Europe's JWisdom: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: When Faith Meets Fate, Part One May 9, 2008 Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: Reverence, Yes; Worship, No Mona Charen: Did Israel Drive Out the Arabs 60 Years Ago? 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Hofman: In honor of Israel's 60th anniversary, the former president of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, whose members included the likes of Julia Child, is back with a smorgasbord featuring the taste and essence of the Jewish homeland JWisdom: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: Jewish Deer in Nazi Headlights May 5, 2008 The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Busy work Jonathan Mark: Remarkable half-century old Mike Wallace interview with Abba Eban puts current anti-Israel sentiment into perspective May 2, 2008 Rabbi Berel Wein: Rote religiosity Caroline B. Glick: Whitewashing Hamas JWisdom: Parent trap? 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Steven Emerson: New U.S. government policy advises agencies to avoid using some of the very same words that make up terror groups' names JWisdom: Why You & I Never Die: A Jewish View of Immortality, Part I by Rabbi David Aaron April 25, 2008 Rabbi Mitchell Wohlberg: Schadenfreude isn't kosher for Passover --- or at any other time Rabbi Berel Wein: The secret of how the data bank of memory is transferred from one generation to the next JWisdom: Stepping Up to A Higher Spiritual Life by Rabbi Lawrence Kelemen, Part III April 24, 2008 Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: The successful failure Fred Burton and Scott Stewart of Stratfor: Placing the terrorist threat to the food supply in perspective JWisdom: Stepping Up to A Higher Spiritual Life by Rabbi Lawrence Kelemen, Part II April 23, 2008 Connie Ogle: An intricate game of a novel Jonathan Tobin: Making Sense of the 'J Street' Jive JWisdom: Stepping Up to A Higher Spiritual Life by Rabbi Lawrence Kelemen April 22, 2008 Jonathan Rosenblum: Why Israel's 'Leaven law' matters Caroline B. 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Recently someone asked me to translate some financial documents that are clearly forged. Should I agree? Jonathan Rosenblum : Israel is unwittingly helping to fuel the international campaign of delegitimization against it JWisdom: Matzah and leaven as a life philosophy by Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, M.D. April 4, 2008 Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The Mystery of Suffering Caroline B. Glick: Fear of democracy JWisdom: Dirty Jews by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky April 3, 2008 Rabbi Y. Y. Rubinstein: Parents --- and the children who would be them The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Manweiler: Tempted by restaurant dressings? Don't be. Here are recipes that can be made at home, healthier! JWisdom: The importance of retaining a 'slave mentality' by Rabbi Mordechai Becher April 2, 2008 Mitch Albom: Child abuse, disguised as faith Jonathan Tobin: Unreasonable Accommodations JWisdom: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith with Rabbi Nosson Scherman: Eliminating Jewish Influence over Germans March 22, 2007 J-Rhythms with Avraham Rosenblum: JWR's cutting-edge music program showcasing performers -- singers, song writers, musicians, and bands -- who learn and live the Torah lifestyle (OUR NEWEST IGODCAST !) Oct. 29, 2003 Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review May 14, 2008 / 9 Iyar 5768 Government stifles the wisdom of crowds By John Stossel http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Who will be our next president? If you want an accurate guess, don't ask the pundits. Go where people put their money where their mouths are. Intrade.com, for example. It's a prediction market, basically a futures market like those where people bet on the future price of oil, gold and pork bellies. But at Intrade, people bet mostly on politics. The prices on Intrade have been highly accurate predictors of the future. On TV, political "experts" make pronouncements on what they think will happen, but crowds of bettors on sites like Intrade are right more often. In 2004, TV experts like James Carville said John Kerry would win the presidency. In 2006, they said the Republicans would keep control of Congress. But the crowds on Intrade bet against Kerry, and in 2006, "the bettors at Intrade collectively called every single race in the Senate right," James Surowiecki, author of "The Wisdom of Crowds", told me for last week's "20/20". Wisdom of Crowds? When I think of crowds, I think of mobs. But, Surowiecki says, "[C]rowds of people can be incredibly intelligent. ... [I]f the crowd is big enough and diverse enough, you have access to so much more knowledge." The first computerized political market was created at the University of Iowa. "That market outperformed polls three-quarters of the time, and its election-eve forecasts were better than any pundit's and better than any poll," says Surowiecki. Intrade takes bets on more than politics. You can bet on global warming — will this year be one of the five hottest on record? — or on whether Eliot Spitzer will be indicted or on whether there will be a massive earthquake before the end of this year. But most bets concern presidential politics. People have made lots of money predicting unlikely events, such as John McCain's comeback. So isn't this a form of gambling, and isn't gambling illegal in America? Intrade is located in Ireland, and CEO John Delaney told me he's afraid to come to America because, "I don't look good in an orange jumpsuit." He has reason to worry. Congressional Republicans added a provision cracking down on online gambling to a port-security bill in 2006. Most banks stopped dealing with sites like Intrade after that, but some continued, including one called Neteller. Its Canadian cofounders were arrested on a trip to the United States in 2007. Now they face up to five years in prison. That seems like an odd way to treat people who make financial activities between consenting adults possible — while providing useful information about the future. Horse racing, fantasy sports and online lotteries were given exemptions in the 2006 bill. It's OK to bet if you have influence in Washington. Ironically, the U.S. Navy and Federal Reserve use Intrade's data. That Iowa prediction market begged for special permission from the government and got a waiver that limits bets to $500. "That makes them less accurate," says Surowiecki. "Real money is what makes it work." America's anti-gambling laws are thoroughly hypocritical. States run lotteries — one of the worst forms of gambling since no skill is involved and the odds are so bad — while prediction markets, a powerful forecasting tool, are stifled. The Department of Defense once considered setting up a market to predict where the next terrorist attack might occur. The idea died when some politicians shouted it down. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., sneered at "this betting parlor on the Internet." Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said a terrorism futures market "is ridiculous ... grotesque." Surowiecki says, "These are potentially tremendously useful tools for improving our national security. It's much more egregious not to use them than to use them." What does Intrade predict now? As I write this, Hillary Clinton's shot at winning the Democratic nomination has fallen to 8 cents, indicating an 8 percent chance of winning, while Obama is selling for 90 cents. And Obama is favored to win the presidency. You can buy McCain for about 37 cents, but Obama is valued at 55 cents. Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here. JUST OUT FROM STOSSEL Myths, Lies and Downright Stupidity: Get Out the Shovel --- Why Everything You Know Is Wrong   Stossel mines his 20/20 segments for often engaging challenges to conventional wisdom, presenting a series of "myths" and then deploying an investigative journalism shovel to unearth "truth." This results in snappy debunkings of alarmism, witch-hunts, satanic ritual abuse prosecutions and marketing hokum like the irradiated-foods panic, homeopathic medicine and the notion that bottled water beats tap. Stossel's libertarian convictions make him particularly fond of exposes of government waste and regulatory fiascoes. Sales help fund JWR. JWR contributor John Stossel is co-anchor of ABC News' "20/20." To comment, please click here. Archives © 2008, by JFS Productions, Inc. Distributed by Creators Syndicate, Inc.

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