Monday, August 24, 2020
Trump-O-Meter
https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/trumpometer/?ruling=true
Tracking President Donald Trump's campaign promises: The Trump-O-Meter is PolitiFact's meter for tracking 100 promises President Trump made during his 2016 campaign. (We tracked President Barack Obama’s promises when he was in office, too.) For each campaign promise, our reporters research the issue and then rate it based on whether the promise was achieved: Promise Kept, Promise Broken, Compromise, Stalled, In the Works or Not Yet Rated. We rate the promise not on the president's intentions or effort, but on verifiable outcomes.
Sunday, August 23, 2020
Israel's Netanyahu Accepts Proposal for Budget Negotiation Extension, Avoiding New Election
https://time.com/5882803/netanyahu-budget-negotiations/
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sunday that he had accepted a proposal to extend budget negotiations, preventing the government from collapsing and plunging the country into a new election.
In a nationally televised address, Netanyahu said that now was not the time to drag the country into a fourth parliamentary election in less than two years.
“Now is the time for unity. Not for elections,” he said.
'A horrific rape which lasted for hours'
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/285744
The complaint initially drew little media attention, until two men suspected of taking part in the rape were arrested last week.
Now, police say that a total of 11 suspects have been arrested in connection with the case, with investigators working to identify more suspects involved in the rape.
Nine of the suspects now in custody are minors - 17-year-olds - with two adults also in custody.
The arrest of one of the suspects, a 27-year-old resident of the coastal city of Hadera, was extended Sunday by five days.
In addition, police have arrested a woman employed by the hotel on suspicion of obstruction of justice.
Dem senator calls on Trump to denounce QAnon conspiracy theory
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dem-senator-calls-on-trump-to-denounce-qanon-conspiracy-theory
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, on Sunday called on President Trump to disavow the far-right conspiracy movement QAnon – just days after the president said supporters of movement “love our country.”
Warner called the conspiracy theory movement, which has gained popularity among a small faction of Republicans, a "fringe group” that is “potentially a threat.”
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.”