Prognosis: Grim in the US

41 deaths in 24 hours; 531 serious cases; positive test rate highest since February; 500 at-risk kids age 5-11 vaccinated, with mild or no side effects; new travel rules start

By TOI STAFF       16 August 2021, 11:57 am  

Medics with the Magen David Adom transfer a Coronavirus patient to the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem due to full capacity in other hospitals following a sharp increase in the number of coronavirus infections in Israel, on August 15, 2021. (Menahem KAHANA / AFP)

The number of serious COVID-19 cases in Israel fell slightly overnight amid hopes that the effect of the third vaccine booster given to older Israelis was beginning to be seen. Meanwhile, active cases in the country rose to over 50,000 after standing at around 200 just two months ago.

Health Ministry data showed there were 531 patients in serious condition, a drop of 7 since midnight. Of the seriously ill, 94 were on ventilators. In total, there were 908 people hospitalized with COVID-19.

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The Biden administration is walking a fine line as it tries to balance a promise to the Palestinians to reopen the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem, and a desire to help Israel’s new government maintain political stability

By Jonathan Lis, Ben Samuels HAARETZ   Aug. 16, 2021 7:11 PM

The U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem on Agron Street, which was terminated by former U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018. Credit: Magister / CC-BY-SA-3.0

Three months ago, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced during a visit to Ramallah that the Biden administration will reopen the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem, which for years served as an unofficial American diplomatic mission to the Palestinians, until its termination by the Trump administration in 2018. Now, however, Israeli officials believe the Biden administration may significantly delay the move – and some even hope that the consulate will eventually be relocated farther away from its original location in central Jerusalem.

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By Devvy Kidd, NEWS WITH VIEWS     August 16th, 2021

Another lawsuit to stop forcing college students to take one of those experimental gene editing therapy injections has been killed thanks to Supreme Court Justice Amy Comey Barrett who continues to show what a coward she is:

Justice Amy Barrett denies appeal from Indiana University students fighting COVID-19 vaccine mandate – Barrett denied the request without consulting the full court

Apparently, that darling of the desperate has zero understanding regarding Emergency Use Authorization, federal law and the Nuremberg Codes.
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By Raymond Ibrahim, AM THINKER

This week in history, a large fleet transporting tens of thousands of jihadists across the Sea of Marmara was either drowned in a vicious sea-storm or engulfed in flames from a volcanic eruption.

One year earlier, in August 717, these selfsame jihadists were part of one of the largest (200,000 fighters) and most confident Islamic armies ever to invade and seek to conquer Constantinople, the capital of Eastern Christendom.

Although the caliphs had conquered thousands of square miles of Christian territory — from Syria in the east to Spain in the west — they were discontent; for their prophet, Muhammad, had, in the guise of a “prophecy,” personally called for the conquest of Constantinople, promising paradisiacal rewards beyond imagination (which is saying much) for the one who would accomplish it.
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Haredi manager Eli Bash estimates 8 million shekels of damages: “This was G-d’s will, and no amount of planes or fire fighters could change that.”

Arutz Sheva

Eliyahu Bash, the manager of the Metzuda winery in Givat Ye’arim that went up in flames on Sunday due to the massive blaze – set apparently by arsonists – in the Jerusalem hills, told Galei Tzahal on Monday morning that “the winery is gone. It’s dust and ashes. Nothing is left. Around 150 barrels were burned. Last Thursday, we received a consignment of 30,000 new bottles that we were going to fill yesterday. It happened in the most tragic manner possible,” he said.

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King Abdullah II meets PA chairman, calls for international efforts to enable Palestinian Arabs to establish their independent state.

By Elad Benari, ARUTZ SHEVA

King Abdullah II of Jordan on Sunday underlined the necessity to step up international efforts to achieve a just and comprehensive peace that would enable the Palestinian Arabs to establish their independent state, the Xinhua news agency reports.

Speaking during a meeting with Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas in Amman, the Jordanian leader stressed Jordan’s support on the just and legitimate rights of the Palestinians.

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T. Belman. This article refutes Zelenko.  Goepfert said;

“A 90 percent decrease in risk of infections, and 94 percent effectiveness against hospitalization for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines is fantastic,”

Sounds unreal.  Where does that come from?

by Matt Windsor, UAB NEWS July 06, 2021

Many Americans say they want to “make sure the shot is safe” before getting vaccinated. That data is already in, and it is overwhelming.

In his nearly 30 years studying vaccines, Paul Goepfert, M.D., director of the Alabama Vaccine Research Clinic at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, has never seen any vaccine as effective as the three COVID vaccines — from Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson — currently available in the United States.

“A 90 percent decrease in risk of infections, and 94 percent effectiveness against hospitalization for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines is fantastic,” he said.

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Just societies do not guarantee equal results, only equal opportunities to mess up or succeed. White Privilege? Not for Orthodox Jews. Op-ed.

By Rabbi Prof. Dov Fischer, INN       , Aug 12 , 2021 2:00 PM

Black Lives Matter is a despicable, anti-freedom, anti-Semitic organization that hates America’s core values of equal opportunity, law and justice, and free enterprise. And don’t anyone dare lecture me about race.

My Father died from leukemia when I was barely a boy of fourteen. He imbued many warm and rich values in me. Likewise, my Mother deeply influenced me on several issues. No surprise. One thing I carry from her is that a Black doctor and his family moved into our all-White Brooklyn neighborhood. Soon, the real-estate blockbuster vultures were leaving flyers, and all the Caucasians ran to Long Island — the Italians, the Irish, the Jews, the Poles. It is similar to the way that Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield of “Ben & Jerry’s” and Brooklyn’s Bernie Sanders all fled racially diverse New York for Vermont, which assured them the opportunity to become multi-millionaires amid an apartheid lifestyle in a state that is 97% White.

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T. Belman..  I am quite prepared to accept the use of the third booster for the elderly.  But there is no excuse for not using Invermectin and Hydroxychloroquine as prophylactic and early treatment. People should have the choice.

The Health Ministry’s director-general, Prof. Nachman Ash, says he’s ‘cautiously optimistic’ as the number of COVID patients hits a five-month high

HAARETZ Aug. 15, 2021 9:38 AM

The Health Ministry director-general said Sunday he expects Israel’s pioneering COVID booster shot campaign to stop a rise in serious cases “over the next week”, which have been steadily going up since late July amid the spread of the delta variant, raising concerns the health system may be nearing full capacity.

Meanwhile, according to Health Ministry figures released on Sunday, there are currently 524 patients in serious condition, the highest figure since mid-March. A vast majority of them, the data shows, are not fully vaccinated.

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By Michael Ordman

In the 15th Aug 21 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include: 

• Huge positive results from Israel’s mass anti-Covid vaccination boosters.
• An Israeli startup can predict and prevent allergies in babies.
• Israelis are helping Greece fight its devastating forest fires.
• A new Israeli low-cost drip-irrigation system is a game-changer.
• Two endangered species have found safe harbor in Israeli waters.
• Young Israeli emissaries embark on international missions.

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As China, Russia, Iran and others rise to the occasion, the ascent of the Taliban may signal a post-American world order

By SETH J. FRANTZMAN, JPOST       AUGUST 15, 2021

A US ARMY officer stands near a burning vehicle north of Kandahar, Afghanistan. (photo credit: BOB STRONG / REUTERS)

The US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the rapid advance of the Taliban are not necessarily a simple cause and effect. The US had very few troops in Afghanistan, and they weren’t doing much fighting for years. The Taliban appear to have planned a massive offensive, unlike anything seen in the past, likely with foreign intelligence and other support, after having sent delegations to Russia, China, Iran, Qatar and Pakistan.

This means that what is happening has unforeseen consequences. There are many unanswered questions. The New York Times claims that “few will gang up on the U.S. for finally stopping a failed enterprise.” But in the longer term, “the notion that you cannot count on the Americans will strike deeper roots because of Afghanistan.’’ This may underpin some European reactions, according to the article. What is more perplexing is that other NATO members, including European countries, also withdrew from Afghanistan and yet, oddly, this doesn’t erode confidence in whether anyone can count on NATO or European countries. The unspoken point may be that no one was counting on NATO or European states anyway, so it was America’s war to lose.

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T. Belman.  Missing from this article is what Egypt’s Al Sisi is advocating.
Egypt’s El-Sisi Boldly Calls For Islamic Reformation

Sisi and an Egyptian intellectual call for change in Islam and relationship with Jews

Also missing is the contribution that Mudar Zahran has made. Mudar for over a decade has been an advocate of reform and he provided for same in his coalition. He plans to re-write Palestinian school books once he gains control of Jordan. Mudar believes, as did Feisel 100 years ago, in cooperation rather than confrontation. He has informed me that our conference on the Jordan Option in 2017 influenced the Abrahamic Accords.

By Dr. James M. Dorsey, BESA         August 13, 2021

A group of schoolchildren from Loydence Academy in Doha attends an Arab Games exhibition at Katara, Doha, image by Vinod Divakaran via Flickr CC

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Education is emerging as a major flashpoint in competing visions of a future Muslim world. Rival concepts being instilled in the next generation are likely to shape what amounts to a battle for the soul of Islam.

Reports published earlier this year by the Israel-based Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-SE) chart a notable divergence in educational approaches across the Muslim world.
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Dr. Scott Jensen With Laura Ingraham The Ridiculous CDC Guidlines

Dr. Scott Jensen speaks out on false Covid death numbers

By Prof. Efraim Karsh, BESA   August 12, 2021

Israeli Arabs attacking cars and a bus in Jerusalem, May 2021, image by IDF via Wikipedia

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The May 2021 riots by the Israeli Arabs, like their October 2000 precursor, were not an act of social protest but a nationalist/Islamist insurrection in support of an external attack. It was not socioeconomic grievances that drove the Israeli Arabs to wreak wanton violence on their Jewish compatriots for the second time in 20 years but the growing radicalization attending the decades-long betterment of their socioeconomic condition.

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