Trump’s babysitting of Netanyahu puts the US in charge on Gaza

 https://edition.cnn.com/2025/10/23/middleeast/analysis-trump-bibisitting-netanyahu-gaza-latam-intl

An American official called it “Bibi-sitting” – a revolving door of the highest-ranking members of the Trump administration to make sure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, frequently known as “Bibi,” sticks to the US-brokered ceasefire deal.

“We intend to stay engaged every single day to make sure peace takes hold,” Vance said at a news conference on Tuesday, unveiling a new US coordination center to monitor and assess real-time developments of the Gaza ceasefire deal.

Trump says he saved Netanyahu from crushing election defeat - now, he wants influence

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-election-2026/article-913131

From Gaza to Syria and Lebanon, Trump wants an Israeli government that advances his regional ambitions, even if it means sidelining Ben-Gvir and Smotrich.

US President Donald Trump rushed to claim credit for Netanyahu’s election performance, even before it became clear whether the prime minister could form a government. But behind the celebration lies an important diplomatic message: The man who helped keep you in the game may also get to set the rules.

The most important sentence came at the end: “It all took place after the endorsement by President Trump, who only wants what is good for the Middle East, Israel, and the United States of America!”

Alexander brothers sentenced after women speak of being drugged, raped by them

https://fox8.com/news/alexander-brothers-sentenced-after-women-speak-of-being-drugged-raped-by-them/

Three brothers convicted of leveraging their wealthy lifestyle to drug and rape dozens of women were each sentenced Tuesday to 30 years in prison after one victim described her attack as an “eternity of terror” and the judge slammed their behavior as shameful, degenerate and monstrous.

Oren Alexander said he and his brothers came of age at the height of hookup culture and Howard Stern’s hypersexualized radio show. Looking back as a father, he said he regrets many of the things he said about women at that time. However, he insisted that they never broke the law.

All three brothers stressed their Jewish faith. Oren Alexander, wearing a yarmulke, said that even with the minimum 15-year sentence the defense sought, he’d miss his son’s bar mitzvah.

The brothers were unanimously convicted in March following a trial that lasted several weeks and included testimony from 11 women. According to prosecutors, the brothers used their wealth, status and access to luxury properties over more than two decades to lure women to parties, trips and vacation destinations, including mansions in the Hamptons and ski resorts in Aspen. There, some of the women were raped and sexually assaulted, in certain cases after being drugged.

Rabbi Sacks on God and Evil

US' JD Vance Rips Into ‘Psychopath’ Abdul El-Sayed, Blasts Democrat Over ‘Anti-White’ Hatred

With over 2 million votes counted, Netanyahu pulls ahead of Eisenkot but fails to reach 61

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-election-2026/article-913053

Netanyahu, Eisenkot blocs still deadlocked despite coalition lead • Arab parties predicted to reach combined seat total of 16-19, complicating efforts to form coalition

No clear winner emerged in Israel’s election, according to exit polls published by Channels 11, 12, and 13 on Tuesday night, all of which showed both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc and the opposition bloc seeking to replace him falling short of a 61-seat Knesset majority.

However, by Wednesday morning, some polls showed Netanyahu's bloc with a clear lead.

On Tuesday, the opposition bloc, comprising Yashar, B’Yachad, Yisrael Beytenu, and the Democrats, was projected to win 49-51 seats, compared with 51-52 for Netanyahu’s bloc. On Wednesday morning, the opposition bloc had fallen to 47 across all three channels, and Netanyahu's bloc was projected to win 53-57 mandates.

Trump: My endorsement turned the tide in Netanyahu's favor

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/435278

President Trump claims his endorsement of Benjamin Netanyahu shifted the Israeli election outcome, turning what he called a likely defeat into a stalemate or victory.

“When President Trump endorsed Bibi Netanyahu, the whole tide turned, and now, rather than a decisive defeat for a Great Prime Minister, it looks like a big come-from-behind stalemate, or even a WIN for Netanyahu. It all took place AFTER the Endorsement by President Trump, who only wants what is good for the Middle East, Israel, and the United States of America!" he wrote.

"When you go to the Polls please remember that Bibi has been an outstanding Warrior Prime Minister! Israel was called The Little Satan, with the United States being called The Big Satan, by some very evil people. There can no longer be the chant heard around the World of 'Death to America, Death to Israel,' and there won’t be. Vote for Bibi Netanyahu for Prime Minister, we have to finish the job that we started!" Trump wrote in the second post.

No clear winner in Israeli vote, exit polls indicate

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/10/27/israel-votes-first-national-election-since-oct-7-2023-hamas-attack/

Israeli voters on Tuesday turned out in the highest numbers in decades, delivering results that remained uncertain hours after polls closed. Election authorities have begun a count that could last for days, leaving Israel to face a stretch of uncertainty over who will lead the next government, which could remain unclear even after the final vote is tallied.

Exit polls by Israeli television networks initially suggested that voters had denied Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing and religious coalition a return to majority control. Later polls indicated that his bloc and the one led by challenger Gadi Eisenkot are neck-and-neck, or gave Netanyahu’s a slight edge.

Black Death

 Garnel IronheartOctober 27, 2026 at 2:28 PM

Does he mention how the Ottomans brought the Black Death to Europe a few centuries earlier?

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AI 

The Black Death was brought to Europe primarily via Genoese merchant ships returning from the Black Sea in October 1347, which docked in Messina, Sicily.

How It Arrived

• The Origin: The bacterium responsible for the pandemic (Yersinia pestis) originated in Central or East Asia and traveled westward along the Silk Road and trade networks.

• The Siege of Caffa: During the Mongol siege of the Genoese trading outpost of Caffa in Crimea, the attacking Mongol forces under Janibeg famously catapulted plague-infected corpses over the city walls.

• The Vector: Flea-infested black rats and infected crew members boarded Genoese trading vessels fleeing Caffa and sailed into the Mediterranean.

Trump officials say men face a testosterone crisis. Experts say numbers tell different story

 https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/6176250-declining-testosterone-levels-analysis/

American men are facing a crisis in plummeting testosterone levels — at least according to several top Trump administration officials. But experts say there is key context that is being left out of the conversation, and the push towards hormone replacement therapy probably isn’t the panacea that officials believe it to be. 

Studies conducted in recent decades across the world in countries like the U.S., Denmark and more recently Israel have observed declining testosterone levels among men broadly. 

This is not an immediate indication of low testosterone, however, as the hormone can fluctuate widely throughout the day depending on someone’s health and fitness.

Trump Economic Chief Says Affordability Crisis Is ‘a Myth’: What Data Shows

 https://www.newsweek.com/trump-economic-chief-says-affordability-crisis-myth-what-data-shows-12623578

Kevin Hassett, the director of President Donald Trump's National Economic Council, has dismissed the country's much-discussed affordability "crisis" as a "myth," arguing that official spending data proves Americans are significantly better off under the current administration.

"The amount of consumption per household has gone up maybe around $5,000 per household," he said in an interview with Fox Business on Monday. "That's after inflation, because of the income boom, the capital spending boom, the fact that people aren't losing their jobs. All the things that have made the economy great means that 'affordability crisis'—it's a myth!"

But economists say looking at the figures in this manner neglects the economic reality for most voters in the U.S., with Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody's Analytics, calling affordability "a serious problem for the majority of Americans."

"After inflation, wages are falling, personal saving rates are low, and borrowing costs are on the rise," he told Newsweek. "Overall spending has held up, but only because the well-to-do are doing fine financially, as their AI-powered stock prices have lifted their wealth."

Research from Moody's in 2025 showed that the richest U.S. households represent a record portion of overall consumer spending—with the top 10 percent of earners now accounting for roughly half. Zandi added that most Americans own few if any equities and have been "locked out" of the real-estate market thanks to elevated mortgage rates.

Evil - What is the Source?

Berachos (11b) I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I the Lord do all these things.

Chagiga (015A) Acher became a heretic. Of him Scripture says: Suffer not thy mouth to bring thy flesh into guilt. What does it refer to? — He saw that permission was granted to Metatron to sit and write down the merits of Israel. Said he: It is taught as a tradition that on high there is no sitting and no emulation, and no back, and no weariness. Perhaps, — God forfend! — there are two divinities! Thereupon they led Metatron forth, and punished him with sixty fiery lashes, saying to him: Why didst thou not rise before him when thou didst see him? Permission was then given to him to strike out the merits of Aher. A Bas Kol went forth and said: Return, ye backsliding children — except Acher.

 Eicha (03:38)  Do not both evil and good come out of the mouth of the most High?

Moreh Nevuchim (03:010) I form the light and create  darkness: I make peace, and create evil for darkness and evil are non-existing things. Consider that the prophet does not say, I make darkness, I make evil, because darkness and evil are not things in positive existence to which the verb “to make” would apply; the verb bara “he created” is used, because in Hebrew this verb is applied to non-existing things e.g., “In the beginning God created”, etc.; here the creation took place from nothing. Only in this sense can non-existence be said to be produced by a certain action of an agent. …It is now clear that according to an these different views the action of an agent cannot be directly connected with a thing that does not exist: only indirectly is non-existence described as the result of the action of an agent, whilst in a direct manner an action can only influence a thing really in existence; accordingly, whoever the agent may be, he can only act upon an existing thing.

Moreh Nevuchim (03:010) It must be admitted as a fact that it cannot be said of God that He directly creates evil, or He has the direct intention to produce evil: this is impossible. His works are all perfectly good. He only produces existence, and all existence is good: whilst evils are of a negative character, and cannot be acted upon. Evil can only he attributed to Him in the way we have mentioned. He creates evil only in so far as He produces the corporeal element such as it actually is: it is always connected with negatives, and is on that account the source of all destruction and all evil. Those beings that do not possess this corporeal element are not subject to destruction or evil: consequently the true work of God is all good, since it is existence. The book which enlightened the darkness of the world says therefore, “And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good”. Even the existence of this corporeal element, low as it in reality is, because it is the source of death and all evils, is likewise good for the permanence of the Universe and the continuation of the order of things, so that one thing departs and the other succeeds. Rabbi Meir therefore explains the words “and behold it was very good” that even death was good in accordance with what we have observed in this chapter.

Moreh Nevuchim (03:10) All that the prophets and our Sages remarked about the perfect goodness of all the direct works of God. In Bereshis Rabba  the same idea is expressed thus: “No evil comes down from above.”

Rabbeinu Bachya (Bereishis 04:02) and Kayin had become,  The whole episode teaches that good and evil have the same root. The root by itself is totally good; after all when Adam was created he was totally good. Nonetheless we observe that from such a good “root,” two sons with totally different personalities emerged. Seeing that both wicked people and good people developed out of the same root is proof that there was only One Creator, that evil and good are not separate domains, that there are no two competing deities in this world, one promoting the source of all that is good and promoting it, and one which is the root of all that is bad and promoting same.

Ramchal (Derech HaShem 01:05.08) Created powers as the cause for the doing of evil: And you need to know that even though it is surely true that the cause of all good things in every place - meaning whether in the higher powers or in their outgrowths - is surely the emanation of His countenance and the cause of evil in every place is the hiding of His emanation; nevertheless only for the good is the Master described as the actual cause to its principles and its components. But as for the evil, we do not describe Him, as the actual cause. For the Holy One truly does not combine His name with evil. Rather it is the hiding of His light and the covering of His countenance that is considered its root. For that is its true cause; hence evil is actually the removal of good. However the Master who is omnipotent and who has no impediment to His will and no limit whatsoever to His ability - made a root and a specific source for the components of the contents of its existence, dedicated to this purpose of the expression of the components of evil, according to that which the Supreme Wisdom determined to be necessary for the desirable state for man and the world. And this is what is stated by the verse, "I form light and create darkness, I make weal and create evil." And the makeup of this root is the sum of the various powers. All of the matters of lacking and evil unfold from them in all of their aspects, whether regarding things that relate to the soul or that relate to the body in all of their components and sections. 

Yishaya (45:07) I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I the Lord do all these things.

Frailty in older adults is not inevitable. Here’s how to reverse it.

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/10/27/frailty-old-age-is-not-inevitable-these-exercises-prove-it/

Practically everyone accepts that adults inevitably become frail as they age. They walk more slowly, become weaker and struggle with everyday activities. This is just a normal part of growing older, according to conventional wisdom, as if aging were a one-way street of physical decline.

But this is a misconception. A growing body of research shows that improvements in cognitive and physical function are possible with age. In fact, a fascinating new study demonstrates that a structured program of vigorous walking can do more than just slow the progression of frailty; it can reverse it.

After 16 weeks, nearly 70 percent of participants in the high-intensity group became less frail, as assessed using the same measures of strength, activity and general health as at the start of the study. While there was also improvement in the casual walking group, the risk of frailty was nearly three times lower for those encouraged to walk at the faster pace.

Her overriding message is not to treat age alone as a limitation. “People in their 80s and even 90s have the capacity to get stronger, to move better and potentially reverse frailty,” Danilovich said. This is a hopeful — and evidence-based — insight that could help more people live better for longer.

Likud said already preparing to allege election was ‘stolen’ if Netanyahu loses

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/likud-said-already-preparing-to-allege-election-was-stolen-if-netanyahu-loses/

Party sources claim concern over possible voter fraud in Arab sector, say discussions have been held about contesting results in similar manner to Trump’s 2020 ‘rigged elections’ campaign

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party began preparing to challenge results from polling stations in Arab cities and towns before voting opened Tuesday morning, with Hebrew news sites on Monday quoting Likud operatives as saying that the party has discussed the possibility of claiming the vote was “stolen” if Netanyahu does not win.

'So STUPID': Joe SLAMS Trump reaction to Obama 'FAKE GOLD' White House joke

Scarborough: Blowback to Obama’s Cheesecake Factory quip is ‘stupid’

 https://thehill.com/homenews/media/6173373-scarborough-defends-obama-cheesecake-factory/

MS NOW’s Joe Scarborough on Monday slammed negative reactions to former President Obama’s recent joke about the Cheesecake Factory and the White House.

On Saturday, Obama made fun of President Trump’s multiple renovation projects in Washington while at a campaign stop in Cleveland.

“What’s with the gold? … He’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory,” the former president quipped.

Obama added that he thought Trump was more focused on renovating the White House than on issues voters cared about.

Israel Election 2026: What do Arye Deri's Shas and Yakov Asher's United Torah Judaism stand for?

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-election-2026/article-907982

The issue of separating religion and state is another defining area of haredi politics, as both Shas and UTJ seek to preserve an Orthodox Jewish character for the country and maintain the authority of religious institutions, particularly the Chief Rabbinate.

They have firmly opposed expanding alternatives to religious law, including civil marriage, and support maintaining the existing system in which marriages are conducted through the Rabbinate.

The haredi draft is part of this broader religious debate. Both parties claim that full-time Torah study is a central religious value that should receive legal protection, while their opponents argue that this creates unequal civic obligations between haredi men and Israelis who serve in the IDF.

Israel is holding its most important election in years. Here’s what’s at stake

 https://edition.cnn.com/2026/10/25/middleeast/israel-election-2026-whats-at-stake-intl

For many voters, this is the first chance to pass judgment on the leadership that presided over October 7 failures, to decide who should lead the country in conflict and who should carry the burden of increased military service.

Netanyahu’s outgoing government – the first in decades to conclude a full four-year term – relied on far-right and ultra-Orthodox partners, who pushed Israel in a more nationalist and religious direction than ever before. He became the first sitting Israeli prime minister to stand trial on corruption charges as his government pursued a judicial overhaul aimed at weakening the supreme court and other checks on power. The overhaul effort sparked massive protests in 2023.

At stake in Tuesday’s election is whether Israel keeps moving in the nationalistic, conservative and religious direction – or changes course. The answer might not be clear for weeks, because of the way Israeli coalitions are built. Polls suggest neither Netanyahu’s bloc nor the opposition is likely to win a majority alone, meaning the vote may launch Israel’s next political crisis rather than settle it.

Lessons from the past to guide your hand on election day

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/435162

Israel’s enemies are waiting for there to be just one government which is “temporarily focussed on the Hareidi issue," on fighting internally instead of fighting them. Remember the days of Oslo and the "peace camp"? Opinion.

The problem in 2026 is, in the same way, not Eisenkot. It’s not, but yet it is. Because Eisenkot, like Rabin, is a “top brass" figurehead, behind whom lurks an ideology which, without even knowing you, is way way far from, way way opposed to, your own beliefs - you reading this now. Do not make the mistake, now, that so many voters fatefully made in 1992.

Eisenkot (and Ofer Vinter, and Bennett) have themselves been duped. Don’t follow them down a path that’s dangerous for you, for them, for us all. Do the right thing on Election Day. Because the wrong slip of paper can cause so many lives to slip away, and some of those lives may, G-d forbid, belong to those you love.

Israel’s enemies are waiting for there to be just one government which is “temporarily focussed on the Hareidi issue" (for which purpose “leaders" will, our enemies hope, be empowered, by your hand, on Tuesday. “Leaders" who, politically, are NOT able to block our enemies’ nefarious aims, and that is the hidden real point). Don’t give those brutal enemies the months or years of grace they seek, with your own misguided hand.

Security threats have marred Netanyahu’s term. They might also keep him in power

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/security-threats-have-marred-netanyahus-term-they-might-also-keep-him-in-power/

The PM has a well-worn playbook: brand his opponents as left-wing, then warn that Israel is in danger, and only he can keep it safe. They haven’t figured out how to respond

The incumbent prime minister of Israel is telling voters that they should prepare for a reality in which their country is an economic pariah state at war with Iran for the third time in 18 months, and is at risk of being nuked. He is saying, in his own words, that three years after the worst attack in Israel’s history, following an exhausting multi-front war that has ruptured Israeli society and turned most of the world against it, the country is still in “real existential danger.”

To be clear, a Netanyahu victory is not a foregone conclusion. But nor is a loss. No matter who — if anyone — wins this election, the best they can hope for is a narrow coalition in a polarized Knesset. The vote will almost definitely not signal a historic political realignment, much less a resounding death knell for a prime minister who was in office on October 7, 2023.

Israelis to head to polls as voting begins in pivotal Knesset election

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-election-2026/article-912973

Polls opened across Israel on Tuesday morning as eligible voters head to the polls to elect the country's next Knesset in a pivotal race pitting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his sitting coalition against the opposition bloc seeking to replace him.

Within the opposition bloc, Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party has taken the lead ahead of Netanyahu’s Likud in the majority of recent polling, though neither bloc still appears able to secure a 61-seat Knesset majority.

Polling stations opened at 7:00 a.m., and exit polls are expected at 10:00 p.m., offering preliminary projections of the election results. The official results will be finalized in the coming days, following the completion of the vote count.

Biowarfare from "Vaccinated: One Man's Quest to Defeat the World's Deadliest Diseases" by Offit M.D., Paul A. -

 "But for demonstrating how infections can change the outcome of wars, no war matched the Spanish conquest of Mexico in the sixteenth century. With an army of only four hundred men, Hernando Cortez conquered an Aztec civilization of four million. Cortez didn’t defeat the Aztecs because his men were braver (the Aztecs were fierce, noble fighters) or because he was more adept at recruiting other Indian tribes to join him (allies joined Cortez only after they were sure he would win) or because he had more guns and horses (the guns were crude and the horses were of limited value). So what was it? What caused an Aztec civilization of millions to lay down its arms and wholly, unequivocally surrender to a few hundred Spanish invaders? The answer was an infection that had been circulating in Europe for centuries but had never crossed the Atlantic Ocean: smallpox. Within one year of the Spanish invasion, the smallpox plague had killed millions. The Aztecs interpreted the plague as punishment, convinced that their invaders enjoyed divine favor. “The religions, priesthoods, and way of life built around the old Indian gods could not survive such a demonstration of the superior power of the God the Spaniards worshipped,” wrote William McNeill, author of Plagues and Peoples. “Little wonder, then, that the Indians accepted Christianity and submitted to Spanish control so meekly. God had shown Himself on their side, and each new outbreak of infectious disease imported from Europe, and soon from Africa as well, renewed the lesson.”"

Start reading this book for free: https://read.amazon.com/kp/kshare?asin=B000ROKXVA&ref_=kar_wh_ca

Trump admin illegally fired Maurene Comey, judge rules

 https://www.politico.com/news/2026/10/26/maurene-comey-firing-ruling

A judge ruled Monday that the Trump administration broke the law when it fired Maurene Comey from her job as a federal prosecutor last year — sharply curbing the administration’s attempt to advance a “sweeping theory” of executive power.

Comey’s abrupt termination from her longtime job as a federal prosecutor in Manhattan wasn’t authorized by any statute and violated the Civil Service Reform Act, U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman, an Obama appointee, wrote.

And he said the Justice Department’s argument that the Constitution's Article II, which outlines the powers of the president, bars Congress from regulating the removal of federal prosecutors “flies in the face of nearly two centuries of Supreme Court precedent.”

Judge rules James Comey’s daughter unlawfully fired as federal prosecutor

 https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/6172624-maurene-comey-justice-department-unlawful-firing/

A federal judge ruled Monday that the Department of Justice (DOJ) unlawfully fired and must provide back pay to Maurene Comey, former FBI Director James Comey’s daughter who was terminated as a prosecutor last year.

U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman rejected the Trump administration’s arguments that it had constitutional authority to fire her. 

“Defendants’ argument is contrary to an unbroken line of Supreme Court decisions dating back almost two centuries, and the Supreme Court itself has not formally overruled any of those decisions. That is sufficient, in itself, to reject the argument,” Furman wrote in his 55-page opinion.

Democrats Drop Major Report on Trump’s Alleged Ties to Epstein Crimes

 https://www.newsweek.com/democrats-drop-major-report-on-trumps-alleged-ties-to-epstein-crimes-12620119

House Judiciary Committee Democrats released a report Monday calling for an independent special counsel to investigate President Donald Trump’s relationship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, arguing that accounts from women and records released in the Epstein case warrant further investigation into whether Trump committed wrongdoing.

The Democratic staff report, titled We Have Certain Things in Common, Jeffrey: The Case Against Donald Trump Emerging in the Epstein Files and DOJ’s Desperate Efforts to Cover it Up, examines accounts involving 11 women. According to the report, five directly accuse Trump of serious sexual misconduct in Epstein’s company or presence. The allegations are disputed and have not resulted in criminal findings against Trump.

The report also accuses the Department of Justice (DOJ) of improperly withholding some Epstein-related records and impeding investigative efforts. Those claims represent the conclusions of Democratic committee staff, rather than findings by the full House Judiciary Committee or a court.

Ohio Venues Cancel Vivek Ramaswamy Events as Backlash Grows

 https://www.newsweek.com/ohio-venues-cancel-vivek-ramaswamy-events-backlash-grows-midterms-amy-acton-12618375

Ohio venues are pulling out of hosting Republican campaign events featuring gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, as backlash grows over his advert featuring his Democratic opponent Amy Acton's estranged mother.

Ramaswamy has faced bipartisan criticism after his campaign produced an advert featuring his Democratic opponent's estranged mother, who called Acton "a liar."

Acton has said that she was sexually abused by her stepfather as a child, and has not seen her mother since she testified against him in court aged 12. She said that her stepfather was charged with rape before he fled the state with her mother.

Patent Medicines and the story of Coke

quote from "A History of the World in 6 Glasses

 "The rise of America, and the globalization of war, politics, trade, and communications during the twentieth century, are mirrored by the rise of Coca-Cola, consistently one of the world’s most valuable and widely recognized brands, which is universally regarded as the embodiment of America and its values. For those who approve of the United States, that means economic and political freedom of choice, consumerism and democracy, the American dream; for those who disapprove, it stands for ruthless global capitalism, the hegemony of global corporations and brands, and the dilution of local cultures and values into homogenized and Americanized mediocrity. Just as the story of Britain’s empire can be seen in a cup of tea, so the story of America’s rise to global preeminence is paralleled in the story of Coca-Cola, that brown, sweet, and fizzy beverage."

"In May 1886 John Pemberton, a pharmacist who lived in Atlanta, Georgia, invented a drink. According to the Coca-Cola Company’s official version of the story, he was a tinkerer who stumbled on the right combination of ingredients by accident, while trying to devise a cure for headaches. One afternoon he mixed various ingredients in a three-legged pot to create a caramel-colored liquid, which he then took to a nearby pharmacy, combining the liquid with soda water to create the sweet, fizzy, and invigorating drink—Coca-Cola—that would eventually reach nearly every corner of the world. The real story is rather more complicated, however. Pemberton was, in fact, an experienced maker of patent medicines, the quack remedies that were hugely popular in America in the late nineteenth century. These pills, balsams, syrups, creams, and oils were generally triumphs of advertising over pharmacology. Some were harmless, but many contained large amounts of alcohol, caffeine, opium, or morphine. They were sold through newspaper advertisements, and their production became a huge industry after the Civil War, as veterans took to dosing themselves. The popularity of patent medicines reflected a general distrust of conventional medicines, which were often expensive and ineffective. Patent medicines offered an alluring alternative, marketed as they often were on the basis of exotic ingredients or the medical knowledge of Native Americans, and under names with religious, patriotic, or mythological overtones: Munson’s Paw-Paw Pills to Coax Your Liver into Action, Dr. Morse’s Indian Root Pills, and so on. There was nothing to stop manufacturers of such medicines from making outrageous claims about their effectiveness. The Elixir of Life sold by a Dr. Kidd, for example, claimed to cure “every known ailment.… The lame have thrown away crutches and walked after two or three trials of the remedy.… Rheumatism, neuralgia, stomach, heart, liver, kidney, blood and skin diseases disappear as by magic.” The newspapers that printed such advertisements did not ask any questions. They welcomed the advertising revenues, which enabled the newspaper industry to expand enormously; by the end of the nineteenth century patent medicines accounted for more newspaper advertising than any other product. The makers of St. Jacob’s Oil, which was said to remedy “sore muscles,” spent five hundred thousand dollars on advertising in 1881, and some advertisers were spending more than one million dollars a year by 1895. The patent-medicine business was among the first to recognize the importance of trademarks and advertising, of slogans, logos, and hoardings. Since the remedies themselves usually cost very little to make, it made sense to spend money on marketing. With so many competing products on the market, however, only 2 percent of them made a profit, according to one estimate. But those that did succeed made fortunes for their inventors. One of the most famous was Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound. It was said to be “a positive cure for all those painful Complaints and Weaknesses so common to our best female population.… It removes faintness, flatulency, destroys all craving for stimulants, and relieves weakness of the stomach.” Customers were encouraged to write to Pinkham for medical advice, even after her death in 1883, which was kept quiet. They received form letters in return, invariably recommending the use of more of her compound. When analyzed in the early twentieth century, it was found to contain 15 to 20 percent alcohol. Ironically, women temperance campaigners were among its most fervent users. Pemberton’s own attempts to make patent medicines had met with mixed success. At times his remedies produced a solid income, but during the 1870s he had a run of bad luck. He was declared bankrupt in 1872, and his attempts to get back on his feet were hampered by two fires that destroyed his stock. But he continued to develop new patent medicines in the hope that one of them would make him rich. Finally, in 1884, he started to get somewhere, thanks to the popularity of a new patent-medicine ingredient: coca. The leaves of the coca plant had long been known among South American peoples for their stimulating effect; coca was known as “the divine plant of the Incas.” Chewing a small ball of the leaves releases tiny quantities of an alkaloid drug, cocaine. In small doses this sharpens the mind, much like caffeine, and suppresses the appetite, making possible long treks across the Andes with very little food or sleep. Cocaine was isolated from coca leaves in 1855, and it then became the subject of much interest among Western scientists and doctors, who thought it might help to cure opium addicts by providing an alternative. (They were unaware that cocaine was just as addictive.) Pemberton followed the discussion of coca in the medical journals closely, and by the 1880s he and other patent-medicine makers were incorporating it into their tablets, elixirs, and ointments. Pemberton’s contribution to this burgeoning field was a drink called French Wine Coca. As its name suggests, this was a coca-infused wine. In fact, it was just one of many attempts to imitate a particularly successful patent medicine called Vin Mariani, which consisted of French wine in which coca leaves had been steeped for six months. Vin Mariani was popular in Europe and the United States, thanks to its high cocaine content and the marketing prowess of its creator, a Corsican named Angelo Mariani. The letters of endorsement for his drink from celebrities and heads of state, including three popes, two American presidents, Queen Victoria, and the inventor Thomas Edison, were published as a book in thirteen volumes. Pemberton copied the coca-infused wine formula and added kola extract too. The nuts of the kola plant from West Africa were another supposed wonder-cure that had become known in the West at around the same time as coca, and also had an invigorating effect when chewed, since they contain about 2 percent caffeine. As with coca leaves in South America, kola nuts were valued as a stimulant by indigenous peoples in West Africa, from Senegal in the north to Angola in the south. They were used in religious ceremonies by the Yoruba people in Nigeria; the people of Sierra Leone wrongly believed that kola nuts cured malaria. In nineteenth-century America, coca and kola often ended up being lumped together in patent medicines due to the similarity of their effects. Just as he copied and slightly modified Mariani’s formula for the drink, Pemberton also borrowed from Mariani’s advertisements, claiming several celebrity endorsements as testimonials for his own drink. Sales of his French Wine Coca began to grow. But just when it seemed that Pemberton was on the right track, Atlanta and Fulton County voted to prohibit the sale of alcohol from July 1, 1886, for a two-year trial period. With the temperance movement gaining ground, Pemberton needed to produce a successful nonalcoholic remedy, and fast. He went back to his elaborate home laboratory and started work on a “temperance drink” containing coca and kola, with the bitterness of the two principal ingredients masked using sugar. This would be no ordinary patent medicine, though; he intended it to be dispensed as a medicinal soda-water flavoring. As he refined his formula, Pemberton sent batches of it to the neighborhood pharmacy, where it was offered to customers alongside the other flavorings. On occasion he would ask his nephew to loiter in the pharmacy to hear what other people had to say about the new drink’s taste."

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Rabbi Zilberstein Rules Woman Must Vote for UTJ Even Against Husband’s Wishes

 https://vinnews.com/2026/10/26/rabbi-zilberstein-rules-woman-must-vote-for-utj-even-against-husbands-wishes/

Rabbi Yitzchak Zilberstein, one of Israel’s leading charedi rabbinical authorities, has ruled that a woman whose husband forbids her from voting for United Torah Judaism (UTJ) should nevertheless cast her ballot without informing him, describing the act as a sanctification of G-d’s name.

According to the question, the couple had traditionally voted for United Torah Judaism, following the instructions of prominent Lithuanian charedi leaders, including the late Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman and Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, as well as the current leader of the Lithuanian charedi community, Rabbi Dov Lando.

However, the woman’s husband had become more modern in recent years and increasingly critical of leading rabbis. He eventually declared that neither he nor his wife would vote in the upcoming election.

The woman, meanwhile, remained committed to following Rabbi Lando’s instructions. She described seeing the elderly rabbi traveling from city to city, pleading with members of the charedi community to participate in the election and emphasizing the importance of the political struggle

Epstein Files quote from "Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump" by Haberman, Maggie; Swan, Jonathan -

Elon Musk and Donald Trump finally split up at the end of May 2025 with a shower of invective from one side and the shattered trust of a broken marriage. After a public meltdown about Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, Musk escalated with another vicious serve against the President on June 5. Trump, Musk posted on X, was one of the villains he had been warning his base about for years. “Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!” In a follow-up, Musk wrote: “Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out.” A month later, on July 7, the Department of Justice and the FBI released an unsigned one-and-a-half-page memo stating that after an exhaustive search of “its databases, hard drives, and network drives as well as physical searches of squad areas, locked cabinets, desks, closets, and other areas where responsive material may have been stored” and a corresponding review of more than three hundred gigabytes of evidence, the DOJ had concluded there was no evidence the notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had maintained a “client list.” The memo also reaffirmed the original official finding that Epstein’s death in 2019 had been a suicide. And with that, the memo indicated, the Trump administration would not be releasing further information regarding the Epstein case, and no further investigation of uncharged third parties was warranted. The memo was accompanied by the release of video footage from the federal prison in Manhattan where Epstein had died, footage that officials said supported the conclusion of suicide. Less than five months after Attorney General Pam Bondi had referred to a secret “client list” of high-profile predators, the case was closed. Or so it seemed. If the administration expected the memo would be the last word on the Epstein case, and that the President’s most ardent supporters would accept the purported conclusions of the Department of Justice simply because the department and its investigative agencies were now controlled by Donald Trump, they were sorely mistaken. The memo was an earthquake, and it was received by a portion of the MAGA base as a betrayal. It amounted to an abrupt disavowal of the sinister conspiracy theories that some of Trump’s closest confidants had hyped during the Biden presidency and that they had promised to expose once Trump was returned to power. On the Lex Fridman Podcast in September 2024, when asked about the “client list,” Trump had responded, “I’d certainly take a look at it…. I’d have no problem with it.” The list “probably will be” made public, he said, but he sounded half-hearted. Trump’s campaign allies and surrogates were far less circumspect. Donald Trump Jr. and JD Vance had invoked the Epstein files as a broader campaign message to argue that “powerful people” in the government were hiding the truth from Americans. Just weeks before the election, Vance told the podcast host Theo Von, “Seriously, we need to release the Epstein list. That is an important thing.” In the engine room of the MAGA movement during the 2024 campaign, the Epstein files were potent fuel. An Epstein information ecosystem of right-wing “influencers” had manned the coal shovel. Elon Musk had used his social media platform to repeatedly question why a “client list” had not been released. His posts reached hundreds of millions of users. The far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones used his Infowars platform to aggressively promote theories about a global pedophile ring. Tucker Carlson and Charlie Kirk had both insisted the government should release the documents and floated the idea that there was a massive cover-up in progress. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who had seemingly never met a conspiracy theory she did not embrace, spent much of her political capital lobbying for the release of the files. There were so many more. Laura Loomer, conservative activist Scott Presler, Chaya Raichik from Libs of TikTok. The Hodgetwins. But when it came to propagating the Epstein files as evidence of a “deep state” capable of evil, two podcasters were not to be outdone. On his own show Kash’s Corner, and in appearances on programs like Benny Johnson’s The Benny Show, Kash Patel—a National Security Council director for counterterrorism and Pentagon chief of staff in the first Trump era—had repeatedly claimed that the government was hiding Epstein’s “black book” or “client list” of pedophiles. In a 2023 interview, he challenged officials to “put on your big-boy pants and let us know who the pedophiles are,” and he frequently asserted that the FBI was deliberately withholding names to protect the powerful. Patel promised a second Trump administration would release “everything” to restore public trust. On The Dan Bongino Show, Bongino’s background as a Secret Service agent had lent authority to his claims of a cover-up. “What the hell are they hiding with Jeffrey Epstein?” he’d asked his large audience. The release of the files would “rock the political world,” he promised. The “Washington swamp” was “not telling you the truth.” Now he and Patel—whose appointments to run the FBI had been greeted with righteous enthusiasm by Epstein files obsessives—were tightly connected to a memo that stated, in black and white, that while information in the government’s possession showed ample evidence of Epstein’s own wrongdoing, there was no evidence of a wider conspiracy. Both men had been raising alarms internally that the Epstein crisis was gathering momentum with the base. Bongino hated the memo. He told Patel it would in no way align with their promises of transparency after taking over the FBI, and he objected to putting the FBI seal on the letterhead. He was overruled. Patel privately shared many of Bongino’s concerns. But in an internal email on Wednesday, July 2, the FBI director gave his support. “Thanks for the edits, and I still believe this is the correct vehicle forward,” Patel wrote to a small group of colleagues, including Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. “I’m happy to add any additional sentences to compete [sic] the short fall. But I do think we addressed specifically why more can’t be released as it relates to specific topics ie court order, csam [child sexual abuse material], victim protections etc.” Bondi rarely used her Justice Department email and was not on the chain where they workshopped the memo that set off the crisis. She was aware of both the planned memo and the prison video release, but was not involved in editing the document. Inside the White House, Trump had no interest in releasing anything. And senior officials—including Susie Wiles and her deputy, James Blair—were initially skeptical about the reach of the Epstein crisis. They told colleagues that Republican voters didn’t care, and they had Tony Fabrizio’s polling to prove it. The Epstein brouhaha, in their view, was driven by fringe conspiracy theorists and amplified by noisy online influencers who didn’t represent a meaningful bloc of voters. Bongino told anyone who would listen that this was a grave mistake. “It’s not an online story. You don’t understand,” he told several White House advisors. Wiles, Blair, and others thought at the time that engaging with the Epstein situation would only enlarge it—putting an official stamp on the matter. Besides, Trump had weathered every storm imaginable for years. Why would this be any different?"

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The Most Violent Religion in History? The Data May Surprise You

Opposition rages at ‘corruption’ as PM filmed convincing small Haredi party to drop out of race

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/opposition-rages-at-corruption-as-pm-filmed-convincing-small-haredi-party-to-drop-out-of-race/

Opposition leaders raged Monday at what they alleged was “corruption” after a video surfaced of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu making a deal with Haim Yosef Abergel, a Haredi rabbi accused of sexual crimes against minors, to convince him to withdraw his fledgling Achi (My Brother) political party from the race ahead of the election, in exchange for a deputy ministerial position in the next government.

The deputy minister would advance the party’s ultra-Orthodox agenda from that position.

The conversation took place late last week, and its details were reported on Friday. It was led by Education Minister and senior Likud member Yoav Kisch, who was joined by Netanyahu over the phone.

Epstein files take back seat in midterms but experts say issue has not gone away

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/24/epstein-files-midterms

As US voters head to the polls for crucial and fraught midterm elections, some survivors’ advocates in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation have expressed concern that the scandal could recede into the background.

Political experts believe, however, the Epstein issue is not going away permanently and that many voters can balance day-to-day concerns such as affordability and AI with the scandal involving the late financier and accused sex trafficker whose social circle was widespread among America’s elite.

Political experts said that Epstein might get less attention from campaigning politicians and voters, but that it was probably a temporary dip, not a permanent drop-off.

Blanche on Alaska suit: 'There could be a crime'

 https://www.politico.com/news/2026/10/25/blanche-alaska-lawsuit-could-be-crime-01134861

Attorney General Todd Blanche on Sunday defended the Justice Department’s newly filed lawsuit to prevent Alaska state officials from certifying election results if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses in November.

“There could be a crime,” said Blanche. “But the real wrong here is that Alaskans are going to be confused and will not have their vote heard. So an Alaskan intends to vote for one candidate, but is confused because of a second candidate with exactly the same name who has voted Democrat his entire life, who donated money to the other Democrat opponent, is running.”

Still, it’s unclear how much the court can do about the Justice Department’s lawsuit. With ballots secret, it is virtually impossible for the Justice Department to identify specific voters and clarify which Sullivan candidate they meant to vote for.