Monday, November 25, 2024

Trump Wants Deals on Ukraine and Israel. Here’s Why He’ll Struggle.

 https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/11/24/trump-foreign-policy-deals-00191282

But while Netanyahu is expected to be more willing to bend to Trump than he has been with Biden, the Israeli leader is also in a stronger position politically — and more able to resist U.S. pressure — than he has been since the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas. Following Israel’s successful campaigns against Hezbollah and Hamas, Netanyahu has strengthened support in his cabinet and made it likely he can survive in power for at least another year.

Trump’s determination to install controversial picks faces next test

 https://edition.cnn.com/2024/11/25/politics/trump-gabbard-hegseth-analysis/index.html

And CNN reported Friday that Gabbard had once been placed on a Transportation Security Administration watchlist — which, even if it was for benign reasons, would be highly unusual for a nominee for a top position.

Sunday, November 24, 2024

Court says birth parents of girl born in IVF mix-up must give her to genetic parents

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/court-says-birth-parents-of-girl-born-in-ivf-mix-up-must-give-her-to-genetic-parents/

Rishon Lezion Family Court says 2-year-old to be removed from custody of parents who raised her, after high-profile mishap brought about lawsuit against hospital

UAE Interior Ministry: Murderers of Rabbi Zvi Kogan arrested

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/399692

The Ministry of Interior of the United Arab Emirates says that three suspects were arrested for the murder of Chabad emissary Rabbi Zvi Kogan. The Ministry did not mention the identity or the nationality of the suspects.

A new era in American politics: When sexual misconduct allegations are overlooked

 https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/11/21/trump-cabinet-nominee-sexual-misconduct-allegations/76406952007/

Trump himself is no stranger to allegations of sexual impropriety. Nineteen women have accused him of sexual misconduct going back as far as the 1970s. Last year, a federal jury found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation of author E. Jean Carroll, who said Trump sexually assaulted her in a New York department store nearly three decades ago. Trump denied the allegations, but the jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million in damages. He has appealed the award.

Trump’s decision to put four men accused of sexual misconduct in prominent government positions is "just the president-elect saying one more time he will do what he wants to do,” Zelizer said. “He doesn’t care about convention. He doesn’t care about perceptions and norms. This is him asserting himself, as he does all the time.

Why MP sex scandals no longer shock

 https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-36468511

It was precisely hypocrisy, Mr Cole says, which led to the Profumo affair in the 1963, seen as the "first public humiliation of a minister for a sex scandal".

John Profumo resigned as secretary of state for war after admitting he had lied to the House of Commons about his relationship with a 19-year-old model and showgirl, Christine Keeler.

Donald Trump Doesn't Have a Mandate to Radically Remake America

 https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/donald-trump-doesnt-have-a-mandate-to-radically-remake-america

When he declared victory in this month’s election, Donald Trump told supporters that the American public had given him an “unprecedented and powerful mandate.” And it certainly appeared that way: Not only was he on his way to a swing-state sweep and an even bigger Electoral College win than in 2016; he had also taken the popular vote, the first Republican to do so in two decades and the second since 1988. America might’ve gotten stuck with Trump eight years ago. But this time, it seemed, the voters chose him.

But as the ballots have been counted in the weeks since Election Day, Trump’s popular vote lead—and the mandate he claimed as a result of it—has quietly shrunk. “Powerful?” Hardly. Trump is on track to win the popular vote by the narrowest margin since 2000, when Al Gore edged out George W. Bush but lost in the Electoral College. It also appears that the president-elect’s share of the vote will end up below 50 percent. His unexpected gains this cycle don't signal a new silent majority; it's more like a noisy plurality.

Trump seems to believe it means he can do whatever he wants, as evidenced by cabinet picks like Pete Hegseth, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Linda McMahon, and Tulsi Gabbard—who seem to have been chosen for their roles based on their loyalty, willingness to blow up the system, and the fact that Trump sees them on television a lot.


Pam Bondi’s Comeback

In 2017, Pam Bondi was passed over as too scandal-tainted. This time, she’s the safe, acceptable fallback choice

Mossad investigating missing Chabad emissary in Dubai, may have been under Iranian surveillance

 https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-830381

An investigation has been launched into the disappearance of an Israeli-Moldovan dual citizen who lives in the United Arab Emirates and has been missing since Thursday, the Prime Minister’s Office said on Saturday.

It said the Mossad and authorities in the Gulf country had opened the investigation based on information that the man’s disappearance was related to “a terrorist incident,” without providing further details.

Who Is Pam Bondi, Trump’s New Pick for Attorney General?

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/who-is-pam-bondi-donald-trumps-new-pick-for-attorney-general/

Her aides claimed Bondi was considering joining a lawsuit brought by New York against Trump University over fraud allegations. After Bondi’s political action committee received a $25,000 check from Trump’s family’s charitable foundation, Bondi’s office chose not to pursue the case.

Saturday, November 23, 2024

Trump Won Less Than 50 Percent. Why Is Everyone Calling It a Landslide

 https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/11/22/trump-win-popular-vote-below-50-percent-00190793

Trump’s 49.9 percent (for now) is still more than Kamala Harris’ 48.3 percent. When the counting is done, the margin will probably have shrunk even further. No matter: It still earns him 312 electoral votes from a population that also gave his Republican Party control of the House and Senate. He won.

All the same, the numbers might seem a wee bit jarring to anyone who has been listening to Washington’s triumphal Republicans and self-flagellating Democrats — all of whom seem to have internalized a version of the story that involves a romping, stomping Trump triumph.

The Lessons of Matt Gaetz’s Withdrawal

 https://www.wsj.com/opinion/the-lessons-of-matt-gaetzs-withdrawal-cabinet-attorney-general-nominee-justice-department-d85138f5?mod=hp_opin_pos_0

The name of the Trump nominations game is clearly “shakeup”—and that’s to be applauded. Few doubt that Washington is in desperate need of some rattling. But note Lesson No. 3: The Gaetz fiasco is a reminder that there remains a bright line between a candidate who is aggressive, committed and professional and one who is unthinking, partisan and a liability. Mr. Trump has chosen a solid lineup of the former, from Linda McMahon (Education) and Marco Rubio (State) to Chris Wright (Energy) and Brendan Carr (Federal Communications Commission). Mr. Gaetz was always clearly the latter—big on bravado, short on ideas and temperament. While not as discussed as the ethics question, it’s also an important reason his nomination was destined to fail.

How Hegseth Cultivated an Image That Caught Trump’s Eye

 https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/how-hegseth-cultivated-an-image-that-caught-trumps-eye-cc1cdd10?mod=hp_lead_pos3

But the very reasons that drew Trump to Hegseth are threatening to derail his nomination. 

He would come to the job never having led a large government agency or faced the scrutiny that comes with it. A 2017 sexual-assault allegation that he later paid his accuser to keep secret blindsided Trump transition officials and has left even some Republicans undecided about voting to confirm him.

IDF rabbinate opposes asking troops to sign form ‘unchaining’ wives in case of disaster

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-rabbinate-opposes-asking-troops-to-sign-form-unchaining-wives-in-case-of-disaster/

While conditional divorces can free women in case of a husband’s disappearance or loss of mental faculties in battle, rabbis say pushing such a document on soldiers may hurt morale