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Russia names US as security threat By Rebecca Kheel

Posted By on January 3rd, 2016

Russian President Vladimir Putin calls the United States a threat to Russia’s national security in a New Year’s Eve official document.

Russia’s expanded role internationally has caused “counteraction from the USA and its allies, which are striving to retain their dominance in global affairs,” the document reads, according to Reuters.

The updated assessment, called “About the Strategy of National Security of Russian Federation,” is the latest sign of the tension between Moscow and the West.
The previous version, from 2009, mentions neither the United States nor its NATO allies, according to Reuters.

Relations between Moscow and the West soured after the Russian forces annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014. The West also accuses Russia of backing separatists in eastern Ukraine, which Russia denies.

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Arab Spring cleric Nimr al-Nimr among 47 executed by (Moderate) Saudi Arabia

Posted By on January 3rd, 2016

Saudi Arabia said Saturday it has executed 47 prisoners, including reformist Shiite cleric and activist Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.
Al-Nimr was a central figure in Shiite protests that erupted in 2011 as part of the Arab Spring, and carrying out his execution may spark new unrest among the OPEC powerhouse’s Shiite minority.

The cleric’s name was among a list of the 47 carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency. It cited the Interior Ministry for the information. Saudi state television also reported the executions.
Related: Crucifixion Sentence in Saudi Arabia Sparks Outcry
Saudi Arabia carried out at least 157 executions in 2015, with beheadings reaching their highest level in the kingdom in two decades, according to several advocacy groups that monitor the death penalty worldwide.

His 17-year-old nephew was sentenced to crucifixion earlier this year but was not among those put to death this time.
Maya Foa, a spokeswoman for rights group Reprieve, said 4 of the 47 executed were political prisoners.
“Last year saw Saudi Arabia execute over 150 people, many of them for non-violent offences,” she said. “This appalling news suggests 2016 could be even worse. Alarmingly, the Saudi Government is continuing to target those who have called for domestic reform in the kingdom.

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What Trump and FDR Have in Common Who said the “mingling of Asiatic blood with European or American blood produces, in nine cases out of ten, the most unfortunate results”? by Dr. Rafael Medoff

Posted By on January 3rd, 2016

Irate New York State residents, including a state senator and an assemblyman, are calling for the renaming of Donald J. Trump State Park, in Yorktown Heights. With his recent remarks about Mexicans and Muslims, Trump “has shown himself to be a bigot,” said the creator of an online petition urging the name change.
Just a few miles further up the Taconic State Parkway, however, is another state park named after a public figure who made disparaging remarks about various minority groups.
This other gentleman once complained to an interviewer that “the foreign elements” were failing to “conform to the manners and the customs” of most Americans. He believed the kind of immigrants that would benefit America would be Europeans with “blood of the right sort.” He warned that “the mingling of white with oriental blood on an extensive scale is harmful to our future citizenship.”
He also boasted that he helped bring about a quota on Jewish students admitted to Harvard; he worried about Jews “overcrowding the professions”; and he was convinced that “the best way to settle the Jewish question essentially is to spread the Jews thin all over the world.”
These may be the kind of sentiments many would imagine to have been expressed by Donald Trump, but in fact they were uttered by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd president of the United States.
It goes without saying that the differences between the two men are vast. It is a monumental understatement to note that FDR’s accomplishments as president dwarf Trump’s achievements as a real estate developer and entertainer. Yet in their attitudes toward foreigners and immigration, they had more in common than is generally realized.
Like many upper-class white Protestants of his time, FDR harbored a strong disdain for most immigrants—except for those with “blood of the right sort,” as he put it in a newspaper column he wrote in 1925. He advocated restricting immigration for “a good many years to come” and limiting subsequent immigration to those who could be most quickly and easily assimilated. How different is that from what Mr. Trump is currently advocating?

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EDWARD CLINE: INTERFAITH BRIDGES TO ISLAM

Posted By on January 3rd, 2016

Jewish and Christian clerics are fascinated with and entranced by the Islamic crocodile that smiles at them, unaware that sooner or later, the crocodile will attack and eat them, but not before drowning them in their own folly.

Writing as an atheist, I at first thought it would be difficult to comment on a specific part of Stephen Coughlin’s Catastrophic Failure: Blindfolding America in the Face of Jihad, which is Part XI: Interfaith Outreach (Appendix One, pp. 511-574). But Coughlin presents the subject in such clear terms that it was fascinating and definitely instructive to observe how the Islamic Movement ensnares Christians and Jews in “interfaith dialogue” for the Muslim Brotherhood’s own nefarious purposes. Much of the slithering methods of the interfaith dialogue promoted by various Islamic organizations, which can be viewed as a master template, can be seen in how Muslim “experts” in Islam are used to help American counter-intelligence formulate useless and vacuous analyses of threats by ISIS and al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups, which is also exhaustively detailed by Coughlin in his book.

Readers and fans of my novels know that I can mock any religion, but refrain from such business in real life because all those religions but one are not out of kill, convert, or subjugate me. They leave me alone, I leave them alone. Except for Mormon and Jehovah Witnesses door-knockers, who are mostly unsolicited pests. They’re not on my doorstep for long.

The exception is Islam.

The biggest beneficiary of postmodernism – that is, the broad movement of denial of the value and efficacy of reason – aside from the Democrats, aside from the “trigger warning” and “safe place” addicts, aside from the advocates of open borders, aside from the advocates of moral relativism, aside from gun-control advocates, aside from Black Lives Matter, aside from the assailants on the First Amendment, and etc., is Islam. In the suffocating, mind-stunting miasma of postmodernist thought and practice in Western culture, the biggest victor is and will continue to be Islam.

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GOOD NEWS FROM AMAZING ISRAEL FROM MICHAEL ORDMAN

Posted By on January 3rd, 2016

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

A treatment for migraine. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Teva is partnering with Japan’s Heptares to develop small-molecule calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) antagonists discovered by Heptares for the treatment of migraine. Migraine affects 36 million people in the United States and 10% of people worldwide.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/teva-pharmaceutical-idUKnBw255141a+100+BSW20151125

Brain link to diabetic foot ulcers. Researchers at Ben Gurion University have discovered that sufferers of diabetic foot ulcers frequently also have substantially impaired cognitive function. Systemic vascular changes affect the whole body including the feet, heart and brain. The researchers propose new treatment strategies.
http://aabgu.org/diabetic-foot-is-linked-to-cognitive-deterioration/

Unique brain imaging study with UCL. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Teva has begun a unique study with University College London (UCL) to use PET scans of the brain in order to analyze the role of inflammation of the brain on dementia and other neuro-degenerative diseases.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/teva-pharmaceutical-idUKnBw195738a+100+BSW20151119?type=companyNews

Portable ventilator is saving lives. The Israeli-invented Pocket BVM (Bag Valve Mask) mini-ventilator has saved US soldiers in Afghanistan and is now being used to treat thousands of people at disasters, as in Nepal. It is also carried on many El Al planes. (See http://www.israelifirstaid.com/ for other Israeli medical equipment)
http://www.timesofisrael.com/the-israeli-invented-device-thats-saving-american-lives-in-afghanistan/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJKO8jgQvwY http://microbvm.com/home

Transforming patient care. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Zebra Medical Vision has signed a multi-year agreement with Dell Services to deliver its screening and diagnostic decision support platform to hospitals worldwide. Zebra’s systems can identify patients at early risk of osteoporosis, cardiac disease, liver disease etc.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/dell-services-selects-zebra-medical-140500442.html

An app to lower your stress level. (TY SDM) Israeli startup Eco-Fusion has developed Serenita – an app that measures and can lower your stress level. Cover your smartphone lens with a finger to measure heartrate, blood flow, and respiration. Serenita’s 5-minute personalized breathing exercise then visibly reduces your stress.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4735610,00.html http://www.eco-fusion.com/serenita/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PGP7n-Sb_U

Safer ingredients. Israel’s Frutarom has launched a new line of natural food extracts compatible with new EU regulations prohibiting polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and other contaminants in food supplements. Frutarom’s patented EFLA HyperPure technology purifies raw materials susceptible to contamination by PAHs.
http://www.frutaromhealth.com/2015/12/02/closing-the-safety-gap-with-new-efla-hyperpure-line/

POLITICS Comments turned off

New Clinton emails reveal critiques from Israel-bashing son of adviser

Posted By on January 3rd, 2016

Sidney Blumenthal’s input to secretary included materials by his son Max, a self-described anti-Zionist who wrote a volume seen as the ‘I hate Israel’ handbook.

The State Department’s New Year’s Eve release of over 5,000 pages of former secretary of state and current Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton’s emails from her private server reveals correspondence with one-time adviser Sidney Blumenthal regarding Israel, with Blumenthal citing the work of his son, writer Max Blumenthal.

The younger Blumenthal, author of the book Goliath, is a fervent critic of Israeli policies and a self-described anti-Zionist. The senior Blumenthal referred his son’s work to the secretary of state, sending her transcripts and links to articles. On at least one occasion, Clinton appears to have asked that one of the younger Blumenthal’s articles be printed out in multiple copies for distribution.

The Times of Israel has previously reported on correspondence between Sidney Blumenthal and Clinton regarding Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The latest emails provide further insight into the opinions of the secretary’s confidant.

In March 2010, Blumenthal plugged his son’s work — this time, playing up links between evangelical Pastor John Hagee and Netanyahu — in the context of an article (written by a different writer) discussing a controversial Pentagon briefing on US relations with Israel and the Arab world.

The briefing had dealt with the lack of progress in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and American concerns over a growing perception among Arab leaders that the US was incapable of standing up to Israel.

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White House: more time needed for new Iran missile sanctions

Posted By on January 3rd, 2016

The White House expects Iran to finish work needed to trigger implementation of an international nuclear deal in the coming weeks, but Washington needs more time to prepare sanctions over its ballistic missile program, a U.S. official said on Saturday.
The administration had additional diplomatic and technical work to complete before announcing any new sanctions related to the missile program, but the delay was not a result of pressure from Tehran, said deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes.

“We have additional work that needs to be done before we would announce additional designations, but this is not something that we would negotiate with the Iranian government,” Rhodes told reporters in Hawaii, where President Barack Obama is on vacation.

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Never Enough Abortions in California By Wesley J. Smith

Posted By on January 2nd, 2016

California is such a pro-abortion state that:

1. It allows non-doctor nurse practitioners to terminate fetal life.

2. Its voters have twice refused to vote in a “parent notification” law, requiring that parents of underage girls be told–not approve, just notified–that their daughter had an abortion.

And now:

3. Crisis pregnancy centers–that help women choose to give birth by providing counseling and material support–will be required to post notices of where abortions can be obtained with phone numbers, as well as that they might be obtained for free.

A federal judge earlier ruled that such forced speech is peachy keen because the communication is simply “factual.” Now, a Court of Appeals is allowing the law to go into effect. From the San Francisco Chronicle story:

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Rahm Emanuel’s Cuban Vacation A mayor so bad he makes de Blasio look good By Matthew Continetti — January 2, 2016

Posted By on January 2nd, 2016

No doubt you, too, spent the holidays relishing the humiliation of Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, the overrated and obnoxious Democratic party hack who, finally, is teetering on the brink of political oblivion. How the former ballet dancer and Sarah Lawrence alumnus parlayed ambition and drive and the ability to scream like a lunatic into high office and a fortune of more than $10 million is one of the remarkable political stories of our time. “Emanuel has succeeded in almost every professional endeavor he has undertaken,” Ryan Lizza wrote approvingly in 2009. Spoke too soon.

How bad is Rahm Emanuel? He makes Bill de Blasio look good. He was forced into an unprecedented runoff before winning a second term last spring. In early December his approval rating was 18 percent. Protesters, including Democratic powerbroker Al Sharpton, want him to resign for the city’s withholding of video in the case of Laquan McDonald, a black teenager killed by a police officer in 2014. Gang violence is pervasive. Municipal finances are a wreck.

Normally one might be inclined to sympathize, however faintly, with a city manager out of his depth and at the mercy of events. Not in this case. And I suspect my reluctance to commiserate is widely shared among the very large class of people in Chicago, in D.C., in Los Angeles, and in New York who have been at the receiving end of one of Emanuel’s tantrums, or had to put up with his B.S., or pretended to excuse his loutishness and misplaced self-confidence as a funny, even endearing, quirk of personality. Emanuel has been wise to limit his screaming of obscenities to “private” interactions with colleagues or employees, so that this revolting side of him is discussed typically in profiles, giving the reader the feeling of being an “insider” who understands what it means to say, “That’s just Rahm being Rahm.”

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What Israel Does Wrong Israel needs to make the case for its own survival. Here’s how. By Josh Gelernter See note please

Posted By on January 2nd, 2016

I admire Josh Gelernter, but his prescription is shallow…when the world calls those who commit jihads against Israel “militants” and when headlines bruit senseless killings of civilians as Islamic jihad everywhere, but always omit those words when describing atrocities in Israel, and when they link barbaric attacks against Jews with “root causes and the occupation” and call every act of self defense by Israel “disproportionate”- it is hard to argue with words against vile anti-Antisemitism disguised as moral indignation…..rsk
Since last September, Israel has been suffering a wave of terrorist attacks that the press is calling the “Knife Intifada.” Palestinian terrorists have been murdering Israelis (and one teenage American tourist), mostly with knives, at a higher-than-normal rate — and the international consensus is that the murdered Israelis had it coming. Why? Because Israel is terrible at making its own case. Israel’s PR experts are as incompetent as its army is effective. Israel has allowed itself to become the bad guy in its daily struggle for survival.

Israel is losing the argument for its own existence.

Ezra Schwartz — the murdered American teenager — was shot to death while his car sat in traffic. He was from Massachusetts, and the New England Patriots wanted to memorialize him before a game, a week after every team in the NFL had memorialized the victims of the attacks in Paris. Evidently, the league’s front office had to approve the in memoriam statement, and someone decided the Patriots could say only that Ezra had been “gunned down nearly 5,500 miles from home, while studying abroad” — because saying he had been killed by a Palestinian terrorist in Israel would have been too controversial. It’s safe to say that if supporting Israel has become controversial among American football fans, something has gone very wrong.

The fact is, the case for Israel is simple. It could easily be made in a 90-second commercial, which Israel should be paying to air all over the civilized world.

The 90-second ad should start with a question: “Why do you hate Israel?”

“Because of the occupation of Palestinian Territories?”

“But in 2008,” it should say, “Israel offered Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas a deal in which a Palestinian State would be formed in the Gaza Strip and 93.7 percent of the West Bank. The missing 6.3 percent would be replaced by land swaps from Israel. Abbas turned the deal down, telling a reporter, ‘I did not agree. I rejected it out of hand.’