New Yorker's Wising Up? Balfour Declaration !00 Years of Infamous, Perfidious and Arrogant Dismissal.

New Yorkers are finally getting the message that they need to get rid of their Mayor, but they will not.  (See 1 below.)
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More comments from a long time friend and fellow memo reader regarding my recent memo on PC'ism. "Bravo Dick!  I love my pick up truck.  If I see a guy wearing a black mask & carrying a backpack (not very likely in the small mountain town where I live!) it will be very tempting to run over him.......but I won't.  We need to take our country back from these people that hate us.  The inability of the leftists to even slightly comprehend basic facts is astonishing to me.  

Bravo too on climate change comments.  None of the lefties understand history, or cycles either.  We are surrounded by dunces & cretins.  Heaven help us. -  B--"

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The Balfour Declaration was a somber pledge that has been ignored because other interests took precedence.  (See 2 and 2a below.)
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I have reported on this before but here is a relevant new version:  https://www.facebook.com/ABCNews/videos/10156491365103812/
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Now for some kid humor on marriage etc. (See 3 below.)
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Dick
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1)

As Terror Strikes Again, New Yorkers No Longer Wonder Why

The attackers want me, and everyone like me, to walk around terrified. Well, they can go to hell.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/as-terror-strikes-again-new-yorkers-no-longer-wonder-why-1509577923

By Matthew Hennessey

My city got hit again Tuesday, and nearly in the same spot as the hit it took on a Tuesday long ago.

Eight people died when a religious fanatic from Uzbekistan allegedly turned a rented pickup truck into a murder weapon on the Hudson River bike path, not far from the World Trade Center complex in lower Manhattan. The attack reminded all New Yorkers of a fear we try hard to suppress: We are always vulnerable. Every time we cross the street, we are targets. We must always be on guard.

I was 19 in 1993, when a terrorist cell under the direction of Omar Abdel Rahman, the so-called blind sheikh, killed six people with a truck bomb in the trade center’s parking garage. At the time I was in acting school miles away on East 54th Street. As my friends and I watched smoke-smeared people being evacuated on a television in the student lounge, I thought to myself, “Who would do such a thing?”

On 9/11 I was 27 and living in a basement apartment in Queens. Like most New Yorkers, I’d pretty much forgotten about the 1993 attack. Like most Americans, I was ignorant about what we now call radical Islam. A few days earlier I’d read a news story about the assassination of Northern Alliance leader Ahmad Shah Massoud in Afghanistan and thought: I wonder what that’s about?

That clear blue Tuesday I was booked to fly to London for an acting gig. Along with my girlfriend, I watched the towers fall from the departure lounge in John F. Kennedy International Airport. As I did I said out loud: “What is the purpose of this?”

The flight and the acting gig were both canceled. The engagement wasn’t: The girlfriend is now my wife. Sixteen years later, I still haven’t been to London.

In 2001 I was about to embark on a life that would lead to more family happiness and career success than I dreamed possible. Never far from my mind, however, are those who died that horrible Tuesday. My story goes on. Their stories were unfairly cut short.

In the skies, in the Twin Towers, at the Pentagon and in a quiet Pennsylvania field, nearly 3,000 lives were mercilessly snuffed out that morning. In the years since, hundreds more cops, firefighters and other first responders have succumbed to illnesses related to the attacks. Every September that goes by, I do my best to remember their sacrifice.

Eight people in New York went out this Tuesday, never to return to their homes or their loved ones. On my way home to my loved ones that night I was more alert than usual. I noticed a few things.

“Damn, eight dead?” I overheard a middle-aged African-American man say into his phone as we passed each other on a midtown street. It reminded me of riding the elevated subway out of Queensboro Plaza the afternoon of 9/11, when I heard a businessman answer his phone by saying: “What am I doing? I’m thinking of all my dead friends down at Two World Trade.”

I heard some people speaking French on Madison Avenue. “You are visiting a city that just got attacked by a terrorist,” I thought to myself. They appeared unaffected. They were on vacation, probably in deep for a few thousand dollars (or euros). It turned out six of those killed in the attack were tourists, five of them Argentines in New York for a high-school reunion.

Considerably affected myself, I popped into a liquor store for a bottle of Irish whiskey. A wine tasting was under way. Nobody seemed to care that a jihadist had killed eight people a few miles downtown. I wondered: What’s happening to us?

Minutes later I stood beneath the big American flag above the Main Concourse at Grand Central Terminal. Halloween revelers were assembling. Some were headed to watch the Rangers play at Madison Square Garden. Evening commuters often enjoy a drink or two on the way home. More than usual seemed to be drowning their sorrow that night.

The NYPD, National Guard and New York state troopers were out in force. It put me in mind of those post-9/11 days when you’d see soldiers with large rifles patrolling subway platforms, a sight both comforting and disturbing.

I no longer wonder who would do such things or what they’re all about. I know what’s going on. Those who plow trucks into crowds and slaughter innocent people are enemies of freedom. They have no respect for human life. They aren’t sick. They aren’t confused.

They know exactly what they are doing and exactly what they want: They want me, and everyone like me, to walk around terrified that instant death is always a moment away. And they think it’s all for the glory of God.

Well, they can go to hell.

Mr. Hennessey is an associate editorial features editor at the Journal.

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2)  When Britain Renewed the Promise to the Jews

‘His Majesty’s government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home.’

By Ruth R. Wisse

In the living room of our daughter’s home hangs a 4-by-6-foot Jewish flag designed by her paternal great-grandfather, hastily sewn from blue and white material in his Montreal dry-goods store. In November 1917, on receiving news that the British government had just given its support for the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine, Nathan Black strung the flag across his storefront and closed for the day. “Haynt iz a yontev,” he told his workers: “Today is a holiday.”

One hundred years ago on Nov. 2, Arthur Balfour, the British foreign secretary, sent a letter to Lord Walter Rothschild : “His Majesty’s government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.”

Arthur James Balfour (1848-1930). PHOTO: ANN RONAN PICTURES/PRINT COLLECTOR/GETTY IMAGES

Known as the Balfour Declaration, it represented a diplomatic high point in the history of the Zionist movement founded by Theodor Herzl in 1897. Herzl realized that Zionism would have trouble achieving its political objective of establishing “a home for the Jewish people in Palestine secured under public law” without support from one or more of the empires laying claim to the Jewish homeland. His attempt to win that support, cut short by his death in 1904, was taken over by others, such as Chaim Weizmann and Nahum Sokolow. The latter’s role in securing the Balfour Declaration was recently brought to light by historian Martin Kramer. Other countries, including France and the U.S., were involved in the discussions over the disposition of Palestine, but the credit for this document was Britain’s. At least on that score credit is deserved.

The Balfour Declaration was a landmark in the political life of Britain no less than in the self-determination of the Jews. Brutally expelled from England in 1290 and formally readmitted in 1656, Jews remained the barometer of toleration in the country’s political and private life.

English literature served up sinister characters like Shylock and Fagin that testify to powerful anti-Jewish prejudice. Then, in 1876, the British novelist George Eliot created the title character Daniel Deronda, an Englishman and Jew who determines to make the Jews a landed nation again, “giving them a national center, such as the English have, though they too are scattered over the face of the globe.” The threat to the Jews in Eliot’s novel comes not from violent aggressors but from Englishmen who cannot understand why Jews should remain a nation. Anticipating Zionism and the Balfour Declaration, Eliot interprets the ability of the English to accept Jewish national rights as the touchstone of their political maturity.

Yet Britain went back on its word. Attempting to appease Arab rulers, it rewarded Arab violence in Palestine in the 1930s by preventing Jews from entering land promised to them by the Bible and the British. While the British betrayal did not directly abet Hitler’s war against the Jews of Europe, it signaled a readiness to abandon the Jews to their fate. It certainly spurred the Arab war against Israel, which began where Germany’s war against the Jews left off. Churchill reminded Parliament in 1939 that the pledge of a Jewish homeland in Palestine had been made not only to the Jews but to the world and that its repudiation was a confession of British weakness.

The Jews would have returned to Zion with or without the consent of Europe. This is the people that, despite the murder of millions of potential Jewish citizens, and within Herzl’s predicted timeline of 50 years, recovered and defended its national sovereignty in the Land of Israel that had been under foreign domination for almost two millennia. But most of the Arab world rejected the very principle of coexistence and consequently spiraled into ever-escalating intramural conflicts. For Arab nations, too, acceptance of an autonomous Jewish presence, if and when it occurs, will be the gauge of their political maturity.

Meantime, in Britain’s Daily Mail, a “proud Jewish woman and patriotic Briton” wrote last month that “many of this country’s 270,000-strong Jewish community no longer feel we have a home here.” The immediate cause of her anguish is the emboldened anti-Semitism of the Labour Party, which traditionally included many Jews. This coalition of grievance endangers the democratic future of the country.

Our family’s flag celebrated a landmark in the restoration of Zion but also another great nation’s readiness to coexist with the Jews on an equal footing. That in itself will not bring peace to the world—but world peace cannot come without it.

Ms. Wisse, a former professor of Yiddish and comparative literature at Harvard, is the author of “Jews and Power” (Schocken, 2007).


2a)
Netanyahu in London: 100 years since Balfour

(VIDEO) LONDON – The Palestinians have yet to take the basic step that Great Britain did 100 years ago when it issued the Balfour Declaration recognizing the right of the Jewish people to a state in their homeland, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his British counterpart on Thursday.

The two leaders met at 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the British prime minister, less than a day after Netanyahu arrived in London to celebrate that seminal event in Zionist history.

“One hundred years after Balfour, the Palestinians should finally accept a Jewish national home and finally accept a Jewish state. When they do, the road to peace will be closer and, in my opinion, peace will be achievable,” said Netanyahu.

Flanked by Israeli and British flags, the two leaders spoke a few public words to the camera, before heading into a private meeting.

May told Netanyahu that her country was proud of the role it played in establishing the State of Israel. It has related to the Balfour Declaration’s anniversary “with respect and pride,” she said.

But May also paid homage to the political debate in Britain around the anniversary. The Labor party, including its Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry, believe that Great Britain should mark the event by unilaterally recognizing the State of Palestine.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat on Thursday demanded that Great Britain apologize for the document.

“Obviously, we recognize the sensitivities that this [anniversary] raises,” May said.

“Britain remains committed to a two-state solution,” said May. She added that she believes that some of the barriers to the peace “are clearly settlements.”

The two leaders also spoke of the strong ties and shared values between the two countries.

“Our two democracies, Israel and Britain, are strong allies and partners,” Netanyahu said. “We cooperate closely on intelligence and the battle against terrorism. We have saved through this cooperation countless lives, British lives and Israeli lives. We cooperate in cyber security and in technology and business and enterprise. We share the values of freedom and democracy and peace.”

Both he and May will attend a gala dinner on Thursday night to celebrate the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, where the British premier is expected to issue a strong statement against antisemitism.

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3)1.  HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHOM TO MARRY?   (written by kids)   
You  got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if  you like sports, she should like it that you like  sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming.  Alan, age 10

No  person really decides before they grow up who they're  going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you  get to find out later who you're stuck with.   Kristen, Age 10

2.  WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE TO GET MARRIED?   
Twenty-three is the best age because you know  the person FOREVER by then.  Camille, age 10   

3.  HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?   You  might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids. --  Derrick, age  8   

4.  WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MOM AND DAD HAVE IN COMMON?   

Both don't want any more kids.    --  Lori,  age 8   

5.  WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?   

-Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough.   --  Lynnette, age  8    (isn't  she a treasure) 

-On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date.  --  Martin, age  10   (Mmmmm??)

6.  WHEN IS  IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE?    -When they're rich.   --  Pam, age  7 

-The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn't want to mess with that.  -  - Curt, age   7

-The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, then you should marry them and have kids with them. It's the right thing to do.    -  - Howard,  age 8   

7.    IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?   It's better for girls to be single but not for  boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them.  --  Anita, age 9   (bless you child )   

8.  HOW WOULD THE WORLD BE DIFFERENT IF PEOPLE DIDN'T GET MARRIED?    There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn't there?  --  Kelvin, age 8   
And the #1 Favorite is........   

9.  HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?    

Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a dump truck.--  Ricky, age  10
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New Political Lows - Thanks Va. Democrats. Consequence of Obama Vacuums Continues To Plague Trump and Will Future Presidents. French Music.

More from Joel  Ross  (See 1 below.)
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The French may be a lot of things I find hard to swallow. I lived near Orleans for 18 months when I was in service and came to love the French villagers,  They are warm, accepting up to a point and were always gracious to me.  The thing I most like if their language. It is so lyrical and poetic.

http://www.youtube.com:80/wa tch_popup?v=wKO98rMIIiY
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Every time you think politics has sunk to a new low Democrats and their mass media friends are capable of dis-proving that statement.

As Democrats Portray Trump Voters Running Over Muslims, A Muslim Ran Over Americans

The top three best selling vehicles in America are pick up trucks. And Democrats view pickup trucks as proxies for simple-minded bigots. Add in an Ed Gillespie bumper sticker and a "Don't Tread on Me" license plate and suddenly those simple-minded bigots are willing to hoist a Confederate flag and kill Muslim kids. The press reaction, naturally, was predictable. Those political reporters who know no one who drives a pickup truck were perfectly fine with the Democrats' ad. They excused it as best they could. Then when a Muslim did what they thought only a Trump voter was capable of, the left and its political reporters immediately wondered when the backlash against Muslims would happen. The backlash should be against the Democrats and should be fierce and led by the President. President Trump should be on Twitter today noting that Democrats portray Trump voters as willing to run over Muslims while a Muslim is actually running over Americans. And the press is more worried about a backlash against Muslims than actually stopping terrorists.
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Comment from a dear friend, tennis and bocce player and fellow memo reader regarding my LTE on PC'ism: "Dick ... You are dead center with this letter!!  The only question I would have is what good has PC done at all?  It appears to me that even those societal changes that may appear good have long term detrimental effects ... like sensitivity to name calling ... it has created a generation who are so thin skinned, they will bleed at any altitude over 10 feet!!   J--"

And my response:

I agree but I do think, initially , it served to bring attention to matters that needed addressing.  A case in point and a very simple one.  Shaved curbs that allow those in wheel chairs to navigate crossing street, parking spaces for  handicap and these are the low fruit consequences. 

Like any do good effort it went wild, expanded beyond what was sane. There are no 'curbs' on progressive and liberal thinking, that is the main problem. If they think and propose it it cannot be challenged.  They are omnipotent. I say so it must be so. Me"

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Obama created vacuums which either Islamist terrorists filled and or Putin is now going to do so. 

Putin's Trojan Horse is Iran.  Just more Obama Mess for Trump and succeeding presidents to deal with ? (See 2 below.)
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Dick
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1)Finance

The Amazon affect is creating various stocks to get hit regardless if Amazon could really impact their business. For example is the hit to grocery stocks when Amazon bought Whole Foods. Now they said they were going to enter the drug business in some unclear way but companies like Thermo Fisher dropped 7 points immediately even though Amazon cannot impact their business which is partially distribution of medical supplies and instruments to labs and hospitals. TMO has a large highly trained sales force that helps customers stay supplied with the latest equipment and supplies and advises customers. There is no way Amazon can provide the logistics and advisory services that TMO does, but the stock initially declined regardless. Just be aware these declines do not last in many cases as the market better understands the reality of where Amazon can compete effectively.

Compared to 20 years ago there are 50% as many public companies and 17% fewer shares outstanding in public markets. This is due to M&A and stock buybacks.  It means share movements can potentially be larger due to lesser number of shares outstanding in the market when there is a move to buy or sell. There remain few fixed income opportunities for any decent return.  Equities continue to be the place to invest to make real returns. The S&P 500  index is up 15% YTD, and the Dow is up more. Most earnings were good and GDP growth was better than forecast. It is unclear but it is possible the S&P could be up 16% -18% by yearend. Compare that to your returns on a classic 6040 portfolio.

The consumer savings rate is now at a 10 year low. That means consumers are much more confident since the election and it will be reflected in Christmas retail spend. It will be a very good holiday season which means the stock market will go up further in Q1 2018 as Q4 earnings come in better than forecast. Combined with increased exports and rising wages, and economic performance will remain good. If tax reform is passed before Christmas that will accelerate spending. With jobs secure, optimism rising, and capital spending rising nicely, the earnings increases should increase into Q1 2018. See the attached economic forecast by Mark Zandi. Keep in mind he is a Democrat and anti Trump, so the last part on taxes I feel is more political than true economics. The risks are starting to build in that interest coverage by consumers is declining, and they are using savings to buy larger capital good. If not kept in check this could lead to a replay of over leverage by consumers by 2019.

Retailers continue to go BK. In almost every case it is a retailer like Toys R Us that is owned by a PE investor, and way over levered. As we know the retail landscape is being recreated.  Along with retailers going BK are IL, CT, NJ, and over time CA. All are run by Democrats (IL is run by a left wing legislature that overrides the governor’s veto) and all are states with huge entitlement programs and major cities that are run by liberals. CA cannot continue to raise taxes especially after the deduction for state taxes is eliminated for the upper income payers. At some point taxes will decline and expenditures will continue to rise, and it will get ugly again.

Climate Change

One of the things I learned on my hikes in Utah was that the earth has been covered by ice and then warmed and then cooled in cycles which led to massive oceans covering what is now the great plains and the deserts of the southwest and southern Utah. In 1300 AD major climate change in southern Utah caused the local Indians to move to better living conditions. Interestingly is there were no cars, no factories and no man made impacts. Over millions of years the oceans came and went across the US and temperatures rose and fell. This was caused by a combination of climate change and the rising up of the western mountain ranges.  The point of all this is it is clear when you go out there and read the information provided by the national park service and other nonpolitical sources,  climate change has happened since the earth was formed and it has be cyclical -up and down. Massive flooding has occurred over the eons. Sometimes the climate changes and flooding or creation of deserts was fairly fast causing humans and animals to flee or to die. The point is climate change is not a new phenomenon. The earth has had vast climatic and other changes over centuries and it is not at all clear if one is objective how much of current climate change is a continuation of these natural changes that have always occurred or how much is influenced by man. Based on what I read and saw out in Utah convinced me that the natural changes are far more impactful than anything man is doing. It is now reported that the super volcano in Yellowstone may blow in the relatively near term- decades or centuries and when it does much of the US will die from ash and utter darkness caused by the volcanic cloud. NASA believes that is a far more real and dangerous risk than anything humans my do in the next few decades and they are working on ways to try to mitigate the chance of a violent eruption.

Politics

What do we now know from the Manafort indictment, and Papandopolous plea bargain. Mueller has no proof at all of any collusion by Trump.  Popandopolous talked to the professor in London in March before he had any involvement in the campaign, Manafort rejected the proposed meetings with Russians that Popandopolous was pushing, and nothing happened.  and the professor claims the story about the woman who was supposedly related to Putin as a pure fabrication.  There is nothing in the Manafort indictment that has anything to do with Trump. Nobody on any of the Congressional committees has offered any proof at all of collusion. However, Clinton and the DNC using a law firm to hide illegal payment to Russian agents for false information is illegal. Podesta was Manafort’s partner in much of the Ukraine work. The FBI apparently paid Steele and used the dossier to get a FISA warrant. Next up is Flynn to be indicted. What I find most interesting was the timing of the indictment. Just as the press was starting to raise questions about the dossier and uranium and the pressure was building on Muller related to uranium, they spring the indictment to change the subject. I predict there will be no finding of collusion by Trump, the dossier and uranium will become the real scandal next year, and Republicans prevail. Nunes will be proven to be the real hero who has been improperly attacked because he was the only one who got proof of the Democratic illegal actions. In the end he will be vindicated.

PC Insanity

The decision by the VA church to remove the plaque honoring Washington because some people felt “unsafe” by a plaque honoring the founder of the country,  is proof that the left has really lost their minds. Unsafe???? Is old George going to rise from the grave and attack them. Do we tear down the George Washington Bridge, and the Washington monument.  Maybe we have to change the name of Washington DC so blacks do not feel “unsafe” going there. If Washington is to be removed form existence then what about Jefferson who wrote the Bill of Rights. The truth is that church has lost around 30% of the flock over the past decade or so, and like Hilary they need someone to blame. If we cannot honor the man who led our revolution and gave us freedom, and our way of life, then there is nothing left to our history and culture. We would be an empty vat of victims wallowing in the slop of political correctness. Between this, the dress codes for Halloween on campuses, and the NFL , DeBlasio wanting to remove Columbus statue, we are reliving Nazi Germany in the thirties. We need to rise up and stop the destruction of our very essence as a nation, all to satisfy some radical left wing ideology. The rest of us reject this PC dictatorship.  It is our country too and we in the vast  majority get to rule. The more statues, plaques, names and monuments get torn down by Democrats and the left, the more votes Republicans get in 2018.

Are you aware that people actually talk to Alexa and start to think it is almost human. They are now working on giving Alexa the ability to talk back about suicide and other psychological emergencies. This is really scary stuff when robots and AI take on a human role. AI just learned to beat the champion players in complex board games and the machine gets smarter each time it plays. It gets smarter by itself. Think about the implications of that. Consider that many customer service calls are now answered by a AI based software. You are talking to a computer many times and it is answering you. I am getting involved with two AI based companies

For everyone who thinks I am pro Trump the person, and that I drank the Kool Aid—there is a total difference between the person Trump and the policies of his administration. I am strongly for the foreign, military, economic and many of the domestic policies, but not for the man. We had no choice but to vote for him, the person, to get the policies that will repair the vast damage done by Obama. Hilary was another vote for a third term of disastrous policies and slow economy.  It is why I have repeated several times, ignore what Trump tweets or says and watch what the cabinet actually does. Not only were Obama’s policies destructive, but many of his actions were unconstitutional- DACCA, recess appointments, Iran deal, subsidies for Obamacare, and unmasking of Trump staff. So next time you think Trump is acting badly, remember all the illegal things Obama did and his lies about Benghazi, ISIS , Obamacare and the Iran deal. What one realizes out in the real America in Utah, Washington is totally disconnected from the voters, and America, and no matter which party is running things, makes the word swamp a compliment for what really goes on there. They are all disgusting.

The terrorist who killed innocents in NY today came in on a “diversity visa”. There are almost no restraints and vetting on these green cards. It is a lottery. I wonder if the judge in Hawaii, of the judges of the ninth circuit, who think we need to allow in every Muslim, are they going to the funerals of the people murdered today by a Muslim killer who should never been allowed in. The price for left wing PC politics of immigration invariably end up with dead innocent Americans who were murdered by radical Muslims.  They got all exercised by the 4 dead soldiers in Niger, but you hear silence from the left when 8 Americans die riding their bikes in NY.

By Joel Ross

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2) Russian President Vladimir Putin Said to Be Embracing Iran as ‘Strategic Partner’ With Tehran Visit

 by Ben Cohen

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei in Tehran. Photo: Mehr News Agency.

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Iran for an official visit on Wednesday, in another major demonstration of the burgeoning partnership between Tehran and Moscow, and a further sign of Russia’s enhanced status as a regional power-broker.

Putin met in person with Iran’s “supreme leader,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, before moving on to a trilateral summit with his Iranian and Azeri counterparts, Hassan Rouhani and Ilham Aliyev. Broadly focused on trade, law enforcement and national security issues between the three neighboring countries, analysts say that Russia’s strengthening of its relations with Iran is what lies at the heart of the talks — at a time when Iran is boosting its Shia proxy paramilitaries around the region, and the US Congress debates whether to continue with the JCPOA, the 2015 nuclear deal agreed to by Iran and six world powers, including America.

“The key word here is ‘friendship,'” Anna Borshchevskaya — the Ira Weiner Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy think tank and an expert on Russia-Middle East relations — told The Algemeiner on Wednesday. “Putin said before leaving that Russia and Iran have had 500 years of diplomatic relations, never once mentioning the historic rivalry between them, and it’s on the basis of that friendship that relations will now develop on a number of fronts, including trade.”

Borshchevskaya was skeptical the Russians would accept any changes to the JCPOA advanced by Congress to tighten international monitoring of Iranian nuclear facilities. “They wanted the JCPOA, they wanted Iran to get sanctions relief so they could trade, and they saw the agreement as a victory for their own diplomacy,” she said.

Neither did Borshchevskaya believe that Putin would voice any objections to the Iranian military presence in the area that extends from Kurdish and Arab regions of Iraq and Syria to the Mediterranean coast and Israel’s northern border.

“The Iranians may not have identical strategic goals to the Russians, but these don’t necessarily conflict,” she observed. “I don’t see a wedge between Iran and Russia anytime soon — they have a common enemy in America, and that brings them together more than anything else.”

Iran’s official response to Putin’s visit suggests that a highly special relationship between Moscow and Tehran is in the making. Interviewed by the Qatari government-funded broadcaster Al Jazeera, Mostafa Khosh Cheshm — the head of the Islamic Republic’s semi-official Fars news agency — declared that Russia had “come to realize that if they have a true partner in this part of the world, it is Iran.”

“Russia has revived its lost role,” Khosh Cheshm said. “Once it was the former Soviet Union. It decomposed, it collapsed, and it lost everything. Now it’s back on the stage. It’s rising as a regional power that is soon going to be one of the world powers again.”

All these developments should be of great concern to Israel, Borshchevskaya noted. Israel has voiced its anxiety about the strategic advantage enjoyed by Russia and Iran on at least two occasions this year; in July, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu split with the US by explicitly opposing the ceasefire agreement brokered by Russia in Syria, while in October, Israeli leaders watched with alarm as Iranian-backed Iraqi government forces and Shia paramilitaries seized a large amount of territory controlled by the Kurdish Peshmerga in northern Iraq.

“Israel should have no illusions that Russia is going to be an honest broker, or a voice of reason or moderation,” Borshchevskaya said. “Putin’s primary interest is in having Iran as a strategic partner, and that’s not good news for Israel.”

Borshchevskaya also emphasized the Russian leader’s increasing regional clout, and his evident skill in managing a host of conflicting relationships. “In August, Putin met with Netanyahu, in October, the Saudi king paid a historic first visit to Moscow, and now he’s in Iran; that shows you how much regional influence he has achieved,” she said. “He is very good at balancing all these relationships — Kurds, Iranians, Saudis, Israelis — but his main priority is Iran.”

Meanwhile, the chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces, Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, met separately with his Russian counterpart, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, in Tehran on Wednesday.

“There is a good military cooperation between Iran and Russia and of course there are many areas for expanding the cooperation,” Bagheri said, in remarks reported by Iranian media outlets. Gerasimov responded that he was looking forward to discussing “the current situation in Syria, as well as the areas for further military and technical cooperation between Iran and Russia.”

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Attack Islamist Ideology Is A Novel Idea? Am I Insane? Am I Prejudice? Am I A Bad Person?

During WW 2 the Japanese had Tokyo Rose using propaganda to de-spirit our troops. She was clever and somewhat effective.

After the War we developed Radio Free America and aimed it at Eastern Europe and that eventually became effective as it penetrated The Iron Curtain.

On of these days we might get around to doing what has been recommended, ie. attack  Radical Islamist Ideology. 

Killing all the Islamist ants that are/or can be radicalized is costly and takes an enormous amount of time, and personnel.(See 1 below)

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Sent to me by my dear neighbor and fellow memo reader. (See 2 below.)

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I have given some thought to Trump's idea that America is a place a lot of people would like to come and eventually live as citizens.  

In business, if the demand is greater than the supply the price generally rises.

Trump makes sense when he suggests we have every right to want immigrants who offer us something beneficial, like being good citizens, not coming here to kill their fellow persons and who are capable of explaining why they want to become Americans..  If we d the odds favor they will become prosperous, make a significant contribution and we will not have to subsidize them.

That may offend  those who believe our borders should be porous, diversity takes precedence over everything and seeking what is good  for America is racially insensitive as well as anti PC.

You decide

As for myself, if I had the option of who moved into my neighborhood, I would hope the one I favored would become good neighbors, not run over my kids riding their bikes, poison their pets and, over time, become capable of speaking to me, over the fence, in my own language.  

Am I insane?  Am I prejudice?  Am I a bad person?

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Dick

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1)

NYC Aftermath: To Stop Terrorism, Destroy the Ideology

Tuesday’s terrorist attack in New York was carried out by a 29-year-old man who rented a Home Depot truck and drove it onto a bike path. Such forms of attack are extremely simple to carry out. They need no planning, no coordination with a central organization and are not difficult to obtain equipment.

They are therefore impossible to completely stop with security measures alone.

Counter-extremism organization the Quilliam Foundation said of the attack:

“This unfortunate incident once again highlights the importance of focusing resources on deradicalization work and implementing a better strategy to prevent extremism, as incidents of this nature are extremely difficult, if not impossible, for security services to predict and stop.”

New York is not unguarded. Entering the United States requires extensive security checks. Immigration from countries like Uzbekistan (the nationality of the terrorist) is complex and requires background checks.

Not only that, but once an attack is underway there are armed police everywhere. In this case, the terrorist was shot very promptly at the scene by a nearby uniformed officer.

The FBI and CIA carry out extensive surveillance operations around the world. They monitor correspondence, tap phone conversations and pay informants. They have spies inside foreign governments and inside terrorist organizations. They have reconnaissance satellites in space.

America’s security services work tirelessly to protect the country from every conceivable foe, and most of the time they succeed. The United States government spends over $16 billion annually to counter terrorism. They can even use drones to kill any designated target pretty much anywhere in the world.

But with all this technology and money, they cannot read people’s minds and cannot prevent someone from just deciding to run people over with a truck.

People decide to carry out attacks like that in the name of an ideology. An ideology they find powerful enough to die for it. All the security in the world cannot prevent individuals who believe in something from acting in the name of that belief: That killing random civilians will trigger the war between Muslims and the West that they crave and enable them to usher in a totalitarian caliphate.

They will always find new ways to attack and new ways to hide because it simply isn’t possible to eliminate every potential avenue of terror.

The only way to end radical Islamic terrorism once and for all is to discredit the ideology which fuels it.

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2) Below, is the latest edition of "Inside Judicial Watch," with JW Senior Attorney Jim Peterson on Wednesday, November 1, 2017, where Jim discussed the truth behind the infamous Trump dossier. You’ll hear Jim discuss its origins, the major players involved, and the political implications it had on our government and media institutions. 

The infamous Trump dossier is another piece of the puzzle surrounding the illegal surveillance of Trump and his associates. This is an episode you DON’T want to miss! 

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Like Affirmative Action, PC'ism Has Outlived It's Initial Purpose. We Need More Youthful Members of Congress. No Bad Deal Ever Gets Totally Fixed.

Yesterday we witnessed another deadly terrorist attack.  We cannot stop all of them but we can come to certain realizations and implement actions which might help reduce the carnage.

First, America, until we allow N Korea and Iran to attack us in a nuclear manner,  is very strong and protected by our location, size, population and military capabilities.

We are, however, vulnerable to attacks from within caused by radical terrorist groups (mostly those by radical Islamists) who use social media technology to spread their message of death and destruction.

Second, It would appear we have allowed a liberal, progressive program/policy of Political Correctness, born out of a desire to rectify wrongs, to morph into a threat to an orderly society.  

When we allow good attempts/concepts to reach extremes, logic and common sense solutions are the first to come under fire.

Political Correctness,  began as a reasonable political attempt/ploy to right wrongs and bring attention to  previous and ongoing ones. Over time, it began to be used by liberals and progressives and the Democrat Party as a method of separation whereby, those who embraced/employed it positioned themselves as superior because they care more, are more sensitive.  It also allows PC'ers to label, as racists, those who challenged their holier than thou approach.

Third, Obama mistakenly reasoned "Colonial" America needed to apologize for it's sins and he proceeded to and forced  government agencies to stick their collective heads in the sand.  

We are at war with terrorists and cannot beat them by denying they exist, by presenting ourselves as weak and being unwilling to even  label/name  them.

Fourth, under the PC label we have allowed our borders to be pierced, we have handcuffed our military, we have imported the insanity Europe embraces when it comes to opening its borders and allowing millions to flood their countries.

Trump has taken an alternative approach and has resorted to a more stringent vetting process not because he opposes immigration but to carry out his oath of office 'to protect and defend our nation from all enemies.'

For this, Trump has been attacked as a racist and worse.  His initial effort was poorly organized and implemented but when states and cities believe they can accept government funding and defy federal laws by claiming sanctuary status that is insane. Politically Correct Jurists have decided against Trump. More insanity.

Fifth,  Political Correctness has altered our society in ways that are positive and impressive but it also is clearly evident we have allowed its message to imprison ourselves. 

Harvey Weinstein's behaviour was because historical attitudes were allowed to persist and, no doubt, as times and behaviour changed ,because of Political Correctness, his hand was finally called.

Trucks driven by those who embrace Islamist radicalism running over bikers is not politically correct and we are fools to think and allow otherwise.

It is imperative we return to balancing guilt driven actions, that might make us feel good and are based on good intentions,  by re-embracing sanity, logic and  common-sense.

Politically Correctness has driven wedges between the sexes, division between the races, made a mockery of the type of education needed to build good citizens, even determined what public bathrooms we can use and it is high time to curb it's more negative effects.

We have witnessed Attacks on Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, riots NFL protests, tearing down of statues and history etc. all committed and forcibly endured under the rubric of  PC'ism .  

The cumulative effect of the disregard of logic, a government out of fiscal control, being told we are deplorables,, having our Constitutional Rights challenged and/or ignored, and the list is endless, is largely why Trump was elected.  Because he is vocal about and willing to lend his opposition to the negatives of PC'ism on our character, our security and our  freedoms those who began PC'ism, and continue to embrace all of its ramifications, are opposed and fighting back supported by the mass media who have positioned themselves against anything Trump does or says.

When the war among ourselves ends is anyone's guess.  Until it does, our ability to rally against the war from Islam Radicals and other more dangerous enemies will persist and our abilities to be more capable and effective will remain curtailed if not strangled

In fighting to protect the freedoms we enjoy we will have to allow/accept reasonable and sane intrusions but, I submit, they are preferable to kneeling before those who want to destroy us.

And:

While I am on my high horse let me discuss several other matters.

There are those who believe we need limited terms and I understand their reasoning.

I too believe being in office has morphed into a permanent job versus what our Founding Father's intended. My concern is that it would increase the power of bureaucrats who already have more than they need.

The second issue that is seldom discussed is the general age of our Representatives and, particularly, our Senators. Feinstein is 84 and seeking another 6 years. That is sheer Chutzpah.  We need new thinking. The old have made a mess of things and perhaps the young can straighten it out, or make it better, because they must live with the disaster they will inherit.

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No bad deal ever is fixed the way it should be because Congress seldom has the guts to do things full measure, only half measure at best.  (See 1 below.)

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Dick

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1)Former Government Officials and Experts Support Efforts to Fix Iran Nuclear Deal                                                                                                          

 FDD scholars among group of more than 20 experts who support fixing fatally flawed JCPOA Washington, D.C., October 30, 2017 .

Following President Donald Trump’s decision to refrain from certifying Iran’s compliance with the Iran nuclear deal under the Congressionally mandated Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 (INARA), a group of more than 20 former government officials and Iran, nuclear, and sanctions experts issued a statement today expressing support for addressing the nuclear deal’s deficiencies. The letter also follows the president’s announcement of a comprehensive policy addressing the full range of Iranian threats and fixing the deal. The former officials and experts note that the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA, contains a series of problematic components and as a result “puts Iran on a legal glide path to a nuclear weapons arsenal.” The signatories call upon the White House and Congress to “end the nuclear blackmail imposed by the current JCPOA.” They urge Washington to establish “clear conditions for any sanctions relief provided under the JCPOA to continue” and then “forge a common position” with U.S. allies. 

The letter was organized by Foundation for Defense of Democracies CEO Mark Dubowitz and Council on Foreign Relation Senior Fellow Ray Takeyh. FDD scholars joined the distinguished group of experts including former IAEA Deputy Director General Olli Heinonen, Senator Joseph Lieberman, former Senior Advisor to the Director of National Intelligence Amb. Joseph DeTrani, former Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Amb. Robert Joseph, Institute for Science and International Security President David Albright, and former Assistant Secretary of Defense Mary Beth Long to express support for efforts to fix the deficiencies in the JCPOA, including its sunset clauses. “As written, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action enables the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism to take patient pathways to nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles as key restrictions sunset,” 

Dubowitz said. “President Trump’s decision to decertify the deal is the essential first step as part of a comprehensive U.S. strategy to fix the fatal flaws of the JCPOA.” “Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is the tip of the spear of the regime’s terrorism and regional aggression and brutally enforces the theocracy’s ideology at home. We applaud the administration’s decision to sanction the entire organization as a terrorist group,” FDD President Clifford D. May said. The full text of the letter and the list of signatories is included immediately below: We, the signatories of this letter, support President Donald Trump’s attempt to fix the Iran deal—the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). 

The JCPOA stands as one of the most highly deficient arms control accords in the history of American arms control diplomacy. Its cascade of sunset clauses, permissive advanced centrifuge research and development schedule, lax inspection regime, and refusal to address Iran’s growing ballistic missile threat mandate its revision. The agreement puts Iran on a legal glide path to a nuclear weapons arsenal. We also applaud President Trump’s determination to designate for the first time the lethal Revolutionary Guards in its entirety for terrorism. The Revolutionary Guards are the Islamist regime’s instrument for repression at home and aggression abroad, and they must be held accountable for their many atrocities. 

We hope that the White House and Congress can come together to fix a fundamentally flawed agreement, curb Iran’s illicit activities, and end the nuclear blackmail imposed by the current JCPOA. Once the United States establishes clear conditions for any sanctions relief provided under the JCPOA to continue, we can best approach our allies to forge a common position in dealing with America's most enduring adversary in the Middle East, the Islamic Republic of Iran. Elliott Abrams | David Albright | Richard V. Allen | Amb. Joseph DeTrani | Michael Doran | Mark Dubowitz | Reuel Marc Gerecht | Richard Goldberg | Lawrence J. Haas | John Hannah | Olli Heinonen | Amb. Robert Joseph | Matthew Kroenig | Robert J. Lieber | Sen. Joseph Lieberman | Mary Beth Long | Clifford D. May | Robert McFarlane | Scott Modell | Emanuele Ottolenghi | Samantha F. Ravich | David Rivkin | Jonathan Schanzer | Ray Takeyh | Kenneth R. Weinstein ### For more information, contact press@defenddemocracy.org or 202.403.2904. About FDD: The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) is a Washington, DC-based non-partisan policy institute focusing on foreign policy and national security. 

Visit our website at www.defenddemocracy.org and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

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