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September 2018

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Long-Time Friend of Christine Blasey Ford Contradicts Her on Party By Mairead McArdle

By on September 23rd, 2018

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/christine-blasey-ford-friend-contradicts-her-on-party/

A friend of the woman who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault has denied that she was at the party where the alleged assault occurred.

The Senate Judiciary Committee reached out to Leland Ingham Keyser, a friend of Christine Blasey Ford. Ford claims Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed when he was drunk, covered her mouth, and tried to remove her clothing at a party in the early 1980s when they were in high school.

Keyser’s lawyer, Howard Walsh, responded to the committee late Saturday in a written statement.

“Simply put, Ms. Keyser does not know Mr. Kavanaugh and she has no recollection of ever being at a party or gathering where he was present, with, or without, Dr. Ford,” the attorney wrote.

Keyser — a lifelong friends of Ford’s according to Walsh — is the third individual to deny suggestions that they were at the alleged party. Mark Judge and Patrick J. Smyth have also issued statements rejecting Ford’s recollection.

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WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

“We Are Bigger than Your Jesus!” Extremist Persecution of Christians, by Raymond Ibrahim

By on September 23rd, 2018

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13014/persecution-christians-march

If any measure of peace between Muslims and Christians is to prevail, no church can exist in the village, local Muslims said. “The only houses of worship that can ever be built in this village are Muslim places of worship for Allah.” — Watan International, Egypt.

“The Al Shabaab are now hunting down the children in Mogadishu, and we have moved the care center to a bit safer location…. The children look devastated and malnourished, so we as a secret church do appeal to our brothers and sisters in the free world to consider extending a hand to these persecuted children.” — Pastor of an underground church, Somalia.

“[I]t seems that the Muslims intentionally wanted to pick a fight with us.” — Pastor of King Jesus Church, Pakistan.

Muslim Slaughter of Christians

Pakistan: In a Lahore hospital, a throng of Muslim doctors, security guards, and medical staff beat Christian family members — one to death — because they tried to prevent another doctor from beating their pregnant sister. According to Anil Saleem, the pregnant woman’s brother, once they took her to the emergency labor ward at Services Hospital:

“Kiran [the pregnant woman] went to the doctor on duty, Dr. Saira, who was playing with her cell phone while sipping on tea. Dr. Saira told Kiran to wait outside until she finished her tea. We waited for some time, but since Kiran was experiencing severe pain, she again went inside the ward to request for immediate attention.”

The doctor instantly began cursing the pregnant woman for bothering her. “When my sister protested against the rude behavior, the doctor started slapping her, throwing her on the floor. She asked my sister how dare a Chuhri [a derogatory term for Christians] question her order?” On hearing the commotion, Anil, his brother, brother-in-law and a cousin entered the ward. Once she saw them, Dr. Saira shouted to the other doctors and security guards to lock the ward’s doors from the inside and “teach these Christians a lesson,” continued Anil: “Around 15 to 20 paramedical staff and security guards and eight to 10 young doctors … lunged at us with iron rods, chairs, leather belts and other things and started beating us.” The men were severely injured.

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ANTI-SEMITISM Comments turned off

Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) guide for the perplexed, 2018 Yoram Ettinger

By on September 23rd, 2018

1. US-Israel special ties are accentuated by Columbus Day (October 8, 2018), which is always celebrated around Sukkot (September 24-30, 2018). According to “Columbus Then and Now” (Miles Davidson, 1997, p. 268), Columbus landed in America on Friday afternoon, October 12, 1492, the 21st day of the Jewish month of Tishrei, in the Jewish year 5235, on the 7th day of Sukkot, Hosha’na’ Rabbah – a day of special universal deliverance and miracles. Hosha’ (הושע) is “deliverance” in Hebrew, Na’ (נא) is the Hebrew word for “please” and Rabbah (רבה) is “The Sublime.” The numerical value of Na’ in Hebrew is 51 (נ – 50, א – 1), which corresponds to the celebration of Hoshaa’na’ Rabbah on the 51st day following Moses’ ascension up to Mt. Sinai.

2. Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles named after the first stop during the Exodus from Egypt, the town of Sukkota (סכותה) – Exodus 13:20-22 and Numbers 33:3-5.
It commemorates the transition of the Jewish people from bondage in Egypt to sovereignty in the Land of Israel; from nomadic life in the desert to permanence in the Promised Land; from oblivion to deliverance; and from the spiritual state-of-mind during the High Holidays to the mundane of the rest of the year. Sukkot aims at universal – not only Jewish – deliverance.

3. However, Sukkot is celebrated six month after Passover. According to the Jewish mystical Zohar (“Radiance” in Hebrew) – which was written by Rabbi Shimon bar-Yochai in the 2nd century and published by Moses de Leon in the 13th century – Sukkot commemorates the divine clouds of glory, which expressed the presence of God, sheltering the Jewish people throughout the Exodus until the return to the Land of Israel. The first appearance of the divine clouds of glory occurred in the first stop of the Exodus, Sukkota.

The holiday of Sukkot follows Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, which reaffirm the faith in God’s moral and material supremacy. It is followed by the holiday of Simchat Torah – celebrated a day after Sukkot – which highlights the centrality of the Torah (the Five Books of Moses) in Jewish life. The Sukkot holiday represents a human effort to be worthy of the presence and benefits of the divine clouds of glory.

4. The Hebrew root of Sukkot stands for the key characteristics of the relationship between the Jewish people, the Jewish Homeland and faith in God. The Hebrew word Sukkah (סכה) means “wholeness” and “totality” (סכ), the “shelter” of the tabernacle (סכך), “to anoint” (סוך), “divine curtain/shelter” (מסך) and “attentiveness” (סכת).

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ISRAEL, WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

GOOD NEWS FROM AMAZING ISRAEL FROM MICHAEL ORDMAN

By on September 23rd, 2018

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Fast route to new treatments. (TY ILTV & NoCamels) Technion scientists have developed an Artificial Intelligent system for faster and cheaper discovery of new medical treatments. An algorithm identifies molecules with potentially beneficial therapeutic properties. It amazed delegates at London’s KDD conference.
https://www.technion.ac.il/en/2018/08/drug-development-on-fast-track-with-a-i-and-deep-learning/
https://www.youtube.com/embed/vJks-dumpBc?rel=0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q_XyURjxww

Breakthrough melanoma treatment. Scientists at Israel’s Weizmann and Technion Institutes have found that each melanoma patient has a different profile of neo-antigens (mutated peptides) on their tumors. Doctors can then extract and grow the T-cells best suited to target the neo-antigens on both primary and secondary cancers.
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/life-sciences/toward-%E2%80%9Cultra-personalized%E2%80%9D-therapy-melanoma

Canadian partner for research program. (TY Atid-EDI) A new clinical research program has been launched in Israel that will trial cannabinoid-based IBD treatment and other products from Israel’s SciCann. The program partners SciCann with Canada’s FSD and Mor – the technology transfer arm of Israel’s Clalit HealthCare.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fsd-pharma-and-scicann-therapeutics-launch-clinical-research-program-in-israel-300698081.html https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fsd-pharma-reports-positive-pre-clinical-results-for-proprietary-cbd-combination-product-300701239.html

Alternative to steroids. Israel’s Stero Biotechs has received a US patent for its Cannabidiol based treatment for over 100 autoimmune & chronic inflammatory diseases. Stero’s first product ST-101 for AutoImmune Hepatitis – a liver disease which requires long-term steroid treatment – is shortly to begin Phase 2 trials. (TY Atid-EDI)
http://sterobiotechs.com/

US approval for migraine treatment. I reported previously (see here) on the AJOVY fremanezumab migraine treatment from Israel’s Teva. The US FDA has just given approval for AJOVY – the only anti-CGRP treatment for the prevention of migraine. About 40% of migraine sufferers may be candidates for this treatment.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/teva-shares-rally-as-fda-approves-troubled-drugmakers-migraine-treatment

Israeli diagnostics for cervical cancer. I’ve now reported (see here) on five Israeli bio-techs that have developed devices for diagnosing cervical cancer. Biop Medical (see here)has just raised $22 million in funds.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3746222,00.html

Afghan girl has heart treatment in Israel. 5-year-old Noorina was brought by her father to Israel where she will receive life-saving surgery by doctors from Israeli charity Save A Child’s Heart. Noorina is the fifth child from Afghanistan to be brought to SACH thanks to the efforts of “Jangzapali” – an anonymous Afghan man.
https://www.israel21c.org/afghani-man-sends-gravely-ill-kids-to-heart-center-in-israel/

New treatment for day blindness. Israeli scientists (Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Volcani Institute) used a virus to restore the sight of a herd of Awassi sheep suffering hereditary day blindness (achromatopsia). The virus replaced a missing gene. The US FDA has now approved human trials.
http://www.jewishpress.com/news/israel/promising-gene-therapy-for-visually-impaired-sheep-now-safe-for-human-trials/2018/09/18/ http://cowry.agri.huji.ac.il/Gootwine2016.mp4

Kidney donations triple. (TY WIN) The number of live kidney transplants performed per year in Israel has nearly tripled since 2010 mainly due to increased donations from healthy orthodox Jewish Israelis. Key to the increase is Israeli NGO Matnat Chaim (“Gift of Life”) which both publicizes the need and facilitates donation.
https://www.israel21c.org/faith-based-nonprofit-triples-altruistic-kidney-donations/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5992728/ https://kilya.org.il/en/

Bringing closure. I reported previously (see here) on TopClosure from Israel’s IVT Medical. The innovative wound closure technique is now saving lives in China and Africa. IVT has also developed Vcare Alpha – a suction device to remove infectious materials from wounds and accelerate wound recovery.
http://nocamels.com/2018/09/israeli-wound-topclosure-surgery/

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