If you would be interested in reading a rational book by a superb historian, I commend Victor Davis Hanson's: "The Case For Trump."
I am half way through and, whether you agree with what he has written or not, it gives you insight into what, perhaps, you are missing when you read only The New York Times and watch only CNN and MSNBC and why Trump won in 2016 and is likely to win again.
At the very least for the Trump haters, it is always wise to know your "enemy."
And we all know he is the enemy of the people, colluded with the Russians and proceeded to obstruct the collusion which never took place.
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Obama says he is proud of Muslim member of The House . (See 1 below.)
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Finally, a serious threat to our nation's survival has been recognized by Trump. Now , hopefully, something has been set in motion to do something. This has been one of former CIA Director Woolsey's greatest concern.
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Bret Stephens comments on Trump's withdrawal from Obama's Iran Deal. Brett rarely has anything positive to say about Trump .(See 2 below.)
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Ordman's good news from Israel - edited. (See 3 below.)
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Dick
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1)
Obama to Muslim Dem: 'I'm Proud of You'
By AAN Staff
Former President Barack Obama reportedly told Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) he's "proud" of her during a meeting yesterday. (Washington Free Beacon)
Since then, Tlaib has repeatedly made comments widely perceived as anti-Semitic.
Tlaib has had an eventful first few months in office.The freshman Democrat tweeted a picture of her standing with Obama, writing that he "met with us new members of Congress and we had a thoughtful discussion about serving our country."
"The best part was when he looked straight at me and said, ‘I'm proud of you,'" Tlaib continued.
In January, the Michigan Democrat promised attendees at a left-wing MoveOn reception in Washington, D.C., that Democrats would "impeach the motherfucker," referring to President Donald Trump.
Since then, Tlaib has repeatedly made comments widely perceived as anti-Semitic.
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2)
The Foreign Policy Fiasco That Wasn’t
By Bret Stephens - New York Times -
Withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal has paid dividends.
So far, the result has been closer to the opposite.It’s been nearly a year since Donald Trump made the decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, to loud cries that it would bring nothing but woe to the United States and our interests in the Middle East.
That much was further made clear thanks to excellent reporting this week by The Times’s Ben Hubbard. “Iran’s financial crisis, exacerbated by American sanctions,” he writes from Lebanon, “appears to be undermining its support for militant groups and political allies who bolster Iranian influence in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and elsewhere.”
Well, heavens to Betsy. When the Obama administration negotiated the nuclear deal, the president acknowledged that sanctions relief for Tehran would inevitably mean more money for groups like Hezbollah. But he also insisted it wouldn’t make much of a difference in terms of Iran’s capacity to make mischief in the Middle East.
Hubbard’s reporting suggests otherwise. Iran can no longer finance civilian projects or credit lines in Syria. Hezbollah fighters and Palestinian militants aren’t being paid, and their families are losing subsidized housing. Even Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has complained publicly about the effects of U.S. sanctions.
Nor are those the only benefits of withdrawal. The U.S. is no longer looking the other way at Hezbollah’s criminal enterprises, including drug smuggling and money laundering, the way it did during the Obama administration in order to engage Iran diplomatically. Iran’s protest movement, quashed in 2009, has shown signs of renewed life, not least because of public fury that the regime spends money on foreign adventures while economic conditions worsen at home
Most importantly, Iran has not used the US. withdrawal from the deal to restart its nuclear programs, despite its threats to do so. Part of this has to do with Tehran’s belief that it can wait Trump out, especially since Democrats like Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris have promised to re-enter the deal if elected.
But it also suggests an edge of fear in Tehran’s calculations. The U.S. can still impose a great deal more pain on the Islamic Republic if it chooses to do so.
How so? Mark Dubowitz of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told me earlier this week that the sanctions needle now stands at around a 6. With a nod to Spin̈al Tap’s Nigel Tufnel, he says, “We need to get to 11.”
Iran still exports about a million barrels of oil a day; the administration could bring it to zero by refusing to hand out sanctions waivers. The State Department could also designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a foreign terrorist organization, on a par with Al Qaeda or the Islamic State. Such a designation, Dubowitz says, would “make the entire Iranian economy radioactive” to foreign investment, since the I.R.G.C. is heavily involved in scores of Iranian businesses.
Even here Dubowitz is merely warming to his theme. Freeze Iran’s foreign exchange reserves? Doable. Expose the immense wealth of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and sanction the companies he and other leading regime figures control? Ditto. Unleash lawsuits against companies still doing business with Iran to recover billions of dollars in outstanding terrorism judgments against the country? That, too.
The point isn’t to punish Iran for punishment’s sake. It’s to create leverage for a better nuclear deal. Last May, Mike Pompeo set a dozen parameters for an agreement, including “unqualified access” to U.N. nuclear inspectors, permanent cessation of uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing, the end of Iran’s ballistic-missile program, withdrawal of its forces from Syria, and the release of U.S. nationals held in its prisons.
Pompeo’s demands have been alternatively dismissed as silly or reckless by most of Washington’s foreign policy establishment. But it says something about the debasement of diplomatic expectations — both of what we have a right to demand and what we think we can achieve — that any of it should be controversial.
Non-nuclear states that sponsor terrorism and subscribe to millenarian ideologies should never have access to any part of the nuclear fuel cycle, ever. Any U.S. administration that abdicates the responsibility to do everything it can to prevent such access effectively renounces America’s status as a superpower as well.
Iran’s G.D.P. is roughly equivalent to that of the greater Boston area, with 17 times the population. The regime may be a force to be reckoned with in the Middle East. But it is hardly a giant on the world stage, immune to any form of economic pressure.
The Trump administration has succeeded in dramatically raising the costs to Iran for its sinister behavior, at no cost to the United States or our allies. That’s the definition of a foreign-policy achievement. It’s time to move the needle up again. The longer Hezbollah fighters go unpaid, or the Assad regime unaided, the better off the people of the Middle East will be.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Bret L. Stephens has been an Opinion columnist with The Times since April 2017. He won a Pulitzer Prize for commentary at The Wall Street Journal in 2013 and was previously editor in chief of The Jerusalem Post. @BretStephensNYT • Facebook
3)The latest innovations and activities eminating from the Jewish state are simply amazing. Pods for growing personalized cancer treatments; several "seismic" underground discoveries; Israel's spaceship goes even further; increased international recognition and four heartwarming animal stories.
Best regards and Shalom.
Michael
ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Growing cells to kill cancer. Israel’s Sheba hospital is partnering with Switzerland’s Lonza Group to fast-track production of the CAR-T cancer immunotherapy invented by Israeli scientists. Sheba is the first hospital to trial and refine Lonza’s Cocoon manufacturing platform for growing cells to treat hundreds of oncology patients.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
Fast cancer diagnosis. Israel’s Ibex Medical Analytics develops a diagnostic system that uses computer vision, machine learning, and electronic medical records to confirm cancer diagnoses of tissue biopsies. Ibex’s technology helps minimize the risk of misdiagnosis. Ibex has just received $11 million of funding.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Manufacturing center for tumor lasers. I reported previously (see here) on Israel’s HIL Applied Medical and its focused proton beam lasers to treat tumors. HIL is spending $5 million to set-up a research and development and manufacturing center at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Treatment for iron overload. Israel’s Teva has launched a generic version of EXJADE (deferasirox) in the US. It treats patients two years of age and older for chronic iron overload due to blood transfusions. Currently, one in eight generic prescriptions dispensed in the U.S. is filled with a Teva generic product.
https://en.globes.co.il/en/
Marseille base for Israeli infusion pumps. (TY Calcalistech) I reported previously (Feb 2013) that Israel’s Q-core Medical was expanding the distribution of its infusion pumps to the US and Europe. Due to the increased demand for IV infusion systems in France, Q-Core has opened a new regional hub in Marseille.
https://www.qcore.com/single-
Another Israeli fetal heart monitor. (TY Calcalistech) Israel’s HeraMED is partnering with Israeli-owned device manufacturer Quasar to mass-produce its HeraBEAT ultrasound smartphone-based fetal heartbeat monitor in Shenzhen, China. HeraBEAT uses amplified ultrasound doppler technology. (also PulseNmore)
https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/
The gift of life. Heart transplants for children are rare. And when the cardiac condition of 13-year-old Dov from Arad deteriorated, it looked bleak. Then on the Jewish festival of Purim, surgeons at Israel’s Schneider children’s hospital gave him a new heart. And on the same day, they gave a 5-year-old girl a new kidney.
http://www.israelnationalnews.
ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL
The first co-working space for women. Panthera in Tel Aviv is Israel’s first coworking space for women. Panthera (Hebrew for a female panther) admits female entrepreneurs and companies run by women. It also offers cultural events, lectures, and courses including on artificial intelligence and stock exchange investing.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Ethiopian-Israeli women trailblazers. The annual Yerusalem Forum convention celebrates women who made important contributions to Israeli society. This year’s event was devoted to 11 inspiring young women, academics, mothers and artists from the Ethiopian Women Trailblazers Forum.
https://www.ynetnews.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Three NGOs join to help minorities into Israeli tech. Israeli non-profits KamaTech, Tech-Career and Tsofen are joining forces to integrate ultra-Orthodox Jews, Ethiopian Israelis and Arab Israelis into the tech industry. They will jointly pilot tech courses and develop a comprehensive recruitment-training-placement program.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
Rescued sea turtles returned to the sea. Inspectors of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority released to the Mediterranean two sea turtles after several they had received months of medical care. The rescue center repaired one turtle’s broken shell and the other was given a CT scan after treatment for head and shell injuries.
https://www.jewishpress.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Israelis save Gazan parrot. (TY Hazel) Abdullah Sharaf from Gaza requested help for his African grey parrot, Koki, that had drunk bleach which burned a hole in its throat. Israeli veterinarians from an Israeli wildlife center coordinated with Israel’s COGAT Gaza liaison body and successfully treated the bird at the Erez crossing.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
Israeli rescuers in Brazil – the inside story. (TY IsraelUnwired) This video describes the work of Israeli firefighters who flew out to Brazil three days after the 25th Jan dam collapse and subsequent deadly mudslide. The traumatic recovery activities created strong bonds and today Brazil and Israel see each other as true friends.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
World’s longest salt cave. 80 cave explorers from nine countries have mapped Israel’s Malcham cave near the Dead Sea and declared it to be the longest salt cave in the world. At 10km it dwarfs Iran’s 6.5km 3N cave - the previous longest. Malcham is in Mount Sdom – where, in the Bible, Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
http://www.israelnationalnews.
Dutch BDS supporter triggers huge Israeli wine sales. An anti-Israel supporter’s tweet to boycott Israeli wines at the Dutch Hema supermarket was turned by pro-Israel supporters into a social media buying frenzy. Within hours, Efrat Wines were sold out from Hema’s online store and branch stocks were running out fast.
http://www.israelnationalnews.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
The Earth and Israeli flag from 265,000 km. Israel’s Beresheet spacecraft selfie camera continues to click away, as the satellite performs its final and largest elliptical orbit around Earth ahead of planned lunar capture on April 4 and hopefully a moon landing on April 11. Beresheet has also now deployed its landing gear.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
Einstein manuscripts exhibited. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem has unveiled 110 Einstein manuscript pages from a private collection - most on display for the first time. They include a hand-written appendix to Einstein’s Unified Theory, previously thought lost, and join the HUJ’s 80,000 item Einstein archive.
https://www.israel21c.org/new-
Radiation vest is going to the Moon. I reported previously (30th Apr) that the radiation protection vest from Israel’s StemRad will be tested on NASA’s first Orion deep space mission. The date for that has now been set for June 2020 and its destination will be the moon.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Most innovative. TY Atid-EDI) I reported previously (16th Mar) that there were six Israeli companies on Fast Company’s prestigious annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies (MIC) for 2019. There is now a seventh – Wisdo is a self-care platform that provides users with wisdom from those with similar experiences.
https://www.fastcompany.com/
Datacenter accelerator emerges. As one Israeli datacenter accelerator (Mellanox) exits for $6.9 billion, one more appears. Israel’s Lightbits has developed software that can be installed on existing servers to connect flash storage with applications at high speed. Lightbits just raised $50 million of funds from Dell, Cisco and others.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Real-time transcription. I reported previously (21st May) that Israel’s Verbit provided a 4-hour turnaround for its transcription service. , Verbit has now launched a pay per minute, real-time service that automatically transcribes speech instantly at a high accuracy rate.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
Window-cleaning robots. I reported briefly previously (23rd Oct) on Israel’s Skyline Robotics. Its automated cleaning system, called OZMO, uses computer vision and machine learning to clean windows at any height. It can clean (safely) a 40-story building in 7 days - less than a third of the time that 3 human cleaners would take.
https://nocamels.com/2019/03/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Don’t waste, innovate. (TY Liat) I reported previously (1st July) on Israel’s Wine Water Ltd that uses waste products from the wine industry to make O.Vine – infused spring water. Israel’s Practical Innovations came up with the idea. They advise companies how to generate innovative products from previously discarded materials.
http://www.en.
Protecting crops. More information about the imaging and analysis platform of Israel’s Taranis, which is used by some 19,000 farmers in eight countries help prevent disease and pest infestation in crops. It protects about 20 million acres of fields in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Israel, Russia, United States and Ukraine.
https://www.israel21c.org/the-
Transferring data by sound. Israel’s Sonarax has developed a new connectivity protocol that transfers data using soundwaves. Sonarax states that it operates on any device that has a built-in speaker or microphone and its uses include mobile payments, authentication, IoT connectivity and indoor navigation
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Israel has thousands of hi-tech companies. (TY OurCrowd) Israel had 6,673 active high-tech companies and startups as of the end of 2018, according to a report published by the Start-Up Nation Central organization. Of those, over one thousand operated in the area of Artificial Intelligence.
https://en.globes.co.il/en/
More Israeli investment opportunities. Two more initiatives have just been launched to attract funds for Israeli startups. First, Israel Infrastructure Partners (IIP) announced a debut fund targeting $350 million. Meanwhile, Arizona's Grayhawk Capital has launched a $75 million early growth fund.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
https://www.calcalistech.com/
El Al to fly to Chicago. El Al will be offering direct flights between Tel Aviv and Chicago starting in 2020.
https://en.globes.co.il/en/
Ryanair’s Lauda to fly Tel Aviv to Vienna. Irish low-cost airline Ryanair's Austrian subsidiary Lauda will launch Tel Aviv - Vienna daily flights in October. El Al, Austrian Airlines and Wizz Air also fly from Tel Aviv to Vienna. https://en.globes.co.il/en/
Phenomenal growth. I reported previously (see here) on Israeli cybersecurity startup Morphisec and its growth in protecting over one million endpoints. Its revenue has also grown - by 1620% over the past year.
https://www.prweb.com/
Drip irrigation across India. (TY Hazel and Calcalistech) I reported previously (2nd Dec) that Israel’s Netafim was deploying its drip-irrigation systems to 6,000 farmers in Hungund, India. It has since won a $100 million contract to install its systems in 100 villages, benefiting 60,000 farmers across India.
https://www.jpost.com/Jpost-
The search for more Israeli gas. (TY Calcalistech) Several companies, including Exxon Mobil, have acquired Israeli government tender documents pertaining to oil and gas exploration rights off the coast of Israel. The ongoing auction closes in June. Seabed estimates are 75 trillion cubic feet of gas and 6.6 billion barrels of oil.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
Pointer exits for $140 million. I reported previously (see here) on Israel’s Pointer Telelocation whose software tracks vehicles for fleet management, insurance purposes and stolen vehicle recovery. US based I.D. Systems is acquiring Pointer in a deal valued at some $140 million.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/
OrthoSpace exits for up to $220 million. I reported previously (Jan 2014) on Israel’s OrthoSpace which develops a biodegradable balloon that can be implanted into injured shoulders, preventing friction and alleviating pain. NYSE-listed Stryker Corp. is acquiring OrthoSpace for up to $220 million.
https://www.calcalistech.com/
McDonald’s buys Israeli AI startup. I mentioned previously (Jan 2018) Israeli startup Dynamic Yield, which uses Artificial Intelligence to deliver a personalized service to customers. Fast food giant McDonald’s has recognized DY’s potential and has bought the innovative startup for $300 million.
https://en.globes.co.il/en/
https://www.dynamicyield.com/
CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
When the smoke clears. 700 Israeli soldiers badly wounded defending their country formed a self-help group to promote the healing process. Jerusalem U has produced a film about these brave soldiers, which is available on amazon or for a small charge or free to Amazon Prime customers. See the youtube trailer for more details.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/
https://jerusalemu.org/films/
Come and see the butterflies. This year’s butterfly migration from Arabia to Europe via Israel is probably the largest ever seen in Israel. The unusually wet winter has promoted the growth of plants that feed billions of new “painted lady” butterflies, also known as the “plain tiger” or “African Queen”. Viewing until mid-May.
https://www.greenprophet.com/
https://www.israel21c.org/
Israel beats Austria in Euro soccer qualifier. In their European 2020 Cup soccer qualifying round, Israel beat Austria 4-2 in Haifa. It was their first victory over Austria in 20 years and it took them to second place in Group G. Israel’s Eran Zahavi scored a hat-trick (3 goals) in a game hailed as one of Israel’s best in recent years.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/
THE JEWISH STATE
Honduras and Romania to move embassies to Jerusalem. (TY Arthur R) Honduras and Romania are to relocate their Israeli embassies to Israel’s capital. Both President Juan Orlando Hernandez of Honduras and Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă announced their plans during the AIPAC conference in Washington.
http://www.israelnationalnews.
http://www.israelnationalnews.
Hungary opens embassy branch in Jerusalem. As promised, Hungary has opened its diplomatic trade mission in Jerusalem, which is considered a branch of the Hungarian Embassy located in Tel Aviv. Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto was in Jerusalem on Tuesday for the dedication ceremony of the new facility.
https://www.jta.org/quick-
2000-year-old Jewish village in Eastern Jerusalem. Archaeologists are uncovering a Jewish village from the Hasmonean period in the Sharafat neighborhood of Jerusalem. It includes a wine and olive presses, a rock-cut dovecote, two large ritual baths, a water cistern and an extravagant burial cave.
http://www.israelnationalnews.
This is not mythology. Another video showing the excavations at Shiloh – the site of the Biblical Jewish tabernacle some 3,500 years ago – and where archaeologists are today literally bringing the Bible to life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Historic Burma road now hosts gas pipeline. In 1948, Israel broke the Arab siege of Jerusalem by building the “Burma” road to ferry supplies. Israel Natural Gas Lines has just inaugurated a pipeline along the Burma road to take natural gas from the coast to supply Jerusalem. The 34-km pipeline cost NIS 290 million to build.
https://en.globes.co.il/en/
Just a boy, but he saved a stranger’s life. Shulamit survived breast cancer, twice. Then she was diagnosed with leukemia and only a bone marrow transplant could save her. No family matched but a teenager in the IDF did. He had just registered on Ezer Mizion’s database. 3 years after a successful stem cell transplant, they met.
http://www.ezermizion.org/
The Kinneret is rising. (TY Arthur R) I didn’t want to risk providence by reporting this previously, but winter rains have now raised the level of the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) to 78.5 cm above the lower red line – its highest level in over two years. More rain is forecast – apologies to tourists, but we do need the water!
http://www.israelnationalnews.
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