Displaying posts published in

2016

Peter O’Brien Four Warmists and a Blonde

What to expect when the ABC teams four climateers with a talk-show hostess who believes that 11.7% of the population represents a majority? Why, The Drum Weekly, whose latest edition should prompt new Managing Director Michelle Guthrie to implement reforms. Not that it will, of course.
Under new Managing Director Michelle Guthrie, balance remains a rare commodity at Their ABC. For example, take Sunday’s episode of The Drum Weekly, which looked at climate change. In the introduction we were promised a panel of four experts. You’d think there might be room for one sceptic in any quartet of talking heads, wouldn’t you? Or at the very least, one global warming believer who does not subscribe to the view that throwing good money after bad in order to support rent-seeking peddlers of “renewable” technology is the best and only way forward. Someone like Bjorn Lomberg, perhaps?

Alas, no. What we got was Adjunct Professor Nick Rowley, former climate adviser to Tony Blair; Professor Lesley Hughes, ex-climate commissioner; science reporter and ABC in-house catastropharian Robyn Williams and, last but not least, economist Professor Ross Garnaut. If you have a spare moment, check the links attached to the names above. What do they have in common, apart from an eager willingness to proclaim that the end is nigh? Can’t guess? Let me put it this way: in terms of work, public prominence and job opportunities, the climate-change scare has bestowed handsome bounties on each and every one.

Right at the start, presenter Julia Baird made reference to a May 26 Reachtel poll that listed voters’ primary concerns as follows:

reachtel pollThe take-home message from our host on all this was that climate change ranked fourth!!! among the concerns of voters, conveniently ignoring the fact that other concerns for the environment — the spread of feral weeds in the bush, for example — does not necessarily mean subscribing to Robyn Williams’ assertion that sea levels might soon rise 100 metres. And even if every single respondent represented in that 11.7% fervently believes mankind’s influence is ruining the planet, the fact remains that it is a small segment of the population — roughly the same percentage that votes for The Greens. What a surprise!

Delegitimizing Israel in Our Classrooms Ziva Dahl

The New York Times does its lucrative part at taxpayer expense.http://spectator.org/delegitimizing-israel-in-our-classrooms/

The New York Times Upfront magazine, distributed by paid subscription to approximately 1 million American 8th to 12th graders, recently included an article, “How the Middle East Got that Way.” Author Joseph Berger, former Times reporter, blames the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916 for the current mess in the Middle East.

In his view, “a century ago, two diplomats carved out lines on the Middle East map, creating new nations and sowing the seeds for much of the strife in the region today.”

Referring to the Arab-Israeli conflict, Berger tells students, “Most Arabs opposed the Zionist movement, which called for a Jewish state in Palestine. But world pressure to create a Jewish homeland increased after World War II… because 6 million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust.”

The article emphasizes that Western imperialism created the Arab-Israeli conflict because Sykes (British) and Picot (French) disregarded the wishes and rights of the indigenous Arab population and, Berger writes, “Arab leaders were angry” and “felt betrayed.”

The article continues, “In 1947, Britain, with approval from the United Nations, came up with a partition plan (to) create the nations of Israel and Palestine…. The Palestinians and surrounding Arab countries rejected it… (and) fought an unsuccessful war…. In the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel expanded territory…by capturing lands where many Palestinians were living…. The occupied Palestinians continue to demand a state of their own.”

Reading this description of historical events, young students, with little pre-existing knowledge about the topic, have no idea why the Jews would want a nation-state in the Middle East, which Berger characterizes as “Arab.” The author portrays the Arabs as victims of Western domination, legitimizing their 1948 rejection of a Jewish state and their subsequent war against newly declared Israel.

PARDON MY FRENCH: DANIEL FLYNN

NeverTrump unveils its surprise candidate.

He’s bald. He’s bearded. He’s who?

“There will be an independent candidate — an impressive one, with a strong team and a real chance,” Bill Kristol promised over the holiday weekend. The Weekly Standard editor followed the drumroll with a wha-wha-wha.

David French, past president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), possesses no “real chance” to become president of the United States. One wonders if Kristol built up the suspense as a practical joke on the writer for a rival magazine. Not since Geraldo Rivera opened up that vault in Chicago has high drama led to such a massive, bizarre letdown. It’s like finding out that Webster shot J.R.

What he lacks in experience he lacks in money and name recognition. David French enjoys a level of popularity above Eddie Spanish but somewhat below Jimmy the Greek. Even among National Review’s stable of writers, French ranks, at least in terms of reader familiarity, as something of a b-lister — not appearing, for instance, in the list of the magazine’s “notable” contributors at Wikipedia.

Was Jay Nordlinger unavailable?

Fifteen years ago, French’s supporters sought to ban his last name as a descriptive of toast, fries, and other edible delights. Now, for not unrelated reasons, they wish to plaster “French” on billboards and bumperstickers. David French might win more votes from the constituency most zealously backing him if he changed his name to David Freedom.

Trump’s reticence in using the U.S. military as a global policeman, not his incivility or penchant to speak before he thinks, primarily prompts hawks to take a hawkish stance on French’s potential candidacy. But students of war surely know a Little Big Horn when they see one. At best, French makes some Republicans who understandably feel skittish about Trump feel good about themselves in the voting booth. At worst, his sliver of votes withheld from the Republican nominee hands Hillary Clinton the presidency.

Voting as catharsis is for narcissists. We elect presidents to protect our future, not our feelings. And running for president without first running for some other office or running something significant similarly strikes as an advertisement of vanity. And everyone knows this race for the White House is only big enough for one raging narcissist who regards the presidency as an entry level governmental position.

A similar conceit clouds the outlook of the beltway conservatives encouraging this delusional presidential run.

Cuomo Counters Boycotts of Israel Governor signs order to divest state funds from businesses supporting a boycott against Israel By Zolan Kanno-Youngs

‘If you boycott against Israel, New York will boycott you.’
—New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order Sunday to divest state funds from businesses supporting a boycott against Israel.

Mr. Cuomo said the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement “is in many ways more frightening” than tunnels Hamas constructed to infiltrate Israel.

“We are against the BDS movement and it’s very simple,” Mr. Cuomo said in remarks at the Harvard club in Midtown before marching in the Celebrate Israel Parade on the Upper East Side. “If you boycott against Israel, New York will boycott you.”

The order would prevent state agencies and departments from investing in companies boycotting Israel. The state Office of General Services will develop a list of those institutions and companies and post it online within 180 days. The office will notify the businesses before adding them to the list and give them 90 days to show proof they aren’t supporting the boycott.

The movement against Israel began about a decade ago. The Palestinian BDS National Committee, which coordinates the initiative, didn’t return a request for comment. The committee’s website describes the movement as “a strategy that allows people of conscience to play an effective role in the Palestinian struggle for justice.”

‘If you boycott against Israel, New York will boycott you.’
—New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo

Mr. Cuomo said New York was the first state to issue such an such an order.

A Republican-sponsored bill with similar aims as Mr. Cuomo’s order passed the state Senate in January. Senate majority leader John J. Flanagan, a Long Island Republican, applauded the order.

“The governor sends a strong message to the entire country—New York will continue to stand with the state of Israel and the Jewish people,” Mr. Flanagan said.

In a statement provided through a spokesman, Donna Lieberman, executive director for the New York Civil Liberties Union, said the group would be looking “very closely at this executive order.”

Islamic State Affiliate’s Rise Alters Mideast Security The militant group Sinai Province has developed ties with Hamas and spurred greater cooperation between Israel and Egypt, officials say By Rory Jones and Tamer El-Ghobashy

The rise of an Islamic State affiliate in Egypt is altering the security landscape in a critical corner of the Middle East, according to Israeli and Western officials.

Militants with Sinai Province, which has pledged allegiance to the extremist group, have developed ties with the Palestinian movement Hamas that rules the neighboring Gaza Strip, the officials said—despite deep ideological differences between the two Islamist groups.

The ties include help with smuggling and medical care, they said. Officials in Israel, which has likened Hamas to Islamic State, said the cooperation has also extended to military training. Hamas officials denied any involvement with Sinai Province.

Egypt’s and Israel’s shared concern about Sinai Province’s growing threat is spurring deeper security cooperation, according to the officials. Israel, for example, has let Egypt bring more sophisticated weapons into its restive Sinai Peninsula than allowed under their 1979 peace treaty, in a bid to help counter the group, they said.

“The relationship has probably never been stronger in terms of assistance in military operations to attack ISIS in Sinai,” Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, said after meetings with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi and other Egyptian security officials in Cairo recently. ISIS is another name for Islamic State.

The developments show that Islamic State is able to build relationships and shape events far afield even as the group’s control over territory in Syria and Iraq is weakening, just as the recent attacks in Brussels and Paris linked to the group demonstrated its lethal reach.

Sinai Province was created by up to 1,000 jihadists with a group previously known as Ansar Beit al-Maqdis that pledged allegiance to Islamic State in November 2014. The group, based in Sinai, has launched a number of deadly attacks in Egypt and claimed responsibility for blowing up a Russian jet in October, killing 224 people.

The group is in regular contact with Islamic State’s leadership, which helps fund the local affiliate and promote it through Islamic State’s extensive social-media network, according to Israeli officials, Egyptian security officials and independent researchers. The extent to which Islamic State is involved in coordinating operations with Sinai Province is unknown.

Sinai Province and Hamas are both Sunni Muslim-led groups, but Hamas doesn’t share the same strict interpretation of Islam.

Sinai Province operates in territory on the peninsula where the entrances of smuggling tunnels that lead to Gaza are located, according to smugglers and diggers who work on tunnels. That has led to a pragmatic arrangement between Sinai Province and Hamas, according to Israeli and Western officials. Egypt’s defense and interior ministries have said the ties between the two groups have included coordination on attacks in north Sinai. Spokesmen for the ministries didn’t comment.

Egypt shared intelligence with Israel last year about cooperation between Sinai Province and members of Hamas’s armed wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, according to a Western official. Israel was surprised to learn of the ties given previous clashes in Gaza between Hamas and Islamic State sympathizers, the official said.

Israeli officials said they learned in April of 2015 that Hamas was allowing Sinai Province fighters to be treated in Gaza’s Al Shifa hospital. The hospital declined to comment.

Later last year, Hamas operatives spent a month in the Sinai region teaching the militants how to fire antitank missiles, Israeli officials said. The officials declined to provide more details. Hamas subsequently received Russian-made antitank missiles via the smuggling network Sinai Province controls, an Israeli defense official said.

Hamas officials have been meeting with Egyptian officials to improve ties and attempt to open the border crossing from Egypt in Gaza. Earlier this year, Hamas stepped up patrols along Gaza’s border with Egypt, a move the Palestinian group said was meant to assure its powerful neighbor it isn’t working with militants in Sinai. CONTINUE AT SITE

Why History Matters: The 1967 Six-Day War : David Harris

Mention history and it can trigger a roll of the eyes.

Add the Middle East to the equation and folks might start running for the hills, unwilling to get caught up in the seemingly bottomless pit of details and disputes.

But without an understanding of what happened in the past, it’s impossible to grasp where we are today — and where we are has profound relevance for the region and the world.

Forty-nine years ago this month, the Six-Day War broke out.

While some wars fade into obscurity, this one remains as relevant today as in 1967. Many of its core issues remain unresolved.

Politicians, diplomats, and journalists continue to grapple with the consequences of that war, but rarely consider, or perhaps are even unaware of, context. Yet without context, some critically important things may not make sense.

First, in June 1967, there was no state of Palestine. It didn’t exist and never had. Its creation, proposed by the UN in 1947, was rejected by the Arab world because it also meant the establishment of a Jewish state alongside.

Second, the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem were in Jordanian hands. Violating solemn agreements, Jordan denied Jews access to their holiest places in eastern Jerusalem. To make matters still worse, they desecrated and destroyed many of those sites.

Meanwhile, the Gaza Strip was under Egyptian control, with harsh military rule imposed on local residents.

And the Golan Heights, which were regularly used to shell Israeli communities far below, belonged to Syria.

Third, the Arab world could have created a Palestinian state in the West Bank, eastern Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip any day of the week. They didn’t. There wasn’t even discussion about it. And Arab leaders, who today profess such attachment to eastern Jerusalem, rarely, if ever, visited. It was viewed as an Arab backwater.

MICHAEL CUTLER MOMENT: GANGS AND HEROIN ADDICTION SKYROCKETING IN THE USA

This special edition of The Glazov Gang presents The Michael Cutler Moment with Michael Cutler, a former Senior INS Special Agent.

Mr. Cutler discussed Gangs and Heroin Addiction Skyrocketing in the USA, unveiling how Obama’s policies are crippling and poisoning America.

Don’t miss it!

And make sure to watch The Michael Cutler Moment: Obama’s Pathway to the “Borderless World,” in which Mr. Cutler unveiled how the Radical-in-Chief is opening America to Islamic terrorists and transnational criminals.

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel and to Jamie Glazov Productions. Also LIKE us on Facebook and LIKE Jamie’s FB Fan Page.http://jamieglazov.com/2016/06/05/michael-cutler-moment-gangs-and-heroin-addiction-skyrocketing-in-the-usa/

GOOD NEW FROM AMAZING ISRAEL; MICHAEL ORDMAN

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Israel’s first re-transplanted kidney. Israeli surgeons at Beilinson Hospital took out the kidney of a woman who had died of a stroke and transplanted it into her brother. The kidney had been transplanted into the woman in an operation nine years previously. It was the world’s fifth such operation and the first between relatives.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/212939#.V0scRb4bN30

The end to monthly cramps. Israel’s Livia has developed a wearable device that provides instant relief from cramps, and lasts up to 15 hours on a single charge. The device uses electrical pulses to block pain receptors. Female journalists given a free Livia device have described it as “a life-changing technology”.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/the-israeli-invention-that-reverses-the-curse-of-eve/

Israeli herb extract controls blood sugar levels. Israel’s Frutarom has developed Portusana®, an extract of the herb purslane. Israeli scientists have confirmed its positive effects on blood sugar levels in adults with Type 2 Diabetes. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26854844 http://www.portusana.com/health-benefits/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KENZRUpeAds

Autoimmune treatment gets new lease of life. Professor Nathan Karin of the Rappaport faculty of Medicine at Israel’s Technion Institute invented an antibody that activates cells in the immune system, thereby reducing inflammation. After years of development, Pfizer has now signed an agreement to commercialize the product.
http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-pfizer-buys-rights-to-biorap-autoimmune-drug-1001128916

US boost for proton beam cancer treatment. Israel’s HIL Applied Medical develops safer focused proton beam lasers to treat tumors (see Sep 2014 newsletter) Now HIL has acquired US company Nanolabz which develops and builds smart nano-engineered targets and alignment systems for the short-pulse laser R&D sector.
http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-hil-applied-medical-acquires-nanolabz-1001128814

Research into 3D organ printing. Israel’s Chief Scientist has awarded NIS 5.6 million to Israel’s Collplant. It will help finance projects, including the development of plant-based collagen and formulations intended for use as BioInk for 3D printing of tissues and organs.
http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-collplant-awarded-bio-ink-grant-for-3d-organ-tissue-printing-1001128604

State of the Heart conference. (TY TPS) International researchers and healthcare professionals attended a conference dubbed “State of the Heart.” at Haifa’s Rambam Hospital. It addressed global challenges in cardiovascular treatment and highlighted innovative changes in the field as a result of cutting-edge technology.
http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/state-of-the-heart-israeli-medical-conference-highlights-cardiovascular-advancements/2016/06/03/

Medical tourism showcased in China. (TY Dan) The Israel Chamber of Commerce hosted a special seminar titled Israeli Medical Tourism and Women Empowerment at the Israeli Business and Cultural Center in Beijing. China is impressed with Israel’s physicians, its high-quality healthcare, and advanced medical facilities.
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/985786.shtml

Israel’s BioMed Conference. (TY Dan) Israel’s NeuroRx won the startup completion at the IATI Biomed conference in Tel Aviv for its Cuclurad treatment for depression and suicide symptoms. The popular event included some 500 Business to Business meetings between Israeli and Chinese delegates.
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160527005297/en/NeuroRx-Wins-Startup-Competition-IATI-Biomed-2016-Israel%E2%80%99s http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/headlines-breaking-stories/422278/500-china-israeli-b2b-meetings-held-during-israeli-biomed-conference.html

DISPATCHES FROM TOM GROSS

35 YEARS ON: ISRAELI CENSOR ALLOWS ISRAELI PILOTS TO DISCUSS BOMBING OF SADDAM’S NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAM

I have written before that (in my view, at least) one of the most significant – yet internationally underappreciated – acts in recent decades was the decision by Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin to bomb Saddam Hussein’s nuclear program before Saddam gained nuclear weapons.

Begin did so despite threats and warnings against striking Saddam by almost everybody — including then Israeli opposition leader Shimon Peres and then American President Ronald Reagan.

Given the fact Saddam freely used chemical weapons against his own people (including on thousands of Kurdish civilians) a few years later, and committed near genocide against the marsh Arabs, one can only imagine what he might have done with nuclear weapons had he acquired them, whether using them against Western nations, against the Iranians during the Iran-Iraq war, or against Israeli population centers.

The entire world condemned Prime Minister Begin for his bold act and the Reagan administration imposed sanctions on Israel.

On Friday evening, on Israel’s Channel 10, for the first time some of the Israeli pilots and others who took part in the operation were authorized to reveal some (though not all) previously unknown details of the heroic and dangerous mission that took place 35 years ago this Tuesday, on June 7, 1981.

DEFYING THE U.S.

Retired Maj. Gen. David Ivry, who commanded the Israeli Air Force at the time of the raid, told Channel 10 that Israeli intelligence had discovered the Iraqis were building a nuclear reactor in 1976.

Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency did everything they could in the years that followed to thwart Saddam’s program. For example, the reactor’s first core, which was manufactured with French help, exploded in mysterious circumstances in the southern French port of La Seyne-sur-Mer.

But by 1981, Israel had taken all the delaying tactics it could and with Iraq’s nuclear reactor about to go online, Begin realized he couldn’t delay any longer and had no choice but to resort to air strikes.

The U.S. refused to allow Israel to use its tanker planes for mid-flight refueling so Israel had to improvise. Retired Col. Ze’ev Raz, who led the raid, told Channel 10 that Israeli air force technicians “recognized that flying 2,000 miles to Iraq and back was beyond the range of our jets, so we used all sorts of tricks to extend it.”

Therefore various ingenius methods for making the fuel last longer were undertaken — methods which the Israeli military has declined to make public until the present time. Eight Israeli pilots took part in the raid and all returned safely, even though prior intelligence estimates were that at least one or two pilots would be shot down during the mission.

Former Bush AG: Trump Is Right to Question Fairness of Judge By Rick Moran

Former George W. Bush administration attorney general Alberto Gonzales penned an op-ed in the Washington Post today, giving Donald Trump some cover in his rampage against a Mexican American judge presiding over the lawsuit against Trump University.

It is crucial to understand the real issue in this matter. I am not judging whether Curiel is actually biased against Trump. Only he knows the answer to that question. I am not saying that I would be concerned about him presiding over a case in which I was a litigant. And if I were a litigant who was concerned about the judge’s impartiality, I certainly would not deal with it in a public manner as Trump has, because it demeans the integrity of the judicial office and thus potentially undermines the independence of the judiciary, especially coming from a man who could be president by this time next year. But none of these issues is the test. The test is whether there is an “appearance of impropriety” under the facts as they reasonably appear to a litigant in Trump’s position.

Certainly, Curiel’s Mexican heritage alone would not be enough to raise a question of bias (for all we know, the judge supports Trump’s pledge to better secure our borders and enforce the rule of law). As someone whose own ancestors came to the United States from Mexico, I know ethnicity alone cannot pose a conflict of interest.

But there may be other factors to consider in determining whether Trump’s concerns about getting an impartial trial are reasonable. Curiel is, reportedly, a member of a group called La Raza Lawyers of San Diego. Trump’s aides, meanwhile, have indicated that they believe Curiel is a member of the National Council of La Raza, a vocal advocacy organization that has vigorously condemned Trump and his views on immigration. The two groups are unaffiliated, and Curiel is not a member of NCLR. But Trump may be concerned that the lawyers’ association or its members represent or support the other advocacy organization. Coupled with that question is the fact that in 2014, when he certified the class-action lawsuit against Trump, Curiel appointed the Robbins Geller law firm to represent plaintiffs. Robbins Geller has paid $675,000 in speaking fees since 2009 to Trump’s likely opponent, Hillary Clinton, and to her husband, former president Bill Clinton. Curiel appointed the firm in the case before Trump entered the presidential race, but again, it might not be unreasonable for a defendant in Trump’s position to wonder who Curiel favors in the presidential election.

Gonzales makes the case Trump should be making. It’s not a question of Curiel’s Hispanic heritage. It’s the web of his connections that gives the appearance of bias in favor of Hillary Clinton and against Republicans. CONTINUE AT SITE