Sunday, January 22, 2023

The five hardest hits from a judge’s scathing ruling against former President Trump

 https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3821814-the-five-hardest-hits-from-a-judges-scathing-ruling-against-former-president-trump/

The Thursday judgement came in response to a suit Trump had filed in March 2022 against Clinton, former FBI Director James Comey, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), former FBI figures Peter Strzok and Lisa Page and many others. 

At its core, Trump accused the defendants of “a malicious conspiracy” against him, especially with regards to allegations of Russian collusion

Who’s Threatening Israeli Democracy?

 https://www.wsj.com/articles/israel-supreme-court-revokes-appointment-aryeh-deri-cabinet-minister-benjamin-netanyahu-11674230927?mod=opinion_lead_pos4

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is getting this treatment now, and a brawl over that country’s Supreme Court illustrates why the issue is more complicated than the media narrative.

Israel’s Supreme Court has more power than America’s but without the democratic checks. Unbound by any constitution, and loosed from requirements of standing and justiciability, Israel’s court strikes down laws that it finds merely “unreasonable,” which can cover most anything. Israel’s court even has a veto on the appointment of new justices, in contrast to the U.S. where the President and Senate share the appointment power.

Young Jewish entrepreneur accused of conning America’s largest bank out of $175m

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/young-jewish-entrepreneur-accused-of-conning-americas-largest-bank/

The largest bank in the United States, JPMorgan Chase & Co., is accusing young Jewish entrepreneur Charlie Javice of conning it into purchasing her company for $175 million by fabricating millions of its supposed clients.

In a lawsuit filed by the bank last month, it accused the once promising CEO featured on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list of engaging in an elaborate scheme to exaggerate the list of clients of her college financial planning startup, Frank, which JPMorgan purchased in September 2021.

Judge criticizes DeSantis’ firing of Democratic prosecutor but declines to reinstate Andrew Warren

 https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/20/politics/florida-ron-desantis-democratic-prosecutor-lawsuit/index.html

A federal judge has dismissed the lawsuit brought by a former state attorney in Florida who sued Gov. Ron DeSantis for suspending him last year.

US District Judge Robert Hinkle said in his opinion Friday that DeSantis’ suspension of Andrew Warren, the ousted state attorney for Hillsborough County, violated the First Amendment and Florida’s Constitution, but as a federal judge, he could not rule against a state official based only on the violation of state law.

Tucker Carlson Mocked for Nicotine Comment: 'Absurd as George Santos' Lies'

 https://www.newsweek.com/tucker-carlson-mocked-nicotine-comment-absurd-george-santos-lies-1775519

Carlson most recently touched on the topic during his Friday night broadcast while discussing efforts to ban menthol cigarettes. In addition to claiming without evidence that nicotine, the addictive chemical found in most tobacco cigarettes, "frees your mind," he also insisted that efforts to ban types of cigarettes are actually part of a plot to promote marijuana.

"Boy do they hate tobacco, and it's not because it causes cancer," Carlson said. "They don't care about your health...They hate nicotine. They love THC. They are promoting weed to your children, but they're not letting you use tobacco or even non-tobacco nicotine delivery devices, which don't cause cancer. Why do they hate nicotine? Because nicotine frees your mind, and THC makes you compliant and passive. That's why."

His comments about cigarettes, like ones he has made in the past, were immediately picked up on social media, with detractors either sternly criticizing the conservative host or mocking his full-throated support of smoking. One Democratic representative compared Carlson's comments to the lies of Representative George Santos, a New York Republican.

YU Statement On The NYT Story

 YU Statement On The NYT Story


























Saturday, January 21, 2023

How extinct animals could be brought back from the dea

 https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230113-how-extinct-animals-could-be-brought-back-from-the-dead

Archer agrees that the moral rights outweigh any wrongs.

"I think it would be unethical not to do it. I think the ethical issue here was the impropriety of humans making these animals extinct in the first place. It's not about playing God, this is about playing smart human by undoing what we did."

Thursday, January 19, 2023

Expanded cardiovascular benefits shown when wearing tefillin - study

 https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/article-729013

The cardiovascular health of both men and women who wear tefillin (phylacteries) around their arms can improve, according to new research at the University of Cincinnati (UC). The study suggests those benefits are the result of ischemic, or reduced, blood-flow preconditioning that produces protection from the damage caused by heart attacks.

Navy Vet Who Claims Santos Stole Dog Surgery Money Describes Shock at Revelation

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/navy-vet-who-claims-george-santos-stole-dog-surgery-money-talks-shock-at-revelation?ref=home

U.S. Navy veteran Richard Osthoff said in a CNN interview Wednesday that he was “sick” when he realized only “a week ago” that serial liar Rep. George Santos (R-NY) was the man who he had known as “Anthony Devolder” — the same person who he alleged stole $3,000 intended to pay for surgery on Osthoff’s service dog.

Embattled US Rep. Santos was drag queen in Brazil pageants, associates say

 https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-728995

Rochard said the congressman was a "poor" drag queen in 2005, with a simple black dress, but in 2008 "he came back to Niteroi with a lot of money," and a flamboyant pink dress to show for it. Santos competed in a drag beauty pageant that year but lost, Rochard said.

"He's changed a lot, but he was always a liar. He was always such a dreamer," Rochard said.

Tuesday, January 17, 2023

Biden’s Documents Case Isn’t Similar to Trump’s. It’s Really Like Hillary’s.

 https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/01/14/biden-documents-trump-hillary-00077923

Like the Clinton investigation, it’s not clear that this matter meets even the low bar for initiation of a criminal investigation. (Not to mention, there is a longstanding policy at DOJ against indicting a sitting president, a policy that Trump directly benefited from at the conclusion of Robert Mueller’s investigation.) Certainly, a national security review is needed, given that a former (and now current) high-ranking government official kept at least 10 classified documents — including at least one marked Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information, the highest classification in the government — for over six years in an unsecured office and additional classified documents in his home garage.

How Joe Biden's Approval Rating Has Been Affected by Documents Scandal

 https://www.newsweek.com/how-joe-biden-approval-rating-affected-documents-scandal-1774353

A collection of polls collated by FiveThirtyEight also suggested the January 9 discovery had little impact on Biden's popularity.

On January 8, the poll aggregate put gave Biden's an approval rating of 43.5 percent, vs. 51 percent who disapproved. Five days later, on January 13, his approval had risen slightly to 43.9 percent, while his disapproval fell to 51 percent.

Monday, January 16, 2023

Israeli man swindled $47m. from Orthodox Jews in Ponzi scheme - SEC

 https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-728561

A 35-year-old man who allegedly bilked Orthodox Jewish investors in Los Angeles and New Jersey out of $47 million and then fled to Israel has been charged by the US Securities and Exchange Commission with using the proceeds to fund a lavish lifestyle.

The SEC alleged in a lawsuit filed Thursday, Jan. 12, in US District Court that from December 2018 to January 2021, Yossi Engel induced at least 29 individuals to invest in his company, iWitness Tech, LLC by claiming their funds would be used to purchase and install security camera equipment.

Additionally, Engel also allegedly promised that investor funds would be used to purchase property in Israel that would be developed and sold.

Biden 'had no authority to declassify anything' as vice president: Chris Salcedo