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Everyone is Talking about Zemmour A Discussion with Nidra Poller By Jerry Gordon

Posted By on December 7th, 2021

https://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm?frm=190971&sec_id=190971

France’s Jewish community—Europe’s largest—is confronting the rise of Eric Zemmour, a columnist, TV personality, bestselling author, and undeclared candidate in the April 2022 French Presidential elections. Paris-born son of Algerian-Jewish-Berber background whose parents came to mainland France in 1952, he trades in controversial assertions that have caught a wave of enthusiastic support: The “Grand Replacement,” the replacement of French culture and civilization by an immigrant Muslim population; that Maréchal Pétain saved French Jews by sacrificing foreign Jews; that Captain Dreyfus was more German than French, and others. Zemmour’s insensitive comments about the burial in Israel of several French-Jewish victims of antisemitic murders was a low point in a flow of ambiguous statements condemned by the President of the French Jewish CRIF and the Chief Rabbi of France.

        Zemmour has been polling ahead of Marine Le Pen of the far-right Rassemblement National, reaching a peak of 18-19% versus 15 to 16% —capturing some of her base with his French nationalist and anti-Muslim immigration memes. Current polls indicate he might make the Second Round in contention with incumbent French President Macron, who is shown winning re-election against all currently known candidates.

        On the commemoration of the sixth anniversary of the November 13th, 2015, Islamic terror attack, Zemmour showed up at the Bataclan theater where 90 people—of the more than 130—were savagely massacred that day and accused former President Hollande of “criminal negligence” for letting the attackers slip in with the wave of Syrian refugees. Survivors and families of victims were outraged at the political exploitation of their distress.

        These developments come amid the judgment in the case of the savage anti-Semitic murder, in 2018, of 85-year Mirelle Knoll, who narrowly escaped deportation in July 1942. Yacine Mihoub was sentenced to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole before 22 years. His accomplice, Alex Carrimbacus, received a 15-year sentence for aggravated theft. Mihoub’s mother, Zouliikha Khellaf was sentenced to three years in prison, with two years suspended, for cleaning and hiding the bloodied knife used by her son to slit Mirelle Knol’s throat, slashing her 11 times before setting her body on fire. The victim’s sons, Alain, and Daniel, were “greatly relieved” by the judgment. Their lawyer, Gilles-William Goldnadel, tweeted; “Justice has been done and well done.”

        Still outstanding is the case of the brutal antisemitic murder, in April 2017, of Sarah Halimi, at the hands of her drug-addled Muslim neighbor, Kobili Traoré. The highest court (Cassation) rejected all appeals and sustained the judgment of the lower court that Traoré was unfit to stand trial. An ongoing and very thorough parliamentary investigation is bringing to light the judicial errors in this case.

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The Demonization of Rosanne Boyland Begins Boyland may not have many defenders at this point, but the truth eventually will do the talking for her. By Julie Kelly

Posted By on December 7th, 2021

https://amgreatness.com/2021/12/06/the-demonization-of-rosanne-boyland-begins/

Yet another lie animating the phony narrative about the events at the Capitol complex on January 6 is about to be exposed: the falsehood that Rosanne Boyland, a Trump supporter from Georgia, died of an accidental drug overdose that day.

As American Greatness has reported for months, incriminating video footage and firsthand witness accounts instead support numerous allegations that D.C. Metro and Capitol police contributed to, if they did not directly cause, Boyland’s death in the late afternoon of January 6. 

Boyland’s family reportedly has hired an attorney to investigate the circumstances of her death at the age of 34; the D.C Medical Examiner’s Office issued a report in April disclosing the cause of death of four Trump supporters who died on January 6 during what the coroner called “an unprecedented incident of civil insurrection.” It determined Boyland had succumbed to “acute amphetamine intoxication.”

But it’s increasingly obvious that the ruling is untrue. (The same D.C. Medical Examiner’s office intentionally delayed the results of Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick’s autopsy; even after confirming Sicknick had died of a stroke caused by blood clots, the coroner nonetheless insisted the chaos at the Capitol protest “played a role in his condition.”)

With the potential release of three hours of security camera footage that recorded exactly what happened inside the lower west terrace tunnel—the location where Boyland died—on January 6, law enforcement officials could face fierce public scrutiny for their behavior that day. It’s only a slice of the 14,000 hours of surveillance video captured by the Capitol Police department’s closed-circuit television system that Joe Biden’s Justice Department is hiding under protective orders, deemed “highly sensitive” government material.

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Biden Invites Pro-Taliban Pakistan to “Democracy Summit” Daniel Greenfield

Posted By on December 7th, 2021

https://www.frontpagemag.com/point/2021/12/biden-invites-pro-taliban-pakistan-democracy-daniel-greenfield/

A day after the Taliban seized power in Kabul and President Ashraf Ghani fled the war-torn country, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said Afghans have “broken the chains of slavery in the country.”

Doesn’t stop Pakistan from getting an invite to Biden’s Democracy Summit.

Even Foreign Policy mag and the Washington Post both note that being a democracy doesn’t seem to be a requirement for participating in Biden’s democracy summit.

No one can actually articulate how the attendees are in any way consistently democratic.

 “Inclusion or an invitation is not a stamp of approval on their approach to democracy,” Jen Psaki argued.

Then why bother and why call it a democracy summit at all? Call it an international ice cream social.

But, despite Biden inviting Pakistan, Osama’s pals aren’t sure they actually intend to virtually show up.

Pakistani decision-makers are holding extensive consultations on whether to attend the virtual summit on democracy convened by US President Joe Biden this week, as certain issues are making it difficult for Islamabad to make the final call.

Official sources, however, said the decision would be announced soon. The Foreign Office is tight-lipped over the subject, while diplomatic sources have told The Express Tribune that the White House is still waiting for Pakistan’s official response to the invitation.

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The funny feminist angle to Gilat Bennett’s defiance of her husband’s Omicron plea: Ruthie Blum

Posted By on December 7th, 2021

https://www.jns.org/opinion/the-funny-feminist-angle-to-gilat-bennetts-defiance-of-her-husbands-omicron-plea/

It’s not clear which of the two women who aroused the ire of the Israeli public last week received the lioness’s share of contempt. It was definitely a tough competition between Gilat Bennett, wife of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, and Channel 12 broadcast journalist Dana Weiss.

The brouhaha began when it was announced last Wednesday that Mrs. Bennett was taking the couple’s four children on a vacation abroad. This wouldn’t have elicited a yawn, let alone nationwide resentment, had the news not come less than a week after the premier urged the public to avoid traveling overseas.

Naftali Bennett’s request that we all sit tight until further research is done on the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus followed his Cabinet’s decision to forbid entry into the country of foreign nationals—with some exceptions, of course, including all the contestants arriving to compete in the “Miss Universe” pageant on Dec. 12 in Eilat.
Yes, while thousands of tourists and family members of Israeli residents were forced suddenly to cancel their flights to Ben-Gurion Airport—with no prior warning and great confusion surrounding refunds and rescheduling—beauty queens from some 80 parts of the world were ushered in, no problem.

Still, the closure wasn’t imposed on Israelis entering or exiting the country, though the PCR-testing and quarantine rules for them were to be tightened. Nor were pre-planned Hanukkah parties and other events canceled or even curtailed, save for a tweak in the number of people allowed in closed spaces.

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China and Russia Race Ahead of America America twiddles its thumbs while its enemies develop anti-satellite capabilities and hypersonic missiles. Caroline Glick

Posted By on December 7th, 2021

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2021/12/china-and-russia-race-ahead-america-caroline-glick/

Over the past several weeks a hard truth has become undeniable: The United States of America is no longer the all-powerful superpower it has been since the end of the Cold War. Far from it. The strategic implications of this state of affairs are profound, for both the United States and its allies.

A nation’s position in the global pecking order is based on two things—its capabilities and its credibility. America’s capabilities have diminished in a stunning way relative to its superpower competitors. And so has its credibility.

For over a generation, U.S. leaders eschewed “the weaponization of space.” But as they congratulated themselves on their restraint, the Chinese and the Russians weaponized space.

On Nov. 16, Russia launched a surface-to-air missile into space that destroyed an antiquated Cosmos spy satellite located dangerously close to the International Space Station. The satellite exploded into 1,500 pieces, all of which were large enough to imperil the space station and the eight astronauts (including two Russians) on board. NASA responded with a nasty condemnation.

This brings us to China.

China’s anti-satellite program is far vaster than Russia’s. China has missiles capable of destroying satellites, and it fields laser and jamming technologies capable of blocking satellite communications. Last month, China raised its anti-satellite capabilities several notches with its launch of “Shijian-21.” “Shijian-21” is a satellite with a robotic arm the Chinese claim is geared towards cleaning “space junk.”

U.S. Air Force Gen. James Dickinson has a different, more plausible explanation for the arm’s purpose. Speaking to Congress in April, Dickenson said, “Space-based robotic arm technology could be used in a future system for grappling other satellites.”

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The Decline and Fall of Kamala Harris She thought she was a queen, but she was only a pawn. Daniel Greenfield

Posted By on December 7th, 2021

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2021/12/decline-and-fall-kamala-harris-daniel-greenfield/

The end of the Obama era renewed the civil war between the Democrat establishment and the Socialist insurgents. Hillary Clinton, the establishment woman whose loss to Obama had inaugurated 8 years of insurgent rule, faced down a new challenge from the Sanders nsurgency.

The next round of the fight in 2020 was a virtual draw with black voters choosing Biden and white lefties backing Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. The Biden administration was a compromise between both wings of the party. Its senior members are establishment while many of their juniors are Warren allies or linked to the Congressional Black Caucus.

Biden was a useful compromise candidate because his age and mental condition made him a “one-and-done” politician whose administration would take the hit by implementing radical policies and coping with the political fallout from the pandemic and runaway inflation.

Except that Biden, who keeps promising to run again, doesn’t seem to know it.

The only member of his administration who is even more clueless than Joe is Kamala. The compromise that put her in the White House was the most misguided one of them all.

Biden had promised the Congressional Black Caucus a black female veep. The CBC wanted one of its own, particularly Rep. Karen Bass, but considering her Castro sympathies and general leftist radicalism, that would have meant writing off Florida and the rest of America.

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So much for ‘the tragedy of the treadmill delayed’ in supply chain crisis — FDA warns of 100 vital drug shortages By Monica Showalter

Posted By on December 7th, 2021

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2021/12/so_much_for_the_tragedy_of_the_treadmill_delayed_in_supply_chain_crisis__fda_warns_of_100_vital_drug_shortages.html

Over at the White House, the ongoing supply chain fiasco, which has left dozens of cargo ships stranded near West Coast ports awaiting offloads, is considered something of a joke.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki came under fire on Tuesday after joking that it’s a “tragedy” some people may have to wait longer for their treadmill to arrive amid the supply-chain crisis that has disrupted global economies.

“The tragedy of the treadmill delayed,” Ms. Psaki laughed when pressed about the supply-chain crisis during her daily press briefing.

Well, now we’re learning what’s really going on here from JustTheNews:

More than 100 pharmaceutical drugs are facing supply chain shortages, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned.

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Remote Learning Fails the Test New research finds student scores fell more sharply where virtual learning was prevalent.

Posted By on December 7th, 2021

https://www.wsj.com/articles/remote-learning-fails-the-test-nber-study-schools-11638463245?mod=opinion_lead_pos2

Accumulating evidence shows the damage of school shutdowns. Now a working paper published in the National Bureau of Economic Research documents how much remote learning reduced student achievement, especially for low-income and minority children.

The researchers—from Brown University, University of Nebraska-Lincoln and MIT—examine the relationship between in-person learning and third- through eighth-grade student scores in 12 states. They found that the share of students who scored “proficient” or above declined in spring 2021 compared to previous years by an average of 14.2 percentage points in math and 6.3 percentage points in language arts.

What’s more, “these declines were larger in districts with less in-person instruction,” the authors note. For example, they found that “offering full in-person instruction rather than fully hybrid or virtual instruction reduces test score losses in math by 10.1 percentage points (on the base of 14.2 percentage points).” In language arts, the losses for full in-person instruction were cut by 3.2 percentage points. In short, remote and hybrid instruction were linked to two to three times more learning loss.

Losses in language arts were “significantly larger in districts with larger populations of students who are Black, Hispanic or eligible for free and reduced price lunch,” the researchers note. This isn’t surprising since lower-income parents may not have had the time or financial means to provide additional academic support to children. But here’s the kicker: The study also found that districts with lower test scores and more black students also offered less in-person learning.

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The U.S. Needs a Hypersonic Capability Now Washington mothballed its program just as Beijing made developing the technology a priority. By Arthur Herman

Posted By on December 7th, 2021

https://www.wsj.com/articles/america-needs-a-hypersonic-capability-china-xi-beijing-missile-weapons-attack-defense-budget-11638827597?mod=opinion_lead_pos5

Eighty years ago, imperial Japan used a technology first developed by the U.S. and the U.K.—carrier-based bombing and torpedo attacks—to cripple the American Navy at Pearl Harbor. Americans must now wonder whether China is setting the stage for another devastating attack on American forces using another U.S.-pioneered technology: hypersonic missiles.

China’s July 2021 test of a hypersonic missile was literally a shot “around the world,” according to Gen. John Hyten, the departing vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “It went around the world, dropped off a hypersonic glide vehicle that glided all the way back to China, that impacted a target in China,” he told CBS News. When asked why China was developing this advanced technology, Gen. Hyten replied, “They look like a first-use weapon. That’s what those weapons look like to me.”

Hypersonic weapons don’t follow a single trajectory like ballistic missiles. They can twist and turn on their way to a target, while their incredibly high speeds—above Mach 5, or a mile a second—make it impossible for existing land- and space-based systems to detect a hypersonic attack until very late in the missile’s flight path. It also isn’t clear whether current U.S. command-and-control systems can process data fast enough to respond to a head-on hypersonic threat.

China tested a second nuclear-capable missile carrying a hypersonic glide vehicle on Aug. 13. This means that Beijing is surging ahead with a technology against which the U.S. has very limited capability for defense or detection.

The shame is that the U.S. has been the primary developer of hypersonic vehicles, going back to the X-15 program in the 1960s. According to Mike Griffin, a former undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, the U.S. effectively shut down its hypersonic effort in the mid-2010s—while China made hypersonics a Manhattan Project-level priority. As a result, Gen. Hyten told the website BreakingDefense.com in October, China has performed “hundreds” of tests of hypersonic weapons in the past five years, while the U.S. has conducted nine.

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Ira Gershwin at 125 The famed lyricist made the American vernacular sing. By John Edward Hasse

Posted By on December 7th, 2021

https://www.wsj.com/articles/ira-gershwin-george-gershwin-great-american-songbook-porgy-and-bess-11638816267?mod=opinion_reviews_pos2

Lennon & McCartney. Rodgers & Hammerstein. Gilbert & Sullivan. Creative collaboration in songwriting comes in many shapes. None was more singular than that of composer George Gershwin and lyricist Ira, his older brother. Their mutual trust, respect and love made them deeply compatible creators. Ira’s words and George’s music melded into hundreds of sparkling songs, such as “The Man I Love” and “Embraceable You.”

Ira penned clever, virtuosic lyrics for their pieces. Falling in love was one of his favorite subjects, as in this stanza combining wit, whimsy and sentiment:

In time the Rockies may crumble,

Gibraltar may tumble

(They’re only made of clay),

But—our love is here to stay.

Although one of America’s pre-eminent lyricists, Ira has been overshadowed by George’s brilliance, fame and effervescent persona. George lapped up the limelight; Ira shunned it.