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February 2016

The Witch – A Review By Marilyn Penn

Never has an “art film” been so mismatched with its Manhattan venues as “The Witch” at the two popular multiplexes where it can be seen. This is a very small movie, dark both literally and metaphorically, difficult to hear and even more difficult to comprehend both literally and metaphorically. Most of the scenes are shot in obscure and candle-lit interiors; most of the dialogue is either muffled, whispered or foreign-sounding enough for American audiences to have benefited greatly had there been sub-titles. We are in the 17th century with a Puritan family that has been banished from the community plantation for the father’s sin of being prideful and apparently holier than thou. The father is determined to create his own farm at the edge of the woods and since we have already been told that this is a New England folk tale, we know what that portends.

The best scene in the movie occurs very soon after as the blossoming teenage daughter cares for her infant brother; it is genuinely moving, startling and very well done. It sets into motion the rest of the plot which involves calamitous events leading to the mother’s breakdown, the father’s well-intentioned duplicity, the older son’s precipitous coming of age, the younger twins’ taunting of their older sister leading to serious accusations with forseeable and hallucinatory consequences. One reviewer compared this movie to ”The White Ribbon” where the authoritarian nature of German family life and education become a stand-in and precursor for the larger societal implications of obedience to Nazism. In that movie, the metaphoric stretch is clear. What comes through most aggressively in this movie is the zero tolerance that the director shows for religious “fanaticism” which is mostly evident in the family praying together or having a fast day. The children are not lashed for their misdeeds nor does the father seem unmindful of their needs or those of his increasingly grief-stricken wife. His major sin seems to be his abiding belief in God and the devil. The most disturbing scenes in this “horror movie” are filmed so that we have trouble understanding what we’re seeing initially and once the action does come into focus, it’s abruptly over. Both involve pagan rituals with mutilation of children and animals, lots of blood and naked bodies – the work of the devil.

GABRIEL SCHOENFELD : A REVIEW OF “POWER WARS” BY CHARLES SAVAGE

Obama’s War Promises have been easier to make than to keep.

Striking the right balance between justice and security remains the most neuralgic point in American politics. Campaigning for the White House in 2008, Barack Obama insisted that George W. Bush and Dick Cheney had gotten it badly wrong: They were trampling on civil liberties with torture, warrantless surveillance, and blanket secrecy, while at the same time violating duly enacted statutes, even the Constitution. Obama was determined to set things right.

How well has he succeeded? That is the question the New York Times reporter Charlie Savage attempts to answer in this comprehensive account of the fierce legal battles within the Obama administration over counterterrorism policy and matters of war and peace. As Savage tells the story, Obama began his presidential tenure with grand promises: He vowed to end two wars, ban torture, close Guantánamo within a year, and run the most transparent administration in American history. But as the new president was soon to discover, talking about change was easier than bringing it about.

Within weeks of assuming office, writes Savage, Obama “had already started to assemble an ambiguous record” in dismantling policies of his predecessor that he had declared illegal, immoral, and unwise. Though he banned torture, his new CIA chief was defending the practice of “extraordinary rendition,” shipping captives off to countries where, despite diplomatic assurances, they might be subjected to less-than-tender methods of interrogation. He retained military commissions for trying terror suspects, promising only to review their rules. His Justice Department was invoking the state secrets privilege to toss lawsuits out of court, including those involving torture and warrantless surveillance.

Writing for the Times early in Obama’s first term, Savage reported that “the Obama administration is quietly signaling continued support for .  .  . major elements of its predecessor’s approach to fighting al Qaeda.” Thanks to that story and a flurry of others like it, civil libertarians and liberal pundits began to squawk about backsliding and betrayal. On the other side of the political divide, supporters of George W. Bush’s counter-terrorism measures began to crow, charging hypocrisy and claiming vindication. Whether the incoming fire was launched from left or right, it plainly hit its target in the White House: “We are charting a new way forward,” insisted a top Obama aide to Savage. But the reality suggested otherwise.

A foiled terror attack on Christmas Day 2009 made jettisoning Bush’s counter-terrorism toolkit a dangerous proposition. Flying aboard an airliner into Detroit, a Nigerian follower of al Qaeda attempted to set off a bomb hidden in his underwear. When it fizzled instead of detonating, passengers were spared a calamity—but the White House was not. Janet Napolitano, in charge of the Department of Homeland Security, elicited derision with her nonreassuring assurance to the public that the “system worked.” It plainly had not worked; only dumb luck and the quick action of Abdulmutallab’s seatmates had saved the day. But Obama did not allow the episode to interrupt his Hawaii vacation. Instead of heading back to Washington, he set off to the Kaneohe oceanfront to play golf. Conservatives were outraged. The public was alarmed.

Under the pressure of politics at home and terror threats abroad, writes Savage, “the reformist side of Obama’s national security legal policy was starting to crack.” Out was transparency about counterterrorism surveillance. Out was the plan to try 9/11 architect Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in a Manhattan courtroom. Out was the promised closure of Guantánamo within a year. In was intensified drone warfare. In were more secrets about key decisions. In were leak prosecutions when state secrets got out.

The Palestinian issue erroneously perceived Ambassador (Ret.) Yoram Ettinger,

Common sense suggests that simplistic and erroneous assumptions produce simplistic and erroneous policies, as has been the case of all US initiatives towards the Palestinian issue, which has been erroneously perceived – by the US foreign policy establishment – to be the root cause of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Hence, the initial US opposition to the 1977 Israel-Egypt peace initiative and the attempt to inject the Palestinian issue on the eve of the 1979 signing ceremony; the 1987 US recognition of the PLO, which rewarded a role-model of – and provided significant tailwind to – international terrorism; the passive US role in the 1994 Israel-Jordan peace initiative; the US endorsement of Arafat as a Nobel Laureate and the embrace of the self-destruct 1993 Oslo Accords; the failure to punish the Palestinian Authority for its hate-education and other systematic violations of the Oslo Accords; and the resounding failure of President Obama’s initiatives, which have highlighted the Palestinian issue.

In contrast to the US foreign policy establishment’s worldview, the first 1948/49 Arab-Israeli War was not launched, by Arab countries, on behalf of Palestinian aspirations. The Arabs launched the war in order to advance their own particular – not Palestinian – interests through the occupation of the strategic area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. In fact, the Palestinians blame Arab leaders for what they term “the 1948 debacle.”

Merck, Weizmann Institute sign strategic deal on cancer research David Shamah

Quietly, the German pharmaceutical and tech firm has emerged as a major international player in Israel

With more than 300 employees at four sites throughout Israel, Merck KgaA, a multifaceted chemical and technology company, has quietly emerged as one of the major multinational firms with a significant presence in Israel.

The company announced this week that it was furthering its stake in Israeli tech by signing a new framework agreement with the Weizmann Institute to research new solutions in the area of biotechnology and cancer research.

“We have focused our healthcare research activities on the highly promising fields of immuno-oncology, immunology and oncology, as we’re striving to deliver new solutions to respond to unmet medical needs,” said Stefan Oschmann, deputy CEO and vice chairman of the executive board of Merck. “We’re excited that the new framework agreement will cover the first two of these three areas, and we are already looking forward to the proposals of the distinguished Weizmann scientists.”

As part of the new framework agreement, Merck will fund each of the two research areas with up to € 1 million per year over the initial three-year period.

Merck (there are actually two separate companies called Merck; Merck KgaA, which operates everywhere except the US and Canada, where an independent company called Merck and Co. operates) is no stranger to the Weizmann Institute. Merck is best known for its drugs, but less well known is the strong connection the company — established in 1688 — has with Israel, where it has been active since 1978.

On a recent visit to Israel, Karl-Ludwig Kley, CEO of Merck KgaA, said that “15 percent of our products have an Israeli background, many of them researched at the Weizmann Institute. We have strong working relationships to develop products with all of Israel’s research institutes.

Eizenkot’s Shameful Implications : Ruthie Blum

On Thursday afternoon, two 14-year-old Palestinians went on a stabbing spree in a supermarket in Samaria (the West Bank), killing 21-year-old IDF Staff Sgt. Tuvia Yanai Weissman, the married father of a 4-month-old baby, and moderately wounding another Israeli man.

Weissman, like the shoppers who subdued the terrorists with their shopping carts, was not on duty; he was simply at the store buying groceries for his family.

This kind of scenario has become a tragically familiar part of the Israeli landscape since the beginning of the current surge in Palestinian terrorism in September. Though commonly referred to as the “Knife Intifada,” it is also characterized by the use of rocks, Molotov cocktails, guns and vehicles as weapons with which to murder Jews.

Because the average age of the terrorists is young, when they are neutralized (tackled, beaten or shot) — whether by members of the Border Police or armed civilians — the customary rumbling from abroad about Israel’s use of “excessive” or “disproportionate” force is always soon to follow.

As shameful as this double standard is in relation to the Jewish state in general and its response to life-threatening acts of aggression in particular, it is at least held by Israel’s ill-wishers. It is against these propagandists that Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely and others have been working tirelessly and painstakingly to combat in the battlefield of ideas.

Imagine our dismay, then, when the top Israeli official commanding the actual war arena provides ammunition to the enemy.

Enough! by Jim Fletcher

About 10 miles northeast of Jerusalem sits the Israeli community of Ma’aleh Michmas. To the international community, this place is a “settlement” (emphasis on the “sssss”). In the Bible, it is mentioned in 1 Samuel, Isaiah, and Ezra. The ancient Israelites fought the Philistines there.

This week, a resident of Ma’aleh Michmas fought modern enemies, the Palestinians, at a market, in the homeland of his forefathers.

Tuvia Yanai Weissman, a combat sergeant with the Nahal Brigade, was stabbed to death by two Arab teenagers as he intervened in an attack. The 21-year-old leaves behind a wife and baby.

The demons that walk up and down in the earth today manifest in myriad ways. For Yanai and Yael, the fiends have stolen their future. When Yanai heard the commotion at the market, he left his baby daughter, Neta, with his wife. He was stabbed as he tried to save others. At his funeral, Yael pierced the veil now between them:

“Give me the strength to look Neta in the eyes and tell her that everything will be fine. I promise to take care of her as best I can. I am sorry that we did not have a chance to realize our dreams.

“I love you and I already long for you.”

The young husband and father was taken to a hospital, where doctors tried for hours to save him. Incredibly, his murderers (I couldn’t care less that they are both 14) are being treated in two Jerusalem’s medical centers; Sha’are Tzedek and Hadassah Ein Karem.

I wish they weren’t. I have to be honest.

I wish the Weissmans were able to return home and spend the next 60 years together.

A Terrorist Murder by Arabs but US Admin ‘Condemns’ ‘Attack’ ‘That Resulted in Death’By: Lori Lowenthal Marcus

Our deepest condolences for the death of humanity in the State Dept.’s alleged condolence note about a random attack on a random American in a random place.

Why is it that this U.S. Administration, including its leader, President Barack Obama, refers to the intentional murder of Jews in the most remote and passive of terms? No one murders Jews: an attack happens and later the unfortunate Jew dies.

No Jews are targeted because they are Jews: the victims – random ones, of course – just happen to be Jews.

And it’s gotten worse. Now the Israeli Jews, when they happen to die of some random attack, are not even Jews, but Israelis, unless they happen to live beyond the 1949 Armistice Line (the invisible Green Line) in which case they are neither Jew nor Israeli, but simply the maligned “settler” or, sometimes, only referred to as the other half of their dual nationality, such as American – as if they have no connection at all to the Jewish people or Israel, and as if those connections had nothing to do with their random death.

Take, just as the latest example, yesterday’s stabbing and murder.

It’s a bipartisan issue: Palestinian statehood is a non-starter for foreseeable future Daniel Mandel & Morton Klein

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s position on this is well known ever since he stated as much last year, in the run-up to the Israeli elections.In a recent Knesset debate, despite the customary efforts of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Labor opposition leader Isaac Herzog to differentiate their political positions, it emerged that actually both oppose creating a Palestinian state under prevailing conditions.

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s position on this is wellknown ever since he stated as much last year, in the run-up to the Israeli elections that confirmed him in office, but Herzog’s statement was new. Herzog said, “The vision of two states is not dead, but it won’t happen tomorrow, surely not as long as you and [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas] are afraid to make a move.”

Two aspects of this statement are noteworthy.

First, Palestinians are not reconciled to the idea that a Jewish state can and will exist alongside a Palestinian one. This is reflected in Palestinian polling. A June 2015 Palestine Center for Public Opinion poll found that 49 percent of Palestinians seek a Palestine in place of Israel, while only 29% seek one alongside Israel – and even many of those who seek a neighboring state do not accept the legitimacy of a Jewish state: 88% of Palestinians say Jews have no rights to the land at all.

New Jersey ‘college town’ aiding and abetting illegal aliens, radical IslamistsJim-Kouri

“There is a new bill that is a good first step — The ICE Agent Support Act of 2016 (S 2538) will push back, blocking current immigration lawlessness. It allows ICE agents to fine illegal aliens for ignoring orders to leave the country. New financial penalties will make disregarding orders to leave more painful and will also provide a new source of funding for the agency, actually rewarding ICE for doing its job.”

The New Jersey town in which many Princeton University faculty, staff and students reside, is intentionally seeking to aid and abet illegal aliens — including those from Muslim countries — to avoid arrests by federal, state and local law enforcement, according to Ms. Elisa Neira, the executive director of the Princeton, New Jersey, Human Services Department.

Neira’s department publishes advisories in both English and Spanish that encourages illegal aliens “to remain silent” if detained by federal (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), state or local law enforcement officials. It also provides advise on setting up a plan if confronted with law enforcement.

“The accompanying illustrations are designed to evoke fear on the part of illegal alien men, women and children. For example, the officers are drawn to resemble Nazi Gestapo agents — something Democratic politicians have called ICE and Border Patrol agents. The cartoonists have crossed the line between public assistance and vilifying American cops,” said former police detective and Marine intelligence operative Sanders Van Claymont. “The eight-page government funded document resembles anti-police propaganda that’s diametrically opposed to New Jersey’s ‘Officer Friendly’ school program,” Claymont added.

ISIS Growing Presence in Libya Threatens Europe and the U.S. Rachel Ehrenfeld

http://acdemocracy.org/

The U.S. bombing of an ISIS training camp in Qasr Talel, Libya, today, killed 43 operatives, including their Tunisian leader, Noureddine Chouchane. This airstrike came shortly after leaks from the defense department that “the Obama administration has turned down a U.S. military plan for an assault on ISIS’s regional hub there,” the port city of Sirte.The U.S. involvement in Libya that begun with Operation Odyssey Dawn‘s airstrikes on Libya in March 2011 assisted Muslim Brotherhood affiliates efforts to oust Muammar Gadhafi.  The help to the anti-Gadhafi opposition resulted in a war-torn country with daily violent clashes. This gave al Qaeda’s adherents the opportunity “to establish well-armed, well-trained and combat-experienced militias,” concluded a report from the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress in August 2012.Libya became a fertile ground for ISIS.Libya’s coastline’s strategic importance as a stepstone to Europe was not wasted on ISIS. In January 2015, ISIS started to ship more than a million Muslim refugees to the Italian island of Lampedusa, just 162 nm from the Libyan coastline. This was followed by repeated calls for ISIS operatives to travel to Libya. Intelligence sources reported that “ISIS earns millions of dollars from taking part in the networks that smuggle migrants to Europe.”It is unknown the ISIS operatives arrived in Europe via Libya as refugees. Indeed, until yesterday, ISIS operatives who travelled to Libya, had the ability to travel to the U.S. from any
country in the  U.S.

https://visaguide.world/us-visa/nonimmigrant/visitor/visa-waiver-program