Displaying the most recent of 90914 posts written by

Ruth King

ENVIRONMENT AND JUNK SCIENCE Comments turned off

Great Lakes Reveal a Fatal Flaw in Climate Change ‘Science’ John Merline

By on June 10th, 2019

https://issuesinsights.com/2019/06/09/great-lakes-reveal-the-fatal-flaw-in-global-warming-science/

ake Erie and Lake Superior — two of the five that make up the Great Lakes — broke records for water levels this May. Lakes Michigan and Huron could follow suit.

Naturally, climate change is getting the blame. “We are undoubtedly observing the effects of a warming climate in the Great Lakes,” says Richard Rood, a University of Michigan climate scientist. 

But just a few years ago, climate scientists were insisting that a warming climate would cause water levels to decline. 

In 2008, Science Daily reported on a study that attributed the decline in Great Lakes water levels to global warming. The researchers who conducted the study said that the drop “raised concern because the declines are consistent with many climate change predictions.”

In 2009, Columbia University’s Earth Institute informed us that “most climate models suggest that we may see declines in lake levels over the next 100 years; one suggests that we may see declines of up to 8.2 feet.”

In 2011, the Union of Concern Scientists said that “scientists expect water levels in the Great Lakes to drop in both summer and winter, with the greatest declines occurring in Lakes Huron and Michigan.”

In 2013, the Natural Resources Defense Council said that “it’s no secret that, partially due to climate change, the water levels in the Great Lakes are getting very low.”

Continue reading →
ANTI-SEMITISM Comments turned off

Reconciliation, or Grievance? Modern diversity training too often violates Martin Luther King’s vision of racial healing. Chloé Valdary

By on June 10th, 2019

https://www.city-journal.org/diversity-training

Diversity training has become a standard feature of American corporate culture. Its origins date to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which codified protecting employees against discrimination and resulted in numerous lawsuits filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the agency created by the statute. In response, CEOs began holding diversity and inclusion classes and companies began to see such training as critical to good business—both as a defensive measure against liability and to foster a healthy and respectful office environment.

Not all diversity and inclusion models have been designed the same way or achieved the same goals. In 1990, Roosevelt Thomas Jr., the former executive director of diversity and inclusion at Morehouse College, argued that a business could measure the success of its programs by asking the following questions: “Does this program, policy, or principle give special consideration to one group? Will it contribute to everyone’s success, or will it only produce an advantage for blacks or whites or women or men? Is it designed for them as opposed to us?” Thomas concluded that “Whenever the answer is yes, you’re not yet on the road to managing diversity.”

If Thomas’s standards seem obvious, it’s because his ideas are rooted in Martin Luther King’s vision of the “beloved community.” Through this vision, conflicts are resolved peacefully and adversaries can reconcile. Racism and discrimination are recognized as evil philosophies “based on a contempt for life,” which promote “the absurd dogma that one race is responsible for all the progress of history and alone can assure the progress of the future.” King sought to defeat injustice by embracing love over hatred.

Underpinning King’s philosophy was his belief in the sanctity of the individual and the “amazing potential for goodness” within human beings. “We do not wish to triumph over the white community,” he wrote. “That would only result in transferring those now on the bottom to the top. But, if we can live up to nonviolence in thought and deed, there will emerge an interracial society based on freedom for all.”

Continue reading →
IMMIGRATION Comments turned off

Trump Wins One on Immigration By Edward Lulie

By on June 10th, 2019

https://amgreatness.com/2019/06/09/trumps-wins-one-on-immigration/

Tariffs don’t work. Or so the talking heads kept saying. We watched for days as Democrats and Republicans lambasted President Trump’s threat to impose steeper and steeper tariffs on Mexico unless and until that country takes concrete action to stem the tide of illegal immigrants crossing into the United States.

“I think it’s both bad politically and bad economically and I don’t think it’s really going to help solve the immigration problem, either, which is what Mr. Trump said he’s trying to attack,” said John Negroponte, the former U.S. ambassador to Honduras, Mexico, the Philippines, the United Nations, and Iraq.

“This is a stunningly stupid idea on many levels,” wrote Eric Boehm at the libertarian Reason magazine. “Making it more expensive to import goods from Mexico is a pretty roundabout way to get Mexico to change its border policies.”

“Mr. Trump is blaming Mexico for a mess it can’t solve,” the Wall Street Journal editorialized

Well, now we know.

Late Friday, President Trump announced that an agreement was reached to suspend the threatened tariffs “indefinitely” in exchange for Mexico agreeing to house many of the illegal immigrants who are overtaxing America’s broken asylum system. Instead of releasing so-called asylum-seekers into the interior of the United States, often never to be seen again, tens of thousands will remain in Mexico while they await their court dates.

Clearly, the threat of tariffs works very well.

Continue reading →
ANTI-SEMITISM Comments turned off

The 2020 News Cycle Will Look Very Different By Victor Davis Hanson

By on June 10th, 2019

https://amgreatness.com/2019/06/09/new-narratives-in-2020/

The Russia collusion narrative and associated Robert Mueller hysteria are all but over.

Mueller’s obstruction of justice narrative involving the non-crime of collusion is ending, too.

Donald Trump’s tax-return psychodrama is going the way of the Emoluments Clause, the Logan Act, the 25th Amendment and the comical in-house coup attempt of former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.

What takes the place of Mueller and “the noose is tightening” bombshells? Perhaps the new narratives involving Inspector General Michael Horowitz and FISA abuse, or Attorney General William Barr’s investigation into the origins of the Russia collusion probe—far quieter, far more serious.

The media for three years obsessed over a false “Trump did it” story. But in the next 17 months, the storyline may change from the myth of the “walls are closing in” on the president to the reality that Obama-era officials committed serial felonies—from perjury and lying to federal officials, to leaking classified documents, spying illegally on a political campaign, deceiving a FISA court, and obstructing justice.

As we have already seen with the flare-up between former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein (who signed a FISA writ, who wrote the memo for Comey’s firing, who appointed his old boss Robert Mueller as special counsel, and who, McCabe says, joined him for a moment in contemplating removing Trump) and former FBI Director James Comey (who likely lied under oath, deceived a FISA court, leaked classified documents and ordered informants placed in the Trump campaign), at some point, these culpable grandees will start turning on each other, and it will be hard to stop.

Continue reading →
ISRAEL Comments turned off

How Palestinian Leaders Butcher the Truth by Bassam Tawil

By on June 10th, 2019

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14357/palestinian-leaders-butcher-truth

Yusef Wajih, the terrorist, came to Jerusalem armed with a knife to kill Jews. That was his only goal. He could have taken advantage of Israel’s easing of restrictions during Ramadan — a move that saw hundreds of thousands of Muslims to enter Jerusalem every Friday to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) is also not concerned that two innocent Jews were stabbed by the terrorist. What the Palestinian Authority is disturbed about is the killing of the terrorist.

If the International Criminal Court ever looks into this incident, it should begin its inquiry by investigating the vicious incitement of Palestinian leaders, who use Jewish visits to a holy site in Jerusalem to butcher the truth, just as it whips up Palestinians such as Yusef Wajih to wake up in the morning and butcher the first Jew he meets. The blood of Wajih is on the hands of Palestinian leaders, and not the police officers who stopped a terrorist from stabbing yet more Jews.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) is up in arms because Israeli policemen killed a Palestinian who stabbed two Jews in the Old City of Jerusalem. The terrorist, 19-year-old Yusef Wajih, from the West Bank village of Abwain, near Ramallah, stabbed one of the men in the neck and head near the Old City’s Damascus Gate, leaving him in serious condition.

The second victim was a 16-year-old who was stabbed by the terrorist in the back a few hundred meters away from the scene of the first attack. The teenager sustained light to moderate injuries. Police officers shot and killed the terrorist, thus preventing him from harming more Jews.

Such stabbing attacks are not uncommon on the streets of Jerusalem. In the past few years, Palestinian terrorists have carried out several stabbing and shooting attacks against Israeli police officers and civilians, particularly ultra-Orthodox Jews who were on their way to or from prayer at the Western Wall.

Continue reading →
WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Trump’s North Korea Policy Should Be Encouraged, Not Undermined by Peter Huessy

By on June 10th, 2019

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14356/trump-north-korea-policy

China is rarely called to task in Washington by US leaders for its role in proliferating nuclear-weapons programs in some of the world’s most notorious rogue states. Pressure is rarely placed on Beijing even by US arms-control groups.

The Chinese government made a deliberate choice in 1982 — in violation of its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968 — to disperse nuclear-weapons technology to its allies in the Third World. Through the A.Q. Khan nuclear smuggling network in Pakistan, China was able to help produce nuclear weapons in Pakistan and North Korea, and start nuclear programs of varying significance in Iran, Libya and Iraq, and later in Syria.

The Trump administration is doing more than its predecessors to meet the challenges and threats posed by North Korea, and therefore should be encouraged to continue the policy of employing a mixture of tough measures and diplomacy.

At a recent event on Capitol Hill — hosted by the Washington-based Mitchell Institute — the former China Country Director at the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Joe Bosco, defended U.S. President Donald Trump’s North Korea policy against critics who were accusing the White House either of leaning too far in the direction of diplomacy with Pyongyang, or too bent on imposing maximum economic and military pressure on it.

The criticism, according to Bosco, stems from two false narratives — emanating from Pyongyang and Beijing — which have been governing the debate.

The first is that North Korea is justified in having nuclear weapons, due to America’s long-standing “hostile policy” towards the regime in Pyongyang. The second is that China has had virtually no role in the establishment of North Korea’s nuclear program — and that Beijing seeks “denuclearization” and “stability” on the Korean peninsula.

Continue reading →
WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Massive Crowds Take to Streets in ‘Last Fight’ for Hong Kong Natasha Khan

By on June 10th, 2019

https://www.wsj.com/articles/massive-crowds-take-to-streets-in-last-fight-for-hong-kong-11560075915?mod=trending_now_1

HONG KONG—Demonstrators staged the biggest rally challenging China’s authority over the city since Britain ceded control in 1997, marching through streets for hours to protest a proposed law that would let Beijing take people across the border to stand trial in the mainland.

Organizers estimated more than a million people—almost one for every seven residents in the city—took to the streets to demand the city’s leaders and their political masters in Beijing shelve the law. Police estimated 240,000 protesters took part at the peak of Sunday’s march.A snaking crowd that included young families, students, professionals and the elderly streamed through the city, reflecting unprecedented and widespread opposition to the latest move by Beijing to bring the former colony to heel. Critics say the proposed law could be abused to target political dissidents and would expose citizens to the mainland’s more opaque legal system, where detainees could be unfairly jailed and abused.

Continue reading →
HOMELAND SECURITY Comments turned off

Students for Justice in Palestine Supporter Plotted Grenade Attack in Times Square

By on June 10th, 2019

https://www.frontpagemag.com/point/273961/students-justice-palestine-supporter-plotted-daniel-greenfield

Times Square has been a popular target for a number of Muslim terrorist plots and attacks.

The latest one was allegedly the work of Ashiqul Alam, a Muslim settler living in Queens.

Sources told CBS2 that Ashiqul Alam was taken into custody by the Joint Terrorism Task Force, which includes both the NYPD and FBI.

The 22-year-old man from Queens allegedly bought guns and wanted to use a suicide vest and grenades to attack Times Square to kill police officers and civilians.

Authorities say Alam bought two guns with their serial numbers removed from undercover agents.

“Mr. Alam discussed guns, suicide vests, hand grenades, and surveilled crowded New York targets such as Times Square”, said Police Commissioner James O’Neill. “Our job is to prevent these terrorist attacks whenever we can before they are carried out. This case is another example of the tightly-knit teamwork of the JTTF and the NYPD’s Intelligence Bureau. Mr. Alam is charged with illegally purchasing untraceable firearms from undercover officers. That was a clear indicator of his intent to move his plot forward.”

Authorities say Alam wanted to either attack Times Square or Washington D.C., with an eye toward killing a “senior government official.”

Alam reportedly went to Times Square for reconnaissance and made videos as he was researching potential targets.

Authorities say Alam underwent laser surgery to correct his vision and allegedly linked his decision to get surgery with his plot.

“Let’s say we are in an attack, right, say that my glasses fall off. What if I accidentally shoot you? You know what I mean. Imagine what the news channel would call me the ‘Looney Tunes Terrorist’ or the ‘Blind Terrorist,’” Alam allegedly said.

Continue reading →
HOMELAND SECURITY Comments turned off

ISIS at the Border Terrorist infiltration threat increases the stakes. Joseph Klein

By on June 10th, 2019

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/273971/isis-border-joseph-klein

The staggering numbers alone prove there is an unprecedented illegal immigration crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border. In just May of this year, 132,887 people were apprehended between ports of entry on the southwest border with Mexico, the highest monthly figure since March 2006. The number of U.S. Border Patrol southwest border apprehensions for the first 5 months of 2019 is more than 2.6 times greater than the number of apprehensions during the same period last year. “We are bursting at the seams,” Randy Howe, executive director of Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Field Operations, told reporters last week. “It’s unsustainable and this can’t continue.”

As far as open border Democrats are concerned, however, the only crisis at the U.S. border with Mexico is the plight of the many thousands of migrants themselves as they try to manipulate our loophole-ridden asylum system or otherwise try to enter the country illegally. The Democrat-controlled House of Representatives refuses to fix the asylum mess, or to provide monies for effective border security that must include barriers erected in vulnerable locations. Instead, they passed an amnesty bill last week for more than 2 million so-called “dreamers” whose parents brought them to this country illegally as children and individuals who had been designated for “Temporary Protected Status.”

Beyond the sheer number of illegal migrants overrunning the border and straining our resources, the surging flow of migrants traversing Mexico into the United States poses a serious national security risk. Open border Democrats could care less. They say not to worry about terrorists crossing the U.S.-Mexico border since no terrorist attack linked to such migration has happened yet. Beto O’Rourke said during a campaign rally, for example, “[Z]ero, precisely zero, terrorists, terrorist groups, or terror plots have ever been connected with the U.S.-Mexico border to do harm to people within the United States.” Proponents of such a pre-9/11 attitude are either clueless or, in the case of the radical left, are part of the red-green axis. 

Continue reading →
ISRAEL Comments turned off

GOOD NEWS FROM AMAZING ISRAEL FROM MICHAEL ORDMAN

By on June 10th, 2019

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com 

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
 
Treatment for genetic pancreatic cancer. Researchers at Israel’s Sheba Medical Center have had positive results in trials of Lynparza (olaparib) for treating pancreatic cancer in carriers of BRCA mutations. An international trial of 154 patients showed improved response, time to progression and quality of life.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-researchers-find-potential-hope-for-some-pancreatic-cancer-patients/
https://www.jpost.com/HEALTH-SCIENCE/Sheba-medical-team-finds-treatment-for-4th-leading-cause-of-cancer-death-591409  
 
New early test for Parkinson’s. Tel Aviv University scientists have discovered a new method for detecting the aggregation of the protein alpha-synuclein, before Parkinson’s symptoms appear. Doctors can then monitor how treatments affect this aggregation.
https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/TAU-unveils-new-method-for-detecting-delaying-Parkinsons-591602
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00401-019-02023-x
 
Transmitting neural messages to the next generation. Researchers at Tel Aviv University have identified a nervous system mechanism that can transmit neural messages to future generations. They showed that data on environmental factors are stored in brain cells (neurons) and expressed in germline genes to one’s children.
https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Israeli-study-Nervous-system-can-transmit-messages-to-future-generations-591795   https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-study-says-neurons-not-just-dna-can-affect-progenys-fate/
 
US approval for soft Exo-suit. Last week (see here) ReWalk’s soft exoskeleton received European (CE) approval.  This week, the US FDA approved the Israeli innovation. Things are “looking up” for stroke victims.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fda-issues-clearance-for-the-restore-exo-suit-the-first-soft-robotic-system-for-stroke-therapy-300861824.html
 
Tracking response to cancer treatment. Israel-based Techsomed develops an image analysis system that helps track tissue response to thermal ablation – the process of destroying tumors using extreme heat or cold. It works with ultrasound to simulate the effects over time and provide surgeons with better control and accuracy.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3763298,00.html
 
Israeli diet is good for the brain. I reported previously (14th Apr) that Israel has the lowest rate of diet-related deaths in the world.  Now, the American Academy of Neurology medical journal has found that the diet can also help preserve memory and thinking abilities.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/new-study-israeli-diet-not-only-healthy-also-preserves-memory/
 
Foolproof Ambulance inventory list. Three students from Jerusalem College of Technology won first prize at the college’s third annual Great Minds hackathon. They devised a system using sensors to eliminate human error when checking crucial inventory on ambulances before they are dispatched from their stations.
https://www.israel21c.org/jlem-hackathoners-hatch-bright-idea-for-ambulance-crews/

Continue reading →