Paulo Coelho’s Blog

By Paulo Coelho

In 1939 the Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara, who was posted in Lithuania during one of the most dreadful periods ever known to mankind, saved thousands of Polish Jews from the Nazi menace by granting them exit visas.

His act of heroism was an obscure footnote in the history of the war until the survivors saved by Sugihara decided to tell their story. His courage and grandeur were soon celebrated by all, drawing the attention of the media and inspiring some authors to write books describing him as “the Japanese Schindler.”

Meanwhile the Israeli government collected the names of the saviors in order to reward them for their efforts. One of the ways in which that the Jewish state tried to show their indebtedness towards these heroes was to plant trees in homage to them. When Sugihara’s courage was disclosed, the Israeli authorities planned to plant the customary cluster of cherry trees - the national tree of Japan - in his memory.

All of a sudden an unheard-of decision was made and the order revoked. They decided that cherry trees were inadequate as a symbol of the bravery displayed by Sugihara and opted for a wood of cedars, a tree of greater vigor and with more sacred connotations for having been used in the First Temple.

Only after the trees were planted did the authorities find out that “Sugihara” in Japanese may be written as … cedar forest.

Welcome to Share with Friends - Free Texts for a Free Internet

Top ten reasons why computers are male

10. They have a lot of data but are still clueless.

9. A better model is always just around the corner.

8. They look nice and shiny until you bring them home.

7. It is always necessary to have a backup.

6. They’ll do whatever you say if you push the right buttons.

5. The best part of having either one is the games you can play.

4. In order to get their attention, you have to turn them on.

3. The lights are on but nobody’s home.

2. Big power surges knock them out for the night.

1. Size does matter.

Top ten reasons why computers are female

10. The instruction manual is mostly wishful thinking.

9. Even after you’ve turned them on, they just sit there waiting for you to make the next move.

8. Incorrectly worded commands are completely ignored, or worse, taken literally.

7. They reveal all your secrets to anyone who wants to know.

6. Upgrades react badly to things left behind by previous versions.

5. Rules are absolute and there is no possibility of compromise.

4. Whatever you buy for them, there will always be a newer version that they want.

3. Nothing is ever “really” deleted… obsolete files will be brought up out of nowhere just to annoy you.

2. Error messages always translate to: “Well if you don’t know I’m not going to tell you.”

1. Despite your best efforts to prevent it, they continue to permit unauthorized entry.

( Found in Internet )