Hasta La Gadget!

It might seem strange to those that understand how widely the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge is launching that the company would call the device a “limited edition concept.” That’s just what Samsung Electronic president D J Lee has suggested though, several regions around the world won’t see the device released at all. Online retail portal Clove has suggested Samsung won’t … Continue reading

With the Jewish New Year of Rosh Hashanah beginning tonight, it would be a sweet idea to hope for fresh beginnings and unity. However, in the wake of the current escalating crisis in the Middle East, we seem to be thinking about anything but the feasibility of peace. It has been increasingly hard to remain optimistic just 48 hours after the United States first led air-strikes against ISIS extremists in Syria.

It seems as if ISIS, also known as ISIL or the “Islamic State,” became a threat out of nowhere this summer beginning with their aggressive coup in Iraq. But in reality, the group first took root in 2004 as an extreme off-shoot of al-Qaeda, and now claims to have authority over 1.5 billion Muslims around the world. They have taken responsibility for the killing of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, plus thousands of other civilians who stood in their way in Iraq. Earlier this week, an ISIS spokesperson called for the slaughter of Westerners — both civilians and soldiers. Although the National Security Council said our nation would “not respond publicly to every new piece of ISIL propaganda,” the threats are particularly alarming. This response came after ISIS leaders called for independent attacks in the United States and France.

I grew up as a New Yorker in a post-9/11 world, so every threat — suspected propaganda or not — is real. The attacks on the World Trade Center occurred when I was only eight years old. I will never forget how all the teachers were called out for a meeting, or how I was sent home only to watch the looped video of the twin towers coming down, or the panicked correspondence between friends and family. I will especially never forget the omnipresent black cloud, both physical and metaphorical, that hung over New York for a long time following the orchestrated acts of terrorism. Although I was in the third grade, I could tell that something really bad had happened and that nothing would ever be the same. I felt as if a certain innocence was robbed from me and that I could never be guaranteed certain safety.

While addressing the United Nations, President Obama spoke of needing to confront extremist groups with an aggressive military campaign, including airstrikes and a coalition of many nations who share the common goal of dismantling ISIS. Although military intervention seems inevitable, I cannot help but wonder what this will mean for the notion of “no boots on the ground.” After decades of continual military intervention by the United States, it has become virtually impossible to envision a scenario when we are not at odds with some entity in the Middle East.

“Do not be wise in words, be wise in deeds” is a popular Jewish proverb that is particularly resounding during the New Year. In his closing remarks to the UN, President Obama shared a similar sentiment in saying “This is not simply a matter of words. Collectively, we must take concrete steps to address the danger posed by religiously motivated fanatics, and the trends that fuel their recruitment.” So we should do our best to actively seek peace in the New Year within our own lives, and hope for it on an international level as well.

Sometimes your first crush — and orgasm — is on (literally on) a teddy bear.

Don’t believe us? Then watch as Marie Cecile Anderson and Katy Frame of country-comedy duo Reformed Whores sing the truth. It’s an adorably heartbreaking song about life, love and barely having to use your hands.

These days, the Starbucks “secret menu” is one of the worst-kept secrets in America. Whether you’re a ‘Bucks aficionado or just someone who occasionally drives through, chances are, you already know all about the fuzzy peach tea or the Captain Crunch Frappuccino even if you’ve never been daring enough to ask for one.

Click Here to see the Complete List of Unusual Starbucks Drink Flavors Around the World

But with 23,305 locations around the world in countries from Peru to South Korea, Starbucks’ international locations serve up some drinks that even connoisseurs of the Kit Kat Frappuccino might find bizarre. Since opening their first international location in Tokyo in 1996, Starbucks has understood that the key to being successful abroad lies in adapting the brand to the country’s tastes rather than expecting the country to immediately jump onboard with America coffee culture.

For example, when the first Starbucks opened in mainland China in 1999, many industry insiders predicted a monumental failure because of China’s historical tea culture. But the brand persevered and adapted. They focused on green tea flavored drinks instead of the sweeter, whipped-cream-heavy concoctions popular in America, and rather than the in-and-out drive-through style that Americans have come to associate with Starbucks, they recognized that the Chinese appreciate more comfortable dine-in spaces. There are currently 1,909 Starbucks in China, so obviously their respectful approach to local culture has paid off.

That’s not to say that their foreign menus always make sense to Americans. In nailing local flavor, Starbucks has come up with some creations that just seem, well, bizarre. Here in the States, we’re probably not ready for coffee flavored jelly in place of regular coffee, or sweetened red beans as a garnish. But hey, if you’re ever on a different continent (or in some cases, Canada) it may just be worth it to pop into America’s most recognizable coffee shop and see just how unrecognizable the menu becomes. Click through the list to see the 10 most bizarre Starbucks drinks from around the world. Are there any you’d like to try?

Click Here to see the Original Story on The Daily Meal

-Emily Alford, The Daily Meal

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As Jews prepare this year to gather together in prayer round the world on Rosh Hashanah, many of us are struck by a remarkable biblical truth that appears to have been confirmed within the past few months: The fate of the Jews and the fate of the world are inextricably linked.

Jews are not only meant to be, in the words of Isaiah, “a light unto the nations” but what happens to them is a harbinger of universal import. As God put it to Abraham in the book of Genesis, “I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you, and in you shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” [12:3]

Going back centuries, Spain was the mightiest empire in the world in 1492 when it decided to cruelly expel the Jews from its midst. For its entire Jewish population, from statesmen and scholars to its simple masses, the Golden Age of Spain came to an abrupt and ignominious end. And so too followed the almost immediate decline of Spanish influence and power. 1492 assumed yet another reason for historic importance as result of the discovery of America by Columbus in that very same year. As Jews would see it in retrospect, God closed one door but at the same time opened another. America would become both the country most favorable to Jews in the history of mankind – as well as the greatest and most successful nation on earth.

This past summer marked a terrifying time for Jews. Israel was the target for thousands of missiles indiscriminately aimed at civilians, including women and children. Hamas made clear its goal was to fulfill the words of its charter to kill every last infidel Jew. Yet, in a shockingly surprising turn of events, much of the world’s sympathy went to the Hamas terrorist group who started a war and suffered its consequences. In Europe, just a little over half a century after the Holocaust, voices were raised that urged Jews be again consigned to the crematoria, that Hitler was right, that shops no longer sell to Jews and restaurants no longer serve “Jews and dogs.” Anti-Semitism went from forbidden to fashionable. This even in liberal circles so fond of deploring any form of racism.

And now, as America has finally concluded that it must take on Islamic extremism and declared war on ISIS, we’ve seen yet another validation of what scholars have called the “canary bird in the coal mine” theory of Jew hatred. Coal miners fear toxic fumes that may kill them before they’re aware of their presence. For that reason they bring canaries into the mines with them. The birds are the first victims of these noxious gases. As such, they serve to give critical warning.

So too, the enemies of civilization have invariably singled out the Jews first for destruction. For Hitler, for Stalin, for the many tyrants who sought world domination, Jews made for a readily available scapegoat whose death might even be secretly applauded. Islamic extremists were right in determining that their war against the Jews wouldn’t disturb the conscience of the civilized world. But somehow people didn’t take seriously their slogan that “First we will take care of the Saturday worshipers and then we will finish off the Sunday celebrants.”

It was but a short step from the bombing of Israeli Jews to the beheading of American journalists. Extremism doesn’t recognize any national boundaries. The war against terror dare not differentiate between its victims. Europeans who excoriated Israel while praising Hamas and praying for its success just a few short months ago need to recognize that if radical Islam and sharia law come to define European culture, its heritage of enlightenment and liberalism will come to a tragic close.

On the forthcoming high holy days, Jews pray for the world. The date for the beginning of the New Year comes not in commemoration of the establishment of the Jewish people as they left Egypt or the moment when Abraham became the first patriarch by intuiting the existence of only one God. Rosh Hashanah marks the creation of Adam and Eve, the universal parents of all human kind who share in the spiritual greatness of being created in the image of God.

At the end of a 10 day period of introspection and prayer, Yom Kippur closes this holy set of days with the public reading of one book from the Bible. It is about the only prophet sent not to the Jews but to Gentiles. It was divine concern for the city of Nineveh and its inhabitants that prompted God to send Jonah, to attempt to bring about their repentance and salvation. That city today is called Mosul, the second-largest city in Iraq. It is now controlled by ISIS, emptied for the first time in thousands of years of any remaining Christians who have either been brutally executed or forced to convert to Islam.

As the canary birds of history, Jews will pray this year not only for blessings for our people but for a world that we have all too clearly seen inevitably shares our fate.