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

 https://www.thejc.com/comment/comment/shtisel-the-show-that-changed-my-mind-about-the-charedim-1.481155

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

 https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/antonov-an-225-largest-plane-destroyed-ukraine-scli-intl/index.html

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

 https://www.thejc.com/family-and-education/all/yesodey-hatorah-senior-girls-takes-brave-steps-to-improve-says-ofsted-20PQbN6Ehe3Uo29C3dhKBM

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

 https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/07/donald-trump-is-fulfilling-all-of-those-obama-conspiracy-theories.html

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.

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[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.