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Ruth King

Why Is Joe Biden Embracing Europe’s Failed Green-Energy Socialism?

https://issuesinsights.com/2021/10/05/why-is-joe-biden-embracing-europes-failed-green-socialism/

These are the worst of times for Europe when it comes to energy. Not only are its green schemes failing to produce enough energy, but because of environmental laws, taxes and regulations, conventional energy prices are shooting through the roof. Inexplicably, President Joe Biden wants to recreate the same failed policies here.

Europe faces a winter of energy discontent, thanks to its absurd green programs that have created sudden extreme shortages and sharply higher prices for natural gas around the world. Officials thought they could cut carbon dioxide emissions to zero simply by building more wind farms and regulating fossil fuels out of existence.

Wrong. Sure, they built wind farms and shut down coal and nuclear plants, but they didn’t think of the simplest question: What if the wind doesn’t blow, or the sun doesn’t shine? As cold weather looms, Europe has had an unusually windless period, triggering severe deficits.

To make up for the shortfalls, Europe has gone back to the natural gas market. But who supplies its natural gas these days? Russia, which has cut supplies to Europe mainly, it seems, just to watch it squirm.

Things are so bad that Germany has returned to evil coal for fuel, only to be told by providers that, sorry, prices are sky high and supplies are tight. After closing all its nuclear power plants, which supplied CO2-free energy, foolish Germany has no choice. Nor does the rest of Europe, suffering the same self-inflicted green maladies.

“Europe’s increasingly expensive gas and electricity prices are sending a strong signal to manufacturers to consider temporary plant closures and to home and office owners to turn down thermostats to conserve fuel this winter,” wrote Reuters last week. “Front-month gas futures are now more than six times more expensive than at this point last year, as the region struggles to import enough gas to refill its depleted storage ahead of the winter peak heating season.”

“Europe’s climate follies created fuel shortages and price spikes rippling through global energy markets,” CFACT, a climate think tank, tweeted in response to Europe’s energy shock. “Demand for natural gas has soared due to waning wind production, the shutdown of coal and nuclear plants, and lower Russian gas deliveries.”

Yang says he has left Democratic Party By Monique Beals

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/575201-yang-says-he-has-left-democratic-party

Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang announced his departure from the Democratic Party today, describing the experience as “strangely emotional.”

Yang announced in a statement on his website that he was opting to change his registration to become an independent voter. 

“Breaking up with the Democratic Party feels like the right thing to do because I believe I can have a greater impact this way,” Yang said.

Yang also acknowledged his experiences with thousands of Democrats during his previous presidential and mayoral bids. 

“At first, many didn’t know what to make of the odd Asian candidate talking about giving everyone money. But over time I established deep relationships with some of the local leaders who have worked in party politics for years,” he said of the experience. 

Yang added that he was “confident that no longer being a Democrat is the right thing.”

Who Are the Advisors Who Circle a Confused President? by Lawrence Kadish

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17831/president-advisors

Published reports reveal that John Podesta, Bill Clinton’s former chief of staff and senior counselor to Barack Obama, has sent a memo to every Democratic Congressman reminding them the party “must unite and act together” to pass Biden’s “infrastructure” agenda.

Podesta, according to an email released from Wikileaks, was also previously approached by an advisor to Dominion Voting Systems who was “offering ‘anything’ that might defeat Trump.” What was the advisor to the voting machines company offering?

Podesta’s older brother, Tony, was a long time mega Democratic lobbyist and fund raiser. His lobbying career has been resurrected with a New York Times report that the embattled Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei has hired Podesta. Huawei was identified as a national security threat by the Trump administration and faces federal charges of racketeering and conspiring to steal trade secrets from American companies. One supposes that Podesta’s retainer is in dollars and requires him to promote the interests of a company alleged to be an extension of the Chinese government.

Given Biden’s curious response to ABC News, one could legitimately ask, just whose national policy are we actually pursuing? The president’s or his advisors?

Henry the VIII had Thomas Cromwell as his Privy Counselor with Cromwell playing a vital role in the King’s personal, domestic, and international relationships.

Napoleon depended on Talleyrand as his Grand Chamberlain, a master diplomat who managed to serve King Louis XVI, the leaders of the French Revolution, and then Napoleon.

Biden Ignores Palestinian Support For Terrorists by Bassam Tawil

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17822/palestinian-support-terrorists

The Biden administration’s talk about achieving a “two-state solution” does not seem to impress many Palestinians. They believe, according to a recent public opinion poll, that this solution is no longer practical or feasible. These Palestinians, the poll found, prefer to wage an “armed struggle” against Israel.

With such views, it is safe to assume that the Palestinian state the Biden administration is hoping to establish alongside Israel will be controlled by Iranian-backed terrorists such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad…..

The findings of that poll confirmed that a majority of Palestinians continue to see Hamas and other terrorists as their heroes and role models. The results also confirmed that a majority of Palestinians continue to believe that violence and terrorism are the best and only way to deal with Israel.

Their demand reveals that an overwhelming majority of Palestinians have no confidence in Abbas and are likely to reject any peace agreement he signs with Israel. First, anyone who signs a peace deal with Israel will be regarded as a traitor and rewarded the same ill-starred way as Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, who signed a peace treaty with Israel and was assassinated. It is a consequence with which Abbas is acquainted.

Those who continue to talk about a “two-state solution” are not only deluding themselves, but also endangering the security of the Middle East by seeking to establish yet another terrorist state, especially so soon after the debacle of the U.S. surrender to the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Despite the decision by the Biden administration to resume financial aid to the Palestinians and work toward reviving the “peace process” with Israel, most Palestinians continue to support Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group that does not recognize Israel’s right to exist.

The Biden administration’s talk about achieving a “two-state solution” does not seem to impress many Palestinians. They believe, according to a recent public opinion poll, that this solution is no longer practical or feasible. These Palestinians, the poll found, prefer to wage an “armed struggle” against Israel.

In his recent speech before the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly, U.S. President Joe Biden, expressing his administration’s policy toward the Israeli-Arab conflict, said:

“The commitment of the United States to Israel’s security is without question. And a support – our support for an independent, Jewish state is unequivocal. But I continue to believe that a two-state solution is the best way to ensure Israel – Israel’s future as a Jewish, democratic state living in peace alongside a viable, sovereign, and democratic Palestinian state.”

Ironically, on the same day Biden that delivered his speech at the UN General Assembly, another public opinion poll published by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research on September 21 again showed that many Westerners are clueless about the real attitudes of the Palestinian public.

The findings of that poll confirmed that a majority of Palestinians continue to see Hamas and other terrorists as their heroes and role models. The results also confirmed that a majority of Palestinians continue to believe that violence and terrorism are the best and only way to deal with Israel.

With such views, it is safe to assume that the Palestinian state the Biden administration is hoping to establish alongside Israel will be controlled by Iranian-backed terrorists such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, whose declared goal is to replace Israel with an Islamist state after killing or expelling as many Jews as possible from their homeland.

GOOD NEWS FROM AMAZING ISRAEL FROM MICHAEL ORDMAN

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com 

Israel is the most libeled democracy in the world. To challenge the lies of Israel’s antagonists Michael Ordman compiles a dazzling list of Israeli achievements in every field of human endeavor. In his words:

“Israel’s universal positive impact continues at fast pace. They include Covid-19 treatments, anti-bacterial breakthroughs, and 3D-printed blood vessels. There are major benefits to the disabled, anti-racist education, diverse flora, agricultural training and relief for the disadvantaged Vietnamese. Technical achievements include more vegan meat, electric vehicle battery life, cybersecurity, electronic skin and navigation without GPS.  International investment in Israeli startups is at an unprecedented level.”

 

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
 
HIV therapy counters Covid-19. Israeli-managed Code Pharma developed its Codivir treatment for HIV at its Israeli R&D center. It has just completed a successful Phase 1 trial in Brazil for using Codivir against the coronavirus and has applied to start a Phase 2 trial on 150 patients in Israel, Spain, Brazil and South Africa.
https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/israeli-scientists-say-their-antiviral-drug-could-stop-covid-19-679437
 
IDF medics’ home care for Covid patients. Doctors and nurses currently serving in the IDF have commenced the “Hand-in-hand” initiative. Coronavirus patients are transferred from hospital to home-based care. They are monitored remotely from a command center, with at least once-a-day on-site visits from medical personnel.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/313640
 
Covid update from BGU. Useful webinar on coronavirus mutations and the booster shots from two leading Ben Gurion University experts – Prof. Nadav Davidovitch, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., and Dr. Anat Rosenthal, Ph.D.
https://americansforbgu.org/video/webinar-covid-update/#
 
Good bacteria to kill bad bacteria. Scientists at Tel Aviv University have enabled friendly bacteria to attack bad bacteria with toxins and neutralize them. They programmed safe bacteria to attack only specific pathogens, using the Type 6 Secretion system that germs use to destroy cells.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-antibacterial-weapon-arms-good-germs-to-kill-bad-germs/
 
US approval for bacteria vs virus test. Israel’s MeMed Diagnostics (see here previously) has received US FDA clearance for its MeMed BV blood test that can distinguish, in minutes, between bacterial and viral infections. It can help prevent the inappropriate use of antibiotics that leads to antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israels-memed-gets-fda-approval-for-breakthrough-infection-test/
 
3D printed blood vessels from plant leaves. Scientists at Israel’s Technion Institute have succeeded in 3D printing a network of blood vessels that can provide blood to implanted tissues. The collagen used in the printing process was derived from tobacco plants and made by Israel’s Collplant.
https://www.jpost.com/science/the-future-of-personalized-medicine-technion-team-built-blood-tree-from-scratch-679872  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omKrw_eYIFI
 
74 new cancer research grants. The Israel Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) has announced 74 new cancer research grants valued at over $4.6 million, that will be funded in 2021/22.
https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/israel-cancer-research-fund-receives-74-new-grants-679387
https://www.icrfonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/2021-Funded-Grant-Synopses-as-of-9.1.21.pdf
 
Eli explains CPR. United Hatzalah CEO Eli Beer gives another of his straight-forward step-by-step guides – this time to CPR which could save a life if an EMT failed to arrive in the 3 minutes that United Hatzalah target.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J36Bbr1MGpA

Our Woke National Icons Milley, Fauci, and Biden are soulless men who reveal the bankruptcy of our ruling class. By Victor Davis Hanson

https://amgreatness.com/2021/10/03/our-woke-national-icons/

As we watch events unfold in 2021, obvious questions about the fitness of our national leaders present themselves. Who are these new woke national icons and how did they come to lord it over the rest of us? Here are some observations by way of preliminary explanation.

The Strategist

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley conceded to Congress last week that he has been an anonymous source to controversial “inside” progressive muckrakers detailing the supposed dysfunctions of the prior administration. He strangely characterizes such anonymous, self-serving, behind-the-scenes leaking as some sort of public-service transparency. Evidently, it is now a part of the chairman’s duties to serve the media.

Among the many “background” quotes that Milley provided to meet his journalistic obligations were his various comparisons of his commander-in-chief to Nazis—a violation of Article 88 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. He reportedly offered further allegations to journalists that news outlets like the Epoch Times and Newsmax were “terrorist” organizations. When pressed on such details the usually punctilious Milley shrugs, in the fashion of James Comey’s under-oath testimonies, that he does “not recall” such specifics.  Such is the honor of the nation’s most visible military officer.

Although by statute Milley lacks operational command, he admittedly has intervened in the operational protocols concerning the use of nuclear weapons. At one point, after a conversation with, and on the apparent prompting of, HouseSpeaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), he redirected normal decision-making channels concerning the potential use of nuclear weapons through his own person. That is forbidden by law—despite what his beltway apologists have pleaded.

More interestingly, though, Milley took it upon himself to call up the major military leaders of Communist China, and to apprise them that (in his opinion) the United States was in crisis (“messy”). No worries, though: the freelancing Milley assured the People’s Liberation Army heads that they should not worry about any preemptive attack or aggression, since Milley himself apparently was in de facto charge of such strategic decision-making and would warn them in advance if his country seemed dangerously aggressive. Thus far in the imbroglio, the Pentagon and the retired military apparently seem comfortable with such a radically new role for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

Milley ignored that Trump was the first president in memory who did not initiate a major new military engagement. And when pressed under oath, Milley himself later confessed that he did not think Trump was likely to start a war against anyone—which raises the question of why he even made such a peremptory call to our adversaries? Much of what Milley has testified to under oath before Congress is flatly contradicted by transcripts of his phone call with Pelosi, is in utter conflict with statements made by President Biden and the State Department and cannot be reconciled with his own frequent prior disclosures to journalists.

In sum, America’s highest-ranking honorific military officer has violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice, has violated the law concerning his own advisory role as chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and has either serially not told the truth, or assumes that Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, several journalists (and various earlier incarnations of himself) are all not telling the truth.

Milley has set a new precedent for the leadership of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: it is now permissible to be overtly political, to leak confidential conversations to progressive book-writing journalists, to freelance and warn likely enemies if and when the U.S. military might take action against them, and to pick and choose when to exercise (illegally) operational command, and when (legally) to refrain, or at least to remain “only” an advisor, when culpability for a disaster, like the one in Afghanistan, is determined.

Historians will later ponder why this officer has not resigned and what his continued tenure says about the status of the current U.S. military.

Trust Fauci and the Bureaucrats? Four decades of fraud – from AIDS to COVID-19. Joseph Hippolito

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2021/10/trust-fauci-and-bureaucrats-joseph-hippolito/

Today’s controversy surrounding COVID-19 vaccines might seem unprecedented. But nearly four decades ago, the now-famous doctor encouraging them advocated an ineffective, dangerous medication for a far deadlier disease — and got away with it.

During the 1980s, when the AIDS epidemic ravaged the world and long before Dr. Anthony Fauci became a household name, he promoted AZT as a treatment for HIV in his role as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Doctors once used AZT in cancer chemotherapy. But AZT not only failed to treat HIV. It made patients sicker.

The way that medical, pharmaceutical and political bureaucracies handled that crisis resembles the way they handle COVID-19. More importantly, both episodes suggest possible conflicts of interest among those charged with protecting public health.

Spin Magazine’s Celia Farber exposed the AZT debacle in her 1989 article, “Sins of Omission.” Farber described how the federal government, corporate media and a major pharmaceutical firm responded to public panic about AIDS by approving AZT and promoting it even after it proved to be deadly.

Doctors withdrew AZT as a cancer treatment because it destroys cells indiscriminately. But Burroughs Wellcome submitted it under an anonymous description to the National Cancer Institute in 1987, and AZT killed HIV in laboratory conditions. However, doctors at the Food and Drug Administration expressed extreme reluctance to approve AZT.

“We do not know what will happen a year from now,” said Dr. Itzhak Brook, the panel’s chairman. “The data is just too premature, and the statistics are not really well done. The drug could actually be detrimental.”

Despite Burroughs Wellcome’s promise to provide updated data every two years — a promise the firm never kept — and to limit AZT to emergency use for extremely ill patients, the panel considered rejecting the drug. Then FDA bureaucrats got involved.

Free the Hero Locked Up for Telling the Truth About Afghanistan Lt. Col. Scheller put his career and freedom on the line for the truth. Daniel Greenfield

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2021/10/free-hero-locked-telling-truth-about-afghanistan-daniel-greenfield/

Who will pay the price for Afghanistan?

Not Secretary of Defense Austin, General Milley, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, not General McKenzie, who oversaw the disastrous retreat, or any of Biden’s other brass.

Instead the only man who has been locked up for the defeat in Afghanistan is a Marine Corps Lt. Colonel who made a video calling for accountability from the military leadership.

Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller committed the ultimate crime, he put his career on the line and called for the truth after the Kabul airport suicide bombing. Biden’s brass smeared him as crazy, they relieved him of duty, they threatened him, called him a spy, and locked him up. The Pentagon careerists are desperately terrified of a brave man who is willing to put everything on the line.

Our petition at the David Horowitz Freedom Center calls for action to free Scheller who is “being held as a political prisoner for speaking the truth about the U.S. military’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.” The only man behind bars over Afghanistan is there for telling the truth.

It all began over a month ago when he posted a video declaring, “I have been fighting for 17 years. I am willing to throw it all away to say to my senior leaders, I demand accountability.”

The original video has since been seen 1.5 million times on Facebook and LinkedIn.

The cronies of Biden’s brass accused Scheller of being mentally unstable. And then, just in time for congressional hearings on the defeat in Afghanistan, they tried to silence him.

Scheller, not Milley or McKenzie, was relieved of duty. He was ordered to “refrain from posting any and all material, in any form without exception, to any social media” and “prohibited from communicating through third parties or proxies.”

Milley had done interviews for anti-Trump books and woke officers had bashed Republicans and promoted Black Lives Matter on Facebook and Twitter. But only Scheller was silenced.

Except that Scheller chose to go to jail instead.

The New Battle at Yale By Aron Ravin

https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/10/the-new-battle-at-yale/

Conservatives fighting for the soul of William F. Buckley’s alma mater should not abandon academic freedom.

William F. Buckley published God and Man at Yale 70 years ago. Much has changed since then, both at Yale and in the world. Now is a good time to examine what, if anything, has changed for the better since Buckley’s day, as well as what uniquely modern challenges Yale faces.

Michael Samaritano’s recent essay discussing the state of American higher education is insightful on both of these fronts. As Buckley pointed out, conservatives cannot abandon the fight for control over any institution, especially not one as influential as the academy. Lofty aspirations to “academic freedom” are meaningless should they empower collectivists, fanatics, and relativists, after all.

In his debut book, Buckley famously accused specific professors of being outright hostile to faith and provided evidence of subversive teaching within the syllabi of economics courses. Christian organizations were headed by and religious positions were held by atheists. Required textbooks praised the central planning of the USSR and unanimously claimed that government debt was a nonissue.

I haven’t seen much evidence of these specific complaints at Yale today. The economics reading seems far more balanced, and readings no longer imply that government programs tend to increase productivity. The inward-facing, borderline-secular Yale University Christian Association has been replaced with an array of smaller, more fervent, and evangelical faith groups. The Saint Thomas More Catholic Center and Christian Union Lux, unlike their predecessor, would never “refuse to proclaim Christianity as the true religion.” Campus culture has shifted in these areas since Buckley’s day, and he surely deserves some credit.

While I admit that this could in part be due to my own luck, I have yet to encounter required material that has been subversive in the manner that Buckley describes. To be sure, there are some patently absurd courses being taught at this university. “Is that Racist?” and “Latinx Ethnography” do not quite meet my foreign relatives’ expectations of what American higher education has to offer. Nevertheless, the nature of these classes is transparent — only a student who is already a leftist would enroll.

Hillary Clinton Has Co-written a Novel, and I Can’t Even By Matt Margolis

https://pjmedia.com/culture/matt-margolis/2021/10/03/hillary-clinton-has-co-written-a-novel-and-i-cant-even-n1521352

Earlier this year it was reported that Hillary Clinton was teaming up with bestselling author Louise Penny to write her first novel—a political thriller. I guess she felt she had a flair for fiction after pushing the phony “Trump colluded with Russia to steal the 2020 election” narrative.

But I digress. The political thriller, co-written by the twice-failed presidential candidate, is now just over a week from getting published, if you’re interested. It’s about a newly sworn-in secretary of state—the former rival of the elected president (sound familiar?)—who takes over for an administration “out of touch with international affairs, out of practice with diplomacy, and out of power in the places where it counts the most.” A bizarre and inaccurate dig at Trump, I’m sure.

Time magazine calls it “a heart-pounding mystery about terrorism, corruption and diplomacy, meticulously written with the promise of details only someone on the inside could contribute.”

American crime writer Karin Slaughter also lauded the novel, calling it “an absolutely gripping, utterly believable, heart-stopping thriller that will make readers question how much is fiction and how much is based on reality.”

Hillary is following in the footsteps of her husband, who has also dabbled with fiction in his collaborations with bestselling author James Patterson.

Here’s the book’s description from Amazon:

After a tumultuous period in American politics, a new administration has just been sworn in, and to everyone’s surprise the president chooses a political enemy for the vital position of secretary of state.

There is no love lost between the president of the United States and Ellen Adams, his new secretary of state. But it’s a canny move on the part of the president. With this appointment, he silences one of his harshest critics, since taking the job means Adams must step down as head of her multinational media conglomerate.