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May 2023

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GOOD NEWS FROM AMAZING ISRAEL FROM MICHAEL ORDMAN

By on May 7th, 2023

 www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com 

Here are just a few headlines about Israel from Michael Ordman but please read the whole list below:

Israelis have developed and implanted the world’s smallest heart pump.
Medical experts come to Israel to learn about healthy aging.
Israelis show the Jewish State in its true light to the United Nations.
Israeli technology can solve the problem of unrecyclable plastic.
Israeli airport security scanning is keeping our skies safe.
Oil from Jerusalem is used to anoint King Charles.

This is what is happening in Israel 24/7 as scientists, doctors and techies work to make the globe safer and enrich and prolong and improve the lives of billions throughout the world. And there is also the Israel that is fun and happy with cafes, beaches, restaurants, theaters, concerts and every form of entertainment from Avant Garde to the Classics. Even those detractors in the media who libel the nation in their daily slander, love being posted there. As one of my granddaughters said: “Israel is “cool.” If you can, go there before it gets hot.  rsk

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
 
Israeli surgeons perform innovative skin cancer treatment. For the first time in Israel, plastic surgeons and oncologists at Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center used electrochemotherapy to treat skin cancer tumors. An electric current disrupts the cellular membrane of the tumor cells, allowing chemotherapy to enter.
https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/article-740208  
 
Successful trial of world’s smallest heart pump. Israel’s Magenta Medical has completed the First-In-Human trial, in Tbilisi, Georgia, of its Elevate percutaneous Left Ventricular Assist Device (pLVAD) – the smallest heart pump in the world. Magenta has just raised $55 million and US clinical trials are now being planned.
https://www.prnewswire.com/il/news-releases/magenta-medical-closes-55m-funding-round-led-by-orbimed-301814419.html  https://www.tctmd.com/slide/magenta-elevatetm-high-output-low-french-size-percutaneous-left-ventricular-support-device  https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/sjv57t14h
 
Cold cure. (TY Hazel) A study used the cryoablation system from Israel’s IceCure Medical (see here previously) to treat 42 women with the chronic, painful, incurable disease endometriosis. 93.75% had no pain after six months, and 82.72% remained pain-free up to three years later.
https://nocamels.com/2023/04/freezing-tech-could-treat-painful-womens-disease/
 
Israel closes last Covid-19 ward. Jerusalem’s Herzog Medical Center has closed the hospital’s coronavirus ward, the last one operating in the country. The ward’s closure means that future COVID-19 patients will be treated in regular hospital wards. Herzog’s coronavirus ward opened in August 2020, and treated 2,000 patients.
https://www.jns.org/israel-shuts-down-last-covid-specific-hospital-ward/
 
Sheba saves mother and daughter. (TY UWI & I24 News) When an Israeli woman discovered that she and her daughter were suffering from a dangerous genetic heart condition, Sheba Medical Center found innovative ways to save their lives.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_0IfKRI0As
 
Biomed Israel. 6,000 delegates are expected at Biomed Israel in Tel Aviv – the 21st annual networking event to explore life-sciences and health-tech topics ranging from medical robots to longevity. The event (May18 – 18) will attract healthcare industry executives, scientists, engineers, physicians, and investors from 45 countries.
https://www.israel21c.org/global-health-industry-stakeholders-coming-to-biomed-israel/
https://kenes-exhibitions.com/biomed/agenda/
 
Can lucid dreaming be harmful. The normally anti-Israel BBC has credited the medical research of scientists at Israel’s Ben Gurion University. Lucid dreaming is when you realize that you are in a dream and then use the opportunity to control the dream.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230425-can-lucid-dreaming-be-harmful
 
Live longer in Israel. The Longevity Nation conference, (Movement for Longevity and Quality of Life in Israel) in March highlighted 5 factors to healthy aging. Energized cells, good arteries, removal of old cells, SIRT6 prevents frailty, and methylation counters stress. The Sheba Longevity conference is on May 10 – 11.
https://www.israel21c.org/the-scientists-seeking-secrets-to-longer-healthier-lives/  https://longevitynation.org/
https://www.longevityisrael.org/   https://slcc.co.il/
 
Not the oldest. A previous newsletter (see here) reported that Israeli doctors put a pacemaker into 102-year-old Rachel Kafri. As remarkable as it sounds, Rachel isn’t the oldest Israeli recipient of a pacemaker. The same medical team has implanted pacemakers inside at least three other Israelis older than 100. The eldest was 107.
https://nationalpost.com/news/world/israel-middle-east/why-israelis-live-so-long
 
 
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
 
Providing education for hospitalized Israeli children. Since its inception in 2009, SASA Setton (see here previously) has provided educational solutions to nearly 2 million hospitalized children from all parts of Israeli society in every hospital in Israel – some 140,000 children annually in Hebrew, English, Arabic, and Ukrainian.
https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/article-740068  
 
Dog-training therapy for wounded soldiers. New York-based belev echad has established a program Dogs 4 Soldiers. It provides therapeutic puppies to love and assist wounded IDF warriors. The soldiers learn to train their puppies by professional dog trainers who then certify the soldiers to become professional dog trainers.
https://nocamels.com/2023/04/idf-veterans-best-friend-dogs-ease-pain-of-ptsd/
https://belevechad.nyc/programs/israel/dogs-4-soldiers/
 
The faces of Israel. The Jerusalem Post partnered Jerusalem’s Museum of Tolerance to organize the “Celebrate the Faces of Israel” conference. The Israeli speakers included The President, Jerusalem’s Mayor, Nobel Laureates Aumann and Shechtman; MKs and business leaders, plus US Ambassadors past & present, and more.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370662  https://congress.jpost.com/faces-of-israel-23/
 
Urban renewal projects up by 200%. In 2022, urban renewal permits increased by 200% (28,630 units) over 2021. Most of these were to reinforce apartment buildings built before 1980 to withstand earthquakes, and add amenities such as an elevator, enlarge the apartments and add a protective security room.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/urban-renewal-project-approvals-tripled-in-2022-in-bid-to-increase-housing/
 
Showing the UN the benefits of drone technology. Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan, together with Israel’s National Drone Initiative, held an event at the UN headquarters on drone technologies. Israeli startups presented the “sky of tomorrow,” featuring smart transportation, security, safety, health, commerce and more.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/370980
 
Shalva Band plays at the UN. To celebrate Israel’s 75th Anniversary, Israel’s Shalva band performed to hundreds of diplomats on the stage of the United Nations in Geneva.  The band comprises disabled performers including two blind singers. One of them sung a song in Arabic that she dedicated to all the mothers in the hall.
https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/hjkpz6jv2
 
All at sea in Singapore. Israel inaugurated its national pavilion at Singapore’s IMDEX Asia Naval and Maritime Defense Exhibition. The event was attended by over 11,000 delegates from more than 60 countries and regions. Israeli companies included Controp, DSIT, Elbit, IAI, Israel Shipyards, Orbit and Rafael.
https://www.jns.org/israel-inaugurates-national-pavilion-at-singapore-defense-exhibition/
 
 
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
 
How Israel became the Innovation Nation. (TY WIN & I24 News) A new video which explains how Israel has grown to an innovation powerhouse.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oNjVyCKEGY
 
SpaceTech growing at Light Speed. This OurCrowd webinar highlights how SpaceTech is changing the way people work on Earth. Hear speakers from Axiom Space. Balerion Space Ventures, Edgybees and Ursa Major.
https://events.ourcrowd.com/project/spacetech-growing-at-lightspeed/
 
Edison award winner. Israel’s Innoviz (see here previously) has been awarded the Edison Award for technology in the Smart Transportation category. Its latest product, InnovizTwo, provides high-performance, automotive-grade LiDAR sensor for all levels of autonomous driving at dramatically lower cost.
https://www.jpost.com/business-and-innovation/tech-and-start-ups/article-740032  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hwi8wTTcnGM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zskIHfyVXM
https://innoviz.tech/innoviztwo#top
 
A beam of light on the horizon. A most comprehensive article about Magen Or (Light Shield or Iron Beam) the laser defense system being developed by Israel’s Rafael and the Israeli Ministry of Defense.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/t7ac5asht
 
Turning sludge into fertilizer. Lodologic the Brazilian affiliate of Israel’s Paulee Cleantec. has signed a contract with SABESP, one of Brazil’s largest sanitation providers, to treat over 310 tons of wastewater sludge every day from 4 million residents. It will be turned into organo-mineral fertilizer, in high demand by farmers.
https://www.israel21c.org/turning-tons-of-brazilian-sludge-into-odorless-fertilizer/
 
Returning plastic to its origins. Israel’s Plastic Back can reverse engineer any type of plastic waste into its original oil, wax, and chemical components. It will buy any plastic waste that cannot be recycled and pilot a chemical process developed at the Hebrew University, to upcycle the waste back to the petrochemical industry.
https://www.israel21c.org/novel-system-reverse-engineers-plastic-waste-for-upcycling/
https://www.plastic-back.com/  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Npp9-vYYx7Q
 
Biodegradable plastic. (TY Hazel) Interesting video featuring Israel’s Biotic (see here previously) and its bio-degradable polymer produced from naturally grown algae. The algae is ocean grown, so no arable land is used; and sea-water, rather than treated water is also used in the process, minimizing resources used.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM8QhUtGU7U  https://www.biotic-labs.com/
 
A breath of fresh water. Israel’s Mayu aims to produce healthy and sustainable water, accessible to anyone, anywhere. Its water filtration devices purify, through filtration; aerate, to balance oxygen levels; and mineralize, by “micro-dosing” the water with minerals. Mayu’s first product – The Swirl is available on its website.
https://www.israel21c.org/the-startup-aiming-to-fix-the-water-we-drink/  https://mayuwater.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxsWaEChE7M   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOrwa6Mo4VM
 
A sunscreen that is good for corals. In a previous news story (see here) Israeli scientists had issued a global warning that sunscreen ingredient BP-3 was harmful to coral reefs. Now Eilat has partnered with marine and skincare specialists to develop Reef Relief, a sunscreen that includes nourishing minerals to help reefs grow.
https://nocamels.com/2023/04/worlds-first-sunscreen-that-nourishes-coral-reefs/
https://www.reefreliefsunscreen.com/
 
Thermal storage factory opens. (TY Hazel) Israel’s Brenmiller Energy (see here previously) has opened its first production plant in the southern Israeli city of Dimona. The factory, built with the help of EU funds, aims to produce storage systems capable of holding four gigawatts of energy by the end of the year.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-green-thermal-storage-company-opens-first-factory-in-dimona/
 
Better airline security. (TY Nevet) The security scanning system from Israel’s SeeTrue (see here previously) is now deployed at several European airports. In 2022 it detected 500,000+ prohibited items, from scissors and screwdrivers to drugs and banknotes. It is 10 times faster than a human and has half the error rate.
https://nocamels.com/2023/04/ai-bag-scanner-is-faster-and-more-accurate-than-airport-staff/
 
Grapes originated in the Land of Israel. Scientists previously (see here) traced the domestication of grapes to Israel and the Caucasus. Now researchers from Tel Aviv and Haifa universities have confirmed the original findings by genetic tests on ancient wine seeds discovered by archeologists in the Negev.
https://www.ynetnews.com/health_science/article/rkk72kxv2
 
 
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
 
Trade with New Jersey is worth billions. The New Jersey Economic Development Authority reports that trade between New Jersey and Israel increased by 11% in 2022 to $1.72 billion. It also highlighted that Israeli investments were valued at approximately $551m. and had created 1,900 local jobs since 2003.
https://www.jpost.com/business-and-innovation/all-news/article-740242
https://www.jns.org/despite-economic-headwinds-new-jersey-israel-trade-increased-11-in-2022/
 
One of the fastest growing companies in the world. The annual revenue of Israeli cybersecurity Semperis (see here previously) has grown to nearly $100 million in just 9 years. Its disaster recovery system knows how to detect cyber-attacks, neutralize them, and restore the organization’s activities automatically.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/s1yug0x7n
 
A growing Unicorn. Optibus (see here previously) is a billion-dollar Israeli private company whose value is increasing, despite the current financial market downturn. In 2022 it doubled its revenues and workforce. Its public transportation management software is now used in 2,000 cities worldwide.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/sk8hzaxq3
 
Permit to sell cow-free milk. Israel’s Remilk (see here previously) has received regulatory approval from Israel’s Health Ministry to sell its cultured protein-based cow-free milk products to Israeli consumers.  Remilk already has permits to sell its products (chemically identical to cow’s milk) in the USA and Singapore.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israels-remilk-gets-first-regulatory-permit-in-israel-to-sell-cow-free-milk/
 
How 7th Heaven was invented. 7th Heaven chocolate (see here previously) was conceived in the kitchens of two vegan Israeli chocoholics Daniel and Elya, who were dating. They have just raised $3 million to market the creamy non-dairy, kosher chocolate beyond its current retail locations of New York, Miami, and California.
https://worldisraelnews.com/7th-heaven-how-date-night-turned-into-a-3m-israeli-vegan-chocolate-company/
https://www.7thheavenchocolate.com/
 
Volvo invests in Israeli driver safety startup. (TY OurCrowd) Volvo Cars Tech Fund joined the current $6M target funding round for CorrActions (see here previously). Its CEO said “CorrActions fits the bill perfectly and focuses on a mission that is close to our heart: making cars and traffic safer.”
https://www.media.volvocars.com/uk/en-gb/media/pressreleases/310402/volvo-cars-tech-fund-invests-in-ai-startup-corractions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StZoharC4VQ
https://techcrunch.com/2023/04/24/volvo-cars-tech-fund-invests-in-driver-monitoring-startup-corractions/
 
49 more startups in MassChallenge II. Israel’s largest equity-free accelerator program, MassChallenge IL, brought together 49 startups in Jerusalem recently to learn business essentials, a first step towards enabling companies to complete its four-month “investor-ready” program.
https://www.jns.org/49-israeli-startups-learn-business-basics-in-masschallenge-program/
 
Rolling out smart shopping carts. Israel’s A2Z Smart Technologies (see here previously) has signed an agreement to roll out 1,000 of its smart pick-and-go, self-checkout shopping carts at Israel’s  Hastok home design and household concept stores across the country in a deal valued at NIS 30 million ($8.3 million).
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-startup-inks-nis-30m-deal-to-deploy-smart-carts-at-local-home-design-stores/
 
Exits, takeovers and mergers to 7/5/23. US-based Blink Mobility acquired Israel’s Envoy for $34 million. Israel’s Youappi has been acquired by an unnamed US company for around $110 million.
 
Investment in Israeli startups to 7/5/23: Pinecone raised $100 million; Healthy.io raised $50 million; Magenta Medical raised $55 million; Novidea raised $50 million; Coro.net raised $45 million; Foretellix raised $43 million; ADASKY raised $30 million; Trullion raised $15 million; Neteera raised $13 million; Ctrl raised $9 million; Aligned raised $5.8 million; Viridix raised $4.1 million;
 
 
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT`
 
Prize for Jewish Literature. Israeli writer Iddo Gefen has won the $100,000 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature for his short-story collection, “Jerusalem Beach.” Iddo is a cognitive psychology doctoral student at Columbia University. His book is a series of snapshots of contemporary life in Israel – some to become movies.
https://www.jns.org/iddo-gefen-wins-sami-rohr-prize-for-jewish-literature/
 
Visit Arad. The desert city of Arad has changed since the article’s author first visited in 1989. Its coffee bars, healthy environment, wellness therapy, art studios, wineries, brewery, restaurants, hiking trails, hotels and glamping sites provide plenty to interest tourists and visiting Israelis.  Search “Travel Arad Israel” for more.
https://www.israel21c.org/experience-relaxed-desert-tourism-in-arad/
 
Tour Jerusalem on a Red Bus. The new Red Bus City Tour offers narrated sightseeing tours of Jerusalem in a choice of 29 languages. The 90-min tour visits the Old City, Mount of Olives and Mount Scopus. Or 2.5 hours to City Hall, Sacher Park, Knesset, Israel Museum, Yad Vashem, National Library, Mount Herzl and more.
https://www.israel21c.org/tour-jerusalem-in-a-red-double-decker-bus-with-narration/
https://redbuscitytours.com/
 
FIFA supports Israeli soccer programs. FIFA – the top governing body in the world of soccer – has awarded $30,000 to Israeli non-profit “The Equalizer” (see here previously) for its 3 soccer programs. FIFA has also renewed its support for the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation’s sports program (see here previously).
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-740087?utm_source=jpost.app.android&utm_medium=share  
 
 
THE JEWISH STATE
 
Practical advice for UK Anglos pre- and post- Aliya. On Tue 16 May, 7pm UK time, UKAA is hosting two free online talks. The 1st concerns insuring your shipment to Israel. The 2nd is on where to buy your home. Register at the link below. or email info@ukaliyahadvisors.com with your full name and phone number.
https://ukaliyahadvisors.com/event/16-may-2023/
 
Jewish and Democratic. (TY Nevet) The latest edition of the annual Democracy Index from the prestigious Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) ranks Israel 23rd of 167 countries. Israel is by far the most democratic country in the Middle East, and it is also ahead of Spain, Portugal, Italy, and the United States.
https://www.thejc.com/news/israel/israel-ranks-above-spain-italy-and-us-for-democracy-in-new-ranking-5thm78K0h6XhdVKV066TwE
 
Digitizing ancient Israel inscriptions. US Brown University, and the University of Virginia before that, have digitized over 5,000 texts and their translations from the land of Israel between 500 BCE and 514 CE.  They were written mostly on mosaics and stone, and are largely in Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek and Latin.
https://www.jns.org/brown-university-project-is-digitizing-10000-ancient-israel-inscriptions/
http://www.inscriptionsisraelpalestine.org/
 
Israeli archeologists excavate in Morocco. The Abraham Accords have allowed Israeli researchers to excavate two huge ‘genizas’ found in rural Morocco. Israelis who once lived in abandoned Moroccan villages are now able to investigate remnants of their Jewish life in Morocco and that of their ancestors. https://www.timesofisrael.com/abraham-accords-allow-israelis-to-excavate-two-huge-genizas-found-in-rural-morocco/
 
75 Ambassadors plant 75 trees for Israel 75. To commemorate Israel’s 75th anniversary of independence, the KKL-JNF and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs encouraged the whole diplomatic corps in Israel to plant 75 trees as a symbol of growth, development, and a strong connection to the land of Israel.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/watch-75-ambassadors-plant-75-trees-in-israel-on-israels-75th-anniversary/
 
King Charles is anointed with Jerusalem oil. The oil used to crown King Charles III on May 6th comes from the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, Israel. Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, noted the “deep historic link” between the oil for the coronation and that of biblical kings.
https://www.jns.org/king-charles-to-be-anointed-with-oil-from-mount-of-olives/
 
Lucy Dee’s heart. When Lital woke up after the transplant surgery with the heart of Lucy (Leah) Dee, she couldn’t stop crying. “How much love does the Creator of the world have to give me the heart of such a woman? The power of this woman of grace, I feel it inside my body.” Then Lucy’s family came to visit Lital.
https://worldisraelnews.com/i-have-so-much-love-to-give-says-recipient-of-terror-victim-lucy-dees-heart/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/like-im-with-her-terror-victim-lucy-dees-family-visits-recipients-of-her-organs/
 

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WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Blame Putin for Stoking Violence in Sudan by Con Coughlin

By on May 7th, 2023

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/19612/putin-russia-sudan

Recent documents published by the Dossier Center, an investigative project set up by Russian dissident Mikhail Khodorkovsky, demonstrate unequivocally that the Wagner Group is funded and run by Yevgeny Prigozhin, who in turn answers directly to Putin.

In recent years, the Wagner Group has been particularly busy in the Middle East and North Africa, where it has been deployed to fulfil Putin’s ambition of expanding the Kremlin’s influence in the Middle East, an objective that has been made a great deal easier by US President Joe Biden’s willingness to abandon Washington’s long-established presence in the region.

Wagner mercenaries played an active role in Russia’s military intervention in Syria during the civil war to save the regime of Bashar Assad from certain defeat, and more recently have been active in Libya and Mali as part of Putin’s drive to expand Moscow’s presence in North Africa.

Wagner’s involvement in Sudan dates back to 2017, when it was invited to help shore up Bashir’s dictatorship after he visited Putin in Moscow, during which he promised to make the country Russia’s “key to Africa”.

Since last year’s Russian invasion of Ukraine, reports have surfaced of Wagner helping to smuggle significant quantities of gold out of the country to help Putin to avoid international sanctions and fund his war effort. In return Moscow provides the RSF with sophisticated weapons.

Another vital feature of Wagner’s involvement with the RSF is that it might help Moscow to fulfil its ambitious plan to build a naval base at Port Sudan, a development that would give the Russian Navy access to one of the world’s major trade arteries.

An agreement to build a base at Port Sudan was originally agreed when Bashir was still in power but has since fallen into abeyance because of the chaos that has seized the country since the dictator’s overthrow. The RSF is now indicating that it will help revive the project if it succeeds in its attempts to seize control of the Sudanese junta, a move that would greatly enhance the potential threat Moscow poses to control of the Suez Canal and the future stability of the Middle East and Africa.

The conflict in Sudan, therefore, is not merely a struggle between rival military factions for control of the country. It represents a blatant attempt by Moscow to establish a Russian stronghold in the Red Sea, an objective that would not have been possible without Biden’s willingness to abandon Washington’s global leadership.

The dramatic upsurge of violence between warring factions in Sudan is just the latest example of the chaos being caused throughout the world by the Biden administration’s wilful abandonment of its global responsibilities.

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WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Iran: Unhappy Workers by Amir Taheri

By on May 7th, 2023

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/19631/iran-workers-strike

Iranian workers… have launched a series of strikes and sit-ins to protest what they regard as “systemic exploitation.”

By the time of this writing, over 100,000 workers were on strike in 122 businesses in 35 cities, relatively small numbers yet significant for two reasons: the protests seem to be spreading and the strikes begin to affect the nerve-centers of the economy including the vital energy industry.

“What we see is the first hissings of the coming explosion.” — Jawad Zar’e, who monitors the Iranian workers’ movement.

Rahmatallah Partovi, head of the Islamic Workers’ Council claims that over 70 percent of Iranian workers live below the official “poverty line”. Alireza Mahjub, a member of the Islamic Majlis (ersatz parliament) puts the figure at 90 percent.

If you listen closely you may hear the time bomb that is ticking in work-place across Iran: tick-tack, icky-tack!

Having retreated in the battle over mandatory hijab, the Islamic Republic leadership in Tehran may be facing a potentially far more dangerous challenge to its hold on power. The challenge comes from Iranian workers who have launched a series of strikes and sit-ins to protest what they regard as “systemic exploitation.”

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NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Beyond Scandal Does anything in modern American politics truly shock your average voter anymore? By Eric Lendrum

By on May 7th, 2023

https://amgreatness.com/2023/05/06/beyond-scandal/

When everything is a scandal, nothing is a scandal. No presidency personifies this idea better than that of Joe Biden, which at this point would put such political dramas as “House of Cards” to shame. Take your pick of any one scandalous revelation about Biden himself, the Biden family, or the Biden Administration—from the classified documents scandal to Hunter Biden’s numerous shady overseas business deals, involving several members of his family—and the subsequent explanation for an uninformed voter would most likely unfold with all of the same drama and depth as a scene from an Oliver Stone movie.

Two major scandals recently broke on the same day, involving two of the highest-ranking Cabinet officials in the Biden White House: Secretary of State Antony Blinken is staring down the barrel of sworn testimony that he orchestrated the bogus letter by former “intelligence officials” declaring that the New York Post’s reporting on Hunter Biden’s laptop was “Russian disinformation,” while Attorney General Merrick Garland has been accused by a whistleblower of lying to Congress about an ongoing criminal investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes.

And yet, while the going rate is at least one major scandal every month, it all has become less shocking. 

The fact that Biden’s approval ratings largely haven’t been affected by any of these ordeals makes us wonder: Does anything in modern American politics truly shock the average voter anymore? Do “scandals” even really matter? Or have we entered a political twilight zone where all conventional wisdom about corruption, criminality, and other once-shunned nefarious deeds are now just footnotes in our political discourse?

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ENVIRONMENT AND JUNK SCIENCE Comments turned off

Follow the science — to where? By Robert Arvay

By on May 7th, 2023

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2023/05/follow_the_science__to_where_.html

The dictum “follow the science” seems to make good sense until you actually follow it to a conclusion that is opposite to that which the “experts” intend you to reach.  We all saw that during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Entire cities were shut down.  Schools and churches were closed.  Enforcement was at times brutal.  In contrast, some states remained open, and the result was that, health-wise, they fared no worse than the states that gutted their economies and violated their citizens’ civil rights.  We are still waiting for apologies.

Another dictum makes a lot more sense: “follow the money.”  While small businesses were starved into ruin, large businesses were allowed to continue operation.  Churches were closed — even their parking lot services were forbidden — but casinos operated night and day.

While “Mister Science” led us astray in important policy decisions, there is another area of science that seems a lot less important, but which has subtle implications that have had pernicious effects for a long time.  It is called the Standard Model of Cosmology, which encompasses theories of how the universe was formed and how nature operates today.  For most of the population, this is Ivy League, ivory tower stuff.  It consists of incomprehensible squiggles on blackboards by (according to stereotype) bespectacled, bearded professors “vith” foreign accents.  They seem too smart to be wrong, but lately, new discoveries are challenging their authority and, by extension, opening criticism of the social policies that affect our daily lives and the future of our grandchildren.

There is a saying that disputes in academia are savage, not because the subject matter is important, but rather because it is trivial.  In that regard, we must ask, how important is the Standard Model of Cosmology?  If it collapses, what else will collapse with it?

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MOVIES AND TELEVISION Comments turned off

Nefarious — The most interestingly subversive anti-woke movie you haven’t seen or heard about By William Sullivan

By on May 7th, 2023

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2023/05/emnefariousem__the_most_interestingly_subversive_antiwoke_movie_you_havent_seen_or_heard_about_.html

As a fan of horror films whose wife doesn’t share my affection for them, I’m encouraged to watch movies when I travel on business if I ever get a free evening.  Tuesday night was just such a night, and there were options.

First, there was a 7:40 showing of Evil Dead Rise.  I enjoy most things of the Evil Dead franchise, so I figured this would be the option.  But I also noticed there was another intriguing movie playing at this particular Southern California movie theater that I’d never heard about, called Nefarious, at 7:20. 

I checked out the trailer. 

Sean Patrick Flanery (of whom I’m a fan and grew up watching, of Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, Suicide Kings, and Boondock Saints fame) plays a death row inmate, found guilty of multiple murders, and who prison officials assume is acting so erratically and manipulatively that he must be seeking a stay of execution by means of insanity.  Specifically, he claims to be a demon possessing the body of the convict.  A psychiatrist, who harbors demons of his own, is tasked with determining the convict’s level of sanity or insanity, putting his life or death squarely in the psychiatrist’s hands.

It looked interesting enough, so I did this silly thing that I often like to do while weighing which movie I should go see and looked at Rotten Tomatoes. 

Evil Dead Rise is at a solid 84% critic rating.  Promising. 

Then I looked at Nefarious on Rotten Tomatoes.  A dismal 33% critic rating…but it somehow maintained a 97% audience rating. 

That piqued my interest.  What could possibly be going on with this movie that almost every non-critic who decided to weigh in on it says it’s great, but two thirds of critics hate it?

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ENVIRONMENT AND JUNK SCIENCE Comments turned off

Biden Administration waging pointless war on our comfort in the name of climate By Eric Utter

By on May 7th, 2023

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2023/05/biden_administration_waging_pointless_war_on_our_comfort_in_the_name_of_climate.html

Looking forward to using your air-conditioning this summer to keep you from misery and lack of sleep? Well, you might have some issues. You see, the Biden administration has declared war on comfort. It’s not just gas stoves, leaf blowers, and lawnmowers the Biden-ites are coming for.  No siree. They are also bound and determined to eventually make air-conditioning prohibitively expensive for all but their coastal elite friends and allies.

New Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations are limiting supplies of freon and other refrigerants, because they are allegedly contributors to “climate change.” The new production quotas have driven up the price of these refrigerants by about 300%, meaning that a recharge may cost $100 to $500 more than before these regulations took effect, depending on how much replacement refrigerant is needed. 

But wait, there’s more! The coolant quotas get even more stringent next year. Moreover, other new EPA rules are directed at those who service air conditioners. Some of these pertain to the types of containers in which refrigerants can be housed and transported. And all of which are going to impose additional costs that will need to be passed on to the consumer.

So, if you balk at the price of refilling or repairing your air-conditioning unit this summer, perhaps you could consider purchasing a new one. Unfortunately, Department of Energy (DOE) efficiency standards will be piled on to the EPA measures, and the combined effect of these excessively stringent requirements will be to raise the price of new A/C equipment, as well.

If infants and the elderly and infirm end up dying because they and their families can no longer afford air-conditioning to cool their living and sleeping quarters—due to government policies purportedly intended to fight “global warming” — that would be ironic as well as tragic.

It is one thing if the global average temperature rises by, say, 1.5 degrees by the year 2100. It is quite another if the temperature in one’s apartment jumps from, say, 72 to 92 in the course of one year.

That would be real climate change.

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EDUCATION Comments turned off

Georgetown, the Oldest Catholic University in the U.S., Opens a Big Mosque on Campus By Robert Spencer

By on May 7th, 2023

https://pjmedia.com/culture/robert-spencer/2023/05/05/georgetown-the-oldest-catholic-university-in-the-u-s-opens-a-big-mosque-on-campus-n1692878

Georgetown University, which was founded as Georgetown College in 1789 and is the oldest Catholic university in the United States, has earned yet another distinction: it is now the oldest Catholic university in the U.S. that has a large new mosque on campus. This is great news, right? This is just the sort of openness and good-heartedness that will erase misunderstandings, melt hostility and mutual suspicion, and usher in a new era of peace. Won’t it? Meanwhile, we eagerly await the announcement of which Islamic university anywhere in the world is planning to open a Christian chapel on campus.

The College Fix reported Friday that Georgetown “recently completed a major construction project erecting a large mosque on campus.” The university happily proclaimed that the Yarrow Mamout Masjid, which was named after a famous Muslim freed slave and entrepreneur who lived in the Georgetown area in the early nineteenth century, is “the first mosque with ablution stations, a spirituality and formation hall and a halal kitchen on a U.S. college campus.” How exciting! And really, what could possibly go wrong?

The Georgetown mosque has been happily welcomed at the highest levels. The College Fix stated that it has actually been operating since 2019 while construction continued, but finally the building “was completed earlier this year to much fanfare, with a dedication ceremony March 18 drawing Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who issued a proclamation recognizing the mosque.”

Yet even with a proclamation from the mayor and proud Catholic university administrators boasting about ablution stations and a halal kitchen, the university didn’t seem eager to talk about its grand new structure. The Fix noted that “Georgetown University’s media relations, as well as representatives of its Catholic Faith Communities, Catholic Ministry and alumni center, all ignored requests over the last week from The College Fix seeking comment on the mosque.” Now, that’s downright strange. Are they proud of their new mosque or not?

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BOOKS Comments turned off

Writings: Commentary from Jack Engelhard the Voice of America’s Conscience   

By on May 7th, 2023

A new book from Jack Engelhard, brilliant friend and fellow Zionist.rsk

Legendary American novelist Jack Engelhard is equally regarded for his high standard of journalism, which for many years appeared as Op-ed columns in the Philadelphia Inquirer, and also in such publications as The New York Times. Today he enjoys a large worldwide following for his columns that appear on the popular Israeli news/opinion website Arutz Sheva/Israelnationalnews, English edition. There he is recognized for his discerning eye on politics and culture in both the United States and Israel, where he has served as an American volunteer in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). In Writings Engelhard pulls no punches in this collection of columns about the political climate here and abroad that affects people worldwide. He is our conscience of today, pointing out distortions and corruption of our government and leaders. He is never afraid to tell us the truth no matter how difficult it is to face.

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WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

An American’s View of the Coronation If the pageantry surrounding Charles III seemed quaintly anachronistic, it was also moving in an irreducibly pertinent way. By Roger Kimball

By on May 7th, 2023

https://amgreatness.com/2023/05/06/an-americans-view-of-the-coronation/

The coronation of King Charles III was a stirring spectacle. I watched only a few of the more elaborate bits—some climactic moments in Westminster Abbey, some of the procession up the soldier-lined Mall in that nifty golden carriage, the King’s recognition of the troops assembled in the garden behind Buck House. 

As an Anglophile, I appreciated the pageantry. No one does it better than the Brits. They manage to make ostentation tasteful and regal display humane and welcoming. It’s impressive without being forbidding. I am an American democrat of Madisonian inclination, but I harbor fond feelings about the British monarchy. I enjoy the ceremony and heartily approve of this affirmation of “the rich tapestry of our island story.” 

Nevertheless, I came away with an impression of something bittersweet, not to say melancholy. As a performance, the coronation was thrilling. As a reality? I am not so sure. I fear there was something posthumous about the production. 

To date, Charles has acted with greater dignity and discretion than I would have predicted. His Christmas address to the nation was pitch-perfect. And he seems to be soft-pedaling some of his woke enthusiasms about “climate change” and the like. All that augurs well for the future of his reign—if “reign” is the correct word for the ceremonial bureaucracy of a man who assumed the throne at the end of his 73rd year. 

The Crown’s real estate is intact. So are the family jewels and haberdashery (the ermine fringed robes that he and Queen Camilla modeled were especially striking). 

But that may be the extent of his domain. Perhaps one should resist the temptation to peek behind the curtain. The English essayist Walter Bagehot, writing in the 1870s, was right. “Above all things our royalty is to be reverenced,” Bagehot wrote, “and if you begin to poke about it, you cannot reverence it. . . . Its mystery is its life. We must not let in daylight upon magic.”

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