POLITICS Comments turned off

What Is Bernie Sanders Worried About? by Amir Taheri

Posted By on June 2nd, 2019

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14330/bernie-sanders-iran

The important point is what war one talks about, when, where and against which adversaries. The bland assertion “I oppose war against X or Y” is a sign of intellectual laziness if not of moral bankruptcy.

Senator Bernie Sanders never tells us which side he would have supported: Saddam Hussein or a majority of the Iraqi people? One may justly infer that he is opposed to wars only where the US is fighting real or imagined enemies.

Sanders is wrong in pretending that Iraq was a “disaster”. Since 2003, Iraq has gone through many ordeals, paying a heavy price. And yet, today no one could deny that most Iraqis enjoy freedoms they never thought possible under the dictatorship.

“No war with Iran!” The shop-worn slogan, in circulation for four decades, is back in vogue as self-styled peaceniks in the West seek a fig-leaf to hide their shameless support for a regime rejected by its people. In Britain, the neo-Marxists who control the Labour Party bandy the slogan around on airwaves and meetings of militants. In France, the pro-Putin “France Unbowed” outfit led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon makes similar noises. And in the US, we have Senator Bernie Sanders, currently the front-runner to become the Democrat Party’s nominee in the next presidential election, donning the mantle of supreme peacemaker, in effect offering himself as a human shield for the Islamic Republic.

“Recently I’ve been criticized … because of my opposition to war,” Sanders says in a video message. “So let me be very clear: I make no apologies to anybody, that when I was a young man before I was elected to anything, I opposed the war in Vietnam. And I know what that war did to my generation.”

He adds “I’m going to do everything that I can to prevent a war with Iran because if you think the war in Iraq was a disaster, my guess is that war in Iran would be even worse.”

ISRAEL Comments turned off

GOOD NEWS FROM ABSOLUTELY AMAZING ISRAEL FROM MICHAEL ORDMAN

Posted By on June 2nd, 2019

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com 

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
 
Regenerating bones. (TY Hazel) Israeli startup Bone Sci Bio is developing a peptide product PeptOss that promotes the formation and repair of bone tissue. It also delivers treatments (antibiotics, chemotherapy, etc.) directly to the bone.  PeptOss’s first application is to treat peri-implantitis that affects 30% of dental implants.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-startup-seeks-to-boost-bone-renewal-and-allow-targeted-drug-delivery/
 
Treatment for resistant Myeloma. Israel’s Pi Therapeutics (PiTx) is developing a treatment for PI-resistant Multiple Myeloma (MM) and solid tumors. Its small molecule non-catalytic UPS inhibitors have worked in lab tests. MM is an incurable blood cancer. PiTx has just raised $19.7 million for a formal clinical proof of concept.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3763205,00.html
https://www.futurx.co.il/portfolio/pi-therapeutics/  
 
Monitor breathing at home. (TY Hazel) Israeli startup Resmetrix Medical has developed a device that allows respiratory patients to monitor their condition at home. It could give an early warning of problems and reduce unnecessary hospitalizations for millions of asthmatics and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease sufferers.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-chest-strap-keeps-tabs-on-pulmonary-patients-breathing/
http://www.resmetrix-medical.com/
 
After the heart. Now that Tel Aviv University scientists can 3D-print a heart using human tissue (see here),  they are working to engineer tissue for marrow, brain, eyes and intestine. They are regenerating spinal cord tissue and cells to fight Parkinson’s disease. And they are working to make a 3D-printed heart grow and pump.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/what-do-you-do-after-you-3d-print-a-heart-go-straight-back-to-work-apparently/
 
Health matters most to Israelis. (TY Jacques) A survey conducted by the Haredi Institute of Public Affairs identified the top priorities of Israelis (Jews & Arabs) were health, personal well-being and family life.
http://israelbetweenthelines.com/2019/05/23/health-matters-most-in-israel-study-shows/
 
EU approval for soft Exo-suit. I reported previously (see here) about the ReStore Exo-Suit from Israel’s ReWalk Robotics that helps stroke victim recover their mobility. ReStore has just received the CE mark, allowing ReWalk to market the device to rehabilitation clinics in the European Union.
https://rewalk.com/rewalk-robotics-receives-ce-mark-restoretm-exo-suit-stroke/
 
To heal, to teach, to discover. Israel’s Technion Institute is partnering with Cleveland Ohio’s University Hospitals (UH) to advance medical training, as part of UH’s mission, “To Heal. To Teach. To Discover”. The strategic affiliation includes joint R&D projects, plus 4th-year Technion medical students can train at UH.
https://www.prnewswire.com/il/news-releases/university-hospitals-and-technion—israel-institute-of-technology-announce-new-education-affiliation-300850983.html
 
SACH’s 5,000th patient. (TY UWI) 1-year-old Fatima from Zanzibar is the 5,000th child (from 60 countries) to be treated (for free) by Israeli charity Save A Child’s Heart. Ironically, 19 years ago, SACH surgeons gave Fatima’s 26-year-old mother, Balkis, life-saving treatment at the same Israeli hospital for the same condition.
https://www.israel21c.org/israeli-medical-ngo-treats-its-5000th-child-from-abroad/
 
Doctors save toddler choking on popcorn. Specialists at Schneider Children’s Hospital managed to successfully extract popcorn from the airways of 2-year-old Ori Adler. Doctors and nurses extracted the small and sharp popcorn pieces that were stuck in the child’s airways using delicate bronchoscopy.
https://www.schneider.org.il/?CategoryID=1011&ArticleID=4039

HISTORY, WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

The Last Longest Day By Richard Fernandez

Posted By on June 1st, 2019

https://pjmedia.com/richardfernandez/the-last-longest-day/

Emmanuel Macron will not attend the 75th anniversary of D-Day, “saying that French presidents only lead international D-Day ceremonies on round-number anniversaries such as the 60th or 70th. … critics argue that he should make an exception this year as it is likely to be the last major D-Day anniversary while veterans are still alive.”

To Macron, who was born in 1977, D-Day must seem like ancient history. The French president is currently more interested in preserving his alliance with Berlin than in commemorating the reopening of the Second Front against Hitler a full three generations ago.

It is probably hard for a man of Macron’s age to feel the emotional urgency of those distant days. Seventy-five years ago, the human impact of the invasion could scarcely be understated. Over 4,400 soldiers died in a single day, the Longest Day, so named in popular culture after Erwin Rommel’s prescient observation: “The first twenty-four hours of the invasion will be decisive. . . . For the Allies as well as Germany, it will be the longest day.”

It was an all-out throw of the dice. A maximum effort. There was no plan B if it didn’t work. Had it failed, Eisenhower would have said: “Our landings have failed and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based on the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that bravery could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone.” The consequences of defeat would have been incalculable.

If an Allied repulse on D-Day did not actually lead to some form of victory for Hitler, at best it would have meant another costly year of war, ruinous for Britain, the extinction of the last remaining remnants of European Jewry through completion of the Final Solution, culminating almost certainly with the employment of the first atomic bombs in the summer of 1945 — on Germany, not Japan. Sweeping through a ‘nuked’ Germany, the victorious Red Army would have stopped nowhere short of the Rhine. Lost to Communism, Europe, and the world, would have been a very different place today.

ANTI-SEMITISM Comments turned off

THE MONTH THAT WAS-MAY 2019

Posted By on June 1st, 2019

http://swtotd.blogspot.com/

Cultural wars are largely bloodless, but that does not render them ineffective. While not perfect, liberal western societies have done more for mankind than any other system yet devised. They have in common a neo-classical heritage, representative government, natural rights, free market economies, rule of law, an understanding of civics and an appreciation for history. These characteristics (which we in the West take for granted but should not) have lifted millions of people out of poverty and brought freedom to even more. Now, politicians and commentators from both sides see these traits under attack. It is the cause that is disputed, and which has been responsible for the social and political divisiveness here and in Europe.

Those on the right see the threat to liberalism stemming from the growing power and influence of unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats, an absence of a universal moral sense and diminishing virtues, universities intolerant of conservative thought, a myopic media, a facile entertainment industry and a tolerance for the intolerant. Those on the left find blame “far-right populists,” “racists” and “white supremacists.” In an article two weeks ago, in the Wall Street Journal, Larry Diamond, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institute and Stanford professor, supported their view: Citing the fact that we have seen “…twelve years of erosion…,” he dated the start of the decline to 2006. However, he laid blame on a “…new wave of populist authoritarians from Hungary to the Philippines,” but ignored the fact that Viktor Orbán was elected prime minister of Hungary in 2010 and that Rodrigo Duterte became president of the Philippines in 2016. While slavering blame indiscriminately on conservatives, he wrote, “…America’s decay is increasingly advanced. President Donald Trump has insulted U.S. allies, befriended Vladimir Putin, excused a grim list of other dictators, embraced nativist politics and movements…” I believe Professor Diamond is wrong.

All societies most be wary of attacks, no matter from which direction they come. But, overlooked in Mr. Diamond’s diatribe is that Eastern Europe, after almost six decades of subjection, first to Nazi and then to Soviet rule, is now, understandably, defending its sovereignty. As well, he disregarded the fact President Obama cozied up to Cuba’s Castro’s and to Hugo Chávez in Venezuela, that he bowed to the Saudi king, and paid hundreds of millions of dollars to Iran for a flawed nuclear deal. The pallets of dollars airlifted to Tehran went to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), to help fund Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists. Mr. Obama failed to prod China into following trade rules, and never confronted Vladimir Putin on his interference in the Middle East. Also omitted was the role played by the Clintons in expediting the sale of Uranium One to Russia. Mr. Trump has imposed the toughest sanctions on Russia of any recent President; he has confronted China for their theft of technology and for their aggression in the South China Sea. He has told allies in Europe – countries which provide generous welfare payments to their citizens – that they should pay two percent of their GDP for their own defense. And that is an insult?

ANTI-SEMITISM Comments turned off

FOUR POLLS ON HEALTHCARE FROM OPEN THE BOOKS

Posted By on June 1st, 2019

The healthcare industry operates in darkness.

You wouldn’t buy a car without knowing the price first. So why should you undergo a medical procedure and be forced to blindly accept whatever number appears on the bill?

It’s illogical.

Help us pave the way for healthcare transparency by taking a moment to respond to each of the questions below.

Poll 1: Which of these facts about the current healthcare industry MOST upsets you?

Poll 2: How do you feel about the fact that you, as the consumer, don’t get to see the price of a medical service before going to the doctor or hospital?

Poll 3: If prices were posted on your healthcare provider’s website, how likely would you be to price-compare with other providers?

Poll 4: Which of these healthcare initiatives is most important to you?
It’s up to us, the American people, to hold the healthcare industry accountable.

As we wrap up our four-day polling blitz, will you help us reach even more voters by forwarding this email to your friends and family?

WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

CHUTZPAH WRIT LARGE

Posted By on June 1st, 2019

Imam Mohamad Tawhidi (@Imamofpeace)
5/31/19, 4:44 PM
BLAME EVERYONE BUT THEMSELVES:

Shamima Begum’s family has written to the home secretary accusing UK authorities of failing to protect the east London girl from being “groomed” by Islamic State.

EDUCATION Comments turned off

PC insanity may mean the end of American universities By Roger Kimball

Posted By on June 1st, 2019

https://nypost.com/2019/05/31/pc-insanity-may-mean-the-end-of-american-universities/

People used to talk about the ends of the university and how the academic establishment was failing its students. Today, more and more people are talking about the end of the university, the idea being that it is time to think about closing them rather than reforming them.

Last month at a conference in London, the distinguished British philosopher Sir Roger Scruton added his voice to this chorus when responding to a questioner who complained of the physical ­violence meted out to conservative students at Birkbeck University.

There were two possible responses to this situation, Sir Roger said. One was to start competing institutions, outside the academic establishment, that welcomed conservative voices.

:

Sir Roger went on to qualify his recommendation, noting that a modern society required institutions to pursue science and engineering. But the humanities, which at most colleges and universities have devolved into cesspools of identity politics and grievance studies, should be starved of funding and ultimately shut down.

It’s an idea that is getting more and more traction.

ISRAEL, POLITICS Comments turned off

Divisions Over Israel Shadow Calif. Democrats’ Convention . By Susan Crabtree

Posted By on June 1st, 2019

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/05/31/divisions_over_israel_shadow_calif_democrats_convention_140467.html

Democratic activists in California have sparked another divisive intra-party debate over inflammatory accusations leveled against the Israeli government at the state party gathering this weekend – an event where several Democratic presidential contenders plan to showcase their campaigns.

On Friday, the eve of the California Democratic Party convention in San Francisco, officials were set to consider at least five draft resolutions that would denounce the Israeli government’s influence on U.S. politics.

One particularly controversial resolution accuses Israel of willfully “aligning with the virulent Islamophobia” of white supremacist groups, including “Christian fundamentalist and ultra-right groups” in the U.S., and it indirectly links that alliance to the 2018 massacre of 11 congregants at a Pittsburgh synagogue.

The party’s Resolutions Committee on Friday evening will consider the five draft resolutions, among roughly 200 in total authored by convention delegates. The panel could try to table the ones dealing with Israel to avoid a dramatic public floor debate over the weekend.

Drew Hammill, spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, declined to comment on the resolutions while they remain pending. State party spokesman Roger Salazar was equally reticent.

BOOKS Comments turned off

Wolves in Creep’s Clothing: Michael Wolff and Naomi Wolf Exposed By Mark Ellis See note please

Posted By on June 1st, 2019

https://pjmedia.com/trending/wolves-in-creeps-clothing-michael-wolff-and-naomi-wolf-exposed/

Naomi Wolf was hired as a consultant by Al Gore in 1999 when he prepared for a presidential campaign. She was charged with making him  an “alpha” man instead of a “beta” man who did not emphasize his masculinity….rsk

Let’s turn our attention for a moment to two authors, Wolf and Wolff. Feminist icon Naomi Wolf is reeling from a nonfiction fiasco that has caused her horrible and very public embarrassment. Irresponsible fictionalizer Michael Wolff is apparently incapable of shame.

What do they have in common? Not much, beyond the fact that they’re both bi-coastal elites who share a loathing for President Donald Trump.

In Wolf’s case, a perfect encapsulation of the PR nightmare befalling her latest work is presented by the Post Millennial’s Libby Emmons in “Naomi Wolf Was Destroyed by Her Research Bias.” While an author is ultimately responsible for fact-checking content, in this case, the “research bias” runs deep. The book started out as a thesis paper, which means it had to have been green-lit by both academia and New York publishing to ever see the light of day. These gatekeepers, steeped in leftist bias, failed to catch the monumental error that serves as the premise of Wolf’s book: the assertion that homosexuals were executed in Victorian England.

As for Wolff, how Trump could have allowed such an individual to plant himself on a couch in the West Wing for an extended period of time in quest of a truth-challenged tell-all is something that heartland Trumpservatives will never understand. Steve Bannon had a lot to do with it, and we all know how that turned out.

Unlike the chattering classes who would see traditionalist, sovereign America overrun and enervated in the name of globalism, Trump’s ardent supporters are not interested in gossipy, inconsequential trash-talk among members of the so-called cultural and managerial elite. Who gives a damn what Omarosa Newman or Rupert Murdoch think of the president or vice versa?  That Mr. Trump has kept promises and keeps trying to keep promises on issues they care about is what matters.

WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Sweden’s Self-Inflicted Mess The Scared Girls of Uppsala, Children of ISIS Terrorists by Judith Bergman

Posted By on June 1st, 2019

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14209/sweden-self-inflicted-mess

According to an Amnesty International report, in Sweden, rape investigations are under-prioritized, there are “excessively long waiting times for the results of DNA analyses”, there is not enough support for rape victims and not enough work is done for preventative purposes.

In 2017, a Swedish police report, “Utsatta områden 2017”, (“Vulnerable Areas 2017”, commonly known as “no-go zones” or lawless areas) showed that there are 61 such areas in Sweden. They encompass 200 criminal networks, consisting of an estimated 5,000 criminals. Twenty-three of those areas were especially critical….

“I cannot bear to see children faring so badly…. There should be no doubt that the Government does what it can for these children [of ISIS terrorists] and if possible they should be brought to Sweden.” — Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström.

Unfortunately, the horrific fate of enslaved Yazidi children does not appear to be something that Wallström “cannot bear”.

In the picturesque Swedish university city of Uppsala, 80% of girls do not feel safe in the city center. One 14-year old teenager, who is afraid to reveal her identity, told the Swedish media that she always wears trainers so that she can ‘run faster’ if she is attacked:

“I sat down on a bench and immediately guys came and sat next to me on both sides. Then more guys came and stood in front of me. They began to grab my hair and my legs and said things to me that I did not understand. I became so terrified and told them many times to stop, but they did not listen… Everything is so horrible. This is so wrong. I want to be able to feel safe”, she said about taking the bus home.

A recent survey from Region Uppsala shows that only 19% of girls in high school feel safe in the inner city of Uppsala. In 2013, the number was 45%. The men and boys in the gangs that engage in the sexual harassment of Swedish girls in Uppsala are frequently newly-arrived migrants.