https://www.kikar.co.il/402686.html
Friday, October 8, 2021
QAnon circles are spreading a conspiracy theory about photos of Biden's White House staging area, claiming it's proof that he's a fake president
https://news.yahoo.com/qanon-circles-spreading-conspiracy-theory-025401501.html
Followers of QAnon are spreading a conspiracy theory that Joe Biden is a "fake president."
Images of a staging area at the White House prompted QAnon followers to call it a "movie set."
However, this location is merely a venue for photo ops at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
Palestinians outraged over court ruling allowing Jewish prayer on Temple Mount
Palestinians expressed outrage and warned of an escalation on Thursday after a court ruling on Wednesday implied support for allowing quiet prayer by Jewish visitors on the Temple Mount, the first such official recognition of the practice which has gone relatively undisturbed for the past year and a half.
COVID lab-leak theory: ‘Rare’ genetic sequence doesn’t mean the virus was engineered
The theory that the COVID-19 pandemic was triggered by the Sars-CoV-2 virus being leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China was recently given new life following an explosive article in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) in which the authors claimed “the most compelling reason to favor the lab leak hypothesis is firmly based in science.” But does the science really support the claim that the virus was engineered in a laboratory?
Thursday, October 7, 2021
Man On Respirator: “I Thought Corona Was Over”
Man On Respirator: “I Thought Corona Was Over”
Many of the currently hospitalized severe cases in Israel were shocked to be admitted: General opinion among many was that corona was “over”
Jordan fumes after court allows Jews to pray on Temple Mount
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/314650
The Jordanian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday condemned a ruling by the Jerusalem Magistrates Court allowing, for the first time, Jews to pray silently on the Temple Mount.
"The Jordanian Foreign Ministry condemns the decision by the Israeli court allowing extremists to pray in the plazas of Al Aqsa Mosque," the Ministry said in a statement.
Haitham Abu Al Foul, the Ministry's official spokesperson, said, "This decision is worthless, and it has no legal standing under international law, which does not recognize the legal jurisdiction of Israel in territories occupied in 1967, including East Jerusalem."
Minority rules: Scientists discover tipping point for the spread of ideas
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110725190044.htm
Wednesday, October 6, 2021
Why many scientists say it’s unlikely that SARS-CoV-2 originated from a “lab leak”
During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the “lab leak” theory gained little traction. Sure, U.S. President Donald Trump suggested SARS-CoV-2 originated in a laboratory in Wuhan, China—and called it “the China virus”—but he never presented evidence, and few in the scientific community took him seriously. In fact, early in the pandemic, a group of prominent researchers dismissed lab-origin notions as “conspiracy theories” in a letter in The Lancet. A report from a World Health Organization (WHO) “joint mission,” which sent a scientific team to China in January to explore possible origins with Chinese colleagues, described a lab accident as “extremely unlikely.”
But this spring, views began to shift. Suddenly it seemed that the lab-leak hypothesis had been too blithely dismissed. In a widely read piece, fueled by a “smoking gun” quote from a Nobel laureate, a veteran science journalist accused scientists and the mainstream media of ignoring “substantial evidence” for the scenario. The head of WHO openly pushed back against the joint mission’s conclusion, and U.S. President Joe Biden ordered the intelligence community to reassess the lab-leak possibility. Eighteen scientists, including leaders in virology and evolutionary biology, signed a letter published in Science in May that called for a more balanced appraisal of the “laboratory incident” hypothesis.
Yet behind the clamor, little had changed. No breakthrough studies have been published. The highly anticipated U.S. intelligence review, delivered to Biden on 24 August, reached no firm conclusions, but leaned toward the theory that the virus has a natural origin.
Fresh evidence that would resolve the question may not emerge anytime soon. China remains the best place to hunt for clues, but its relative openness to collaboration during the joint mission seems to have evaporated. Chinese officials have scoffed at calls from Biden and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus for an independent audit of key Wuhan labs, which some say should include an investigation of notebooks, computers, and freezers. Chinese vice health minister Zeng Yixin said such demands show “disrespect toward common sense and arrogance toward science.” In response to the increasing pressure, China has also blocked the “phase 2” studies outlined in the joint mission’s March report, which could reveal a natural jump between species.
Despite the impasse, many scientists say the existing evidence—including early epidemiological patterns, SARS-CoV-2’s genomic makeup, and a recent paper about animal markets in Wuhan—makes it far more probable that the virus, like many emerging pathogens, made a natural “zoonotic” jump from animals to humans.
New evidence undermines the COVID lab-leak theory — but the press keeps pushing it
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-09-28/evidence-against-a-lab-leak-as-covid-source
When it comes to the pandemic, pseudoscience has outweighed real science at almost every turn. One of the best examples of that is the unsupported assertion that the virus causing COVID-19 escaped from a Chinese laboratory.
Despite mounting evidence that the virus reached humans through natural pathways — from infected animals such as bats — the lab-leak hypothesis recently jumped back into the news, thanks to CNN, the investigative news site the Intercept, and the Atlantic.
All treat the idea that the virus escaped from a lab credulously. They downplay or entirely ignore the latest scientific findings that support the theory that the virus’ origin can be found in the animal kingdom — the view accepted by a preponderance of experts in virology.
New evidence emerges against COVID lab-leak theory — but the press keeps pushing it
Here’s the true state of the discussion. There is no evidence that the virus leaked from the Wuhan laboratory or any other lab. There is no evidence that the Wuhan lab was working with a bat virus that had anything but a very distant resemblance to SARS-CoV-2. Viruses that resemble it much more closely have been found in natural settings a thousand miles from Wuhan, as the crow, or bat, flies.
Anti-vaxxer Rabbi's COVID Remarks 'Dangerous and Misleading,' Israel's Health Ministry Warns
The Health Ministry released a public warning on Sunday against Rabbi Yuval Hacohen Asherov, asserting that his statements against the coronavirus vaccine are dangerous.
Asherov, who says he deals in “the wisdom of the Kabbalah and natural heath,” recently posted a video clip where he falsely claims that the COVID-19 vaccine damages fertility and can be fatal. The clip has gotten hundreds of thousands of hits and a great deal of attention, although it negates scientific knowledge about the vaccine.
the public, the Health Ministry notes that Asherov is not licensed to practice medicine or any other health profession, nor is he licensed to practice physical therapy, as was reported in some media outlets.
“The misleading information given by him or in his publications cannot guide the public in anything having to do with the coronavirus and cannot be taken as a recommendation or instruction with medical value,” the committee wrote.
Tuesday, October 5, 2021
My beloved father betrayed me- a true story of abuse
Who am I?
I grew up in (what seemed to be) the best of homes. We always had many guests over on Shabbos, and people would always say to me, "you are so lucky that you have such an amazing family - your parents are such incredible people..." on and on. My friends would love coming to my home. My father is a dynamic talmid chacham who is a rabbi in a prominent shul. He is humble, wise and loving. My mother is a loving and sensitive person who is widely respected for her concern for others and her piety. My parents are leaders of a Jewish community whose counsel is sought for people with shalom bayis problems. They receive many calls asking for advice about how to raise children. They give chanson and kallah classes, and they deal with helping couples that were separated get back together. No one would ever dream that they themselves had significant sick psychological problems.
Everything looked so perfect from the outside. But what was really confusing to me was that in my childish eyes, everything looked so perfect from the inside as well. As children we all think that our parents are perfect. We copy everything that they do because we are programmed to trust that everything they do is right. I also thought whatever my parents do must be good. This discrepancy - between the fact that my father was doing something seriously wrong to me and the fact that it was my wonderful father who was doing it – was so terrifying that it led me not to trust my judgment. Even though I sensed that what my father was doing was weird, I just assumed that I was oversensitive. I thought I was crazy. One would have to be crazy to believe that a couple who counsels other couples and gives many people in the community advice on child raising could be themselves be hurting each other and their children.
That is why I lived as a victim of abuse for a decade without realizing what was going on. The abuse that I suffered just did not fit in with my belief that I had a "perfect" family. Yes, I knew that my Father touched me in ways that made me uncomfortable. Yes, I knew that he took off my clothing at night and fondled me. Yes, I eventually learned that this is considered molestation. Yet I unconsciously refused to put two and two together to avoid arriving at the rotten truth that I was actually being molested by my wonderful father.
What happened?
When I hit puberty as a pre-teen, my father was always extremely interested in my physical development. He would make all sorts of inappropriate comments and even would outright tell me that he enjoys watching my body change etc. He told me that he likes when I wear lycra shirts. He’d ask me why I wouldn’t let him see me in my bathing suit. I remember once when I was eleven, that I had fallen asleep in bed in my towel after coming out of the shower. I woke up to feel a breeze of air on my body and though surprised, I pretended to still be sleeping as I heard my father say "Isn’t she beautiful..." and heard my mother saying "Oh sweetie, put the towel back on her- she’ll be so embarrassed if she wakes up." Although at this young age I was physically very developed, I was not mature enough emotionally to know that this was wrong. As a young girl I just took it for granted that this was normal behavior, and instead of being annoyed at my father I was just ashamed of myself and held all the embarrassment inside.
Because I eventually got used to the idea that his comments were okay, I did not resist when he undressed me for the first time. He continued to sexually harass me every so often through out my teenage years by very inappropriate fondling. When I was about 15 I think I started to wonder if this was considered appropriate behavior, and I thought to call up a different rav and ask him, but I was afraid of exposing my father and the shame that would cause my father. So I didn’t, and I figured, ‘my father is a talmid chacham, he probably would know if this is prohibited,’ so I just let him continue doing it.
How it affected me:
The sexual abuse that I experienced affected me in numerous ways. I will try to explain a few of the basic effects that suffering abuse had on me. First and foremost having this history made me feel dirty and inferior. It also caused me not to trust my judgment, as I explained above. It may be hard to understand, but the experience also caused me to want to be taken advantage of again. It caused me to need that kind of attention. To want someone to be obsessed with me to the extent that they don’t care to break rules in order to have me. I will attempt to clarify how the abuse messed with my mind and affected me in the ways that I have listed.
I felt guilty because I was sure my heart was twisted. I thought it was my fault that I was attacked. I judged myself to be no better than a prostitute and concluded that therefore I’m bad. In retrospect the logic of this thought process is hard to understand, but that is exactly how I thought at the time. (It took over a year in therapy to understand identify and understand where my feeling of "I’m bad" was coming from.)
This feeling of "I’m bad" painted the way I saw everything about myself. I realize now that having a low self esteem negatively affected my academic performance, my confidence to perform in high school productions and in in just about every situation and relationship. My relationship with myself, my friends, my teachers and G‑d all had to overcome barriers as a result.
Having a low self esteem made me want to listen to gross music because the noise kept me company when I was in my low moods and emotionally crazy mess. Listening to Jewish music just made me feel bad about myself, because it seemed much more pure and holy than I felt I was.
The void of positive self regard was filled instead with feeling good about myself for being glamorous and because I was able to be pleasing others by giving them gratification. I recall my father starring me down and saying "Do you realize that you are like a big delicious walking ice cream scoop?" He would come home from a hard day and say "I don’t feel good- if you would come hug me in bed that would make me feel better" and then beg me "don’t leave!" Usually I’d listen, but if I disobeyed sometimes he’s lock his strong arms around me and not let me go. But even when I struggled to go free I wanted him to keep me. Being abused is kind of addictive as will be furthur explained in my journal entries below.
It also made shidduchim much more difficult then it should have been for me. I was a charming girl and many guys wanted to marry me but I found it very hard to say yes. I was afraid to trust. I remember passing up one particular guy that I realy liked ... I just couldn’t get the yes out of my mouth. I remembered I cried after I broke up with him. I was so sad that I missed out. I remember desperately wishing that I could just trust someone.
But my lack of trust was not simply that I was afraid that my husband might betray or hurt me. It was much more complex and unhealthy than that. As a result of the excessive and unnatural attention that I got from my father, I became almost addicted to the need for arousing and emotionally intense attention. I wanted and needed that type of intense experience again and I was worried that the man I would marry would not be as obsessed with me as my father. Thank G‑d after much therapy this issue has been resolved.
Thousands of Pedophile Priests Abused Over 200,000 Children in French Catholic Church
A Catholic leader in France has described the "shame" of revelations that those working for the church had abused hundreds of thousands of children over more than seven decades.
The findings of the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (CIASE) detailed widespread abuse that stretched back to 1950.
In presenting the commission's findings which followed an investigation lasting two-and-a-half years, CIASE president Jean-Marc Sauvé said on Tuesday that 216,000 people had been abused by priests and other members of the clergy.
When taking into account the abuse by lay people working for Church missions, that number could amount to an estimated 330,000 people.
Turning marriage problems into religious issues
https://mishpacha.com/your-map-to-a-better-marriage-part-1/
But the bigger picture is to accept is that you did not choose your husband. Hashem chose him for you. Out of every possible prospect in the entire world, Hashem determined that this person is the perfect match for you. Hashem knows you far better than you know you, and Hashem knows far better than you what is for your best. In His infinite wisdom, He determined that this is the ideal spouse for you. When you focus on the issue from this perspective, I think you’ll find it much easier to accept your husband for who he is.
You write that your disappointment nags at you and makes you unhappy. Those thoughts are a trick of the Satan. He wants you to be miserable and resentful. He doesn’t want your marriage to reach its potential. Whenever that notion pops up, try to replace it with another thought: “Hashem runs the world. Hashem knows better than I what is for my best. He alone made my shidduch. We are a perfect match.”
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