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AN EXTRAORDINARY WEEK IN ISRAEL

Posted By on August 16th, 2020

http://www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com

Nothing can top the announcement of the forthcoming establishment of full diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. And it is possible that there could be similar news from other Arab countries in the near future.

In comparison, some “merely” exceptional Israeli news items include the installation of an Israeli aircraft safety system at Qatar’s Hamad International Airport;  an Israeli hospital performing Phase 3 testing of the Russian Covid-19 vaccine; 3 new Israeli irrigation projects in India; Israeli electric vehicle charging systems for Europe and another major boost for Israel’s prospects in the Tour de France. Michael Ordman

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
 
Covid-19 passive vaccine cures 3 Israelis. Three of the first critical Covid-19 patients treated with the new IgG plasma-derived “passive vaccine” product developed by Israel’s Kamada and Hadassah Medical Center (reported here previously), have made a rapid recovery and have now been discharged from Hadassah hospital.
https://www.jpost.com/health-science/first-3-israelis-treated-with-new-passive-vaccine-recover-leave-hospital-638431
 
Pluristem’s Covid-19 Phase 2 Germany trial. Israel’s Pluristem Therapeutics (reported here previously) has been approved by German’s health regulatory authority to conduct a Phase 2 clinical trial of its PLX PAD stem cells on 40 serious Covid-19 patients. Pluristem is already conducting a 140-patient Phase 2 trial in the US.
https://www.pluristem.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/PEI-Clearance-to-Commence-Phase-II-Study-in-Germany-FINAL-FOR-RELEASE.pdf
 
Previous TB vaccinations help young Covid-19 patients. Researchers at Israel’s Ben Gurion and Hebrew Universities have found that vaccinations given against Tuberculosis (BCGs) in the last 15 years reduced death rates and infection rates in COVID-19 patients under 24 years of age. Data from 55 countries was analyzed.
https://unitedwithisrael.org/israeli-corona-discovery-tuberculosis-shots-could-help-fight-covid-19/
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/8/3/378
 
Hadassah tests Russia’s Covid-19 vaccine. Professor Zeev Rotstein, CEO of Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center, has revealed that its clinic in Skolkovo, Moscow is involved in clinical safety trials of the new Russian Covid-19 vaccine. Phase 3 trials are still ongoing, even while Russia’s President Putin inoculated his family.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israels-hadassah-says-its-involved-in-development-of-russian-covid-19-vaccine/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfDMrlsQJl8
 
The Israeli at Moderna’s vaccine project. This 30-minute video features Israel’s Dr. Tal Zaks – chief medical officer of Moderna, a front-runner in the race for a COVID-19 vaccine. He summarizes the progress of the latest trial, and how his education at BGU’s Joyce and Irving Goldman Medical School shaped his career.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhn_MX7XhUE
 
Approval to test treatment for advanced cancer. Israel’s KAHR Medical has received US FDA approval to begin Phase 1 & 2 clinical (human) trials of its DSP107 treatment of advanced solid tumors (reported here previously). The trials will assess DSP107 both by itself and in combination with Roche’s atezolizumab.
https://www.jpost.com/health-science/fda-gives-jerusalem-based-company-go-ahead-to-start-cancer-drug-trials-638355   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2NLNV3CB2U  https://kahr-medical.com/technology/pipeline/
 
Stress relief pre surgery reduces metastatic risk. Tel Aviv University researchers reduced secondary cancer following colorectal tumor removal. Deralin and Etopan were given before and after surgery. 3 years later the cancer had spread significantly less than in a control group. Now pancreatic cancer patients will be tested.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-08/afot-tau080720.php (latest trial)
https://english.m.tau.ac.il/news/cancer-stress (2017 trial on breast cancer patients)
 
Moses 2.0 launched. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel-headquartered Lumenis (reported here previously) has launched a superior version 2.0 of its Moses platform for minimal and non-invasive laser removal of urinary (bladder) stones and other stones.  https://lumenis.com/medical/holmium-products/lumenis-moses-pulse-120h/
https://lumenis.com/medical/specialties/urology/resource-hub/lumenis-launches-next-generation-moses-2-0-holmium-laser-technology/   
 
Home ultrasound for pregnant Israelis. Israeli healthcare provider Clalit, with 4.6 million Israeli members, has authorized the use of the PulseNmore home ultrasound device (see here) for expectant mothers. It will reduce numbers of unnecessary hospital visits (average two per pregnancy) during the Covid-19 pandemic.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/clalit-to-offer-pregnant-members-startup-pulsenmores-at-home-ultrasound-kit/   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLskCQS79P4
 
From drip irrigation to diagnosing diseases. Kibbutz Hatzerim is famous for founding drip-irrigation innovator Netafim. It has now co-founded Picodya – developer of the B-Matrix in vitro diagnostics (IVD) platform. B-Matrix gives 15-30min test results for cancer, cardiac dysfunction and viruses (including Covid).
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3844490,00.html   https://picodya.com/
https://picodya.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/PicodyaBMatrixTechnology.mp4
 
Signs of the times. The vital signs monitoring tool from Israel’s Binah.ai (reported here previously) is to be used by 4 Japanese companies. NTT Data – Health Data Bank; Alm’s MySOS – emergencies & new Covid-19 cases; Macnica Networks – monitoring Covid-19 re-infections; SOMPO – insurance policyholder checkups.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3844709,00.html
 
Canon partners Zebra. Israel’s Zebra Medical Vision (reported here previously) has partnered with American radiology system distributor, Canon Medical Systems USA (part of the Canon empire). Zebra’s disease analysis platform will be made available to many more locations across the United States.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3844686,00.html
https://us.medical.canon/news/press-releases/2020/08/11/3390/
 
 

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INTERMISSION- NO POSTINGS UNTIL MONDAY AUGUST 17

Posted By on August 14th, 2020

Weekend break with no internet

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Report: Kamala Harris Already Vetting VP Picks

Posted By on August 14th, 2020

https://babylonbee.com/news/report-kamala-harris-already-vetting-vp-picks

U.S.—Supporters of Kamala Harris have been eagerly awaiting an announcement on who her VP pick will be when she takes over as president approximately 5 minutes after Joe Biden is inaugurated. According to sources close to the campaign, she is already vetting possible candidates for the job. 

“I am proud to announce I will soon be announcing my pick for Vice President of the United States,” said Harris. “We have searched all across this great land. While I cannot yet confirm who my pick will be, I can say this: my pick for VP will be even MORE of a woman and even MORE of color than I am. It will be the most colorful and womanly team ever!” She then threw her head back and cackled maniacally.

ELECTIONS Comments turned off

Biden’s Ukraine Problem Isn’t Going Away By Julie Kelly

Posted By on August 14th, 2020

https://amgreatness.com/2020/08/13/bidens-ukraine-problem-isnt-going-away/

Plenty of Biden bombshells could come to light through Senator Ron Johnson’s committee, the Justice Department, and conservative media over the next several weeks.

The public is mostly unaware that a key motive behind the Democrats’ impeachment effort was to criminalize any interest in the Biden family’s shady dealings with the persistently corrupt country of Ukraine. As damaging news coverage of Hunter Biden’s multimillion dollar gig with Burisma, the troubled Ukrainian energy company, escalated in the fall of 2019 and threatened to derail Joe Biden’s third run for the presidency, the Biden campaign declared open season on journalists.

A Biden spokeswoman lashed out at the New York Times for publishing “malicious claims” about her boss and his son; the campaign warned social media companies not to run ads featuring the infamous clip of Biden bragging about trading U.S. foreign aid in exchange for the firing of a prosecutor investigating Burisma. The fervor quickly died down after Democrats successfully changed the subject, building an impeachment case against President Trump that portrayed his brief mention of the Bidens during a phone call with the Ukrainian president as “election interference.”

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Slain DHS Whistleblower Philip Haney Not Resting in Peace Is the FBI withholding evidence until after the election? Lloyd Billingsley

Posted By on August 14th, 2020

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/08/slain-dhs-whistleblower-philip-haney-not-resting-lloyd-billingsley/

Through his work in the Middle East, Philip Haney gained deep knowledge of Islam, jihad, and terrorist networks around the world. In 2016, Philip Haney authored See Something Say Nothing: A Homeland Security Officer Exposes the Government’s Submission to Jihad. Haney was reportedly at work on a sequel, which has yet to appear.

On February 21, 2020, Haney was found dead from a gunshot wound in Amador County, California. Haney’s friends denied he was suicidal, and some were certain he had been murdered. CNN set the tone for the way establishment media would cover the case.

“Haney’s controversial accusations that the Obama administration could have prevented terrorist attacks were polarizing among Americans,” Laura Hoy reported on February 23. Hoy had no take on whether Haney’s accusations were true, and she included no citations from Haney’s book or his Frontpage articles such as, “Deobond Attacks in San Bernardino, Sri Lanka,” and “The Terrorist Ties that Bind.”

As Hoy explained, “Haney’s death is likely to become political ammo for Republicans heading into the 2020 presidential elections.” That raises questions about another key player in the case.

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Why Trump Should Win And why the stakes couldn’t be higher. Bruce Thornton

Posted By on August 14th, 2020

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/08/why-trump-should-win-bruce-thornton/

Less than three months from election day, Democrats and NeverTrump Republicans keep telling us (and themselves) that President Trump “is in trouble” in his bid for reelection. Trump’s enemies chant poll numbers like incantations, even though that juju failed spectacularly in 2016. They harp on Trump’s media-manufactured “failures” like his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and his response to the ongoing riots instigated by Black Lives Matter and its Antifa brown-shirts. And as has been true from the start, the bulk of their criticisms are really about subjective and self-serving standards of “comportment” and “decorum” and “norms”  that reflect the bipartisan “cognitive elite” and big-government functionaries.

But a more sober analysis suggests that the president has a faithful and energized base and a record of accomplishment compared to the Dems’ lunge to the lunatic left. Moreover, the spectacle of civic destruction, increasing violent crime, and nakedly partisan and authoritarian excesses on the part of blue-state governors and mayors will give Trump a decided edge with the bulk of ordinary Americans.

First, Trump’s economic success has been stalled not because of any missteps by his administration, but by a pandemic originating in totalitarian China and worsened by its willful obscuring of the virus’s origins and lethality. Voters with common sense and fairness know that the current recession is not Trump’s fault, and that having rescued the economy once, he can do so again. They also can see that blue-state governors have needlessly exacerbated the economic damage by imposing draconian and arbitrary lockdown orders based not on science, but on their increasingly obvious desire to wound the president politically even if it means immiserating their own citizens.

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America’s (Current) Suicide Attempt By Gideon Isaac

Posted By on August 14th, 2020

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2020/08/americas_current_suicide_attempt.html

It’s tempting to look on current events as unprecedented, with divisions as deep as at any time since the Civil War.  An antidote to this ahistorical view is to read (or re-read) historian Paul Johnson’s 1983 Modern Times — especially the chapters titled “American’s Suicide Attempt” and “The Collective Seventies.” Moreover, what we are experiencing now, as a renewed suicide attempt gains traction, can be seen as a direct result of those policies and the misconceptions that produced them.   As Johnson sees it, a good part of the suicide attempt stemmed from the Vietnam War and the attempt by another Johnson, President Lyndon Johnson, to eradicate poverty.  

As historian Johnson sees it, President Johnson believed in the boundless capacity of the American economy to deliver.  While President Kennedy found it difficult to educate congress in his social spending ideas, to honor his memory, in the wake of his assassination in 1963, Johnson was able to pass bills to fund “The Great Society.”

 Johnson writes:

The danger of the kind of welfare state Johnson was creating was that it pushed people out of the productive economy permanently and made them dependents of the state.   Poverty increased when families split up, either by old people living apart or by divorce.   Legislation often promoted these processes.

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At Least 100,000 Victims of Modern Slavery Just in UK by Judith Bergman

Posted By on August 14th, 2020

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16265/modern-slavery-britain

According to the report, despite the scale of the crimes, prosecutions have barely increased…

“This is a systemic issue that is borne out of poor regulation, poor legislation and exploitation at every level. You have to ask yourself who actually has the power to change this? And that buck stops with government”. — Adam Clarke, deputy mayor of Leicester, Sky News, July 13, 2020.

The protesters of historical slavery could well be wearing clothes produced by the marginalized, victimized modern slaves who have no access to the justice and equality for which the protesters claim to be fighting.

It is telling that both public and private resources, as well as endless media coverage, are being dedicated to the issue of “racist statues” and historical slavery, while the plight of living, suffering modern slaves — an issue that needs tremendous effort to be tackled to even some degree — barely interests anyone.

A new British report, “It Still Happens Here: Fighting UK Slavery in the 2020s”, by The Modern Slavery Policy Unit, a joint initiative led by the anti-slavery charity Justice and Care and The Centre for Social Justice, has estimated that “there could be at least 100,000 victims [of modern slavery] in the UK, with the actual number likely to be even greater”.

According to the report:

“Many thousands of children, women and men of all nationalities and backgrounds — including a growing number of British citizens — continue to be trafficked and exploited for profit by ruthless criminal networks. They are tricked, taken and coerced into sexual slavery, crime, hard labour and domestic servitude. Forced addictions are increasingly used as methods of control”.

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IN MEMORY OF HELEN FREEDMAN

Posted By on August 14th, 2020

I knew and appreciated  Helen Freedman  the co-Executive Director of Americans For a Safe Israel (AFSI) for decades. We spoke recently, and weakened as she was, she never lost that particular fight and determination to support Israel and its legitimate and historic claim to sovereignty in Judea and Samaria. She walked the walk in countless visits and missions to the whole area and especially to Hebron, the first capital of the Jewish people. She was buried there yesterday.

My condolences to Judy Kadish, Helen’s daughter and co-Director of AFSI, to Charlie, to her son, to her wonderful brother and sister-in law. Your great loss is shared by thousands and all present and past members of Americans for A Safe Israel. Her memory is a blessing.

Ruth King

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The UAE-Israel Peace Accord: Walk over Talk Ambassador (Ret.) Yoram Ettinger

Posted By on August 14th, 2020

https://bit.ly/3ame0hg

Israel’s regional posture of deterrence and global high tech prominence have motivated the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to conclude the August 13, 2020 peace accord with Israel.

The same Israeli features have prompted the pro-US Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait, as well as Jordan and Egypt, to dramatically expand their security and commercial cooperation with Israel.

The UAE considers strategic cooperation with Israel, in general, and the peace accord, in particular, a critical added-value to its line of defense (second only to the US) against lethal threats such as Iran’s conventional and terror offensive, persistent Muslim Brotherhood terrorism, ISIS and Al Qaeda terrorism, Turkey’s operational and logistic support of the Muslim Brotherhood and Turkey’s military base (5,000 soldiers) in the pro-Iran Qatar. The UAE, as well as all other pro-US Arab regimes, recognize Israel as the most effective and reliable “life insurance agent” in the region.    

These rogue elements have become regional and global epicenters of Islamic terrorism and drug trafficking in Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe, North and Central Africa, South and Central America, with sleeper cells in the US.

Israel’s posture of deterrence and growing cooperation with all pro-US Arab regimes has spared the US the need to deploy more aircraft carriers and ground forces in the Middle East and neighboring regions.

The UAE has become a leader in the Arab battle against global Islamic terrorism (following years of UAE financing Islamic terrorism), targeting 82 Islamic terror organizations, which operate in Germany, Norway, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, the Persian Gulf, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Tunisia, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, etc.