RUTHFULLY YOURS

The Fallacy of Workable Tyranny

I was asked to watch and rate the first episode of an up-and-coming series for Amazon Instant Video, which was an hour long, and to provide remarks. Here is an expanded version of my assessment of the episode, or what I would have said had there not been a word count limit set by Amazon.

Please help us improve Amazon Instant Video by rating the video and audio quality of The Man in the High Castle Episode 1: The Man in the High Castle.

I read The Man in the High Castle (or Tower) when it was first published decades ago, or a little after 1962, when I was still in high school. Interesting alternate history fiction. The production values of High Castle are in the same league as those of Fatherland, which differs significantly from the novel by Robert Harris; with House of Cards, a species of “contemporaneous” alternate history fiction, and which differs radically from both the novel by Michael Dobbs and the British TV version; and with V for Vendetta, which differs so radically from the original graphic novel that to describe the differences here would merit a separate column.

The Amazon presentation of High Castle is being adapted by Ridley Scott of Blade Runner fame.

The salient point about Amazon’s High Castle, however, is that it stretches credibility about what would have happened had Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany won WWII, carved up the U.S., and militarily occupied the continent. The Japanese were savagely brutal in their conquests, as were the Nazis. Remember, for example, what the Japanese did to Nanking, China, and what happened to British, Indian, and Canadian men and women and their Chinese dependents after the surrenders of Hong Kong and Singapore. (Atrocities were the byword of all Japanese conquests, much as it is ISIS’s today in Syria and Iraq.) This perspective is buttressed by recent revelations of the Japanese atrocities committed against American and Philippine POWs.

It’s difficult to overstate the potential importance of the Egyptian president’s New Year speech on Islam – and equally important to avoid overly optimistic expectations as to its practical impact.

“Is it possible that 1.6 billion people [Muslims] should want to kill the rest of the world’s inhabitants – that is 7 billion – so that they themselves may live? Impossible!” – Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Al-Azhar, January 1

“O ye who believe! Fight those of the disbelievers who are near to you, and let them find harshness in you, and know that Allah is with those who keep their duty.” – Koran, Sura 9:123

“Violence… occurs between Muslims, on the one hand, and Orthodox Serbs in the Balkans, Jews in Israel, Hindus in India, Buddhists in Burma and Catholics in the Philippines. Islam has bloody borders.” – Samuel Huntington, “The Clash of Civilizations?” Foreign Affairs, 1993

On New Year’s Day, Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi delivered a remarkable address at Cairo’s Al-Azhar University.

The Obama-Sisi contrast

He directed measured, but nonetheless severe, censure at much of the Islamic clergy, their interpretation of religious texts and their prescription for how Muslims should practice their faith in the modern day: “I am referring here to the religious clerics. We have to think hard about what we are facing – and I have, in fact, addressed this topic a couple of times before. It’s inconceivable that the thinking that we hold most sacred should cause the entire umma [Islamic world] to be a source of anxiety, danger, killing and destruction for the rest of the world. Impossible!”

Special prosecutor in Argentine Jewish Center bombing case shot dead after asserting president’s involvement in cover-up.

Argentine state prosecutor Alberto Nisman was shot dead just hours before he was going to testify to the Argentinian Congress on Monday, Jan. 19, that his country’s president was directly involved in cover-ups to obscure Iran’s involvement in the Buenos Aires bombing of the Israeli Embassy and Jewish Community Center.

On July 18, 1994, the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) building was bombed, killing 85 people and injuring hundreds.

Nisman was the special prosecutor on the case. In 2006 he formally accused the government of Iran of directing the bombing and the Hezbollah terrorist organization of carrying it out.

In May, 2013, Nisman released a report accusing Iran of establishing terrorist networks in Latin America dating back decades. That report provided evidence, he claimed, of an “intelligence and terrorist network” in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Colombia, Guyana, Trinidad, Tobago and Suriname.

Nisman further claimed that the evidence in his report proved “beyond a reasonable doubt” that former Iranian cultural attaché in Argentina, Mohsen Rabbani, was responsible for the 1994 AMIA bombing, and that he was the “coordinator of the Iranian infiltration of South America.”

Next time, send Slayer.

Let us call the roll of national badasses: the 75th Ranger Regiment, USMC Force Reconnaissance, the SEALS, Delta Force . . . James Taylor?

What sort of warriors does a weary nation facing a savage enemy turn to? “The Quiet Professionals,” “Semper Fidelis,” “Death from Above” . . .

“A Churning Urn of Burning Funk.”

The spectacle of the Obama administration’s dispatching Secretary of State John Kerry to “share a big hug with Paris” as James Taylor — who still exists — crooned “You’ve Got a Friend” is the perfect objective correlative for American decline: The pathetic self-regard of John Kerry and James Taylor’s Baby Boomers meets the cynical, self-serving, going-through-the-motions style of Barack Obama’s Generation X as disenchanted Millennials in parental basements across the fruited plains no doubt injured their thumbs typing “WTF?” It is the substitution of celebrity for power, of sentiment for analysis, of sloppy gesture for clear-headed commitment.

We’re responding to barbarism from the 7th century with soft rock from the 1970s.

Two events recently transpired that forced mainstream media to address a question they habitually dodge: Is Islam intrinsically violent? First, on New Year’s Day, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi — a world leader, and a Muslim — did the unthinkable when he publicly asserted that Islamic texts and thinking have made the Muslim world a scourge to humanity. The MSM ignored it until, as if to prove his point, Muslim gunmen shouting “Allahu Akbar” killed a dozen people in offices of a satirical newspaper in Paris.

Two separate editorials — by the New York Times and CNN — responded by purportedly tackling the question of whether Islam is inherently violent in the context of the Paris attack and Sisi’s speech. Both quoted me as responding in the affirmative — and both instantly dismissed my partially presented views in “straw-man” fashion.

“Impeccably researched and clearly written, Messrs. Motadel and Ihrig’s books will transform our understanding of the Nazi policies that were, Mr. Motadel writes, some “of the most vigorous attempts to politicize and instrumentalize Islam in modern history.”
The Führer admired Atatürk’s subordination of religion to the state—and his ruthless treatment of minorities.

‘It’s been our misfortune to have the wrong religion,” Hitler complained to his pet architect Albert Speer. “Why did it have to be Christianity, with its meekness and flabbiness?” Islam was a Männerreligion—a “religion of men”—and hygienic too. The “soldiers of Islam” received a warrior’s heaven, “a real earthly paradise” with “houris” and “wine flowing.” This, Hitler argued, was much more suited to the “Germanic temperament” than the “Jewish filth and priestly twaddle” of Christianity.

Islam has Nothing to do with Islam – Pat Condell January 15

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N46mIHEGHN0

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com
http://blogs.jpost.com/users/just-look-us-now
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Trial of new cancer antibody approved. Israel’s cCAM has received US FDA approval to commence trials of its CM-24 monoclonal antibody (mAb) for the treatment of various types of cancers. CM-24 targets CEACAM1, a novel immune checkpoint protein expressed on a variety of cancer cells.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/ccam-biotherapeutics-receives-fda-approval-121500561.html

Israel & USA team up to fight cancer. Israeli biotech Compugen has enlisted John Hopkins University to help assess Compugen’s cancer immunotherapy candidates. These new treatments aim to counter the ability of tumors to highjack “immune checkpoints”, thereby blocking the immune system’s ability to destroy the tumor.
http://www.israel21c.org/news/compugen-teams-with-johns-hopkins-university-on-immune-checkpoints/

Effective for detecting lingering cancer cells. (Thanks to Michelle) New York City’s NYU Langone Medical Center has praised MarginProbe from Israel’s Dune Medical, used by surgeons to identify and help them remove cancer cells on the margins of removed tumors. MarginProbe avoids the need for follow-up surgery.
http://communications.med.nyu.edu/media-relations/news/nyu-langone-medical-center-utilizing-new-technology-detect-lingering-cancer-cel

90% response to cancer vaccine. (Thanks to NoCamels.com) Julian Levy, CFO of Israel’s Vaxil Biotherapeutics speaks to NoCamels about Vaxil’s cancer vaccine, ImMucin, that boosts the immune system and prevents cancer returning. ImMucin triggers a response in about 90 percent of all types of cancer.
http://nocamels.com/2015/01/new-vaccine-for-cancer/

US approve 360-degree colonoscope. (Thanks to Atid-EDI) Israel’s GI View has just received US FDA approval for its Aer-O-Scope colonoscope, for advanced detection of polyps that frequently develop into colon cancer. GI View is expected to start selling the product in the U.S. in early 2016.
http://www.giview.com/gi-view/news.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EPA5UIK0xw

Spine surgery system wins two awards. (Thanks to Atid-EDI) Israel’s NLT-Spine has won a 2014 Spine Technology Award from US Magazine Orthopedics This Week, for its ARC Pedicle Screw System. The company also was included (for the second year running) in the list of Red Herring Global 100 winners.
http://ryortho.com/2014/11/the-eleven-best-new-spine-technologies-for-2014/
http://www.nlt-spine.com/int/news-2/

Med school at 16. If Israelis are exceptional people, then Maya Fishman is amazing. Only 16-years old, she has already started med school at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She is on course to become the youngest doctor in the history of the State of Israel.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4606194,00.html

What lurks in your lungs? (Thanks to Israel21c) Professor Elizabeth Fireman of Tel Aviv’s Sourasky Medical Center has developed a highly accurate bio-monitoring technique to detect dangerous particles inhaled by firefighters, factory workers, dental technicians and kids with asthma.
http://www.israel21c.org/headlines/revolutionary-diagnostic-technique-identifies-what-lurks-in-your-lungs/
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Next generation of flash storage – simply faster. (Thanks to Atid-EDI) Israel’s Kaminario has set new performance records for flash storage. It also boasts reliability, scalability and cost/performance figures that its competitors can only dream of. Kaminario easily raised $53million in funds to fuel global expansion.
http://kaminario.com/blog/press-releases/kaminario-secures-53-million-funding/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiAB0QZcpFo

Scottish Water likes Israeli recycling technology. Israel’s Applied CleanTech has successfully completed its first UK pilot project of its new recycling technology for wastewater at Scottish Water. The system produces a useful material called Recyllose from sewage while reducing maintenance and power costs.
http://www.scottishwater.co.uk/about-us/media-centre/latest-news/05012015-recyllose-act

A shirt that monitors your heart. Israeli startup HealthWatch Technologies has developed a washable T-shirt that can read a patient’s heart rate, blood pressure, cardiac irregularities, and other vital signs that could be the key to preventing heart attacks. All data can be transmitted instantly to your cardiologist, as speed is essential.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-ecg-t-shirt-monitors-hearts-saves-lives/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJvzTWNOlzk http://www.personal-healthwatch.com

Smart low-energy hotels. Israeli startup Phoebus Energy is to install smart systems in the Fattal chain’s nine Israeli hotels. The systems will cut the chain’s heating and air-conditioning costs by 50-75%, amounting to NIS 40 million over the coming decade. The lower energy consumption will also benefit the environment.
http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-phoebus-to-cut-fattal-hotels-energy-bill-1000994487
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHg_Hln7XFc

Bell Labs (Israel) has big plans. The opening of Bell Labs in Israel provides an avenue for Israeli PhD graduates to pursue research careers in Israel. Director of the new branch, Danny Raz, was until recently a professor in the Department of Computer Science at Israel’s Technion.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/bell-labs-head-hopes-to-turn-brain-drain-into-gain/

Would a solar panel work for you? It can cost up to $4,000 for a survey to check whether a solar panel on your roof could generate sufficient solar energy to justify installation. Israel’s SolView uses Google Earth and its automated rooftop scanning technology to do that instantly.
http://www.greenprophet.com/2014/12/solviews-targeting-solar-energy-rooftop-potential-on-a-massive-scale/

Safer night driving. (Thanks to Israel21c) Israeli startup BrightWay Vision has developed “BrightEye” – a unique night-vision system that gives drivers a clear, panoramic view of the road. The system uses active-gated imaging to project images up to 250 meters ahead (5 times further than headlights) onto the driver’s screen.
http://www.israel21c.org/headlines/new-innovation-for-safer-night-driving/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7dQ42UKfTs

Another “doggy” app. Following on the heels of “Dogiz”, “Oggii”, “Pawly”, “Swifto”, “KelevLand” and “DogTV”, we now have “Wooof” – a made-in-Israel app, providing a platform for dog owners to get together online, “trading” photos, recording dog walking routes and even alerting when a dog inspector is in the area.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/social-networking-goes-to-the-dogs-with-israeli-app/

The Saudis and Iranians are building outposts in Kabul. Meanwhile, a U.S. university there needs bolstering.

Two new initiatives focused in Kabul but originating in the Middle East threaten to draw Afghanistan into the vortex of Middle Eastern strife and to undermine prospects for a secular government. America will need to present an alternative to forces that seek to roll back much of what has been accomplished in Afghanistan.

In November, Saudi Arabia launched a huge new mosque and Islamic Center on a hill in Kabul’s center. The Saudi ambassador declared unconvincingly that the mosque’s purpose is to fight terrorism and “present a moderate and true face of Islam.” Iran is also constructing a mosque in central Kabul and, if asked, would probably make the same claim. Both complexes include a mosque and school, but the similarity ends there. One will promote the Saudi’s hard-line Sunni Wahabbism, while the other will propagate the Ayatollahs’ hard-line Shiite Islam.

Just as these two states and religions are engaged in an undeclared but bloody war in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East, they are at loggerheads in Afghanistan and view the struggle there as a zero-sum game. If either prevails, Afghanistan will be the loser.

So far the country has largely escaped the strife arising from the millennium-old conflict between Sunni and Shiite Islam and the more ancient struggle between Persians and Arabs. Afghans do not consider theirs to be a Middle Eastern country. Even the branch of Islamic law that prevails in Afghanistan, the relatively mild Hanafi school, sets it apart from the Saudis and Iranians.

Mr. Caldwell is a senior editor at the Weekly Standard and the author of “Reflections on the Revolution in Europe: Immigration, Islam and the West.”

France and the rest of Western Europe have never honestly confronted the issues raised by Muslim immigration

The terrorist assault on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo on Jan. 7 may have been organized by al Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen. But the attack, along with another at a Paris kosher market days later, was carried out by French Muslims descended from recent waves of North African and West African immigration. Well before the attacks, which left 17 dead, the French were discussing the possibility that tensions with the country’s own Muslim community were leading France toward some kind of armed confrontation.

Consider Éric Zemmour, a slashing television debater and a gifted polemicist. His history of the collapse of France’s postwar political order, “Le suicide français,” was No. 1 on the best-seller lists for several weeks this fall. “Today, our elites think it’s France that needs to change to suit Islam, and not the other way around,” Mr. Zemmour said on a late-night talk show in October, “and I think that with this system, we’re headed toward civil war.”