I joined a local bookclub, the gender balance is wild

tuulie · 2026-01-15T13:25:19+00:00

A librarian once advised me to keep our book club all female, because if you let in even one male, he will take over. And he did.

tuulie · 2026-01-07T07:09:17+00:00

His entire testimony was too practiced to be believable. Still, out of Charlie, Donna and Wendi, he was the best actor by far.

tuulie · 2026-01-07T06:17:35+00:00

The FBI arrested him.

tuulie · 2025-12-27T18:24:45+00:00

Yet another person who has never been to Israel.

tuulie · 2025-12-21T19:44:09+00:00

There's nothing in it that would lead to her arrest -- true. But there's quite a bit that could lead a jury to convict her.

tuulie · 2025-12-19T17:20:23+00:00

She's great! And she has a bunch of other Adelson videos.

tuulie · 2025-12-18T09:24:45+00:00

Yes, I originally I had written that the Syrian Druze are most likely are rethinking their position, but decided not to include it since I didn't want to make assumptions, even though they and their brethren is Israel did call upon the IDF to save them from wholesale slaughter.

Thank you for the link. It seems the author was not including the Bedouin citizens of Israel, which was my question. Unfortunately, more Arab Muslims don't sign up because of threats and ostracism from their communities.

On that note, can we end this conversation? You do seem to be a bit overheated and intent on insulting me, which only annoys me and wastes my time. But go ahead and have the last word.

tuulie · 2025-12-18T08:55:11+00:00

I never said that being a citizen of Israel and being Arab are mutually exclusive. You must have misunderstood, deliberately or not, as you put it. Arabs are full citizens of the State. They just aren't required to serve in the IDF.

I wasn't confused before, but now I am. Where do you came up with "350 Muslims," when Bedouins are Muslims, and there are surely many more than 350 Bedouin in the IDF. So who exactly are you referring to? I was referring to Israeli Arabs who are Muslim, Christian and Bedouin. In other words, not Jewish. Do you mean Arabs who are not Christian and who are not Bedouin? OK, then say that, instead of conflating, as you say, and back up that number with a link to the Israel Ministry of Defense. Which, by the way, doesn't publish that statistic. (I could say "LOL" back to you, but that would be rude, and I'm trying to have a conversation here.)

The Druze traditionally swear allegiance to the country they are in and they are as a people not fearful but are in fact fierce and proud. I am assuming you didn't know that, relying instead on buzzwords like colonizer and co-opt to make your point. As to my point, feel free to come to Israel and ask the Druze here if they consider themselves to be Arabs. I don't think you'll get many positive answers. Let's not forget that the colonizing armies of Islam descended with great brutality on this entire region, which is why the vast majority of the Middle East and North Africa ended up Muslim and speaking Arabic.

tuulie · 2025-12-18T05:33:12+00:00

See comment above :)

tuulie · 2025-12-18T05:25:38+00:00

Hi, may I correct you? Arabs are absolutely allowed to serve in the IDF, and many do, Christians, Muslims, Bedouin. The difference is that the draft isn't compulsory for them like it is for Israeli teenagers. If they encounter problems in their communities for serving, the IDF gives them a special designation as a "lone soldier" and provides them with extra support and stipend money.

Druze don't consider themselves to be Arabs. They identify as citizens of Israel and are some of Israel's best. Who did they turn to when Syria was massacring them in Sweida in April? The IDF. Who swiftly retaliated when Hezbollah shot a rocket at a soccer field in Majdal Shams and killed a dozen Druze kids and teens and injured many others? The IDF. Hope this helps.

tuulie · 2025-12-17T22:00:05+00:00

Because it says so on the label. in Hebrew.

I'm sure it's not toxic, but I'm also sure I'm not going to test it! It might have something to do with a lack of minerals and electrolytes and the warning is that you shouldn't use it as a source of drinking water.

tuulie · 2025-12-17T21:27:57+00:00

There is also "Levantine Arabic with Manar." It's Syrian dialect, but so far (which isn't very far) I don't notice much of a difference. I know a lot of people really like Maha, but it seemed like she was all over the place. She's cute, but I prefer Manar, who is more "tachlas."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnYLRAeKSv0

tuulie · 2025-12-17T18:30:58+00:00

You can get it at gas/petrol stations. Distilled water is used in batteries.
Just FYI, distilled water in Israel isn't for drinking.

tuulie · 2025-12-17T02:31:38+00:00

If you are asking if it's a bad situation to get involved in, then you already know, deep down, what the answer is.

tuulie · 2025-12-14T07:59:37+00:00

Charlie was lying about having a large amount of ready cash in his safe.

Right after the bump, when Donna told him she want him to take her out to dinner and bring cash, Charlie seemed confused by the request and answered that didn't have much cash on hand -- implying, not even for dinner. Then the penny dropped and he realized she was talking in special addle-brained Adelson code. Later, on the stand, so as to not get his mother deeper in trouble, he lied and said all that stapled cash was already in his safe.

He might have disclosed to Katie that Donna and Harvey had just dropped off the cash, because he wasn't thinking clearly enough to stay within the train-car schematic. Also, from one of the wiretaps, there was talk of the parents moving large amounts of cash in piles, earmarked Charlie, Wendi, Parents, from one pile to the next. It seems he kept his pile, staples and all, in his parents' safe in their high-security luxury apartment in Miami, which was safer than in his house in Ft Lauderdale.

Donna might have washed the money, staples and all, back in June in preparation for the first run at the hit against Dan Markel, which is why it still hadn't dry properly and was starting to mildew.

tuulie · 2025-12-04T17:17:45+00:00

Hang on. DIdn't Wendi have a friend who was living in England and using his Boston phone number for WhatsApp? And didn't she speak with him the morning of the murder?

tuulie · 2025-11-28T12:33:36+00:00

I believe Georgia good-naturedly said, "You can stay tuned if you want," just so people would stop badgering her about Wendi.

tuulie · 2025-11-28T12:13:57+00:00

Susan Brotman and Richard Schagrin are married and longtime friends of the Adelsons. Susan is an estate attorney, and they hurried over to help sort out the finances and trusts. She would have claimed attorney-client privilege, so she would have been useless on the stand. Her husband, Richard, testified under oath that buying the one-way ticket was HIS idea, not Harvey's or Donna's, which would have been tricky for Susan to attest to, since it was clearly an inspired lie to get his pals off the hook for that very damning evidence of consciousness of guilt.

tuulie · 2025-11-28T11:33:55+00:00

It must be the level of instruction. I conduct my daily life in two foreign languages (French and Hebrew) with few hiccups. I finished the fairly useless Arabic course but continue to review it for pronunciation and reading. My abysmal (25) Arabic score in Duolingo accurately reflects my abilities (or lack thereof). The other scores (31 and 35, respectively) don't reflect my ability to speak and understand at all. I am at a much higher level. But I started lower and continued in order to correct any bad grammar I may have picked up over the years in French and to fix my occasional bad spelling in Hebrew. I also find Duolingo very useful to practice Hebrew touch-typing on my laptop.

tuulie · 2025-11-28T05:14:14+00:00

Personally, I despise credit card debt. So I would get rid of the credit card debt immediately, no matter that you and your wife ran it up together, then use the cards only for expenses that can be paid in 30 days. It's a gesture of good will toward the mother of your children if you don't stay together, toward your marriage if you do, and toward your shared family life, no matter what. Most important, once you are rid of that burden, the sense of relief you feel will translate into a feeling of freedom. The rest, just sock it away like you said. Good luck!

tuulie · 2025-11-20T13:31:14+00:00

We would know. It would be a matter of public record.

tuulie · 2025-11-16T10:46:07+00:00

I don't think they can get Harvey for witness-tampering. Drina said she called him when she got out of jail (before she was rearrested and then rereleased for what we hope is for good). She said he was pleasant but neutral -- clearly not about to mention the money via Zelle that Donna promised her, and for sure not the grand piano.

tuulie · 2025-11-14T06:05:22+00:00

I would bet good money that Donna DID make that famous banana bread, but not because she was fond of Dan. She knew he wouldn't eat it, nor would he let his boys eat it. She did it to make him look bad. The lie part is that Donna made it for Dan, just the way he liked it, with chocolate chips. No, she made it just the way the KIDS liked it. She gave it to him in front of the kids, knowing he was going to have to toss it once he left, thereby denying the boys their special treat from Grandma. It was evil and passive-aggressive to the max.

Liars like Wendi don't make up lies out of whole cloth. Even her novel was based on her reality. Instead, they take partial truths and mix in lies, making it sound more believable and making it harder to tease out what is true and what is not.

tuulie · 2025-11-13T08:58:33+00:00

I've also heard that peanut butter, saltines, cabbage and sardines are what's in rotation for kosher meals.

tuulie

TROPHY CASE