Opuscula S T U P I D ! Israel government Gives, gets nothing

Allows Qatar to fund Hamas for a SIX MONTH ceasefire

Israel and Hamas are reportedly close to agreeing to a medium-term cease-fire that will include the transfer of $100 million in Qatari funds to the Palestinian terrorist group in the Gaza Strip.

 

According to I24 news (https://tinyurl.com/y6ej46z5)
Israel and Hamas are reportedly close to agreeing to a medium-term cease-fire that will include the transfer of $100 million in Qatari funds to the Palestinian terrorist group in the Gaza Strip. According to media, the coronavirus pandemic has put severe economic pressure on Hamas, which is therefore seeking financial assistance in exchange for a six-month truce.

Mossad chief Yossi Cohen (right, shown with Obama advisor Susan Rice) apparently is spearheading the indirect negotiations via Qatari intermediaries.

The matter of filling Hamas’ coffers has become somewhat contentious in Israel, given that the terror organization has for over five years been holding captive two Israeli civilians with psychological conditions who crossed into Gaza on their own accord. Hamas similarly has refused to return to Israel the remains of two soldiers who were killed in the Palestinian enclave during the 2014 war.

Israel needs a Gen. Geo. Patton

Patton never would allow his sworn enemy a six-month truce to rearm.

That’s STUPID. Patton was well known for saying that he thought.

Worse, this is hardly the first time Israel’s government has stupidly — “foolishly” is too kind a word — agreed to a temporary ceasefire that allowed Hamas (and Islamic Jihad) to rearm.

The results of a ceasefire with the despots of Gaza? More Israeli casualties and fatalities.

This is the Euro-Jew mentality.

This is the mentality of someone (or a government) that is crazy, at least if the definition of “crazy” is doing the exact same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome.

NOW IS THE TIME TO PUT AN END TO HAMAS AND ISLAMIC JIHAD.

Many of Israel’s Muslim neighbors indicate, with words and actions, that if Israel makes and end to Hamas and Islamic Jihad, these neighbors — while they might not openly applaud as they did on 9-11 (2001) — will not militarily object to Israel removing Hamas and Islamic Jihad from Gaza. (Iran undoubtedly will rattle its rockets and fire a few missiles from the safety of Lebanon and Syria, but so far, Iron Dome has proven capable to protect Israelis.)

QUANDARY. Interim government

Before Israel can eliminate Hamas’ and Islamic Jihad despots, it MUST have a caretaker government ready to fill the void left by the despots’ departure.

At the end of World War 2, the triumphant allies installed Chas. de Gaulle in France and Konrad Adenauer in (West) Germany. Japan was ruled by Gen. Douglas MacArthur, the Supreme Commander for Allied Powers (SCAP), until 1951.

Israel has proven it cannot govern Gaza.

Ariel Sharon forced out Israelis from the strip by 2007. The new owners largely dismantled the Jewish-built agricultural infrastructure, repurposing much of it to use again Israel.

While Israel cannot, should not, attempt to rule Gaza, it should — with assistance primarily from Egypt, but with other Muslim powers — prepare an interim government to rule until the Gazans can install a new government.

Democratic elections may not be in the future for Gaza. There are peoples — the Cubans, for example — that simply cannot function with a democratically-elected government. The U.S. should never force American-style democracy on any people.

Israeli captives in Gaza

I confess to having mixed emotions about the two Israelis Hamas holds in Gaza.

As I24 notes, the “two Israeli civilians with psychological conditions crossed into Gaza on their own accord.”

I have been given to understand that the Red Cross/Red Crescent cannot get information from Hamas regarding the condition of the “illegal immigrants (to Gaza)” — are they receiving treatment for their conditions? Do they WANT to be repatriated to Israel? Is there anyone in Israel to assume responsibility for their care?

It seems to this scrivener that blocking the Qatari funds until Israel has the answer to those questions — AND THE BODIES OF THE ISRAELI SOLDIERS RETURNED — is in order. The answers need to be provided by a truly neutral source; I’m not sure the Red Cross, and certainly not the UN, qualify.

Bottom line

Caving to Hamas and Islamic Jihad and allowing the Qatari money to flow to the despots of Gaza is, as the headline states,

S T U P I D

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Opuscula Asad wants Golan, PLO/PFLP deal, But offers nothing

SYRIAN DICTATOR BASHAR AL-ASSAD SAID THE ONLY WAY HIS COUNTRY WOULD MAKE PEACE with Israel is if Israel gives him the strategic Golan Heights.

PLUS, Israel must cave to its enemies.

Some people never learn.

 

A far better man than Bashar Al-Assad made a peace deal with Israel following which the man — Anwar El Sadat — got back the Sinai (but “stuck” Israel with Gaza). El Sadat and his partner for peace, Menachem Begin, were two old terrorists who had suffered personal losses in the wars between the two countries.

Al-Asad is no El Sadat and there is no one in power in Israel with Begin’s good sense.

January 8th, 1980, after first El Al flight to Egypt
Dan Hadani Archive, National Library of Israel @ https://tinyurl.com/yy87wm2x)

Iranian proxy

Al-Asad is in bed with the Iranians (Persians).

The Iranians continually promise to wipe Israel off the map.

Given the close relation with Iran, it is difficult to see how Israel would give up a militarily strategic position. It cost too many Israeli lives, both civilian — due to Syrian shelling Israeli civilian settlements — and military to claim the heights following Syria’s attacks on Israel.

Unlike a growing number of Muslim-dominated countries, Al-Asad fails to realize there are more economic and other benefits to “normalization of relations” with Israel.

Continuing to demand that Israel cave to the PLO/PFLP and Hamas/Islamic Jihad is a pipe dream. Perhaps if the Democrats recapture the White House in Washington, the U.S. will once again cater to the Palestinians, but if the Republicans prevail, Ramallah can expect less support from the U.S., Europe, and even other Muslim-dominated countries.

Impossible dream

Al-Asad’s problem festers in Ramallah.

It is impossible for Israel to make peace with an enemy that refuses to negotiate.

In the past, leftist (Labor) governments caved to every demand the PLO/PFLP even BEFORE negotiations commenced.

Actually, had the PLO et al agreed to the 1947 partition plan, it would HAVE a state much larger than Israel of 1948.

The PLO/PFLP never kept any agreements with Israel.

Egypt has.

Jordan has.

Both Egypt and Jordan have benefited from the agreements, as has Israel.

The normalization with Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) already is showing signs of benefit to all concerned.

But Al-Asad?

Al-Asad has nothing to offer Israel in return for the Heights.

Israel could have, and still can, take Damascus militarily. That would be foolish and a waste of men, but it could be done. Syria cannot take Jerusalem, even with Fifth Column support.

(The same can be said for Beirut.)

If Al-Asad is serious about reclaiming the Heights, the first things (plural) he should do — but probably cannot and will not even if he could —

Get rid of Hezbollah
Settle the civil war in Syria
Disassociate Syria from Iran
Encourage the PLO/PFLP and Hamas/Islamist Jihad to (a) stop attacking Israel and (b) seriously negotiate with Israel before it looses everything.

Al-Asad and Ali Khamenei (Yousef Alhelou @ https://tinyurl.com/y2t7a2sq)

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Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

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Opuscula “Light unto The Nations”? Not in NYC

IF WE ARE TO BE “a light unto the nations” (Isaiah Chapter 49 יְשַׁעְיָהוּ), what the hasidim (the “pious”) are doing in New York is hillul ha shem.

Isaiah Chapter 49 יְשַׁעְיָהוּ
(Image source: Mechon-Mamre.org, https://tinyurl.com/y43kujvt )

Jewish man blasted as ‘snitch’ badly beaten during Borough Park protests screams a NY Post headline (https://tinyurl.com/yyfm9crz). The UK’s Mail, putting the leed^cq paragraph in the hed^cq as Jewish man is left critically injured after being branded a 'snitch' by ultra-Orthodox rioters in Brooklyn who attacked him and a photographer for recording COVID-19 violations amid spike in coronavirus cases (https://tinyurl.com/y69rtw2v)

Why’s everybody always pickin’ on me?

The “pious” Jews of Borough Park have been targeted by New York politicians for flagrantly violating face mask and distancing rules. (Sounds like Jerusalem and Bnei Brak.)

If these “pious” Jews were confined to Borough Park, with their freedom restricted a la the ghettos of Europe and the mellahs of the Muslim world, perhaps ignoring the mask and distancing rules could be tolerated.

If these “pious” Jews financed and managed their health care on their own, they could ignore the rules for public safety.

But neither is the case.

Still, the “pious” Jews of Borough Park have a legitimate grievance.

New York’s “leadership” seems to ignore non-hasidim who do the same thing.

As with most things Jewish (and most things Israel), there is a blatant double standard.

Is New York a part of Europe with its Jew hatred then and now?

Is New York’s general population European? Latino? Asian? Middle eastern?

Why these Jews?

Why, because they are “different.”

The dress differently.

They put their rabbis above the law of the land despite דִּינָא דְּמַלְכוּתָא דִּינָא‎. (Jeremiah 29:7; cited by Mar Samuel (bar Abba) in Talmud Bavil)

This, obviously, is a generalization, but it is — based on images captured in places where “pious” Jews dominate — a fact for many.

Be fair

I don’t know if the attacks on Jews — while ignoring non-Jews doing the same thing — is politically motivated.

It seems everything today is “politically motivated.”

Are these politicians anti-Semites? Possibly. (Even a Jew can be self-hating; there are far too many of those around the world.)

Are these politicians simply stupid.? (Rhetorical question.)

Don’t the “pious” Jews vote? Don’t they have allies in the “regular” observant Jewish community?

If the politicians are going to attack the “pious” Jews for endangering themselves and those with whom they associate, then the same politicians should attack all citizens for the same violations.

Jews, “pious” and otherwise, are not above the law. Ignorant, non-observant Jews may think they are above they law. They are not, at least not Jewish law..

Rabbinical fiat

Rabbi Akiva Eger, (right) in the midst of a 19th-century global cholera pandemic, advocated social distancing, abbreviated services, reduced singing, and absolute transparency regarding one’s health prior to entering a synagogue.

He worked in concert with medical experts and local governmental authorities.

R. Eger’s edict likely prevented thousands of deaths, embodying the biblical principle of “v’chai bahem,” that Jewish law demands vitality. (https://tinyurl.com/y5uksoef)

I realize that the “pious” Jews follow their own rabbis and typically ignore any authority outside their circle.

Cliches, but ...

Boged or “snitch” makes no difference. The behavior is the “pious” Jews is unacceptable.

They are “drilling a hole” in our boat; we all are in it together.

To use another cliche, we (Jews) all will be “tarred by the same brush” in the hands of anti-Semites.

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

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Where’s it from? Show product’s origin In advertisements, package

The Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (FPLA or Act), enacted in 1967, directs the Federal Trade Commission and the Food and Drug Administration to issue regulations requiring that all "consumer commodities" be labeled to disclose net contents, identity of commodity, and name and place of business of the product's manufacturer, packer, or distributor. The Act authorizes additional regulations where necessary to prevent consumer deception (or to facilitate value comparisons) with respect to descriptions of ingredients, slack fill of packages, use of "cents-off" or lower price labeling, or characterization of package sizes. The Office of Weights and Measures of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S. Department of Commerce, is authorized to promote to the greatest practicable extent uniformity in State and Federal regulation of the labeling of consumer commodities.¹

 

The canyon-wide loop hole

The Act is useless regarding “name and place of business of the product's manufacturer” since, per the act, this information need not be disclosed as long as a distributor is listed.

Sampling of products listing DISTRIBUTOR in lieu of manufacturer.

It is clear that the distributors use multiple vendors to produce the same product, but the distributors should be obliged to list the PLACE of manufacture.

All things being about equal, I will buy Made in the U.S.A. before I will by a foreign-made product, regardless of country of origin. (I will pay 200% more for a “Made in the U.S.A.” product over an import, but a 10% or event 20% difference may be acceptable.)

If it goes into my mouth

If something goes into my mouth, be it veggies, mouthwash, toothpaste, fish and meat, even garlic for seasoning, I want to know the product’s origin.

I don’t want to eat fish that was fed human feces.

I don’t want to eat garlic fertilized with human feces.

I don’t want to eat something labeled one thing when it is another.

While the US Food & Drug Administration and the U.S. Trade Commission may not be 100% reliable, it is more likely to have inspected U.S.-produced products than imported products.

If a product, as this is keyed, onions are the focus of recalls, is found to be unsafe, the inspection agencies recall the product and publicize the recall. ² In addition, many consumer groups also publish the recalls. The U.S. CDC raised the hue and cry regarding onions.³

Keeping kosher has its benefits.

The situation with onions first came to my attention on Kashrut.com.

I was “spared” Mad Cow Disease because sick animals cannot be slaughtered for kosher food.

Keeping kosher, sadly, does not protect me from tainted fish or garlic, although Kashrut.com watches lists from the U.S., Canada, and elsewhere usually warns me of suspect products before we buy them. Great resource, and free!

Clothes, toys, and more

Haband, the clothing-by-mail retailer, never lists the origin of products it sells. The buyer finds out when the product arrives (if it arrives.)

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On two occasions articles sent from Haband via DHL “disappeared” then DHL was supposed to hand off delivery to the USPS in Orlando. USPS claims it never got the hand off. Despite a tracking ID from Haband, the product just “disappeared.”

What’s the big deal?

Flammability. Materials are supposed to be treated to reduce the chance they will catch fire. Most U.S.-made clothing will burn for a second or two, then the fire is out. (I gave up smoking because I had burn holes in my trousers; no fires. Sad and expensive experience.)

It was not long ago the flammability issue was raised with imported infant and child pajamas.

Likewise, in the not too distant past, the U.S. imported toys painted with lead-based paint, long outlawed in the U.S.

The “and more”? Fake wood flooring (formaldehyde)⁴ and drywall material (sulfur)⁵. Even automotive tires.⁶

That is not to claim that all “Made in the U.S.A.” products are safe and all foreign-made products are unsafe.

It IS to say that consumers should know where a product originates. If the product contains components from multiple points-of-origin, e.g., orange juice, the points (plural) of origin should be clearly shown in both advertising and on the product container.

If representatives and senators — on both sides of the aisle need to pass laws to force retail merchants — the Walmarts, Targets, CVSs and other pharmacies, Haband and other clothing retailers — to include the points (again, plural) of manufacture of each major component in the product.

Sources

1. Fair Packaging and Labeling Act: https://tinyurl.com/y9bgav5e

2. FDA recalls: https://tinyurl.com/y5kxnwbu

3. U.S. CDC: https://tinyurl.com/yxmocvnw

4. Flooring: https://tinyurl.com/yb86gfd3

5. Drywall: https://tinyurl.com/yb86gfd3

6. Tires: https://tinyurl.com/ybbohujo

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.

 

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