Monday, August 8, 2022
Suspicious binds: Conspiracy thinking and tenuous perceptions of causal connections between co‐occurring and spuriously correlated events
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6282862/
Previous research indicates that conspiracy thinking is informed by the psychological imposition of order and meaning on the environment, including the perception of causal relations between random events. Four studies indicate that conspiracy belief is driven by readiness to draw implausible causal connections even when events are not random, but instead conform to an objective pattern. Study 1 (N = 195) showed that conspiracy belief was related to the causal interpretation of real‐life, spurious correlations (e.g., between chocolate consumption and Nobel prizes). In Study 2 (N = 216), this effect held adjusting for correlates including magical and non‐analytical thinking. Study 3 (N = 214) showed that preference for conspiracy explanations was associated with the perception that a focal event (e.g., the death of a journalist) was causally connected to similar, recent events. Study 4 (N = 211) showed that conspiracy explanations for human tragedies were favored when they comprised part of a cluster of similar events (vs. occurring in isolation); crucially, they were independently increased by a manipulation of causal perception. We discuss the implications of these findings for previous, mixed findings in the literature and for the relation between conspiracy thinking and other cognitive processes.
Litzman gets minor fine, no jail for shielding alleged pedophile Leifer from justice
A Jerusalem court handed down an extremely light sentence to former minister Yaakov Litzman on Monday, as part of a plea deal that allowed him to avoid jail time. In exchange, Litzman admitted to abusing his powers in a failed bid to thwart the extradition of a suspected pedophile wanted in Australia.
Under the deal, the former United Torah Judaism party leader pleaded guilty to breach of trust, but prosecutors dropped an obstruction of justice charge, allowing him to avoid a moral turpitude enhancement that would have banned him from politics for several years.
The ex-health minister was accused of using his position to protect Malka Leifer, a former principal of an Orthodox girls’ school in Melbourne, who fled to Israel when accused of sexually assaulting minors.
Sunday, August 7, 2022
AR-15s to Be Stored in County Schools to Protect Against Mass Shootings
https://www.newsweek.com/ar-15s-stored-county-schools-protect-against-mass-shootings-1731535
"What problem are these North Carolina sheriffs solving?" Watts wrote. "The hundreds of officers in Uvalde had access to AR-15s but chose not to engage a gunman with an assault rifle and a death wish. 'MORE GUNS' is not a solution - keeping guns away from kids/teens is."
Amnesty International Assessment That Ukraine ‘Put Civilians in Harm’s Way’ Stirs Outrage
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/07/world/europe/amnesty-international-ukraine-russia-war-crimes.html
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine accused the organization of trying to “amnesty the terrorist state and shift the responsibility from the aggressor to the victim.”
Israeli messaging on deadly Jabaliya explosion makes inroads on international media
Israeli officials have been working hard since Saturday evening to convey the truth that an explosion in the Gaza Strip that killed multiple people, including several children, was the work of a failed rocket launch by Palestinian terrorists rather than an IDF strike.
When it comes to global media coverage of the incident, the effort appears to have paid off.
Initial reports from Gaza claimed an Israeli strike in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza had killed seven civilians, including four children. Photos circulating on social media showed seven body bags. But the IDF stated unequivocally on Saturday and again on Sunday that it had not struck anywhere in the area at the time of the blast, and that it had video and radar proof that the explosion was caused by a rocket misfired by Palestinian terror operatives.
Alex Jones ordered to pay $49.3M total over Sandy Hook lies
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/08/05/alex-jones-sandy-hook-damages-00050186
Punitive damages are meant to punish defendants for particularly egregious conduct, beyond monetary compensation awarded to the individuals they hurt. A high punitive award is also seen as a chance for jurors to send a wider societal message and a way to deter others from the same abhorrent conduct in the future.
Spiritual abuse - is religion inherently abusive?
https://mishpacha.com/shattered/
As a community rav, this dynamic is one that Rabbi Ron Yitzchok Eisenman of Passaic is all too familiar with. He sees this abuse play out in both parenting and marriage relationships. “It has nothing to do with Hashem,” he says firmly. “These abusers hide behind Hashem, to dominate people, to abuse people — all in the name of G-d.”
And while the abusers may cite halachah and maamarei Chazal, their actions are not rooted in any form of holiness. “You have parents who are abusive to their kids, so they jump on the kibbud av v’eim bandwagon,” Rabbi Eisenman says. “But their actions have nothing to do with halachah and everything to do with their world view and what they think is right, regardless of halachah.”
Is Trump Right That Inflation Bill Raises Middle Income Taxes?
Mostly False.The Inflation Reduction Act would not increase taxes for Americans earning less than $400,000. The basis of Trump's statement is a single piece of analysis which, while thorough and comes from an authoritative source, is still just a projection of potential follow-on costs after corporations and others are taxed
Friday, August 5, 2022
Dick Cheney brands Trump a 'coward' in TV ad
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/357663
Former US Vice President Dick Cheney blasts former President Donald Trump in a new video ad for his daughter, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) which was released on Thursday.
The former Vice President brand Trump a “coward” and a “threat to our republic” in the video, released weeks before voters go to the polls.
“In our nation’s 2460year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump. He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him,” Dick Cheney says in the one-minute ad, titled “He Knows It”, according to The Hill.
Sunday Night Havdalah
https://ohr.edu/this_week/insights_into_halacha/9993
In Maariv on Motza’ei Shabbos-Tisha B’Av, we recite “Attah Chonantanu” to allow the performing of melachah (or by simply saying “Hamavdil Bein Kodesh L’Chol” once it is Tzeis Hakochavim at the conclusion of Shabbos). There is no bracha of Besamim at all - as that is considered hana’ah (benefit or pleasure), which we minimize on Tisha B’Av. It is also not recited on Motza’ei Tzom, when the fast ends on Sunday night, as at that point it is no longer directly after Shabbos.
A Democratic bill negotiated between Sens. Joe Manchin and Chuck Schumer would "increase taxes on millions of Americans across every income bracket."
• An analysis by Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation found that every income group would lose ground from the bill’s tax changes, although by a modest amount — approximately 1%.
• However, this analysis didn’t factor in subsidies for energy efficiency and clean energy, the continuation of expiring subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, and lower drug prices because of Medicare negotiations. Independent experts expect these benefits to cancel out, or reverse, any negative tax impacts.
• The only actual tax increases in the bill are levied directly on very large corporations and high-earning money managers. This means that any impact on ordinary Americans would come from secondary effects, which are difficult to measure.
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