CNN’s Kiley recites B’Tselem’s charges but “gives just one paragraph of response to Israeli government officials who answer in broad-brush terms; thus nearly 90% of the article lists unchallenged and grave allegations against the nation”

Posted on February 11, 2021 by ArchitectGuy

CAMERA
CNN’s Sam Kiley Parrots B’Tselem’s Slanders
by Andrea Levin
February 8, 2021

In a January report titled “Israel isn’t a democracy, ‘it’s an apartheid regime’, rights group says,” CNN’s Sam Kiley relays baseless charges against the Jewish state and deceives readers about B’Tselem. Kiley terms the NGO “a well-respected Israeli institution.” In reality, B’Tselem enjoys little respect or influence inside Israel, where it is discounted for its extremist attacks on the country and its history of once employing a Holocaust denier. The NGO relies heavily on foreign funding for its existence. Kiley relates B’Tselem’s grave and unchallenged allegations against the Jewish state with no counterpoint provided. READ MORE

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“Leftists fantasize that before long, we can dispense with all reliable energy sources–coal, natural gas, nuclear, even hydro–and run our society entirely on wind and solar, two forms of energy that have been obsolete for 150 years”

Posted on February 11, 2021 by ArchitectGuy

POWERLINE
Wind and Solar Energy Don’t Work
by John Hinderaker
February 10, 2021

…How can this be, since wind turbines only produce electricity when the wind is blowing sufficiently, which is around 40% of the time, and solar only works when the sun is shining and the panels are not covered in ice and snow–in a northern climate, something like 18% of the time? Obviously the Greenies have a problem. Today, their problem is solved by building natural gas plants that carry the load when wind and solar are AWOL–which is to say, a large majority of the time. Of course, the natural gas plants are dispatchable, which means they can produce energy reliably, at will, 24/7. Which raises the obvious question: if we have to build fully-capable natural gas plants to make wind and solar sort-of work, some of the time, what the heck to we need the wind and solar for? READ MORE

WALL STREET JOURNAL Editorial Board: The Costs of Killing Keystone XL Even allies are asking Biden to reconsider his executive order

Posted in Politics | 1 Comment

#PrideGoethBeforeTheFall: Andrea Mitchell saw what looked like it might be an opportunity to mock Ted Cruz

Posted on February 11, 2021 by ArchitectGuy

ALTHOUSE
Andrea, Jennifer, and The 2 Williams
by Andrea Althouse
February 11, 2021

…The “2 Williams” are Shakespeare and Faulkner. They were in the news last night because Andrea — Andrea Mitchell, the NBC News chief Washington correspondent — tweeted something so mind-bogglingly stupid — stupid, evil, and hilarious — and Jennifer — Jennifer Rubin, the WaPo columnist — lunged horribly after Andrea’s tweet. These people — Mitchell and Rubin — are supposed to be the elite, but they are not even elite enough to keep from stumbling over a high-school level literary reference or even to think of making sure — with the quickest Google — they’re not making a gaffe… READ MORE

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“Iran began breaching its nuclear deal with major powers step by step in 2019 in response to US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the deal and Washington’s reimposition of sanctions on Tehran”

Posted on February 7, 2021 by ArchitectGuy

JERUSALEM POST
Iran produces uranium metal, IAEA says, in latest breach of deal
by Reuters
February 10, 2021

Iran has carried out its plan to produce uranium metal, the UN atomic watchdog confirmed on Wednesday, despite Western powers having warned Iran that would breach their 2015 nuclear deal as uranium metal can be used to make the core of an atom bomb. Iran began breaching its nuclear deal with major powers step by step in 2019 in response to US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the deal the previous year and Washington’s reimposition of sanctions on Tehran. Iran has in recent months accelerated those breaches of the deal’s restrictions on its atomic activities, potentially complicating efforts to bring the United States back into the deal under President Joe Biden. READ MORE

JNS Republicans should insist Biden submit the JCPOA as a treaty to the Senate Just because Republicans don’t have a majority in the Senate in 2021 and failed to stop Obama from implementing the 2015 deal by executive action doesn’t mean they should be mute. They need to follow their constitutional responsibility and point out to an uninformed American public that constitutional issues were sidestepped six years ago and are even more relevant today for our nation’s security, as we are that much closer to the dates the agreement permits the Iranian regime to become a nuclear-armed bully, immune to attack.

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“Top nuclear expert was killed by the Mossad, who used a one-ton remote-controlled gun smuggled into Iran piece by piece over eight months”

Posted on February 7, 2021 by ArchitectGuy

JEWISH CHRONICLE
Truth behind killing of Iran nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh revealed
by Jake Wallis Simons
February 10, 2021

The Iranian nuclear scientist who was shot dead near Tehran in November was killed by a one-ton automated gun that was smuggled into the country piece-by-piece by the Mossad, the JC can reveal. The 20-plus spy team, which comprised both Israeli and Iranian nationals, carried out the high-tech hit after eight months of painstaking surveillance, intelligence sources disclosed. The Tehran regime has secretly assessed that it will take six years before a replacement for top scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh is fully operational. Meanwhile, Israeli analysts have concluded that his death has extended the period of time it would take Iran to achieve a bomb from about three-and-a-half months to two years — with senior intelligence figures privately putting it as high as five years. READ MORE

JEWISH CHRONICLE Tehran beware, the Mossad knows all your secrets Iran will fear that anybody involved in planning retribution against the Israelis or Americans could meet a similar fate to Fakhrizadeh

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“The International Criminal Court decision on Palestine is a setback for a single standard of human rights. It is a victory for terrorism and an unwillingness to negotiate peace”

Posted on February 7, 2021 by ArchitectGuy

GATESTONE
Is Palestine a State?
by Alan M. Dershowitz
February 9, 2021

The highly politicized International Criminal Court just declared statehood for Palestinians. They did it without any negotiation with Israel, without any compromise, and without any recognized boundaries. They also did it without any legal authority, because the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court, makes no provision for this criminal court to recognize new states. Moreover, neither Israel nor the United States ratified that treaty, so the decisions of the International Criminal Court are not binding on them. Nor is this divided decision binding on signatories, since it exceeds the authority of the so-called court. READ MORE

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Sharansky to Shultz: “I can assure you that your name will remain with us forever as a liberator of millions of Soviet Jews”

Posted on February 7, 2021 by ArchitectGuy

ALGEMEINER
Former US Secretary of State George Shultz Fondly Remembered for Pivotal Role in Securing Freedom for Soviet Jews
by Staff
February 8, 2021

The pivotal role of former US Secretary of State George Shultz in securing the freedom of persecuted Jewish communities in the Soviet Union was warmly recalled on Monday, one day after he passed away at the age of 100. In a 2017 speech, Shultz was identified by Natan Sharansky — one of the leading “refuseniks” of the Soviet era who went on to become head of the Jewish Agency — as “a liberator” of Russia’s Jews. “You played a crucial role in bringing down the Iron Curtain and giving freedom to the people. READ MORE

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“The hard sciences once seemed immune to the politics that dominate the humanities in academia, but no longer”

Posted on February 7, 2021 by ArchitectGuy

NATIONAL REVIEW
What if Scientists Join the BDS Movement?
by A.J. Caschetta
February 6, 2021

Last year, after chemistry professor Mindy Levine was invited to guest-edit a special issue of the journal Molecules, a group dedicated to the academic boycott of Israel briefly persuaded the journal to rescind the offer unless she consented to removing “Israel” from her published address: “Ariel University, Ariel, Israel.” When she refused, the special issue was canceled, and Levine was scrubbed from the journal’s website…The journal eventually reinstated Levine as guest editor and issued a “Statement of Political Neutrality with Regards to Affiliation of Scientists at Ariel University,” but her case illustrated briefly, and perhaps is a harbinger of, something many thought couldn’t happen — science bending to the will of political ideology. READ MORE

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“President Joe Biden’s Iran policy was conceived and is being implemented by the same people who negotiated the JCPOA under Obama, who argued in favor of empowering Iran”

Posted on February 7, 2021 by ArchitectGuy

ISRAEL HAYOM (by agreement with JNS)
Biden’s Drive to War in the Middle East
by Caroline Glick
February 5, 2021

On Monday, Iran tested a new rocket. The Zuljanah rocket is a 25-meter (82-foot) three-stage rocket with a solid fuel engine for its first two stages and a liquid fuel rocket for its third stage. It can carry a 225 kg (496-pound) payload. The Zuljanah’s thrust is 75 kilotons, which is far more than required to launch satellite into orbit. The large thrust makes the Zuljanah more comparable to an intercontinental ballistic missile than a space launch vehicle. The US’s LGM-30G Minuteman-III land-based ICBM for instance, has 90 kiloton thrust. The Zuljanah can rise to a height of 500 kilometers for low-earth orbit or, if launched as a missile, its range is 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) – far enough to reach Britain from Iran. READ MORE

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“The majority of Jews interact with Judaism culturally”

Posted on February 7, 2021 by ArchitectGuy

UNPACKED
How Israel Reshaped Jewish Culture

Many Americans define their Judaism culturally rather than religiously. But with Israeli-Jewish influences becoming increasingly prominent, is there still a role for American-Jewish cultural life in the future? Or, to put it another way, will the falafel win over the bagel in the Jewish cultural stakes? We’re getting to the heart of exactly what Jewish culture means and how the American and Israeli versions have developed in parallel to each other.

Posted in Israel & Middle East, Jewish, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment