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November 2023

WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Election of Milei, Wilders and Cogswell Has the Left Worried The people are awakening By Roger Kimball

By on November 26th, 2023

https://amgreatness.com/2023/11/26/election-of-milei-wilders-and-cogswell-has-the-left-worried/

Is there a disturbance in the force? I think there might be. In just the last week, the chainsaw-wielding “anarcho-capitalist” Javier Milei won the presidential election in Argentina, the Freedom Party of Islamo-realist Geert Wilders trounced its opponents in the snap general election in the Netherlands, and, here at home, a Republican was elected mayor of Charleston for the first time since 1877. The Zeitgeist would seem to be awake and on the move. What is it waking from? I agree with those who say it is waking from wokeness.

In this context, it is not irrelevant to point out that Donald Trump, who has consistently been leading in almost all GOP polls since the 2024 election campaign began, has surged even further ahead. As I write, an Emerson poll has Trump ahead of his competition by 64 to 8 for DeSantis, and 9 for Nikki Haley. The hoary meme of conventional wisdom cautions that even if Trump wins the nomination it won’t matter because he is unpopular with the American people. Alas for that scrap of anti-Trump prognostication, the former president has also pulled ahead of his likely opponent Joe Biden. Some earlier polls had Trump tied or ahead by a fraction of a point. The current polls have him ahead in the general election by some 4, 6, or more points.

Are these phenomena related? I say yes. They are all part of a growing revulsion against the real-world, reality-show version of The Camp of the Saints, the dystopian novel, originally published in French,  about what happens when mass immigration from the third-world overwhelms Europe and America. I will not be giving anything away when I note that the result is the collapse of civilization. If you look up “Camp of the Saints” on Wikipedia, you will be told that the book has been criticized “for conveying themes”—odd locution—of “racism, xenophobia, nativism, monoculturalism, and anti-immigration.” “The novel,” we read, “is popular within far-right and white nationalist circles.” It is popular with me, too. But good luck, if you don’t already know the book, finding out for yourself. Camp of the Saints has been out of print for years and efforts to prise loose the rights from its publisher have been for naught. Currently, a paperback copy of the English version sells for about $200 on Amazon; the hardcover will set you back $4,155.15. (I think the 15¢ is a nice touch).

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FOREIGN POLICY Comments turned off

Biden About To Betray Israel? by Con Coughlin

By on November 26th, 2023

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20177/hostage-deal-hamas

Seven weeks into Israel’s military offensive to destroy Hamas as a military and political entity, the Biden administration now seems to be adopting a very different stance, one where it appears ready to scale down its commitment to supporting Israel’s right to self-defence, and destroying Hamas, in favour of a ceasefire deal that would essentially gift victory to Hamas.
Netanyahu has made no secret of his personal reservations about the hostage deal, arguing that any pause in Israel’s military offensive would simply allow Hamas to regroup. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), in particular, had been opposed to the deal because they wanted to maintain the pressure against Hamas on the ground in Gaza.
Indeed, Washington’s willingness to impose ceasefires on Israel when its forces have clearly established a military advantage on the battlefield against their enemies has been a constant feature throughout Israel’s 75-year existence.
The Israelis will certainly be concerned at the role played by Qatar, which is one of Hamas’s main military backers, in the negotiations. While the Qataris like to claim that they are simply using their contacts with Hamas to defuse tensions, the fact that Ismail Haniyeh, who masterminded the massacres, directed the attacks from his five-star hotel in Qatar, where he has been granted a safe haven, means the Israelis have every reason to be wary of Qatar’s motives.

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NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Don’t Dismiss Trump II by Amir Taheri

By on November 26th, 2023

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20176/trump-ii

Judging by what advisers are preparing on the Middle East, Trump II will focus on “closer ties” with allies, including Israel, and no more “favors” to the Islamic Republic in Iran and Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Turkey unless he is back in line.
Trump thinks that Marxists and other “crazy leftists” have seized control of US universities and are brainwashing whole generations thanks to tax-exempt private donations and public funding.
So far the Democrats continue to mock Trump and refuse to take him seriously. This could cost the Democrats dearly. For even if the solutions that Trump suggests appear weird the problems he raises are real.

“He is dangerously close to getting re-elected!” This is how, in a recent issue, the London weekly The Economist presented Donald Trump’s chances of returning to the White House next year. This was based on a few polls indicating that, if nominated, Trump would have a chance of winning next November.

One must always be careful about predictions, especially by the press.

The Economist put Indonesian’s ruler General Suharto on its cover and predicted he would emerge as the most powerful leader in Asia. Less than a year later, Suharto was swept away by a popular uprising.

However, let us not dismiss the magazine’s prediction about a second presidential term for Trump because, even if he fails to win the nomination, he has already had a lasting impact on American politics.

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ISRAEL Comments turned off

I’m grateful for Israel’s Christian allies Where would we be without them? Don Feder

By on November 26th, 2023

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/nov/25/im-grateful-for-israels-christian-allies/

A series of ads from the 1960s featured the slogan, “You don’t have to be Jewish to love Levy’s real Jewish rye.” They were illustrated with pictures of a choir boy, an Asian child, an Italian mother, an Irish cop, and other obvious non-Jews happily munching on the kosher product.

Given the outpouring of Christian support for what Muslim radicals call the Zionist entity, today, we could say, “You don’t have to be Jewish to love Israel.”

America’s 100 million Evangelical Christians are a bulwark of support in a raging sea – antisemitic mobs roaming our college campuses, much of the Democratic party going over to the Palestinians and crass celebrities, like Susan Sarandon, essentially telling Jews they have it coming.

Some 700 members of Passages joined the Nov. 14 March for Israel in Washington, D.C. The organization brings Christian students to Israel to explore the roots of their faith. In the wake of the Oct. 7 attack, its members visited synagogues throughout the United States in a show of support.

With an estimated 10 million members, Christians United for Israel raised $2.65 million for Israeli charities in the days following the Hamas massacre. As part of its Don’t Look Away Campaign, CUFI projected pictures of the hostages high above New York’s Times Square, along with images of rope-bound hands, a bloody pacifier and an empty wheelchair.

The Rev. Johnnie Moore, president of the Congress of Christian Leaders, promises, “Every time an antisemite spews hate, then we shall express our solidarity with the Jewish community.”

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ISRAEL Comments turned off

POSITIVE NEWS FROM ISRAEL: FROM MICHAEL ORDMAN

By on November 26th, 2023

 www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com 

As some of Israel’s hostages, kidnapped by Hamas, are returning to freedom, thousands of Israelis have been returning from overseas to help fight terrorism or to give support to those adversely impacted by the war.  Many hundreds are making Aliyah and returning to the land of their ancestors. There are also some amazing stories of Israeli farmers returning time and again on Oct 7 to rescue survivors while under fire from terrorists. 

Meanwhile, startups are returning to full operation, despite having many employees in military service. And Israel has allocated over one billion shekels to return devastated communities back to their previous physical condition.  Finally, a Torah scroll made a triumphant return to Gaza after an 18-year absence.

Michael Ordman

POSITIVE NEWS DURING A WAR
 
Farmer saves 120 from Hamas. Incredible dashcam footage shows farmer Oz Davidian dodging bullets as he saved 120 lives from the Supernova music festival on Oct 7. He drove his truck on 20 separate journeys from the Re’im site of the open-air party to bring survivors to safety.  https://www.timesofisrael.com/truck-dashcam-footage-shows-farmer-dodging-bullets-as-he-saved-120-from-music-festival/
 
Ofek the heroine. Six-year-old Ofek nearly died from blood loss on Oct 7 after Hamas terrorists shot her in the leg. MDA paramedic Yarin and EMT Gali treated Ofek and were amazed at how calm she was. A month later they brought Ofek a unicorn doll inscribed “To Ofek the heroine, with great love, Gali and Yarin from MDA”.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/380453
 
Iron defenses. Israel made the first operational use its “Iron Beam” laser defense system. It successfully intercepted an incoming rocket fired by terrorists in the Gaza Strip at Israeli territory. Israel also used its high-accuracy “Iron Sting” GPS/laser-guided mortar for the first time in combat.
https://www.jns.org/iron-beam-laser-intercepts-hamas-rocket-from-gaza/
 
Fast track for volunteer doctors. The Jewish Agency, Nefesh b’Nefesh and Israel’s Aliyah Ministry are setting up a database to help global physicians (Jewish and non-Jewish) volunteer in hospitals and medical facilities around the country as quickly and efficiently as possible. 70+ have already arrived and begun work.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/380610
 
More volunteering opportunities. This Israel21c article lists dozens of organizations who can provide exciting and rewarding experiences while helping the disadvantaged and the whole of Israel at this time.
https://www.israel21c.org/how-you-can-volunteer-in-israel-during-the-war/
 
100 make Aliyah to join the IDF. Some 100 young Jewish men and women from around the world have made Aliyah and are completing a Defense Ministry course to prepare them physically and mentally for IDF service.
https://www.jns.org/100-jewish-youngsters-make-aliyah-to-enlist-in-idf/
 
Grants for student reservists. Israel’s Technion Institute is awarding NIS 6,000 to all its 2,500 students who were mobilized by an emergency call-up order for ‘Operation Swords of Iron.’ The Hebrew University of Jerusalem has also announced an aid package for its roughly 4,000 students who are serving in the IDF.
https://www.technion.ac.il/en/2023/11/the-technion-supports-reserve-soldiers/
https://www.bfhu.org/2023/11/21/boosted-support-for-hu-students/
 
Innovation helps treat traumatized kids. Israeli NGO Machshava Tova is providing innovation workshops to Israel’s evacuated children of the south. It helps them get over the traumatic events of Oct 7 as well as develop new skills.  https://video.i24news.tv/en/9e44d596-82e6-4c4c-8a1c-96f84ae49bd5/content/6341511194112
 
Give help, get help. In the very first week of the war, Israel’s Technion Institute set up a “Give Help / Get Help” center to help evacuees, and IDF soldiers. Initiatives include daycare for kids, free secondhand shop, free haircuts, donated goods, computers for kids, toys, books, and crafts, music & dance events, and much more.
https://www.technion.ac.il/en/2023/11/the-techion-at-its-best/
 
 
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
 
Using AI to spot lung disease. Israel’s Medial EarlySign (see here previously) has partnered US-based Geisinger to identify patients at high risk for respiratory or pulmonary diseases such as lung cancer. Their LungFlag AlgoMarker analyzes data from a patient’s electronic health record to enable early screening.
https://nocamels.com/2023/11/israeli-us-firms-create-ai-program-to-spot-lung-disease-risks/
 
Fast DNA sequencing. (TY OurCrowd) Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine is to using the AML(acute myeloid leukemia) detection kits from Israel’s Sequentify (see here previously) in its leukemia research. Sequentify’s Infiniseq technology cuts DNA sequencing time to only 3.5 hours.
https://www.prnewswire.com/il/news-releases/stanford-to-use-sequentify-kits-for-hematological-malignancies-ngs-sequencing-301981511.html
 
Milk extract may help IBD sufferers. Israel’s Exosomm extracts tiny capsules of microRNA called exosommes from cows’ milk. They then add them as a powder to food as a treatment for colitis and Crohn’s. Successful laboratory trials have led to recruitment for clinical trials at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem.
https://www.israel21c.org/milk-extract-could-ease-symptoms-of-crohns-and-colitis/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNqGqVe-erg
 
Shapeshifting capsule is a loss leader. Israel’s Epitomee has completed clinical trials of its ingestible pill that opens up in the stomach to produce a feeling of satiety. In 24 weeks the 140 participants who swallowed the pill lost up to 15% of their body weight, with no side effects.  Epitomee intends to apply for FDA approval in 2024.
https://www.israel21c.org/israeli-startups-weight-loss-pill-aces-clinical-trials/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-Y8kYXzInI
 
More funds for medical treatments. An additional NIS 650 million will be added to Israel’s health basket as part of the war efforts.  https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-774070  
 
Medical students in IDF. Some 200 Israeli medical students were studying overseas but returned to join the IDF. Israel’s Ministry of Health has requested the deans of Israeli medicine faculties to help to integrate these students in Israeli hospitals and medical schools at the end of the war.
https://www.gov.il/en/departments/news/17112023-02
 
IFCJ funds new fortified ER. The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews has funded a 100-patient Emergency Operations Center in a fortified sheltered area of Emek Medical Center in the Galilee. The IFCJ is also funding a 50-patient fortified space in the hospital’s oncology building.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/380683

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NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

The ‘Complexity’ of Idiocy The Left is less a political movement than a neurotic clown collective arrogantly spouting toxic imbecility By Thaddeus G. McCotter

By on November 25th, 2023

https://amgreatness.com/2023/11/25/the-complexity-of-idiocy/

Often, yours truly has expounded (okay, ranted) upon the term “narrative,” which is just an artful euphemism for “lie.” A device drawn from fiction, as opposed to non-fiction, it facilitates lying by eliding the need for providing the facts and proving the truth of one’s assertions. Consequently, it is a boon to propagandists, who can harp on a “narrative” ad nauseum to provoke and persuade the public to do as the purveyor of the lie seeks.

For the Left, one oft used word signaling an impending narrative is the word “complexity.” Usage of this word allows the Leftist to cull and, importantly, dispense with whatever facts or allegations they choose to create a narrative. This is critical in instances where the facts at hand lead to an ineluctable conclusion – i.e., the truth – that is antithetical to the Left’s aim. Let us explore four instances of the Left’s “complexity” of idiocy driving a narrative harmful to America and the world.

In American domestic policy, the Left is not content with foisting cancel culture upon the country and coopting the corporate media to control the political debate. The Left wants to silence any dissent to its authoritarian aims. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution recognizes and protects the God-given rights to each citizen of “political rights,” such as free speech. One would think the constitution’s prohibition would be the last word on censorship; but one would be underestimating the Left’s power to pretend the clear prohibition of government censorship is, instead, “complex.”
https://amgreatness.com/2023/11/25/the-complexity-of-idiocy/

Often, yours truly has expounded (okay, ranted) upon the term “narrative,” which is just an artful euphemism for “lie.” A device drawn from fiction, as opposed to non-fiction, it facilitates lying by eliding the need for providing the facts and proving the truth of one’s assertions. Consequently, it is a boon to propagandists, who can harp on a “narrative” ad nauseum to provoke and persuade the public to do as the purveyor of the lie seeks.

For the Left, one oft used word signaling an impending narrative is the word “complexity.” Usage of this word allows the Leftist to cull and, importantly, dispense with whatever facts or allegations they choose to create a narrative. This is critical in instances where the facts at hand lead to an ineluctable conclusion – i.e., the truth – that is antithetical to the Left’s aim. Let us explore four instances of the Left’s “complexity” of idiocy driving a narrative harmful to America and the world.

In American domestic policy, the Left is not content with foisting cancel culture upon the country and coopting the corporate media to control the political debate. The Left wants to silence any dissent to its authoritarian aims. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution recognizes and protects the God-given rights to each citizen of “political rights,” such as free speech. One would think the constitution’s prohibition would be the last word on censorship; but one would be underestimating the Left’s power to pretend the clear prohibition of government censorship is, instead, “complex.”

Consequently, as they have on college campuses, the Left has been weaponizing federal and state governments both directly and through colluding with private entities to censor free speech.  Creating the camouflage of “complexity” by pretending there exists a transcendent right not to be “offended” and purporting to be promoting “safety,” the censorious Left’s aim is to cloud the truth that the supreme law of the land prohibits the government from infringing upon Americans’ free speech and all political rights. And no amount of faux complexity can obscure the fact that there is nothing more dangerous than a censor.

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WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Iran’s Other Willing Accomplice: The European Union by Majid Rafizadeh

By on November 25th, 2023

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20175/iran-accomplice-eu

Germany is the top European trade partner buying oil and non-oil commodities from Iran.

“UANI [United Against Nuclear Iran] said that research had led to the identification of 2,500 businesses around the world, suspected of having involvement with Iran, with hundreds in Europe. They will publish their names if they do not receive satisfactory answers.” — The National, September 22, 2023.

The EU’s trade with Iran, increasing the Iranian regime’s revenue, is doubtless making it easier for the theocratic establishment to provide weapons to Russia, repress its own people even further, strengthen its military presence in Venezuela and Cuba, help its proxies escalate their goals of trying to annihilate Israel and the Jews, and above all, top off its nuclear weapons program with which to blackmail everyone.

If this is the damage the Iranian is doing without nuclear weapons, just think what it will do with them.

The Europeans’ continuing business with Iran repeats the same mistake they made with Nazi Germany: feeding a war machine that will ultimately turn on them. Appeasing anyone will only encourage him to become an even greater threat. Although Europe and the US most probably will not do it, the time has come to stop.

In spite of the Iran’s increasing involvement in the war against Ukraine and against Israel and Jews, the European Union, as well as the US, appear more than happy to continue appeasing the Iran’s ruling mullahs. Shouldn’t this make them considered accomplices?

Iran and Russia are fast making headway constructing a plant based in Russia that will mass-produce Iranian-designed kamikaze drones, presumably to help Moscow attack Ukrainian targets.

Yet, no sanctions or pressure have been imposed either by the United States or the European Union just on this project, let alone Iran’s lethal nuclear program or the 60+ attacks on US troops in Syria and Iraq just since October 17.

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WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Fiery But Peaceful: When Irish Eyes AREN’T Smiling Beege Welborn

By on November 24th, 2023

https://hotair.com/tree-hugging-sister/2023/11/24/fiery-but-peaceful-when-irish-eyes-arent-smiling-n594433#google_vignette

Yesterday afternoon an absolutely horrific attack occurred in Dublin, Ireland’s city center.

Three little kiddoes and their teacher were standing by a creche in front of their Catholic school when a man appeared, and, out of the blue, began slashing at them.

A FIVE-YEAR-old girl who was seriously injured in a stabbing incident near a school in Dublin city centre yesterday afternoon is in a critical condition in hospital.

Gardaí said they are continuing to investigate all of the circumstances of the incident, which occurred near Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire on Parnell Square shortly after 1.30pm yesterday afternoon.

In an update this morning, gardaí said the five-year-old girl remains in a critical condition in CHI Temple Street.

A six-year-old girl is still receiving treatment for less serious injuries at CHI Crumlin.

A five-year-old boy was discharged from CHI Crumlin yesterday evening.

A woman in her 30s, who is the children’s carer, remains in a serious condition in the Mater Hospital.

The man was disarmed by passers-by, and taken into custody quickly by the Gardaí, who’d arrived within minutes on scene.

It is eerily reminiscent of the ghastly attack on little children in the French park this past spring.

What made it all the more disquieting is that none of the news reports of the stabbing itself mentioned a name or description other than age. As the day progressed – nothing. Even the Gardaí press conference last evening was devoid of detail concerning the attacker.

He’s described as simply “a male.”

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ELECTIONS Comments turned off

The Left Conspires to Keep Election Fraud Quiet. Wonder Why? Betsy McCaughey

By on November 24th, 2023

https://townhall.com/columnists/betsymccaughey/2023/11/24/the-left-conspires-to-keep-election-fraud-quiet-wonder-why-n2631578

You can see it with your own eyes. But Democrats and their left-wing media allies call it a “fantasy.” What is it?

Election fraud.

A Lawrence, Massachusetts, voter who had been turned away from the polls on Election Day and told he had already voted found out he was the victim of fraud. He checked the footage on the video camera outside his front door and saw that a woman had removed mail-in ballots from his mailbox. He called the police.

It’s happening in many places. On Tuesday, Fight Voter Fraud, Inc., a nonprofit voter rights group, appeared in Connecticut Superior Court to demand the arrest of a woman allegedly caught on video committing mail-in ballot fraud in the 2019 Bridgeport Democratic mayoral primary and again in the 2023 primary. The group, protesting that city officials pretend there’s no problem, also called on the Connecticut legislature to appoint a special prosecutor.

According to Rasmussen Reports, a staggering 60% of likely voters nationwide consider election cheating a problem. Yet the Left denies it’s happening.

The Washington Post calls it a “myth” and a “fantasy offense.”

Worst of all, the federal government is suppressing the evidence and censoring anyone who complains about election cheating.

Never-before-seen emails released by the House Judiciary Committee on Nov. 6 reveal that a government-sponsored task force is muzzling public figures, thousands of ordinary Americans, and media outlets like Newsmax and The Babylon Bee when they report election irregularities.

The emails show that officials within the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department — the deep state — organized the Election Integrity Partnership in 2020, recruiting academics at Stanford University and the University of Washington to question election honesty and then instruct social media companies such as Google, Facebook, and YouTube to label the postings as “misinformation” or take them down entirely.

Don’t be fooled by the name Election Integrity Partnership. This task force does the opposite, silencing concerns about election integrity

In 2020, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich objected when the state of Pennsylvania adopted new election rules during the COVID pandemic that, in his view, invited cheating. He tweeted, “Pennsylvania democrats are methodically changing the rules so they can steal the election.”

When Nicole Malliotakis ran for Congress in 2020 from Staten Island and southern Brooklyn, she posted on Facebook: “Be sure to vote tomorrow because we’re not only taking on Max Rose, Nancy Pelosi & Bill de Blasio. We’re taking on Dead Democrats too!”

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ANTI-SEMITISM, WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Harps, Shamrocks and Anti-Semitism

By on November 24th, 2023

https://quadrant.org.au/opinion/qed/2023/11/nazis/

“Two days after neo-Nazi terrorists from Gaza slaughtered, raped and burnt 1400 Israeli Jews, hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the Israel Embassy in Dublin to denounce Israel.” Now that is the kind of absurd sentence that once upon a very distant time would have got students at journalism class into dire trouble. “It doesn’t make sense,” would scold the dried-out old veteran of two hundred bars, half a dozen newsrooms and three and half wives. “You clearly mean the protesters had gathered outside the Palestinian Embassy in Dublin to protest at the murder of Jews, so please don’t dress up the hideous truth with these misbegotten attempts at satire.”

Ah, but that was once upon a distant time. In the woeful here and now, this is surreal, a bad dream, a very bad dream. This after all had occurred on October 7, 2023, not October 7, 1943. The latter date was when Hitler met his Gauleiters at his Wolf’s Lair to discuss the remaining details of the Final Solution, to be concluded that year. But since that terrible day in 1943, and up until its eightieth anniversary in 2023, no government could publicly mass-murder Jews anywhere. Even Himmler, Hitler’s executioner of the Jewish people, that October had written of the extermination program, “This is a page of glory in our history which has never been written and is never to be written.”

That was the point about that Final Solution: even by the utterly debased standards of the Nazis, it was such a shameful business that it had to be kept secret. “The Jews must be exterminated,” said Himmler privately. “I do not consider myself justified murdering the menfolk … while leaving their children to grow up and to take their vengeance on our sons and grandsons.”

Whereas the Final Solution of October 7, 2023, was to be a very public affair, and the first target would be the fun-loving liberal Jews attending an all-night rave, to be videoed and celebrated on social media. All previous genocides had been secret, and covered up, as in the Nazi execution pits at Babi Yar, the gas chambers of Belzec, or the death camps of the Khmer Rouge, Stalin’s NKVD and Mao’s Red China.

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