RUTHFULLY YOURS

The persistent and unprecedented failure of the Obama administration to conduct foreign policy in ways that promote American interests is baffling to most observers.

The impulse to offer succor to those who would do us harm became almost too absurd to parody when State Department spokesperson Marie Harf suggested in January of 2015 that ISIS could be disarmed with a jobs-for-jihadists program.

A month later, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest answered a question on counterterrorism by claiming that the administration was hard at work developing “some pretty sophisticated social media strategy.”

But it appears now that the administration is contemplating an even less confrontational approach – a widespread effort to “Like” ISIS.

Policymakers must abandon the delusion that our enemies can be swayed or defeated by displays of kindness.

This new low point in foreign policy thinking came in the person of Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, an Obama insider who was rumored in 2012 to have been on the short list for a second-term cabinet position. In a January 20, 2016 panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Sandberg offered what appears to be a new counterterrorism strategy – the “‘like attack.”

A report launched following allegations of rampant antisemitism within the Oxford University Labour Club and completed 10 days ago revealed that a number of its members condoned attacks on Paris synagogues in 2014 and mocked the mourners of the victims of the Hyper Cacher supermarket massacre, Britain’s Jewish News reported on Sunday, basing its information on evidence obtained by the Sunday Times.

In addition, according to testimony in the report — conducted by members of the British Labour Party and seen by the Times — some members referred to the Auschwitz extermination camp as a “cash cow.”

The report in which these revelations came to the fore was launched following the resignation of the Oxford Labour Club’s co-chairman – who claimed some members had “some kind of problem with Jews” – and additional complaints from members of the school’s Jewish Society, who said they felt “intimidated” by the antisemitic atmosphere.

Oxford Labour Students also launched a probe into the allegations, but the findings of their investigation were not released. Nor, according to the Jewish News, were the results of the Labour Party report in question.

In an op-ed Thursday in the Jewish News, Labour MPs Michael Dugher and Rachel Reeves condemned the phenomenon of antisemitism in Britain in general and bemoaned its existence in a student Labour club in particular, while calling for the immediate release of the report’s findings:

…The Labour movement has always had a strong record of opposing discrimination and racism, including anti-Semitism. That was – and still is – central to what we believe as Labour people. That’s why we were so deeply saddened by the allegations of anti-Semitism at the Oxford University Labour Club.

This special episode of The Glazov Gang was joined by Dr. Peter Hammond, the founder of Frontline Fellowship.

Dr. Hammond came on the show to discuss Islam’s Hatred of Dogs and Cruelty to Animals, examining the Islamic theological foundations that inspire a hatred of and sadism toward animals.

Don’t miss it!

A special Glazov Gang with Dr. Hammond also focused on How the Animal Kingdom Exposes Leftist Utopia as a Sham, unveiling the world of animals and its delegitimization of the socialist fairy tale: CLICK HERE.

And make sure to watch the special 2-part series of The Glazov Gang below that focused on Do Animals Have Souls? Joined by Dr. Hammond, the series explored many of the key questions related to the Biblical teachings on animals. Part I deals with Will Animals Be in Heaven? and Part II analyses How The Fall Affected Animals.

Please watch and share!

Part I: Will Animals Be in Heaven?

Part II: How The Fall Affected Animals.

This special edition of The Glazov Gang was joined by Louis Lionheart, a Christian preacher and scholar of Islam who came on the show to discuss his experience of Debating Muslims about Mohammed on the Streets of Santa Monica. He unveils the problematic ingredients of Muslims’ arguments about their religion and shares the myriad forms of abuse and threats that have been heaped upon him.

Don’t miss it!

And make sure to watch Louis on the other special Glazov Gang episode, Muslim Woman Attacks Christian Preacher, in which he shares the assault he suffered when he dared to tell the truth about Mohammed and Aisha on 3rd. St. Promenade. (Video clip of the assault is played in the program):

Sex education in our schools once consisted of clinical explanations of the mechanical. These days, as the Safe Schools scandal has demonstrated, lessons in what fits where are apt to be immersion courses in the discriminatory nature of oppressive capitalism.
The Commonwealth government’s Safe Schools Coalition program, directed at providing a more positive environment for “same-sex attracted, intersex and gender-diverse students” is being criticised for advocating radical views about gender and sexuality. Senator Cory Bernardi, from South Australia, describes the program as indoctrinating “children into a Marxist agenda of cultural relativism”. Senator Eric Abetz, from Tasmania, argues that it is “a program of social engineering where parents, when they get to understand what it is, rebel against it and in fact vote for their schools not to be involved”.

While there is no doubt that elements of the program involve a genuine attempt to reduce bullying and prejudice against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) students, Senators’ Abetz and Bernardi are correct in what they argue. The ideology underpinning the program and associated material reflects a cultural-left bias about gender and sexuality that has existed for many years. As I detailed in Why Our Schools Are Failing, published in 2004, the cultural left has long critiques Western capitalist society as ‘phallocentric’, ‘oppressive’ and ‘misogynist’. A rainbow alliance of cultural-left movements, including neo-Marxism, feminism, gender studies and queer theory argue that traditional views about sexuality and gender enforce a binary, hierarchical code that oppresses women and anyone who does not conform to society’s heterosexist expectations.

Examples quoted in Why Our Schools Are Failing include the University of Melbourne’s History Department’s course ‘The Body: History, Sex and Gender’, where students are introduced to “an understanding of the different readings of the body… of the construction of the slender body, the gay and lesbian body, and the gendered body of the late 20th century”. At a national conference of English teachers an academic, when referring to heterosexuality, argued: “I am proposing that this new form of hierarchical dualism can and should be resisted and challenged (by) using the English classroom as a site for resistance and interventionist strategies.”

At the age of 16, while Amir Goldenthal’s friends were busy with matriculation exams, he was at the end of the first year of undergraduate physics – and starting his doctorate.
The unprecedented decision by the heads of the Department of Physics and the Center for Neuroscience Studies at Bar-Ilan University – to allow the young teenager to begin his doctoral studies – proved very quickly to be successful, when Goldenthal completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees with honors, published articles in international scientific journals, and was selected to attend a convention of Nobel Prize winners in Japan, which was set to bring together past and future world influencers.

Recently, the nearly-20-year-old Goldenthal has been coming to the university every day by taking two buses from Ashdod. His doctoral dissertation work involved breakthroughs in understanding neurological diseases such as epilepsy, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. In the coming days Goldenthal will travel to a medical research center in Germany alongside his supervisor, Prof. Ido Kanter, Director of the Department of Physics and the Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center. They were invited by a senior researcher in neuroscience to apply their findings with patients who suffer from brain injuries.

In video call to Microsoft Israel’s annual big bash, co-founder says he’s ‘very impressed’ with Israel’s R&D

A special guest virtually joined over 2,000 people at the Microsoft Israel R&D Center’s annual Think Next event in Tel Aviv Thursday – the man who started it all, Bill Gates.In a rare public comment on the value of MS Israel’s work in helping make the company what it is, Gates said that Israeli developments tech areas like analytics and security were “improving the world.”

This year marked the eighth Think Next event, where MS shows off its best and brightest new technologies, many developed in Israel. Gates doesn’t call in every year, but with this year being the 25th anniversary of the Microsoft Israel research and development center, he told the Tel Aviv audience in a video call from the US that he was “very happy to wish the R&D center a happy birthday.”

The center, he said, “started in 1991, when some of the Israeli engineers at Microsoft wanted to return home but continue working at Microsoft. We decided to open the center – it was our first one outside the US – and I think the technology they have produced over the years more than justifies our decision.”

Speaking live at the event was current Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Nadella met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier Thursday to discuss cyber-security and other matters. In their meeting, Nadella noted Microsoft’s commitment to Israel, “its investments in the local market and its commitment to the continued growth of the high-tech and innovation industry in Israel which finds expression in assistance programs for start-ups, introducing advanced technologies to all sectors of the economy, promoting science and technology, and education in computers and mathematics,” the Prime Minister’s Office said.

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Ice-tech could end organ shortage. (TY UWI) Currently it is not possible to freeze organs in order to preserve them for later transplant. Now researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have studied ice-binding “antifreeze proteins” that protect frozen cells from expansion damage when they thaw out.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/hebrew-u-ice-tech-could-end-organ-transplant-shortage/
http://new.huji.ac.il/en/article/29485

Cancer pre-dates the modern era. Researchers at Tel Aviv University have discovered evidence of colon cancer in the mummified remains of an 18th century Hungarian corpse. The mutation of the Adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene is the earliest recorded case of colorectal cancer.
http://www.foxnews.com/science/2016/02/25/hungarian-mummy-offers-clues-to-cancer-mystery.html
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0147217

Merck and Weizmann sign medical agreement. US giant Merck has signed a new framework agreement with Israel’s Weizmann Institute to research new solutions in the area of biotechnology and cancer research. Merck has more than 300 employees at four sites throughout Israel.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/merck-weizmann-institute-sign-strategic-deal-on-cancer-research/

Portable ultrasound device demonstrated. (TY Hazel & JBN) Here is a video to demonstrate the power of the portable ultrasound device developed in the laboratory of Israel Technion’s Professor Yonina Eldar.
(see Feb 2016 newsletter) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ol_qj9i2Jw

The 19-year-old neuroscientist. Israel’s Amir Goldenthal began his PhD when he was 16 and just one year into his first degree. Now 19, his doctoral dissertation involves breakthroughs in the understanding of neurological diseases such as epilepsy, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Amir won a prize at the Nobel Laureates Conference in Japan for best research paper. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4772307,00.html

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

US Ambassador in driverless car in Jerusalem. US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro tried out Israeli company MobilEye’s driverless car on Jerusalem roads – and was impressed. Shapiro said, “it’s probably safer than if a driver was in control of the vehicle, because drivers can be distracted but this vehicle cannot.”
http://www.timesofisrael.com/us-envoy-takes-a-ride-on-israeli-driverless-car/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8POjQGJOiU

“Israeli technology is improving the world.” The 2,000 people at the Microsoft Israel’s “Think Next” event in Tel Aviv, including CEO Satya Nadella, had a video call from the man who started it all, Bill Gates. Gates said that Israeli developments in tech areas like analytics and security were “improving the world.”
http://www.timesofisrael.com/bill-gates-israeli-tech-changing-the-world/ http://www.jpost.com/Business-and-Innovation/Tech/Microsofts-Nadella-in-Israel-to-mark-25-year-cooperation-446062

Another Israeli airport safety system. (TY Dan) Israel’s Controp has teamed up with USA’s Pharovision to develop the Interceptor and Sentinel detection systems. They are designed to warn of potential collisions between airplanes and either airborne birds or foreign object debris on the ground.
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/singapore-israeli-companies-market-debris-and-wildl-421925/

Now an app can learn about humans. (TY Dan) Israel’s SimilarWeb has launched SimilarWeb Portrait – smart software that builds up a (non-identifiable) profile of a human computer user. This allows app developers to tailor their apps to give a friendlier user experience, from the moment they are installed.
http://www.martechadvisor.com/news/similarweb-launches-similarweb-portrait-to-empower-app-developers-with-instant-audience-insights/

It’s that time of year again—Israel Apartheid Week. This “week” starts in Europe in February and spreads to North America in March. It’s an arm of the BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions against Israel) movement, which is in turn an arm of the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Israel Apartheid Week is essentially an invasion of Western universities by Middle Eastern terrorism. Its aim is to abet the destruction of a country, Israel, by poisoning the minds of a whole generation against it. Its cri de coeur is “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” In other words, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea—no “two-state solution,” no compromise, no Israel.

One way to further that aim is to spread the “big lie” of Israeli “apartheid.” The Israel Apartheid Week activists know that it’s a lie, as does anyone—that is, anyone not blinded by ideological hatred—who has ever spent time in Israel. Here’s an Israeli Arab Supreme Court justice. Here’s an Israeli Arab brigadier general. Here’s an Israeli Arab leader of a parliamentary faction. Class, can you point to equivalents among blacks during apartheid South Africa?

It’s not only, though, that “apartheid” is a ludicrous lie to toss at Israel. It’s also that—as grim, hate-ridden Israel Apartheid Week plods on—Israel is increasingly a blessing not only to its Arab citizens but to the Arab world as a whole.

To start with the Israeli Arabs—as Evelyn Gordon notes, a poll in 2015 asked them:

“If you had the opportunity to become a citizen of the United States or any other Western country, would you prefer to move there or to remain in Israel?” Fully 83.4 percent said they would rather remain in Israel—virtually identical to the proportion among Israeli Jews (84.5 percent).

Israeli Arabs know, of course, that Israel gives them a level of freedom, democracy, and economic advancement that the surrounding Arab countries can hardly match. It’s very possible that if Israel had not become Israel, it would now be Southern Syria. The poll didn’t ask if Israel or Southern Syria would be a better place to live, but one can imagine where the responses would fall.

Peak warmism has already hit, and the global warming movement is now on its long glide path through loss of government funding, budget and hiring cuts, less media attention, on the way to unfashionability, embarrassment, and eventually obscurity, a historical footnote like phrenology (which was once the rage in elite academic circles). In retrospect, the December 2015 Paris Climate Accord, which was still able to draw heads of state but which could accomplish nothing substantive other than promise money, may well be seen as the definitive moment at which the movement began its official decline.

Now elite institutions, which always have their antennae attuned to the ebb and flow of the concerns of the world’s power elite, are acting out the consequences of decline. If you are a university president responsible for raising mega-donations by convincing the holders of wealth that they can achieve prestige and maybe a little immortality by funding your Good Works, then you have to be aware of their changing concerns.

Only a few years ago, global warming seemed like a sure winner to Yale’s then-president Richard C. Levin, when he announced in 2009 the establishment of the Yale Climate and Energy Institute and secured Rajendra K. Pachauri as its first head. Pachuari was the head of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the major force pushing global warming as a central battle to be fought to save humanity, and he was to serve both the U.N. and Yale at the same time, locking them together as leaders of the fight to rescue us all from doom.