NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Depressed? Don’t worry: Be Happy Diane Bederman

Posted By on September 11th, 2023

https://dianebederman.com/depressed-dont-worry-be-happy/

Seems depression is rising.

So, what is depression?

Here is one definition:

“Depression (major depressive disorder) is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act. Fortunately, it is also treatable. Depression causes feelings of sadness and/or a loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed. It can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems and can decrease your ability to function at work and at home.”

I am beginning to wonder if we are misdiagnosing sadness as depression. And for a reason. How does a doctor know that it is depression for which he will happily prescribe medication, all kinds of medication, and not just sadness from life’s events? Seems there is no pill for sadness.

How is it possible that millions of people would not be sad after the years of Covid when “mental illness” in our children went through the roof, and now fear mongering over climate? And those attacks on free speech?   Is there a pill for that sadness, too? What about the damage we are witnessing that is being done to our children by adults who try and confuse them about their “being”?  Who let these people get close to our children to tell them they may be in the wrong body when they never questioned their body in the first place? And now schools taking away parental rights regarding the “identification” of their children? How many of those children will develop “depression”? And what about the removal of healthy genitals by our esteemed medical professionals? Do you suppose reading about that every day and watching videos of men twerking and sexual perversion, in front of children, might lead to sadness?  Is it possible some of us are very sad because we don’t understand why parents expose their children to “exposed” people in Gay Pride Parades or at Drag Queen shows – too often sponsored by our governments in the name of equity or some such BS?

I’ll bet there is a pill for every sadness which will be diagnosed as depression.Think about it. If millions of people are diagnosed with depression and there is a pill for that… a happy pill… wouldn’t the government just love to have millions more on that pill? The ads for it would be – Don’t worry, Be Happy.

And while you are not worrying, your freedoms will be squeezed. Your rights will be taken away.  Your guns will be taken. Those 15 minute cities will grow exponentially. Your choice of food will be taken away from you. But not to worry. You will be happy on your happy pill.

Sounds hilarious, doesn’t it? But not to me, anymore. I know the difference between sadness and depression. Sadness lives in those of us who see the world falling apart, our freedoms shrinking, our rights taken away, our families destroyed and have to watch as friends and family continue to bend the knee to false gods and governments. How can we not be sad? But  NO. It’s depression. No-it’s sadness over fear for the future.

There is no pill to alleviate that sadness/depression. The sadness/depression…righteous anger?… that we feel has been brought to us by the governments we have elected – corrupt elites who care only about themselves and their pocketbooks. We have become so tired just trying to put food on the table, clothes on our backs and a roof over our heads – from the policies of the elites, that we have no energy left to fight back. And that is part of the plan. Along with a  pill for your “depression.”

WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Time to Declare a ‘People’s War’ on the CCP: All of China Is One Military Machine by Gordon G. Chang

Posted By on September 11th, 2023

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/19969/china-military-machine

Washington should be trying to end the rule of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It is time to declare a “people’s war” against the CCP. We are in an us-or-them fight.

The Party certainly thinks that way. In May 2019, People’s Daily, the CCP’s self-described “mouthpiece”… declared a “people’s war” against the United States.

“A people’s war is a total war, and its strategy and tactics require the overall mobilization of political, economic, cultural, diplomatic, military, and other power resources, the integrated use of multiple forms of struggle and combat methods.” — PLA Daily, an official news website of the Communist Party’s People’s Liberation Army, April 1, 2023.

Although it denies doing so, China’s regime is conducting “unrestricted warfare” against America.

Unrestricted warfare means total war. The regime’s deliberate spread of COVID-19 and support for the Chinese fentanyl gangs, for example, should be viewed in that light.

Most Americans have chosen not to see the Chinese regime’s hatred of America.

Why should Americans be concerned?

The Party, with strident anti-Americanism, is establishing a justification to strike America. As James Lilley, the great American ambassador to Beijing, said, the Chinese always telegraph their punches. They are now telegraphing punches.

[US National Security Adviser Jake] Sullivan and others are willing to impose, for instance, technology sanctions on China, but they are largely ineffective.

Xi Jinping has a policy of “military-civilian fusion,” which means that anything a civilian organization possesses can be — and is — pipelined to the Chinese military. In the Communist Party’s top-down system, every individual and entity in China must obey every Party order.

It’s a warning to America….

The U.S. Commerce Department allowed transfers of American technology to SMIC on the condition there would be no transfers to Huawei.

Why would Commerce ever think SMIC would keep that promise? The only realistic solution is to treat all Chinese parties as one and to prevent tech transfers to all of them.

Xi’s regime is mobilizing all of the country’s civilians for war. The Chinese leader never misses an opportunity to talk about it. China’s regime is clearly planning to wage “kinetic” war — the type Americans are used to seeing in the movies — on America.

Obviously, American parties, especially businesses, should not be enabling the Chinese regime to kill Americans. This means they should not be engaging in any transaction that can strengthen any part of China. We should think of all of China as military.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

The Frightened Left Victor Davis Hanson

Posted By on September 11th, 2023

https://victorhanson.com/the-frightened-left/

An impeachment inquiry looms and the shrieks of outrage are beginning.

The Left is now suddenly voicing warnings that those who recently undermined the system could be targeted by their own legacies.

So, for example, now we read why impeachment is suddenly a dangerous gambit.

True, the Founders did not envision impeaching a first-term president the moment he lost his House majority. Nor did they imagine impeaching a president twice. And they certainly did not anticipate trying an ex-president in the Senate as a private citizen.

In modern times, the nation has not rushed to impeach a president without a special counsel investigation to determine whether the chief executive was guilty of “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

But thanks to the Democrats, recent impeachments now have destroyed all those guardrails. After all, Trump was impeached the first time on the fumes of an exhaustive but fruitless 22-month, $40 million special counsel investigation—one designed to find him guilty of Russian “collusion” and thus to be removed from office but found no actionable offenses at all.

Instead, dejected Democrats moved immediately for a second try. In September 2019 a few weeks after Trump had announced his 2020 reelection bid, the Democratic House began to impeach the president on the new grounds that he had talked to the President Zelensky of Ukraine and said he might delay offensive arms shipments—unless the Ukrainians could demonstrate that they had ended corruption and, in particular, were no longer influenced by the Biden family quid pro quo shakedowns.

ANTI-SEMITISM Comments turned off

GOOD NEWS FROM AMAZING ISRAEL FROM MICHAEL ORDMAN

Posted By on September 10th, 2023

This coming Friday, September 15th will herald the end of the Jewish calendar year 5783. We reflect on the miraculous, unbroken chain of survival of a faith and people whose contributions to humanity are remarkable. The Ten Commandments, the first guide to decent behavior in history, the inspiration of the Torah to the founding fathers of our democracy, and incredible achievements in Israel detailed by Michael Ordman are a source of wonder and pride. May 5784 bring peace, health, and happiness to all good people throughout the world. rsk

https://verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com/

Six positive stories about Israeli detection or treatments for cancer.

Israel invests billions to help East Jerusalem Arabs.

Israeli and Pakistani doctors save children in Afghanistan.

An innovative Israeli college is creating the next generation of teachers.

Israeli kibbutzim are producing huge amounts of sustainable energy.

See the Israeli flag at the edge of space.

More Israeli sporting gold medals.

More embassies open – Israel’s in Bahrain and Papua New Guinea’s in Jerusalem.

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
 
Once-a-day injection to treat Parkinson’s. Israel’s Pharma Two B (see here previously) is presenting the full results of its Phase 3 trial of its once-a-day injection of its P2B001 treatment for Parkinson’s disease. P2B001 combines low-dose pramipexole with low-dose rasagiline. It relieves PD symptoms with few side effects.
https://nocamels.com/2023/08/revolutionary-jab-alleviates-parkinsons-symptoms-in-new-study/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J23snutHniU
 
Sheba implements fast cancer diagnosis. Sheba Medical Center has deployed a new accelerated, AI-powered cancer diagnostics research platform to improve patient diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes. It utilizes solutions of various Israeli startups, including that of Imagene (see here previously).
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/375264
 
Detecting ovarian cancer. Israel’s Nevia Bio (previously Gina Life) specializes in women’s health, using its innovative machine-learning platform to detect diseases while they are still curable. Nevia is initially targeting ovarian cancer, which has a less than 20% survival rate at stage 3 and currently has no early detection.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/sykpcf119n   https://www.nevia.bio/
 
Accurately predicting the genetic risk of cancer. Researchers at Tel Aviv University (TAU) have developed a computational model that makes it possible to predict an individual woman’s genetic risk of developing breast cancer based on her genetic profile. It means women at risk can be tested earlier and more frequently.
https://www.aftau.org/news_item/computational-model-from-tau-will-make-it-possible-to-predict-increased-genetic-risk-for-breast-cancer/  https://jmg.bmj.com/content/early/2023/07/13/jmg-2023-109185.abstract
 
Treating Basal Cell Carcinoma. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s MediWound (see here previously) announced positive data from its Phase I/II study of MW005 for non-surgical treatment of Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC) – a form of slow-growing skin cancer.  MW005 is safe, well-tolerated and completely cleared the BCC lesions.
https://ir.mediwound.com/news-releases/news-release-details/mediwound-announces-positive-results-its-us-phase-iii-study
 
Nanotechnology improves photodynamic cancer therapy.  Researchers at Israel’s Ariel University have enhanced the ability of Photodynamic cancer therapy (PDT) to reach tumors deep inside the body. They used nanoparticles of barium titanate, curcumin (turmeric) and pulsed lasers to optimize the Near Infrared Light.
https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/article-754826#
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1386142523008806
 
US approval for biodegradable balloon. Israel’s BioProtect (see here previously) has received US FDA’s clearance for its biodegradable balloon spacer that protects healthy tissue against damage during prostate cancer radiation therapy.  BioProtect already has approval for the European market.
https://bioprotect.com/   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-n3ojSivVY
https://www.prnewswire.com/il/news-releases/bioprotect-receives-fdas-clearance-for-its-biodegradable-balloon-for-rectal-protection-during-prostate-cancer-radiation-therapy-301911041.html
 
Using music to test for dementia. Israel’s Neurosteer (see here previously) has developed a musical test for the early detection of Parkinson’s Disease as well as Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.  Patients conduct a series of musical tasks while sensors connected to an EEG device record their brain activity.
https://nocamels.com/2023/08/testing-for-dementia-in-the-elderly-with-mood-lifting-music/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEKYeo-LPzI
 
US approval for acne scar treatment. Israel’s Sofwave Medical (see here previously) has received US FDA approval for its treatment for acne scars. 88% of patients reported an improvement in a clinical study of Sofwave’s Synchronous Ultrasound Parallel Beam (SUPERB) technology.
https://nocamels.com/2023/08/fda-okays-israel-developed-treatment-for-acne-scars/
 
Understanding early placental development. Joint Israeli & US research has revealed crucial insights into the early development of specialized tissues that protect the fetus during human pregnancy. The findings can potentially help prevent dangerous pregnancy complications, like pre-eclampsia and preterm birth.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/new-technology-enables-researchers-to-better-understand-early-placental-development/   https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06298-9
 
Better health for aging Americans. (TY OurCrowd) Healthcare app Together by Renee is integrating the video-based biomarker check technology from Israel’s Binah.ai (see here previously). The platform allows US seniors to easily check and share vital signs with caregivers and family, using their smartphone cameras.
https://www.prweb.com/releases/2023/07/prweb19458579.htm
 
 

ENVIRONMENT AND JUNK SCIENCE Comments turned off

The ‘Climate Emergency’ Is a Hoax by Robert Williams ******

Posted By on September 10th, 2023

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/19962/climate-emergency-hoax

More than 1,600 scientists, including two Nobel laureates, have signed a declaration saying that “There is no climate emergency.” The declaration is unlikely to get any attention from the mainstream media, unfortunately, but it is important for people to know about: the mass climate hysteria and the destruction of the US economy in the name of climate change need to stop.

“Climate science should be less political, while climate policies should be more scientific,” states the declaration signed by the 1,609 scientists, including Nobel laureates John F. Clauser from the US and Ivar Giaever from Norway/US.

“Climate policy relies on inadequate models
Climate models have many shortcomings and are not remotely plausible as policy tools. They… ignore the fact that enriching the atmosphere with CO2 is beneficial… There is no statistical evidence that global warming is intensifying hurricanes, floods, droughts and suchlike natural disasters, or making them more frequent.” — 1,609 scientists, There is no Climate Emergency, clintel.org.

“I was taught that you tell the whole truth [as a scientist]….” Koonin said. He noted as well the immorality of asking the developing world to cut down emissions, when so many do not even have access to electricity and the immorality of scaring the younger generations…. — Steven E. Koonin, former Undersecretary for Science at the U.S. Department of Energy; current professor at New York University, fellow at the Hoover Institution, and author of Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn’t, and Why It Matters. — Hoover Institution, August 15, 2023.

Of course it would be helpful to research what can be done to relieve the problems brought about by man, such as the “hole in the ozone layer,” which is now closing, but climate change is not an apocalyptic emergency and needs to be attended to without bringing devastation to the hundreds of millions of people already in extreme poverty.

The Biden administration, however, appears not to be concerned about the widespread poverty and massive starvation that will be caused by the unavailability of cheap and reliable energy in underdeveloped countries, or the inflation caused by the skyrocketing prices that are crushing Americans “barely able to afford one meal a day”.

These are man-made problems, created by importing expensive (nearing $100 a barrel again) — often dirtier — oil from adversaries of the United States, such as Russia and Venezuela, instead of extracting it far less expensively at home.

The Biden administration also does not seem concerned that it is killing wildlife, sea life and the fishing industry by installing offshore wind turbines along the Atlantic seaboard, or that mandating electric vehicles will throw virtually the entire auto maintenance industry out of work (EVs do not need routine maintenance), or that lithium batteries not only explode but cost thousands of dollars to replace. The administration even wants military equipment, such as tanks, to be electric, as if there were charging stations in the middle of foreign deserts in the event of a conflict. Moreover, according to NBC News, volcanoes, unimpressed with executive orders, “Dwarf Humans for CO2 Emissions.”

The Biden administration does not even bother to act on its own climate findings: In March, the White House released a report about the impact of climate change on the US economy. “Its findings undermine any claims of an ongoing climate crisis or imminent catastrophe” Koonin wrote in July. “The report’s authors should be commended for honestly delivering likely unwelcome messages…. Exaggerating the magnitude, urgency and certainty of the climate threat encourages ill-considered policies that could be more disruptive and expensive than any change in the climate itself.” — Steven E. Koonin, Wall Street Journal, July 6, 2023.

IMMIGRATION Comments turned off

Sinema blasts Biden administration as ‘outrageous’ in lack of funding for migrant crisis in border states by Gabrielle M. Etzel

Posted By on September 10th, 2023

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/immigration/sinema-blasts-biden-administration-outrageous-lack-funding-migrant-crisis

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) lambasted the Biden administration on Friday as “outrageous” and “ridiculous” for failing to allocate sufficient funds to humanitarian organizations on the Arizona-Mexico border dealing with the migrant crisis.

“The government has shown a real inability to respond in real-time to the change in the patterns,” Sinema said, adding that the Biden administration has “completely shortchanged Arizona border communities” that are experiencing fluctuations in where migrants cross into the U.S.

In July, Border Patrol’s Tucson sector set a 15-year high for migrant encounters, making it the busiest along the Southwest border.

Arizona citizens, in particular, are frustrated with the insufficiency of the Shelter and Service Program, which provides federal assistance to social work organizations that assist migrants.

Under the prior apparatus, called the Emergency Food and Shelter Program, federal money for the migrant crisis was limited to border towns, but dollars under the SSP program are now being spread across the entire country.

New York City, which has received more than any border town under the SSP, has been given $106.8 million in funding, compared to the $56 million to be shared across state governments and non-profits in the four states that border Mexico.

Sinema told reporters that the lack of funding for humanitarian services along the southern border is creating a dangerous situation for both migrants and Arizonan communities as social workers and volunteers struggle to do their jobs with decreased levels of public support.

Sinema said she is working to get more funding from the administration that is “adequate to actually meet the needs of the border communities that are actually meeting the challenge.”

ELECTIONS Comments turned off

Biden fails crisis management in Hawaii; DeSantis shines in Florida By Michael McKenna

Posted By on September 10th, 2023

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/sep/9/biden-fails-crisis-management-in-hawaii-desantis-s/

One legitimate measurement of the readiness and capability of a candidate to be president is how he or she responds to a crisis.

In a moment of crisis, the core of human beings is on display. Some people wither; others shine. Either way, it is always a peek into the foundation of the person — his or her value system.

We had two examples of this recently, as both President Biden and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had the opportunity to respond to crises, in the wake of the devastating fire on Maui and Hurricane Idalia, respectively.

How did they do?

Unfortunately, the president embarrassed himself. While the fires were burning, Mr. Biden remained on the beach and in the beach house of a wealthy donor; he could not even manage an encouraging or sympathetic comment or two to the Maui survivors. When he finally did get around to visiting Hawaii, he compared the fires — which destroyed an entire community and may have killed more than 100 people — to a small kitchen fire he once experienced.

It will not surprise you to learn that the president has managed, in the retelling, to turn that kitchen fire into an inferno that almost killed his wife and his cat, and destroyed his 1967 Corvette. The president wasn’t clear about which loss would have been the greater personal tragedy.

He did this while talking to survivors who, in many instances, were and are certain that their loved ones are dead among the ashes.

ELECTIONS Comments turned off

The Presidential Election Narrative Is Changing — With Likely Consequences for Fundraising Douglas Schoen

Posted By on September 10th, 2023

https://themessenger.com/opinion/the-presidential-election-narrative-is-changing-with-likely-consequences-for-fundraising

There has been a huge change in the race for president, and it has more to do with elite opinions about the outcome of the race than it does with the actual numbers.

While there has been a marginal improvement in Donald Trump’s position vis-à-vis Joe Biden, largely due to Biden’s low ratings both for job performance and for his handling of the economy, Biden is also plagued by an increasing number of Democrats who are lukewarm to his position atop the party’s ticket.

Indeed, due to Biden’s age and an increasing perception of corruption involving his son Hunter Biden — who we learned this week is likely to be indicted on gun charges before the end of the month — Biden’s vulnerabilities as a candidate are rapidly piling up.

The reason this is important, is that with a spate of polls, including recent national polling by my firm, Schoen Cooperman Research, showing that Trump’s ratings as president (52% approve, 44% disapprove) are close to 10-points higher than Biden’s contemporaneous ratings (44% approve, 54% disapprove), political analysts are starting to realize that what happened in 2016 could well repeat itself in 2020: That is, an upset victory for Donald Trump.

To be sure, for the last six to nine months — both before and after the former president’s four indictments — the narrative among elites had been pretty much as follows: Trump is damaged goods due to his indictments; he can’t focus on a campaign; swing voters, suburbanites, and women will not vote for Trump; his focus on 2020 will just detract from hopes for a better future, and the GOP must do everything they can to find a stronger nominee.

Meanwhile, the data continues to show Trump with roughly a 40-point lead over his closest primary opponent, a 1-point lead over Biden in SCR’s recent polling, as well as a considerable advantage over Biden in the aforementioned retrospective versus current approval rating of the two administrations.

ELECTIONS Comments turned off

Freddy Gray: Is Joe Biden really running again?

Posted By on September 10th, 2023

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/is-joe-biden-really-running-again/

Will President Joe Biden be on the ballot in the presidential election of 2024? It’s a question that Biden seemed to answer four months ago when he announced, in an online video, that he would be running for re-election next year. ‘Let’s finish this job,’ he said. ‘Because I know we can.’ 

Three-quarters of Americans say they’re ‘seriously concerned’ about Biden’s mental and physical competence to do the job

Team Biden must have hoped that, after making that announcement, the doubts surrounding his bid for re-election would go away. As the polls increasingly show Donald Trump cruising towards a re-nomination for the Republican ticket, America appears then to be heading – grimly, inevitably – towards a repeat of 2020. Trump vs Biden 2024: this time it’s more depressing. 

But the concerns about Joe Biden’s fitness for office now, let alone another four years, have never gone away. In fact, they’re intensifying again. 

He’s an unpopular president: his approval ratings have remained stuck around 40 per cent, though it’s worth noting Obama’s were not much better. The Biden administration like nothing more than to talk up his economic accomplishments – record jobs! Manufacturing boom! – yet the public doesn’t agree. Some 60 per cent of Americans now say that Biden’s policies have made the country worse off. The number of people who think America is on the ‘right track’ under his leadership is currently less than 25 per cent. 

Democrats can and will find comfort in telling themselves that Biden beat Trump in 2020 and, with the added advantages of incumbency, he can do it in 2024. America isn’t really going to vote for Donald Trump again, is it? 

EDUCATION Comments turned off

Oliver Rhodes Who killed free speech at Harvard?

Posted By on September 10th, 2023

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/harvard-doesnt-need-free-speech/

Harvard, consistently ranked as one of the world’s best universities, has just been rated the worst for free speech in the United States. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (Fire), which compiled the rankings, described the state of free speech at Harvard as ‘abysmal’.

This news is surprising, since in April over fifty Harvard academics formed a Council on Academic Freedom dedicated, in its words, ‘to promoting free enquiry, intellectual diversity and civil discourse’ on campus. The Council’s formation marked a milestone in official recognition of the problem of free speech, mainly for conservative professors. The psychologist Steven Pinker and Lawrence H. Summers, former advisor to President Clinton, are both members. So why does Harvard’s reputation continue to decline?

Having just finished a year at Harvard, I would say there’s a fairly simple explanation. It is misleading to speak of a free speech problem when Harvard doesn’t really need free speech in the first place. The purpose of America’s elite universities, for decades, has been to serve as hitching posts for the elite. Most people are there to climb the ladder and get a well-paid job. Once you understand this, you can see why a university which professes to champion enquiry, tolerance and diversity ends up doing the exact opposite. 

The purpose of America’s elite universities, for decades, has been to serve as hitching posts for the elite

For starters, Harvard’s student body remains stubbornly homogeneous. Ten per cent of graduating seniors identify as conservative, versus 70 per cent liberal. Diversity of race and gender have improved – but these are relatively easy to achieve when affirmative action privileges wealthy black students, and girls outperform boys at high school.