Sunday, August 23, 2020
Israel mediated sales of NSO spyware to UAE, other Gulf nations – report
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-august-23-2020/
Company said to have sold hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, and the emirates Abu Dhabi and Ras al Khaimah
The Israeli government mediated the sale of spyware made by the Israeli firm NSO Group to the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf nations, the Haaretz daily reports.
According to the report, there have been sales worth hundreds of millions of dollars over the past few years to Gulf countries. Those nations, according to the report, are handled by a special department within NSO that is the most profitable in the company.
The spyware has been implicated in the gruesome killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was dismembered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in a 2018 incident that has also been linked to the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.
Trump, Pence campaign events signal lax approach to virus
https://apnews.com/6dbd1dbde3986d3ff51f4fe9d9deaa38
Sitting and standing shoulder to shoulder, some without face masks, hundreds of supporters of President Donald Trump jammed into an airplane hangar for an Arizona campaign event this week, ignoring the advice of Trump’s own health experts.
Like his boss, Vice President Mike Pence went mask-less in Iowa last week as he reached across a barrier to autograph a half-dozen familiar red Trump campaign hats, literally crossing the line of vulnerability outlined by the coronavirus task force he heads.
The episodes, along with similar ones in New Jersey, Florida and Wisconsin, project a confusing message to the public even as Trump and Pence are trying to secure the confidence of Americans during a global pandemic and in the lead-up to the November election.
“This was supposed to be just a quick, little small gathering,” Trump said, joking that “We’re supposed to have 50 people, right?”
“We’ll call it a peaceful protest, that way we can do whatever we want,” Trump added.
“This is like a rally,” Trump added, before telling supporters: “I hereby grant you a pardon.”
Ibn Ezra - the king is the central authority not the Sanhedrin or rabbis
17:8
כי יפלא ממך דבר. עם השופט ידבר בעבור היות עדות שנים להמית המת וזה פי' בין דם לדם בין דם נקי לדם חייב:
Should something be too difficult for you Scripture here addresses the judge. The sense of the verse is: “If it be still hard to decide, after receiving the testimony of the two witnesses, whether to execute the accused…” (this is the meaning of between blood and blood: to decide whether the execution would be an act of innocent bloodshed, or culpable bloodshed).
17:9
ואל השופט. הוא המלך שכתב משנה התורה מיד הכהנים:
the magistrate here denotes the king, who has written a copy of the Torah
He teaches that this is not about zakein mamre but someone who disobeys the king
ומת האיש ההוא. בית דין ימיתוהו והטעם וכל ישראל ישמעו ויראו וכאשר הזכיר השופט באר המשפטים שהוא חייב לשמרם:
that man will die The Court will execute him, the reason being that All Israel should hear, and fear. Having mentioned the sovereign [comment on : 9], Scripture now lists the laws that he is obliged to keep.
Police arrest seven more suspects in gang-rape of 16-year-old in Eilat
Police arrested seven teenagers suspected of being involved in the rape of a 16-year-old while she was vacationing in Eilat, bringing the number of those who have been detained to 11.
Trump dismisses secret audio of sister calling him ‘cruel': ‘Who cares?’
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-dismisses-secret-audio-of-sister-calling-him-cruel-who-cares
President Trump dismissed secret audio recordings released Saturday evening of his older sister Maryanne Trump Barry saying he had “no principles” and was "cruel."
“Every day it’s something else, who cares?” President Trump said in a statement, according to the Washington Post. “I miss my brother, and I’ll continue to work hard for the American people. Not everyone agrees, but the results are obvious. Our country will soon be stronger than ever before.”
‘It was great’: In leaked audio, Trump hailed low Black turnout in 2016
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/21/trump-black-voters-turnout-2016-398520
In a private meeting inside Trump Tower days before his inauguration, Donald Trump told a group of civil rights leaders something most Republicans wouldn’t dare publicly acknowledge: lower turnout among Black voters did, in fact, benefit him in the 2016 presidential election.
"Many Blacks didn’t go out to vote for Hillary ‘cause they liked me. That was almost as good as getting the vote, you know, and it was great,” the president-elect said, according to an audio recording of the meeting shared with POLITICO.
The 8 most sensational quotes from secret recordings of Trump's sister
Donald Trump “has no principles” and people “can’t trust him” according to his eldest sister, the first rebuke of the president from any of his siblings to be made public since he ascended to the presidency.
In secretly recorded audio published by the Washington Post on Saturday, Maryanne Trump Barry, a retired federal judge, talks candidly to the president's niece, Mary Trump, about her relationship with her brother, apparently unaware that she is being recorded.
AP FACT CHECK: Trump's Distortion on Dems and the Pledge
TRUMP: “The Democrats took the word GOD out of the Pledge of Allegiance at the Democrat National Convention. At first I thought they made a mistake, but it wasn’t. It was done on purpose. Remember Evangelical Christians, and ALL, this is where they are coming from-it’s done. Vote Nov 3!” — tweet Saturday.
THE FACTS: That's a misleading accusation. The central programming of the convention featured the entire pledge, complete with “under God.”
The first night of the Democratic National Convention, Joe Biden's grandchildren said the pledge, followed by the convention's chorus of "The Star Spangled Banner.” On the second night, it's stated by a diverse group of Americans; same with the third night. On the fourth night, it's recited by Cedric Richmond Jr., the son of Rep. Cedric Richmond of Louisiana. “Under God” was in each rendering. The convention also devoted a segment to showcasing Biden’s religious faith.
HK manual on Energy Permission asked of Ch-i,R"L
On the occasion of the Yahrtzeit of the Steipler Gaon ZT"L we posted
"Theological Detoxification" http://daattorah.blogspot.com/
https://
(Aug 20, 2020)
To clarify a few points:
A book promoting heretical or idolatrous ideas must be avoided even if it may hypothetically contain some truth or useful information.
In the case of the aforementioned book, "Alternative Medicine In Halacha," there is an additional motivation to comply with the prohibition to read such books: it's well-packed with distortions of both realia (metziyus) and Halacha, and is replete with a generous supply of the standard new age absurdities.
Even though his approach is antithetical to Judaism, some wonder: is it possible one can manipulate a universal Life Force energy without Halachic objections that the aforementioned author involves?
One first would need to establish the existence of such a created force, then a mechanism of using it, if any, then determine if and how it would be permitted according to Torah. So far, the author and his fellow travelers failed on every count.
For questions/ Shailos please contact: Tomim Tih'yeh:
US: 845.642.1679
Israel: 03.721.3337
______
To check for future articles on related matters, see the Tomim Tih'yeh link:
https://docs.google.com/
Court orders Donald Trump to pay legal fees in Stormy Daniels suit
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/22/politics/stormy-daniels-trump-judge-order/index.html
A California Superior Court judge has ordered President Donald Trump to pay $44,100 to Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, to reimburse her attorneys' fees in the legal battle surrounding her nondisclosure agreement.
Saturday, August 22, 2020
Friday, August 21, 2020
‘You Got to Be the Last Guy He Talks To.' The Rise and Fall of Trump Adviser Steve Bannon
https://time.com/5882072/rise-and-fall-of-steve-bannon/
After Donald Trump won the U.S. election in November 2016, some Republicans hoped that the new President would mellow in office and moderate his hardline campaign positions. Steve Bannon saw it as his job to make sure that didn’t happen.
Bannon, a former investment banker and right-wing documentary filmmaker who served as one of Trump’s principal advisers during the final months of his campaign, moved into the West Wing in January 2017, taking over an office at a crucial hallway intersection steps from the Oval Office. His perch allowed him to see nearly everyone visiting then-chief of staff Reince Priebus on one side, and Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner on the other.
Bannon’s official new title was chief strategist, and he saw himself as besieged by ideological rivals trying to slow-walk Trump’s controversial campaign promises to build a border wall, gut trade deals, and ban Muslims from entering the country. His ascent was seen by many as bringing the fringe voices of white nationalists and the alt-right directly into the West Wing. He spent hours on calls with GOP donors and reporters painting Priebus as beholden to the old Republican establishment and Kushner as a Democrat in Trump’s house. He lasted seven months, before being pushed out for leaking about palace intrigue and refusing to cede access and control to Trump’s second chief of staff, John Kelly.
Bannon’s time in the White House may have been short, but it was influential. Within a few weeks of moving in, Bannon helped launch Trump on the hardline policy path he has rarely deviated from since. Bannon, along with senior advisor Stephen Miller, pushed for the hasty freeze of the U.S. refugee program and the halt in immigration from seven majority Muslim countries, moves that were later challenged in court and required revisions. He kept a white board on the wall next to his desk and put green check marks next to actions that weakened international trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership and North American Free Trade Agreement.