Thursday, November 26, 2020

Meiri and attitude towards women Mishlei 14:1

 


Meiri (Mishlei 14:1):Wisdom of women  this is a reminder that when getting married you chose an impressive wife. The ethical (musar) experts say you should not chose a wife based entirely on her wealth or beauty because those are transient characteristics. But rather chose based on her deeds and distinguished family.  But do not chose a wife who is too distinguished because she might view you as her slave

Covid-19: US Supreme Court backs religious groups over New York caps

 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55069040

 The court's action will not have an immediate impact since the groups that sued are no longer subject to the restrictions they fought against.

 

 

Supreme Court rules against Cuomo's coronavirus limits -- with Barrett playing key role

 https://www.foxnews.com/us/supreme-court-rules-against-cuomos-coronavirus-limits-with-barrett-playing-key-role

 The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday night blocked New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo from reimposing strict attendance caps at worship services in areas hit hard by the novel coronavirus

The court ruled 5-4 to bar Cuomo from enforcing his Oct. 6 “Cluster Initiative” against houses of worship that sued to challenge the restrictions. 

The order was also the first in which Justice Amy Coney Barrett played a decisive role. Barrett, who was President Trump's third Supreme Court nominee, joined the court Oct. 27, after winning Senate confirmation following the Sept. 18 death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

In a 5-4 ruling, Supreme Court sides with religious groups in a dispute over Covid-19 restrictions in New York

 https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/26/politics/supreme-court-religious-restrictions-ruling-covid/index.html

 In a 5-4 ruling, the US Supreme Court sided with religious organizations in a dispute over Covid-19 restrictions put in place by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo limiting the number of people attending religious services.

The case is the latest pitting religious groups against city and state officials seeking to stop the spread of Covid-19, and it highlights the impact of Justice Amy Coney Barrett on the Court. The decision comes as coronavirus cases surge across the country. 
 In court papers, lawyers for Cuomo argued that the restrictions were necessary to help stop the spread of Covid-19 and that houses of worship weren't being treated differently than similar secular businesses. They also said that while the dispute was pending, Cuomo had already lifted any restrictions that applied to the organizations.

Child sex trafficking: It's probably not what you think it is

 https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/25/us/child-sex-trafficking/index.html

 Shandel is among the many victims of sex trafficking, the commercial sexual exploitation of children. While the term trafficking evokes for many images of children kidnapped off the street, smuggled across borders and moved from place to place, that's rarely the case, social workers and researchers say.

Steve Schmidt: ‘We’ve Entered The Corrupt Pardon Phase Of The Trump Coup’ | Deadline | MSNBC

Trump Corruptly Pardons Mike Flynn. Does Judge Sullivan Have Any Options Left in Flynn's Case?

Wednesday, November 25, 2020

Study suggests plasma therapy for Covid-19 largely ineffective

 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291971

 The results of a medium-sized clinical trial conducted in Argentina suggest that one mode of treatment for coronavirus, that of using plasma harvested from people who have recovered from the illness, is not as effective as was previously hoped.

According to Reuters, the study involved 333 patients hospitalized with severe cases of pneumonia brought on by Covid-19 infection. The patients were randomly assigned to plasma treatment or placebo, and after 30 days, the mortality rate was almost identical in the two groups (11. % in the plasma-treated group versus 11.4% in the placebo group).

The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which concluded that the therapy known as “convalescent plasma” did not cause any significant improvement to patients’ health or chances of recovery.

Debunking a feminist propaganda article II

 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291989

In my prior article, Debunking a Feminist Propaganda Article, I critiqued an article on the Israel National News site that I consider to be feminist propaganda, and I explained that fairness and balance in regard to Jewish men's rights is practically non-existent in much of the Jewish media.

A new article has appeared on the Israel National News site that I would like to discuss.

Once again, I'm not claiming to know the divorcing spouses in this latest Arutz Sheva article. Nor am I attempting to address which spouse is "right" or which spouse is "wrong" in any particular divorce case.

Some anti-male biases and Torah distortions I observe in the article linked above:

Trump Claims Credit for Dow's Record High, but Investors Hail Smooth Transition, COVID Vaccines

 https://www.newsweek.com/trump-claims-credit-dows-record-high-investors-hail-smooth-transition-covid-vaccines-1550069

 President Donald Trump was quick to claim responsibility for the boost, saying in a one-minute press conference: "That's a sacred number, 30,000. Nobody thought they'd ever see it. That's the 48th time we have broken records during the Trump administration."

 The rally is at odds with claims Trump made during the election campaign that a Biden victory would crash stock markets.

Donald Trump Shares Deep State Conspiracy Article That Says 'We Are at War'

 https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-deep-state-sidney-powell-article-1550067

President Donald Trump has shared a link to an article that refers to "crimes of the Deep State" and claims "treasonous swamp rats" are trying to steal the 2020 election.

The article, shared by the president amid a flurry of election-linked retweets as he continues to claim the result was tainted by fraud, refers to attorney Sidney Powell's "Release the Kraken" comments at a recent Trump campaign press conference.

It suggests the Kraken is actually a "cyber warfare program" that tracks and "aquires [sic] evidence of nefarious activities and crimes committed by the Deep State." It adds that this has allowed Trump, alongside "loyal patriots" in the military and Space Command, to have gathered the evidence they need to prove his claims of fraud.

The Tzadik Is Like A Tree

 https://ravberland.com/the-tzadik-is-like-a-tree-there-must-always-be-controversy-around-him/

Rebbe Nachman said: “All of the great Tzadikim reached their specific exalted level but remained there, I however, thank G-d every minute I become a new person”. He then gave a reason why people are against him, “For the tzadik is comparable to a tree (as in the verse “A tzadik blossoms like a palm tree), and every tzadik before he reaches his level there must be some kind of controversy surrounding him; people who are against him. For our sages say (Sanhedrin 7) controversy is comparable to water, and water is what is needed to make the tree grow. So each tzadik needed some kind of controversy in order to reach their level. I, however, need that there be controversy surrounding me always, and people always against me, because every time I need to grow higher and higher and cannot remain on the same level. For if I would know that I am standing now on the same level that I did an hour ago, I would feel as if there is no reason for me to be in this world.”

COVID Vaccine Side Effects Include High Fever, Body Aches and Bad Headaches

 https://www.newsweek.com/covid-vaccine-side-effects-include-high-fever-body-aches-bad-headaches-experts-say-1550029

 As the world inches closer to effective COVID-19 vaccines becoming available, public health experts are warning that people should be prepared for the possibility that they could experience severe, but ultimately unharmful, side effects after being given the vaccines.

Vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer, both given in two doses approximately one month apart, could soon be approved for public use after data released from clinical trials showed that they may be up to 95 percent effective in providing immunity against the virus. While neither vaccine is believed to come with significant life-threatening side effects, experts are warning that those who receive the vaccines should be ready for unpleasant but temporary reactions.

Fox News Ratings Plummet After Election. Is President Trump’s Criticism the Cause?

 https://time.com/5915461/fox-news-ratings-plummet/

Fox’s daytime viewership dropped 32 percent from the two weeks prior to Election Day to the two weeks after, the Nielsen company said.

The post-election, weekday average daytime viewership of 1.63 million was roughly equivalent to that of CNN (1.68 million) and MSNBC (1.71 million). CNN was up 33% and MSNBC up 9% during that time period, Nielsen said.

 

Trump told confidants he intends to pardon Michael Flynn

 https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-flynn-pardon-michael-flynn

 President Trump reportedly intends to pardon former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, one in a series to be issued before he leaves office.

 Axios first reported the news Tuesday, citing two sources with direct knowledge. Sources with knowledge of the president’s thinking also told Fox News he plans to pardon Flynn.

Flynn pleaded guilty in December 2017 to misleading the FBI about his contact with Russia, and has came to symbolize for conservatives how Justice Department officials abused their power in the Russia investigation.

Tuesday, November 24, 2020

How legislation led to 80 women being freed from agunah status

 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291875

 The biannual conference of the standing committee of the Conference of European Rabbis was held online this year. Participating in the discussions was the head of the Knesset’s Regulatory Committee, MK Yaakov Asher of the United Torah Judaism party.

MK Asher praised the work of the Conference and told its President, Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, that, “The amendment made to the laws regulating rabbinical courts in Israel that grants them legal authority in cases of agunot [women estranged from their husbands whose husbands refuse to divorce them -ed.] for women living outside Israel has led to 80 women being freed of their agunah status, from all over the world.”

Newsmax and OANN are telling lies about the election as more people tune in

'Wounded' Trump Caves On Biden Transition As Allies Abandon Him | The 11th Hour | MSNBC

Lawrence: Emily Murphy Lied About The Transition For 15 Days | The Last Word | MSNBC

Ultra-Orthodox trust rabbis on COVID-19 far more than medical officials

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/ultra-orthodox-trust-rabbis-on-covid-19-far-more-than-medical-officials-650078

 A new study polling attitudes in the ultra-Orthodox sector in Israel to the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that while members of the community are fully aware of the dangers of the disease, they are far more trusting and willing to follow the orders of their rabbis than those of the government and state institutions.

Dr. Shuki Friedman, director of the Center for Religion and State at the Israel Democracy Institute that commissioned the survey, said it demonstrated that the community’s behavior during the crisis came about not due to a lack of understanding of the serious threat posed by COVID-19 but instead due to a conscious choice to prioritize community values above others.

NYC to levy 15K fine against Brooklyn synagogue that held illegal wedding

 https://www.foxnews.com/us/nyc-to-levy-15k-fine-against-brooklyn-synagogue-that-held-illegal-wedding

 City Hall will levy a $15,000 fine against the Brooklyn synagogue that broke social distancing regulations by hosting thousands at a clandestine wedding for the grandson of a top religious official in the Hasidic community, Mayor Bill de Blasio said late Monday.

Hizzoner announced the fine and summons the day after The Post exposed how thousands packed into the Yetev Lev temple in South Williamsburg on Nov. 8 — dancing and singing at the top of their lungs with nary a mask in sight as they celebrate the nuptials of Yoel Teitelbaum, the grandson of Satmar Grand Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum.

In tapping Blinken, Biden will be served by confidant with deep Jewish roots

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-tapping-blinken-biden-will-be-served-by-confidante-with-deep-jewish-roots/

 It was the height of the Second Intifada, and the Clinton administration’s Middle East envoy was having breakfast in a near-empty dining hall at Jerusalem’s King David Hotel. While so many foreigners had been avoiding the flashpoint city that was reeling under a wave of suicide bombings, Dennis Ross recalls how two guests from the United States made a point of being in the Jewish state during the trying time and had joined him at breakfast that day: Senator Joe Biden and his foreign policy aide Antony Blinken.

Rep. Tlaib under fire over tweets on Blinken

 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291852

 Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) is coming under fire for a series of tweets criticized as being anti-Semitic.

On Sunday, when commenting on the nomination of Tony Blinken as Secretary of State, Tlaib wrote, “So long as he doesn't suppress my First Amendment right to speak out against Netanyahu's racist and inhumane policies. The Palestinian people deserve equality and justice.”

Then, on Monday, she tweeted, “Sec. Pompeo has moved to suppress BDS, a peaceful protest movement protected by the 1st Amendment. I hope that Mr. Blinken and President-Elect Biden’s Administration will change course from Trump’s State Department & not target or suppress support of Palestinian human rights.”

Top Scientist Left Stunned by 'Very Odd' Hydroxychloroquine Senate Hearing

 https://www.newsweek.com/top-scientist-hydroxychloroquine-senate-hearing-1549061

A top physician has been left "stunned" after attending a Senate hearing during which experts discussed the use of the controversial anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) as a COVID-19 therapy for more than two hours.

Ashish K. Jha, Dean of the School of Public Health at Brown University, was one of four expert witnesses at a Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee hearing focused on the early treatment of COVID-19 patients.

Jha said in a Twitter thread that the other three witnesses "strongly supported" hydroxychloroquine — a drug that was touted by President Donald Trump earlier in the pandemic. Since then a consensus has emerged in the scientific community that the drug, which is widely used to treat malaria, is not an effective therapy against COVID-1

A dark money mystery in Florida centers on the campaign of a spoiler candidate who appeared to help a Republican win by 32 votes

 https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/23/politics/florida-dark-money-mystery-invs/index.html

 A month before Election Day in Florida a mysterious company called Proclivity, Inc. contributed $550,000 to a pair of newly formed political action committees in the state.

Two days later, the money flowed from the PACs to an Orlando-area print and advertising firm.
Shortly thereafter, came a torrent of nearly identical political fliers seemingly intended to siphon away support from Democratic candidates by tricking voters into casting their ballots for purported spoiler candidates who demonstrated no real interest in getting elected. None, for example, engaged in typical campaigning activities or raised significant funds.
In one case, the mailers appear to have helped a Republican—a co-founder of Latinas For Trump—unseat the Democratic incumbent in a state Senate race by a razor-thin margin of just 32 votes.

Trump's legal team criticized by Rush Limbaugh

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/live-updates-election-legal-11-24-2020 

 Rush Limbaugh knocked President Trump's legal team for underdelivering at last week's widely-hyped press conference alleging widespread voter fraud that stole a "landslide" victory from their client.

 

 

GSA chief informs President-elect Biden that formal transition process can begin

 https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gsa-chief-letter-president-elect-biden-formal-transition-process-resources

U.S. General Services Administration chief Emily Murphy informed President-elect Joe Biden on Monday that her agency has formally ascertained him as the apparent winner of the 2020 presidential election and would move ahead with transition proceedings.

In a series of tweets, President Trump thanked Murphy for her handling of the ascertainment process since Election Day. The president pledged to continue his legal challenge of election results.

“I want to thank Emily Murphy at GSA for her steadfast dedication and loyalty to our Country,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “She has been harassed, threatened, and abused – and I do not want to see this happen to her, her family, or employees of GSA. Our case STRONGLY continues, we will keep up the good fight, and I believe we will prevail!”

“Nevertheless, in the best interest of our Country, I am recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols, and have told my team to do the same,” Trump added.