Saturday, October 26, 2019

Watch What Trump Does Not What He Says.Our Special Forces Are Beyond Compare. Jeff Crouere Hits The Nail On The Head.



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Sunday Trump proved , given a risky but worthwhile campaign, he can and will change his mind regarding his view and implementation  of our foreign policy.

He is an adapter and that is why I pay more attention to what he does as opposed to what he says.

It also demonstrated what fantastic military capabilities we have and , once again, I commend "The Lone Survivor" book I reviewed several weeks ago.  Our special forces and overall volunteer military are beyond belief.

Isis never was the JV Team as Obama said and Romney and all of Trump's haters have earned egg on their face.

This was a victory for our military, for Trump but not for the radicals who have taken over the Democrat Party and the weak knee members of the Republican Party starting with Romney etc. (See 1 and 1a below.)

After Sunday you decide, (See 1b below.)
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My friend and fellow memo reader hits the nail on the head. (See 2 below.)
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This from a dear and old friend and fellow memo reader.  He was a criminal lawyer during his working years: "Dick , Any second rate prosecutor knows how to frame a defendant.  Apparently sh-- for brains can't."

This reminds me of this joke: " a good lawyer knows the law and a great lawyer knows the judge."
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Good news from Israel. (See 3 edited below.)
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When true religion no longer expands the world will become more dangerous. (See 4 below.)
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While haters impeach, Israel can't figure how who will govern, our military and special forces go about doing what they do best. (See 4 below.)
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Dick
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1)

BREAKING: ISIS Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Believed to Have Been Killed, According to Report

By  Bronson Stocking

 Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), is believed to have been killed in a top-secret operation, according to Newsweek. 

 The United States military has conducted a special operations raid targeting one of its most high-value targets, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State militant group (ISIS), Newsweek has learned. Donald Trump approved the mission nearly a week before it took place.
Amid reports Saturday of U.S. military helicopters over Syria's northwestern Idlib province, a senior Pentagon official familiar with the operation and Army official briefed on the matter told Newsweek that Baghdadi was the target of the top-secret operation in the last bastion of the country's Islamist-dominated opposition, a faction that has clashed with ISIS in recent years. A U.S. Army source briefed on the results of the operation told Newsweek that Baghdadi was killed in the raid. And the Defense Department told the White House they have "high confidence" that the high-value target killed was Baghdadi but further verification is pending."

 The president will make a statement on Sunday morning at 9 a.m. eastern time, according to NBC News.

 Before the announcement, President Donald Trump tweeted that "Something very big has just happened!"

 Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been the leader of ISIS since June 2014. In that year, ISIS declared itself a worldwide caliphate and claimed authority over the Muslim world, and an international coalition led by the United States targeted ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Russia intervened in Syria against ISIS the following year. In December 2017, it was reported that ISIS had lost 98 percent of the territories it once held. 
But the withdraw of U.S. troops from Syria this month led to the release of several captured ISIS fighters. When Turkey took advantage of the opportunity and invaded northern Syria, Kurdish soldiers who were guarding the ISIS prisoners left their post in the ensuing fighting. At least 100 ISIS fighters broke out of a Syrian detention facility after the facility came under attack from followers of al-Baghdadi.
Following the invasion, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Turkey, forcing a permanent ceasefire between Turkey and Kurdish forces. The sanctions have since been lifted. 

 The U.S. also announced on Friday that three ISIS fighters were killed in a U.S. airstrike in the Golis Mountains of northern Somalia.

A reward of up to $25 million for information leading to the terrorist's death or capture had previously been offered by the U.S. State Department.

1a)

Trump accuses Obama of treason for ‘spying’ on his 2016 campaign

By Jim Hayek

 President Trump has ratcheted up his claim that the Obama White House spied on his 2016 campaign, charging in a new book that it was a “treasonous” act by the former Democratic president.
“What they did was treasonous, OK? It was treasonous,” he told author Doug Wead for his upcoming book, “Inside Trump’s White House: The Real Story of His Presidency.”

“The interesting thing out of all of this is that we caught them spying on the election. They were spying on my campaign. So you know? What is that all about?” said Trump.

“I have never ever said this, but truth is, they got caught spying. They were spying,” said Trump who then added, “Obama.”

In 2017, Trump tweeted that he felt the Obama White House “had my wires tapped” in Trump Tower. He later said he didn’t mean it literally but that he felt his campaign was being spied on.

Attorney General William Barr earlier this year said he was looking into whether “improper surveillance” may have occurred in 2016. “I think spying did occur,” he said.
He has tasked a prosecutor to look into Obama officials and other officials who sparked the Russia collusion investigation into Trump after a report showed no collusion. New reports on that investigation described it as “criminal” in nature.
“It turned out I was right. By the way,” Trump told Wead in excerpts provided to Secrets. “In fact, what I said was peanuts compared to what they did. They were spying on my campaign. They got caught and they said, ‘Oh we were not spying. It was actually an investigation.’ Can you imagine an administration investigating its political opponents?” said the president.

In the book, Trump said that the Russia investigation undercut his presidency.
“Anybody else would be unable to function under the kind of pressure and distraction I had. They couldn’t get anything done. No other president should ever have to go through this. But understand, there was no collusion. They would have had to make something up,” he said.

1b) Do Americans have foreign-policy principles or just partisan interests?

The crocodile tears for Ukraine and the Kurds being shed by Trump’s critics after backing Obama’s policies provides a lesson in skepticism for friends of Israel.

As a general rule, the average American doesn’t care much about foreign policy as long as the discussion doesn’t involve sending Americans to fight in foreign wars. But we are now experiencing one of those rare moments when foreign policy seems to be more in the news than the economy.
That’s because American politics in 2019 revolves around opinions about President Donald Trump with his foes determined to oppose everything he does, with his fans just as resolute about supporting his actions. So when Trump is accused of placing illegitimate pressure on Ukraine and of withholding aid to that embattled country, Democrats rally to its defense. Similarly, Trump’s foolish decision to abandon the Kurds and allow Turkey to run amuck in northern Syria has caused Democrats to both become ardent supporters of the Kurdish people and to flay the president for a policy predicated on a belief that America should withdraw from the Middle East.
Critics of Trump’s policies do present a persuasive alternative to the choices made by the administration. Moreover, those who go further, arguing that punting Syria to Russia and Turkey not only emboldens those two hostile powers—while at the same time helps Iran extend its malevolent influence in the region, which also endangers Israel—are correct. This gives Jewish critics of Trump, who have been hard-pressed to justify their skepticism about his unprecedented support for the Jewish state, ammunition to back up their claim that despite his stands on Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, accountability for the Palestinians and the Iran nuclear deal, he is actually not as good an ally for Israel as his supporters claim him to be.
However, there’s one big problem with these otherwise reasonable assessments of Trump’s shortcomings: Most of the Democrats making them are brazen hypocrites.
It was only a few short years ago that the same people who are now heading to the barricades in support of Ukraine were utterly indifferent to Kiev’s pleas for help when Russian President Vladimir Putin was invading their territory, stealing the Crimea and kicking the Ukrainians out of the eastern portion of their country, where ethnic Russians predominate.
While they now express outrage over Trump’s temporary withholding of military aid to Kiev in order to prompt it to investigate potential corruption on the part of former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter, they were singing a different tune during the Obama administration. At that time, they voiced no protests over Obama’s and Biden’s refusal to give the Ukrainians the weapons they needed to defend their country (a U.S. policy that was only ended when Trump became president). Instead of worrying about collusion between Trump and Putin, they were winking when Obama was caught telling a Putin underling that he would be able to be “more flexible” in giving the Russians what they wanted after he was re-elected.
The same applies to Syria and the Kurds. In 2013, when Obama disgraced himself just as thoroughly as Trump has just done by backing off his “red line” threat about the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons, we heard crickets from Democrats. Those who decry Trump’s decision to bug out of Syria now did not oppose Obama’s abandonment of Syria to Russia and Iran. Nor did they worry about enhancing Iran’s power when Obama struck a nuclear deal with Tehran in 2015 that empowered and enriched the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.
Still, the Democrats aren’t the only hypocrites on foreign policy. Many Republicans who rationalize and even try to justify Trump’s alleged shaking down of the Ukrainians and his desire to leave Syria or even his betrayal of the Kurds were among those crying foul over Obama’s all-too-similar stands. Seven years ago, Republicans howled in outrage when Obama mocked Mitt Romney’s claim that Russia was America’s greatest geostrategic foe. Now many of them mimic Trump’s willingness to appease Moscow. While to their credit, a good number of Republicans, as well as a majority of GOP members of the House, have denounced Trump’s Syria policy, many on the right have reflexively supported the president and even been willing to abuse Ukraine and the Kurds as not being worthy of American support despite abundant evidence to the contrary.
All too many Americans have no real foreign-policy principles. What they do have is partisan loyalties. In this age of hyper-partisanship, that means that we can rely on most of the politicians and talking heads—and even many of the voters who listen to them—to merely react to controversies involving Eastern Europe or the Middle East strictly on the basis of whether it is a club with which to beat Trump or an instance where the president requires his supporters to defend him.
What this means is that those who are now expressing concern about Trump’s neo-isolationism leaving Israel in the lurch aren’t really serious about the issue. Nor should we expect them to protest if, as is likely, a Democratic successor does the same thing after January 2021.
In the past few generations, Democrats have been consistent opponents of U.S. interventions abroad. Obama’s weak policies were in line with that tradition, and the same is true of the foreign-policy stands of most of the Democratic candidates running for president. Those who think the party will (if only to oppose Trump) embrace the principle that the abdication of U.S. power abroad is dangerous not only to Israel but also to the interests of Americans and other allies are dreaming.
As problematic as Trump’s confusing mix of Mideast policies may be—strong support for Israel and opposition to Iran, along with a determination to abandon the region and some of America’s faithful allies—his Democratic critics have neither clean hands on these issues nor a coherent alternative that ought to persuade friends of the Jewish state to trust them to do any better.
Jonathan S. Tobin is editor in chief of JNS—Jewish News Syndicate.
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2) Deep State Hates America First Policy
By Jeff Crouere

 After the longest war in the history of our country, it is time for our troops to return home. In 2001, the United States responded to the horrific terrorist attacks of 9/11 by sending our military to Afghanistan on a mission to destroy Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda.  We were successful in destroying their terrorist camps, killing and capturing Al-Qaeda leaders, and forcing Bin Laden out of the country.

 Amazingly, our military is still in Afghanistan, although the Taliban control over half of the country. Of course, President Trump and his supporters want to bring these troops home, but he is facing enormous resistance within the government, including the Defense Department.  

 During the war in Afghanistan, the administration of President George W. Bush invaded Iraq in 2003 to remove Saddam Hussein from power. It was believed that he harbored weapons of mass destruction; however, none were ever discovered. Eventually, Hussein was captured and executed, and, fortunately, Bin Laden was also killed in Pakistan in 2011 after a daring Navy Seal Team 6 mission.  

 After many twists and turns in Iraq, the terrorist group ISIS was largely destroyed, the country was stabilized, and most of our military forces departed. Today, the United States maintains 5,000 troops in the country.

 While some military presence in the region is worthwhile to monitor terrorist strongholds, it does not have the same type of importance for our economy. When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, this region of the world was incredibly important to our economy. Today, while it is still critical to Europe and other areas of the world, it is not as vital to the United States. Fortunately, our country does not “need” their oil, we are energy independent for the first time in many decades.


 This independence should give our country ample reason to bring many of our troops home. After 18 years of fighting and spending trillions of our American tax dollars in the region, we are still engaged in the “war on terror.” The results have been mixed, with not only a strong Taliban remaining in Afghanistan, but also a situation in Iraq which is very complicated.  While Iraq is more peaceful, terrorist activity has not been eliminated. Looming over the region is the destabilizing influence of Iran, the world’s largest supporter of terrorist activity.

When the Arab Spring movement started in 2010, governments in the region fell. For example, Libya transitioned from a dictatorship to total chaos, more terrorism, a breakdown of the country and an environment which led to the attack against our consulate in Benghazi.

 In Syria, an even more chaotic situation developed as a brutal civil war erupted. The country has been torn apart, as refugees have flooded Europe and other areas of the world. Today, Syria remains fragmented and a magnet for terrorist activity.

   The United States sent approximately 1,000 troops to Syria, presumably to fight ISIS and other terrorist groups. However, what is our national security interest in Syria? In fact, we should not be involved in an internal battle in Syria as some of these groups have been warring for centuries.

 The United States will not be able to end such longstanding conflicts, so our troops should not be stationed in the middle of these battles. Therefore, President Trump was correct to order our military to leave the northern Syrian territory near the Turkish border. These troops may have been killed when Turkey invaded Syria to root out Kurdish fighters operating in the region.

 Today, the President deserves tremendous credit for orchestrating a “permanent cease-fire” between the Kurds and the Turks in the region. In return, we are lifting the sanctions on Turkey that were imposed after their invasion of Syria. While some troops will remain to protect Syrian oil fields from ISIS, this mission is in line with our goal to prevent the terrorists from using these resources to build their organization.

 With the cease fire and the protection of the oil fields, the President’s policies in the region have been vindicated. It is tragic that so many members of Congress voted to support a resolution condemning the President’s Syrian policy. Only 60 GOP members, mostly affiliated with the Freedom Caucus, did not vote for the resolution.

 Sadly, many of the establishment politicians in both parties support never ending wars. Most of these political swamp dwellers hated the message of Donald Trump in the 2016 campaign.

 With his recent actions, the President is fulfilling another campaign promise. This important pledge was to put “America First” and bring our troops home. It is what the American people supported, in that election, and it is outrageous the so many in Congress, the media and the Deep State are trying to negate the 2016 results and the wishes of the electorate. 
Jeff Crouere is a native New Orleanian and his award winning program, “Ringside Politics,” airs locally at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and at 10:00 p.m. Sundays on PBS affiliate WLAE-TV, Channel 32, and from 7-11 a.m. weekdays on WGSO 990-AM & www.Wgso.com. He is a political columnist, the author of America's Last Chance and provides regular commentaries on the Jeff Crouere YouTube channel and on www.JeffCrouere.com. For more information, email him at jeff@jeffcrouere.com
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3)GOOD NEWS FROM AMAZING ISRAEL FROM MICHAEL ORDMAN

Israel is an inspiration and an island of hope and proof positive that differing religions, opinions, mores, and ethnic groups can live together, adhere to the laws of the land as well as seek their protection, and have complete access to all the social, technological, medical and educational systems.  All this while surrounded by implacable tyrants and hounded and libeled by a vicious international media and academic hypocrites. Here are good tidings brought to us from my friend Michael Ordman.rsk



ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Leukemia treatment extends to solid tumors. (TY UWI) Tel Aviv University scientists have engineered the successful Israel-invented CAR-T cell therapy (see here) to also treat other cancers. They discovered a subset of immune system T cells (known as CD4+ T cells) will attract antibodies on solid tumors and destroy them.

Breakthrough in search for a vaccine against Ebola. (TY UWI) Scientists at Israel’s Weizmann Institute working with researchers in Germany have identified two antibodies that are effective in stopping one species of the Ebola virus. Research is ongoing to developing a multi-species vaccine.

Another blood test for lung cancer. A team of Israeli (Weizmann Institute) and British scientists have devised a blood test that analyzes activity of three enzymes (OGG1, MPG and APE1) connected to DNA damage. They say it can “significantly improve current lung cancer risk prediction, assisting prevention and early detection.”

Good trial results for presbyopia treatment. (TY WIN) As reported previously (Sep 2018) Israel’s Orasis has developed CSF-1 (eye drops) to treat presbyopia – age-related far-sightedness. Results of Phase 2b trials of CSF-1 showed “significant improvement”, together with “exceptional safety and tolerability”.

The signature of cancer cells. Researchers at Israel’s Technion Institute have used artificial intelligence and big data to decode the unique signatures of certain cancer cells. The resulting technology – dubbed a “computerized pathologist” –could significantly boost development of personalized cancer treatments.

Israeli cancer survival rates rise significantly. Five-year survival rates for Israelis (Jews & Arabs) diagnosed with all types of invasive cancers have increased significantly over the last decade. For example, of Jewish women diagnosed in 1996 only 63% survived five years or more. From 2011 this rose to 71%.

New Israeli record for blood donations. (TY UWI) Israelis donated 1,567units of blood in one day at the Magen David Adom station at the Samaria Regional Division. They broke the previous Israeli record of 740 units in a 2014 Tel Aviv session. Donors included residents and soldiers from the IDF’s Samaria Division.

Closing openings in Panama. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Gordian Surgical is to provide thousands of its TroClose1200 access-closure systems to public hospitals in Panama. Gordian’s distributor PanaFarma won the tender to supply the post-operation surgical closure system (see here) to Panama's social security hospitals.

What the microbiome has taught us. Dr Elan Elinav and Prof Elan Segal of Israel’s Weizmann Institute have made many medical discoveries from microbiome (gut bacteria) research. They include artificial sweeteners’ link to obesity / diabetes and gut microbes’ impact on ALS. There are 40 scientists in their research lab.


ISRAEL IS INCLUSIVE AND GLOBAL

Women are the majority at uni.   Of the 19,750 students studying at Ben Gurion University, 53% of them are women (up from 39% in 2013). Overall, nearly 60% of students at Israeli universities are women. Amongst Israeli-Arabs nearly 69% of students are women. https://in.bgu.ac.il/en/pages/news/majority_women.aspx

Peace in the Sukkah. Members of the Palestinian Arab delegation to the Bahrain Conference visited the sukkah of Samaria Regional Council Head Yossi Dagan to discuss an alternative path to the Oslo Accords.

Clean water for the Bahamas. Israel delivered portable drinking water stations to the Bahamas to aid victims of Hurricane Dorian. It was a combined effort by Israel’s MASHAV agency, the Israeli Embassy, the Prime Minister’s Office, the NGO IsraAID and Israel’s Water Authority.

Israel joins the European Social Survey. The European Social Survey (ESS) voted to make Israel the first non-European country to join the organization. The ESS is an academic cross-national scientific body that measures the attitudes, beliefs, and behavior patterns of diverse populations in more than 30 nations.

Israel attends Bahrain security conference. Dana Benvenisti-Gabay, the head of Israel’s Foreign Ministry’s regional security and counter-terrorism department, represented Israel at the Working Group on Maritime and Aviation Security conference in Manama, Bahrain.

From Startup Nation to Impact Nation. (TY Stuart) Aharon Aharon, CEO of the Israel Innovation Authority (IAA) spoke at the 2019 OurCrowd investor summit on how the Israeli government supports technological innovation addressing societal challenges, with the aim to turn the Startup Nation into the “Impact Nation”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puj4zOUO3Sg  Also see the https://socialimpactil.com/ website. 

The remarkable return of the ibex. The ibex are ancient wild goats that were domesticated thousands of years ago and dominated the Negev (e.g. Psalm 104:18). They were decimated by Bedouin hunters after WW1 - their resurgence due to the State of Israel banning hunting and managing nature reserves and ecosystems.

10 dolphins visit Netanya beach. A pod of some ten bottlenose dolphins was observed in the in the clear blue water of the Mediterranean, near Poleg Beach, south of the city of Netanya. Israel’s beaches have been designated as an important habitat for the internationally vulnerable species.

Flight school for injured birds. (TY Hazel) The Israeli Wildlife Hospital, operated by the Nature and Parks Authority and the Ramat Gan Safari Park, is building a new enclosure that will become a flight school for injured birds before they return to the wild. The hospital opened in 2005 and now treats 6,000 patients a year.


SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Arava solar power on target. (TY IsraPundit) The Arava region of Southern Israel (including Eilat) is on target by 2020 to be 100% powered by solar energy during daylight hours. And at $0.06 per kilowatt, the cost of solar energy is less than the cost of natural gas. The challenge now is to extend this to the whole of Israel.

A cyber PhD in Tulsa. The private research University of Tulsa in Oklahoma and Israeli cybersecurity foundry Team8 have partnered to a joint 4-year PhD program focusing on cyber research and development. The course will accept 10 students a year, funded by the University and Tulsa’s George Kaiser Family Foundation.

Brazil-Israel projects. Four projects involving companies from both Israel and Brazil will receive a total investment of $7.5 million from the countries’ innovation agencies. The projects involve crop substrates, thermal energy, power sensors and vehicle analytics.

An electric jetski. Tired of hauling a heavy regular fuel & oil jetski to the beach, Israeli Amir Shahar designed and produced an all-electric jetski. His Skivolt prototype runs on a lithium battery, reaches speeds of 70km/hour and fits into the boot of a standard car. 

New vegan baby formula. Israeli startup Else Nutrition develops an almond and buckwheat-based baby formula designed to serve as another alternative (see here) to the familiar cow milk and soy-based formulas.

Reducing food waste. To commemorate World Food Day on Oct 16, Calcalistech issued a summary of 10 Israeli companies working to tackle food waste. Most were reported here previously except Safe Foods (which uses hydrogen peroxide to extend the shelf-life of food) and Sufresca’s edible coatings that extend shelf life.

An ecologically friendly vineyard. The Galil Mountain Winery on Israel’s border with Lebanon requires no irrigation as the roots of the vine are very deep. Wastewater is treated and recycled. It uses solar energy for power, sustainable packaging and microbiology to generate healthy soil. It even has a green “living” roof.

The future of wine is very dry. In the last 15 years, 20 new wineries have been established in the Negev desert of Southern Israel. Techniques used to grow grapes in this dry climate include netting for shade, trellises so the vines are not exposed to the full sun, sensors for soil humidity, thermal cameras and (of course) drip irrigation.

Printing animal-free meat in outer space. Israel’s Aleph Farms recently produced cultivated slaughter-free beefsteak aboard the International Space Station.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-_Zy-arDb0

Israel’s “failed” Moonshot is a winner. Despite SpaceIL’s Beresheet lunar module crashing on the moon, the Israeli company was awarded a $1 million Google Lunar XPRIZE for its efforts. Beresheet is to be the model for the Firefly lunar lander, chosen by NASA. And the crash site is now on National Geographic’s Moon map.

Are you sitting comfortably? Israeli startup Seatback develops a device that helps users correct their posture and avoid other sitting-related side effects. Its 70 sensors are embedded in a chair and detects if the sitter slouches or sits asymmetrically. A gentle vibration alerts them to stand up or to change their sitting posture.

Predicting machine failures. There are several Israeli startups that can detect faults in machinery or predict when critical industrial equipment is likely to breakdown (e.g. Augury and 3DSignals). Another was Presenso, whose algorithms anticipate industrial machine failures. However, it has just been acquired by Sweden’s SKF.

An empathic robot responds to your call. Israeli startup Voca.ai develops automatic voice assistants for call centers using natural language and artificial intelligence. Robots handle most mundane calls, freeing up humans for the more complex scenarios (see video).  Voca.ai has just raised funds from American Express Ventures.


ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Israel at World Bank / IMF Conference. Israel’s Minister of Finance, Moshe Kahlon, and Bank of Israel Governor Prof. Amir Yaron, led the Israeli delegation to the annual World Bank and International Monetary Fund conference. There was much interest in Israeli cyber technology to protect international financial systems.

Bank of Israel governor wins US economics award. The governor of the Bank of Israel Amir Yaron has won the $100,000 biennial Stephen A. Ross Prize from the US Foundation for the Advancement of Research in Financial Economics. Mr Yaron co-authored an influential research paper on long-term asset pricing.

September tourism skyrockets. (TY WIN) Some 405,000 tourists visited Israel in September 2019, 44% more than in September 2018. Between January and September 2019, nearly 3.3 million tourist entries were recorded, compared to 2.9 million in the same period last year, an increase of 13%.

Virgin’s chairman arrives.  (TY WIN) Richard Branson kissed the ground on arriving at Ben Gurion Airport to formally launch Virgin Atlantic’s direct flights from London to Tel Aviv. In its first month, 14,000 people have flown Virgin to Israel. Branson praised Israel and said that more Virgin companies will launch in Israel.

ESPN uses Israeli tech to broadcast US sports. US cable sports channel ESPN is partnering Israeli automated video startup Pixellot to broadcast the America East Conference on ESPN’s digital platforms. With Pixellot’s multi-camera system, ESPN will show soccer, field hockey, lacrosse and volleyball games to new audiences.

Philippines buys Israeli-built jet. The Philippines new $38.7 million Gulfstream G280 Presidential plane was developed and manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries.  The Philippine government considers the plane “a necessary component of its modernization program” and not solely for use by President Duterte.  

Israeli insurer finds the best doctors. Israel’s Phoenix Insurance has partnered with Israel’s Air Doctor (see here) which locates recommended doctors for travelers to Europe and the Americas. The joint service has already helped Phoenix increase traveler's health insurance revenues and reduce medical visit claim costs. 

Next Insurance becomes a Unicorn. Israeli founded Next Insurance employs 85 people in Israel and over 100 in the U.S. It has just raised $250 million to push its valuation over the $1 billion mark and give it the financial status of a “Unicorn”. The funds will be used to grow its global team and the Israeli R&D center.

Sapiens acquires Spanish consultants. (TY Atid-EDI) Israeli insurance software company Sapiens (see here) employs over 2,500 people globally and is still growing. It has just taken over Madrid-based insurance consultants Calculo. The acquisition will help Sapiens enter the Spanish market.

Turning empty urban spaces into robotic delivery centers. Israeli-founded startup Fabric, incorporated as CommonSense Robotics, turns underutilized urban retail spaces into 1-hour delivery centers where robots store, sort, and process inventory. Fabric has just raised $110 million to expand its team in both Israel and the U.S.

Eco-friendly Pepsi and 7 Up. The first fruits of PepsiCo’s $3.2 billion purchase of Israel’s Sodastream are about to bubble through. Sodastream is to manufacture concentrates for 10 of PepsiCo’s most popular soft drink brands. The savings are mainly environmental - a reduction in the use of disposable plastic bottles.

Toyota likes new Israeli wheels.  As reported previously (14th July) Israel’s REE enables a vehicle’s drive components to be fully integrated into a wheel, known as a FlatFormer, improving stability, space and energy efficiency.  Toyota Group’s truck subsidiary Hino Motors is now using REE’s technology for its electric trucks.


CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT

Violins of Hope. Israeli master violinmaker Amnon Weinstein has restored more than 70 string instruments whose Jewish owners survived the Holocaust. Now eight from his collection “Violins of Hope” will be played by the Orchestre Métropolitain at a concert on 2nd Nov at the Maison Symphonique de Montréal in Canada.

Dance under fire. Liat Dror, artistic director at the award-winning Sderot Adama Dance Company, is staging a performance on the Gazan border to express Israel’s humanity in the face of living under constant attack.

The diverse Yemenite quarter of Tel Aviv. (TY UWI) Tel Aviv’s Kerem Hateimanim (Yemenite Vineyard) was founded by Jewish refugees fleeing Yemen over 100 years ago. It is now one of the coolest neighborhoods in the world according to Forbes travel magazine, yet it is still home to 50 synagogues.

New TV series features Israeli tech. A new TV show on Amazon Prime called The Tech Talk Show features innovative and emerging entrepreneurs from around the world.  Series One focuses on 50 Israeli startups.

Record Israeli Olympic team. Israel is sending its largest ever team to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. 85 athletes far exceed the 47 athletes at the 2016 Olympics. They qualified for baseball, rhythmic and artistic gymnastics, show jumping, cycling, sailing, and surfing. Judokas, swimmers and runners should join them.

Israel to compete in Tour de France.  Israeli cyclists will be competing in the 2020 Tour de France for the first time ever. It follows the Israeli cycling team’s inaugural entry in the high-profile Giro d’Italia that began in Jerusalem last year. Israel joined the Pro Continental ranks in 2017.

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4) U.S. decline of Christianity continues at rapid pace
By Casey Plunkett

Pew Research Center has been conducting a series of studies on religious attitudes in the U.S. over the past decade and recently released its latest set of findings.  As I approach “elderly discount eligibility,” I'm increasingly fascinated by shifts in generational attitudes and how they become manifest in politics.  There is interesting data, on the heels of prior versions of this survey from '14 and '17, which is summarized below.  I submit the polarity in the U.S. political realm is correlated with this tectonic shift in religious attitudes.
  • Adults identifying as Christians down 12% the past decade
  • Adults identifying as "nones" (i.e. atheistic, agnostic or "nothing in particular”) up 9% the past decade
  • Protestantism declining faster (down 8% to 43) than Catholicism (down 3% to 20) the past decade
  • Church attendance (varying measures of frequency) down a range of 7-9%
  • Millennials who identify as Christian down 16% the past decade -- by far the biggest drop spanning the last four generations
  • 79% of Republicans identify as Christian, compared with 55% for Democrats
  • Republicans identifying as Christians down 6% vs. -17% for Democrats over the past decade
  • 75% of Boomers identify as Christians vs. 49% with Millennials 
  • 40% of Millennials are "nones," compared to 17% for Boomers and 10% for the Silent Generation
  • "Nones" have increased by 30 million the past decade
  • Catholics no longer a majority across Latinos -- down from 57% to 47%
  • 69% of women vs. 61% of men are Christians
  • 23% of women vs. 30% of men are "nones"
  • Biggest decline with Catholics in Northeast (-9)
  • Biggest decline with Protestants in South (-11)
  • 1/3 of Democrats are "Nones; 42% of White Democrats are "nones"; and 60% of Democrat-leaning attend church no more than a few times/year
  • 20% of Black Democrats are "nones", compared with 25% for Latinos
  • 81% of White Republicans are Christian, vs 68% for Black and 78% for Latino
  • % of Protestants who are Evangelical/Born Again up 3% the past decade
As the Republican and Democratic parties continue to bifurcate across Christianity, we can expect a deepening of seemingly irreconcilable tension.  Christianity has certain views and associated actions which are unique, and sometimes diametrically opposed with those of other Belief Systems.  These respective views manifest themselves in political perspective.  It will be difficult to find common ground with polarity around issues such as:  the timeless basis of morality and behavior; the transcendent and irrevocable basis of life and individual liberties; reconciling the Individual with the greater good; the motivation for charity vs. compulsory action; and the accountability of our actions in an eternal sense.  Godspeed, America.
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4)  Gantz and Netanyahu to meet Sunday
By LAHAV HARKOV
Blue and White leader Benny Gantz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet for the first time since the former was tasked with forming a government, with a meeting scheduled for Sunday afternoon at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv.

Gantz and the Blue and White team are expected to tell Netanyahu and Likud that he needs to give up either on being prime minister first in a rotation between them, or on his 55-seat bloc of religious and right-wing parties.

A week of intensive negotiations is ahead for Blue and White, with its negotiating team meeting its counter parts in Likud and then Yisrael Beytenu on Sunday, and Labor-Gesher and Democratic Union on Tuesday.

Gantz and Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman plan to have a one-on-one meeting on Monday.

Liberman made it clear on Saturday night that, despite his strong criticism of Netanyahu since April, he is not automatically going into a Gantz-led government.


"I don't have any commitment to Blue and White," Liberman told Meet the Press on Saturday night. "I assume that in matters of religion and state it'll be easier for us to agree with Blue and White, but I'm not sure about security issues…[or] about the Palestinians."

In fact, Liberman did not rule out joining a Netanyahu-led right-wing government, much like the one in which he was defense minister in 2016-2018.

Asked four times about the possibility, Liberman did not say he wouldn’t not join such a government.

Rather, Liberman said: “I believe that in the end the two big parties will wake up…and form a government together. The other partners are less important…I hope it will happen…First, we will do all we can to convince them, and we have leverage, so we will convince them to do it.”

Liberman did not specify what kind of leverage he has, though if he were to remain steadfast in his refusal to join any government other than a unity government, it would be unlikely for Gantz or Netanyahu to be able to form a majority coalition.

In addition, Liberman said that he is not boycotting the haredi parties, but they would have to be open to changes in matters of religion and state.

"We want to change the conversation. In matters of religion and state, there was serious harm to the status quo...We need to go back," to the way things were before, Liberman said.

In addition, the Yisrael Beytenu leader said he will not support a Blue and White bill that would require a prime minister to quit if he is indicted.

Blue and White MK Zvi Hauser came out against the possibility of a minority government supported by the Joint List at an event in Petah Tikva.

“Blue and White said before the election who we will sit with and form a government,” Hauser said. “Only a party that supports the basic, foundational arrangement of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. Those are the relevant parties to a unity government. We plan to work to form a large, Zionist unity government. There is no relevance to a narrow, troublesome government.”
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