RUTHFULLY YOURS

Obama complains about Putin but does nothing. Here’s another way to squeeze him back home.

From Ukraine to Syria, the Obama administration has consistently misread Russian President Vladimir Putin’s objectives and the implications of cooperating with him. This has led to costly failures, but the administration is unlikely to change its approach. Congress need not sit idle too. By enacting new sanctions on Russia, U.S. lawmakers can send a strong signal to Moscow that its continued aggression against Ukraine and growing complicity in a genocidal war in Syria will come at a heavy price.

After Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea in 2014, the Obama administration and many U.S. allies imposed sanctions on Russian businesses and individuals. But those measures clearly haven’t been effective in discouraging Mr. Putin’s quest to exert Russian power and influence.

​In Ukraine, despite the supposed cease-fire effected by the Minsk Accords negotiated by Germany, France, Ukraine and Russia, Moscow-supported aggression continues in the contested east. Russian troops remain in the region, as an extensive Sept. 14 report from the Atlantic Council documents, and Reuters has reported that new Russian military bases are being built.

Officials underestimated complexities of setting up a rebel ground force amid chaos of war.
To build a rebel army, the Pentagon asked Syrian commanders last winter to nominate their best fighters. U.S. military officers spent more than a month checking each one for criminal or terrorist connections. Those who made the cut were sent to screening centers where they were questioned by American, Jordanian and Turkish officers. Then they waited, sometimes for days.

Fighters who made it to the screening centers were confused about the mission. When they learned what it was, many left. Others were found unfit, including one who showed up with open gunshot wounds. Under pressure to show operational success, the Pentagon started in July to field smaller groups than it wanted and watched from the sidelines as fighters fought the wrong enemy, or handed over equipment to al Qaeda or melted into Syria’s chaos.

The Pentagon’s effort to stand up a moderate rebel army, which would give the U.S. ground forces to fight Islamic State, has struggled since its inception to meet even its own modest goals, according to an account based on interviews with current and former U.S. officials as well as rebels who were part of the effort.

Officials now acknowledge they underestimated the complexities on the ground.

The program’s early stumbles, which follow problems with a similar Central Intelligence Agency effort, have reduced American military and diplomatic influence and left an opening for Russia—a long-standing Syrian ally—to ramp up its military assistance for the country’s embattled leader, Bashar al-Assad.

The anti-Israel prejudice at The New York Times (NYT) is so extensive and persistent that the paper’s partiality is now undeniable and well documented (see the endless archive of NYT bias reports at two media watchdogs: CAMERA and Honest Reporting). Here are just four egregious examples from the last few weeks.

On September 10, the NYT singled out Jewish lawmakers on the Iran deal.

On September 15, the NYT suggested that the Israeli who was murdered by rock-throwing Palestinians had died of a “self-inflicted accident” after the attackers had merely “pelted the road” (rather than his car). The National Review provided a detailed critique of this farcical “reporting.”

Unbelievably, Diaa Hadid, a NYT “journalist” responsible for reporting on Israel, used to work for an anti-Israel hate group, so it’s no surprise that she authored an article suggesting that Palestinian attackers pelted a road with stones on which an Israeli’s self-inflicted car accident just happened to cause him to die.

Among the flurry of support that the latest Muslim provocateur — 14-year-old faux-clock-bomb maker Ahmed Mohamed — received earlier this month was a posting by facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, reading, “Having the skill and ambition to build something cool should lead to applause, not arrest. The future belongs to people like Ahmed.”

He can say that again. The future belongs to young Muslim males making what look like bombs. That writing has been on the wall for so long, it’s fading. Moral of the story: If you see something, say something. Unless of course you’re a teacher and one of your students brings something that looks like a bomb to class. Then you definitely shouldn’t say anything. Especially if the student has a Muslim name.

What a luxury for all of Ahmed’s supporters to be able to chime in on his side, when they weren’t the ones faced with a possible threat to their lives and the decision of what to do, if anything. Zuckerberg even invited the hoaxer to visit facebook headquarters, just as Obama invited him to visit the White House. Maybe Ahmed is saving the real bomb for one of those occasions, as was perhaps the ultimate goal of this family-planned stunt in the first place. In which case I hope Zuckerberg doesn’t do anything gauche like call police or duck.

Ahmed’s big plans for September were to go to Mecca and the White House. One is surprised the two aren’t yet a single destination.

I found it surprising that in all the media coverage concerning Chris Harper Mercer, even after showing a brief interview on camera with his British absentee father, there was almost no mention of his mother with whom he lived. It took several days before I found out online that Laurel Harper is a black woman who works as a nurse, who shared a one bedroom apartment with her son along with her interest in firearms and shooting ranges. After reading about her ongoing efforts to control her neighbors’ voice levels, her building’s insect infestation, the behavior of pets – all in the name of protecting her fragile son from external annoyances – I wondered what she was thinking as she tallied up the count of 14 weapons available to her “Asperger” son who had already proved unable to get along with people, with school or with the army.

With the potential devastation and catastrophic deaths a nuclear bomb can cause you would think the first question needed to be answered in the affirmative, is “can Iran be trusted” to keep an agreement? According to Iran’s track record, clearly the answer is no.

In May, 2010 The Christian Science Monitor reported that Hillary Clinton, Secretary Of State, said Iran had violated the UN’s NPT101 that they had signed.

A United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency report said Iran has been pursuing nuclear weapons since before 2004, testing detonators and other components that have few uses other than for a nuclear bomb.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) outlined that despite sanctions, Iran’s engineers have now fully fitted out the Fordo enrichment facility, dug into a mountain near the holy city of Qom.”

As of September 29, 2015, the Obama administration is closing the last remaining American uranium enrichment facility. Yet we are moving forward on a deal with Iran that permits the Islamic Republic to produce ongoing uranium enrichment.

On May 27, 2014 the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, vowed to destroy the U.S. He said promoting negotiations is treason.

RUSSIAN bombers have OBLITERATED nine Islamic State (ISIS) outposts in just 24 hours as Vladimir Putin steps up his huge bombing campaign in Syria. Russian airstrikes have destroyed ISIS targets in Syria

Soviet jets pounded terrorist targets in Syria overnight using bunker busting bombs to blow up an ISIS command centre, potentially killing dozens of fighters.

The raids come after a senior British military expert said the West has been totally outflanked by Putin on the Syria crisis because its policy making has been dominated by “wishful thinking”.

Confirming the successful raids, Andrei Kartapolov from the Russian army General Staff, said: We will not only continue strikes… We will also increase their intensity.”

And Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said: “Over the past 24 hours, Sukhoi Su-34 and Su-24M fighter jets have performed 20 sorties and hit nine Islamic State installations.

“A bunker-busting BETAB-500 air bomb dropped from a Sukhoi Su-34 bomber near Raqqa has eliminated the command post of one of the terror groups, together with an underground storage facility for explosives and munitions.

Open Letter to the Honorable People of Iceland:

To the good people of Iceland, I offer our sincere appreciation for choosing righteousness over hate and the growing Islamic totalitarianism, and for voting against the Palestinian proposal to boycott Israel. I confirmed the low-key news announcement with a call to your Washington Embassy on the morning of September 30.

However, to my letter of concern to the Islandic Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I had received a reply assuring me that “only one” city was boycotting Israel. Following the logic device of where the slippery slope would lead, I feared that it would not be long before there might be “simply two.” In my lifetime, I have seen many “only ones” that have led to mass destruction, inconceivable carnage, and unimaginable misery. It continues to this day, in the Middle East, Africa, parts of Europe, and the current perpetrators are always Muslims who commit unspeakable crimes to spread Sharia to the world.

Judge Gallagher asserted that it’s illogical to claim that Israeli government is targeting all Palestinians, when in truth Israel has been defending itself for years and “It is not a ‘political opinion’ to demand and work towards the destruction of another country and countries in international law have the right to defend themselves.”

Montréal judge Stephen J. Gallagher dismissed a Palestinian’s appeal for Canadian refugee status, stating that his claim is resting upon his subjective views of the political situation in Gaza.

A 34 year old Gaza-born man, registered with UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) and in possession of Palestinian Authority passport, lodged a protection claim in Canada in July 2014.

He alleged that if forced to return to Gaza, he will be facing treatment and situation that could be considered a persecution. Appellant stated that his family home in Gaza was destroyed and his remaining relatives live in “danger of being killed by Israeli military activity.”

Refugee Protection Division (RPD) determined that the applicant failed to provide sufficient evidence that he will be facing “persecution or a personalized risk” upon his return to Gaza. Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) confirmed this decision concluding that the applicant is “neither a ‘Convention Refugee’ pursuant to s. 96 of IRPA nor a ‘person in need of protection’ pursuant to s. 97 of IRPA.”

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

CE Mark for heart valve repair system. (TY Atid-EDI) Israel’s Valtech Cardio has received European approval for its Cardioband implantable mitral reconstruction device. Trials showed that that Cardioband is a highly effective first-line treatment option for reducing mitral regurgitation (MR) and improving quality of life.
http://www.valtechcardio.com/2015/09/valtechs-cardioband-receives-ce-mark-approval-for-mitral-valve-repair/

Hope for bipolar depression sufferers. Israel’s NeuroRx has demonstrated a 50% reduction in symptoms of depression and a 75% reduction in suicidal feelings in a small trial of its Cyclurad treatment in combination with ketamine on treatment-resistant patients with bipolar disorder.
http://www.israel21c.org/hope-for-people-with-bipolar-depression/

Improving cognitive function. A successful clinical study confirms previously demonstrated benefits of Neuravena on acute improvement of cognitive function, showing efficacy for an 800 mg dose. Neuravena is a bioactivity tested, patented wild green oat extract, produced and marketed by Israel’s Frutarom.
http://www.nutritioninsight.com/news/New-Clinical-Study-Confirms-Green-Oat-Ingredient-Efficacy-on-Cognitive-Performance.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjp-pUWkaMo

US dept buys Israeli burns treatment. The Biomedical Advanced Research & Development Authority (BARDA) – part of the US Department of Health – has awarded a $112 million contract to Israel’s Mediwound. BARDA will use Mediwound’s NexoBrid product in major incidents, to remove dead tissues from medium to severe burns. It will also help Mediwound finance its FDA approval for NexoBrid.
http://jewishbusinessnews.com/2015/09/30/israels-mediwound-signs-112-million-deal-in-u-s-for-burn-treatment/

Cancer therapy project wins International award. A team from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev won the Best Heath and Medicine Project category in the 12th annual Giant Jamboree iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machine) competition in Boston with their cutting-edge biological cancer therapy called “Boomerang.” http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-09/aabu-ct092915.php
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8qtBpE3RDE http://2015.igem.org/Team:BGU_Israel

A digital medicine incubator. IBM, Medtronic, Pitango and Rambam Medical Center have together won a grant from Israel’s Chief Scientist to open a digital medicine incubator at the Life Sciences Park being built in Haifa. The incubator will select companies working in big data, predictive analytics, telemedicine, wearable and implantable diagnostic sensors, advanced diagnostics, personalized medicine and more.
https://www.rambam.org.il/EnglishSite/AboutRambam/Publications/NewsandEvents/Pages/The-Future-of-Global-Digital-Medicine-Will-Be-Determined-in-Haifa.aspx http://www.haifalsp.com/