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Transition Updates: Trump Slides Back Into Meltdown Mode
By Dustin Rowles | Politics | December 12, 2020 |
Yesterday evening, the Supreme Court ended Trump's last gasp at overturning the election, declining to hear a case filed by the state of Texas to overturn the results in four other states. Trump and his followers had inexplicably put all their weight behind this completely meritless suit, and even the majority of Republicans in Congress signed on, in addition to 17 Republican state Attorneys general. After spending the week demanding fealty from those in his party, and working his supporters into a tizzy, the Supreme Court extinguished that hope, tossing the case based on standing. Despite what Trump is trying to suggested on Twitter this morning, two justices, Thomas and Alito, did not show support for him, either, writing separately that they would hear the case, but "would not grant other relief."
Trump and his supporters melted down. Trump refused to come out and deliver remarks at a White House holiday party. Over on Parler, Republicans were calling for secession. In fact, the chair of the Texas GOP floated the idea that "law-abiding" states form their own union. (And before you say, "Yes, let's do that!" remind yourself that there are more Democrats in Alabama — a state dominated by Republicans — than there are in Maine and Vermont combined.)
We don't really need to get into all the Parler messages, but we will anyway because something about liberal tears, but also: JFC. Where's the FBI?
Things are a little heated on Parler …. pic.twitter.com/xajBsWX49S
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) December 12, 2020
Trump, meanwhile, knows that all is lost. On Monday, electors' ballots are sent to Congress, and the Electoral College will choose Biden as President. Once that happens, there's no chance whatsoever for Trump to overturn the election (not that there was much of a chance to begin with). Some Republicans who signed onto Trump's frivolous, anti-Democratic lawsuit are now trying to distance themselves from it.
pic.twitter.com/hRdFXdPv6Y
— Rep. Bruce Westerman (@RepWesterman) December 12, 2020
There were a number of election cycles where one of the most important questions for candidates was whether they supported the Iraq War or not. I hope to God that this becomes one of those litmus tests for future Republicans: Did you support Trump's attempt to overthrow the election? It should be immediately disqualifying (in fact, one Democratic Congressman is now suggesting that Pelosi refuse to seat Republicans who supported the lawsuit to invalidate the election).
Trump is, expectedly, lashing out.
The Supreme Court had ZERO interest in the merits of the greatest voter fraud ever perpetrated on the United States of America. All they were interested in is "standing", which makes it very difficult for the President to present a case on the merits. 75,000,000 votes!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2020
I WON THE ELECTION IN A LANDSLIDE, but remember, I only think in terms of legal votes, not all of the fake voters and fraud that miraculously floated in from everywhere! What a disgrace!
Who is a worse governor, @BrianKempGA of Georgia or @dougducey of Arizona??? These are two RINO Republicans who fought against me and the Republican Party harder than any Democrat. They allowed states that I won easily to be stolen. Never forget, vote them out of office!
Meanwhile, he's trashing his AG, William Barr, who has otherwise done Trump's bidding for him whenever possible.
IF Biden gets in, nothing will happen to Hunter or Joe. Barr will do nothing, and the new group of partisan killers coming in will quickly kill it all. Same thing with Durham. We caught them cold, spying, treason & more (the hard part), but "Justice" took too long. Will be DOA!
Why didn't Bill Barr reveal the truth to the public, before the Election, about Hunter Biden. Joe was lying on the debate stage that nothing was wrong, or going on - Press confirmed. Big disadvantage for Republicans at the polls!
But y'all: He's just begun to fight. (It's a little late to "begin" fighting, isn't it? The election was over a month ago).
WE HAVE JUST BEGUN TO FIGHT!!!
There was a brief moment this morning when Twitter had decided to turn off the ability to like, comment, or retweet the Trump tweets that are already labeled. I'm not sure why, but Twitter quickly backed off of that. If Twitter would just kill his damn account, he'd lose by far the biggest platform for his misinformation.
There are 39 days until the inauguration.
For aesthetic reasons, we still continue to occasionally use Kate Beckinsale in lieu of Donald Trump in header images. By the way, Pajiba 10 voting will begin on December 23rd. We're gonna get this one in under the wire.
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Dustin is the founder and co-owner of Pajiba. You may email him here, follow him on Twitter, or listen to his weekly TV podcast, Podjiba.
Header Image Source: Getty Images

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Reflections on the Latest Israeli Elections
Filed under: Israel — qwertster @ 1:21 AM
Tags: arab parties, Avigdor Lieberman, Bezalel Smotrich, Bibi Netanyahu, Coalition, Elections, Israel, Israeli democracy, Jewish Home, Likud, President Rivlin, Prime Minister, Unity Government, Yisrael Beiteinum
Israel went to the polls again on September 17, and voted a near identical result to the April elections leading to a better than average chance that no government will be able to be formed. So many of the reviews we have come across have interpreted this completely wrong. Most are claiming that the Israeli democracy is illogical and defective. Nothing could be further from the truth. Those who got it correct realized that the problem is that the population is relatively evenly divided. We already covered here the real reason why forming a coalition is so difficult, explaining that because of one group of parties which are outliers backing neither major party forces, any government needs to realize well over the fifty percent plus one usually required in any normative election in a parliamentary government. This is not a detractor of the Israeli parliamentary democracy and the vibrancy of our democracy. The elections were simply a realistic representation of a country divided almost evenly in their view of what the future of Israel should steer towards.
We agree that part of the problem is fatigue over Bibi Netanyahu leading to some simply supporting anybody who appears to have a better than even chance of replacing him. But the claims that the divide is between right-wing and left-wing is not a completely honest means of defining what is occurring. The first thing which needs to be addressed is what exactly is meant by right-wing and left-wing in Israeli politics. Yes, part of it is over economic outlooks and the separation between preferences for Capitalism against Socialism, but this is actually far from the central dividing issue. The real divides come from two separate but interdependent divides in the Israeli populace. The main divide is between religious and secular with the other main divide being nationalists and Zionists who are opposed by internationalists and those still holding onto the idea of a Palestinian Arab state and the two-state-solution. Then we have the political allies often referred to as the Joint Arab List which also includes Communists, Arab nationalists, secularism, Pan-Arabism, Eco-socialists, Islamists and other traditional left-wing causes. The mandates garnered by this list traditionally have not supported any candidate for Prime Minister or named one of the leaders from the group of parties making up this faction. This, more than anything else, is the exact reason that there has been no definitive result. This is also one of the most obvious reasons that the Israeli democracy is functioning in a representative fashion and is providing the exact result that represents her people, a deeply divided people.
There is the possibility that the Blue White Party and Likud could form a unity government completely free of requiring the support of any other party. This is the main reason why Avigdor Lieberman's claim that he would join a unity government and be commanding one of the principle centers of power. He has claimed that without him there could not be a unity government. Apparently Avigdor Lieberman is incapable of doing simple mathematics such as adding together thirty-three and thirty-one and realizing that is more than sixty-one. Since those are the results for Blue-White and Likud, it should be obvious that those two together could form a government. So, what is the hang up preventing such, is it political, personal or simply ego?
Part of the reason is political as should Bibi actually agree to such an arrangement, the Likud Party would bleed voters in significant numbers to vote for parties which are either more religious, nationalist or Zionist than the Likud such as the parties which made up Yamina; Jewish Home, National Union–Tkuma and New Right. Such a change could prove to be seismic should Bibi ally with Gantz. This would represent a similar situation as when Ariel Sharon bolted Likud forming Kadima in order to allow him to agree to President Bush's and Condoleezza Rice's plan for the Gaza withdrawal. This caused a split in the Likud Party which Bibi has been able to reverse over the last two elections. Furthermore, Blue White leader, Benny Gantz, has already declared that he would only agree to a unity government only if he was made Prime Minister as his party received the most mandates. This would be ignoring that the so-called right-wing parties received more mandates than the left-wing parties. Further, there is no way Bibi will join any coalition which he does not lead. Once more, egos are getting in the way of any feasible solution.
President Rivlin, who has the undesirable task of deciding who will be given the first opportunity to form a coalition, has intimated that he would fall just short of knocking heads together to force a government being formed and avoiding yet a third election in under one year. He is facing the problem that the right-wing parties are unable to form a government without Lieberman and his Yisrael Beiteinu Party. The problem is if Bibi were to agree to Lieberman's demands, he would lose the Haredi Parties and still be unable to form a coalition. Were Gantz given the nod, the only way he could form a coalition would be if the Joint Arab List were to agree to sit in with him. The problem is that Avigdor Lieberman has expressly stated he would not sit in a coalition with the Arab parties which would again prevent a coalition. Were Lieberman to change his mind and agree to sit in a government with the Arab parties, his Yisrael Beiteinu Party would splinter as it has a large number of nationalists who would not take well to joining a government with the Arab parties included. This would lead to either the end of Yisrael Beiteinu or their replacing Avigdor Lieberman as their leader. Either choice would be political suicide for Lieberman who is too crafty a politician to make such a blunder. So, without hammering Bibi and Benny into submission, it appears that there is not much that President Rivlin can do to force a government.
So, the vibrant Israeli democracy will very probably be heading for new elections once again. This will again be a reason to claim that the Israeli democracy has failed and could be considered dead. The reality is that the Israeli democracy is working exactly as it should and is representing the fractured Israeli populace quite accurately. Just because a ruling coalition appears to be escaping reality and becoming near an impossibility is no reason to claim that the democracy has failed, perhaps it is just very accurate in representing and displaying the point at which we find Israel today. If anything is broken, it is not our democracy or any of the other claims which you may have read elsewhere. What is actually broken are the complaints that democracy has failed Israel. Perhaps it is simply jealousy over the fact that the Israelis are being served well by their democracy as it represents the splits between the numerous factions which make up the various parties. One last note, nobody we have had conversations with has complained that their lives are being impacted by not having an actual government and are instead being ruled by a Prime Minister, Bibi Netanyahu, and a number of Likud Ministers who are in the cabinet plus Rafi Peretz from Jewish Home as Education Minister and Bezalel Smotrich from National Union–Tkuma as Transportation Minister, who are making any choices and will protect Israel should she be attacked. It may even be this combination making the decisions over any response to an attack upon Israel which will prevent such an eventuality from coming to fruition. Maybe not having a ruling coalition and a normal government by the world's standards will prove to be the best thing which could happen to Israel in these turbulent times.
Meeting Rafi Peretz
Tags: Chairman Rabbi Rafi Peretz, Gaza party, IDF, Israel, Jewish Home, politics, Yeshiva
My regular readers know that we really like Rafi Peretz, the current leader of Jewish Home and likely to lead the United Right depending on future negotiations between the various parties with similar interests. We obviously support Rafi Peretz for even to hope that once the people of Israel meet this remarkable man, he will increase the importance of the Zionist movement for both religious and secular as we believe he would not reject anybody who honestly loves Israel as he does. I have also reported that I am a member of the Jewish Home Central Committee. We feel assured that it is not giving away any secrets as the news likely reported on our decision to support the same election agreements both for the party and the coalition should it be reestablished which is likely. The rumors about the move to place Ayelet Shaked at the top of a combined list should the New Right also join the United Right with one place claiming improbably that she was intending to join as an independent candidate leaving the New Right partner Naftali Bennett behind. Where we might see opportunity should Shaked and Bennett split up their long-term apparent agreement, this would also pose some interesting future decisions.
I would like to give my impressions of Rafi Peretz whom I was fortunate to meet running into him, almost literally, on my way into the Central Committee meeting and once more before leaving the event. I was given the good fortune of spending some time in conversations with him. I also met Ben Dahan who was hurrying, so was not able to get a good read of the man and as the interaction was so abbreviated that I feel that any commentary about him would be unfair to our readers and to him. To give a review of the meeting, to put it simply, it was as bland as expected. There were the regular speeches by a few of the officers, a reading of the new business, the vote, Rafi Peretz gave the closing address and then everyone descended from the seats to meet Rafi Peretz. I went to the stage and this was where I met Ben Dahan where I thanked him and told him it was his articles amongst other items which persuaded us to become members of the Jewish Home Party; but that is a tale for, well, never, it would be boring. We can add that the trip down and back was a pair of adventures as initially the trains were not running from Nahariya; so it was necessary to take a bus to get to the train one station south. Coming home I managed to be dropped off at a different station than the one I used on arriving, which claimed that my train would be on track 1 which was closed and there were almost no workers at this station that I could ask. I got home and this is how the story ends. So, first an obligatory picture of myself with Rafi Peretz on our way right before exiting the building.
Chairman Rabbi Rafi Peretz and I
Rafi Peretz is a man with a very interesting past. When he took over the Jewish Home Party after Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked decided to leave Jewish Home, we did some research on him reading many of the articles. General (ret), Rabbi Rafi Peretz entered the IDF and flew combat helicopters initially and by the time he retired as a Brigadier General he was serving as the Chief Rabbi of the IDF. If such a life of a man going from attack helicopters on to become the Chief Rabbi is not the basis for a novel which then would become a movie, then perhaps what he has done since leaving the IDF would allow this to qualify. Rabbi Peretz formed a Yeshiva in the Gaza region when, in August 2005, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon executed the Gaza withdrawal removing all Israeli presence down to reinterring the dead and erasing all record of their presence being left behind other than usable buildings and the million-dollar greenhouses. Rabbi Rafi Peretz was undeterred and restarted his Yeshiva in the Shomron. Rabbi Peretz is a man who obviously is not easily deterred and a person who intends to complete anything he agrees to undertake. He has stated that he intends to remain at the top position in the United Right coalition though he will gladly accept others who wish to enter in a reasonable manner. These are personal ideas of BTC and not official Jewish Home positions, a necessary disclaimer.
My meetings with Rabbi Rafi Peretz were unbelievably pleasant and he was a very personable person. He does not come across as most political people we have met, and since we ran a campaign for the United States Congress for the Eighth District in Maryland, we met two up close and personal as we debated a number of times and appeared at numerous of the same locations. Further, growing up in Washington D.C. area, I also have met any number of politicians sometimes as customers of a store I managed or in public casually as well at events. Of all the politicians I have had opportunities to meet, very few felt as real, honest and personally involved and interested in those around them. Chairman Peretz is warm and willing to do all the things which make people feel comfortable and is willing to talk and exchange with others as equals. I am not going to reveal our discussions or any of the points but he was patient and willing to go the extra yard. He willingly waited to meet everyone who waited to talk with him without hurrying away despite the meeting going fairly late. You understand, some of the speakers took full use of the microphone. The fact is that he had no entourage which many politicians use as a means of avoiding having to be approached by too many people on their way out the door. I understand that as a Central Committee member, I do get a special situational advantage for bending the Chairman of the Party's ear. Still, my impression is that Chairman, Rabbi Peretz would spend the time to listen and give the proper time and respect to the people who wished to approach him with questions or simply to get a measure of the man. My belief is that we need to get him out and before as many Israelis we can emphasizing towards our base. This includes any Zionist, religious Zionists or Secular Zionists and those between. Rafi Peretz could become a future leader of the State of Israel and she would be in caring and strong hands. Any man who has performed with excellence as a combat helicopter pilot, then becoming the IDF Chief Rabbi, founding a Yeshiva and having it pulled from under him by the Gaza withdrawal forcing him to make a difficult decision in which he took his students out of Gaza orderly and without attacking the IDF troops, reforming his Yeshiva and finally answering the call to restore order to the Jewish Home Party in our hour of need; can return respectability and decorum to the leadership of the party. If Prime Minister were a directly elected position where the different party leaders competed in a two round election where the top three from the initial where all the party coalitions were included and, if none received over fifty percent then a final competition between the top two, he would have a very presentable chance of winning. But Israel has the system they desired, or at least what was decided back at the beginning of the nation. Israel could be placed in worse hands than those of Chairman Rabbi Rafi Peretz, retired Brigadier General, Yeshiva Rabbi, IDF Chief Rabbi and beginning as a combat helicopter pilot. I would also like to thank him for his kindness in our interactions.
Is it Time to Replace Netanyahu?
Tags: Arabs, Ayelet Shaked, Coalition, Election, Gaza, Israel, Israel.Zionist, Jewish Home, Likud, Naftali Bennett, Political Parties, Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu
The inability of Bibi Netanyahu to find the right formula to form a government was the result of his own doings. His craving for vengeance costed him a coalition yet much of Israel is resigned to his being Prime Minister despite his vengeful animus which threw away the chance for a solid religious Zionist right wing nationalist coalition. I hear many now demanding to know what we are referencing. Well, it comes down simply as the Bibi demanding that it is good to be the king and he plans on deciding who will be the king now and who will be the king of the future. In case you might be wondering who would be the future king, Bibi of course. Had Bibi not decided just two days before the election to promise everything which the New Right led by Naftali Bennett were using as the base for their campaign, then Likud might have lost two or three mandates and the New Right would have crossed threshold and resulted in a gain of four or more likely five mandates. This would have resulted in Bibi having sixty-three seats even without Avigdor Lieberman and Yisrael Beiteinu. But Bibi was determined to cause as much humiliation and heaped scorn on Bennett and Shaked for their betrayal of leaving Likud in order to seek more productive support. This has been further represented by Bibi fighting the prevailing mood within Likud to bring Ayelet Shaked into Likud with a high position on their list and a guaranteed Ministerial position. Many, if not most, of Likud members and those who hold positions within Likud desire bringing Ayelet Shaked back into their fold and may even see her as the heir apparent to Bibi. This has been the problem, Bibi does not desire having an heir apparent as he has no desire, despite what has been reported, of ever giving up his spot at the top of the list and as Prime Minister as a result.
Since Naftali Bennett has made it very clear that he sees himself as the heir apparent and thought that any party he headed would give Likud a run for their money. Instead, he departed Jewish Home in a manner which left a bad taste throughout the party, and made his own party with Shaked as his number two. Initially, it appeared that his new party would receive over ten mandates, though we warned people that leaving Jewish Home for Bennett's New Right was a mistake as he would be fortunate to clear threshold, he polled lower and lower and on election day did not pass threshold. The new election might breathe some fresh air into Bennett's New Right Party but that is only if he retains Ayelet Shaked, which is starting to look very iffy as Jewish Home would also take her back, though Bennett is a wholly different matter. The real problem is because Bibi wanted to extract revenge on Naftali Bennett, and secondarily Ayelet Shaked, the New Right crumbled along with the hopes for a true religious Zionist coalition. Of course, Bibi will deny to the day he retires that this was not of his making and will blame Bennett pointing to his departure from Jewish Home as the reason, not Bibi taking the wind out of their sails.
Now we are looking at having no real governance until after the middle of September and also risk the left winning the election and getting first chance for putting together a coalition. Fortunately, such will be next to impossible should the Israeli voting public remain true to form. The best they could hope to patch together is possibly fifty-seven mandates, four short of a majority. This is largely due to the left requiring the Arab blocks to join them in order to even come close to reaching a viable coalition. Even should they find a means of incorporating the Arab lists into their coalition, such an unsteady group would fall apart and require new elections within the first four months. But even to make such a coalition, the Arab parties have proven to be difficult to bring on board as they simply refuse to be part of any ruling coalition where they are not the ones given total control. The simply way of stating this is that the Arab parties will make unreasonable demands and once these are met, they will demand more and more and even more. Eventually, one realizes that nothing will ever be sufficient to bring them into the government and thus making it impossible for the left to form a government at this time. That brings us back to forming a working coalition from the right.
There actually could be arguments made for choosing a different party leader from the right leaning parties to form a coalition. The difficulty here is that Bibi Netanyahu would refuse to permit the Likud from joining such a venture. Thus, the only means by which this could work would be through the removal of Bibi from leading Likud. Did I hear somebody say, "impossible?" That is why it is a problem. Bibi would tear the Likud Party into pieces taking a large chunk of the party with him in order to allow him to continue as Prime Minister indefinitely. There was a similar problem during the lead-up to the Gaza withdrawal when Arik Sharon was felled by American pressure to cede Gaza to the Palestinian Authority (PA) so they could prove their ability to form a functioning governance and state. Well, within two years the PA lost their grip on Gaza to Hamas and Islamic Jihad (controlled and provisioned by Iran) who have made war on Israel ever since their 2007 takeover. Erik Sharon was unable to convince the majority of the Likud Party to go along with the plan presented by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and President George W. Bush to permit the PA to rule Gaza unhindered. This caused him to form the Kadima Party which also included many people from leftist parties such as the Labor Party, and resulted in a coalition made up of strange bedfellows. He kept a coalition and gave away Gaza and the rest is history. The promise that Israel could simply reestablish control if things went wrong itself went wrong and now Hamas and Islamic Jihad control Gaza and threaten Israel representing Iran in the process.
We would not be surprised if things went awry, that Bibi would form his own party out of the remnants of Likud and whomever he could bring aboard and make a run at a centrist unity government, taking the same path as Arik Sharon. He could include the Blue-White Party, or whatever might be left after they separate from Yair Lapid and he take the most faithful of his Yesh Atid people with him. Add to this a few sprinklings from both extremes including people who decide that this is the best bet for their future. We can only issue them the same warning we gave those leaving to joining Bennett, be very careful where you cast your lot as things tend to lose their luster once revealed to the sunlight.
Still, we have three months plus to the September elections in which time much can come to pass. The attempts by Naftali Bennett to bring the religious-Zionist parties together to run with him leading the ticket are doomed to failure. What does he believe he has to offer after his recent defeat? This is his final push to find his path to being Prime Minister. We long ago told friends that all Naftali Bennett was is Yair Lapid with a yarmulke, nothing more. Bennett believes that he is owed the Prime Minister position on any ticket which he joins. He probably left Likud realizing that he was not going to replace Bibi from within. He left Jewish Home because he believed he was their star attraction and as such he could simply make his own party and people would flock to him and Jewish Home would be decimated. Jewish Home was in complete disarray immediately after he left partially because Bennett had refused to seat the new Central Committee and refused to allow the Central Committee to meet for over a year before he split taking the number two and another Minister along with him. Jewish Home (we) rather than collapse found a new leader, and what a great leader he is, and proceeded to form a small coalition with two other parties and broke threshold. As long as Jewish Home can retain the other parties, all looks bright. There is also the possibility that Jewish Home might pick up Zehut and in the process placing Moshe Feiglin within the top ten positions on the party ballot. Such a move would unite the religious-Zionist parties forming a block which could reach the necessary sixty-one mandates along with Likud in September. The problem will not be incorporating the New Right former Jewish Home party members into the coalition as most never officially resigned from Jewish Home and as such are still members in good standing. Those who did renounce their membership will have a more difficult road back, but will still be welcomed and might even return receiving everything they may have formerly held. These past elections were a disaster waiting to happen and Bibi gave that disaster the push it needed to squelch the New Right and their platform bringing their efforts to a premature end. It was a classic case of cutting one's nose to spite their face.
So, is it time to replace Bibi Netanyahu? Even so, it remains improbable that he can be replaced. He has carefully destroyed every person who came even close to presenting him with a challenge. He did so to Moshe Feiglin and most recently to Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked and has done similarly to every individual who posed a realistic challenge to his primacy. We have watched this time and again. That presents a huge difficulty in replacing Netanyahu as he controls Likud ruling it with an iron glove on one hand and silk glove on the other. Those who bed their will to his and serve to increase his power get the silk glove and those who rise to challenge him are struck cold by the other glove. This means that there are only two paths to the position of Prime Minister, one with blessings from Bibi and the other as his opposition. Thus far there has not been one who has curried Bibi's favor to become heir apparent to his rule and perhaps none sufficiently qualified to challenge him from without. Part of the problem is that Bibi completely controls Likud and has not chosen an heir apparent thus leaving only the adversarial method for defeating him. Thus, one must look at the opponents and their likelihood for challenging Bibi.
The Blue-White Party with their presumed impressive list of notable people such as Yair Lapid and the four generals has a problem. The problem is that at least three, if not all four, of the generals hold to the position that some form of the Gaza withdrawal mixed with the IDF remaining in southern Lebanon as the solution they back giving the PA another chance at forming a workable society. Their leading candidate, General Benny Ganz initially spoke of how he learned from Gaza and believed if handled differently it could be applied to the settlements with slight adjustments largely consisting of leaving the IDF behind to monitor and prevent terrorism. So, he would pull back to the Security Barrier, very close to the Green Line (see map below), giving the lands beyond to the PA and declaring the conflict over and expecting the Arabs to concur. The IDF would presumably be left in place while all Israeli civilians would be uprooted and forced to find new residence within the remainder of Israel. Their claim that this time it will work is based on their intent on literally forming these borders by fiat and presenting this as the solution to the PA and expecting them to be happy about this. That will fail and do so miserably.
Green Line versus
Separation Fence Borders
The problem with this solution is the same as it has been with every solution, that being that as long as any piece of Israel remains with the Jews permitted self-rule, this will be totally unacceptable to the Arab side. The world and far too many Israelis actually honestly believe that when the Arabs refer to their demand that they be given the entirety of the 22% of the mandate, they are not speaking about some piece of land west of the Jordan River, they are talking about all the lands west of the Jordan River. The basic question is that when they chant, From the River to the Sea Palestine must be free," what does anyone believe that would leave as the Jewish State. The 22% they are demanding has nothing to do with West Bank or Gaza or any other division of the lands, they are referring to the remaining 22% which is not Jordan which took 78% of the British Mandate. The Palestinian Arabs demand for 22% is from the British Mandate and correspond to all the lands set aside for the Jewish state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, the River to the Sea. Their demand is for all of Israel and they demand that this land be Judenrein, and should any Jews remain, they have a solution, a final solution. From all we have seen, Bibi has no actionable solution to this overly-extended problem. So, who might be capable of mounting a drive and replacing Bibi?
This depends completely and totally upon the people of Israel. There is no lack of people who could replace Bibi Netanyahu and serve as Prime Minister of Israel. The going argument the people backing Bibi always claim is that nobody has the experience of being Prime Minister as does Bibi. That is no wonder as he will soon be the longest serving Prime Minister and is already the longest serving living Prime Minister. By this argument, Bibi can never be replaced which just might inevitably run into a problem, either his retirement voluntarily or forced by Mother Nature. We may as well face facts, the next Prime Minister after Bibi will have far less experience than does Bibi. Everyone upon being elected to lead their nation for the first time has zero job experience, but they figure out what the buttons on their phones mean and find the button for calling meetings or their aid to come take a letter, or e-mail. So, pushing such a weak argument aside as superfluous, let us move on. Yair Lapid consistently claims he is the man with a plan and if only he were Prime Minister, all the Israeli problems would disappear as he can fix everything. Well, first off, please let us not fix anything which is not broken. Simply stated, leave the economy alone unless you plan on reducing taxes. The real problem is that Yair Lapid is one of those who believes that there is a solution which can be reached if only the perfect concession of land were proffered the Arabs. Of course, he does not mean all the Jews moving to California and giving all the lands to the Arabs, so, as we have explained, whatever his proposal, the Arabs will refuse it as not sufficient. The Generals from the Blue-White Party also suffer from the same ailment. Their solution takes the worst of the Gaza disengagement, pulling the Jews from their homes, and combines this with the worst of the disaster of Southern Lebanon where Israel left the IDF in a region she had surrendered any claim which eventually led to a hasty retreat executed by one of the generals (another of the generals was responsible for the Gaza disengagement). So, their solution to the problems with the PA is to combine the Gaza disengagement with the disaster of southern Lebanon and pretend it is something which has a viable chance at success. There is a single saving grace in their plan, Mahmoud Abbas and his terrorists will refuse this as a solution as Israel will not have gone far enough to find a solution, their problem is that Israel remains. This problem only becomes worse as one would go further left, thus any replacement for Bibi is not to be found on the left.
This leaves a problem as Bibi has ruled the right for approaching a decade. His Likud Party has cemented the lion's share in every election only a few times having anything approaching a problem from the left. This means that any real and viable threat to replace Bibi has to come from Likud or a surprise from another of the right leaning parties. As far as somebody rising from within Likud to challenge Bibi, such in the past has proven to be fateful and immediately followed by being placed far down the Likud list thereafter followed by their burial as a viable candidate. Some such people include Moshe Feiglin and Naftali Bennett; both of whom have been relegated to the scrap heap of parties missing threshold. The best Naftali Bennett ever did was actually provide Bibi a challenge but as the election appeared as if it might slide to the left of Likud or Bennett's party, Jewish Home at the time, received the lion's share of the right wing votes so one of the two needed to fall on his sword, which Bennett did and that may have proven to be the last time he posed a threat to Bibi. Currently, there is no obvious threat to Bibi though there has been a development very recently which may provide insight of a potential challenger in the near future. The news of Bennett attempting to head a coalition of right wing-religious-Zionist parties was met with an interesting response from the current leader of the United Right and head of Jewish Home, MK Rabbi Rafi Peretz, who stated that joining their block by Naftali Bennett and the remains of his New Right Party would be welcomed but would not result in any alteration of the party hierarchy. Rafi Peretz made one thing clear, as he has come from a quiet retirement where he had no desires to enter politics or the public spotlight, his decision to lead the United Right was a casting of the dice and he will be putting forth the same efforts he has given to everything else he has undertaken. When an individual who was once a combat helicopter pilot, in and of itself an impressive challenge, and going further in the IDF to become a Brigadier General and to be the IDF Chief Rabbi and then becoming head of the Otzem Pre-Military Academy in Yated, which was relocated from Bnei Atzmon after the Gaza disengagement, this is not somebody to take lightly. Once the Israeli public becomes introduced to this man of great talents, his straight talking and meaning what he says and saying what he means, there is a definitive possibility that Rafi Peretz could become the Prime Minister after Bibi and do so while Bibi is still in contention. There are two people currently who could either pose a direct challenge running against Bibi to lead the right of center coalition or becoming heir apparent. The heir apparent would be Ayelet Shaked providing she manages to rejoin Likud and Rafi Peretz under any circumstance as he gains in notoriety and thus popularity. The positive vibes we received from numerous fronts when Rafi Peretz was named as the new leader for Jewish Home was just the tip of the iceberg of the potential for him going forward. Israel would be well served having a man of such integrity and forceful character as Prime Minister and would gain even more due to his politics and love for his country. Time will tell who replaces Bibi and when, but that time is coming and who knows how much longer Bibi can retain his monopoly on the Prime Minister's spot.
Not Bibi Again!


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Home » World Wide Wednesday » WWWednesday: July 27, 2016
WWWednesday: July 27, 2016
This week is pretty much the San Diego Comic Con edition. However, once again Haggard Hawks shares a priceless gem: Helluo librorum is a noun meaning "book glutton."
2016 Logo
San Diego Comic-Con:
Comic-Con attendees were the first to see the first trailer of the adaptation of Neil Gaiman's American Gods.
From Kat, SFGate put together a Comic-Con cosplay photo album. (Be aware, there are lots of pictures.) I'm going to guess, just guess, that this photographer might have been male. I liked a lot of these, but three were memorable (in no order); Sharknado Elvis, The Day of the Dead witch with the big red hat, and the three pastel Wookies.
Marvel introduced the second Doctor Strange trailer at Comic-Con. (Thanks to Polygon.)
Tor highlighted the information on the upcoming Dirk Gentley's Holistic Detective Agency.
FX and Marvel introduced the trailer for a 2017 TV adaptation of Marvel's Legion. I don't know anything about this X-Men spinoff or this mutant, but this is a stellar cast.
Even Rolling Stone Magazine got into the act, ranking the best and worst trailers at the convention.
On the Orphan Black panel the cast indulged in some "clone improv." If you watch the show, you'll be highly amused by "Alison and Donnie at a Trump convention."
Books and Writing:
Patrick Nielsen Hayden is now the associate publisher at Tor. Congratulations! And John Scalzi says it better than I can.
Fireside Fiction paid for a study about the percentage of short speculative fiction by black people that markets are publishing. The results are interesting, disheartening, and important. Read about the report; and here are some other essays. Here is the link to N.K. Jemisin's interview.
For many of us this is uncomfortable reading, but I encourage you to stick with it. And I hope this is the beginning of the discussion, not the end of it. (Hat tip to Kate.)
This is about writing, kind of, as Gizmodo shows off a predictive text generator that can help you write fanfic. It works likes your phone's autocorrect, only weirder.
Kat will be happy to see that the Wall Street Journal defines audiobooks as surviving and thriving. More and more people listen to their reading material these days.
Coming Soon has photos, the first trailer for Injustice 2, and an article about Wonder Woman and Blue Beetle.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance is coming soon, and Marvel News interviewed the creator.
Comics:
Fresh from SDCC, Marvel has announced a spin-off of Black Panther, following various other characters in the Wakanda universe. It will be written by Roxanne Gay.
John Lewis, who already has the Congressional Medal of Freedom for his work on civil rights, now has an Eisner Award for the second volume of his comic series about the 1960 Civil Rights Movement, March.
TV and Movies:
Brie Larson will play Captain Marvel in the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movie. But is she too young to be an Air Force Captain at 26? Inquiring minds want to know.
Locus gives us a spoilerish review of Star Trek: Beyond. I'd say read the first three of four paragraphs, which are interesting, and click away when you get to mention of Krall.
Many of us yearn for a Black Widow movie, including, it seems, Joss Whedon. IO9 wonders if he is the right person to create it.
Tech Insider likes Netflix's Stranger Things, and as near as I can tell, so does everybody else.
After Ghostbusters opened, a group of people deluged comedian and actor Leslie Jones (who pays Patty in the movie) with hate-filled racist comments on Twitter. This isn't the first time, and Ijeoma Oluo says, and it isn't random or spontaneous. This is a concerted, calculated effort to intimidate certain people off social media. In Jones' case, she fought back by retweeting some of the comments and mobilizing her celebrity friends. After a full day of abuse, Jones and her supporters got Twitter's attention and they finally expelled the ringleader from Twitter. CNET also provided a good brief article.
Wonder Woman is getting her own postage stamp in October, 2016, according to the USPS.
The Daily Mail reports that a cache of manuscripts about witchcraft collected by Heinrich Himmler during the Nazi period and WWII has been discovered.
Lego is seeking support for a Women of NASA collection. I have nothing more to say.
Ghostbuster action figures are selling well, reports Mattel.
Thanks to Kat for these fun steampunk images!
A little morbid but quite beautiful; this Japanese artist carves pearls into tiny shimmering skulls.
Earth:
German forest ranger and biologist Peter Wohlleben tells us trees have a "social network," and they communicate with each other.
July 27th, 2016. Marion Deeds | World Wide Wednesday | 6 comments |
Marion Deeds, with us since March, 2011, is the author of the fantasy novella ALUMINUM LEAVES. Her short fiction has appeared in the anthologies BEYOND THE STARS, THE WAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE, STRANGE CALIFORNIA, and in Podcastle, The Noyo River Review, Daily Science Fiction and Flash Fiction Online. She's retired from 35 years in county government, and spends some of her free time volunteering at a second-hand bookstore in her home town. You can read her blog at deedsandwords.com, and follow her on Twitter: @mariond_d.
Jana Nyman / July 27, 2016
The level of detail in those carved-pearl skulls is amazing.
Marion Deeds / July 27, 2016
I know, right? I've seen bone skulls carved about that size, but never pearls.
Melita Kennedy / July 27, 2016
Patrick Nielsen Hayden, not Neil Patrick Hayden!
Fixed, Melita. Thanks for the catch.
And 26 is probably not too far off for a captain, if you were in ROTC in college or did the Academy. A friend of mine in grad school had done ROTC, so he was commissioned as an office at graduation. The AF then sent him to graduate school for a master's. He did specialist training afterwards and became a captain when I was around 27 or 28 and he was a year or two younger IIRC.
According to the Marvel Comics canon, Carol Danvers is a full-bird colonel in the Air Force, meaning she is at least 40 years old. If the Marvel Cinematic Universe cast a 26-year-old actress, my guess is that they're wiping most of her military history clean, which is a shame.


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Persistent COVID-19 raises 2022 "Twindemic" potential as flu season arrives
Before COVID-19, the infectious disease that accounted for a large majority of deaths among insured populations in Europe and the Americas had been rapidly spreading seasonal flu or influenza. It is estimated that amongst the up to 1 billion global influenza infections, there are between 290,000 and 650,000 deaths each year [1]. With many questions still open about how the new Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant will impact the severity of COVID-19 infections this winter, a flu-COVID "twindemic" returns as a distinct possibility.
This article was written By Priya Dwarakanath, Head Res & Strategic Forecasting L&H, Swiss Re Institute
Article Persistent COVID-19 raises 2022 "Twindemic" potential as flu season arrives
The facts on the flu
Past and present trends of flu
Why is this flu season different in the context of COVID-19?
Will flu vaccinations help?
What can we expect in future flu seasons?
Here, we examine past trends, as well as the outlook for the 2022 seasonal flu in some major markets.
Flu is the generic disease that encompasses respiratory illnesses caused by influenza viruses and their different strains. Seasonal flu infections typically occur in the autumn and winter months of the respective hemispheres, though infections can occur throughout the year in tropical regions. In the US, UK and Canada, the flu season typically begins in October and peaks in January or February, whereas in Australia, the season starts in May and hits its zenith in August. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the spread of influenza has been seen from southern-to-northern countries 2.
Compared to the virus that causes COVID-19, influenza has a notably higher mutation rate 3. Flu outbreaks happen annually as influenza viruses undergo constant genetic change, which can cause new strains to circulate each year that are less recognizable to the body's immune system. For instance, scientists believe significant changes in a flu virus helped drive the deadly influenza pandemic that killed millions worldwide in1918.
Several other factors known to influence the severity of seasonal flu include immunity levels, severity of the effects of the particular flu viruses in circulation, flu vaccination uptake and opportunities within groups of people or societies for the virus to be transmitted.
Flu activity and deaths vary widely from year to year. In the US, around 7,000 annual deaths have occurred on average with influenza reported as the underlying cause from 2016 – 2020 4. Average influenza deaths in Canada have been around 1,300, while the UK and Australia have seen less than 1,000 deaths caused by flu annually, on average, over the past five years 5,6,7.
However, these are likely conservative figures since many flu-related deaths are not always accounted for when relying on information from death certificates. In the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports 35,000 influenza-associated deaths occurred, on average, over the past five flu seasons, a figure that is five-fold the number of deaths reportedly caused by influenza 8.
More recent surveillance reports suggest major global declines in influenza activity from 2020 into 2021, a development seen to be directly correlated to the introduction of public health measures to combat COVID-19 starting in March and April of 2020, according to the WHO 9. These included travel restrictions, social distancing, mask mandates and community hygiene measures. It is likely that risk groups who would have been vulnerable to the flu during this period were also vulnerable to COVID-19, which the CDC has said spreads more easily than flu infections 10.
Despite the previous flu season's apparent mildness, circumstances unique to living during a pandemic still have the potential to exacerbate the severity of the 2021-22 flu season. The relatively limited influenza circulation during the past two seasons may have left fewer people exposed to influenza's various strains to maintain historic levels of immunity. We also face an evolving situation in which many countries are easing public health measures, allowing for significantly more social interaction - potentially without protective measures in place - as the number of people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 grows and populations grow weary of restrictions. Population immunity and protection against influenza may therefore be reduced this season, resulting in a concerning health scenario in which influenza and COVID-19 can co-circulate.
Such a "twindemic" could have major consequences for people most vulnerable to influenza and COVID-19, including older adults, those with underlying health conditions and pregnant women 11,12. Simultaneous flu and COVID-19 viral infections are also possible, with one study finding the likelihood of co-infection and ICU admission increased with age among COVID-19 patients 13. A second study on mice found pre-infection with Influenza A virus increased the likelihood of subsequent infectivity and viral load of SARS-CoV-2 14.
Surges of both illnesses could also overwhelm healthcare systems, just as rising infections with the COVID-19 Delta variant added to burdens on hospital ICU beds and equipment resources in Europe and the Americas. Public Health England has referenced one study that predicted a 50% increase in influenza this season for the UK 15. A similar scenario, were it to occur on other geographies, could mean an additional 17,500, 3,000 and 2,000 influenza-associated deaths in the US, Canada, and the UK, respectively. This would come atop deaths attributable to COVID-19, which are already projected to increase in December 2021 and for much of January 2022 in these countries 16. More research is still needed, however, to fully comprehend the risks associated with co-infection and co-circulation, given the absence of real-world evidence.
Flu vaccinations remain the best form of protection against severe illness and death from the flu. Even while the effectiveness of flu vaccines tends to range between 40-60%, this provides a significant amount of protection against the worst consequences of severe disease, given how many people contract the flu during a typical flu season who may require medical assistance 17. One study estimated that 105,000 hospitalizations and 6,300 deaths were prevented in the US with the flu vaccine in the 2019-20 flu season 18.
Some agencies including the CDC and the European Commission have been reinforcing the importance of influenza vaccination efforts, in hopes of reducing simultaneous infections and hospitalizations from influenza and COVID-19. This comes against the backdrop of concerns that general vaccine fatigue or hesitancy may be growing in the wake of the existing push for COVID-19 vaccinations, which includes inoculation mandates being introduced in some countries. Europe has also raised concerns about "considerable differences" in uptake of flu vaccines between EU member countries, with some at nearly 70% of their older patients, and others at less than 10%.
According to an initial clinical trial, it has been deemed safe to administer flu jabs concurrently with COVID-19 vaccines (Pfizer and AstraZeneca) 19. It is also possible that manufacturers will consider producing a combination flu-COVID vaccine to maximize the number of people who protect themselves against both diseases in a single sitting.
While the restrictions and behavioral changes made in response to COVID-19 temporarily reduced the impact of the 2020-21 flu season, this relief may be unlikely to persist much beyond 2021 – if that. However, we can now imagine scenarios where the impact of seasonal flu is reduced overall if improved personal and community protective measures become ingrained in society. Vaccine manufacturers may also combine the flu vaccine with a COVID vaccine in the future, and this may increase the uptake. Finally, as COVID becomes endemic, flu mortality may be reduced by virtue of having a competing virus in circulation that affects the same vulnerable population as flu – i.e., the elderly and those with co-morbidities.
1 https://www.who.int/news/item/13-12-2017-up-to-650-000-people-die-of-respiratory-diseases-linked-to-seasonal-flu-each-year
2https://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/communicable-diseases/influenza/seasonal-influenza/seasonal-influenza-faq#401208
3SARS-CoV-2 and influenza: a comparative overview and treatment implications | Boletín Médico del Hospital Infantil de México (bmhim.com)
4https://wonder.cdc.gov/controller/saved/D76/D240F463
5https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv!recreate.action?pid=1310039201&selectedNodeIds=4D78&checkedLevels=0D1,1D1,2D1,4D1&refPeriods=20150101,20190101&dimensionLayouts=layout2,layout2,layout2,layout3,layout2,layout2&vectorDisplay=false
6Your Data - Nomis - Official Labour Market Statistics (nomisweb.co.uk)
7Causes of Death, Australia | Australian Bureau of Statistics (abs.gov.au)
8https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/past-seasons.html?web=1&wdLOR=c423D05FB-B210-4C00-8693-AFE7C60864BC
9Review of global influenza circulation, late 2019 to 2020, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on influenza circulation (who.int)
10Similarities and Differences between Flu and COVID-19 | CDC
11COVID-19 Information for Specific Groups of People | CDC
12People at Higher Risk of Flu Complications | CDC
13Influenza co-infection associated with severity and mortality in COVID-19 patients | Virology Journal | Full Text (biomedcentral.com)
14Coinfection with influenza A virus enhances SARS-CoV-2 infectivity | Cell Research (nature.com)
15National flu immunisation programme 2021 to 2022 letter - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
16COVID-19 (healthdata.org)
17CDC Seasonal Flu Vaccine Effectiveness Studies | CDC
18Estimated Influenza Illnesses, Medical visits, and Hospitalizations Averted by Vaccination in the United States — 2019–2020 Influenza Season | CDC
19September: comfluvcov-study | News and features | University of Bristol
Priya Dwarakanath
Head Res & Strategic Forecasting L&H
View profile of Priya Dwarakanath Contact Priya Dwarakanath
Get the full picture about COVID-19 and find further readings here
COVID-19: lessons learned and the way forward at Swiss Re
Publication Economic and financial risk insights: economic immunity needed as COVID cases surge
Publication US economic outlook: market sentiment does not yet reflect rising downside risks to inflation and growth
Publication Europe's new COVID-19 wave: déjà-vu, but different
Article Uneven COVID-19 vaccine take-up, distribution remain a threat
Publication Turbulence after lift-off: global economic and insurance market outlook 2022/23


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Why Joining The TPP Spells 'Cultural Competence' for British Business
Export & Global Biz HR News
With a 'no deal' Brexit looming, the need to trade outside of Europe is becoming a reality for many British businesses.
In fact, just this week, Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzō Abe told Britain we'd be welcome to join the Pacific Free Trade Pact (TPP) following our European exit if we're unable to leave with a deal intact.
For many companies struggling to reconcile the likely financial implications of a no deal Brexit, Shinzo Abe's announcement gives a least a little reassurance that Brexit won't see us cast afloat with no safety net.
So, what would becoming a member of the TPP mean for the skills sets of British business?
Currently our position as a gateway for international businesses wanting to operate in Europe, means that the balance has been tipped in favour of British business.
However, once this status is removed, the balance will tip and the onus to identify, tender for and negotiate deals will shift to British companies.
The 11 countries making up the TPP include Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
It's not unfair to say that many SMEs have very little experience navigating business in these countries. It is precisely this lack of experience that will prove to be the most significant gap in the British skill set.
Let's take for example basic business processes such as negotiations, sales, leadership and even the running of meetings.
The way that these business processes roll out in the UK and other parts of Europe can be fundamentally different to the shape they take in many of the TPP member countries.
The way people negotiate in Japan for example is very different to the way in which people negotiate at home. In fact, some of the tactics that we consider completely acceptable in the negotiation process at home might well result in the loss of a deal if replicated in Japan. Pushing for deadlines, for example, and appearing to prioritise the deal above relationships will very likely result in the Japanese counterparts extracting themselves from the situation and withdrawing.
As with Japan, another TPP signatory, Malaysia, also places considerable emphasis on the relationship. Once again, pushing to get things done and taking a 'time is money' approach will backfire and probably result in a break down of discussions. Malaysia is also a country that has a 'high context' communication style.
What this means is that what is not said is often as important – and sometimes more important than what is said. Body language, eye contact and tone are key. Working to what is commonly accepted as a British communication standard in which we expect people to be fairly direct and clear in what they say will likely end up with British counterparts leaving meetings believing something quite different to their Malay counterparts. It's useful to know for example, that a number of countries signing up to TPP might well say 'yes' to something to retain harmony with those with whom they are doing business when in fact they mean 'no' or 'we're unsure'.
The only certainty for Brexit is that the way we do business will change. Those who are starting to prepare themselves for a different playing field going forward will, no doubt, be looking at their likely skills gaps and planning the way ahead.
Those who take the time to learn about the business impact of cultural difference and the cultural dimensions shaping the different business processes will certainly put themselves at a competitive advantage in the long term. Understanding the different cultural approaches taken in different cultures is essential and cannot be underestimated.
Essentially, poor cultural understanding can kill a deal before it's even been discussed.
Regardless of the deals that are finally struck during and post Brexit, British companies who are skilled in working globally and who understand the expectations and approaches of their international counterparts will undoubtedly do well.
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Recently-crowned world champion reflects on earning the 125cc title in Horsham.
Bailey Malkiewicz added to what was already an impressive 2018 campaign at the weekend's FIM Junior Motocross World Championship in Horsham, Victoria, earning the 125cc world title in front of a spirited Australian crowd. The 16-year-old charged to a 2-1 scorecard in the highly-competitive class to be awarded the world championship, which comes as a career highlight for the Bulk Nutrients WBR Yamaha rider. MotoOnline.com.au tracked him down to relive the tremendous achievement in this latest edition of Debrief.
Congratulations on earning the 125cc world title, describe to me what it's like to now be a world champion.
Thank you! It's still sinking in and it's an unbelievable feeling. I'm still speechless and it's so overwhelming.
How does this world championship rate against the MXD crown you earned earlier in the month?
This was a lot harder – you only have two races and one shot at it. In MXD, you have 10 rounds, so if you have one bad one, you're okay, but if you have a bad race [in the world championship], it's pretty much over. It was a lot more challenging. The world title definitely means more – you're racing the best kids from all around on the world. It's a world title, not just a development class in Australia. The world title is definitely a greater achievement and means a lot more.
Racing in MXD all year, how did you find it racing kids who, like you said, are the fastest in the world?
I didn't know how fast they were going to be, but they came over here and showed they were really quick. I enjoyed it – there was some good racing and hard-fought battles. The kids here in Australia are pretty quick too, but with overseas kids who are really quick, it was really challenging.
Some sections were really good, and some were really slippery and slick. It was hard to ride on and hard to go hard – I just had to be smart about it and be easy on the throttle. The last couple of laps when I moved into the lead, I could hear the whole crowd around the track going wild. It really got me going and made me push through to the finish. Going over that last jump, everyone was screaming and it was an unbelievable feeling.
Has earning the world title and representing Australia fuelled a desire or increased your motivation to at some stage race for the country at the Motocross of Nations?
Yeah definitely, that's always been a goal. I'll keep pushing so that happens, so we'll see if I can achieve that or even do better.
Obviously it's been all about motocross up until this weekend, but your maiden SX2 campaign in the Australian Supercross Championship is just around the corner. What are you anticipating for your transition into the discipline?
I think I'll be a solid top five with a bit of luck and if I can stay healthy all season long. I really adjust to different tracks and riding styles really quickly, and in supercross you have to stay focussed a lot more – it's really fast-paced and everything comes at your pretty quickly.


For full details on these Boston pet photography sessions, including costs and what's included, please visit my Road Trip Rates and Information page. There you can book your photo session straight from the page. Spaces are limited and book in advance. I look forward to working with you on my trip!


今天跑了趟印T-Shirt的公司, 非常感激老板马上就做好成品给我! 好开心哦! ^^ 因为只是个开始, 所以我并没有大量印制, 所以如果你有兴趣要购买我的画作T-Shirt的话, 可以email or leave comment让我知道, 谢谢!
U r really support me so so much leh, see ur words i feel so happy liao! :) Thanks!
I prefer another picture, do you make it also? if got the couple shirt then greater..
Bcos of my drawing all cute and ladylike, so i dono whether guy dare to wear it not?
So trying unisex design now!
Which picture u like? U can let me know, i can custom made for u!
ya ya. i want to buy 2 pcs each.. so should I send to ur email or?
If u wanna choose other drawings to add in the T-shirt, I can custom made for u also!
Really appreaciate on ur support!
Really? that's cool.. let me see if I would like to choose other pictures..
*couldn't wait to see it ya..
When u decide which T-shirt design u wan just email me and specify ur size k?
Yea my deviantStore selling many my artwork printed stuff.
Yeah Yeah jia you jia you.. hehe!
so, the designer sell their idea and we custom make the t-shirt even there is only 1 pcs!


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NOWCAST WISN 12 News at 10 p.m.
Made in Wisconsin
12 News Investigates
COVID-19 in Wisconsin: 5,470 deaths Breaking News: Useful links: Applying for jobs, unemployment & resources Breaking News: Events, attractions canceled or postponed by coronavirus Breaking News: Sign up for our Coronavirus & Rossen Reports Newsletters <% if ( weatherAlerts > 0 ) { %> Severe Weather <% var weatherAlertsMessage = "There " + ( weatherAlerts > 1 ? "are" : "is" ) + " currently " + weatherAlerts + " active weather " + ( weatherAlerts > 1 ? "alerts" : "alert" ); %>
Parents soaked 2-year-old girl's body in acid after alleged accidental death, authorities say
Updated: 11:55 AM CST Feb 18, 2019
By Laredo Morning Times staff
Webb County Sheriff's Office
Monica Dominguez, 37, and Gerardo Zavala Loredo, 32.
SOURCE: Webb County Sheriff's Office
A Texas couple is accused of soaking their 2-year-old daughter's body in acid after she drowned unsupervised in the bathtub, according to authorities.Police said they found a five-gallon container in a bedroom closet with the 2-year-old's body inside at the Laredo apartment on Thursday.Monica Dominguez told police that two of her children were unsupervised while bathing and that one of them, Rebecka Zavala, ended up drowning. She said she then recruited her husband, Gerardo Zavala Loredo, to help dispose of the body, Webb County District Attorney Isidro "Chilo" Alaniz said.Alaniz said an examination of the girl's body will determine whether there were any "injuries consistent with a murder.""We need to wait to see what the science tells us," he said. "Right now there's more questions than answers."Authorities searched the couple's home after a concerned neighbor called police.The couple, Zavala Loredo, 32, and Dominguez, 37, were each charged with abuse of a corpse and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence by altering, destroying or concealing a corpse. Dominguez was also charged with two counts of endangering a child.Zavala Loredo is being held at the Webb County Jail on a $125,000 bond and Dominguez is being held on a $175,000 bond , according to court records.Child Protective Services has taken custody of four other children, ages 1 to 11, who lived at the apartment.
LAREDO, Texas —
A Texas couple is accused of soaking their 2-year-old daughter's body in acid after she drowned unsupervised in the bathtub, according to authorities.
Police said they found a five-gallon container in a bedroom closet with the 2-year-old's body inside at the Laredo apartment on Thursday.
Monica Dominguez told police that two of her children were unsupervised while bathing and that one of them, Rebecka Zavala, ended up drowning. She said she then recruited her husband, Gerardo Zavala Loredo, to help dispose of the body, Webb County District Attorney Isidro "Chilo" Alaniz said.
Alaniz said an examination of the girl's body will determine whether there were any "injuries consistent with a murder."
"We need to wait to see what the science tells us," he said. "Right now there's more questions than answers."
Authorities searched the couple's home after a concerned neighbor called police.
The couple, Zavala Loredo, 32, and Dominguez, 37, were each charged with abuse of a corpse and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence by altering, destroying or concealing a corpse. Dominguez was also charged with two counts of endangering a child.
Zavala Loredo is being held at the Webb County Jail on a $125,000 bond and Dominguez is being held on a $175,000 bond , according to court records.
Child Protective Services has taken custody of four other children, ages 1 to 11, who lived at the apartment.
WISN Channel 12 Milwaukee
©2021, Hearst Television Inc. on behalf of WISN-TV.


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Biennale di Venezia: Concealed, vanished and reappeared
To start the 58th Venice Biennale, the curator Ralph Rugoff, conceals the entrance of the Central Pavilion with clouds of fog by Lara Favaretto (Thinking Head). The vapour makes not only disappear the building, but is also the expression for smoking brains of thinkers in an undisclosed location. Veiling, disappearance as well as making things visible are motives, which could be found in various artworks of the central show, in the national pavilions or even in the hidden locations of some exhibitions. Under the title "May you live in interesting times." the curator united 79 international artists. Their works are presented in the Central Pavilion and the Arsenale. Moreover, there are 90 national participations in the traditional buildings of the Giardini, in the Arsenale and throughout the city. Noteworthy is, that for the first time the majority of the participating artists is female. Additionally there are 21 official collateral events and innumerable exhibitions, taking place between 11th May and 24th November 2019.
Clouds in and above the Giardini
Initially, we visited the Giardini. The pavilion of Venezuela at first remained closed, probably due to the enduring crises in the country, but should be opened later. The French and the German Pavilions are only accessible by the rear entrance. Furthermore, the official entrance of the French building is also covered by wafts of mist from time to time. On the other hand, the identity of Natascha Süder Happelmann (for Germany) was blurred by a pseudonym; at presentations, she wears a papier-mâché stone to disguise her face. Though the German exhibition "Ankersentrum", a monumental installation of a retaining wall, was easily accessible, the French like the English presentations were besieged by a huge amount of waiting people. In consequence, we skipped them both to visit others.
Two videos in the Egyptian installation, which reminds the ambience of antique royal tombs, displayed narrowness in small chambers. An aircraft dominated the Polish Pavilion. "Flight" by Roman Stańczak didn't content itself by showing the flying machine, but turned the technical equipment outwards, so that cables, wires and pipes became visible. Seeking shelter from the starting rain, we entered the Spanish Pavilion. The video "To pee in public or private spaces. 167 Greenpoint Ave. backyard, under the rain" revealed an even more humid plot. Appropriately is the water installation hidden behind the building, which might be refreshing in summer time. Nevertheless, at this moment it vanished almost in the falling rain. The artists presented are Itziar Okariz and Sergio Prego.
While the Swiss Pavilion unveils its video "Moving Backwards" by Pauline Boudry and Renate Lorenz by a glitter curtain, which is repeated in the film, the Belgian one hides its sculptures from outsiders behind prison bars. In the central exhibition, one is illuminated from above by Ryoji Ikeda's installation "spectra III" and Brazil dances in its photos and video installation "Swinguerra" by Bárbara Wagner and Benjamin de Burca against the bad weather. Finland dives with one of its short films by The Miracle Workers Collective into dark water (The Killing of Čáhcerávga) and let us in another one immerse into a world of floating ice.
Discoveries in the city and outside
Quasi on a silver plate for visitors is the location of the New Zealand Pavilion. Close to the Giardini, situated in the Palazzina Canonica, Dane Mitchell focusses with "Post hoc" on bygone things, ranging from dead words to extinct species, ghost towns and former nations. Hidden loudspeakers fill the garden with an electronic voice reciting the enormous list, while it is printed in the emptied library. Four more listening points are dispersed in the city. (Read more in our interview with Dane Mitchell)
Far away from the overcrowded main venues, on the calm island of San Servolo, is the Cuban Pavilion. Four artists, Alejandro Campins, Alex Hérnandez, Ariamna Contino and Eugenio Tibaldi have been chosen to represent the Caribbean state. Particularly interesting is the work of Alex Hernández, who experimented with bees and their honeycombs. He replaced the hexagonal wax hives with cells of abstract shapes to find out, if the bees could be induced to change their traditional constructions following the imposed ones.
Hidden in the narrow streets of Castello, is the national participation of Mongolia. It is interesting to discover this cross-disciplinary project, which features the sculptural installations of Jantsankhorol Erdenebayar accompanied by an interactive sound performance by traditional Mongolian throat singers and guest artist Carsten Nicolai. Immersed in red light, together with the unusual sounds, the sculptures develops a mystical aspect.
Regrettably, the Lithuanian Pavilion hid in the Venetian warren of lanes. "Sun & Sea (Marina)" a performance by Lina Lapelyte, Vaiva Grainyte and Rugile Barzdziukaite was honoured by the Golden Lion. We will certainly visit it on our next visit to Venice.
Arsenale: plunging and reappearing in different circumstances
The main exhibition in the Arsenale, the former Venetian shipyard, initiates with photos by Anthony Hernandez. They show structures like a tunnel, which pull the view of the spectator inside. Appropriately, the video "48 War Movies" by Christian Marclay follows with a similar visual impact though its sound functions as a big bang that opens the art exhibition. A little bit forward Tavares Strachan deals in "Hidden Histories" with issues of truth and visibility. Only the attentive visitor will discover the light image of the deceased astronaut Robert Henry Lawrence Jr.
Anicka Yi hides something moving in her incandescent biomorphic sculptures. Seemingly flying insects, they are not really to determine. Whereas Christoph Büchel points openly at the refugee drama in the Mediterranean. Titled "Barca Nostra" (Our Boat), he exposes the fishing boat, which sank in 2015 and took up to 1.100 migrants with it. The vessel was recovered from the sea ground by the Italian navy and now reappears in bright daylight, although it could be overseen in the ambiance of the ancient shipyard.
Ghana participates for the first time at the Venice Biennale. In the exhibition "Ghana Freedom" El Anatsui's monumental installations are concealing their origin. Made of bottle caps and aluminium printing plates, they develop a new fascinating beauty. In a similar sense, but with a totally different outcome goes the pavilion of Saudi Arabia, titled "After Illusion". Seemingly plunging into a fabulous underwater Landscape, one discovers in touching the familiar looking objects that they are not as natural as they seem. Actually, Zahrah Al Ghamdi made the dried urchins reminding pieces out of cooked leather, as a documentary film demonstrates.
In the Indian Pavilion, a nebulous curtain invites to go through and swallows the participating visitor, to spit him/her out on the other side. "Covering Letter" is a fog screen projection with a black-and-white video by Jitish Kallat. The projection depicts a letter written by Mahatma Gandhi to Adolf Hitler in July 1939, urging him to resist "reducing humanity to a savage state". People walking through the letter are simultaneously inhabiting and dispersing the moving text. Finally in the Italian Pavilion, the visitor could get lost in "Neither Nor". "The Challenge to the Labyrinth" is to discover the sometimes hidden artworks by Enrico David, Chiara Fumai and Liliana Moro. If you are lucky, you'll also find the rest area, designed like an Italian beach café. While relaxing, you can listen to various interpretations of the Italian folk and partisan song "Bella Ciao".
Text: Astrid Gallinat
Photos © Astrid Gallinat & Stephan Goseberg, if not mentioned otherwise
Posted in Exhibitions on 15 May 2019 and tagged 58th Biennale, Arsenale, Belgium, Biennale di Venezia, Brazil, Cuba, Egypt, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Giardini, India, Italy, Lara Favaretto, May you live in interesting times, Mongolia, New Zealand, Poland, Ralph Rugoff, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Swizzerland, Venezuela, Venice, Venice Biennale
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Seismicity Impacts
The underlying strata and geological formations across Texas have provided an abundance of natural resources, including the recent developments of shale oil and gas resources. The development of these resources, and the attendant seismic and other geological implications of those activities, requires knowledge of the permeability of widely varying geologic formations and subsurface stress regimes and tectonics and how they are affected by hydraulic fracturing processes.
Seismicity
Earthquakes have increased in Texas. Before 2008, Texas recorded about 2 earthquakes
a year. Since then, there have been about 12-15 a year.
Some of these earthquakes are linked to wastewater disposal from oil and gas development, not with hydraulic fracturing.
Wastewater disposal wells near earthquake locations now must receive special approval from state regulators.
Seismicity Findings
Seismicity Recommendations
Chapter Authors
Do we know what's causing all of these new earthquakes?
In some cases, a link has been established between these seismic events and oil and gas development activity, specifically the disposal of wastewater. But what remains unknown is a complete understanding of the physics of that process and understanding how much earthquakes can be mitigated or eliminated. There's still much that remains unknown: faults are ubiquitous across Texas but remain incompletely characterized.
What is being done to address these knowledge gaps?
We need to learn more about where and when earthquakes are occurring. In 2005, there were only six permanent seismographic stations in Texas. By 2015, that number had increased to 17. Soon, thanks to the implementation of the TexNet initiative (a state-funded research project), Texas will have an additional 22 permanent seismic stations in Texas as well as employ 36 portable stations for monitoring local areas of interest, like in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
These stations will allow us to better monitor earthquakes and better share seismic data. The more that is known about the earthquakes, the better equipped we'll be to come up with ways to mitigate or avoid induced earthquakes.
Can we do anything to stop induced earthquakes?
If the physics of induced earthquakes can be better understood, criteria can be established for the disposal of wastewater from shale oil and gas production: how far away the disposal must be from a fault, or how much fluid can be disposed. Compared to some other states like Oklahoma, Texas has had a relatively low number of possibly induced earthquakes.
"We know there are earthquakes in Texas and that some of them have been linked to oil and gas operations. But what remains unknown is a complete understanding of the physics of that process that can lead to these earthquakes and understanding the degree we can mitigate or eliminate them."
~Brian Stump, Southern Methodist University
Geologic faults are ubiquitous across Texas; these faults are poorly and incompletely characterized.
The majority of known faults in the subsurface in Texas are stable and are not prone to generating earthquakes.
There has been an increase in the rate of recorded seismicity in Texas over the last several years. Between 1975 and 2008 there were, on average, one to two earthquakes per year of magnitude greater than M3.0. Between 2008 and 2016, the rate increased to about 12 to 15 earthquakes per year on average.
Under certain unique geologic conditions, faults that are at or near critical stress may slip and produce an earthquake if nearby fluid injection alters the effective subsurface stresses acting on a fault.
Mechanisms of both natural and induced earthquakes in Texas are not completely understood, and building physically-complete models to study them requires the integration of data that always will have irreducible uncertainties.
To date, potentially induced earthquakes in Texas, felt at the surface, have been associated with fluid disposal in Class II disposal wells, not with the hydraulic fracturing process.
The TexNet goals address an integrated research portfolio that considers seismicity analysis, geologic characterization, fluid-flow modeling, and geomechanical analysis.
Future geologic and seismological research initiatives should develop improved and transparent approaches that seek to balance concerns surrounding data handling and sharing, and that promote sharing of data.
Development of a common data platform and standardized data formats could enable various entities collecting data to contribute to better data integration. It also could facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration directed toward mitigation and avoidance of induced seismicity.
Seismicity Chapter Authors
Brian Stump (Lead)
Kris Nygaard
ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company
Craig Pearson
Railroad Commission of Texas
For media inquiries about seismicity impacts, please visit our Media Center page.


Posted on November 24, 2017 in Industry by Julia Zhou.
Distribution has come a long way since the early days of the printing press. With the invention of new mediums like radio, television, film, the internet—and now more and more social channels and avenues to reach audiences—content distribution is constantly evolving. So, what is it exactly?
When we refer to content distribution, we are mostly referring to the practice of disseminating content on key channels to get it in front of the right audiences. This can be broken down further into three types of distribution channels: owned, earned, and paid. Like with anything else, you need to know the basics before you can develop sophisticated strategies. Knowing the difference between these three distribution channels is the first step you need to take when creating a content distribution plan for your company.
Ask yourself this: what content do you have 100% control over? If you have control over how it's read, consumed, produced, and published, it is considered owned media. Owned media is anything under a brand's direct control that is not subject to the changing rules of third-party channels. The most common example would be your company or brand's own website or blog.
With owned distribution, you have complete control over when, how, and where your content appears. You do not have to pitch your content to a publication or pay lots of money for your content to appear on a given channel—it's yours to do with what you want.
Of course, while these channels give you an immense amount of control over when and what you post, you may not get the same amount of reach or engagement on your content as you would through third-party sites. It takes time to build up audiences for these owned channels and to use them to extend your brand presence.
Furthermore, you may have to rely on other distribution channels (earned, paid) to promote your owned media. (More on that in a minute).
*There is a small grey area when it comes to owned media and channels, namely with social media. Technically, you do not have complete control over these channels; you have to sign up for a social media account, modify your content to each website's liking, and abide by certain terms and conditions. However, for all intents and purposes, since you're the one creating the content and choosing when to publish, edit, or delete it, social media is considered an "owned" distribution channel.
It's important to note that the traffic you gain on these channels can also be earned or paid, depending on whether or not people organically share your posts with their own social networks (earned), or if you need to put paid promotion dollars behind social posts to reach the right viewers (paid).
Earned distribution is considered highly credible because it comes from external, unpaid sources. Success with earned distribution can often validate the quality or effort for a piece of content. That's why so many brands seek "virality" as a goal for their content—because the earned traffic will help them reach a wide audience without having to use paid distribution.
Strong search engine rankings also help improve your earned distribution, as your content will be in a better position on search result pages to be seen and engaged with. This will ultimately create a virtuous cycle as your content becomes the "authority" on whatever topic you're posting on and continues to bring in higher volumes of organic traffic.
However, because earned distribution relies on strangers engaging with your content, you really have no control over the word-of-mouth conversation. Good, bad, in between—earned distribution leaves it to others to create commentary around your content and brand for you.
Paid distribution is a good way to promote content in order to drive traffic to other distribution channels, like owned and earned. With paid distribution, there is a good level of control over the budget, the third-party channel, and the specifications you choose to ensure you get some bang for your buck.
However, paying for content distribution can get expensive quickly without proper knowledge of where to best direct your efforts. It can also have less credibility than something like earned distribution because it is not organic. You want to be careful about when and where you pay to distribute your content, and make sure you're distributing pieces that viewers will find valuable once they're in their news feeds or search results. An ad specialist or a content marketing partner can carefully promote and spend this money to advertise your content wisely.
Content distribution relies on a combination of traditional, owned, earned, third-party, and paid channels to maximize your brand's content marketing impact. Not sure how to maximize your content's reach? Quietly can help. Get in touch today.


International Environmental Engineering Conference & Annual Meeting of the Korean Society of Environmental Engineers jointly with the 4th International Conference on Biological Waste as Resource 2019.
Under the theme of "Integrated Management of Environment, Water and Energy," IEEC aims to provide a platform for researchers, scientists, engineers and policy makers all over the world working in a variety of field of environment, water, and energy to share and exchange knowledge by presenting research work and case studies. BWR 2019 also offers a timely opportunity for knowledge exchange and technology transfer to assist the formulation of an effective sustainable management agenda for organic waste. It will deliberate state-of-the-art technologies, advanced management strategies, and political issues pertaining to treatment, recycling, and recovery processes of organic waste.
– Conference proceedings will be posted on the website.
– Authors of accepted abstracts should complete online registration by August 20, 2019 to be included in the final program.


SAN FRANCISCO -- November 7, 2017 – Avaya, a global leader in Customer Engagement solutions, today announced new Salesforce Service Cloud integrations with contact center solutions and CRM environments that bring omnichannel capabilities to both existing and new implementations.
The Avaya CRM Connector 2.0 bridges gaps between legacy and new implementations enabling a single user interface (UI), via the Salesforce Lightning Service Console, embedded with omnichannel controls that improve agent effectiveness and the customer experience. This connector suite is capable of supporting both the Salesforce Classic and Lightning user experiences, as well as providing call control and reporting for various knowledge workers.
In early 2018, Avaya plans to further enhance the omnichannel experience by extending its next generation Oceana contact center capabilities to Salesforce Service Cloud. This will allow additional customer insights and intelligence with blended digital and voice routing and contextual based workflow – including the customer journey - to be readily integrated within the Salesforce Lightning user experience.
Salesforce, Service Cloud, Dreamforce and others are among the trademarks of salesforce.com, inc.
Avaya enables the mission critical, real-time communication applications of the world's most important operations. As the global leader in delivering superior communications experiences, Avaya provides the most complete portfolio of software and services for contact center and unified communications— offered on premises, in the cloud, or a hybrid. Today's digital world requires outstanding communications enablement, and no other company is better positioned to do this than Avaya. For more information, please visit www.avaya.com.