October 13, 2023

Trump's turn against Israel offers stark reminder of what his diplomacy looks like

CNN
—
Donald Trump’s inflammatory and artless comments about Hamas’ horror in Israel emphasize the defining characteristic of his attitude toward foreign policy and his entire political world view: It’s all about him.

Trump criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, lauded Hezbollah militants as “very smart” and sought political gain from the attacks that killed 1,200 people by claiming that if the last election was not “rigged,” he’d be the American president and they’d never have happened.

The ex-president openly admitted a grievance against Netanyahu, complaining he had pulled out at the last minute from joining the US air attack that assassinated Iranian intelligence chief Qasem Soleimani in Iraq in 2020. Trump had previously fumed over the Israeli leader’s perceived disloyalty in recognizing he lost the election.

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“He’s a fool. Only a fool would make those kinds of comments,” former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has rooted his campaign in criticizing Trump’s suitability for office, told CNN.

“Only a fool would give comments that could give aid and comfort to Israel’s adversary in this situation,” Christie continued. “This is someone who cares, not about the American people, not about the people of Israel, but he cares about one person and one person only, the person he sees in the mirror when he wakes up in the morning.”

The former president tried to defuse the growing controversy on Thursday evening, releasing a statement in which he insisted that “there was no better friend or ally of Israel” than him. He accused President Joe Biden of weakness and incompetence. “With President Trump back in office, Israel, and everyone else, will be safe again!” he said.


https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/13/politics/donald-trump-israel-netanyahu-diplomacy/index.html

October 13, 2023

Former IDF spokesman: How did this massacre happen to mighty Israel

Former IDF spokesman: How did this massacre happen to mighty Israel - explainer

The events of 2024 are overwhelming. It will take weeks, maybe even months, to truly grasp the significance of these events, the magnitude of the surprise, the extent of destruction, the depth of sorrow, the injuries, and the number of soldiers, commanders, men, women, and children taken to the Strip. In its 75th year, Israel underwent a generational traumatic event that will be historically equated with the Holocaust and the Yom Kippur War.

What happened to us?

The surprise: Mighty Israel, with its formidable, moral, technologically advanced, and well-equipped army—and its sophisticated intelligence services—was jarringly blindsided by a searing strategic surprise from a neighboring terrorist organization. This shock surpassed even that of the Yom Kippur War since it came from a smaller terror group than Hezbollah, not a sovereign state. This unexpected turn of events will be analyzed in depth.


The misconception: Both the political and military leadership held a belief that an economic balance involving goods intake, labor exports, and Qatari funding would tame Gaza and Hamas between military operations. This belief was misguided. It became evident that Hamas's main objective isn't the well-being of Gazan citizens under their care, but rather to obliterate Israel and decimate its populace.

The obstacle: We invested NIS 5 billion in an underground barrier to counteract the tunnels. Still, terror managed to breach the fence after disabling electronic systems and sensors, taking over several bases in Israel. In doing so, Hamas exhibited the might of simplicity, catching Israel off-guard with its overwhelming strength.

The initial reaction: The IDF was caught off-guard—unprepared and in a state of routine readiness. Soldiers and commanders responded late, and the air force operations were delayed. Civilians, including men, women, and children, had to fend for themselves, facing terrorists directly in hand-to-hand combat until reinforcements arrived. The anguished calls from security rooms in kibbutzim echoed the distress signals from soldiers during the 1973 war. This initial response eroded public confidence in the IDF, necessitating a profound investigation and consequential lessons.

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-768017

October 13, 2023

Breaking .One Officer Convicted and Another Acquitted in Elijah McClain Death

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/12/us/elijah-mcclain-verdict-officers.html



One Officer Convicted and Another Acquitted in Elijah McClain Death
The jury came back with a surprising split decision on two men tried jointly, holding the more experienced officer accountable in the first of three trials in the death of the young Black man.

A Colorado jury split its decision in the 2019 death of a young, unarmed Black man, convicting one police officer but acquitting the other on Thursday afternoon, in a case that drew national attention after the murder of George Floyd.

Emergency medical workers, including the police and paramedics, placed the 23-year-old man, Elijah McClain, in a carotid chokehold and injected him with a powerful sedative. He died in the hospital several days later.

A mostly white jury of seven men and five women deliberated for just over two days following the nearly three-week trial. The men were tried together, but the jury found one officer, Randy Roedema, guilty of criminally negligent homicide and assault, and found the other, Jason Rosenblatt, not guilty.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

October 13, 2023

AMC CEO, married father, got cat fished..sent naughty pics to con artist who tried blackmail

AMC CEO Adam Aron shared explicit photos with woman who then tried to blackmail him

AMC Theatres CEO Adam Aron is putting his best spin on a potentially embarrassing situation.

The executive took to social media on Thursday after the news website Semafor published a story detailing an extortion attempt of Aron by Sakoya Blackwood, a New York woman who pleaded guilty to a federal charge of cyberstalking this summer.

Aron said he had opted not to cave to demands for money from Blackwood, even though he knew he could face public backlash.


"Last year I became the victim of an elaborate criminal extortion by a third party who was unknown to me related to false allegations about my personal life," Aron wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "Rather than give in to blackmail, I personally engaged counsel and other professional advisors and reported the matter to law enforcement. I did so knowing I risked personal embarrassment. But with my access to resources, if I did not stand up against blackmail, who could?"

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Blackwood started texting Aron in March 2022, calling herself "Mia" and sending him photos of a 17-year-old Russian model that she presented as herself, according to court documents. Aron mistakenly believed her to be a ballerina that had done "unmentionable things" to him in a past relationship, and Blackwood did not dispel him of the notion. Instead, she asked him to send explicit photos and he complied in a weekslong exchange.

Blackwood created other phony characters and texted Aron through online burner accounts from a fictional former boyfriend as well as a fake Vanity Fair journalist. She threatened to forward the photos and exchanges to the news media and AMC board if Aron did not send her hundreds of thousands of dollars.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/amc-ceo-adam-aron-blackmail-explicit-photos-fbi/

October 12, 2023

Gaza will have water and some electricity when cut off by Israel

Is Israel legally and ethically justified in suspending supplies of electricity and water to Gaza in response to the Hamas terrorist organizations' slaughter of innocent civilians on Saturday?

Energy Minister Israel Katz vowed Thursday that Israel would not allow basic resources or humanitarian aid into Gaza until Hamas released the people it kidnapped during its surprise weekend onslaught.


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Hamas may divert power
However, Israel contended that if it allowed fuel and power into Gaza, Hamas might divert these resources for use in the conflict against Israel. They also maintained that the lack of electricity in Gaza was because only affluent members of Hamas had access to fuel and generators in their residences and not because of Israel's decision.

According to Dr. Elai Rettig of the Department of Political Studies at Bar-Ilan University and a researcher at the at the Begin-Sadat (BESA) Center for Strategic Studies, Israel supplies around 50% of Gaza's energy. Still, the electricity supply in Gaza is not suitable during peace times.

Before the Hamas attack, the typical Gaza resident had only access to approximately four hours of uninterrupted electricity daily. This situation could be primarily attributed to the damage that Gaza's electrical infrastructure sustained during Operation Protective Edge in 2014. Despite receiving substantial foreign assistance, Hamas did not undertake the necessary repairs to restore the grid.

As a result, Gaza residents found independent solutions: They put small, diesel-powered generators in their houses or installed solar panels on their rooftops, Rettig explained. These solar panels provide about 25% of energy during the day.

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Israel has also threatened to cease supplying water to Gaza. Still, Israeli water is not an issue, added Eyal Pinko of the Department of Political Studies at Bar-Ilan University.

"Israel supplies only 10% of water to Gaza. So, even if we stop our share, they will still have water," he contended.

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-768005

October 12, 2023

IDF demolishes Palestinian pizzeria in West Bank that posted ad mocking elderly hostage in Gaza

IDF demolishes Palestinian pizzeria in West Bank that posted ad mocking elderly hostage in Gaza

The IDF demolishes a pizzeria in the northern West Bank town of Huwara after it posted an ad online that included a photo of an elderly Israeli woman who was taken hostage by terrorists into Gaza.

Settlers got wind of the ad and began gathering around the shop, calling for it to be demolished. The IDF arrived at the scene and a decision was made to shut down the pizzeria. An IDF bulldozer razed the front of the shop and it will be subsequently sealed by the army.

Central Command head Yehuda Fox signed a military order directing the pizzeria be closed for five months due to its incitement and support for terror activities.

https://twitter.com/amit_segal/status/1712526001840771281/photo/1



https://www.timesofisrael.com/?post_type=liveblog_entry&p=3121660

October 12, 2023

O'Hare airport is full of migrants because San Antonio Catholic charities is flying them there

Catholic Charities is using FEMA money to off load the responsibility



Catholic Charities flights lead to surging number of migrants at O’Hare
The nonprofit group in San Antonio, Texas, continues to send migrants, Chicago officials say, despite their insistence that the city is at capacity.

When Alberto Davila, a new immigrant from Venezuela, was given plane tickets last month to come to Chicago from San Antonio, Texas, a long stay in O’Hare Airport isn’t what he and his family were told to expect.

“What a surprise this was,” Davila said, looking around at the hundreds of people sleeping head-to-toe at O’Hare. “I thought we’d be at a shelter, a stable place where we could work and our kids could get an education.”

Davila, 28, his wife and two kids are among the thousands arriving at the airport with tickets bought by Catholic Charities of San Antonio using federal dollars

Many say they were told that in Chicago, they’d have help starting a new life. Instead, they have found themselves at O’Hare in an overcrowded “landing zone,” as it’s called by the city.

That growth is mostly because of the San Antonio Catholic Charities group, according to the city, though there also have been arrivals from other places, such as Houston and New York City. The nonprofit has continued sending migrants despite the city’s insistence that it’s at capacity.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/2023/10/11/23890838/catholic-charities-flights-add-number-migrants-ohare

October 12, 2023

SF street vendor whose cart was pushed over by a city worker receives support from the public

SF STREET VENDOR WHOSE CART WAS PUSHED BY CITY WORKER RECEIVES THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN SUPPORT

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- It's been a week since a San Francisco Public Works employee was caught on video pushing a street vendor's cart. On Monday, that street vendor is speaking for the first time.

"I was embarrassed. It was humiliating. I started thinking I just got here," said Juan Carlos Ramirez, in Spanish.


After the incident, Juan Carlos describes being shocked. He says he doesn't even remember seeing the public works employee running towards him.

"All the vendors left. People started spreading all across. I went somewhere else and I'm pulling my cart. I felt like somebody pushed it. I turned around and all my food was on the ground," said Ramirez.

This video went viral after a group of community organizers demanded for the city to intervene. Over the weekend, those organizers surprised Juan Carlos Ramirez with hundreds of people from across the Bay Area who wanted to meet him and buy hot dogs from him and his family.

https://abc7news.com/san-francisco-street-vendor-hot-dog-cart-food-kicked-juan-carlos-ramirez-gofundme/13884688/

October 12, 2023

Father of 8 year old recounts that he was happy that idf found her dead

https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2023/10/11/israel-father-reaction-daughter-killed-kibbutz-hamas-attack-clarissa-ward-dnt-nn-vpx.cnn

October 12, 2023

Hamas release a female prisoner and two children back to Israel

Hamas says a female prisoner and two children, who were held hostage in Gaza after being captured on Saturday, have been released, Walla! reported.

Initially streamed on Al Jazeera, grainy and unclear footage shows what is believed to be a woman released with a young child and infant. The video shows the three being set free and making their way back to Israel. The events in the video are believed to have occurred on Saturday and only later streamed online.



Avital Aladgem, who was released along with the children, but is not their mother, spoke to N12 after her release with 4-year-old Negev and 6-month-old Ashel. The mother of the two children was apparently kidnapped to the Gaza Strip.


Hamas' purpose in publishing the footage is apparently to provide a counterpoint to the international criticism of Hamas and the comparison between it and ISIS, according to Israeli media.

The children were helped back to the border by Israeli soldiers, according to Israeli media.

https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-767828