“The COVID-driven centralization of economic power and information control in the hands of a few corporate monopolies poses enduring threats to political freedom”

Posted on December 31, 2020 by ArchitectGuy

GREENWALD BLOG
The Threat of Authoritarianism in the U.S. is Very Real, and Has Nothing To Do With Trump
by Glenn Greenwald
December 28, 2020

…The hysterical Trump-as-despot script was all melodrama, a ploy for profits and ratings, and, most of all, a potent instrument to distract from the neoliberal ideology that gave rise to Trump in the first place by causing so much wreckage. Positing Trump as a grand aberration from U.S. politics and as the prime author of America’s woes — rather than what he was: a perfectly predictable extension of U.S politics and a symptom of preexisting pathologies — enabled those who have so much blood and economic destruction on their hands not only to evade responsibility for what they did, but to rehabilitate themselves as the guardians of freedom and prosperity and, ultimately, catapult themselves back into power. As of January 20, that is exactly where they will reside. READ MORE

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“Pollard and his wife, Esther, will live in Jerusalem. A source close to the family said the former spy will not enter politics”

Posted on December 27, 2020 by ArchitectGuy

JERUSALEM POST
Jonathan Pollard: Former Jewish spy lands in Israel 35 years after arrest
by Gil Hoffman
December 30, 2020

Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard made aliyah (immigrated) early Wednesday morning, landing in Israel 35 years after he was sentenced to life imprisonment for passing classified US information to an ally. He and his wife, Esther, arrived on the private jet of American billionaire Sheldon Adelson, immediately kissing the ground after coming down the steps of their plane. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greeted the Pollards at Ben-Gurion Airport, handed Jonathan an identity card and recited the sheheheyanu (you kept us alive) and matir asurim (freeing of prisoners) prayers with them. READ MORE

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“Having ramped up to a 24/7 operation, Israel’s health providers are administering the first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine at a rate of 150,000 people a day – almost 2% of the population.”

Posted on December 27, 2020 by ArchitectGuy

THE GUARDIAN
How has Israel launched the world’s fastest Covid vaccination drive?
by Oliver Holmes
December 30, 2020

As the UK approves of the Oxford University/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine, the latest jab to gain approval, a global effort to vaccinate billions gathers momentum. Governments worldwide will be looking at Israel, which is roaring ahead with an ambitious inoculation drive. By the end of this week, the country of 9 million is expected to have injected more than 10% of its population with vaccines, a far higher fraction than other states including the UK, which began vaccinating almost two weeks earlier. The prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has promised Israelis that the country will be the first to “emerge” from the pandemic if they cooperate. READ MORE

ISRAEL HAYOM ‘Nearly half a million Israelis vaccinated since start of campaign’
Health Minister Yuli Edelstein visits vaccination center in Sderot, assures the public that there will be no shortage of COVID vaccines.

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“How can Israel maintain the required levels of societal calm, normality and tranquility within which economic activity and innovation can flourish, while at the same time engaging effectively in the long, open-ended struggle against those countries and organizations committed to its destruction?”

Posted on December 27, 2020 by ArchitectGuy

NEWSWEEK
Understanding Israel’s War in the ‘Grey Zone’
by Jonathan Spyer
December 22, 2020

…The purpose of Israel’s current, ongoing military campaign is two-fold. It is intended to disrupt and hinder Iran’s ongoing efforts to develop a nuclear weapons capacity. It also seeks to prevent and reverse the Iranian project to create an extensive infrastructure of support across Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, and then to embed advanced weapons systems directed at Israel within that infrastructure. This is a very 21st-century campaign. It is considered to involve only a relatively small number of Israeli agencies and citizens. Key among the former are parts of the air force, the Mossad and other intelligence bodies, and personnel who learned their trade in Israel’s most selective special forces units. READ MORE

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“The presidential adviser/son-in-law was demonized as the Modern Orthodox face of white supremacism and all Trump failures, but his accomplishments should long be remembered”

Posted on December 27, 2020 by ArchitectGuy

JNS
The most consequential Jew of 2020: Jared Kushner
by Jonathan Tobin
December 29, 2020

…Yet even if you count yourself among the legion of those who hated Trump, the glib dismissal of Kushner doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. Though the scion of a wealthy New Jersey family of Modern Orthodox Jews was among the least likely people to be entrusted with serious government responsibility, fair-minded historians will have to render a verdict on his service that is at odds with the pop-culture image of a sycophant who inherited wealth and then married his way into power. Kushner’s record as a presidential adviser deserves to be deemed a success. More than that, he was also the most consequential Jewish public figure of 2020. READ MORE

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“The poster chosen by Fatah to celebrate the January 1, 1965 anniversary of the first terrorist attack against Israel depicts a map of “Palestine” superimposed over the entire state of Israel”

Posted on December 27, 2020 by ArchitectGuy

GATESTONE
Palestinians: An International “Peace” Conference to Displace Israel
by Bassam Tawil
December 29, 2020

The Palestinian ruling Fatah faction has just celebrated the 56th anniversary of the launching of its first terrorist attack on January 1, 1965 by promising, in Arabic, to continue the fight to do away with Israel. On that day, Fatah terrorists attempted to bomb Israel’s National Water Carrier. Meanwhile, Fatah’s leader, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, is trying to persuade the Arab countries and the rest of the international community to pressure Israel to return to the negotiating table with the Palestinians. He is arguing that he is just seeking to establish an independent Palestinian state next to Israel. READ MORE

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“UV-LED bulbs require less than half a minute to destroy more than 99.9% of the coronaviruses”

Posted on December 27, 2020 by ArchitectGuy

JERUSALEM POST
Tel Aviv research: 99.9% of COVID-19 virus dead in 30 seconds with UV LEDs
by Maayan Jaffe-Hoffman
December 26, 2020

Ultraviolet radiation is a common method of killing bacteria and viruses. Now, researchers from Tel Aviv University have proven that the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, can be killed efficiently, quickly and cheaply using ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes (UV-LEDs) at specific frequencies. “We discovered that it is quite simple to kill the coronavirus using LED bulbs that radiate ultraviolet light,” said Prof. Hadas Mamane, head of the Environmental Engineering Program at Tel Aviv University’s School of Mechanical Engineering, who led the study with Prof. Yoram Gerchman and Dr. Michal Mandelboim. READ MORE

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YouTube bans as “hate speech” Bob Dylan song in defense of Israel

Posted on December 27, 2020 by ArchitectGuy

TABLET MAG
Bob Dylan’s ‘Neighborhood Bully’ Gets Memory-Holed
by Jacob Siegel
December 22, 2020

…I can assure you that Googling “Neighborhood Bully” was in no way intended by me as a political statement or gesture. “Neighborhood Bully” is assumed to be a song about Israel being singled out and maligned among the world’s nations, but Dylan has rejected this interpretation just as he always denied narrow political readings of his work…Discovering that a cultural product of any note is not instantly available on one of the major internet content platforms is enough to trigger a state of mild alarm…That sensation turns into a full-on paranoid itch when the missing artifact in question is a song by one of the most legendary and popular musicians of the past century, on a site, YouTube, where one can easily watch pirated movies, Hitler’s speeches, and snuff films…READ MORE

Still available on VIMEO

https://vimeo.com/345943437

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“It is easy to comprehend why the Democratic Party would sit by and do nothing as Mubarak attacks Jews and Israel; this type of rhetoric has become all too prevalent within party circles”

Posted on December 27, 2020 by ArchitectGuy

MIDDLE EAST FORUM
Why Do the Democrats Tolerate a Malign Islamist Party Official?
by Joe Kaufman
December 23, 2020

U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) is known for her intense hatred of Israel. Indeed, she was recently banned from entering the country. So it makes sense that she would want to hire an individual like Muslim activist Rasha Mubarak, someone who equally despises the Jewish state. Mubarak has gone so far as to say that it is a lie that Israel has a right to self-defense and has attacked anyone who states otherwise. However, Mubarak’s ire extends well beyond that of Israel, including against leaders in her own party, even Joe Biden and Kamala Harris…Mubarak is the Finance Director for Congresswoman Tlaib. READ MORE

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#DoYouLoveMe: Bostons Dynamic’s dancing robots join me in wishing my readers a very happy and healthy 2021

Posted on December 27, 2020 by ArchitectGuy

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