Chit Chat

By Peloni

From now on comments on every post must relate to the content of the post.

Comments that don’t relate to the post must go here.

Any person who contravenes this demand will be put on moderation. Also their offending comment will be trashed.

The reason for this demand is so that people who want to read comments which pertain to the post, don’t have to wade through the chatter.

Everyone will be happier.

April 16, 2020 | 9,209 Comments »

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  1. Michael Lipkin
    Subject: A Response to “A Call for Moral Clarity” – A Plea for Moral Courage

    To the Signatories,

    I read your letter, “A Call for Moral Clarity,” with deep disappointment—and even deeper concern.

    You write about moral clarity, but your message is clouded by false equivalencies, selective outrage, and a dangerous naiveté about the nature of the enemy we face. While cloaking your words in Jewish values, you inadvertently empower a genocidal terrorist regime and undermine Israel’s legitimate right—and obligation—to defend its citizens.

    Let us be clear: Hamas is not a political nuisance. It is a genocidal, Islamist terror organization whose charter openly calls for the destruction of the Jewish people. The October 7th massacre was not a deviation from its aims; it was their fulfillment.

    You speak of “Gaza’s civilian population” as if they are a separate entity from Hamas. But Hamas is not merely a fringe group operating in the shadows—it is the elected leadership of Gaza, supported, sheltered, and enabled by large segments of the population for over 17 years. There is no clean line between “civilian” and “combatant” in a society where terror tunnels begin in homes, rocket launchers are hidden in schools, and hostages are guarded in hospitals.

    To suggest that Israel is perpetrating mass starvation—parroting claims made by Hamas and its sympathizers—is not only factually untrue, it is morally reckless. Israel has allowed thousands of aid trucks into Gaza, often under fire, even as Hamas steals supplies and attacks the very convoys meant to help civilians. To blame Israel for the resulting humanitarian crisis is to reward Hamas’s tactics and further endanger innocent lives on both sides.

    Your selective application of Jewish values is startling. You cite verses about justice and compassion while ignoring the most basic moral imperative: to protect innocent life from evil. Where is your condemnation of Hamas’s ongoing rocket fire? Of the use of civilians as human shields? Of the refusal to release Israeli hostages, including women, children, and the elderly?

    Had your approach been applied in World War II, it would have called for “restraint” while Nazis bombed London or demanded “humanitarian corridors” for Germans during the siege of Berlin. Would you have signed that letter too?

    This is not the time for feel-good platitudes or ivory tower sermons. This is a time for moral courage, not moral confusion.

    You write that “the future of Israel depends not only on its military strength, but on its moral clarity.” I agree.

    But moral clarity begins with the recognition that there is a profound difference between a democratic state defending itself and a terrorist group that slaughters civilians and uses its own population as fodder.

    You claim to speak in the name of Torah. But Torah also commands us to “not stand idly by the blood of your brother” and to “remember what Amalek did to you.” Judaism does not demand suicidal compassion. It demands justice, truth, and the defense of life.

    If you truly wish to prevent suffering, demand Hamas’s surrender. Demand they release the hostages. Demand they stop embedding their terror infrastructure inside civilian populations.

    Until then, spare us the sermons.

    Nadia Matar

  2. “Desecrating the Six Million: The rehabilitation of a Nazi Collaborator
    Pope Pius XII, the wartime pope who signed Hitler’s first international treaty, remained silent while the Jews of Europe were gassed, and presided over a Church that refused to return Jewish children to their surviving families after the Holocaust, has been whitewashed by the Daily Wire. Why? Opinion.
    Rabbi Shmuley Boteach

    https://www.israelnationalnews.com/

  3. A rare 2,200-year-old gold coin has been discovered in an excavation at the Givati Parking Lot in the City of David, Jerusalem. The quarter-drachma, made of 99.3% pure gold, bears the portrait of Queen Berenice II, wife of Ptolemy III, and dates to 412–246 BCE. This is the first coin of its kind ever uncovered in an archaeological excavation, and only about 20 such coins are known worldwide. Its Greek inscription, “of Queen Berenice,” is especially rare, as it presents the queen not merely as consort but possibly as a ruler in her own right.

    According to researchers, the coin was likely minted in Alexandria, possibly as a grant to soldiers in the Third Syrian War. Its discovery in Jerusalem provides fresh insight into the city’s significance under Ptolemaic rule. Contrary to the long-held view that post-destruction Jerusalem was a small, impoverished town, this find, along with other mid-3rd century BCE remains, reveals a city undergoing recovery and reintegration into the political, cultural, and economic centers of the period.

    Picture credit: Israel Antiquities Authority and City of David.

    https://www.facebook.com/share/15pEA8pwBw/?mibextid=wwXIfr

    Howard Fast wrote a historical novel about her, “Agrippa’s Daughter”

    “of Israel’s strong and beautiful Queen Berenice, whose life story is one of the ancient world’s greatest romancesThroughout her rule in the first century AD, Queen Berenice is idolized by some, and hated by others. Though her fiery red hair makes her instantly recognizable, it is her mysterious charm and steely will that make her unforgettable. The daughter of Israel’s King Agrippa I, Berenice is determined to free the kingdom of Israel from the shadow of the Roman Empire. But her plans are derailed after her husband, Shimeon, dies during a bloody civil war. When Berenice falls in love with Titus, son of the Roman Emperor, they devise an impossible plan to join the ruling lines of Rome and Israel.A master of gripping historical fiction, Howard Fast brings the ancient world to vivid life in this enthralling, epic drama.This ebook features an illustrated biography of Howard Fast including rare photos from the author’s estate.”

    https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/2449268.Agrippa_s_Daughter

    Assuming it’s the same Queen Berenice. Apparently there were 4.

  4. “‘An alliance of believers’ | Israel reopens embassy in Zambia after 52 years
    After five decades, Israel restores its diplomatic presence in Lusaka, with FM Gideon Sa’ar calling Zambia a key partner and ally rooted in shared faith and values.”

    “…During his remarks, Sa’ar highlighted Zambia’s support for Israel at the International Court of Justice, commending its “moral stance” in standing with Jerusalem against what he described as a distorted international procedure….”

    ‘…The Foreign Minister stressed that the embassy’s reopening will pave the way for practical cooperation. Israel is already engaged in projects in Zambia, including establishing a trauma and emergency unit in a hospital in Livingstone and hosting hundreds of Zambian students in agricultural internships in the Negev. “With our technology, we are making the desert bloom, and we are sharing that knowledge with Zambia,” Sa’ar said, quoting Psalms: “Like streams in the Negev.”

    He further praised Israeli NGOs such as Save a Child’s Heart, Innovation Africa, Tevel B’Tzedek, and CultivAid for their contributions to Zambia.

    Sa’ar expressed gratitude to Israeli Ambassador Ofra Farhi and the Foreign Ministry’s Africa Division for their efforts, promising that the new embassy would deepen ties across multiple fields. “Israel is returning to Zambia, strengthening the alliance of believers between our nations and peoples,” he concluded. “We will strengthen our relations, deepen our partnerships, and work together for a better future.”

    https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/413587

  6. This was terrific. Seems to be unavailable here now along with some of my other favorite Jdramas.

    A story today about the First Lady, Melania Trump’s influence in the Trump/Putin/Zelensky negotiations reminded me of this again. In it, Ken actually influences the outcome of negotiations between warlords through the dishes he prepares.

    Oda Nobunaga was the war lord who unified Japan and then was immediately assassinated and replaced by his trusted lieutenant, who didn’t last long either. This fictitious drama attributes Nobunaga’s rise, in large part to Ken’s
    cooking.

    I saw two other fun variations on the Nobunaga legend at that time. In one, he’s a girl who has to pretend to be a boy, and in another, he’s a 21st century high school student who goes back in time and exchanges places with the real Oda Nobunaga. It was shown here under the original title, the title of the maanga it’s based on, Nobunaga No Chef (A chef of Nobunaga) There is an upcoming Kdrama with a similar premise:

    “AI Overview

    +1
    “The Knife and the Sword” (2013 TV series, also known as “A Chef of Nobunaga”) follows a French chef named Ken who travels back in time to Japan’s Sengoku period. He loses his memory but retains his culinary skills, becoming the personal chef to the powerful daimyo Oda Nobunaga. The series explores Ken’s journey as he navigates this unfamiliar era and uses his cooking to survive and potentially influence historical events.
    Here’s a more detailed breakdown:
    Time Travel and Memory Loss:
    Ken, a French chef from the Heisei period, is transported to the Sengoku period after a time slip, losing most of his memory.
    Culinary Skills as a Weapon:
    Despite his memory loss, Ken’s expertise in French cuisine becomes his key to survival and integration into the new era.
    Meeting Oda Nobunaga:
    Ken encounters and eventually serves as the personal chef to the legendary warlord Oda Nobunaga.
    Navigating the Sengoku Period:
    Ken’s story intertwines with the historical setting, showcasing the challenges and complexities of the Sengoku period, including battles, political intrigue, and cultural differences.
    A Female Blacksmith:
    Ken meets a female blacksmith, Natsu, who is disguised as a man, and they form a connection in this new world. “

  7. Minister Barkat: ‘Emirates plan an excellent alternative to Palestinian state’
    Economy Minister Nir Barkat tells Arutz Sheva the proposal of creating “Emirates” in Judea and Samaria is the best option for all parties in the long run and has the best chance of success.

    This is worth exploring!

  9. At just 18 years old, Ariel Elkin from Haifa, in northern Israel, is proudly representing Israel in international motorsport. He has already claimed titles in prestigious competitions, including the USF Juniors, the United States and Italian Formula 4 Championships, as well as the World and European Karting Championships. Most recently, he was crowned Vice Champion of the United States in the F3-level series.

    We wish him continued success and are confident he will keep bringing pride to Israel and the Jewish people worldwide. Mazel tov, champion!

    Standwith us via Ardie Geldman on FB

    https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1F6GuDVM64/?mibextid=wwXIfr

  15. JULY 30, 2025
    BBC PORTRAYS TERRORIST AS “PRO-PALESTINIAN CONVICT” AND “TEACHER”
    Georges Abdallah founded a Marxist terror group that murdered diplomats, bombed cafes, and worked with Hezbollah. In 1987 he was convicted for aiding the assassination of a US and Israeli diplomat in France. Yet the BBC refers to him merely as a “Pro-Palestinian convict.”

    https://www.camera.org/article/bbc-portrays-terrorist-as-pro-palestinian-convict-and-teacher/

    And France just freed him! That’s why we need the death penalty.

  16. Reports of a partial deal with Hamas are being raised again. Also, perhaps unrelated, Bibi has announced that he will be holding a press conference this evening without explaining more.

  17. Israeli women stun France (defending champions) to reach U20 European quarterfinals! Congratulations!

    – Ardie Geldman repost from FB group, “Jewish Lives Matter”

    Basketball

  20. Trump is calling on Arab states to join Abraham Accords in the wake of the decimation of Iran’s nuclear program.

    ‘Now that the nuclear arsenal being “created” by Iran has been totally OBLITERATED, it is very important to me that all Middle Eastern Countries join the Abraham Accords. This will insure PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST. Thank you for your attention to this matter!’

  22. “But your deal with [New York City mayor] uses budget tricks to keep as many cops as possible on the beat. NO to fake cuts – defund the police,” he posted on June 28, 2020.”

    https://www.foxnews.com/politics/adams-asks-where-was-mamdani-previous-nypd-funerals

    And the only NYPD funeral he attended was that of a Muslim officer whose last name was Islam.

    New Yorkers are being asked to choose between a mayor who will make it so they can’t afford to stay in their apartments and one who will make it so they can’t afford to leave them., literally, just to go outside,

  24. Adams is also running on a second fight antisemitism line,for which Sliwa has mocked him. Sliwa said there is no point in making an issue of Mamdani’s antisemitism because his voters don’t have a problem with it and he’s counting on South Asian Muslim voters with conservative values who might have supported Trump. because of that. Not comforting. His sneering tone makes it even less so. He boasts that his Guardian Angels guarded Lubavitcher Headquarters during the Crown Heights Pogrom but where were they when a lynch mob chased Yankel Rosenbaum down the street, shouting, “There’s a Jew,get him” before stabbing him to death. A Jewish Marxist ex-comrade I had looked up to said it was the hospital’s faullt for not catching all the wounds and drew a false equivalence between this lynching and the traffic accident that precipitated it. at the time. a watershed moment in my gradual disillusionment. Apropos of nothing, my late mother was from Crown Heights, though I grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and I’ve lived on the Isle of Manhattan, where I was born, for all of the 65 going on 66 years of my life.

    I recently quipped upon being queried as to my origins, “I’m a fourth generation New Yorker, though both of my parents were foreigners, my father from Hungary, and my mother from Brooklyn.” 😀

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/View_of_the_World_from_9th_Avenue

    “Propeller Island (French: L’Île à hélice) (also published as The Floating Island, or The Pearl of the Pacific, and as The Self-Propelled Island) is a science fiction novel by French author Jules Verne (1828–1905). It was first published in 1895 as part of the Voyages Extraordinaires. It relates the adventures of a French string quartet in Milliard City, a city on a massive ship in the Pacific Ocean, inhabited entirely by millionaires.

    Contents
    Plot
    edit

    A French string quartet (Sébastien Zorn, Frascolin, Yvernes and Pinchinat), traveling from San Francisco to their next engagement in San Diego, is diverted to Standard Island.
    There is also a comic interlude when they arrive at night and are being ignored after playing good music. So they intentionally play out of tune, getting an immediate response.
    Standard Island is an immense man-made island designed to travel the waters of the Pacific Ocean. The wealth of residents of the island can only be measured in millions. The quartet is hired to play a number of concerts for the residents during their tour of the islands (Sandwich, Cook, Society) of the South Pacific.
    The island seems an idyllic paradise; however, it is an island pulled between two factions. The left half’s population is led by Jem Tankerdon and is known as the Larboardites. The right half’s population is led by Nat Coverley and is known as the Starboardites.
    The company that created the island goes bankrupt, but the rich individuals on board buy it out. And initially they continue to accept the leadership of the man appointed by the company.
    Various obstacles encountered on their journey, But things get serious when the original commander is killed, and the two faction leaders each want to succeed. They try to coopt a former king as a compromise candidate, but he refuses. This threatens the future of the island itself….”

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propeller_Island

    My late parents, both of whom had started out in life as professional classical musicians, had an early edition of the illustrated and abridged original American edition, entitled, “The Floating Island or the Pearl of the Pacific” in their library when I was growing up, which I now own.

  25. Fetterman, Maher and the split in the Dem party – Jonathan Turley

    https://youtu.be/L6bxDm__aXQ?si=xnUY6obnnr75CFRZ

    He’s right about tariffs and many other issues, and certainly the Woke, cultural Marxist oppress the “oppressor” ideology leading to support for anti-semitic and anti-American terrorists but all of Mamdani’s opponents want to undermine existing safety net protections for millions of rent stabilized tenants. This is unprecedented since the days of Mayor Koch. They are asking New Yorkers to vote against their pocketbooks. Even Cuomo wants to scale back tenant protections he signed into law around major capital improvements. Sliwa call Adams Trump’s puppet and criticizes cuts to Medicaid which the Mayor has nothing to do with. It’s a mess. All the candidates are horrible. I think many people will stay home.

    Incidentally, Daniel Greenfield in a paywall article, criticized former illegal alien champion of illegal aliens, Adriano Espaillat which is legitimate but it should be noted that Espaillat and Richie Torres, though Progressives, are among the lone voices among the Dems defending Israel (though Torres condemned Ben Gvir and posed in a photo with reps of an Islamist mosque in his district and got defensive about it when challenged and like all the pro-Israel Dems, still chant the TSS mantra at some point.) I voted for Espaillat when he was in the State Assembly because he was very pro-tenant. He represented my district.

    Adams isn’t very good either but he’s a known quantity and the others really scare me. I don’t trust them. I may wind up voting for him, anyway. Also, Adams really takes a stand against antisemitism and issued an executive order that the city abides by the IHRA definition of antisemitism, created a joint New York/Israel economic investment dept and one to combat antisemitism. Really important role model/influencer in a city where before the current madness, most of the attacks on Jews have been by African-Americans. I’m not forgetting Sliwa’s 2018 antisemitic rant, either. I don’t put much store in apologies by ambitious people seeking power.

  26. and what the hell is a Jewish sacred text created in Spain doing in the hands of Muslims, Bosnian Muslims, yet. Outrageous! One more shameful legacy of Islamic colonialism and imperialism no one will talk about!

  27. The General manager of, BR Klassik , The Metropolitan Opera, which staged the antisemitic opera by John Adams with a libretto by Alice Goodman, “The Death of Klinghofer” in 2014, under artistic director, Peter Gelb, who is also staging this which I and many other Jews protested out front, and who cancelled all the perfprmances of Russian soprano, Anna Netrebko, and bans her for life, she is suing, has commissioned a Ukrainian nationalist opera.

    https://jewishcurrents.org/klinghoffer-opera-much-worse-think

    https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/death-of-klinghoffer-protest-nyc

    https://slippedisc.com/2025/08/peter-gelb-ill-stage-a-ukraine-opera-at-the-met/

    the new McCarthyism

    https://slippedisc.com/2025/07/peter-gelb-i-wont-pay-netrebko-a-penny/

  28. “The National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo is dishonoring itself and disrespecting Jews by politicizing the Sarajevo Haggadah, a mid-14th-century illuminated manuscript created in northern Spain that is among the most noted illustrated Jewish books in history, the American Jewish Committee stated.
    The museum said on Aug. 1 that it decided “to donate the income from the sale of the publication Sarajevo Haggadah: Art and History, as well as the income from tickets to see the Sarajevo Haggadah, for helping Palestine.”

    https://www.jns.org/bosnian-museum-marring-politicizing-noted-jewish-manuscript-ajc-says/
    AJC says Bosnian museum politicizing noted Jewish medieval manuscript – JNS.org

    In a 2008 article “Revising Nazism,” historian and Balkan expert Carl Savich writes of the Bosnian Muslim government’s attempt to reestablish the Nazi SS Handzar Division in 1993. Savich reported the early planning for the Muslim unit: “The Bosnian Muslim faction had threatened to reform and to recreate the Handzar Nazi SS Division. In October, 1991, the Bosnian Muslim magazine Novi Vox in Sarajevo, in issue no. 3, well over half a year before the civil war broke out in 1992, published a front-cover illustration showing a Bosnian Muslim Nazi SS officer in the Handzar Division stepping on the decapitated and bloody heads of Serbian leaders, including Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic. The caption read: ‘The Handzar Division is ready!’ Another headline announced: ‘The Fourth Reich is coming—Welcome!’ This revival of Bosnia’s Nazi and SS genocidal past was censored, suppressed, and covered-up in the U.S. and the Western media. But the Bosnian Serb population got the message very clearly.”

    https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/nazi-ss-handar-division/

    Which the Grand Mufti, Haj Amin Al Husseini, the founder of the “pal” nationalist movement, an honorary general in the SS, and close associate of Himmler, founded and recruited for.

    And they lie and say the pals bear no responsibility for the Holocaust.

  29. The General manager of, BR Klassik , The Metropolitan Opera, which staged the antisemitic opera by John Adams with a libretto by Alice Goodman, “The Death of Klinghofer” in 2014, under artistic director, Peter Gelb, who is also staging this which I and many other Jews protested out front, and who cancelled all the perfprmances of Russian soprano, Anna Netrebko, and bans her for life, she is suing, has commissioned a Ukrainian nationalist opera.

    https://slippedisc.com/2025/08/peter-gelb-ill-stage-a-ukraine-opera-at-the-met/

    https://jewishcurrents.org/klinghoffer-opera-much-worse-think

    https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/death-of-klinghoffer-protest-nyc

    https://slippedisc.com/2025/08/peter-gelb-ill-stage-a-ukraine-opera-at-the-met/

    the new McCarthyism

    https://slippedisc.com/2025/04/why-bringing-back-anna-netrebko-is-bad-for-the-soul/

    https://slippedisc.com/2025/07/peter-gelb-i-wont-pay-netrebko-a-penny/

  32. Trump and his political allies are driving the capitalist world into a state of frenzy

    1. Emerging from (but still very dangerous) COVID-19 plague Trump is an anti science Denier

    2. As the effects of Global Warming are a confrontation to the people of the world, effects of Global Warming getting more dangerous year on year, people can see Trump acts like a pathetic little boy in his denial of science. The people of the world are filled with desperation.

    3. The Trump tariffs is warfare on humanity

    4. Trump hammering home this point sacks the messenger (a statistics lady who brought the message to America) that many are ending trade with America – adding even more consternation into the American people

    5. The Nuclear War threat by all evidence in front of the people must face it has not gone away. And Trump is always acting like a spoiled tempestuous child…and this more and more with the pride of the Russian people. Latest Trump tramps in with hob nail boots and directs 2 NUCLEAR ARMED submarines into Russia area. Adding to deep fear in the whole world thinking that the nuclear Armageddon really could happen

    Conclusion to draw from this and more to come…for a big section of human history, when panic is caused, the Jews are the inevitable scapegoat. Open your eyes. This is Gaza today which is the gateway to Nazism. Of course you will find flunkies, also among Jews, who deny the above facts written in Jewish history so let them refute the above. Do not allow any attempts to divert from reality.

    • @fquigley
      I will only address the issue of the nuclear subs in this response to your multi-layered comment.

      I think it is important for nuclear powers to treat each other as though they have the power to destroy the world, because they do. Noting this, Medvedev’s comments, while only words, were of a nature that should not be employed by diplomats, even in the height of anger, particularly not between diplomats of nuclear armed nations. While I think it is important that the US and Russia align with one another against the threat from China, it is equally important that these two nations rediscover the art of diplomacy, and in doing so, Medvedev has a great deal to learn if he is to not wear a permanent gag about his head. While he plays to the radical elements in his own population, openly doing so presents complications which should be eschewed by wiser men than Medvedev.

      Trump is not Biden, and Medvedev is not Putin, which is why Trump sent a pair of nuclear subs as a response to Putin’s flunky flaunting his impotence as if it was something which might gain more than a threatening reply. If Medvedev’s comments carried the weight of Putin’s authority, it should have come from Putin himself. Employing lesser men to abuse their unequaled opposites, such as took place when Medvedev openly threatened the American president, was a diplomatic faux paus which I suspect will not soon be repeated. So hopefully this was a lesson which the Russians will take to heart, and the Americans as well. Diplomacy, rather than sabre rattling, is what is needed to bring a sustainable peace between these nations, but we will see if either side learned anything from this exchange of threats between Putin’s lackey and the American president.

      Both the US and Russia should take care to be bold enough to end the mounting rhetoric of war before more than words are found flying back and forth between these two great nations, which would both be better set to find common ground on which to end the war in Ukraine.

      • @Peloni Was it Texas who posted the 10 commandments in court rooms? How about posting these 16 Commandments for international diplomats in the rooms where they negotiate and vote? 😀

        1. Share everything.
        2. Play fair.
        3. Don’t hit people.
        4. Put things back where you found them.
        5. Clean up your own mess.
        6. Don’t take things that aren’t yours.
        7. Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.
        8. Wash your hands before you eat.
        9. Flush.
        10. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
        11. Live a balanced life — learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
        12. Take a nap every afternoon.
        13. When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.
        14. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
        15. Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup — they all die. So do we.
        16. And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned — the biggest word of all — LOOK.

        Maybe they’d laugh, at least, and chill a bit?

        – “All I ever really needed to know I learned in Kindergarden.” – (1986) by Robert Fulghum

      • Hi, Peloni (and Quigley). I came across this on Wikipedia, while researching light noble gases:

        Global neon prices jumped by about 600% after the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea,[49] spurring some chip manufacturers to start shifting away from Russian and Ukrainian suppliers[50] and toward suppliers in China.[48] The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine also shut down two companies in Ukraine that produced about half of the global supply: Cryoin Engineering (Ukrainian: ?????? ??????????) and Inhaz (Ukrainian: ?????), located in Odesa and Mariupol, respectively.[49] The closure was predicted to exacerbate the COVID-19 chip shortage,[48][47] which may further shift neon production to China.[50]

        Notice how moves by Russia are intimately connected with these incredible strategic materials shortages. In the present shortage, we are talking about one of themost abundant element in the universe (ranked fifth by weight, surpassed only by hydrogen, helium, oxygen and carbon). I don’t blame President Trump for being pissed as Hell with Putin and his club.

        It seems that the Arabs, the Nazis and the Russians all share in common an interest in Israel’s most solemn fast days. This isn’t coincidence, and this isn’t magic. It’s raw evil.

        • @Michael
          Noble Gases…No one has spoken to me about Noble gases in a very very long time.

          In any event, you seem to think that the consequences of Russia’s move into the Crimea, which was preceded by the US coup in Ukraine, literally by hours, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, were both orchestrated to increase the price of Neon…Do I have that right?

          How are either of these events related to Trump’s situation with Putin today, even if these events of 2014 and 2022 were not actually due to the US sanctions war on Russia causing the shift of production to China, which I would likely bet is very likely the real cause for this shift.

      • Wild divergence. This one includes a head to head matchup between Sliwa and Mamdani. I think these polls may be as unreliable as the channel 12 polls that Arutz Sheva keeps using for some reason in speculating about potential Israeli elections.

        “AI Overview

        +4
        Recent polls show a mixed picture for the New York City mayoral race between Zohran Mamdani and Curtis Sliwa.
        Some polls suggest a competitive race:
        A poll by HarrisX found Mamdani (26%), Andrew Cuomo (23%), and Sliwa (22%) in a statistical dead heat in a four-way race including Eric Adams.
        The same poll showed Sliwa closing in a three-way race without Adams, with Cuomo (31%), Mamdani (29%), and Sliwa (28%) essentially tied.
        Other polls indicate Mamdani as the frontrunner:
        A poll from Zenith Research/Public Progress Solutions indicated Mamdani with 50% of the vote, followed by Cuomo at 22%, and Sliwa at 13%.
        A WICK poll showed Mamdani leading in a four-way race with 39% support, with Cuomo at 21%, and Sliwa at 18%.
        YouGov polling indicated that 24% of Americans would vote for Mamdani if the mayoral election were held today, which is as many as would vote for Cuomo (9%), Adams (8%), and Sliwa (7%) combined.
        Mamdani appears to have a lead in head-to-head matchups against Sliwa:
        A WICK poll found Mamdani leading Sliwa in a one-on-one race with 53% of the vote to Sliwa’s 35%.
        A HarrisX poll found Mamdani leading Sliwa by 10 points in a three-way race without Cuomo.
        Note: Polls vary and should be interpreted cautiously. Different methodologies and demographics surveyed can lead to different results”

        • @Sebastien
          I think polling in the US is undermined by the reality that national elections are rigged, and the rigged results are covered as being normal by many of the same media groups which seem to press a given poll as being substantive. Until transparency and accountability is provided for the election night counts which visibly go up and down as the votes are counted, when additions to the counting should only see the numbers going up, skepticism should argue that the elections themselves are likely deserving of as much caution as the polling…

  38. “Big win for Israel! Leonardo DiCaprio is investing in a $100 million luxury hotel in Herzliya, right on the beautiful Israeli coast. The eco-friendly resort will have 365 rooms and a massive wellness center, making Israel a new hot spot for global luxury and sustainability.

    It’s not just tourism, it’s a vote of confidence in Israel’s future. Thank you, Leo, for believing in the Start-Up Nation!”

    – Reposted from “Creative Community for Peace – CCCP” by FB group, “Jewish People- Max Tsio”, and popped up in my newsfeed.

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/966969911014023/permalink/1438628953848114/?

    I googled (typed in the address bar and hit enter), sans quotes: Di Caprio Israel AI overview

    “AI Overview

    +8
    Leonardo DiCaprio and his connection to Israel: a summary
    Leonardo DiCaprio, a well-known actor and environmentalist, has recently faced scrutiny for his investments in Israel, particularly a luxury hotel project in the Herzliya Marina near Tel Aviv. This investment, which reportedly gives him a 10% stake, is part of a larger project co-financed with The Hagag Group and Israeli businessmen Ahikam and Lior Cohen. The hotel, described as an eco-certified resort, is set to include 14 floors and 365 rooms, among other amenities.
    The timing of this investment and the subsequent approval for construction have drawn criticism, especially in light of the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict. Critics have accused DiCaprio of “profiting from apartheid during a genocide” and engaging in “performative activism”. Some also argue that his involvement legitimizes the Israeli occupation and undermines his public image as a UN Messenger for Peace and environmental advocate.
    It’s important to note that DiCaprio has not publicly commented on the criticism. However, this isn’t his first venture in Israel; he’s previously invested in a social media company and a cultivated meat startup there.
    Overall, the connection between Leonardo DiCaprio and Israel primarily revolves around his business investments, which, while not direct political statements, have sparked controversy and fueled discussions about celebrity responsibility and the intersection of business interests with global conflicts.”

    –
    l’esprit d’escalier: i could also have posted this under an article about the fake environmentalist, but genuine leftist antisemite, Greta Thunberg.

  40. Why America’s radical left excuses violence against Jews – Jeffrrey Herf on the Tikvah Project

    https://youtu.be/m0lxkUO4KNQ?si=5OC7rYFVhTOwOvi5

    paraphrasing: “Linguistic magic – Israel is associated with “Imperialism” and so anything anyone does – no matter how reactionary and abhorent – to fight this “imperialism” is good and if there are horrific terrorist attacks against Israel, atrocities targeting civilians, Israelis, and by extension, all Israelis and all Jews, must have done something to deserve it,.” around 9 minutes 20 seconds and

    “If Republicans and Democrats are all the same and the system can’t be changed peacefully, then revolution is the answer. ”

    Bingo. That’s the reasoning. Yes. As I started to become disillusioned on issue after issue, one issue at a time, in the ’90s, I had more than one Marxist friend angrily ask me, “Do you judge people by what they say?”

    Yes, exactly. Very insightul so far. Only just started listening to it.

    “I might add that the “silence is complicity argument” has been used by the radical left to justify atrocities against civilians, starting with the plane hijackings, which the pals were the first to do and which the radical left celebrated 60 years ago.

    Starts out by listing some of the recent high profile murders connected to the “Free Palestine” movement in the U.S.

    This is a must-listen podcast. It’s not just repeating what everybody else is saying. Gadi Saad’s interviews are also really insightul looks into the psychology here.

    Satirical clip from “Moon over Parador” (1988)

    “Free and Fair Elections: The illusion of Choice.” Read the poster’s explanatory comment. This is how it starts.

    https://youtu.be/e7E9SS-X4YY?si=PymOPF6oKlPEqhdo

  44. Sebastien Zorn

    “Your unconscious antisemitism is showing, Felix.”

    If you are not removed from writing on this site then I do not see how I can maintain my honour and remain writing on the same platform as such a person.

    To anyone who has watched my struggles here I thank you.

    • @Felix You sure you’re not really a Stalinist? You sure sound like one and your totalitarian ravings really support my contention that Trotsky would have done no differently than Stalin if he had been the one to come out on top 😀 But I’m not offended. I know a lot of octegenarian crazies like you around here. NYC is Messhugge Central. I should know. I was once one of you. I didn’t know any better. Neither do you, unfortunately. less excuse now.

      “80th Anniversary October Revolution”

      https://vimeo.com/513189488?share=copy

  45. Sebastien Zorn

    You are becoming unhinged as here

    “Soin your mind, even Jews who are Marxists are really just Jews in the end? Your unconscious antisemitism is showing, Felix.”

    You have gone completely off your rocker. Who would have thunk it!!!

    I refute you completely. And throw your wild unfounded charges back in your face.

    The only truth here is historical. The Jews in Ukraine and other areas were beset by the worst Pogromists to date

    This was the chain which led to the Holocaust well under 20 years later.

    Lenin and Trotsky came to their aid, fought jointly alongside the Jews, and defeated the Pogromists, and those Pogroms were backed from the Ukrainian government

    This is a warning from me to all of you…you cannot possibly win any battle now or in the future with the poisonous “Zorn” in your midst.

    Is there any hope? Only if you understand historically the true meaning of the October Revolution.

    We need clarity as trump is being unleashed onto the world. He could well cause world war.

  46. Sebastien Zorn

    You have written nothing on Peter Beinart a person who continually slanders the Jews.

    You have written very much here on israpundit attacking Leon Trotsky who I support.

    I admire the position that Trotsky took in support of the Jewish people in 1938 as the Holocaust was about to be sprung on them. His was a position of complete support of the Jews. That should be made known not attacked by silence or distortion. Charlie Kirk would fall into that bracket.

    The Monty Python sketch… Only ignorant and reactionary people find that amusing

    Note it puts Lenin and Marx together with a Stalinist Chinese leadership which had come to power in China through Stalinism by killing the Trotskyists and was the Antithesis of Marx and Lenin

    So you are spreading confusion, that is lies.

    All questions still today centre on the Russian Revolution. The working class did seize state power

    There had been a long history of Antisemitism in the whole of the world. They opposed it down the line. So did James Connolly in Ireland until the British executed him.

    The left of today is something very opposed to the politics of Marxism and I am based on those principles.

    And that history has to be acknowledged by Jewish people.

    In dealing with that history I am always exactly on track…to use your term

    The most vital point in this history of Marxism was when Jews and Marxists came together to overcome the Pogromists in the Civil War period. The role of Leon Trotsky must be acknowledged and that they are historical events of great significance.

    Getting history correct is important. And silence is also lying.

    • @Felix

      “You have written nothing on Peter Beinart a person who continually slanders the Jews.”

      But, I just did and that’s your response? How’s your reading comprehension?

      Moreover, it’s not just that he has Bibi Derangement Syndrome but he calls for the destruction of Israel. That’s what he means by a one state solution though he undoubtedly fantasizes that Israel is like Apartheid South Africa and that this would just mean a peaceful transition to one man one vote which, as we know, only happened in the beginning, in any case in South Africa, which is ethnically cleansing whites, really Afrikaners, as we speak, today. What he advocates is objectively genocide against Israel’s Jewish population.

      • The problem with Sebastien is his very thin skin and with it a continuous distortion mechanism

        I was crystal clear. I counterposed these two things

        1. Attacking the Russian Revolution at full pelt

        2. YOUR silence on Beinart

        Both those go TOGETHER

        I will write to Peloni on this issue

    • @Felix

      “silence is also lying.”

      That’s an absurd statement and patently untrue. It is not necessary or even possible to comment on everything under the sun and what you think is important in retrospect is not necessarily so, objectively.

      It’s also hypocrisy because I have posted here many accounts of how unsuccessful the Bolsheviks were in combating antisemitism even in their own ranks and how quickly antisemitic the Bolshevik state became. Moreover, they only fought racial antisemitism. They ruthlessly crushed Zionism, Bundism, and Judaism, early on, and later went after Jewish Communists as well, which was easy enough because every one with a Jewish father had “Jewish” stamped on their internal passports just like under the tsars. As with every previous tyranny, policies towards Jews fluctuated between tolerance and persecution. To the very end of the Soviet Union, people with Jewish background were discriminated against. And you have never addressed any of it and they wouldn’t let them leave until the U.S. pressured them. If that’s U.S. imperialism then let’s hear it for U.S. imperialism, thank you very much. Really, all that’s left is to make fun of you until you come to your senses and get back on track with why we are here. You are the one with the problem and the problem is you. Straighten up, mister. 😀

      • Stalinism is the Thermidor

        Caused by circumstances

        We can understand that process

        Such was his standing the horror couldn’t expel Trotsky until 1929

        FOR 12 FULL YEARS

        A telling fact if you consider reality and study it

        • @Felix That sounds so cool, say it some more. My A/C went kaput.

          “AI Overview

          +10
          Thermador temperature settings vary by appliance and feature, with recommended refrigerator temperatures typically around 37°F, freezers at 0°F, and specific modes for under-counter drawers like “Bar,” “Fridge,” and “Pantry” modes that can be activated to adjust cooling…

          Aaahhhh. 😀

    • @fquigley

      Charlie Kirk would fall into that bracket.

      Charlie Kirk was among those who was warning Trump not to remove the mullahs from power, warning that the war with Iran was Israel’s war, and that not even the Romans could defeat the Persians.

      He also retweeted Candace Owens after her initial Pro Hamas statement suggesting that Israel was conducting a genocide in Gaza.

      Something to keep in mind.

    • @Felix Are you trying to associate me with anti-Israel, terrorist sympathizing propagandist Peter Beinart? Yes, He’s Jewish. I just looked him up on Wikipedia. It said he’s an observant Orthodox Jew in Manhattan. Sad to say, in Manhattan, anything’s possible, people are so out to lunch, like the 8 gullible rabbis who got arrested for protesting the non-existent starvation in Gaza at the same time as this latest terrorist shooting in front of
      the Israeli consulate. Are you doxing me, in your latest irrelevant non sequitur, Felix, if that is your name, you Trotskyite clown? 😀

      FYI and not for the first time:

      Sebastien Zorn is the name of a fictional cellist in Jules Verne’s 1895 Science fiction novel about the adventures of a French String Quartet.

      “Propeller Island.” See Wikipedia.

      My real name – incidentally – is as Irish as yours is. My Hungarian Jewish Shoah Survivor father and my American Jewish mother who had a similarly generic “English” name, thought it sounded generically American and that you couldn’t make a nick name out of it. . 😀 😀

      I’m not as paranoid as I was when I started commenting many years ago, though there’s still plenty to be paranoid about, or hadn’t you noticed, but I like Sebastien better, in any case.

      “NYC rabbis arrested while protesting hunger in Gaza”

      https://gothamist.com/news/nyc-rabbis-arrested-while-protesting-hunger-in-gaza

      It’s a liberal rag like with articles like JTA that popped up in my newsfeed today. Algorithms do have their uses.

      We have to know how the opposition actually thinks or we are just weaving straw man arguments in a self-enclosed echo chamber like the one most of them inhabit.

      Get back on track, Felix, will you?

        • “…Beinart was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His parents were Jewish immigrants from South Africa. His maternal grandfather was from Russia, and his maternal grandmother, who was Sephardic, was from Egypt.[5][6][7] His father’s parents were from Lithuania…

          …Beinart’s third book Is The Crisis of Zionism (2012). It describes his views on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Particularly, Beinart contends that policies advocated by Zionists, especially under Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud government, are increasingly at odds with liberal ideals.[35]
          Beinart has argued that “a Jewish and democratic state—is in reality a contradiction” and supports a one-state solution.[36][37][38]
          Beinart’s fourth book, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning, was released in January 2025.[39] In it, he argues that “Jewish texts, history, and language have been deployed to justify mass slaughter and starvation” in Gaza.[40]
          Personal life

          As of 2012, Beinart lives in New York City.[12] He keeps kosher,[5] regularly attends an Orthodox synagogue, and has sent his children to a Jewish day school.”

          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Beinart

  49. There hasbeen a major terrorist attack in New York City at 51 Park Avenue, NY , apparaently at the Blackstone and Black Rock Headquarters, But getting accurate information about what’s going on. Only Tousi TV seems to have reasonably accurate and up=to date information. Tousi says at least four dead and ten+ shot. All other channels give drastically lower casualties. The shooter seems to be a Palestinian militant, but the only source for this seems to be a woman who says she was an eye-witness, speaking to a reporter. However, police dis arrest two other individuals near the scene who were wearing “Free Palestine” T-shirts. One of them said to a reporter as he was being placed in custody by the police, “I am not the shooter.”

    Peloni and everyone else, can you direct me to a site that may have accurate, up-to date information? All of the MSN sites in the US and England are giving drastically out of date and misleading information. I know there are web sites that give more accurate and up=to=date information about terrorism, but I don’t know what the are or what the ir URLs are. PLease help. I live only about 60 miles north of Manhattan.

    • @Adam
      Latest report I read was 5 dead, 6 wounded, at least one policeman among both the dead and the wounded. One gunman and he is dead, likely self inflicted mortal wound. Twitter is the best source of real time news. I’ll start a thread shortly.