For Washington, this display of Russian military weakness should be comforting in terms of Moscow's true military threat to Europe. At the same time though, it exposes the need for a different national security strategy, one that doesn't imagine Russia as a military equal, and one that doesn't push Vladimir Putin's back against a wall.
Tuesday, March 1, 2022
Candace Owens -lies
https://www.politifact.com/personalities/candace-owens/
Candace Owens is a conservative commentator, author and host on the Daily Wire. She formerly worked as a spokeswoman for Turning Point USA. She started Blexit, an effort to get black voters to leave the Democratic Party. She previously co-founded the website Degree180.
Candace Owens Says U.S., NATO to Blame for Russia's Ukraine Invasion
"If you think America has never been the aggressor in war— you are not "pro-American" you are pro-ignorance," Owens wrote. "And your ignorance costs American lives. Stop listening to mainstream media. Start studying energy policy. Read transcripts from ALL world leaders to discern truth."
This past weekend Owens received backlash once again for suggesting the U.S. should "STOP talking about Russia" and "send American troops to Canada to deal with the tyrannical reign of Justin Trudeau."
"He has fundamentally declared himself dictator and is waging war on innocent Canadian protesters and those who have supported them financially," she continued.
Owens' suggestion of sending troops to Canada contradicts her statement of the U.S. as an "aggressor" for sending aid to Ukraine.
How much is Vladimir Putin worth? Almost no one knows for sure
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/02/28/business/vladimir-putin-wealth-sanctions/index.html
Browder testified before the US Senate in 2017 that he estimates the Russian leader's wealth to hover around $200 billion in assets, which would make him among the wealthiest people on the planet.
Chris Christie Says What We’re All Thinking Of Trump Calling Putin ‘Savvy’
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/chris-christie-trump-putin-russia-ukraine_n_621d6cefe4b03d0c803d5bec
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) lambasted Donald Trump’s praise of the Russian invasion of Ukraine last week, saying history was watching despite the former president’s repeated comments about Vladimir Putin being a “genius” who had been “smart” about the ruthless assault.
“How can anyone with any understanding of the world call Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine ‘genius’ and ‘very savvy’ as we watch him unite the rest of the world against Russia in nearly an instant?” Christie asked Monday on Twitter. He went on to say that Putin has two choices now: an “unwinnable occupation of Ukraine” or a “humiliating retreat.”
Russian invasion a 'solution to Ukrainian question' - Russian state news
https://www.jpost.com/international/article-698890
Russia is "restoring its unity" and providing a "solution to the Ukrainian question" in its invasion of Ukraine, reads an opinion piece that was seemingly published by accident by Russian news agency RIA Novosti before being quickly taken down. The article was recorded by the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine before it was taken offline.
"A new world is being born before our eyes," wrote Petr Akopov in the article. "Russia's military operation in Ukraine has ushered in a new era — and in three dimensions at once. And of course, in the fourth, domestically. Here begins a new period both in ideology and in the very model of our socio-economic system."
Echoing similar statements made recently by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Akopov referred to the 1991 declarations of independence by Belarus and Ukraine as a "terrible catastrophe" and an "unnatural dislocation."
Man convicted after refusing a Jewish divorce in landmark English court case
For the first time a man has been convicted in an English court of controlling behaviour for denying his wife a get.
Alan Moher, 57, from Manchester, pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court on Monday in a private prosecution brought by his former wife Caroline, from whom he was civilly divorced in 2019
Monday, February 28, 2022
Health workers’ vaccine mandate undone by religious exemptions
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/28/covid-vaccine-exemption-hospital-00011951
While the federal government doesn’t track the number of religious exemptions, anecdotal evidence indicates they are widespread in health care settings. Several hospital executives told POLITICO their prevalence has helped keep the hospital from laying off dozens of employees, which would threaten their ability to provide patient care. But public health experts and patient advocates fear that widespread use of the exemptions risks infecting patients with the virus, even as Covid-19 cases decline rapidly from their January peak. Last month, as Omicron surged, more patients than at any time of the pandemic caught Covid in U.S. hospitals, likely due to insufficient control measures, POLITICO found in an analysis of federal data.
Studies show that unvaccinated individuals are more likely to contract and transmit the virus.
How Russia Has Destroyed Its Economy, in Six Charts
https://www.newsweek.com/how-russia-destroyed-its-economy-six-charts-putin-zelensky-ukraine-1683170
Russia is currently facing the most punitive financial measures and sanctions ever imposed on a country in the modern financial system.
The invasion of Ukraine has prompted a severe political backlash and international condemnation, combined with an exclusion from markets that will, if it persists, have a hugely harmful effect on the Russian economy.
Whether President Putin sees the economic hardship as a price worth paying for the annexation of Ukraine remains to be seen.
Ukraine's Heroic Zelensky Unites Divided Americans Against Putin
https://www.newsweek.com/ukraine-president-zelensky-hero-war-russia-putin-united-americans-1683133
What's even more remarkable about Volodymyr Zelensky is that he has not only garnered bipartisan support in Washington, but has also has cable news channels as ideologically opposed as MSNBC and Fox News praising his heroism.
Liberal anchors like MSNBC's Rachel Maddow and CNN's Don Lemon, appear to be signing from the same Zelensky hymn sheet as conservatives such as Fox News' Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson.
Mike Lindell Melts Down at CPAC, Calls Reporter 'Disgusting' and 'Traitor'
https://www.newsweek.com/mike-lindell-melts-down-cpac-calls-reporter-disgusting-traitor-1683058
During the CPAC conference in Orlando this weekend, Lindell was questioned by CBS News journalist Robert Costa about a January 15, 2021 photo from outside the White House. In the photo, Lindell was seen holding documents that suggested then President Donald Trump could declare "martial law if necessary." The MyPillow CEO told The New York Times at the time that the papers were provided by an unidentified lawyer and aimed to help Trump prove that he was the true winner of the election.
When the journalist pressed him further, Lindell grew frustrated, refusing to say who gave him the documents.
"Robert Costa is a traitor to the United States of America," Lindell asserted, as a crowd gathered around them. He went on to call Costa "disgusting" and led those surrounding them in chants of, "Traitor! Traitor! Traitor!"
"Why do you protect a company called the media and attack a company called MyPillow? You're disgusting," Lindell said.
How Zelensky changed the West's response to Russia
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/02/28/politics/zelensky-us-response-to-russia/index.html
Five days into Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his courageous nation have already done more to transform the West's policy toward Russia than 30 years of post-Cold War summits, policy resets and showdowns with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Ukrainian leader's defiance has inspired and shamed the United States and the European Union into going far further -- and far faster -- in turning Russia into a pariah state than it appeared they were ready to go. By promising weapons and ammunition to Zelensky, 44, the West appears increasingly to be drawn into a possible proxy war with Moscow over Ukraine, even though it is not a NATO member that benefits from the bloc's direct mutual defense agreements.
Moshe achieved prophecy through philosophical thought
Meshech Chochma (Devarim 34:8)…Moshe was constantly involved with philosophical thought concerning G d as can be seen from the book of Job which he wrote (Bava Basra 14b) which is totally philosophical. Shemos Rabbah (1:35) also notes that he tried to determine the reason for the exile in Egypt. Through his analysis he came to the true source and full knowledge to such a degree that he became a prophet.
Shtisel: The show that changed my mind about the Charedim
Why do the denizens of Mea Shearim, Stamford Hill, Williamsburg and Broughton Park treat 2019 as though it were 1719? Why do they have kosher mobile phones, shun secular newspapers and seal themselves off from the surrounding world? Why do they dress as though they are still living in Lublin?
Most of us only truly experience Charedi life through art, films, documentaries, books. Yet depictions of the Strictly Orthodox in popular culture usually serve only to feed our preconceptions.
Much of it comes in the form of excommunication art, such as One Of Us, a documentary that depicted the horrors of trying to leave a Chasidic community. Or All Who Go Do Not Return by Shulem Deen, an extraordinary memoir about one Chasidic man’s agonising search for freedom. Then you have the coming-out dramas, movies such as Eyes Wide Open and Disobedience, which highlight the strains of forbidden passion.
World's largest plane destroyed in Ukraine
The world's largest aircraft, the Antonov AN-225, has been destroyed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to Ukrainian officials, generating alarm and sadness among the aviation world in which it occupies almost cult status.
The enormous aircraft, named "Mriya," or "dream" in Ukrainian, was parked at an airfield near Kyiv when it was attacked by "Russian occupants," Ukrainian authorities said, adding that they would rebuild the plane.
Yesodey Hatorah Senior Girls takes 'brave' steps to improve, says Ofsted
Leaders of a state-aided Charedi secondary school in Stamford Hill have taken some “brave” decisions to improve it since it was ranked inadequate four years ago, Ofsted says.
As a result, inspectors have upgraded Yesodey Hatorah Senior Girls High School to a school that “requires improvement” after their latest visit.
In citizenship, “they enjoy discussing live ethical and moral issues in society. However, leaders place some restrictions on what pupils can learn. For example, pupils do not learn about same-sex relationships and gender reassignment.”
Four years ago, Ofsted criticised the school for censoring textbooks.
Melanie Phillips
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melanie_Phillips
Israel
Phillips's criticisms of liberal Jews who disagree with her positions on Israel have been mocked or condemned by writers such as Alan Dershowitz,[27] Rabbi David Goldberg,[28] and Jonathan Freedland, who criticised Phillips's labelling of Independent Jewish Voices, a group of liberal Jews, as "Jews For Genocide". Freedland wrote in The Jewish Chronicle: "Now, as it happens, I have multiple criticisms of IJV ... but even their most trenchant opponents must surely blanch at the notion that these critics of Israel and of Anglo-Jewish officialdom are somehow in favour of genocide—literally, eager to see the murder and eradication of the Jewish people ... it is an absurdity, one that drains the word 'genocide' of any meaning".[29]
MMR vaccine
Melanie Phillips supported Andrew Wakefield, whose fraudulent work triggered controversy about the MMR vaccine and led to his being struck off the medical register. Through numerous articles in the Daily Mail and The Spectator, Phillips championed Wakefield's claims while casting doubt on their rebuttal by scientists, doctors, and politicians.[40][41] Her attacks on MMR attracted criticism from scientists and science writers.[40][42][43] Phillips continued to support Wakefield after his research methods and motives began to attract serious scrutiny and criticism: "While Mr Wakefield is being subjected to a witch-hunt, and while the parents of the affected children are scandalously denied legal aid to pursue the court case which may well have finally brought to light the truth about MMR, those powerful people in the medical establishment are continuing to misrepresent the evidence."[44][45] In May 2010, Andrew Wakefield was struck off the Medical Register for "serious professional misconduct", and is currently barred from practising medicine in the UK.[46] Phillips's support of Wakefield's "findings" and her campaign against the MMR vaccine has been both widely noted,[47][48] and credited for significantly undermining public trust in vaccines.[47]
Donald Trump Is Fulfilling All of Those Obama Conspiracy Theories
Compare that with the rabid conspiracy theories that greeted Obama from the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, who devoted show after show to wide-eyed attacks on the former president. Even mainstream Republican figures, like Kevin Hassett, now chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, wrote in a 2009 column that Obama was a “Manchurian candidate” giving the United States a “war on business” that could destroy the economy. Norman Podhoretz wrote in the Wall Street Journal that “[a]s a left-wing radical, Mr.
Obama believed that the United States had almost always been a retrograde and destructive force in world affairs.” There’s also Dinesh D’Souza, recently pardoned by President Trump, who pegged Obama as an “anticolonialist” raging against “Western dominance,” and who sought to undermine the United States from within. Newt Gingrich endorsed this theory; as did David Koch, the conservative billionaire.
Even before Helsinki, there was Trump’s clear effort to dismantle the Atlantic alliance, his vocal contempt for America’s traditional allies, his solicitousness and praise for dictators and authoritarians, from North Korea to the Philippines, and his undermining of American cybersecurity and indifference to hostile state actions like those from Russia. But for all the investigations into Obama’s supposed scandals, Trump has endured little questioning from much of the Republican Party. Even critics like Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska and retiring Sens. Jeff Flake of Arizona and Bob Corker of Tennessee have chosen not to punish or reprimand the president for his breaches and transgressions. Flake issued a strong statement against Trump’s performance in Helsinki, and it will remain just that, a statement.
Russian mercenaries trying to assassinate Ukrainian president
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/323026
Over 400 – and as many as 2,000 - mercenaries from the Wagner Group, a private militia run by an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, are reportedly operating in Kyiv, after flying in to Russia from Africa five weeks ago, infiltrating the border into eastern Ukrainian provinces claimed by pro-Russian militia groups.
According to the report, the mercenaries are working on behalf of the Russian government, and have been offered substantial bonuses for the assassination of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky
Russia reportedly hopes to seize control of the Ukrainian government if Zelensky is assassinated.
Ukraine is said to have received information regarding the assassination plot on Saturday, leading to the imposition of a 36-hour curfew on Kyiv, as security forces combed the city for Russian agents.
Kuzari principle and commonsense
Chinuch (Comments of author): There is no doubt that the greater number of ancestors who testify about something which they directed experienced that it is more convincing to their children. Therefore, when G d wanted to give the Torah to His people, He gave it in the presence of 600,000 adult males - besides the many women and children. This was in order that they could all be faithful witnesses concerning the matter. Furthermore, in order to make the testimony even stronger - they all reached the level of prophecy. This is because there is never any doubt concerning that which is known by prophecy…. In fact, if they hadn’t reached the level of prophecy then they might have argued that the wonders that Moshe did before Pharaoh were merely magic tricks… However, after they achieved the level of prophecy, they knew everything that happened was from G d - without the slightest doubt. These people who witnessed the events of Sinai with their own eyes and their knowledge resulting from prophecy was the highest possible type available to man - testified to their children who were born later that the entire Torah that they had received from Moshe was absolutely true without the slightest doubt. These children then testified to that effect to their children and these children testified to their children throughout the ages…
Rambam (Letter on Astrology): One should not believe something
to be true unless it belongs to one of three categories. 1) Something that can
be validated by clear proof based upon human reasoning or empirically e.g.,
arithmetic, geometry or astronomy. 2) Something that can be perceived directly
by one of the five senses. For example if he sees something is red or black, or
he tastes something is bitter or sweet or he can feel that something is hot or
cold… 3) Something which he has received as a tradition from the prophets and
righteous people. A sensible person needs to classify everything he believes
into that which is based on rational proof, that which he directly perceives
with his senses and that which he believes because of valid tradition. Anyone
who believes something outside of these three categories is described by the
verse (Mishlei 14:15), “A fool believes in everything.”
Jews were a primitive and uncultured people
Chasam Sofer[i](Derashos - BeShalach): G‑d took the Jews out of Egypt which was the lowest type of society that did all types of disgusting abominations which G‑d hated. The Jews at that point were a despised lowly people - not even a distinct nation. In Egypt, they were primitive slaves working with bricks and mortar and were without doubt devoid of even minimal knowledge of culture or science. They even lacked elementary knowledge of civilized conduct. Our sages (Yoma 75b) say that the Jews in Egypt were comparable to chickens pecking in a garbage dump until Moshe came and taught them the concept of meal times - breakfast and dinner. [Seforno[ii] - they were like animals]. We see that they were totally primitive like the slaves of the barbarians. So how could this debased people be immediately brought to Sinai where they were shown the most profound secrets of the universe and became prophets with unbounded understanding of spiritual issues? This question is reinforced by the fact that they remained primitive and uncultured people as we can see from their lowly behavior and outrageous complaints during this time? Wouldn’t it have been better to gradually educate them in civilized conduct to the level of the best of the nations of the world. They should have at least been raised to the level where they could be considered a nation. Once they were civilized, they should then have been refined level by level until they were prepared for receiving the Torah at Sinai? In truth, it is impossible to keep the Jews as a distinctive people unless they are completely separated from the other nations. That is accomplished by not learning knowledge which is common to other nations even Bible on the level of translation. The natural tendency to assimilation can only be prevented by going to the opposite extreme. If G‑d had first educated the Jews in worldly knowledge, they would never have acquired the truth of the Torah and faith. Before they would have reached, this final goal they would have already rejected them because these studies would have given them the universal identity common amongst all the nations. Moreover, even if the Jews had understood that the gods of the nations were worthless illusions and reject them, nevertheless they would also have completely rejected G‑d also.
[i] חתם סופר (דרוש לפ' בשלח משנת
תקע"א בעת שהתחיל המינות להתנוצץ בקהלתו עמוד קיב:) ואמנם
כולם יש להם ממי ללמוד מנותן התורה ית"ש. הנה אל הוציאים ממצרים ערות הארץ
עושי כל תועבות ה' אשר שנא והוא עם בזוי עם לא היה כידוע מדרכי המצרים, וישראל היו
ביניהם עבדים נבאשים עושין בחומר ובלבנים ובלי ספק שלא היו יודעים עשות נכוחה, ולא
שום חכמה ומדע גם לא טכסיס אומה ולשון ולא שום דרך ארץ - וביומא (עה:) אמר ר' אחי
בר"י בתחילה הוי ישראל דומין כתרנגולין שמנקרין באשפה עד שבא משה וקבע להם
זמן סעודה, הרי שאפילו זמן הסעודה לא היה להם כדרך עבדי הברביראי' הללו ואיך
א"כ קרבם מיד לפני הר סיני במעמד הנבחר והראה להם מה למעלה ומה למטה וכלם זכו
לנבואה ונפתח לבם כפתחו של אולם ועדיין נשאר להם רוע סידרן כמובן מכל מנהגם
ותלונותם במדבר, והלא טוב היה לנהלם לאט לאט ללמדם דרך ארץ כמתוקנים שבאומות שיהיו
ראוי' לחושבם עם עכ"פ ולהעלותם אח"כ ממדרגה למדרגה עד שיבואו לקבלת
התורה על הר סיני? אבל האמת יורה דרכו כי גלוי לפניו ית"ש כי אי אפשר להבדיל
עם בני ישראל מיתר העמים כי אם בהפרידם מהם ומדרכם לגמרי ולא ללמוד חכמתם במה שהם
משתוים עמנו ואפי' לא המקרא ע"ד הפשוט כי בזה הם שוים עמנו כי איש קל מהרה
יהפך לב האדם לשוב להמונם אם לא ירחוק בתכלית הריחוק, ואילו הנהיג הקב"ה עם
ישראל במנהג דרך ארץ תחלה לא היו זוכים לעולם להגיע לאמיתת התורה והאמונה כי טרם
הגיעו לקצה האחרון כבר היו נזורים אחור כי כל הלמודים האלו וסדר הלימוד הנ"ל
הוא עודנו קרוב לדעת הגוים ההמה. ואם אולי יבינו ישראל כי אלהי העמים הבל המה מעשי
תעתועים ולא יאמינו כמוהם מ"מ יפרקו עול לגמרי ולא יאמינו לא זה ולא זה. ...
[ii] ספורנו (שמות טז:ו)
ערב וידעתם. יהי רצון שמה שאמר לי שיתן לכם מזון יהיה באופן זה שיתן לכם
בערב צרכי הערב, בענין שתדעו שהאל יתברך הוציא אתכם לגמרי מארץ מצרים, כי
יוציאכם גם ממנהגיה, שהייתם יושבים שם על סיר הבשר, בלתי זמן סעודה קבועה כבהמות,
כאמרם ז"ל בתחילה היו ישראל כתרנגולים המנקרים באשפה, עד שבא משה רבינו וקבע
להם זמן סעודה.
Faith and philosophy
Meiri (Mishlei 30:6): One’s faith should be established entirely on the basis of the tradition received from the prophets. Only after it is firmly established should one work to comprehend the details through intellectual study. However, intellectual study should never be the determiner of the validity of one’s faith. This caution has been mentioned more than once because there are some of our people who feel that they have to justify and rationalize every aspect of the Torah. It is well known, however, that there are many aspects of the Torah that are simply not amenable to philosophical proofs. Those that insist on philosophical proof have their faith progressively weakened as the result of the inevitable repeated failure to find them. That is why I have repeatedly emphasized the fact that rational proof simply doesn’t exist for many things. In fact, the Torah requires that we start with faith - rather make its acceptance dependent upon some artificial criterion of philosophical justification. Furthermore, even those aspects of Torah which are convincingly provable - not everyone is capable of understanding these proofs. Therefore, those who are not competent in these areas should not get involved in these types of proofs - lest he be thoroughly messed up by the endeavor… In sum, in these deep matters there are very few who can meaningfully and successfully deal with faith on a purely philosophical basis. Therefore, it is appropriate for everyone to rely on the words of the Torah and the prophetic tradition - because that is the proven solid foundation and the length of our days.
New law to sanction divorce refusers
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/322995
The Knesset's Ministerial Committee for Legislation on Sunday approved a bill to amend the law regarding rabbinical courts' enforcement of divorce rulings.
The bill was brought forward by Religious Affairs Minister Matan Kahana (Yamina), who intends to bring it for its first reading in the Knesset plenum on March 16.
The new sanctions against divorce refusers would expand preventing including preventing them from using business and bank services, preventing them from using credit cards and other forms of payment, an option to issue a direct fine (not through a complex court process), the option to enforce isolation in unusual cases and immediately (without a waiting period of 30 days), the option to require "payment for forcing obedience" from the refuser for the benefit of the refused partner, and an option to create a "divorce refusers registry" which will be open to the general public.
Sunday, February 27, 2022
Ex-AG William Barr attacks Trump as unfit to lead as he urges GOP to move on in ‘24
William Barr is urging Republicans to put former President Donald Trump in the rearview mirror in 2024 in favor of the political party’s younger leaders, the former attorney general writes in a new book.
In his upcoming 600-page book, “One Damn Thing After Another,” Barr says he thinks Trump could’ve beaten Joe Biden in 2020 if he had “just exercised a modicum of self-restraint, moderating even a little of his pettiness,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
The conservative lawyer encouraged members of his party to consider “an impressive array of younger candidates” that he did not identify by name — who he believes shares Trump’s agenda but not his “erratic personal behavior,” the book says.
The former attorney general, who served from February 2019 to December 2020, wrote that the former president has “shown he has neither the temperament nor persuasive powers to provide the kind of positive leadership that is needed.”
Some on the far-right in the US oppose Ukraine, why? - analysis
https://www.jpost.com/international/article-698802
But if Russia is portrayed as somehow positive because it is nationalist and cares for traditional values, why is Ukraine portrayed as bad. Ukraine is also nationalist and ostensibly also cares for traditional values. The problem is that in the West people must choose sides, so Ukraine is bad because it is backed by the “left” in the West and thus the far-right must dislike it. An added aspect in US domestic politics is the sense that former US President Donald Trump was impeached for his involvement in Ukraine and he was also accused of being pro-Putin. Therefore the far-right who are sympathetic to Trump tend to like Putin and also think Ukraine is some kind of center of corruption, used by “globalists” like “George Soros” to push some kind of “European” agenda. In this narrative Ukraine is not really a cause for freedom fighters because it isn’t really a good democracy, and it is “flawed” and has “oligarchs.” What about Russia’s oligarchs and lack of democracy? That doesn’t matter in this telling, because the assertion is that defending Ukraine “isn’t in our interests” and we are being lied to about it being a democracy.
The Kuzari Principle: Not a Proof but Evidence of Plausibility
https://www.thetorah.com/article/modern-faith-in-sinai
With our account of the nature of faith, the Kuzari principle doesn’t have to be strong enough to provide evidence sufficient for belief, but can still play a role in making your faith reasonable. The more pressing question is less to do with evidence, and more to do with values. Is it desirable that there should have been such a revelation, and that God should have chosen a certain people, and communicated that which He was said to have communicated to them? That seems to depend a great deal upon how you view the notion of the Jewish election (was it exclusive, and what end did it serve), and what you take the content of the revelation to be – how do you interpret the laws and their ethical significance?
THE KUZARI PRINCIPLE - INTRODUCTION
https://www.dovidgottlieb.com/comments/Kuzari_Principle_Intro.htm
One of the foundations of Judaism is the revelation at Sinai. In this chapter we will see that belief in Sinai is reasonable. There is enough evidence in favor of the revelation to make it reasonable to accept. The evidence is of a very special sort, and that requires a long introduction
The Kuzari Principle
http://www.theapj.com/the-kuzari-principle-2/
What we call the Kuzari Principle is what I italicized in the quotation: Personal experience is equal to uninterrupted tradition as a ground for belief. Surely the principle is in need of some refinement, but the basic idea is true. The scientific community doesn’t feel the need to repeat every experiment ever conducted before accepting the relevant findings for themselves. If there wasn’t a modicum of trust given to the testimony of past scientists about their findings, then we could never move on, because we’d first of all have to repeat the entire history of science in our own laboratories. If we take the best elements of these medieval arguments and try to fashion them into something formal, and prima facie worth considering, we end up with something like the following:
If a reliable witness, called person-y, witnesses an event, event-x, and an uninterrupted chain of reliable sources passes on person-y’s testimony, even over many years, then, given certain provisos about the make-up of the chain, about person-y and about the reported circumstances of the original observation, we have good reason to believe that event-x transpired.
(KP2) The epistemic warrant provided by such a chain increases with the number of reliable observers in the chain who claim to have witnessed the event themselves.
There were 12 Golden Calves not one
Rav Yakov Kaminetsky (Emes L’Yakov Shemos 35:1): The sin of the Golden Calf was the opposite of the Giving of the Torah. Because our Sages said that at the Giving of the Torah the Jews were totally united. In contrast the Yerushalmi (Sanhedrin 10:2) says there in fact were 12 Calves made because they desired many gods such as the god of Moab and the god of Edom in other words they desired the unique power of every nation. Why did they desire multiple gods? It seems that amongst the Shevatim themselves there were different views as to which god to chose and therefore each Shevat made their own god i.e, their own Calf. Consequently when Moshe came to give the commands regarding the Mishkan he first needed to unite them in one place for a common goal.
Sanhedrin (63a):Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai The verse teaches that the Jewish people desired many gods; they were not satisfied with the golden calf alone.
Tucker Carlson leads rightwing charge to blame everyone but Putin
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/feb/25/tucker-carlson-fox-news-russia-putin
“Rather than blame the actual aggressor for attacking his weaker neighbor, right-wing media pinned the blame on Biden for supposedly projecting weakness and vulnerability to Putin,” Media Matters, a non-profit which monitors conservative media, wrote.
“In the right-wing media echo chamber [...] the fault for this invasion lies with a mind-boggling variety of scapegoats, including Joe Biden, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, American environmentalists, the LGBTQ community, and even the team here at Media Matters for America - anybody, that is, other than Putin.”
‘The perfect target’: Russia cultivated Trump as asset for 40 years – ex-KGB spy
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/29/trump-russia-asset-claims-former-kgb-spy-new-book
Donald Trump was cultivated as a Russian asset over 40 years and proved so willing to parrot anti-western propaganda that there were celebrations in Moscow, a former KGB spy has told the Guardian.
Yuri Shvets, posted to Washington by the Soviet Union in the 1980s, compares the former US president to “the Cambridge five”, the British spy ring that passed secrets to Moscow during the second world war and early cold war.
Now 67, Shvets is a key source for American Kompromat, a new book by journalist Craig Unger, whose previous works include House of Trump, House of Putin. The book also explores the former president’s relationship with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Cheney Rips Trump, Pompeo for 'Praising' Russian President: 'Putin Is Evil'
https://www.newsweek.com/cheney-rips-trump-pompeo-praising-russian-president-putin-evil-1682980
In a Friday evening Twitter post, Cheney shared screenshots from Russian media promoting remarks from Trump, Pompeo and Fox News host Tucker Carlson that appeared to be favorable to Putin. The GOP congresswoman knocked the right-wing politicians and commentator for their positive assessments of the Russian adversary.
White Nationalists Raid CPAC But Find Themselves Right at Home
The Conservative Political Action Conference, the nation’s premier gathering of right-wing, pro-Donald Trump die-hards is here this year. The American First Political Action Conference, the nation’s premier gathering that includes right-wing, pro-Donald Trump die-hards who are also overt and public white nationalists, is here this year too. In theory, the two events are separate, hosted at different hotels, selling different tickets, and separated by 10 miles of Florida highway. In practice, and in ideology, the lines are a bit blurry, and it’s unclear whether anyone in CPAC leadership cares enough about the white nationalist presence to do anything significant about it.
It is clear, however, that some prominent CPAC speakers are, as the kids say, here for it.
That’s most obvious with Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene, the House Republican from Georgia who proudly took the stage at AFPAC on Friday night, hours before her Saturday speaking appearance at CPAC. On Friday she was introduced by Nick Fuentes, a white nationalist whose own AFPAC address featured giggling praise of Adolph Hitler. Greene spoke at CPAC on Saturday morning, and pressed afterward about AFPAC and Fuentes, she said she was there to address his audience and claimed to have no knowledge of him nor any affiliation with — effectively pleading total ignorance and detachment from a conference she’d been a featured speaker at and a leader who’d introduced her.
Cheney Rips GOP Silence Over Greene, Gosar Joining 'White Supremacist' Event
Representative Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Republican, condemned GOP Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar for participating in a far-right "white supremacist" event, while also criticizing Republican leaders for failing to quickly "renounce" their actions.
Greene attended and spoke at the America First Political Action Conference (AFPAC) in Florida on Friday while Gosar appeared and spoke via video link. Nick Fuentes, who the anti-defamation league describes as a "white supremacist," founded AFPAC in 2020 and has even trolled other right-wing events, such as those organized by Turning Points USA and CPAC.
During Friday's event, Fuentes remarked: "Now they're going on about Russia and Vladimir Putin is Hitler—they say that's not a good thing." He and the audience then laughed loudly before he added, "I shouldn't have said that!"
Fuentes went on to lead the audience in chants in favor of Russian President Vladimir Putin. "Can we give a round of applause for Russia?" he asked the attendees who cheered for Russia's leader.
Trump, in U-turn on Putin, Condemns Atrocities, Salutes Zelenskyy's Courage
https://www.newsweek.com/trump-u-turn-putin-condemns-atrocities-salutes-zelenskyys-courage-1683019
Former President Donald Trump headlined the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Saturday night in his home state of Florida, and his conference focused on bashing Democrats as a war rages between Russian and Ukraine.
Trump trumpeted his own one-term presidency, saying Russia had attacked no other countries during his administration. Trump said he brought peace, and that powers like Russia stood down while he was at the helm during this century.
"Under Bush, Russia invaded Georgia; under Obama, Russia took Crimea; under Biden, Russia invaded Ukraine," Trump said. "I stand as the only president of the 21st century on whose watch Russia did not invade another country."
Saturday, February 26, 2022
Claiming “De-Nazification,” Putin’s actions recall other Nazi crimes
As Russia invaded Ukraine, beginning at five in the morning, Vladimir Putin’s statement that his purpose was to “de-Nazify” Ukraine clearly disgusted Ukraine’s first-ever Jewish President.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy — whose three great-uncles were murdered in the Holocaust — responded on Twitter that Russia attacked Ukraine just “as Nazi Germany did.”
“As of today, our countries are on different sides of world history,” Zelenskyy said. “Russia has embarked on a path of evil.”
The framing of Zelenskyy as a Nazi has been going on for a while. In October, the former president of Russia and current deputy chairman of its Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, published “an expletive-laden article aimed at Ukraine and at President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, describing his country as a vassal state of the U.S. with whom it is impossible to negotiate,” according to Stephen Blank, an expert on Russia and Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.
Medvedev compared Zelenskyy to the Sonderkommando.
TUCKER CARLSON HOPING WE CAN JUST FORGET ABOUT ALL THE TIMES HE INSISTED PUTIN WAS THE BEST
If you happened to tune into Fox News on Thursday night, you might have seen something extremely strange: Tucker Carlson condemning Vladimir Putin’s actions in Ukraine, and suggesting that what Russia is doing there—activities that have included shelling of a kindergarten—is actually big deal. “It’s a tragedy, because war always is a tragedy, and the closer you get to it, the more horrifying it seems,” he told viewers, adding, of the Russian president: “Vladimir Putin started this war, so whatever the context of the decision that he made, he did it. He fired the first shots. He is to blame for what we’re seeing tonight in Ukraine.” At this time, you might be asking yourself why it’s strange to denounce a country for waging an unprovoked war on its neighbor, or to place the blame squarely on the guy who made the decision to do so. And the answer is that it’s not strange, it’s what normal people who are not doing free P.R. for the Kremlin have been saying, but it is a tad odd given that, prior to Thursday, Carlson was this-close to inviting Putin on his show and asking him, “Any chance we can get you to run in 2024? I know it’s a long shot but…I’d love to see it.”
Conservatives Can’t Blame Biden for Putin’s Ukraine Attack
https://news.yahoo.com/conservatives-t-blame-biden-putin-095718302.html
When it comes to their understanding of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there are generally two types of Republicans. The first type is basically siding with Russia. They may couch this by saying that Vladimir Putin has never done anything to me, that Putin is “smart” and “savvy,” or that Putin just feels cornered by an encroaching NATO.
The second type of Republican thinks it’s bad for Russia to invade Ukraine—and it’s all Joe Biden’s fault!
Putin’s miscalculation
https://www.politico.eu/article/ukraine-war-russia-vladimir-putin-miscalculation/
So, Putin expected Afghanistan in 2021. But he got Afghanistan in 1979. Ukrainians aren’t rolling over or welcoming back an old friend. They, and their president, are digging in for war. Their army is fighting hard. Harsh Western sanctions are targeting Putin and all his oligarch buddies, who were content to keep him in power while it filled their coffers, but who now stand to lose billions.
The Kremlin isn’t orchestrating a relatively bloodless coup in Ukraine any more. It is instead attempting to become an occupying force. And that is a much more difficult proposition for a country, even a large and wealthy one — you don’t need to look much further than Afghanistan to see the problem with external forces (who will, eventually, have to go home), trying to impose ideologies or governments on a people who don’t want them. Add to that those crippling sanctions, and you’re staring down the barrel of a protracted battle that isn’t easily won.
Or, to put it another way: How do you control a country of 44 million Ukrainians who suddenly have something to believe in? And how do you keep your own people on board?
Russia frustrated by 'viable' Ukraine resistance, U.S. says
Russian forces are becoming increasingly frustrated by what the United States believes is a viable and very determined Ukrainian resistance, as Moscow commits more and more troops to its invasion, a senior U.S. defense official said on Saturday.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said it appeared Russian commanders did not plan for enough fuel and basic logistics support, and were now trying to adjust.
The Russian military continued to pound Kyiv and other cities with artillery and cruise missiles on day three of a campaign that has sent hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing west toward the European Union, clogging major highways and railway lines.
In pictures: Protests across the world show support for Ukraine
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/02/26/world/gallery/ukraine-protests-global/index.html
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues to shock the world, people all over the planet are watching in horror and disbelief.
Rallies, vigils and prayer meetings are being held across the globe in support of Ukraine. Many of those attending have personal or family ties to the country. And they're asking world leaders to stop Russia's attack.
Hundreds arrested as shocked Russians protest Ukraine attack
Shocked Russians turned out by the thousands Thursday to decry their country’s invasion of Ukraine as emotional calls for protests grew on social media. Some 1,745 people in 54 Russian cities were detained, at least 957 of them in Moscow.
Hundreds of posts came pouring in condemning Moscow’s most aggressive actions since the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Vladimir Putin called the attack a “special military operation” to protect civilians in eastern Ukraine from “genocide” — a false claim the U.S. had predicted would be a pretext for invasion, and which many Russians roundly rejected.
Tatyana Usmanova, an opposition activist in Moscow, wrote on Facebook that she thought she was dreaming when she awoke at 5:30 a.m. to the news, which she called “a disgrace that will be forever with us now.”
“I want to ask Ukrainians for forgiveness. We didn’t vote for those who unleashed the war,” she said.
As sirens blasted in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, and large explosions were heard there and in other cities, Russians were signing open letters and online petitions demanding the Kremlin halt the assault, which the Ukrainian health minister said had killed at least 57 Ukrainians and wounded dozens more.
Prominent Russians join protests against Ukraine war amid 1,800 arrests
Prominent Russians shocked by the invasion of Ukraine have gone public with their opposition to the war, despite the professional and personal risks that come with dissent on such a sensitive issue in Russia.
More than 1,800 people were arrested at rallies across the country on Thursday night as prominent Russians from the worlds of entertainment, business and journalism have risked their livelihoods in order to speak out.
When Elena Chernenko, the veteran diplomatic correspondent for Kommersant newspaper, found out that Russia was invading Ukraine, she said she was stunned.
“Of course, I was shocked … Until yesterday morning, I refused to believe that Russia could launch a massive military operation against Ukraine,” said Chernenko, who believed Russia may at most recognise the territories in south-east Ukraine.
“I thought that all the talk about invasions was awful hysteria. I argued with people on Twitter and in person that nothing would happen, it’s all thought up,” she said. “Maybe I don’t understand anything about Russian foreign policy anymore.”
‘Putin is the new Hitler’: Israelis protest invasion outside Russian embassy
Hundreds of Israelis massed in pouring rain outside the Russian embassy in Tel Aviv on Thursday to protest the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Many demonstrators carried placards, including “Putin is the new Hitler” and “Stop Putin, stop war.”
Sheltered under giant Ukrainian flags and exposed to the elements alike, the protesters shouted slogans in Russian, Ukrainian and Hebrew that were directed at Putin and recalled past Ukrainian struggles for independence.
“Putin is a son of a bitch” and “no war” alternated between the crowd and passing cars, as drivers stopped to honk and shout their support.
“Honor to the heroes, honor to Ukraine,” they chanted as lightning ripped through the air.
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