Not all prophets have doubled down on their Trump prophecies since the election, however. And as some have backed away from Trump, a schism has emerged. At least six recognized prophets who initially predicted a Trump reelection have acknowledged those prophecies were wrong. They now say they are deeply troubled by their peers’ refusal to acknowledge the same—and worry that allegiance to Trump could threaten the prophetic tradition itself.
Thursday, February 18, 2021
No, frozen wind turbines aren’t the main culprit for Texas’ power outages
https://www.fox4news.com/news/no-frozen-wind-turbines-arent-the-main-culprit-for-texas-power-outages
Frozen wind turbines in Texas caused some conservative state politicians to declare Tuesday that the state was relying too much on renewable energy. But in reality, the lost wind power makes up only a fraction of the reduction in power-generating capacity that has brought outages to millions of Texans across the state during a major winter storm.
While Webber said all of Texas’ energy sources share blame for the power crisis, the natural gas industry is most notably producing significantly less power than normal.
"Gas is failing in the most spectacular fashion right now," Webber said.
"It appears that a lot of the generation that has gone offline today has been primarily due to issues on the natural gas system," he said during a Tuesday call with reporters.
Still, some have focused their blame on wind power.
Escalating Antireligious Female Draft
BS"D
Antireligious
Israeli Leftists Making Religious Israeli Girls Bait Again: The
Escalation of Drafting Religious Girls Into the Israeli Army
6 Adar, 5781 February 18, '21 Parshas Zochor /Terumah
By Binyomin Feinberg FeinbergBinyomin@gmail.com
The
fact that both girls needed lawyers to solve problems that (even by
Army standards) should not have been an issue altogether speaks volumes
about Army draft policy, as dictated by the antireligious Army
Establishment: it's not that the Army pursues girls who encounter
technical problems. It's that girls encounter significant problems
because the Army wants to pursue easy targets.
Another girl, Loren bas Miriam, is a recent Ba'alas Teshuva (someone who rediscovered their religious roots). She embarked on her spiritual commitment subsequent to her commencement of the enlistment process. In the eyes of some, that ostensibly raises suspicion. However, she stands willing to endure military prison to avoid being drafted. That is one powerful argument dispelling naysayers.
Loren
has still not received any religious exemption notice. The Army set
her a draft date for March 18, which happens to be shortly before her
wedding, BE"H.
(Our comment: Apparently, as
far as the Army Draft Office is concerned, freedom of religion is a one
way street: once secular, always secular - no way out. Religious
freedom isn't free in Israel, at least not if you're a Ba'alas Teshuva
not yet ensconced in the correct voting bloc.)
Question:
What avenue is there for someone to rediscover their religious Heritage
- stolen by the dominant, established secularism of the Israeli WASPs
- if they happen to have started the enlistment process?
Yes,
some will argue that the Army must ferret out fakers. Firstly, even
according to the religious Zionism to which the government pretends to
pay homage, the Israeli government has no right to draft any girl into
the military, religious or not.
Secondly, who is to determine religiosity, the antireligious Army Establishment? Secular and secularist draft officers?
Thirdly,
by what right does the Israeli government have to argue against fakery
when the entire female draft is based on one massive fraud after
another, including the myth of the need for women, and the true goals of
the female draft having more to do with immorality than any national
security need?
°°°
IDF Draft Office Advances Their Escalation Against Fully Religious Girls
The ongoing IDF macro-escalation of drafting religious girls can be illustrated "in micro" by reviewing several current cases of refusenik girls - who have required legal counsel - currently being helped by Chomosaich volunteers, for example.
° Anna bas Miriam, a religious Ukrainian girl, apparently lacking anything that would be expected to flag Draft Office interest, has been subjected to Army harassment for many months on end. Evidently, there is no rationale for this, other than the fact than she's an easy target hailing from one of the many immigrant backgrounds favored by IDF human traffickers. Her case seems to be one of a "random error," however, one that's been quite unrandomly allowed to evade "correction" for many months. During this period, apparently underemployed draft officers are very intentionally trying to harass her with phonecalls. She's B"H not buckling. Given the Draft Office track- record on recent Chomosaich cases, hers seems to be "par for the course:"
° Ester bas Nilli, a very religious 18-year-old sefardi orphan, until her exemption notification this week, was being harassed over the signature of the Dayan (religious court judge) on her Religiosity certification being below the line. This - despite her being orphaned from her mother, and being desperately needed to assist her Alman father with nine younger unmarried siblings remaining at home.
°
Another religious girl, Talya bas Chana, until she was notified of her
religious exemption over a week ago, had been literally persecuted by
the Draft Office, despite - or perhaps by virtue of - her being from a
broken family, in acute financial straights, and homeless.
° Shuly bas R., 19, has also been cruelly persecuted, facing potential arrest, over her refusal to submit to the draft. The health issues with which she's recently been dealing, render it clear that the Army has no [legitimate, legal] use for her, and is pursuing her for reasons unrelated to national security.
° Shuly bas R., 19, has also been cruelly persecuted, facing potential arrest, over her refusal to submit to the draft. The health issues with which she's recently been dealing, render it clear that the Army has no [legitimate, legal] use for her, and is pursuing her for reasons unrelated to national security.
°
Now add to these the cases of other religious girls - under the care of
other organizations - being persecuted by the IDF - including the two
French girls reported on recently, e.g. see https://
~~~
“Nothing is to be more dreaded than the national government meddling with religion.” — John Adams, 1812
° Some of these girls are being or had been blackmailed into submitting to a "Rayon Dat," a Religiosity Interview/ Interrogation. For these girls, that's not only prohibited by Torah Law, and practically hazardous; it's also inherently self-contradictory. For girls who follow the historically mainstream Rabbinic position that a Rayon Dat is prohibited, the Army forcing them into one (a) constitutes antireligious coercion, and (b) is also legally incoherent - if not downright Orwellian --demanding these girls "demonstrate" their religious values by contravening them.
°
The merit of these heroic souls, and those who assist them, is truly
incalculable - "Le'fum tza'arah agrah" [Avos]. And for that reason it's
all the more incumbent on us to raise awareness - and funds - to stand
by those noshim tzidkaniyos, in whose merit so many Jews are very
possibly being saved from missos meshunos and untold tzoros.
###
"...
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)
-- Rav Shamshon Raphael Hirsch OB"M (1808-1888), (in "Judaism Eternal," vol. 2, p. 293)
~~~~~
Binyomin Feinberg. FeinbergBinyomin@
Texas weather: Are frozen wind turbines to blame for power cuts?
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-56085733
So when critics pointed to a loss of nearly half of Texas's wind-energy capacity as a result of frozen turbines, they failed to point out double that amount was being lost from gas and other non-renewable supplies such as coal and nuclear.
Fox News turns Winter Storm Uri into a cudgel to own the libs
As nearly 3 million Texans languished without electricity Wednesday afternoon amid the ongoing fallout from Winter Storm Uri, Republicans and Fox News have teamed up to turn the disaster into a culture-war wedge issue.
Fox News’ treatment of Uri illustrates how, for a large segment of the Republican Party, everything is now a culture war. On Fox, the coronavirus pandemic is recast around the struggle of aggrieved business owners and parents to overcome purportedly unnecessary public health regulations imposed by Democratic public officials; the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol becomes about Nancy Pelosi’s alleged failures; President Joe Biden’s efforts to prevent conflicts of interest in and around the White House is covered, while the egregious conflicts of interest in the Trump White House were defended.
Wednesday, February 17, 2021
Smoking and halacha
https://ohr.edu/this_week/insights_into_halacha/5717
The Gadol Hador, Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l, in a brief, albeit pivotal teshuva dated several months after the Surgeon General’s initial report,[14] wrote that although it is certainly appropriate to abstain from smoking, nevertheless, one cannot say that smoking is outright assur, as there are many people that smoke. Therefore, smokers fit into the category of “Shomer Pesaim Hashem, Hashem watches over fools.”[15] Rav Moshe adds that especially since many Gedolim smoked, it is impossible to say that such an act is truly forbidden.[16] This responsum seems to be the primary justification for many a smoker.
In fact, even Rav Moshe himself, in subsequent teshuvos dated 1981,[24] took a much stronger stance against smoking due to the health risks involved. Although he still would not call smoking outright assur, he nonetheless rules that due to the dangers of second-hand smoke, it is forbidden to smoke where it will bother others (a psak later echoed by many other authorities)[25] including Batei Midrash and shuls, and concludes with an exhortation that everyone, especially Bnei Torah, should not begin to smoke due to the chashash sakana, adding that it is assur to ‘get addicted’.
Several years ago, his son, Rav Dovid Feinstein shlit”a, was quoted as saying that with the current knowledge of the harm smoking causes, it is pashut that had his father, Rav Moshe, still been alive today, he would have prohibited smoking outright, as his dispensation was only based on the ‘fact’ that smoking endangered only a small percentage of smokers.[26] Indeed, in a newly discovered and recently published teshuva of Rav Moshe’s, dated Elul 5732, he himself wrote that his famous lenient psak was based on the facts as they were known at the time.[27] He added that if the metzius would change and the percentages of those proven harmed by smoking would increase, then certainly it would be prohibited to smoke, at least the amount the doctors considered harmful to one’s health.
False Allegations of Domestic Violence: More Common Than You Think
https://www.aggressivelegalservices.com/false-allegations-of-domestic-violence/
False allegations of domestic violence occur at a high frequency in divorce proceedings. Some people even use this type of tactic as a tool in child custody battles. 25% of all divorces include allegations of domestic violence. The courts in 48 states must consider these allegations while making rulings in child custody hearings. Protection orders are clearly meant to offer protection in serious situations. Now, they have been turned into a weapon in divorce cases. This system is ripe for abuse, and something needs to change.
Tuesday, February 16, 2021
Impeach an Ex-President? The Founders Were Clear: That’s How They Wanted It
The majority of Donald Trump's defense against his second impeachment so far is that the trial being held in the Senate right now is unconstitutional. His lawyers devoted half their brief and half of their speaking time this week to arguing that the Senate cannot try former officers. Senate Republicans voted 44-6 in agreement.
But what did the authors of the Constitution say about the timing of impeachment? That answer should matter a lot to Republicans, who are known for placing great weight in “originalism” when they invoke the Constitution—the meaning of the document when written in 1787 and then ratified by the public.
Monday, February 15, 2021
COVID-19: 40% of new serious cases are under 60 - here’s why
There is a very disturbing increase in serious cases of COVID-19 among young people, according to a report released Sunday by the Coronavirus Knowledge and Information Center.
“There
is a clear decrease in serious illness among those ages 60 and older,”
the report said. “There is an increase in the number of patients in
serious condition among younger groups, which last week constituted
about 40% of new serious cases.”
According to Health Ministry data, almost 75% of people diagnosed over the weekend were under 40 years old, while only around 7% over 60.
On
Sunday morning, 1,008 people were considered in serious condition, a
slight increase from the day before, when 973 people were in serious
condition.
Of the
serious cases, 38% were under the age of 60. Last week, only around 34%
of cases were younger people. At the peak of the third wave, around
January 20, it was only 26%.
This constitutes a 53% increase in the number of serious cases under the age of 60 in the last month.
The
cause, according to Prof. Cyrille Cohen, head of the immunotherapy
laboratory at Bar-Ilan University, is two-fold. On the one hand, the
more the older population is protected by the vaccine, it is inherent
that the younger, less protected population will contract the virus and
therefore be the relatively dominant population in the hospitals.
Sunday, February 14, 2021
McConnell criticizes Trump after Senate acquittal
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/296771
US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Saturday criticized former US President Donald Trump and said that he was "practically and morally responsible" for his supporters' deadly attack on the Capitol.
The speech came shortly after the Senate acquitted Trump on charges of “inciting insurrection” at his impeachment trial. McConnell voted in favor of acquitting Trump.
Wednesday, February 10, 2021
Do Israel's haredim really live off the state?
https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-do-israels-haredim-really-live-off-the-state-1001359942
In an election period, attacking the haredi orthodox community yields political gains, but the figures show the attacks are off the mark.
Senate votes Trump impeachment trial is constitutional
The Senate voted Tuesday to move ahead with the unprecedented impeachment trial of former President Trump after listening to nearly four hours of arguments on whether it is constitutional to try a president who is already out of office.
The vote was 56-44.
The six Republicans who joined with the Democrats on voting to continue the trial were Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah, Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.
Cassidy changed his vote from January when he was among the 45 Republicans who supported a motion by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., that declared the trial unconstitutional. Cassidy said he was persuaded by the House impeachment managers' arguments on Tuesday.
Tuesday, February 9, 2021
IDF Vs.Girl Duped to Volunteer
BS"D
Why Is the IDF Persecuting a Deeply Religious Girl Duped Into Volunteering from France?
27 Shvat, 5781, Parshas Mishpatim (21:16) °° 9 February, '21
(Reposted here by Binyomin Feinberg)
BELOW
IS THE ORIGINAL* LETTER OF A 19 YEAR-OLD, ERLICH, FRUM FRENCH GIRL,
N.D., WHO WAS DECEIVED INTO "VOLUNTEERING" FOR THE ISRAELI ARMY.
She
recently fled the Israeli Army, and is at risk for arrest - and abusive
imprisonment in Israeli Military jail. The Army refuses to exhibit even
basic decency in recognition of the fact that this young lady opted to
volunteer, and did so out of a desire (albeit misinformed - due to no
fault of her own) to help.
Her
January 31, '21 letter is a window into the crisis striking at the core
of the Jewish People, Bnos Yisroel, via international efforts by the
IDF to dupe innocent, naive girls - including frum and erlich girls -
into "volunteering" for the Israeli Army - under pretenses that are as
premeditatively false as they are convincing. Realize that in France,
as unbelievable as it seems, even many Chareidi girls are totally
unaware of the prohibition of enlistment in the Israeli Army; many
imagine it's simply not done by Chareidim, but not necessarily a
severely prohibited act.
*
The version below is slightly edited, primarily for English
punctuation. (She wrote in both French and English, but the latter is
not her natural language.)
It's authenticity can be verified by contacting Merkoz Hatzoloh, the Orthodox organization assisting her.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
Date: יום א׳, 31 בינו 2021, 12:31
French passport: ...
Born in Paris on June ..., 2001
Date of entry into the army: 13/09/2020
I joined the army by "Mahal" (1 year and a half volunteer)
בס״ד
My
name is N... D... I have been in Israel for 1 year without my parents
and I have decided to voluntarily enlist in the army for 1.5 years with a
visa.
If I decided to join the army, it is quite simple because I was ready to help the Jewish people, while being a French citizen.
I
grew up in a religious family, {Ed.: please note THIS shocking fact!!!
===»»» } but no one warns us of the risks and dangers of joining the
military. In France we are not aware of what is prohibited for young
girls - due to lack of information. We think of an ideal, that to make
the Army is something great - but it is not the reality.
The
decision was difficult because my parents are not with me and it is
very difficult not to be with them every day, to be alone in Israel.
I
only wanted to serve in the army under certain conditions, one of which
was very important to be able to return to France. I was promised that
when I wanted I could leave and be with my family, and when I requested
it was refused, especially when I unfortunately learned that my father
had had an accident and that he was in the hospital (and) that it was
urgent for me to return to be with him. I have been denied a right
which is indispensable and which I do not accept.
I haven't seen my parents for over a year, and, especially in this very difficult time for my family, I need to be there.
I was also promised that the army would be kosher, that the Tsniout would be respected both in clothing and in speech.
I have seen and heard things that are the opposite of what I was promised and said -- unlike what I know and where I come from.
I
was promised that the Shabbat would be respected, and all the opposite
happened. Music on speakers all Shabbat is something that is not
respectful, and I would even say contempt[ful] for religion; it is
absolutely forbidden on Shabbat; the lighting of the plata in the middle
of Shabbat because they had forgotten, or that the only way to drink is
with an electric dispenser; [these are] are prohibitions that oblige me
to break Shabbat - because I am prohibited from eating a dish that has
been cooked on Shabbat, or from drinking from an electronic source. In
France, we usually go to the synagogue with our family on Friday and
Saturday to pray. There was a synagogue - but an empty one - where I
cannot follow the Shabbat prayer, which is very important to me. Being
the only one in my whole base shomeret Shabbat is something that is not
bearable, and that I live very badly. I spend the day alone every time
without my family, without my friends, and in a place that does not suit
me. I have never in my life spent Shabbat like this, and when I tell
my officers when I ask them to be able to at least be at home on
Shabbat, I am told that this is impossible even if it is very hard for
me. Also, the mix of Girls and Boys is unacceptable for me to always be
together and see things that are against my values.
I
don't feel comfortable, I am feeling very bad, and I don't feel able to
stay in an environment like this. All the things that the Army had
promised me are not respected, and I no longer have the strength to
remain in this environment, in this living environment which does not
suit me. If I had known I would never have committed and would never
have agreed to sign the contract. They have exploited my naivety and my
ignorance of the fact that I am a young French girl wanting to help,
and I have been deceived (in)to (making me) believe things which are
nothing but pure lies. I consider this to be dishonesty. I have been
deceived.
I no longer wish to stay in the Army because all the conditions for which I am enlisted are not respected.
I
demand the immediate cancellation of my engagement in the army because I
suffer humiliation from day to day. All the promises they made to me
have no value. I never thought I would be subjected to such an
aberration, a swindle.
{End of English letter; French letter below:}
______________________________
Le 31 Janv. 2021 à
D... N...Passport fronçais : ...Née à Paris le ... juin 2001Date d’entrée à l’armée : 13/09/2020Je me suis engagée à l armée par Mahal (1 an et demi volontaire )בס״דJe m appelle N... D... je suis en Israël depuis 1 an sans mes parents et j ai décidé de m engager volontairement à l armée pendant 1 an et demi à l’aide d un visa.Si j ai décidé de m engager à l’ armée c est tout simple parce que j était prête à aider le peuple juif , tout en étant une citoyenne française .J ai grandit dans une famille religieuse mais personne ne nous préviens des risques et dangers a s’engager à l’armée. En France nous ne sommes pas au courant de que ce qui est interdit pour les jeunes filles à cause du au manque d’informations . Nous pensons à un idéal, que de faire l armée est quelque de super mais ce n’est pas la réalité.La décision a été difficile car mes parents ne sont pas avec moi et c est très compliqué de ne pas être avec eux tous les jours ,d’être seule en Israël .J ai voulu faire l armée seulement sous certaines conditions dont une très importante qui était de pouvoir rentrer en France. On m as promis que lorsque je le voudrait je pourrais partir et être avec ma famille et lorsque j ai fait la demande on me la refusée surtout lorsque j ai appris malheureusement que mon père avait eu un accident et qu’il était à l hôpital. Qu il était urgent pour moi de rentrer pour être avec lui. On m a refusé un droit qui est indispensable et que je n accepte pas.Je n ai pas vu mes parents depuis plus d un an et particulièrement dans cette période très difficile pour ma famille j ai besoin d être là.On m as également promis que l armée serait cacher, que la Tsniout serait respectée aussi bien dans le vêtement que dans la parole .J ai vu et entendu des choses qui sont à l inverse de ce que l on m avait promis et dits.A l’inverse de ce que je connais et de l endroit d ou je viens .On m as promis que le Shabbat serait respecté et tous l inverse s est produit. La musique sur des enceintes tout le Shabbat est quelque chose qui n est pas respectueux et je dirais même du mépris envers la religion c est absolument interdit Shabbat , l’allumage de la plata en plein Shabbat parce qu ils l avaient oubliée ou encore que la seule manière de boire est avec un distributeur électrique sont des interdictions qui m obligent de transgresser Shabbat car il m est interdit de manger un plat qui a été cuit pendant Shabbat ou de boire d une provenance électronique . En France on a l’habitude d aller à la synagogue en famille vendredi et samedi pour prier. Il a effectivement une synagogue mais une synagogue vide ou je ne peux pas suivre la prière de Shabbat qui est très importante pour moi .Etre la seule de toute ma base shomeret Shabbat est quelque chose qui n est pas supportable et que je vis très mal. Je passe la journée seule à chaque fois sans ma famille sans mes amis et dans un endroit qui ne me convient pas. Je n ai jamais de ma vie passe des Shabbat comme ça et lorsque j en parle à mon mefaqued lorsque je fais la demande de pouvoir au minimum être chez moi à Shabbat on me répond que cela est impossible même si c est très dur pour moi . De plus,le mélange Filles et garçons est inacceptable pour moi d être toujours ensembles et de voir des choses qui sont à l encontre de mes valeurs.Je ne me sens pas à l’aise et je ne me sens pas capable de rester dans un environnement comme ça. Toutes les choses que l armée m avait promis ne sont pas respectés et je n ai plus la force de rester dans cet environnement, dans ce cadre de vie qui ne me convient pas . Si j avais su je ne me saurais jamais engagée et n aurais jamais acceptée de signer le contrat . On a exploitée ma naïveté et mon ignorance du fait que je sois une jeune française voulant aider et on m as trompé à me faire croire des choses qui ne sont autres que de pures mensonges .Je considère ceci comme de la malhonnêteté .On m a trompé.Je ne souhaites plus rester à l armée car toutes les conditions pour lesquelles je me suis engagée ne sont pas respectés.J exige l annulation immédiat de mon engagement à l’armée car je subis une humiliation de jour en jour. Toutes les promesses que l ont m’a accordes n ont aucune valeur . Jamais je n’aurais pensé subir une telle aberration, escroquerie.
«# END #»
Trump impeachment: Fact-checking the Senate trial
https://www.bbc.com/news/55955588
The Senate is determining whether to convict Mr Trump based on the president violating his oath of office, rather than if he acted illegally.
Yeshiva deans urge students to get COVID vaccine
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/296502
“In order to protect oneself from harm and to also to avoid harming others…therefore there is a great obligation to take every possible precaution.”
“We are obliged to obey the regulations from our rabbis…and yeshiva deans who instructed married students [Avrechim] to get the vaccine against COVID, in accordance with doctors’ opinions that it is safe to use.”
“Therefore, we call on all married students [Avrechim] who can to follow the doctors’ advice and get vaccinated.”
The letter cites the opinions of Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky and Rabbi Gershon Edelstein.
Videos by anti-vaxxer ‘rabbi to the stars’ said fueling vaccine distrust
The claims of a popular, anti-vaccination rabbi are fueling fears of the coronavirus shot in Israel and have reportedly been blamed by health officials for a slowdown in the country’s vaccination campaign.
Rabbi Yuval Hacohen Asherov, who advises numerous Israeli
celebrities, has released videos falsely claiming the vaccines cause
infertility and damage to the immune system, and can even be fatal.
“There are fears that the coronovirus vaccine can be fatal, causes
infertility… and severe allergies that can be fatal,” he said in one
clip. “Scientists are saying this. It’s not me who’s saying this.”
Sunday, February 7, 2021
Fox News cancels Lou Dobbs Tonight
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/feb/05/fox-news-lou-dobbs-tonight-canceled
Fox Business Network has canceled the show of Lou Dobbs, the ardent Donald Trump supporter with a history of espousing misinformation who promoted baseless conspiracy theories of voting fraud after the election.
Dobbs is still considered the highest-rated host on the Fox Business Network, and he has remained under contract even though he is not expected to reappear on a new show. His show’s slot, which airs twice on weeknights, will now be filled with a show called Fox Business Tonight, which will feature Jackie DeAngelis and David Asman as hosts.
News of the cancellation came one day after Dobbs, 75, was named as a defendant in a defamation lawsuit filed by Smartmatic, an election technology company and voting machine maker, which accuses Dobbs and other Fox News anchors of promoting unfounded claims that Smartmatic was involved in a scheme to hand the presidency to Joe Biden.
COVID: Just 0.06% Israelis sick after two shots, no one serious – study
From a segmentation of the infections that did occur, it appears that the immunity increases as the days go by. Among the 254 people who contracted the virus, 76 of them were infected after seven days, 44 on the eight day, and 24 on the ninth day. Between day 22 and 24 – when the test period ended – no one was infected.
According to the studies conducted by Pfizer, the vaccine had an efficacy of about 95%, which is considered very high.
Trump’s Orthodox impeachment lawyer asks for pause if trial runs into Shabbat
Former US president Donald Trump’s lawyer in the upcoming Senate impeachment trial, who is an Orthodox Jew, has asked for the proceedings to be paused from Friday evening due to Shabbat, the New York Times reported on Saturday.
A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is also Jewish, said accommodations would be made.
Fox cancels Lou Dobbs' show
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/296361
Fox News has canceled the show of Lou Dobbs, who is considered the most ardent supporters of former US President Donald Trump, AFP reports.
The decision on Friday came a day after Fox News and Dobbs were sued for defamation by voting technology firm Smartmatic, which is claiming $2.7 billion in losses from the network for promoting false claims that the company was involved in fraud in November's presidential election.
Saturday, February 6, 2021
רה"י מסביר: "צריך שיאמרו - אשרי החרדים"
https://mobile.kikar.co.il/article/384981
בשיחה שמסר הגאון רבי גרשון אדלשטיין, הוא הסביר מדוע חרדי חייב לשמור על ההנחיות ולהתחשב בדעת החילונים; 'שיאמרו אשרי מי שלמד תורה, אשרי מי שהוא חרדי'. צפו (ארץ)
Friday, February 5, 2021
Taylor Greene kicked off US House committees for hateful conspiracy theories
11 Republicans support move as Georgia representative backtracks from support of QAnon and 9/11 trutherism, but fails to apologize for anti-Semitic, racist and violent comments
Addressing her colleagues, Greene tried to dissociate herself from her “words of the past.” Contradicting past social media posts, she said she believes the 9-11 attacks and mass school shootings were real and no longer believes QAnon conspiracy theories, which include lies about Democratic-run pedophile rings.
But she didn’t explicitly apologize for supportive online remarks she’s made on other subjects, as when she mulled about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi being assassinated or the possibility of Jewish-controlled space rays causing wildfires. And she portrayed herself as the victim of unscrupulous “big media companies.”
Can you still transmit Covid-19 after vaccination?
There are two main types of immunity you can achieve with vaccines. One is so-called "effective" immunity, which can prevent a pathogen from causing serious disease, but can't stop it from entering the body or making more copies of itself. The other is "sterilising immunity", which can thwart infections entirely, and even prevent asymptomatic cases. The latter is the aspiration of all vaccine research, but surprisingly rarely achieved.
מלמד אצלי נפטר מקורונה -ה' ירחם - אלמנה ו 10 יתומים !
המצב של הקמפיין מאוד קשה, אנו רחוקים מהיעד
של מיליון וחצי שקל ואין אנו יכולים לחשוב שלא יהיה לאלמנה והיתומים את
המוצרים הנצרכים מדי חודש בחודשו זהו החיוב שלנו להציל את המשפחה.
הרב נפתלי ברנשטיין, מלמד אצלנו בחיידר בית אליהו, רמת בית שמש א', נפטר מקורונה, בן 47 בריא ללא מחלות רקע.
השאיר 6 ילדים יתומים לא נשואים!
החסד הגדול ביותר הוא להחזיק ידי אלמנה ויתומים ,
Thursday, February 4, 2021
'Jewish space lasers' funny? Marjorie Taylor's antisemitism is real
You see, this 100% tracks with Greene’s many terrible beliefs that we already knew about: She’s a known supporter of many anti-Semitic and Islamophobic conspiracy theories. A recently resurfaced video shows her verbally abusing Parkland survivor David Hogg and claiming that he is being paid by George Soros — yet another popular modern anti-Semitic canard. Greene believes that the Parkland, Newtown and Las Vegas shootings were staged. She also believes that 9/11 was an inside job, and that “former secretary of state Hillary Clinton murdered a child during a satanic ritual and drank her blood.” She is a supporter of QAnon — another trove of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.
'What will the deniers of the pandemic say to the heavenly court?'
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/296193
I do not know what all those people who have spread and are spreading that 'there is no pandemic' and convince others not to take vaccines will say in heaven. How will they stand before the heavenly court and explain why they brought upon the deaths of so many people, when the mortality rate in Israel is skyrocketing?
How dare people still say that there is no pandemic when the mortality rate in some countries has almost doubled. What would have happened if the government had not done all the lockdowns and preventive measures?
Third wave: Increase in rate of infection among babies
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/296186
Recent morbidity data shows an alarming increase in the number of children under the age of two who have become infected with the coronavirus, Channel 12 News reported.
According to the data, in November 377 babies were diagnosed with the coronavirus. In December that number rose to 1,526 and in January it ballooned to 5,780.
It is believed that the sharp rise in infant morbidity is due to the spread of the British variant of the coronavirus, a mutation which is even more contagious than the original strand of the disease.
House Republican leader punts on punishing Marjorie Taylor Greene as Democrats move toward removing her from committees
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/03/politics/marjorie-taylor-greene-committee-assignments/index.html
During his meeting with Greene, McCarthy asked if she would apologize for her past comments and views, which she did not agree to, a person with knowledge of the matter told CNN. Another person familiar with their conversation also said that McCarthy provided a slew of options to her, including that she could show remorse and apologize.
Greene
told the Examiner Democrats are "stupid" for moving toward stripping
her of her committee assignments, adding, "I'm pretty amazed at how dumb
they are." She said she's not worried about losing her assignments.
Wednesday, February 3, 2021
Fact check: Trump's official response to impeachment includes obvious lies
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/03/politics/fact-check-trump-impeachment-response-senate/index.html
Former President Donald Trump continues to defend the ludicrous lie that led him down the road to a second impeachment -- even in his legal team's official response to that impeachment.
The
legal team's initial written response to the House's article of
impeachment against Trump, submitted to the Senate on Tuesday, focuses
on debatable constitutional arguments, particularly the claim that
someone who is no longer in office can't be convicted by the Senate.
(Many legal scholars disagree.)
But the response also includes defenses of some Trump claims that are
very obviously not true -- including the bonkers claim that he actually
won the election.
Trump lashes out at 'squad': 'They hate Jewish people'
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/476737-trump-lashes-out-at-squad-they-hate-jewish-people
President Trump lashed out at a group of progressive lawmakers at a rally with evangelical supporters Friday, accusing the freshmen congresswomen of being anti-Semitic.
“These people hate Israel. They hate Jewish people,” Trump said at a campaign event in Miami launching his “Evangelicals for Trump” coalition.
“I won’t name them. I won’t bring up the name of Omar, Tlaib, AOC. I won’t bring that name up. Won’t bring it up. I will not bring it up,” he added, referring to Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).
Trump’s and Miller’s Attacks on ‘The Squad’
https://www.factcheck.org/2019/07/trumps-and-millers-attacks-on-the-squad/
President Donald Trump and his top immigration adviser continue to criticize four progressive Democratic congresswomen known as “the squad,” but some of their claims twist the women’s words.
We’ve dealt with a couple of these assertions before, including a false claim that Rep. Ilhan Omar has expressed pride for al Qaeda. But Trump and senior adviser Stephen Miller have pointed to other instances in which they claim the lawmakers expressed anti-American or anti-Semitic remarks. Below, we present some of these claims and a fuller context of the comments made by the congresswomen.
The claim: “They can’t talk about ‘evil Jews,’ which is what they say: ‘evil Jews.'” — Trump, July 19
What Omar said: “Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.” — via Twitter in November 2012. It has since been deleted.
To be clear, we could find no evidence that any of the four congresswomen have ever uttered the phrase “evil Jews.”
Ilhan Omar apologizes after Pelosi denounces tweet as anti-Semitic
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/02/11/house-democrats-ilhan-omar-antisemitism-1163728
Rep. Ilhan Omar apologized for anti-Semitic comments Monday after coming under pressure from Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other top Democrats.
Republicans are accusing Democrats of hypocrisy, because they were quick to punish Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) last month after he defended white nationalism and white supremacy, which McCarthy said recently were equivalent, or even “more so,” to the rhetoric of Omar and Tlaib. The full House rebuked King on the House floor, while the GOP stripped King of his committee assignments.
“When a member on our side of the aisle said something, they were
very clear about what they thought should happen,” McCarthy said. “We
took action on our own side. When they stay silent, they are just as
guilty.”
The Ilhan Omar anti-Semitism controversy, explained
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/3/6/18251639/ilhan-omar-israel-anti-semitism-jews
It’s true that Omar’s comments on Israel keep falling into well-worn anti-Semitic tropes — and her defenders often prove too willing to paper this over and dismiss criticism from even progressive Jews as “smears.”
It’s also the case that Republican officials frequently call on anti-Semitic tropes and say worse about other minority groups without nearly so much bipartisan condemnation. Pushing for a House vote on anti-Semitism really did feel like unfairly singling out Omar — and whitewashing the GOP’s record in the process. That’s why progressives rallied to Omar’s defense, and why the Democratic leadership has been forced to reconsider its initial resolution.
Omar deleted the original tweet and said she “unequivocally” apologized. And for a few weeks, that seemed to settle the matter. But then, at the panel with Tlaib last Wednesday, Omar tried to address her anti-Semitism problem again. And that’s when things went south.
“At the event last week, Rep. Omar reiterated the remorse she feels for her comments last month—and the pain she knows they caused. As she said in her apology, we must distinguish between criticism of a particular faith and fair critiques of lobbying groups,” Slevin said. “She has consistently spoken out about the undue influence of lobbying groups for foreign interests of all kinds and her comments were about just that. To suggest otherwise is an inaccurate reading of her remarks.”
Trump's speech is probably defensible in every court — except, perhaps, the Senate
Even if there is proof that Trump "intended" to cause violence with his speech, and even if there is proof that the violence he intended to cause was the storming of the Capitol, there could be an issue of whether the violence was "imminent" enough to be criminal.
Some will conclude that words like "fight" and "strength" gave the crowd the detailed instructions to violently enter the Capitol. The Senate can still convict even if reasonable minds can differ over those factual conclusions. A criminal jury must be unanimous.
A criminal jury is bound by the reasonable doubt standard. The Senate is not. It is bound by the two-thirds supermajority vote standard — and not much else.
‘We will never concede’: How Donald Trump incited an attack on America
Many top political figures are converging on a stunning consensus: President Donald Trump personally incited a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, leaving four dead and an indelible scar on American democracy. Those assessments are coming not just from Trump’s political opponents, but also from members of his own party and even former members of his administration.
They include Gen. James Mattis, Trump’s first secretary of defense, who said last night that the “effort to subjugate American democracy by mob rule…was fomented by Mr. Trump.” Gen. Joseph Dunford, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Trump, also laid blame on the President. Republican Sen. Mitt Romney directly blamed Trump for last night’s events, and Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois this morning called for the invocation of the 25th Amendment, which gives the Vice President and the cabinet the power to remove an unfit President.
Trump’s statements leading up to and during the storming of the Capitol building, however, did not include explicit calls for a violent attack on America’s democratic institutions. Instead, those laying blame on Trump are pointing in part to rhetoric that agitated his followers with conspiratorial lies and instilled a sense of imminent doom—while relying on them to make the final decision to act. This is a version of the “stochastic terrorism” tactics common to authoritarian leaders around the world.
Capitol riots: Did Trump's words at rally incite violence?
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55640437
Thousands gathered at a "Save America" rally organised to challenge the election result and they listened as Mr Trump spoke to them near the White House.
In a 70-minute address, he exhorted them to march on Congress where politicians had met to certify Democrat Joe Biden's win. The attack began moments after he took the applause.
Those words have now played a central part in his second impeachment, which happened after a day of debate in Congress.
So what did he say? Here are five key quotes, followed by some legal analysis from Professor Garrett Epps of the University of Baltimore.
'We are lost:' Fox News suffers ratings slump while staffers fret about post-Trump future
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/02/media/fox-news-future-reliable-sources/index.html
Here's how The Daily Beast's team described
Fox's "nosedive" on Tuesday: "Signaling a seismic shift in the media
landscape as defeated former president Donald Trump hibernates in
strangely silent exile at Mar-a-Lago, Fox News' two-decade-long winning
streak came to an abrupt end Tuesday while rivals CNN and MSNBC claimed
the No. 1 and No. 2 rankings, respectively, in all of cable television.
Fox News' embarrassing third-place showing is the continuation of a
downward trend in which the right-leaning outlet lost 2020's fourth
quarter to CNN and alienated Trump-supporting loyal viewers by calling
Arizona early for Joe Biden during its election-night coverage."
Tuesday, February 2, 2021
Trump's legal team argues Senate can't convict him, his speech protected by 1st Amendment
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/02/politics/democratic-impeachment-filing/index.html
"The First Amendment protects private citizens from the government; it does not protect government officials from accountability for their own abuses in office," they wrote.
Daniel Rosenthal=Gropen Orthodox
Daniel Rosenthal = Woken Orthodox"
Rosenthal Is Multi-Sponsor of Streetwalker bill A3355, Expected For a Vote in the N.Y. Legislature THIS week.
20 Shvat, Yisro 5781 °° Feb. 2, '21
by Binyomin Feinberg
Our
sages exhort us: "Gadol HaMachti'oh Min HaHorg'oh." A New York State
bill, A3355, legalizing street-walking (specifically designed for
transgenders) is expected to be voted on this week in Albany, any day
now. Please call your N.Y. state legislators ASAP to oppose this and
any similar legislation, in any way possible, including speaking out
against it on the floor.
(Senate version: )
NY State Senate Bill S1351
https://www.nysenate.gov//
https://www.nysenate.gov//
Williamsburg,
Riverdale and Five Towns state senators voted for it in committee last
week (Jan. 25), a clear result of the dereliction of many communal
leaders on this family of issues.
~~~
This
corrosive legislation is sponsored by a variety of leftists, including
"Open Orthodox" Assemblyman Daniel Rosenthal of Queens.
Multi-Sponsor
Daniel Rosenthal has a long history of voting with those who wage war
against G-d Almighty. A few sample bills should suffice here:
1.
Daniel Rosenthal voted for a bill that would require every single
person who works with seniors to get an LGBT propaganda education. This
is identical to the Open Orthodox agenda:
https://nyassembly.gov/leg/?
https://nyassembly.gov/leg/?
~~~
2. In his voting for ninth month abortion he is similarly channeling the Open Orthodox agenda:
https://nyassembly.gov/leg/?
https://nyassembly.gov/leg/?
~~~
3. If
Yisocher Katz allows a transgender (a woman who purports to be a man)
into Chovevy - and that is Open Orthodoxy -- then how much more so ("kal
vichomer") is forcing every Yeshiva, Bais Yaakov, and religious school
in the state to do - Open Orthodoxy on steroids (or "Woken Orthodoxy").
Daniel Rosenthal voted for just such a bill, and the bill's sponsor
explicitly stated so on the floor:
https://nyassembly.gov/leg/?
http://www2.assembly.state.ny.
MR. RA:
"I JUST HAVE ONE QUICK QUESTION. AND I -- I
KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, AMONGST THE PROVISIONS THIS IS AMENDING, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY RELATE TO HOW DIFFERENT PRACTICES ARE -- ARE CONSIDERED IN VARIOUS PARTS OF OUR LAW, INCLUDING THE EDUCATION LAW, SO -- SO THE QUESTION IS, I THINK, PRETTY SPECIFIC. WOULD A RELIGIOUS INSTITUTION LIKE A, YOU KNOW, ALL GIRLS RELIGIOUS HIGH SCHOOL, BE REQUIRED UNDER THIS TO ADMIT A STUDENT WHO IDENTIFIES AS FEMALE, BUT WAS, YOU KNOW, BORN MALE?"
KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, AMONGST THE PROVISIONS THIS IS AMENDING, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY RELATE TO HOW DIFFERENT PRACTICES ARE -- ARE CONSIDERED IN VARIOUS PARTS OF OUR LAW, INCLUDING THE EDUCATION LAW, SO -- SO THE QUESTION IS, I THINK, PRETTY SPECIFIC. WOULD A RELIGIOUS INSTITUTION LIKE A, YOU KNOW, ALL GIRLS RELIGIOUS HIGH SCHOOL, BE REQUIRED UNDER THIS TO ADMIT A STUDENT WHO IDENTIFIES AS FEMALE, BUT WAS, YOU KNOW, BORN MALE?"
MR. GOTTFRIED: "AS THEY DO IN NEW YORK CITY AND ALBANY COUNTY AND WESTCHESTER AND ROCHESTER AND SALT CITY, YES."
~~~
4. Rosenthal voted for the ERA (see link below) and many bills giving brazen practitioners of sodomy fictive "rights."
https://nyassembly.gov/leg/?
https://nyassembly.gov/leg/?
~~~
5. Daniel Rosenthal also voted to increase abortion for women in prison:
~~~
6.
Approximately 200 Rabbis say to go to therapy if need be to address
LGBT issues with which an individual is struggling. However, Daniel
Rosenthal voted to ban it for those who need it the most:
https://web.archive.org/web/
https://nyassembly.gov/leg/?
https://web.archive.org/web/
https://nyassembly.gov/leg/?
So
much for "choice." That's only for women who want to kill their babies
- and have the government cover up and even enable their crime, with
the veneer of "Law."
Anti-vaxxers and Israel’s own conspiracy theorists
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/anti-vaxxers-and-israels-own-conspiracy-theorists/
So no, Jews are not immune to this insanity, and neither is the Jewish state. And as with Trump in the US, we currently have a highly talented conspiracy king running the country. In this election campaign, we need to be on our guard. Anti-vaxxers could be the tip of the iceberg; we may get to see what an indigenous Israeli QAnon looks like, and who knows, if Bibi loses, maybe even our own ‘Capitol Hill’ insurrection.
It’s Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Party Now
Greene is not the outlier in this party. Kinzinger is.
American conservatism — particularly its evangelical strain — has fostered derangement in its ranks for decades, insisting that no source of information outside its own self-reinforcing ideological bubble is trustworthy.
If you’re steeped in creationism and believe that elites are lying to you about the origins of life on earth, it’s not a stretch to believe they’re lying to you about a life-threatening virus. If what you know of history is the revisionist version of the Christian right, in which God deeded America to the faithful, then pluralism will feel like the theft of your birthright. If you believe that the last Democratic president was illegitimate, as Trump and other birthers claimed, then it’s not hard to believe that dark forces would foist another unconstitutional leader on the country.
There was a moment, after the Capitol riot, when it seemed as if a critical mass of the Republican Party was recoiling at what it had created. But the moment passed, because it would have required the party’s putative leaders to defy too many of their followers. Senator Mitch McConnell floated openness to convicting Trump in a Senate trial, but ended up voting that such a trial was unconstitutional. Fox News, finger to the wind, purged many of its real journalists and gave the conspiracy theorist Maria Bartiromo a prime-time tryout.
McConnell: Marjorie Taylor Greene's views are a 'cancer' for the GOP
"Loony lies and conspiracy theories are cancer for the Republican Party and our country," McConnell said in a statement. "Somebody who's suggested that perhaps no airplane hit the Pentagon on 9/11, that horrifying school shootings were pre-staged, and that the Clintons crashed JFK Jr.'s airplane is not living in reality. This has nothing to do with the challenges facing American families or the robust debates on substance that can strengthen our party."
While
McConnell did not name Greene directly, his statement stands as a
scathing rebuke of the freshman Republican House member. The Hill first reported on the statement.
Greene quickly shot back on Twitter,
asserting that "the real cancer for the Republican Party is weak
Republicans who only know how to lose gracefully. This is why we are
losing our country."
Monday, February 1, 2021
For 2nd time in day, thousands attend funeral of rabbi, flouting lockdown rules
TV news estimates 8,000 attend Jerusalem burial of Rabbi Yitzhok Scheiner, hours after 10,000 joined procession for Rabbi Meshulam Dovid Soloveitchik; both died of COVID
One third of Israel's coronavirus victims died in January
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/ryMNjXSlu
The ministry said 5,140 people tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday after 54,737 tests had been conducted, bringing the infection rate to 9.7%. The infection rate in the ultra-Orthodox sector is much higher at 20.1%.
At least 1,140 patients are in serious condition, of whom 315 are ventilated. Health officials said 30.6% of patients hospitalized in serious condition are below the age of 59.
In addition, 167 patients in their 50s are hospitalized in serious condition, 99 patients in their 40s, 50 in their 30s, 20 patients in their 20s and six children are currently being treated in hospitals after developing complications from COVID.
Sunday, January 31, 2021
Saturday, January 30, 2021
He’s Israel’s ‘prince of Torah.’ But to some, he’s the king of Covid.
The backlash exaggerates both the rabbi’s role and that of the ultra-Orthodox in general. Ultra-Orthodox society is not monolithic, and other prominent leaders were far quicker to comply with antivirus regulations.
Ultra-Orthodox leaders say most of their followers have obeyed the rules, although their typically large families, living in tight quarters under what is now the third national lockdown, have inevitably contributed to the spread of the contagion.
Rabbi Kanievsky’s position has also been more nuanced than sometimes portrayed. But he has nonetheless contributed to one of the biggest-ever showdowns between the Israeli mainstream and the ultra-Orthodox.
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