The Banality of Evil: I was just doing my job.
351867
I have read many books about the Holocaust and its aftermath. I have seen many films and documentaries on that subject. Few have attempted to examine or explain the mentality of the people who were responsible for it and willingly participated in those crimes.
They have been usually branded as "monsters," and there is an end to it.
While there have been, and still are, too many monsters loose in the world, too often human beings reply upon that label to abstain from thinking about it. Crimes there are, and have been. Trials might occur; justice meted out and sentences passed.
Can a correct verdict be given, but for all of the wrong reasons?
Can a person behave monstrously and participate in monstrous actions, yet not be a monster?
The film "Hannah Arendt" attempts to answer these questions, to substitute a dispassionate evaluation of facts against hysteria and mob mentality.
German-Jewish philosopher Hannah Arendt ( herself an early victim of the Nazi regime ) chooses to report on the Eichmann trial for "The New Yorker" magazine.
Arendt is fearful that the trial will be nothing more than a "show trial," with a predetermined verdict based on passion rather than the facts: witnesses brought forth who survived the Holocaust, but with no personal connection to Eichmann whatsoever.
While convinced that Eichmann deserved the death sentence, Arendt believes that he was convicted for the wrong reasons.
Her articles about the trial in "The New Yorker" and the subsequent book provoked an uproar in the Jewish community because she also apportioned blame to the Nazi-organized Councils of Jewish Elders for their share in the Final Solution.
She refuses to accede to their demands that she recant her magazine articles and abandon the upcoming book.
Arendt ultimately saw Eichmann as a human being, a "little man" who behaved monstrously, referring to this concept as the "banality of evil."
In laymen's terms, "I was just doing my job."
We hear that phrase used every day.
This film is a brilliant portrayal of a victim of the Nazi regime attempting to balance her own experiences and inner demons with the need to be indifferent to all but the facts of the case. A call for reason in the face of passion.
That is something that should be taken into account after the recent tragedies in Ferguson, Missouri and the ensuing national uproar it produced.
"Hannah Arendt" is a brilliant film, wonderfully acted by Barbara Sukowa in the title role. It should be seen by everyone. It is insightful, sometimes humorous but always thought provoking.
753450
I received this product on time it was reasonably sharp and was intended to be a gift. Moments after unpacking the knife things got weird...

The first thing I noticed is parkour became my primary means of conveyance.
The only thing I could wear were nylon pants and hiking shoes.
I put my name on everything, even where it didn't belong.
I noticed an insatiable urge to consume human waste (embarrassing I know).
Lastly, I started lying to people I didn't know, teaching them the wrong way to do things, and just being genuinely unpleasant.

Well, I'm glad this was just a gift. It took about a week for the side effects to wear off, but I'm back to normal now.
3696469
This seemed to me a book that wanted you to know it's a book.  As opposed to "real Life" I mean.  The characters don't convince as real people, but somehow do as characters in a book.  As an exploration of evil, and the human tendency to engage with evil as a means of belonging it is effective.  The author seems not to suffer from writer's block.  She writes this world up with almost every conceivable detail except maybe trips to the bathroom.  But throughout I was thinking: who cares about these nutty a-holes and I wish I had something else to read.  I am a Reader with a capital R and am probably over affected by what it is I'm reading at any given time.  This one put me in a very bad mood and I hope this little review will serve as my exit visa from that mood.
1208892
I can relate to this story as my dad was a minister at this same church, before the author's dad.  There was no parsonage for b us to live in, so we traveled to Sellers town every Sunday and Wednesday.  I remember that devil and even at the age of 6, I knew this man was evil.  And that experience was probably the beginning of me learning that sometimes the most evil will hide in church!
2020117
I am a proofreader at a newspaper. It's a good pick-me-up when I have a few minutes.
2240207
I enjoy this very much.  The words come from Job: "though he slay me, yet will i trust in him."
793583
I'm so happy right now, I could cry.

Monday started off like any Monday would- I was sitting in my office, looking at all the work I had to do for the week, and wishing it was Friday already.  About 45 minutes into my workday, I saw a facebook notification pop up on my phone.  That led to me scanning through some recent facebook posts when I saw IT.  The Surge Movement was telling me that Surge was back!  I immediately came to Amazon and ordered a case.  I spent the next 48 hours thinking about rollerblading with my cassette player and going to school in JNCO's and babydoll tops.  I lost all ability to focus.

I spent all morning this morning waiting for the UPS guy to arrive at my office.  It was absolute torture, sitting here, reading through mundane documents, trying to focus on anything other than the most delectable soda ever created.  Then he arrived.  The sweet, sweet UPS man walked nonchalantly into the office and set my package down at the receptionist area.  I apparated to the front of the office and grabbed the sodas, packaged so carefully inside an Amazon Fire box.  After taking a few pictures to celebrate the momentous occasion, I popped a can of Surge into the office freezer, daring anyone to touch it.

Once the can reached the appropriate temperature, I removed it from the freezer and took it to my office.  In peace and quiet, I took my first sip of Surge in 13 years.  It tastes exactly as amazing as I remembered, and it is still the perfect shade of green.

Thank you, Coca-Cola and Amazon, for filling my day with all the happiness in the world.
3453515
I was just sitting on my couch, watching storage wars, as 40 year olds still living with their mothers tend to do, and suddenly I heard a wailing coming from my ferret's room and I just knew that its time had come. Before even checking on my dear beloved King Henry, I began making funeral proceedings and decorating his urn. I went straight to the bank of Nova Scotia, and borrowed 400,000 dollars to buy all of the pickles in the world for King Henry's service. Upon returning home, the shrieking was still going on, so I decided to walk into his room. What I saw upon entering will haunt me forever and cause me to sleep with one eye open. I saw all sorts of spices sitting by King Henry's bed, and I just knew what that meant. HE HAD EATEN THE PICKLE. THE YODELING PICKLE. I THOUGHT HE WAS DYING, BUT HE ALL HE DID WAS EAT AN ELECTRONIC YODELING PICKLE. THIS PRODUCT RUINED MY LIFE. I AM NOW 400,000 DOLLARS IN DEBT AND I HAVE NO WAY TO PAY IT. NOW I HAVE HAD TO MOVE TO BOLIVIA IN ORDER TO ESCAPE THE AUTHORITIES. THEY'RE HERE, THEY'VE COME TO TAKE ME TO JAIL. THEY'LL NEVER CATCH ME ALIVE!
3026743
Oh, my gosh - I thought I had all the accidents my little Havanese cleaned up! I found a couple I'd completely missed. Then I went into the bathroom to check there. It looked good - and I was feeling pretty smug - until I happened to flash on my makeup sponges which I thought were pristine - eeew!

The only problem is remembering exactly where the spots on the floor were when you turn the lights back on, but that's not the fault of the flashlight. Think of CSI. They also have to turn off all the lights before they can see where the murderer washed up the blood!
2222893
I picked this up at a real bookstore because the title looked interesting and I had a business trip and would be able to read this away from my boss.
There's some humor to the classifications of different management styles, and some decent anecdotes, but the main take-away I got from this was "work sucks, and you'd rather be doing something else."
I could've guessed this on my own.
4541574
I am doing the cash box and work by magic rituals. I feel so at peace that my life is turning around for the better. I feel a shift in my spirit that great things are coming my way quickly. I am so into the expectation of my promotion at work and being debt free.
950146
After loosing a fortune in the housing market, my vampire master, Count Radu, was forced to sell his 600 year-old wrought iron casket to pay the deposit on the self-storage unit we were going to move into after the bank foreclosed Castle Radu.  After securing our unit, the Count was left with just enough money to purchase the Sandler All Wood Coffin Kit.  I found the assembly remarkably easy, despite the fact that I have no carpentry experience, having spent the last several years working part-time at the blood-bank and the rest of my time trolling slums for vagrants and prostitutes to lure back to the castle with promises of wine and money.  I was to transport the count in the coffin from the castle to the storage unit via pickup truck.  The trip was uneventful, but while unloading the coffin, I discovered that one of the top planks had come loose during the journey exposing the count to the murderous rays of the sun.  I was devastated to discover that after years of faithful service to my undead master, I am left with nothing but a lease on a storage unit, a pile of ashes, and a slightly-used and poorly constructed wooden coffin.  There is nothing left for me now but to shut myself in this cursed coffin with the remains of my master, a gallon of gasoline, and a book of matches.  I will be with you again soon, Master.
4172834
I remember it like it was yesterday.  It all happened on the summer of `94.  I was a young giddy lad.  I had no a care in the world. Little did I know that the fate of the world would soon rest in my hands. I was on my way home from work. I was skipping gaily down the road when suddenly i heard a loud scream. My giddy attitude was smothered and i stopped dead in my tracks.  I turned to my left and saw on the other side of the road a man being massacred my a swarm of ladybugs. I took a quick look of my surroundings.  The streets were like a ghost town. Instead of the usual zooming of cars the streets were filled with a buzzing sound and a loud booming STOMP.... STOMP.... STOMP.  From out of the clouds came a giant ladybug the size of car hovered down and landed in front of me. I ran down the street not looking back. The queen lady bug commanded her minions after me. The  buzzing of the minions behind me kept my legs moving.  When I felt I couldn't run any i burst through a door to a local grocery store. "Haha stupid Ladybug," I said with a smirk "You can't open doors". But my plans were foiled as the queen ladybug burst through the ceiling.  I tripped and fell to my knees. I was cornered. The queen ladybug slowly crept up on me i glimpsed quickly to my side looking for some escape. It was then i noticed on a nearby self the Wyers WB100 Bug Zooka i grabbed it aimed my shaky hands at the bug and fired.  All of the Ladybug minions fled for I had just killed there queen and saved the world.  From that day on I became Jason Rodriguez Pest Specialist.  I vowed from that day forth I would protect this city from evil bugs and that My Wyers WB100 Bug Zooka would never leave my sided for it had saved my life.
4661550
It might be good for light duty work, but the minute I put a little hate into it, it failed.
1306778
....one star, and only because I'm in a good mood!
I only finished it because I'm a tight-wad and hate to waste money.
Silly...but there it is!
4102718
My neighbours son has been harassing us for years. I was sure he was the cause behind the disappearance of much of our livestock.
Chickens disappearing, rabbits with their throats torn out, even a pygmy goat was was savagely torn apart.
My wife thought it was the work of a fox but I knew different, the events occurred at or around a new or full moon or sometimes on  a quarter moon. Far too much of a coincidence, this was obviously the work of a demon and I was sure it was the neighbours son "Damien", I mean who calls their son Damien in this day and age

I was sure an exorcism was required. My local priest wouldn't agree with me or have any part in it. So I knew I would have to do it myself.
I ordered 24 bottles of the Jordan Holy water, pretty sure that 10 would be enough but I wanted back up and besides we had a christening coming up for our grand daughter "Gabriella", so it wouldn't go to waste
The order arrived promptly (as always with Amazon) and well packaged.
The following day I dug a large hole in my neighbours back yard which I covered with loose branches and  grass , knowing full well their demon child would fall into it whilst playing football after school  waiting for his parents to come home from work.

Hearing the loud snapping of branches I ran to the hole and doused the devil boy in Jordan Holy water, his screams were quite disturbing but I knew this was for his own good (and if my livestock's) surprisingly the water did not cause the burning and blistering that I had expected and hoped for. But by the ear piercing cries and screams I could tell the demons were leaving his body.
I left the scene and his parents eventually returned home and retrieved him from the hole and carried him indoors
It's been 3 weeks now and not a single animal of mine had been harmed, the boy appears to be as normal as any other child of his age.

However it seems, that quite strangely the Jordan water although driving the demons from his soul, did not help his broken leg at all.

Thanks for a great product, I have ordered another 24 bottles as their is a teenage girl down the street who I suspect to be a werewolf.
4670326
Serfdom never really worked for me.  When I was tossed into this world as a wee young lad, I was forced to till the fields day after day. The work was grueling, and to see that the products of my labor went to some fat liege made it mentally devastating. Since those first days in the field, a bubbling hatred has been boiling in the cauldron of my heart for Lord "Smitty" Bryon. I planned and schemed all through my sleep, but nothing seemed to work. Then, one day, a mysterious man visited our fief.

He claimed to be some sort of a magician, and he definitely had the presence of a powerful man. After speaking to the king for a while, he was thrown out of his Manor and perused the rest of the village for quite some time. Him and I happened to cross paths and we struck up a talking-to-and-fro-and-what-not. Eventually he offered me this cap that he had crafted. Allegedly, it would give me the powers of the dragon. Unleashing the raw force of such a beast would be enough to overthrow my liege, and then I would be the lord. So, I stopped buying indulgences and saved up all of my gold coins until I could finally purchase it (originally it was 24 but I was able to haggle him down to 19).

Anyway, when I had finally acquired the cap, I stormed into the king's court and unleashed a fearsome roar that I hoped would produce fire. It didn't work then, but I didn't give up hope. I leaned over, the vicious spikes jutting out of my head, and charged towards him. The horns simply collapsed, as if they were made of a sheep's wool, and then the king shoved me off of him. Him, the guards, and all of his subjects laughed riotously, for I looked like a fool. A guard ran up, whacked me with the butt of his spear, and threw me into a chamber pot. The smell was disgusting, and I caught the consumption as a result.

In a fortnight I will have tomatoes and feces thrown at me in the public square.

Indeed, do I curse the magic man and his wrongdoings!