Wolf presses Kushner: 1,000 deaths a day isn't success, right?

Ukraine bans pilgrimage to Uman over COVID-19 fears

 https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/israelis-will-not-be-let-into-uman-this-year-639032

 The Ukraianian interior minister said the annual mass pilgrimage of hassidim and others to the grave site of Rabbi Nachman of Uman would have caused the mass spread of COVID-19.

 

 

לקיים בנו חכמי ישראל - אנא עוררו רחמי שמים לכ"ק אדמו"ר מפיטסבורג שליט"א‎

 

לקיים בנו חכמי ישראל - אנא עוררו רחמי שמים לכ"ק אדמו"ר מפיטסבורג שליט"א‎

 

Dear Jared…Never…Okay?...Never!

 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/285429

 That’s all I needed to read from this dispatch to feel utterly betrayed.

The passage runs like this: Addressing Israeli reporters, Kushner said that "Israel has made a very generous proposal for the establishment of a Palestinian state, including an exchange of territories. The understanding that this is the situation has enabled the breakthrough that led to the current agreement."

If it was Benjamin Netanyahu, then we’ve been misled…misled to believe in the prime minister’s own words.

Yesterday he said that the UAE peace arrangement “signals the end to land for peace.”

Sounds good.

But something must have happened between yesterday and today. Today, Jared, you tell us something quite the opposite.

I quote: “The understanding that this is the situation has enabled the breakthrough that led to the current agreement.”

In other words, to achieve peace with the UAE, Israel first had to agree to “an exchange of territories” for “the establishment of a Palestinian state.”

Sounds like “land for peace” to me.

Trump says he moved US embassy to Jerusalem ‘for the evangelicals’

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-says-he-moved-us-embassy-to-jerusalem-for-the-evangelicals/

 “And we moved the capital of Israel to Jerusalem,” Trump said speaking at a rally held at an airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, apparently referring to his decision move the embassy from Tel Aviv. “That’s for the evangelicals.”

“You know, it’s amazing with that, the evangelicals are more excited by that than Jewish people,” he said to cheers from the crowd. “That’s right, it’s incredible.”

Major child sexual abuse trial begins in Germany

 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53813249

Police say tens of thousands of people in paedophile networks viewed the pictures that Jörg L, 43, posted on the Swiss secure messaging service Threema.

A raid on his home last October in Bergisch Gladbach, near Cologne, led police to investigate dozens more alleged paedophiles.

His wife will testify against him.

Eighty-seven suspected paedophiles have been identified in all 16 German states as a result of this case, and 50 children, aged from three months to 15 years, have been removed from abusive parents.

Three investigators traumatised by the images have taken sick leave.

 

 

CNN Poll of Polls: Biden holds a nine-point lead over Trump ahead of the party conventions

 https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/17/politics/biden-trump-poll-of-polls-august-election/index.html

 Former Vice President Joe Biden leads President Donald Trump by a nine-point margin nationally, according to a CNN Poll of Polls on the general election matchup released Monday.

The polls conducted after Biden's historic selection of Harris as his running mate largely find the pick to be received positively by the public: 52% of registered voters in CNN's poll called it an excellent or pretty good pick, including 82% of Democrats.

In the Washington Post/ABC News poll, 54% of Americans said they approved of Biden's choice of Harris, with 86% of Democrats approving of the pick.

 

Trump 'enthusiastic' over unproven coronavirus therapeutic, MyPillow creator says

 https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/17/politics/trump-oleandrin-mike-lindell-coronavirus/index.html

 President Donald Trump and Mike Lindell, the creator of MyPillow and an avowed supporter, participated in a July meeting at the White House regarding the use of oleandrin as a potential therapeutic for coronavirus, Lindell confirmed to CNN.

Oleandrin is an extract from the plant Nerium oleander. The raw oleander plant is highly toxic, and consumption of it can be fatal.

He described the President's response toward the extract as "enthusiastic."

 

 

Former senior Trump administration official endorses Joe Biden

 https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/17/politics/miles-taylor-trump-joe-biden-endorse/index.html

"What we saw week in and week out, for me, after two and a half years in that administration, was terrifying. We would go in to try to talk to him about a pressing national security issue -- cyberattack, terrorism threat -- he wasn't interested in those things. To him, they weren't priorities," Taylor says in the video.

"Given what I have experienced in the administration, I have to support Joe Biden for president and even though I am not a Democrat, even though I disagree on key issues, I'm confident that Joe Biden will protect the country and I'm confident that he won't make the same mistakes as this President."

 

Former Chief of Staff of Trump's DHS is the newest Republican Voter Against Trump

Rep. Kinzinger: ‘It’s time’ for leaders to disavow QAnon

 https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/16/adam-kinzinger-trump-qanon-396414

 Rep. Adam Kinzinger on Sunday emphasized the importance of President Donald Trump and other leaders calling out QAnon — a set of far-right conspiracy theories that allege the existence of a “deep state” against Trump.

 

 

QAnon: What is it and where did it come from?

 https://www.bbc.com/news/53498434

 Studies indicate that most Americans haven't heard of QAnon. But for many believers, it forms the foundation of their support for President Trump.

The president has, unwittingly or not, retweeted QAnon supporters, and last month his son Eric Trump posted a QAnon meme on Instagram.

• How influential is a pro-Trump conspiracy theory?

Dozens of QAnon supporters are running for Congress in November. Many have little hope but some, such as Marjorie Taylor Greene in Georgia - appear to have a good chance of winning a seat.

It's quite likely that a QAnon supporter - or someone sympathetic to the conspiracy theory - will sit in the next US Congress.

 

 

 

Kinzinger Addresses Threats by the QAnon Network

The UAE-Israel Agreement Isn’t All It’s Cracked Up to Be

 https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/08/15/the-uae-israel-agreement-isnt-all-its-cracked-up-to-be/

 

The deal defers the idea of annexation rather than burying it, and could exacerbate tensions between Iran and the Gulf States.

Jared Kushner: The first time Israel has agreed to a map of a Palestinian state

 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/285415

Jared Kushner, adviser and son-in-law to US President Donald Trump addressed the peace agreement he helped broker between Israel and the United Arab Emirates Monday.

Addressing Israeli reporters, Kushner said that "Israel has made a very generous proposal for the establishment of a Palestinian state, including an exchange of territories. The understanding that this is the situation has enabled the breakthrough that led to the current agreement."

When asked how the US would make certain that Israel does not unilaterally annex any territory, Kushner said, “We built a very trusting relationship with Israel. President Trump is committed to holding them accountable to it, and Israel has agreed with us that they will not move forward without our consent. We do not plan to give our consent for some time, as right now the focus has to be on getting this new peace agreement implemented. We really want to get as much interchange between Israel and the United Arab Emirates as possible, and we really want Israel to focus on creating new relationships and new alliances."

Israel and the UAE: A reality check

 https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/israel-and-the-uae-a-reality-check/

 The Israeli agreement with the United Arab Emirates is being touted as everything from “huge,” “stunning,” and “historical” to a “betrayal,” “diversion,” or “sellout.” In truth, it is not any one of these, but contains something of all of the above. Given the plethora of reports, commentaries, analyses, and reactions, it is especially important to put the Israel-UAE rapprochement in perspective — to try to understand how it contributes to Israel’s integration into the region through the achievement of a comprehensive peace with its neighbors. In order to do so, it is necessary to specify what it is, what it is not, and where it could lead. 

 A normalization agreement, not a peace treaty. The impending formalization of the more than two-decade informal relationship between Israel and the United Arab Emirates is an important breakthrough in Israel’s ties with the Arab world. Motives aside, it constitutes a major achievement for Mohammed bin Zayed, Benjamin Netanyahu and for its broker, Donald Trump. It is yet another step in Israel’s continual quest for workable accords with Arab countries, following its successful treaties with Egypt and Jordan. It follows the same logic as its predecessors, forging long-term understandings with surrounding states — often on its periphery — but studiously bypassing the much knottier Palestinian core of the Israeli-Arab conflict.

Does Louis DeJoy Want To Be 'That Guy' Blocking The Vote? | Morning Joe | MSNBC

What is Avoda Zara?

 

I think there are two concepts of avoda zara the view of misnagdim as expressed by Maharal is that any attribution of power outside of G-d e.g. a tzadik or angel is avoda zara while chasidim are fine with it as long as there is an association with G-d

דרך חיים על אבות פרק ג משנה ג
וכמו שהתבאר סיפא דמתניתין שלשה שאכלו על שלחן ואמרו עליו דברי תורה, כך יתבאר גם כן רישא דמתניתין שלשה שאכלו על שלחן ולא אמרו עליו דברי תורה, ומן הסברא היה לו לשנות קודם הסיפא שלשה שאכלו ויש ביניהם דברי תורה, רק מפני ששנה לפני זה שנים שיושבים ואין ביניהם דברי תורה, קבע אחריו שלשה שיושבים ואוכלים ואין ביניהם דברי תורה כאלו אכלו מזבחי מתים. וזה כי מפני שראוי שיהיו מדברים על השלחן דברי תורה כאשר הם שלשה כמו שאמרנו כי ראוי שיהיה הכל אל הש"י, וכאשר אין מדברים עליו דברי תורה הרי השלחן הזה יש לו הסרה מן הש"י, אשר היה ראוי להעלות השלחן זה עד שיהיה לפני הש"י, וכל הסרה מן הש"י הרי הוא נוטה אל הע"ז כי הע"ז הוא סלוק והסרה מן הש"י. ולפיכך אמר שאם אין מדברים עליו דברי תורה כאלו אכלו מזבחי מתים, שהרי מסלקים השלחן שלפני הש"י לצד אחר. ומביא ראיה מן הכתוב שאמר כי כל שלחנות וגו' וראיה זאת שנקרא מה שמקריבין עליו שלחן כמו שנקרא שלחן הקדוש ברוך הוא שלחן גבוה, כי אלהים אחרים הם, ולפיכך השלחן הזה שאין עליו דברי תורה והוא מוסר מן הש"י הוא השלחן אשר הוא שייך לע"ז הוא מזבח לע"ז, שהרי קרא הכתוב המזבח לע"ז שלחן א"כ המזבח והשלחן הוא דבר אחד דלא בחנם נקרא מזבח ע"ז שלחן, אלא להכי הוא דאתי כי שלחנו של אדם שאין עליו תורה זבחי מתים הוא, ומאחר ששלחן זה הוא לע"ז נחשב כמו מזבח לע"ז בודאי. והכתוב אמר כי כל שלחנות מלאו קיא צואה ולא אמר כי כל שלחנות מלאו זבחי מתים, ובשביל זה מפרשים פירושים רחוקים מאוד, ולא ידעו פירוש הכתוב מה שאמר בלי מקום אבל הכתוב קרא קרבנות שלהם שהם זבחי מתים קיא צואה בלי מקום, וזה כי קרבנות שלהם הם כמו קיא צואה, שקיא צואה שהוא יוצא מן האדם אין ספק שהוא יוצא מן האצטומכא בשביל שהוא זר ונכרי אליו, שאם לא היה זר ונכרי אל האדם היה נשאר באצטומכא, אבל בשביל שהוא זר יוצא מן האצטומכא, וכך הקרבנות שהם מקריבים לאל זר שאינם אלהות שנקראת עבודה זרה הוא קיא צואה שהיא זרה לאדם, ולא שתהיה נקראת צואה שהצואה שהוא בדרך הטבע ומנהגו של עולם אינו זר ונכרי שכך הוא מנהגו של עולם, אבל קיא צואה שהיא זרה ונכרי' מן הטבע היא זרה לגמרי. וזה שאמר בלי מקום, כלומר שכל דבר בעולם אשר ברא הש"י יש לו מקום אשר הוא נברא עליו שהוא מדריגתו ומקומו וכמו שאמרו אין לך אדם שאין לו שעה ואין לך דבר שאין לו מקום וכמו שיתבאר עוד בעז"ה, אבל לדבר זה אין מקום לו שכ"כ הוא זר, לפיכך קראו קיא צואה שהוא בלי מקום, ר"ל כמוציא קיא צואה בעבור שהוא נכרי וזר ואינו בסדר העולם אין לו מקום בעולם כלל ואין האצטומכא מקבל אותו ואינו מקום לו ולכך יוצא ממנה שאינה סובל אותו, וכך קרבנות שלהם שהם זבחי מתים הם בלי מקום שהם זרים ונכרים שכך נקראו קרבנות עבודה זרה ולכך אין מקום להם. ומה שאמר כי כל שלחנות מלאו קיא צואה יש לפרש על הפלגות המאוס והתעוב של שלחנם כמו שדרך הכתוב בכל מקום להפליג, אבל עיקר הפירוש כמו שאמר אחר כך בלי מקום שהדבר שיש לו מקום הוא מוגבל, שזה ענין המקום אשר הוא מקיף ומגביל אשר הוא מקום לו, אבל הדבר אשר הוא בלי מקום כמו ענין הע"ז שאין לו מקום כלל בעולם שהוא יוצא חוץ מסדר העולם ומאחר שאין לו מקום אינו מוגבל, ולפיכך כל השלחנות שלהם מלאו קיא צואה כלומר שאין כאן דבר מגביל. אבל מזבח הש"י הקרבנות שעליו אין לומר עליהם כי הוא מלא, אחר שהקרבנות של הש"י יש להם מקום, וכל אשר יש לו מקום הוא מוגבל מצד שהמקום יגביל את אשר בתוכו ולא יאמר על זה כי השלחן מלא בלי מקום. אבל שלחנות ע"ז מלאים קיא צואה בלי מקום ופירשנו בלי מקום כלומר שאין מקום לקרבן שלהם ולפיכך לא יוגבל. וכל הדברים האלו יש להבין ממה שהש"י נקרא מקום ופירושו שהוא יתברך מקומו של עולם בכלל, ודבר זה שהוא תקרובת של ע"ז והוא יוצא מן הש"י שהוא מקומו של עולם הוא בלא מקום בודאי. ומפני זה תבין מה שאמר כאלו אכלו משלחנו של מקום ולא אמר משלחנו של הקדוש ברוך הוא, וכל זה כדי ללמוד לך על הרישא שלשה שאכלו על שלחן אחד ולא אמרו עליו דברי תורה וכו' כי אלו יוצאים מרשותו של הש"י שהוא מקומו של עולם, וכל המקומות תחת המקום הוא הש"י אשר הוא כולל כל המקומות, ואין לקרבן שלהם שהוא לע"ז מקום ולכך נחשב שלחנות שלהם מלא קיא צואה אף על גב שאין השלחן מלא, כיון שאין לקרבן של ע"ז מקום בעצמו אשר המקום מקיף ומגביל את הדבר אשר בתוכו ופירוש ברור הוא ואין ספק כלל

IL 9+ 2:13 / 2:44 Scott Atlas Is Dangerous

Trump elevates Scott Atlas, a doctor with a rosier coronavirus outlook

 https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/17/trump-scott-atlas-coronavirus-doctor-396741

 Dr. Scott Atlas warns against coronavirus overreaction and hysteria, pushes for the reopening of schools and sports leagues and downplays the need for broader testing to root out the virus.

Unlike bigger-name, more circumspect public health officials, who’ve watched their luster dim at the White House, Atlas has become a star adviser in President Donald Trump’s inner circle at a crucial moment during the pandemic.

 Atlas, upbeat and relentlessly on message that Americans should resume life as much as they can, is the live embodiment of the president’s Covid-is-not-that-big-of-a-deal approach. Where school superintendents and football conference officials see a risk of the virus’s spread this fall, he cautions against too-strict measures. During Fox News appearances, he has downplayed the need for students to wear face coverings or practice social distancing if schools do reopen.

“It is proven children have no significant risk,” he said during a July 15 TV appearance. It’s a line that Trump has parroted but that hasn’t been borne out in districts where in-person learning has resumed: Schools in Georgia, North Carolina and Indiana have had to shut down shortly after starting the year because of positive cases.

 Atlas first came to the attention of the Trump administration the way it finds so many top officials: through his appearances on Fox News. His comments on the coronavirus lockdown and the need to reopen the economy and schools caught the attention of the president and several top aides, including Jared Kushner, according to a second senior administration official.

Broken promises in a time of 'plague'

 https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/512004-broken-promises-in-a-time-of-plague

 “Promises and pie-crust,” Jonathan Swift once wrote, “are made to be broken.”

For Donald Trump, Swift’s ironic aphorism is a philosophy to live by. A candidate who fashioned an electoral majority out of a pledge to build a wall across the 2,000 mile southern border of the United States and make Mexico pay for it, President Trump meets or exceeds the stereotypes of the promise-making and breaking professional politicians he denigrates.

To be sure, Trump has kept some of his promises. The United States has withdrawn from the Paris Climate Accord, renegotiated NAFTA, and withdrawn from the Iran Nuclear Agreement. The Trump administration has reduced government regulations, capital gains and income taxes. The president has appointed conservative judges.

 

 

Spare me the hoopla

 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/285348

 No doubt making new friends is a good thing, and so it is good that Israel and the United Arab Emirates…UAE…have shaken hands toward an official peace deal.

The two were not at war, but that’s beside the point, for the moment… but at present, kudos to the Trump Administration for helping to pull this off.

So why am I not thrilled? (Neither is this or this writer, and for excellent reasons.}

Israel to delay West Bank annexation plans for now in deal to discuss normalizing ties with UAE

 https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-08-13/uae-israel-normalize-diplomatic-ties-annexation-called-off

 The United Arab Emirates and Israel have agreed to work toward establishing full diplomatic ties as part of a deal to halt, for now, Israel’s controversial plans to annex occupied West Bank land sought by Palestinians for their future state.

If the UAE establishes formal ties with Israel, it would be only the third Arab country — after Jordan and Egypt — to recognize Israel, and the first Gulf nation to do so.

 Thursday’s declaration, the officials involved said, was a prelude to delegations from Israel and the UAE meeting in the coming weeks to forge bilateral agreements in an array of sectors, including tourism, security, telecommunications, technology, energy and healthcare.

Direct flights would be established as well as reciprocal embassies — although it was likely the UAE would go to Tel Aviv and not the disputed holy city of Jerusalem, claimed by both Israel and the Palestinians and controversially recognized as Israeli by Trump, the only world leader to do so.

 

Israel, UAE to launch diplomatic ties in return for halt to annexation

 https://www.ynetnews.com/article/SkKHL0GzP

 Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the day-to-day ruler of the UAE, confirmed Thursday that the Gulf state had reached an agreement that would end Israel's annexation plans.

While the deal halts Israeli annexation plans, the Palestinians have repeatedly urged Arab governments not to normalize relations with Israel until a peace agreement establishing an independent Palestinian state is reached.

 

 

Minister Katz: Sovereignty was frozen before UAE agreement

 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/285336

In an interview with Kan Bet Sunday morning, Minister Katz explained that the application of sovereignty was frozen even before the agreement with the United Arab Emirates, and that "presenting the agreement as related to it is more convenient for all the Arab nations."

UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash was interviewed over the weekend by La Figaro newspaper and said the agreement was intended first and foremost to remove from the agenda for good Israeli sovereignty moves in Judea and Samaria.

 

 

Trump’s Nobel Peace Prize Moment | The Ben Shapiro Show Ep. 1074

Shaked: We believe Trump, there will be no sovereignty

 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/285332

"When Netanyahu decided to form a coalition with Blue and White and throw out Yamina, I told everyone who asked me that there would probably be no sovereignty," Shaked said in an interview with Kan Bet Sunday morning.

 I believe the president of the United States and his son-in-law who said sovereignty was off the table," she added.

"The prime minister has chosen to give up sovereignty in exchange for normalizing relations with the Emirates. It should be put on the table - with the pros and the cons.

In Shaked's opinion, Netanyahu should have gone ahead with applying sovereignty even if it meant a deal with the UAE would not have been reached at this time. "Applying sovereignty, certainly with the support of American government - could have been a one-time opportunity."

Trump’s Win Is a Loss for the Middle East

 https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/08/14/trump-mideast-israel-uae-deal-395567

The Trump administration announced a deal this week between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, which was immediately hailed as “an historic day for peace in the Middle East” by Mike Pompeo’s State Department. A flurry of similar analyses framed the deal as “a big win for Trump,” and a “geopolitical earthquake.”

But that was exactly the point of this deal: a lot of publicity for the deal-makers, but not much substance to the deal. In fact, this “breakthrough” is mostly a PR boost for the three leaders involved: President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mohamed bin Zayed, crown prince of Abu Dhabi. Meanwhile, the costs will be borne by the one party not involved in the arrangement, the Palestinians.

 

 

Israel-UAE agreement a meek version of the historic Mideast deal Trump pledged

 https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/14/middleeast/israel-uae-agreement-trump-intl/index.html

 This is not THE Middle East peace deal that has beguiled a generation of American presidents, the one President Donald Trump commissioned his son-in-law and special advisor Jared Kushner to conclude.

At its most optimistic read, the agreement announced Thursday by Trump between Israel and the United Arab Emirates to normalize relations between their two states is a poor man's facsimile for the, as yet, unachieved grand bargain between Israelis and Palestinians to quell their decades of conflict.

Yes, it is historic, but it is only an illusion of the peace President Trump vowed he'd deliver.

Back in January this year Trump announced the contours of what he called his Vision for Peace -- officially known as Peace for Prosperity. Palestinians boycotted it denouncing it as money for land, in their view giving up territory in return for promises of improved business prospects, while Israel threatened to take the land regardless.

 

 

Kushner asked to apologize for Trump spreading birther lie. See his response

Rabbi YY Jacobson: A Tribute to a Giant - Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz ob"m

The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell MSNBC | August 14, 2020 | Hana Reaction

Unprecedented

Michael Cohen Releases Forward To New Memoir, ‘Disloyal’ | All In | MSNBC

Michael Cohen offers a glimpse of upcoming Trump book

 https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/13/politics/michael-cohen-book-cover/index.html

 Michael Cohen released the foreword of his upcoming book on Thursday, teasing what he claims is a behind-the-scenes exposé of his acts as President Donald Trump's fixer -- from stiffing contractors on a business deal to lying about extra-marital affairs to the President's attempts to "insinuate himself into the world of President Vladimir Putin."

"I know where the skeletons are buried because I was the one who buried them," Cohen wrote in the foreword, which was published Thursday on a website for his tell-all book "Disloyal: A Memoir. The true story of the former personal attorney to President Donald J. Trump."

"In some ways, I knew him better than even his family did because I bore witness to the real man, in strip clubs, shady business meetings, and in the unguarded moments when he revealed who he really was: a cheat, a liar, a fraud, a bully, a racist, a predator, a con man," Cohen wrote in the 3,700-word release.

 

 

'Soulmates': Michael Cohen describes his life as Trump's fixer in new book

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/13/michael-cohen-book-donald-trump-disloyal

A teaser for Michael Cohen’s book about his time as Donald Trump’s lawyer and fixer and his fall from grace was released on Thursday, after the US justice department had issued a gag order to stop the book’s publication that was later dropped.

The book, entitled Disloyal: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J Trump, is slated to be released sometime in September, ahead of the presidential election in November.

Cohen ginned up pre-sales and tweeted about it on Thursday.

Upending traditional views on peacemaking, Israel-UAE deal truly heralds new era

https://www.timesofisrael.com/upending-traditional-views-on-peacemaking-israel-uae-deal-truly-heralds-new-era/ 

Netanyahu proves wrong all those who argued normalization with Arab world is impossible without a solution to the Palestinian conflict — without giving anything tangible in return

Trump: West Bank annexation 'off the table', Christianity part of UAE deal

 https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/trump-christianity-part-of-uae-deal-west-bank-annexation-off-the-table-638639

 Annexation of the West Bank is "off the table" and Israel has agreed not to do it, President Donald Trump said late Thursday night, breaking with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who had earlier said that the peace deal with the UAE only temporarily delayed application of Israeli sovereignty.

 

 

Trump stokes 'birther' theory about Kamala Harris

 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53774289

 What do other constitutional experts say?

Another constitutional law expert told CBS News, the BBC's US partner, that Prof Eastman's argument about Ms Harris' eligibility was "truly silly".

Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of Berkeley Law School, wrote in an email: "Under section 1 of the 14th Amendment, anyone born in the United States is a United States citizen.

"The Supreme Court has held this since the 1890s. Kamala Harris was born in the United States."

Laurence Tribe, a constitutional law professor at Harvard University and frequent critic of President Trump, called Prof Eastman's argument "garbage" and "racist birtherism redux".

Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School, told the Associated Press news agency: "Let's just be honest about what it is: It's just a racist trope we trot out when we have a candidate of colour whose parents were not citizens."

 

 

Judge orders Trump campaign to produce evidence of voter fraud in Pennsylvania

 https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/13/politics/trump-campaign-voter-fraud-lawsuit-pennsylvania/index.html

 A federal judge in Pennsylvania told the Trump campaign and the Republican Party that they must produce evidence they have of vote-by-mail fraud in the state by Friday.

The judge's order, in a high-profile case about vote-by-mail in the battleground state, essentially forces the Trump campaign to try to back up President Donald Trump's false claims about massive voter fraud in postal voting.

"The Court finds that instances of voter fraud are relevant to the claims and defenses in this case," District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan wrote on Thursday, telling Republicans that they need to provide evidence of fraud to the Democratic Party and the Sierra Club, which are part of the lawsuit.

Donald Trump just straight-up admitted he is working to meddle in the election

 https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/13/politics/donald-trump-mail-in-ballots-2020/index.html

 Sometimes -- OK, a lot of times -- Donald Trump says the quiet part out loud.

Like during an interview on Fox Business with Maria Bartiromo on Thursday morning when Trump flatly admitted the real reason why he is blocking the inclusion of any money for the United States Postal Service in a coronavirus relief bill in Congress.

Here's exactly what he said:

"They want $3.5 billion for something that will turn out to be fraudulent, that's election money basically. They want $3.5 trillion -- billion dollars for the mail-in votes, OK, universal mail-in ballots, $3.5 trillion. They want $25 billion, billion, for the Post Office. Now they need that money in order to have the Post Office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots...

 

" ... Now, if we don't make a deal, that means they don't get the money. That means they can't have universal mail-in voting, they just can't have it. So, you know, sort of a crazy thing. Very interesting."

Let's be very, very clear about what Trump is saying here.

IDF Female Draft Updates

 BS"D 

https://firstamendmentactivist.blogspot.com/2020/08/making-saving-souls-great-again.html

Making Saving Souls ("Hatzolas Nefashos") Great Again

22 Av, 5780 °°  Aug. 12, '20  (parshas Re'aih)

By Binyomin Feinberg

The latest breaking news from Israel regarding the female military draft is mixed.

1.  Firstly, multiple girls encountering serious problems with the Israeli Army Draft Office are, B"H (thank G-d), currently being assisted by "Chomosaich" volunteers. This group includes girls whose scheduled draft-dates are rapidly approaching.  It must be emphasized that these are girls whom volunteers have encountered prior to any arrest. However, tragically, there are numerous girls languishing in Israeli military prisons to whom we lack access, and about whom we have little if any information at the moment. That situation must change if these girls are to obtain the guidance they need to secure their rights and their freedom. If non-Jews would be mistreating our sisters even one thousandth as much as Jews are doing so in the Israeli military, and to a lesser extent in the military prison system, there would be an international uproar.

2.  One girl currently receiving guidance, Cheiyn A., an 18 year-old from a national-religious background, initially applied properly for a religious exemption.  However, subsequently, in the midst of the uncertainty pervasive during Coronavirus shutdown, she was duped into enlisting into the Army.  Thus, on Sunday, May 24, '20 (1 Sivan), between about 12 and 1pm, she signed up to enlist in the Army at the Be'er Sheva Draft Office, thinking that she would be able to serve on an ostensibly all-female base. The Army officer who took her signature, to whom we'll refer as "A.," waited until after Cheiyn signed. After Cheiyn signed, A. notified her, post facto, that she just signed away her own right to secure a religious exemption from military service in the future. Cheiyn claims she had been previously unaware of that  important fact. Thus, her volunteer spirit was met "in kind" with a rude awakening as to whom she was dealing with. [The officer involved, A., was reportedly a female approximately 21 years of age, of a height of approximately 160 cm, with slightly dark complexion and long black hair, and apparently of Yemenite lineage.]  

It should also be noted that even girls in ostensibly "all-female" military environments are by no means totally protected from inappropriate behavior and interaction of the genders.

3.  Subsequently, B"H, Cheiyn did reapply for her religious exemption, obtaining another religiosity verification affidavit and sending it in to Maitav. However, as of our most recent information, her efforts have not yet borne fruit. Her draft-date R"L has been set for August 18, next Tuesday, at which point arrest and incarceration in military prison is a spectre many such girls face.  However, awareness of her plight in the Diaspora plays very much in her favor.

4.  Secondly, the Chareidi publication "HaPeles" recently publicized a report by Chagai Amit in the "Di Marker" regarding a recent Israeli Army initiative to expand National, Civilian ("Sheirut Ezrachi"), and Military Service to include every Israeli boy and girl, including religious and Chareidi girls and women - for a service period of between one and three years. Government "benefits," of course, would be provided. Those benefits would apparently help reduce the intensity of opposition from certain sectors.

The incremental steps the Army has taken over the past several years to draft increasing numbers of girls, especially religious ones, indicate that such a broad initiative would place many more religious girls in grave danger of mandatory military and "semi-military" service, in the long and intermediate term, if not in the short term.

Furthermore, a universally applicable public-service law that would include girls would also reveal one of the fundamental flaws in the approach of allowing more vulnerable youth to be drafted without resistance from the religious political parties - in order to secure protection for their own cliques ("our own girls") from the Draft Office. That approach has been taken by some in the Chareidi political milieu in recent years, facilitating this radical expansion. That's because capitulation to Maitav incrementalism is tantamount to handing the Army a blank check, albeit via a post-dated one.  By broadcasting that some lives don't matter as much as others, it's just a matter of time before the Divide & Conquer approach runs its course. Simply put, it's ultimately self-destruction, albeit in comfortable installments. Silencing the ongoing incremental encroachment of the Army in drafting "easy targets" - including "periphery" girls - ultimately enabled the Israeli government to get to this point.  Even if the various religious communities would somehow figuratively dodge the bullet this time, religious Jewry has been communally put on defense, making it far harder to shift the battle lines to fending off an ever-encroaching Draft Office.

5.  This ominous policy shift bears an eerie resemblance to a similar but more constrained movement in the US, spearheaded by an 11- member "Heck Commission," to promote a similar, three-track national /civilian /military service initiative for American youth - starting, however, on a volunteer basis. Is there a coordinated transatlantic effort afoot?

For those interested in further research, the Center for Military Readiness (www.cmrlink.org) is one American organization that follows these issues, with an eye towards the moral degradation of the US military, including the misapplication of women's equality to the military milieu.

5.  Thirdly, over the past several weeks, many religious girls have been ordered to appear for religiosity interviews/ interrogations, just because they studied in non-religious schools, for whatever reasons (including lack of religious venues that meet their specifications).

6.  According to Chomosaich volunteers, and an attorney working with some of these girls,  the Draft Office is now rejecting the entreaties of these girls even when accompanied with documentation establishing their religiosity, including letters of known Rabbis, and even if formally submitted via legal counsel. This documentation is being sent on top of the "Tatzhir Dat" affidavit these girls normally submit, after attesting to meeting legal religiosity requirements on penalty of purgery (generally before a Rabbanut court).

7.  As we've reported previously, once the Army Draft Office (operating under "Maitav") receives the Tatzhir Dat, the girl is legally entitled to an automatic military service exemption - unless the Army has legitimate basis to question her religiosity. Merely studying in a non-religious school fails to meet that criteria; many religious girls study in nonreligious schools (although that's increasingly hazardous, for multiple reasons, one demonstrated by this recent Army trend). Thus, Army policy is inconsistent with it's own regulations in summoning these girls for a Rayon Dat, and holding their exemptions hostage to compel them to comply. 

8.  Moreover, this legally- and ethically-compromised manipulation of girls is not a means of objective fact-finding. Rather, the Rayon Dat often serves as a means of duping, convincing, intimidating or terrorizing girls (usually teenagers below 18) into enlisting in the Army. Again, these girls, sometimes not even 17, are expected to withstand - while alone and unable to communicate with the outside world - honed interrogation techniques, employed by trained military officers, seeking to draft every suitable girl possible.

9. This latest Army effort to enlist even more religious girls also raises the question: why is it that antireligious elements vocally complain about religious Israelis failing to pursue quality secular education - but tolerate [and perhaps encourage] Draft Office discrimination against religious girls who do exactly that? That inconsistency conveys the impression that the Draft Office is  exploiting secular educational institutions, seeking a pretext to rob religious girls - by all means feasible - of their legal rights to avoid the exploitive, morally corrosive military environment.

10.  Interestingly, in an interview in Misphacha Magazine (of the week of Va'Eschanon), outgoing Israeli United Nations Ambassador Danny Dannon indicated that Israel would benefit by adopting the American Jewish approach to Jewish Education, in teaching "Jewish traditions," "traditions" which - he acknowledged - Israeli schools - outside of religious schools - fail to teach. This acknowledgement by a high level Netanyahu official stands in contrast to the actual Israeli government policy of robbing successive generations of Israeli children of our priceless and timeless Torah heritage. In regards to our topic, this intentionally dumbing down of millions of Jewish children hands Maitav a yearly yield of thousands of more conscripts - teenage girls "not religious enough" to merit protection from being forced into the institution whose leadership unfortunately grants it the distinction of being the largest open human-trafficking network in the Middle East.

~~~

May we merit to transform the multitude of challenges we face into fruitful opportunities to advance the true benefit of all, including nonreligious girls as well, whose ongoing mistreatment in the Army should never be ignored or forgotten.

~~~
"... And if someone, like Pinchos, is one among a multitude, and every man is against him when he dares to speak out for truth and to fight for the Law -- the more lonely his stand, the greater the number of his adversaries, the more powerful is his word, the mightier his deed."

--  Rav Shamshon Raphael Hirsch OB"M (1808-1888), (in "Judaism Eternal," vol. 2, p. 293)


....

Update link for the month of 
Menachem Av to check in case we post during the week between our regular Wednesday/ Thursday posts:


https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KrmOMCITmo6QiE6r1n1jvniVpx6WiZVvyfMDXo_hJN8/edit?usp=sharing

Fox News’ Best COVID-19 Truthers Unite to Promote Trump’s Favorite Drug

 https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/americas-frontline-doctors-hydroxychloroquine-breitbart-donald-trump-1034927/

 On Monday, a video falsely promoting hydroxychloroquine as a cure for COVID-19 and downplaying the efficacy of masks went viral on various platforms, including Facebook (where it racked up nearly 20 million views) and Twitter. The video footage captured by Breitbart News was boosted by various members of anti-vaccine groups, as well as Donald Trump Jr. and the President himself. It was later removed by Facebook for promoting misinformation, according to a spokesperson, who said it was removed “for sharing false information about cures and treatments for COVID-19.” It was also flagged by Twitter, prompting Donald Trump, Jr. to be temporarily suspended from the platform and sparking outcry among the far right for alleged social media censorship.

The 43-minute video featured a group known as America’s Frontline Doctors, staging a sparsely attended press conference in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. In the video, physicians in white lab coats — in between nodding ponderously and awkwardly shifting their weight between both feet — aggressively promote hydroxychloroquine as a “cure” for COVID-19, despite the fact that the World Health Organization has discontinued its recommendation of the drug, saying it was “unlikely to be beneficial for hospitalized patients.”

 But who are America’s Frontline Doctors, and what are their credentials for speaking publicly about hydroxychloroquine or the effects of COVID-19? As it turns out, none of the physicians featured in the video are epidemiologists or immunologists (i.e., those best qualified to speak on infectious diseases), and many have a history of aligning with right-wing interest groups and propagating COVID-19 conspiracy theories. Below, a guide to the Sassy Six, the starring cast of America’s Frontline Doctors.

No Evidence That Doctor Group in Viral Video Got Near COVID 'Front Lines'

 https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19/87797

 The latest viral video promoting COVID-19 misinformation features a newly formed group called America's Frontline Doctors. About 10 physicians, dressed in white coats with an embroidered America's Frontline Doctors logo, spoke for 45 minutes in front of the Supreme Court on Monday on a range of COVID-19 talking points, from hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) being curative to the mental health effects of lockdown outweighing the toll of the virus itself.

But none of the most vocal members have practices that would place them on the actual front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some don't currently practice at all.

Two of those appearing at the Monday event are ophthalmologists, one of whom is no longer licensed.

Trump Says U.S. Is Nearing An End On Pandemic | Morning Joe | MSNBC

Full DC Appeals Court hears Flynn's case. Judges critical of arguments by Flynn & Barr/DOJ lawyers.

Dear God: Trump turns religion into a political weapon

https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/99-reasons-to-dump-trump/ny-edit-dear-god-20200809-rz3ntnarrnh3xgohptdwpvugy4-story.html

Yes, Donald Trump actually said it. After repeating the ridiculous lie that Joe Biden wants to “take away your guns, destroy your Second Amendment,” Trump spouted an even more desperate canard: “no religion, no anything. Hurt the Bible, hurt God. He’s against God, he’s against guns.”

The fact that a man who called Barack Obama a secret Muslim now claims that a lifelong churchgoing Catholic is an enemy of the Almighty gives us the perfect opportunity to introduce the 14th item in our list of 99 reasons to oust Trump: He shamelessly turns faith into a political cudgel, cheapening religion and dishonoring the American spirit.

 

 

 

#ConsequencesForTrump

Donald Trump's Guide to American History | NowThis