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Schlaglicht Number 18/18, Latest News from the Israeli Press, October 1-15, 2018
Israeli-German government consultations
No entry for Lara Alqasem
Mutual warning of a war
1. Israeli-German government consultations
The contrasts between Merkel´s first and current visit to Israel
The contrast between German Chancellor Angela Merkel's first visit to Israel and the current one is significant. (…) Merkel came to Israel for the first time in January 2006 when she was the head of a new coalition government. (…) At that time Merkel was in a position of strength in both Germany and Europe. Those positions have greatly eroded in the past few years. (…) Merkel spoke about the friendship between the two countries. Yet in 2006 there were strong indications of unease among the German population about Israel. (…) Merkel was determined to maintain a pro-Israeli position. Subsequent visits of delegations of German ministers for consultations between the two governments over the years have been additional positive signs. (…) Much of that 'normalcy' has since been undone. Like other Western European countries, Germany accepted large numbers of immigrants from Muslim countries. (…) The situation deteriorated further when in September 2015 the German government began to pursue a welcome policy for Middle Eastern and North African refugees. (…) One result of this policy was the rise of a new anti-Islam party, AfD. (…) On the average there are four antisemitic incidents registered in Germany every day. (…) The welcome policy has greatly increased the doubts about a "normal' future for Jews in Germany. (…) During Merkel's earlier visits to Israel, collaboration between the two countries was the major topic. This time, Prime Minister Netanyahu and his colleagues would fail German Jewry if they did not give the country's antisemitism problems also a significant place on the meeting's agenda.
Manfred Gerstenfeld, JPO, 01.10.18
Merkel stands with Israel
Those in Israel who are angry over Germany's efforts to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran should keep in mind a few important things: Even back when Germany's foreign minister was Joseph "Joschka" Fischer – considered one of Israel's greatest friends – Germany was prepared to concede on the possibility of Iran arming itself with a nuclear weapon. (…) This position changed when Chancellor Angela Merkel came to power in late 2005. (…) Every time Israel intervened to ask Germany to adhere to international sanctions, Merkel responded positively according to the policy she had established: "The existence and security of Israel are part of the German national interest." With that, once it became apparent to the Germans and the rest of Europe that the Obama administration was striving for a nuclear deal with Iran no matter the cost, Berlin adapted itself to the new reality. (…) If Israel continues to provide Germany and the international community with evidence that Iran is exploiting the nuclear deal to deceive the world and funding terrorist groups across the Middle East and beyond, Merkel's commitment to Israel's security will be put to the reality test. (…)
Eldad Beck, IHY, 03.10.18
Angela Merkel´s duplicity on Israel
Germany is being inconsistent and duplicitous (…) on three issues: first, the German government's denial of antisemitism's true nature in Germany; second, Germany's efforts to circumvent US sanctions on Iran; and third, Germany's insistence on maintaining and even on increasing funding for UNRWA. (…) On the one hand, the German government says it won't tolerate antisemitism; on the other hand, it refuses to admit that the main source of anti-Jewish violence in Germany today is the Muslim antisemitism of Turkish immigrants and of Syrian refugees. On the one hand, Merkel says that Germany is committed to Israel's security; on the other hand, she actively undermines US sanctions against a regime that calls for Israel's annihilation and that is developing a military nuclear program. On the one hand, Germany says it supports a two-state solution; on the other hand, it proudly bankrolls UNWRA, which constitutes the ultimate obstacle to such a solution by transmitting the refugee status to the descendants of the 1948 refugees, and by nurturing the myth of their ultimate "return" to Israel. (…)
Emmanuel Navon, JPO, 04.10.18
Germany's Nazi-friendly, anti-Semitic far right has a new mission: Recruiting Jews
(…) What might at first appear like a steady march towards enlightenment has (…) taken a worrying turn over recent years. On this October 3 (…) Germany's much-praised Einheit (…) has never been in shorter supply. While difficulties have made themselves felt long before, the violent demonstrations in the southeastern city of Chemnitz this summer have shone a painfully bright light on the extensive societal divisions Germany faces today while also showcasing how disruptive a reinvigorated radical right can be, if it so chooses. (…)The sad truth is that today, the far-right Alternative for Germany party (…) can count on considerable electoral support all throughout the country. (…) The polarization wrought by this openly radical-right party continues to poison our public discourse and pit the citizens of our country against each other. This rift is unlike any other the Federal Republic has ever seen, in that it goes deeper and is much more fundamental. (…) Germany is still a strong, wealthy, and politically stable country – something we should keep in mind at the time of such a resonant national holiday as this. However, as a German and as a Jew, it pains me to see how far the divisions have progressed in our society. Once more, I am witnessing the rise of a party on the far right, and I see anti-Semitism on the rise again, not least because of it. Germany is a long way from "unity in freedom" today.
Charlotte Knobloch, HAA, 05.10.18
Merkel and all the men
(…) There they were, ramrod straight, standing next to one another in similar suits: 22 men surrounding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the most powerful woman in the world, German Chancellor Angela Merkel. (…) The photo, which was meant to glorify and promote the crown jewel of Israel's economy, unwittingly laid bare something else entirely – the banality of erasing women from the most important arena that there is, the centers of power. The exclusion of women in this case was unintentional, without anyone expressing an opinion on it, but it is no less dangerous, and perhaps even more dangerous, than a graphic artist sitting at an ultra-Orthodox newspaper and actively photo-shopping out the images of women. At least he recognizes their existence before deleting them. (…) It is the simple and easy dynamic of exclusion at play that continues to thrive even 100 years after the suffragettes took to the streets. It makes it possible for everyone to take comfort – in good faith and without a loss of integrity – since after all, none of the participants would have objected to the presence of women at the event. They simply weren't there. (…) Just as the presence of one Angela Merkel doesn't excuse the absence of other women, so the integration of women – even on a massive scale – in the workplace is not sufficient as long as they don't get equal pay, equal treatment and an equal place in management, on boards of directors and in decision making. (…)
Roni Bar, HAA, 09.10.18
2. No entry for Lara Alqasem
Israel's '1984' moment in the war against BDS
One of the most intriguing characters in George Orwell's "1984" is Emmanuel Goldstein. He is the principal enemy of the state, whose organization "The Brotherhood" is responsible for anything and everything that goes wrong. (…) Orwell hints that Goldstein may not even exist, except as an instrument of state propaganda. That is Orwell's dystopian Oceania circa 1984. In Israel circa 2018, we don't have Big Brother and Thought Police agents, but we do have Gilad Erdan and the Strategic Affairs Ministry. (…) This week he gave us a "1984"-lite movement, when he said he might reconsider the fate of Lara Alqasem – an American student who's been denied entry into Israel for her alleged BDS activities – if she is prepared to publicly declare that BDS "is illegitimate and [that] she regrets what she did on this matter." And voilà, we have our prospective Winston Smith too. (…) BDS propaganda is often ugly, and its anti-Israel propaganda relies on exaggeration and sometimes outright lies. But in no way does it pose anything even remotely resembling a threat to the State of Israel. (…) But what harm do Alqasem and student BDS activists like her really do? The answer is virtually none. Where BDS could be truly harming Israel in a way that demands the government do something is in business. If BDS' dream of convincing companies not to do business with Israel succeeded, our economy would be in serious trouble because it relies so heavily on international trade and investments. Nothing like that has happened (…). It hurts to see a respected academic or a favorite pop star decline to visit Israel – but it's emotional hurt, not a real one, and it doesn't happen very often. By most measures, Israel's standing in the world has improved in recent years. (…) Erdan's Orwellian performance this week, which was probably aimed at Likud voters more than slaying any BDS monster, is doing more harm to Israel's image than Lara Alqasem and her fellow activists could ever dream of doing.
David Rosenberg, HAA, 10.10.18
Israeli minister should apologize, not the detained American student
(…) Israel is going from bad to worse: After it sent a 16-year-old Palestinian girl who slapped a soldier to prison for eight months and turned her into an international heroine, and after it jailed a Palestinian poet who published a poem, it is now waging all-out war against an American student who came to do an M.A. in human rights at Hebrew University. It is hard to believe that the name of the ministry that stands behind this foolish decision is the Strategic Affairs Ministry. How is a student who in the past called for a boycott of a hummus manufacturer a "strategic matter"? (…) Alqasem told the appeals tribunal (…) that the chapter she belonged to had only a few members, about five, and that she wasn't considered a "senior" person in the national organization, which is one of the criteria for barring entry to Israel of boycott supporters. (…) "If I supported it [a boycott of Israel] I wouldn't be able to come to Israel as a student." But (…) the real damage to Israel's image and the encouragement of boycotts is by Erdan, Interior Minister Arye Dery and the rest of the thought police and political persecutors who constitute the ugliest government this country has ever known. The letter of harsh rebuke by the Committee of University Heads to Erdan is also commendable. The court should allow Alqasem to enter Israel. If anyone should apologize, it is not Alqasem, but rather the Israeli government.
Fighting BDS activists is justified
Perhaps the critics of Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan and the supporters of American student Lara Alqasem, who has been denied entry into Israel over her support of the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, are right. It would have been better to avoid law enforcement measures fashioning her as the latest on-duty prisoner of Zion for the Palestinian cause. (…) On the fundamental level, Erdan is right. The (…) anti-Israeli activity is established by small, localized cells; they know that the fight to boycott Israel is decentralized, lacks a hierarchal structure, and that it's campaigners dot the landscape of Western campuses. (…) What do those who call to boycott Israel, if not to inflict serious economic, academic and cultural damage on the Jewish state, expect? (…) This is also directed at Hebrew University's board of directors, whose members ceremoniously hopped on the bandwagon calling for Alqasem's release and whose leaders even declared that academia believes in "diversity of opinion" – and therefore "raise the banner of tolerance toward those who call to boycott us." With all due respect and utmost forgiveness — at whose expense exactly? The boycott movement has made Israeli academia a primary target (…). The arrogant contempt for the fight against the BDS movement is a slap in the face of every Israeli citizen.
Dr. Eithan Orkibi, IHY, 10.10.18
Israel's exilic existential anxiety
Israel's founding fathers hoped that when we have our own country, where we can defend ourselves by ourselves, the existential anxiety that had characterized us over 2,000 years of exile would disappear. But it hasn't. Our hysterical treatment of BDS supporters is not strategic in nature, it's psychological. Israeli society is living in internal contradiction. On the one hand, we champion the "we don't care what others think about us" attitude. (…) On the other hand, the new Jew is hyper-sensitive to what others say about him. (…) This theoretical yearning is connected to something deeper than anxiety over one's image. Armed from head to toe, protected by nuclear warheads (…), no longer a servant with no rights, but an over privileged master who has his own "Jews"—the new Jew has yet to complete the mental recovery that Israel's founding fathers wished for. (…) Being "like all other nations" means not to act out of the existential need to please, but also not out of complete disregard to the world. To stop viewing everything in the terms of "what will they say about us," but also not give ourselves a general indulgence (a pardon) because of our chosenness or past suffering. To listen to criticism without having to accept it right away, but at the same time not automatically define it as anti-Semitic. (…) Meaning, are we willing to be treated in the same way we've treated others? (…) Under the Netanyahu governments, the exilic existential anxiety has become the main characteristic of the Israeli. And if there's no existential threat, there's no choice but to make one up. (…) How did the BDS Movement become an existential threat that justifies unfounded conduct, like in the case of Lara Alqasem? The answer will not be found in the field of strategy, but in psychology.
Aviad Kleinberg, YED, 10.10.18
Israel's public enemy no. 1
(…) the case of Lara Alqasem proves that Israel no longer has to work hard in order to defeat itself. Alqasem, 22, has been held for more than a week in the lockup at Ben-Gurion International Airport because she once boycotted some hummus. (…) How did the security at Ben-Gurion Airport go from being a necessary evil to a Monty Python sketch? (…) A young woman who is seeking to study in Israel is in detention on grounds that she is boycotting Israel, even though she has already declared that she does not support BDS. You have to read that sentence a few times to understand what losing one's bearings looks like. (…) Erdan is just the latest participant in the current march of folly. (…) I suggest we remember that boycotts are not a security risk, economic terror or diplomatic terror. To argue otherwise is not just an insult to one's common sense, but also to victims of terror and real security risks. (…) Israel has a clear interest in fighting any boycott against it, but it should also consider adapting its measures to suit the cause. The arrest of young women will not eliminate the boycott movement, but rather fuel it, and questioning opponents of the occupation at Ben-Gurion Airport does not further Israel's reputation. (…) in Israel today even stating the obvious has become radical. There is no clearer indication than this of the nation's state of mind after a decade under the regime of Benjamin Netanyahu.
Zehava Galon, HAA, 11.10.18
Stop the Orwellian detentions
The government has painted itself into a corner over the detention of an American student who has been held at Ben-Gurion International Airport for a week. (…) Minister Gilad Erdan said that student Lara Alqasem should repudiate past actions and views that may have supported the boycott of Israel. Only then could she come to study at the Hebrew University in Israel's capital. (…) the government should reconsider this policy of telling visitors that they must pass a kind of Orwellian test of loyalty to enter Israel. (…) The detained student wanted to study at The Hebrew University, one of Israel's top institutions of higher learning. (…) When the cornerstone was laid, local Arabs, Jews and non-Jews from all over attended. (…) Today, the state's leaders increasingly forget about the need for ideas and the need to influence people through discussion and to welcome critics from abroad. Walling off the country by detaining critics would have surprised the early Zionist movement. (…) Whenever Israel has sought to ignore critics or ban ideas it has never succeeded. Israel banned the Beatles in 1965, for the nonsensical notion that they might corrupt the youth. The state sought to ban the Palestinian flag and not negotiate with Palestinians under the false impression that ignoring them would make their national aspirations evaporate. But those aspirations grew ever stronger in the 1970s and 80s. (…) The current policy appears to have gone too far, catching in the net of detentions numerous voices who are merely critical of Israel, not supporters of violence. (…) Israel has nothing to hide. The government should let its critics in and show them why they are wrong.
Big Brother at right wing's service
(…) states monitor simple acts on the social networks and (…) they could be used against users in formal procedures. Every social network user's digital fingerprints – every "like" or click to show attendance at an event, even if done in haste, long ago or with no intention of expressing support – is used by enforcement authorities worldwide to determine people's fates. (…) Alqasem is not alone, of course. Palestinians and Israeli Arab citizens have known for years that every digital move they made could haunt them even if it's supposedly protected under freedom of expression. Now foreign left-wing activists are in the surveillance crosshairs, and similar testimony has been used against left-wing Israeli citizens. This is the realization of the Big Brother vision: Ideological positions are gleaned from the web by governments, or worse: their envoys in civilian espionage organizations, who "snitch" on their political rivals. Cooking up criminal cases based on internet searches must be forbidden.
Editorial, HAA, 12.10.18AAh
If you're gonna boycott, don't change the definition
(…) Alqasem is not being compelled to enroll at an Israeli university, and as a non-citizen she is not endowed with an innate right to visit a country that she has taken a personal stance against. (…) The legality of the denial of entry and detention of Alqasem when she refused to leave are not at issue. (…) The government should simply deport Alqasem and similar cases regardless of any supposed new statements on anything. These are people that are entitled to their own opinions, but not to pernicious lies in pursuit of evading port of entry restrictions. (…) even though Israel is relatively free compared to most of its neighbours and permits publishing of some of the most ridiculous slanders by its own citizens, I would still rather it had more freedom and less censorship than the opposite. (…) at a certain point feelings cannot be fought anymore (…). People that dedicate their lives to a cause, right or wrong, and advertise their own personal righteousness cannot then complain when the party that they are acting against declines an attempt to enter their realm. While Alqasem's fake ordeal is being trumpeted by the well meaning and the soft headed, Pakistan stands to execute an imprisoned Christian woman named Asia Bib for blasphemy and Saudi internet writer Raif Badawi has been imprisoned since 2012 and suffered a flogging in 2015 as a result of his liberal blogging. These people did not choose their country, their country chose to screw them. Alqasem, by contrast, is free to leave Israel anytime she wants and proceed to take interest in any fake cause that suits her upon returning home.
Ramon Epstein, TOI, 14.10.18
The case of Lara Alqasem
(…) Whether the detention and denial of entry, on the grounds that Alqasem allegedly supports the boycott of Israel, was justified is still an open legal question (…). However, under the circumstances it was certainly an unwise and miserable decision, (…) because of the damage it causes Israel's eroding image abroad as a liberal, democratic state, and especially to Israeli universities, which are struggling with academic boycotts (…). Israel's fight against the boycott of the Jewish settlements in the territories and/or Israel as a whole, though legitimate, is rather hysterical and perhaps even counterproductive. (…) boycotts are a legitimate means in international relations. (…) Of course, it is also legitimate for Israel to reject this criticism and resist boycotts. However (…) as unpleasant as the current boycotts implemented against Israel and/or the Jewish settlements beyond the Green Line are, they do not really cause much financial damage. (…)
Susan Hattif Rolef, JPO, 14.10.18
3. Mutual warning of a war
War in Gaza: Palestinians die. Israelis die. Only Hamas wins
(…) Conditions in Gaza have gone from dire to calamitous. (…) No one would sit still and raise their children in such conditions. (…) Protests and violence are increasing along the fence, in step with Gaza's deterioration. (…) the risk of major confrontation is looming once more. (…) Israel holds the power, and therefore the initiative. Israel could (…) ease the blockade of Gaza. (…) No one has to like Hamas. (…) The blockade gives Hamas a free hand, and escalation affirms them as the interlocutor of violence. De-escalation would speak past them. Peace would put them out of business. (…) There is still time, and there are still choices, to spare everyone's children. (…)
Marilyn Garson, HAA, 02.10.18
Sinwar's lying gun
The ideology behind the demonstrations on the Gaza border fence (…) is the destruction of Israel. Everything is controlled by the Palestinian military chief, Yahya Sinwar. What prevents him from realizing this ideology is the reality, which constantly comes knocking at his door—the Israeli iron wall. (…) After spending 22 years in an Israeli prison (…) the Hamas leader knows us well. (…) Sinwar lies to his people and robs them of hope, in the name of a greater goal. He lies to every foreign leader and journalist arriving in Gaza, and has no problem lying to Israelis as well. (…) As Hamas tightens its grip, Gaza's living conditions, including water and electricity availability, decline. (…) As Sinwar's reign continues, Gaza becomes more and more volatile. Under his rule, Gaza is constantly on the verge of war, and peace is out of sight—the writing is on the wall. (…) Gaza's distress is not going away, Hamas's ideology will endure, and so will its use as a political tool— no matter which regional player intervenes. (…) Assassinating Hamas's leader (…) must be on the table, and with it, a military resolution, or, alternatively, the development of economic incentives so that Gaza will have much to lose. Listen to Sinwar, read between the lines. He mustn't be the one to dictate Israeli strategy.
Yoaz Hendel, YED, 04.10.18
Don't test us
(…) After two months of relative quiet, last Friday some 20,000 Gazans approached the fence to clash with IDF forces. (…) The socioeconomic situation in the Gaza Strip is consistently deteriorating and the leadership there has no solution. (…) Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (…) is trying to bring Hamas to its knees. Hamas is taking out its anger on Israel, hoping that the mess at the border will lead to a solution. (…) Hamas is playing with fire (…). It would only take one Israeli child harmed by one of these innocent-looking improvised bombs to change Israel's policy at the border. (…)
Yoav Limor, IHY, 05.10.18
Sinwar's hidden message: Calm for Gaza rehabilitation or war
(…) Sinwar is sending a message between the lines to the Israeli public: (…) If you don't stop Gaza from going hungry, I'll make sure you suffer too. In the interview, Sinwar presents his own alternative to war. (…) he wants it on his own terms; a direct agreement with Israel—via the UN, the US and Egypt—which bypasses the Palestinian Authority. Such an arrangement could serve both to boost Sinwar's status and to strengthen the Hamas organization ahead of the expected power struggle in the Palestinian arena in the post-Abbas era. (…) To him, reaching an arrangement is the preferred step to break the stalemate. If that doesn't work, (…) the violence at the protests escalates further and further: from stones and tires to incendiary kites and balloons, and from there to explosive balloons. (…) If all of that doesn't work, a drastic move will follow, which could rock the region and bring to the change Sinwar mentions in the interview. (…) Sinwar's motto as Hamas's leader is: Gaza First. (…) Give me a few good years to reorganize, rebuild Gaza, allow it to prosper—and I'll give you quiet during that time. (…) While Sinwar is talking about calm in return for changing the standard of living in Gaza, the relationship between Hamas and Iran is gaining momentum; there is sharing of knowledge and transfer of funds from Iran to Gaza at an unprecedented scope. (…) There are no signs of investment in the civil sector at the expense of the military buildup. Israel would've liked to see some sign of goodwill, beyond rhetoric, but Hamas is not providing this sign. (…)
Alex Fishman, YED, 06.10.18
Egypt holds the key
(…) El-Sissi, who is having some success in his bitter battle against Islamic State and other terrorist groups in Sinai – mainly because of Egypt's security ties to Israel (…) is slowly restoring Cairo to the status of a regional power. (…) the Gaza leadership, despite being wooed by Iran, still prefers Egypt as a broker in the intra-Palestinian fracas and even in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (…) Hamas is not trying to make military gains, but rather political ones that will ease conditions for the population and prevent discontent among the Palestinians in Gaza. (…) The Egyptians' original approach was to skirt the intra-Palestinian conflict and try to stabilize the violence. But Abbas refused, letting Egypt, Israel and other Arab states know that they were not sovereign in Gaza and had no authority there. (…) if the Egyptians continue to involve themselves in the process of reaching a Gaza cease-fire and implementing a Palestinian reconciliation agreement, another war between Israel and Hamas will be kept at bay. But if Egypt decides to pull its finger out of the Palestinian pie and concentrate on its own internal security matters, another war against Hamas is inevitable.
Daniel Siryoti, IHY, 07.10.18
A rational Hamas
The interview with Yahya Sinwar, Hamas chief in Gaza, which was conducted by Italian journalist Francesca Borri and published in the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth," set off a major internet storm in the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian diaspora. What? Sinwar spoke knowingly to an Israeli newspaper? (…) What caused the outrage was that the wording of the article seemed to indicate that Borri was sent by the Israeli newspaper, and that that's how the situation was presented to Sinwar. (…) A Gaza resident told me that he was convinced that most of the answers were given in writing because of "the polished wording, the level-headed replies and the rational explanations." He believes that an entire team thought things through and wrote the answers, not Sinwar alone. He also said that the message in the interview is addressed to the Palestinians in Gaza "who are sick and tired of Hamas rule," no less than to readers in the West (…). And I was left longing for the period when senior Hamas officials gave interviews to the Israeli press and to a Jewish Israeli like me – including Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, Ismail Haniyeh and many others. And I was left with the following conclusion: When Israel doesn't allow Israeli journalists to enter Gaza, it makes life easy for Hamas.
Amira Hass, HAA, 08.10.18
A clear sign elections are near
(…) Netanyahu's rhetoric had changed. (…) he said he has yet to make up his mind on early elections. For those in the meeting, this was a very clear sign that elections are near. (…) United Torah Judaism will discard any plan it may have had to compromise on the controversial conscription bill. (…) Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who has recently shown flexibility on the language of the bill, will once again stand firm and refuse to agree to any changes. (…) The party leaders also noticed another change: There was no daylight between him and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon. (…) A lot has been said about the growing bond between Netanyahu and Kahlon. It could ultimately mean the two will run on a joint ticket. In fact, the show they put on display (…) suggests they have already decided to join forces. (…)
Mati Tuchfeld, IHY, 08.10.18
What's so bad about assimilation?
(…) The fear of assimilation is something we've all imbibed with our mothers' milk. Annihilation, destruction, Auschwitz, something like that. (…) The opposition to assimilation is racist and purely nationalistic. Again it's the superior and pure Jewish blood that mustn't be mixed, heaven forbid, with any Christian, Muslim or other impurity. After a long history living as a minority under threat, the people can't shake that survival instinct. (…) Is the struggle against assimilation a struggle to preserve Jewish values as they've been realized in Israel? If so, then it would be best to abandon that battle. The gefilte fish and hreime (spicy sauce), the bible, religion and heritage, can be preserved in mixed marriages as well. (…) The Jewish state has already crystallized an identity, which can only be enriched by assimilation, which is a normal, healthy process. Lucy Aharish and Tzachi Halevy may actually spawn a much more moral and civilized race than the one that has arisen here so far.
Gideon Levy, HAA, 13.10.18
Tragic Barkan Killing Bursts Bubble of Coexistence
The tragic killing in the Barkan industrial zone, where Kim Levengrond Yehezkel and Ziv Hajbi were murdered, has left us with nothing except to embrace our grief. (…) Along with the sorrow and pain, a dream has vanished. The bubble of coexistence between Jews and Arabs was shattered, and the illusion of life based on mutual respect and cooperation blew up in our faces. (…) The Barkan industrial zone will no longer be marketed as a symbol of peace in the chaos of the Samaria region. But if the people of Israel set the example of unity, Israel will become a symbol of peace within the chaos of the world. Then, we will not only live in coexistence, but in global coexistence. We will feel ourselves as one united people, and we will shine like a lighthouse to the world, fulfilling our duty to become a "light unto the nations."
Michael Laitman, TOI, 09.10.18
The US elections and Israel
Israelis are anxious about the future of the US's pro-Israel stance, but a US president's foreign policy is largely unfettered by Congress. The disgusting and drawn-out character assassination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, has been followed by the announcement of US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley that she will be retiring after the end of the year. These events have reinforced Israeli anxiety about what the congressional elections in November might signify for US-Israeli relations, particularly if the Democrats should take control of one or both of the houses of Congress. (…) the US president has much more flexibility in the foreign policy area, with or without the cooperation of Congress. (…) In fact, following the announcement of the "deal" the Senate did vote, narrowly approving it, but the administration made it abundantly clear that it would honor it no matter what Congress did or did not do. (…) there is reason to believe that the Trump administration's attitude towards relations with Israel will not change (…) unless the president decides it is in the interests of the country to change that policy, and the Congress be damned.
Norman Bailey, GLO, 14.10.18


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Disclosures: Tarakji reports he consulted and served on advisory boards for AliveCor, Boston Scientific, Johnson & Johnson and Medtronic.
Barriers to remote care 'unmasked at wider scale' due to COVID-19
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Healio spoke with Khaldoun G. Tarakji, MD, MPH, a Cardiology Today Next Gen Innovator, about the data he presented at the virtual Heart Rhythm Society Annual Scientific Sessions.
Tarakji, who serves as associate section head of cardiac electrophysiology and director of the Center for Digital Health at the Heart and Vascular Institute at Cleveland Clinic, also highlighted other abstracts presented at the virtual Heart Rhythm Society Annual Scientific Sessions (HRS) that gave insight into the "digital health" of patients with arrhythmias.
Khaldoun G. Tarakji
Healio: Can you give us an overview of your abstract presented at HRS about the use of virtual visits?
Tarakji: Since 2016, we have been using virtual visits in our electrophysiology department at Cleveland Clinic to follow up some of our arrhythmia patients. We believe electrophysiology is best suited for virtual visit given the nature of our specialty. Many atrial fibrillation (AF) patients, for example, require long-term follow up and most of the decisions for their care are based on their history and data collected through ambulatory cardiac monitors, and both could be achieved remotely.
With the rising rate of adoption for virtual visits, it was important for us to assess patients' satisfaction with this new modality for providing care. Therefore, we conducted a survey with a standardized questionnaire and targeted patients who conducted virtual visits between December 2018 and July 2019 and presented the results at HRS2020.
We invited 100 patients to participate in the survey. Nine of these patients could not conduct the visit due to technical difficulties mainly due to lack of high-speed internet access. Among the respondents who completed the survey, the overall satisfaction was highly favorable with over 98% reporting the experience as excellent or very good. Patients felt they were able to communicate with their physicians effectively, got all their questions answered, and 70% of them were able to share data from devices such as extended rhythm recording patches, Holter monitors, smartphone ECGs and cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIED) remotely with their physicians. This highlights the importance of supporting the virtual visit with patient generated data to provide better care. The cost of the visit was one of the items that patients did not rate favorably. The survey was performed at a time when insurance coverage was limited for virtual visits. We concluded that virtual visits can provide a viable alternative for follow up care of arrhythmia patients. Barriers to a successful experience include technical challenges and lack of insurance coverage.
While there are many advantages for using virtual visits, we never thought about a pandemic as one of them. Our study was one of its kind as it provided insight about both patient experience with using this modality prior to COVID-19. Interestingly the issues highlighted in our studies as barriers were unmasked at wider scale during the pandemic. With the unprecedented demand for telemedicine, many platforms could not keep up and the technical difficulties became a major obstacle. The government was thankfully quick to respond with swift actions that included reimbursement for these visits and also allowing caregivers to use other video conferencing secured platforms at the time of the crisis. While these rules are temporary, virtual visits are here to stay, and for the right patient coupled with the right tools, they can provide effective and high-quality care
Healio: What impact does the Apple Heart study have on practice?
Tarakji: The Apple Heart study is an example of a new wave of mega trials that are leveraging new technologies that were not available for us as clinicians and researchers. Direct-to-participant studies, siteless trials, e-consent andvirtual follow up are all new concepts and vocabulary that will probably reshape many of our research activities. These innovative research studies are enabling us to enroll large numbers of participants in a very short time. As an example, the Apple heart study enrolled around 420,000 Apple Watch users aged 22 years or older with the goal of assessing the rate of AF detection. It is important to note that the study was conducted with older generations of Apple Watches that detected irregularities in the pulse using a proprietary algorithm and notified the patient about possible AF but did not have the capability of recording ECG rhythm strip. Confirmation of the diagnosis happened through a patch monitor that was sent to patients who received the notification. At the end, 0.5% of participants received the notification alerting them about irregular heart rhythm, and among those, only a third followed up with the patch and 34% had AF document on the patch. Among the individuals who were wearing the patch simultaneously with the watch, the positive predictive value of the notification was 84% for the detection of AF. It would have been very interesting and more impactful if the Apple Heart study was conducted with the newer generation of watches that, in addition to notifying the users about irregular pulse, would have enabled them to record their ECG to document the electrical signature through the watch.
There are several issues to note with the study. First, we don't know about the remaining 99.5% who did not receive the notification as the study was not designed to look into the negative predictive value of the watch algorithm. Among the individuals who received the notification, only 36% of them were 65 years or older and only 33% of them had CHADS VASC score of 2 or greater. This means, 64% were less than 65 years old. In fact, 16% were 22 to 39 years old. While we have many opportunities to detect AF among the high risk individuals who unfortunately continue to occasionally present with a stroke as their first manifestation of AF, it might also lead to raising anxiety or to more unnecessary interventions and testing among the young and healthy.
Healio: What should other physicians know about presentations from HRS that involve using digital health for arrhythmia patients?
Tarakji: With widespread use of smartphone and smart watches and the availability of direct-to-certain-consumer digital health products, we have great opportunities to advance the care of the arrhythmia patients. At HRS2020, two late breaking clinical trials were presented that involved the use of digital health in the care of the arrhythmia patient.
The first one addressed the common problem of suboptimal adherence to oral anticoagulation among patients with AF. Investigators in China looked at the role of using a smart watch that sends the patient daily reminders about oral anticoagulation use. This was a multicenter prospective clinical trial that enrolled 160 AF patients with relatively high CHADS VASC score and were randomly assigned to two groups; the smart watch group and standard of care. Drug adherence was measured by two methods, and at the end of the follow-up, the smartwatch group showed better adherence to the oral anticoagulation compared with the standard of care. In fact, adherence decreased in the control group over 9 months of follow up and increased in the smartwatch group.
Another late breaking clinical trial was the Blue Sync study that was designed to assess the performance of the first pacemaker in the world to use the patient's own smart device or tablet through a dedicated app for remote monitoring. While it is widely recognized that remote monitoring of pacemakers or defibrillators improves clinic efficiency and leads to better patient outcomes, adoption and adherence to remote monitoring remain suboptimal. CIED remote monitoring has gone through multiple stages of evolution from an active patient-initiated process, to a fully automated process independent from patient action using a bedside console that transmits the data to a secured network that get accessed by the physicians.
Advancements in pacemaker capabilities and the use of Bluetooth technology, allow patients for the first time to use their own smart devices (whether smartphone or tablet) as their monitor, by leveraging an app-based platform that has the ability to transfer device data to patient management networks without the use of a traditional bedside monitor. In addition to data transfer, the dedicated app offers multiple other features to enhance the patient experience, including access to information about their implanted devices, educational material, activity tracker data and transmission schedule and history
The objective of the BlueSync evaluation was to compare long-term success rate of scheduled transmissions over 12 months of follow up between patients using MyCareLink Heart app to those using traditional manual or automatic bedside monitors. The evaluation was a prospective, multicenter, international study that incorporated patients from the United States, France, Italy and the United Kingdom. The study used three historical comparison groups, using traditional modalities for remote monitoring. Between one and 12 months, 245 BlueSync patients had 953 scheduled transmissions, of which 902 were successfully completed with a success rate of 94.6%. This is compared with a 56% transmission success rate for pacemaker patients requiring a wand to communicate with a beside console and 77% for pacemaker patients with wireless automatic communication with the bedside console, and 87% for defibrillator patients with similar automatic communication
This study shows that long-term follow-up with BlueSync-compatible pacemakers using an app-based platform produces a higher rate of success in scheduled transmissions compared with traditional remote monitoring options.
Healio: What's on the horizon for digital health and arrhythmia care?
Tarakji: Digital technologies are transforming the practice of medicine in general but probably more so the field of electrophysiology. Our specialty is dependent on technology and remote monitoring and telemedicine have been part of our practice for decades.
There are challenges but also great opportunities. Direct to consumer devices that record ECGs can help establish the diagnosis in a patient with random episode of palpitation, they can also provide great tools for long term monitoring for arrhythmia and guide future therapies.
Large trials involving wearable devices are moving from observational studies to looking into outcomes that are highly needed for the field. The Heartline study is an example of a pragmatic, direct-to-participants' study that is a virtual app based study. The study is an open invitation to any Medicare beneficiary. It will target 150,000 individuals who will be randomly assigned to two groups; a control group that follows standard of care and a treatment group that will use Apple Watch paired with a dedicated app for the study to enhance engagement. The primary end point is AF detection, in addition the study will look into secondary end points including stroke and other cardiovascular events. It is important to note that Heartline is an example of a virtual study that will rely on the use of an app and the end point will be measured using a health care claims database. In the midst of the pandemic when most clinical trials have come to a halt, these types of studies could continue to enroll.
The use of smartphone for implantable device remote follow up is a paradigm shift in the care of these patients. For the first time, millions of patients have some visibility to data elements from their devices. The app itself can transform the way we conduct CIED research in more effective ways.
arrhythmia disorder
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text:
Radicalized 21-year-old Arrested in FBI Sting After Planning White House Suicide Attack Using IED and Anti-TANK Rocket
ATLANTA – January 17, 2019
In a last-minute news conference, federal investigators announced that a joint terrorism task force led by the FBI arrested Hasher Jallal Taheb, 21, after an investigation showed he wanted to attack several federal buildings in Washington, D.C.
Hasher Jallal Taheb, of the Atlanta suburb of Cumming, was arrested in Gwinnett County on Wednesday and appeared briefly in federal court in Atlanta in a case brought by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Byung Pak, the US attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, told reporters.
"His alleged intent was to attack the White House and other targets of opportunity in the Washington, DC area by using explosive devices, including an improvised explosive device, an anti-tank rocket," Pak said.
Channel 2 Action News learned late Wednesday night, Taheb planned to attack the White House on Thursday.
All threats have been neutralised, Pak said in a statement.
It was not clear whether Taheb had a lawyer.
A criminal complaint said around March 2018 a community member contacted law enforcement to say Taheb had become "radicalized." On August 25, 2018, Taheb put his vehicle up for sale and an FBI informant showed interest in buying it, the complaint said.
Taheb later told the informant "he wished to conduct an attack in the United States against targets such as the White House and the Statue of Liberty," according to the complaint.
Taheb told the informant "jihad was the best deed in Islam and the peak of Islam," the complaint said.
At a December 2018 meeting with an undercover FBI agent, Taheb said he wanted to do as much damage as possible and he expected to become a "martyr." Taheb told the agent to acquire weapons and explosives for the White House attack.
Later that month he told the agent he also planned to attack the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Monument and a synagogue. He wanted to use semi-automatic weapons, an "AT-4" anti-tank weapon and hand grenades, the complaint said. It said Taheb hoped to carry out the attack on or about January 7, together with the agent and the informant.
"He described his plan to use the AT-4 to blow a hole in the White House so that the group could enter," FBI Special Agent Tyler Krueger said in an affidavit.
"His plan was to go in and take down as many (people) as they possibly could."
He was arrested on January 16 when he met another undercover agent to supposedly obtain weapons and explosives.
Body of missing 14-year-old Ohio boy found in chimney


DCCX took place October 25, 2009, on the grounds of the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington, D.C. A beautiful day for racing and spectating. As always, there was good competition, good food and good times.
In 'cross luck lurks around every corner. Sometimes it's good. Sometimes it's bad. At the 2:00 minute mark, the bad kind jumped out and got me. But that's racin'. Get up and go. Dust off later.
You were like a cat, leaping the handlebars I take it? Way to stay in the game Bill. Another nice video of a great race. Only upset I crashed myself out on lap 3. Little whiplash hangover this morning from hitting the deck on the gravel turn at the far point of the course.
Looking forward already to the next race video.
You need to be in front of me for the first 9 minutes and 55 seconds of the race. After that, nobody will know if you got passed or not. This will hold true for any race I'm filming. Unless YouTube changes their limits.
Thanks for these vids. They make explaining my absence on Sunday mornings easier.
Great vid, as usual. Your little incident was minor compared to mine. By that point I had gone down 2x; 1 due total stoppage on the steep left turn and #2 due to a guy going down in front of me and me doing an endo. Not a good day for me, although I guess I made it farther than Tambeaux.


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power shifts
Setbacks to Zimbabwe's Mugabe and Angola's Dos Santos: Africa's old men may finally be fading away
Are we witnessing the end of an era in which dictators stayed in power for decades?
Chris Saunders, The Conversation
Nov 21, 2017 · 09:30 pm
Jekesai Njikizana/AFP
Soon after Zimbabwe's army confined President Robert Mugabe to his palatial Harare home this week – allegedly for his safety – it was announced in Luanda that Angola's new President, João Lourenço, had relieved Isabel dos Santos of her position as head of the state-run oil company Sonangol.
While there may not be any direct connection between these two events, they suggest some intriguing comparisons. In both countries ruling families seem to have failed to secure themselves in power.
When Mugabe, as leader of the Zimbabwean African National Union-Patriotic Front or Zanu-PF, became ruler of Zimbabwe at independence in April 1980, José Eduardo dos Santos was already President of Angola. He had succeeded to that position after the death of Agostinho Neto in September 1979.
Dos Santos had to deal with external intervention and over two decades of civil war , during which he ruled dictatorially. Mugabe, despite a facade of constitutionalism and regular elections, also became increasingly dictatorial. He abandoned adherence to the rule of law and his country's economy collapsed. Angola became notorious for the scale of the corruption linked especially to its oil riches. Zimbabwe went from bread-basket to basket-case. With the great majority of the people of both countries living in dire poverty, Dos Santos flew to Europe when he needed medical attention, while Mugabe went to Singapore.
Though Dos Santos was probably as reluctant as Mugabe to give up power, he decided to quit as president of the country and try to retain influence through the ruling party and members of his family. Mugabe tried to impose his wife on his party as his chosen successor and then to cling on to his positions even when the army took effective control of his country.
Given recent developments in Luanda and Harare, it would seem that neither of these two old men have succeeded in securing their family dynasties.
Dos Santos's succession plan
By 2016, suffering health problems that took him to Spain for treatment, Dos Santos announced that he would step down as president of Angola and he approved his Minister of Defence, João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço as his successor.
Following the victory of the ruling Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola in the general election held in August this year, Lourenço took over as president in September. But Dos Santos remained president of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola and clearly expected Lourenço to look after his interests and that of his family, who had become enormously wealthy.
From the action Lourenço has now taken against Dos Santos' billionaire daughter Isabel, it would seem that he's becoming his own man. It appears he wishes to distance himself from the Dos Santos family, which for many Angolans is associated with corruption on a vast scale.
The London-educated Isabel has proved herself to be a very capable businesswoman, and though the Angolan economy has been suffering because of low oil-prices, on top of massive corruption, it's unlikely she was sacked to bring in a better chief executive to run the country's most important state owned company. There is talk in Luanda that Isabel's brother, José Filomeno dos Santos, will be relieved of his position as head of the country's large Sovereign Wealth Fund and that his father, the former president of the country, will be replaced as president of the ruling party, though that may have to wait until a party congress is held.
Mugabe's succession plan
In Zimbabwe Mugabe has sought to arrange that his wife will succeed him. But Gucci Grace and Robert made the mistake of trying to ensure this by firing Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Though at the time of writing, the 93-year-old Mugabe remains president both of the country and of the ruling Zanu-PF party, it's widely expected that he will soon be relieved of both positions, probably by Mnangagwa, with the assistance of the army.
Changes for the better?
New leadership in Angola and Zimbabwe will have an impact on the region as a whole.
Given Mnangagwa's record as a long serving member of government in Zimbabwe, and his involvement in the mass killing of Ndebele in the early 1980s, it is hardly likely that he will emerge as a champion of democracy.
In Angola, Lourenço is still finding his feet as head of government.
It is therefore unrealistic to hope that either country will soon move from decades of repressive rule and lack of transparency to greater constitutionalism and closer adherence to the rule of law.
But if we are witnessing the end of an era in which dictators stayed in power for decades and tried to secure their continuing influence through their families, and if we are seeing the diminishing importance of liberation movements turned political party, this must be good not only for Angola and Zimbabwe but for the southern African region as a whole.
It should also hold lessons for those who rule in neighbouring countries.
Chris Saunders, Emeritus Professor, University of Cape Town.
This article first appeared on The Conversation
José Eduardo dos Santos
Qatar blockade: Saudi Arabia's strategy to push for a regime change in Doha seems to be backfiring


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RSUH was established on March 27, 1991, on the basis of Moscow State Institute for History and Archives. Throughout the Soviet history, this small university preserved the traditions of fundamental humanitarian knowledge reflected in unique applied disciplines, many of which had disappeared from the academic and educational practice of other major universities of the country.
This historical experience still affects the educational trajectory of our University and teaches us the nonrandomness of the history of the past, including in the history of the development of humanities and related education.
It seems significant that the Moscow State Institute for History and Archives was located practically on the territory of the Slavic Greek Latin Academy, and the newly created RSUH received, in addition to the building on Nikolskaya Street, a complex of buildings of the former Shaniavsky University on Miusskaya Square, which had been opened in 1908 and became truly a people's university. RSUH, continuing the traditions of Shanyavsky Moscow City People's University, has successfully been implementing various educational projects.
photo: pastvu.com
The creation of RSUH was preceded by the development of the idea of a special institute for humanities, carried out by a team of professional historians at Moscow State Institute for History and Archives. The idea was to build on the traditions of Russian humanities, rooted in the Golden Age of Russian liberal arts in the second half of the XIX - early XX centuries, in order to develop a modern vision of the university's mission at the turn of the 20th century. One of the aspects of this mission in contemporary context was the desire to show the importance of studying and teaching the humanities as one of the ways of intellectualization of public consciousness.
August 1990 was an important milestone in the history of RSUH. It was then that the meeting of Academic Council of the Moscow State Institute for History and Archives was held, resulting in the decision to set up Russian State University for the Humanities on the basis of Moscow State Institute for History and Archives awarded with the Moscow State Order "Badge of Honor".
The Faculty of Philosophy was created at RSUH in 1992. In setting up the Faculty, the leaders of RSUH followed the European model of higher education. Today, the Faculty offers a joint M.A. program with University of Paris-8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis. In the same year of 1992, the Faculty of History and Philology was opened. And in 2002, these two faculties formed the basis of the Institute of Philology and History. The core discipline was chosen to be philology.
The Institute for Higher Humanitarian Studies was also created in 1992, and in 2006 it was named after its founder, philologist and cultural expert Eleazar Meletinsky. In 1992, the Faculty of Economics, the Faculty of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, the Russian-French Center for Historical Anthropology named after Mark Blok, faculty of training, retraining and advanced training of archival workers, "Archival School", Center for the Comparative Study of World Religions of the RSUH, as well as the publishing house of the RSUH.
The teachers and management of the Russian State University for the Humanities have formed a new model of education, within the framework of which the integration of modern technologies and universal knowledge has taken place.
In 1993-1994 the following departments were opened: Faculty of Information Security; Faculty of Informatics; departments of audiovisual, scientific, technical and economic archives.
In 1993, the concept of the university library as an information center of the RSUH changed. A master's program has been created. A year later, the Institute of Oriental Cultures was opened, which combined the study of the East, Greek and Roman antiquity, and the Mandelstam Society appeared.
The Institute of Economics, Management and Law began work in 1995. It was created on the basis of two faculties - Management and Economics. In 1999, the Law Faculty was formed as part of the IEOM on the basis of the Department of Law. In 2011, another structural subdivision became part of the IEOM - the Department of International Relations.
Also, in 1995, the Institute of Psychology was created, which historically has a strong connection with the People's University. A.L. Shaniavsky. Lev Vygotsky studied at the Faculty of History and Philology of the People's University. It was his concept that formed the basis of the educational programs of the Institute, and the teachers became students of the followers of the famous scientist. In 1996, the Institute of Psychology was named after Leo Vygotsky.
In addition to the Institute of Psychology and the Institute of Economics, Management and Law, in 1995 the Institute of Historical and Cultural Anthropology was opened, as well as the UC of Restoration and Expertise at the Faculty of Museology.
The Faculty of History, Political Science and Law appeared in 1996 on the basis of the Department of History and Political Science. The concept of faculty development was based on the principle of transdisciplinarity, which consists in the study of subjects outside the framework of traditional scientific disciplines. Students got the opportunity to study the political, social, communicative and historical aspects of modernity.
The Massmedia Institute was established in 1996 on the basis of the Multimedia Center of the Russian State Humanitarian University. An important component of the training was a comprehensive approach to the professional training of students, combining basic humanitarian knowledge and knowledge of the technical tools of a modern journalist.
In the same year, the Department of Intelligent Systems in the Humanities of the Institute of Linguistics. Its foundation was the Department of Logic and Intelligent Systems, Faculty of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics. In 2013, it was transformed into the Department of Intelligent Systems in the Humanitarian Sphere. All these years, the structures are led by Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor Victor Finn.
In 1996, an educational strategy called "Education by means of art" was developed at the Russian State University for the Humanities, which was how the Museum Center was created. And in 1997, the museum activity of the university received an additional breakthrough thanks to the opening of the I.V. Educational Art Museum Tsvetaeva. The visualization of the museum's exposition is structured in such a way as to remind visitors of its "genetic connection" with the A. Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, which was created by I.V. Tsvetaev in 1912.
In the seven halls of the Tsvetaevsky Museum on Miuss, there are now about 750 exhibits: from the art of Ancient Egypt to the art of the Renaissance. Entire sections were found in the Training Museum, which had been absent from the exposition on Volkhonka for a long time. In one of the halls on the Miusses, the Tsvetievsky hall of ancient Greek gravestone reliefs is partially restored.
In 1997, the university continued to develop prospects for international cooperation and created the Moscow-Quebec Russian-Canadian Educational and Scientific Center. The Institute for Advanced Studies and Retraining of Specialists also began work.
At the turn of the century, a faculty of art history was created. He was born from the faculty of museology, which in turn arose on the basis of the museum department, which had existed since 1988 at the Moscow State Institute of Atomic Energy. In 2000, the Educational and Scientific Center for Social Anthropology (UNSCA) also began its work on the basis of the Ethnological Center.
The university entered the new decade with renewed vigor. The Institute of Information Sciences and Security Technologies began its work on the basis of the RSUH. The Russian-Turkish Center of the ISTC was opened.
In 2002, the Nobel laureate, historian, writer and publicist Alexander Solzhenitsyn met with students. For many years, within the walls of the university, meetings with students have been carried out by world-famous experts in the field of history, philology, philosophy and other humanitarian disciplines. Among them - Umberto Eco, Paul Pupar, Roger Chartier, Richard Rorty, Jürgen Kokka, Mikhail Epstein, Pierre Nora.
In 2004, Russian President Vladimir Putin presented the State Prize of Russia in the field of literature and art Director of the Institute "Russian Anthropological School" Vyacheslav Ivanov. In the same year, the Department of World Politics and International Relations was established. Thanks to the contacts of the Russian State Humanitarian University with a number of US universities, the Russian-American Center of the ISTC was created.
In 2006, an agreement was signed on the establishment of the Confucius Institute on the basis of the RSUH, and in September 2007 the institute itself was created under the auspices of the Chinese Language Propagation Office under the PRC government. And to this day - it is the largest Russian-Chinese educational and scientific center, originally integrated into the structure of the university. In 2013, at the World Congress of Confucius Institutes in Beijing, the Confucius Institute of the Russian State Humanitarian University was awarded the title "Best Confucius Institute of the Year." This is the highest form of recognition of the merits of each specific Confucius Institute by the Chinese Language Spreading Office.
Also in 2006, a liberal arts college was established. Today, students of the Humanities College are young men and women aged 14 to 25 years. They receive a state diploma of secondary vocational education.
The Department of Local History and Heritage Tourism was opened at the Institute of History and Archives in 2007. At the same time, the Higher School of European Cultures was created on the basis of the Institute of European Cultures.
The Benelux Language and Culture Center was established at RSUH in 2007. Its main task lies in teaching the Dutch and French languages, as well as providing a country-specific component related to Belgium and the Netherlands for RSUH students, primarily those majoring in linguistics and international relations. The center enjoys a long-standing partnership with its counterparts at the universities of The Hague, Brussels, Leuven, Leiden and others. Professors coming from partner universities routinely deliver annual lectures for RSUH students. Collaboration continues with Nuffic Neso Russia, which represents Dutch universities in Moscow and Russia and supports academic exchange programs for students and faculty, as well as with the Docentenplatform Oost-Europese Neerlandistiek (DOEN).
2009. The Department of Internet Journalism opened at the Faculty of Journalism and the Legal Clinic at the Faculty of Law at the Institute of Economics, Management and Law. Later, in 2010, the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center opened at the Faculty of Sociology.
The Departments of European Studies (Institute of Philology and History), Oriental Philosophy Center (Faculty of Philosophy) and the Department of Media Speech (Faculty of Journalism) all opened in 2011. The Strategic Development Program of RSUH for 2012-2016 was adopted, within the framework of which the Department of International Journalism at the Institute of Mass Media and the Department of Sociology of Organizations and Social Technologies were created at the Faculty of Sociology in 2012, and the Laboratory of Intellectual Robotics opened at the Department of Intelligent Systems of the Institute of Linguistics.
In 2013, the Institute of New Educational Technologies and Informatization was transformed into the International Institute of New Educational Technologies, and the Teaching and Methodical Section of Iranian Studies at the Institute of Linguistics became the Iranian Studies Center. The Department of Sociocultural Studies was created at the Faculty of Documentation and Technotronic Archives, the Faculty of Information Systems and Security, the Pre-Universitarium, the Faculty of Psychology and the Faculty of Psychology and Pedagogy at the Vygotsky Institute of Psychology.
The academic and educational program "Center of Crimean Studies" of The Higher School of Record Management and Archive Science of the Institute of History and Archives (part of the Higher School of Record Management and the Center for Continuing Studies "Archival School") was launched in 2014. The Department of Gender Studies was transformed into a Center for Gender, Family and Youth Studies. Soon, the Youth Academic Council of RSUH was created, in 2015.
RSUH adheres to the concept of Lifelong Learning, according to which education is seen as a continuous process throughout life. The university offers, along with its undergraduate and graduate programs, a comprehensive preparatory and postgraduate training. The educational project "Pre-University Classes - Pre-Universitarium" (high school program at RSUH) is implemented by the Institute at the initiative of the Government of Moscow. At the request of the Moscow City Department of Education, the University brought to fruition the projects "New Model of Vocational Pedagogical Education", "Children's Center for Cognitive Development", "Center for the Harmonious Development of Children's Creative Abilities", and "University of the Third Age".
The variety of educational formats allows RSUH to respond to all student requests and focus on the new achievements of science and technology. The University offers 38 academic tracks for bachelors and specialists; 66 master's programs in 26 areas. Over 3,000 people from 11 regions of Russia are students of the Faculty of Distance Learning in any given year. RSUH is actively developing inclusive education programs. There are 10 international Master's programs, the students of which receive two diplomas, one from RSUH and the other from a European partner university. Based on the traditions of Russian universal education, RSUH has become a modern university, developing as a resource center of a federal scale. The University is able to coordinate the activities of educational institutions, research institutes, state agencies and public organizations.
RSUH is integrated into the international academic, educational, and information space, it has bilateral and multilateral agreements with 150 universities from 42 countries, 25 of which are among the 100 leading universities in the world according to the Shanghai Rankings, the Times Higher Education Rankings and QS Rankings. In 2014, RSUH became one of the 200 top universities in the QS rankings of the BRICS countries.
Over the past 25 years, RSUH scholars have published over 2,400 scientific monographs and over 1,800 textbooks and study guides. And the system of the Russian Science Citation Index contains over 48,000 publications of the faculty of RSUH and over 78,000 citations of their works.
The Hirsch Index of RSUH faculty in the RSCI is 93, which is the highest among liberal arts universities in Russia and the third among classical universities. RSUH ranks among the top three universities in terms of the number of grants received from the Russian Foundation for the Humanities. Over the past 10 years alone, over 1,100 doctoral and post-doctoral (Dr. hab.) dissertations have been defended at RSUH, of which over 260 – by RSUH faculty members.
Today, the university has 13 institutes, 16 faculties, 114 departments, 31 educational and academic centers, 16 international educational and academic centers. 1382 faculty members work at RSUH, and 890 of them have academic degrees and ranks.
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To be a transformational leader in improving health.
Excellence: We pursue the highest goals and accept the sacrifices and responsibilities required to achieve our best possible performance.
Respect: We nurture free and open discourse, listen to new ideas, and value diverse perspectives and talents.
Service: We put forth our most diligent efforts on behalf of our patients, learners, stakeholders and partners.
Integrity: We commit to honesty, truthfulness and authenticity in our relationships and activities.
Responsibility: We exhibit a strong sense of duty, stewardship and accountability to each other and to the public.
Innovation: We pursue an ongoing, collaborative process of discovery and translate knowledge for the benefit and service of society.
Compassion: We relate to others in a caring, empathic manner and strive to prevent and relieve human suffering.
Inclusion: We promote diversity and convey a sense of belonging, respect and value for all persons.


Dandies are delightful little dogs, originating from the Borders of Scotland and England. They are not a rare breed but their numbers are low, and the breed is kept going by those who love and admire their characteristics. Like many pedigree dogs, they can have conditions to which they can be predisposed. Glaucoma does afflict a limited number of Dandies. The clinical signs usually manifest later in the dog's life at about the age of seven and upwards. In the past, when dogs did not live as long as they do today, this condition may not have been seen to any degree and could have been thought of as an 'eye problem' caused by a scratch, it may not have been recognised as glaucoma. Through eye testing, research to identify carriers of this predisposition and careful breeding we hope to eventually eradicate or greatly minimise this affliction. Dandies are generally good natured and healthy. They have a dignified air, yet a light-hearted nature and are faithful companions. They are terriers however so do not keep rabbits!!! Once you have lived with the joy of being "owned" by one of these delightful little dogs you will never want anything else!
Briefly, glaucoma is a disease in which the fluid in the eyeball builds up due to the fact that the aqueous fluid cannot escape from the front chamber of the eye quickly enough. It is said that primary Glaucoma is an inherited defect due to a defect in the ciliary body which consists of the ciliary muscle and processes forming part of the middle coat of the eye. In an acute situation, the fluid cannot escape and pressure builds up - the eye becoming extremely painful and then sightless due to pressure on the optic nerve. In a chronic situation - that is - a slower process of the disease - pressure builds up more slowly - but the outcome is generally the same - pain and blindness. Treatment involves reducing the pressure, but in the acute situation, the damage is usually done - whereas in the chronic situation - prompt treatment can hopefully reduce the pressure and limit the damage to the ciliary body and hopefully save the sight in the eye. At the present time, there is no genetic marker to say which dogs will be susceptible to this condition, and of course, some breeds are more prone to it than others. Albeit to say - if your dog becomes blind, you will both have to adapt to a different situation. Many dogs readjust very well - and indeed their nose becomes their guide - as well as you - their owner. Your dear little friend can no longer see - and it is up to you to make sure his water bowl is where it should be, and that you become his guide when you are out. His quality of life has changed, and to some extent so has yours as you have to be more aware of his needs. Some dogs have their eyes removed, this mirror of their feelings and expression is gone for ever. We have to be responsible for our dogs in all ways - and surely we should be responsible for doing all that we can to help eradicate this dreadful affliction.


Rick Engler was nominated by President Barack Obama to the U .S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board in January of 2014 and confirmed by the Senate in December 2014. Before his appointment, Mr. Engler spent more than four decades helping to prevent chemical hazards. Much of his work has focused on ensuring that workers and the public have a "right to know" about the potential chemical dangers they may be exposed to on the job and in the community and that government agencies operate transparently. He has advocated for successful landmark state and national public policies that promote hazard communication, workforce development, chemical incident prevention, inherently safer processes, and whistleblower protection. Among these policies are the New Jersey Worker and Community Right to Know and Toxic Catastrophe laws and the national 1990 Clean Air Act amendments that enable both management and worker representatives to fully participate during Environmental Protection Agency and Chemical Safety Board investigations of facilities that use highly hazardous chemicals.
Mr. Engler was founder and Director of the New Jersey Work Environment Council (WEC), a collaboration of labor, community, and environmental organizations working for safe, secure jobs and a healthy, sustainable environment. He founded the Philadelphia Area Project on Occupational Safety and Health and served as an elected Vice President of the NJ Industrial Union Council, AFL-CIO. Mr. Engler served on the NJ Department of Health Occupational Health Surveillance Advisory Committee. He has been a leader in collaborative labor-management-community initiatives to help investigate and prevent chemical incidents.


text:
Зара Якоб е император на Етиопия.

Биография
Роден е в окръг Фетегар, Южна Етиопия. Баща му е император Давид I, а майка му е Екзия Кибра. Прекарва детството си в Амба Гишен.

Той е сред великите царе на Етиопия, управлявал 34 години – разширява държавата, централизира управлението, покровителства културата, обединява етиопската църква.

Монарси на Етиопия

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
CONTACT CENTER | +351 707 201 572
GENERAL CONDITIONS > ANIMALS
By "pet animal" is meant any animal kept or intended to be kept by man in particular in his household for private enjoyment and companionship, according to the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals, approved by the European Decree No 13/93 of April 13.
The transport of pets is subject to the payment of a fee according to the tariff in force.
Pets are allowed on board, as long as they are properly enclosed in a carry case provided by the owner. In case the animal is too big to be put in a carry case, it can travel in an area of the boat specifically intended for that purpose. However, Atlânticoline will not be held responsible for the adequacy of its conditions.
Animals are not allowed to remain in the passenger compartments. In the Open Air: - The animal must be in perfect health and cannot emanate unpleasant smells; - The carry case must not exceed the following sizes: 105cm x 75cm x 79cm; - The owner is responsible for purchasing the carry case; - The aforementioned rules do not apply to guide dogs. Pets are not regarded as luggage. Transport of Animals that Are Not Considered Pets:
- The animals that fit into this category require confirmation as to the viability and conditions of transportation both by Atlânticoline and the local port authorities. Both organizations must be previously consulted.
Atlânticoline S.A.
RIAC
Transport Contract
Transporting Minors
Alterations and Refunds
Quality, Safety and Environment
SOCIAL NETWORK CONTACTS
T: +351 707 201 572 M: +351 965 995 002
E-mail: comercial@atlanticoline.pt
atlanticolinesa
Public service obligations in RAA, co-financed by:


text:
Nastradamus ist Nas viertes offizielles Album für Columbia Records. Es wurde im November 1999 veröffentlicht. Der Titel leitet sich vom Französischen Propheten Nostradamus ab. Nas gefiel der Name so gut, dass er die ersten drei Buchstaben seines eigenen Vornamens durch Nos austauschte woraus sich Nastradamus bildet. Nastradamus sollte ursprünglich zusammen mit I Am… als Doppelalbum veröffentlicht werden, was aber wegen Raubkopierei nie zustande kam. Nastradamus wird im Vergleich zu den anderen Alben von Nas, oft als sein schlechtestes angesehen. Es ist offensichtlich, dass Nas mit diesem Album den Sprung in den Mainstream machen wollte, was aber floppte. Letztendlich erhielt Nastradamus aber immerhin 3,5 Mics von The Source und wurde mit Platin verifiziert.

Titelliste
 The Prediction (produziert von Nas, Trackmasters Entertainment)
 Life We Chose (produziert von L.E.S.)
 Nastradamus (produziert von L.E.S.)
 Some Of Us Have Angels (produziert von Dame Grease)
 Project Windows featuring Ronald Isley (produziert Nashiem Myrick und Carlos Broady)
 Come Get Me (produziert von DJ Premier)
 Shoot 'Em Up (produziert von Havoc)
 Last Words featuring Nashawn und Millennium Thug (produziert von L.E.S.)
 Family featuring Mobb Deep (produziert von Dame Grease)
 God Love Us (produziert von Dame Grease)
 Quiet Niggas featuring The Bravehearts (produziert von Dame Grease)
 Big Girl (produziert von L.E.S.)
 New World (produziert von L.E.S.)
 You Owe Me featuring Ginuwine (produziert von Timbaland)
 The Outcome (produziert von Nas und Rich Nice für Trackmasters Entertainment)
 Hate Me Now featuring Afrob (Bonustrack) (nur auf der Deutschen Version)

Album (Hip-Hop)
Album 1999
Nummer-eins-Album
Nas-Album


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Usually now utilized in homes having a great room or open up layout, they are often large configurations that seat lots of visitors. In smaller sized areas, they can be useful for seating within an area that has a strange part or any other space limitation. The opportunity to combine corner models, end models and reclining areas based on room and person choice tends to make this sofa design extremely versatile. Sectional sofas are also available in a multitude of designs, from extremely contemporary or super luxe, to much more loved ones-friendly contemporary styles.
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The term this is actually the comfort and complicated look. This set has a tufted back rest and nail head accent that provides the subtle look. Its gray colour adds to its impressive appear. It can match up to 8 in . mattress. That on your own lets you know how comfortable the set can be. Notably, it doesn't include a bed mattress. So you may need to buy one. The trundle features a castor to allow easy access. You may also pull the trundle that people take a seat on. Simply to mention, it should take assembling, but again its very easy to put together.
Much like its namesake, the camelback couch has a hump or possibly two that highlights the primary silhouette of the sofa design. This can be a traditional style which was made popular in the 1700s by Chippendale and families who desired aristocratic, official Valencia Leather Sofa frequently opted for this style. These days, this sofa style gives a more formal atmosphere to the room, especially when upholstered in a formal fabric. A more informal fabric option would make it appropriate for a household space that does not require a great deal of formality. Either way, the camelback sofa has some factors that define the style. The legs are typically uncovered, the sofa has no back cushions and it normally has square or rolled arms.


text:
Trump, Chinese leader sign 'phase one' trade deal in 1st step to end conflict
UPI Staff & Don Jacobson
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He hold the "phase one" trade deal between the United States and China they signed Wednesday in the East Room of the White House. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
The Phase 1 deal will cancel upcoming planned tariffs on Chinese-made products and reduces others while Chine has agreed to increase purchases of U.S. farm products and other goods. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
Jan. 15 (UPI) -- After a year and a half of stalemate, tariffs affecting billions of dollars worth of products and failed negotiations, President Donald Trump signed a partial trade agreement with Chinese leaders Wednesday in the first step to what both parties hope will be a full resolution of the 18-month feud.
Trump welcomed Beijing's delegation, led by Vice Premier Liu He, for the signing ceremony in the East Room of the White House. The "phase one" agreement loosens some U.S. tariffs against China and secures new purchases of American-made items for Beijing.
Liu and Trump took turns signing the documents after weeks of negotiations.
Trump hailed the deal as a step toward a "future of fair and reciprocal trade" and called it a "historic" agreement.
RELATED Top China negotiator to sign 'phase 1' trade deal in U.S. next week
"Together, we are righting the wrongs of the past and delivering a future of economic Justice and security for American workers farmers and families," the president added.
Liu said the pact benefits both sides.
"This is a win-win agreement," he said. "It will bring about stable economic growth, promote world peace and prosperity, and is in the interest of producers, consumers and investors in both countries."
RELATED World Bank: Global economy should grow, but could see crisis in 2020
The vice premier also delivered a message from Chinese President Xi Jinping.
"The conclusion of the phase one agreement is good for China, the United States and the whole world," the leader wrote. "It also shows that our two countries have the ability to act on the basis of equality and mutual respect and can work through dialogue and consultation to properly handle and effectively resolve relevant issues."
U.S. markets surged before and after Wednesday's agreement. At one point, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had risen 160 points. By 1:30 p.m. EST, it was up 94 points.
At the ceremony, Trump credited a long list of officials for the deal's success, including U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, White House adviser Jared Kushner and chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow.
The White House said the deal "achieves progress on a number of critical fronts," including intellectual property, technology transfer, agriculture, financial services, and currency and foreign exchange. The administration also called the agreement the first steps to provide "protections for American innovators and inventors."
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, however, said it provides a small return for Americans.
"China is the big winner of Trump's 'phase-one' trade deal with Beijing," he said. "True to form, Trump is getting precious little in return for the significant pain and uncertainty he has imposed on our economy, farmers, and workers.
"The deal won't actually resolve the real issues at the heart of the dispute."
One provision of the deal went into effect last month. The United States refrained from imposing a new set of tariffs on Dec. 15 that would have taxed more than $150 billion worth of Chinese products. Wednesday's agreement also cuts in half additional tariffs for about $110 billion in other items.
Some Chinese taxes on exports to the United States, however, will remain in place -- such as a 25 percent tariff for many assembly components bought by U.S. factories. Trump has said Beijing is paying those taxes, but studies have indicated they are being absorbed by American farmers and businesses.
"While phase one makes incremental progress, it remains to be seen whether it will deliver any meaningful relief for farmers like me," Farmers for Free Trade spokeswoman and wheat farmer Michelle Erickson-Jones said in a statement. "This deal does not end retaliatory tariffs on American farm exports, makes American farmers increasingly reliant on Chinese state-controlled purchases and doesn't address the big structural changes the trade war was predicated on achieving.
"The promises of lofty purchases are encouraging but farmers like me will believe it when we see it. ... In the meantime, the administration should waste no time in returning to the negotiating table and reaching an agreement that ends the trade war for good."
Robert Lighthizer
U.S. News // 5 minutes ago


[Tianjin, China, March 6, 2018] Huawei Marine today announced that it will partner with PCCW Global to construct the first submarine cable between Mauritius and Rodrigues Island to meet the increasing demand for internet connectivity in the region.
Located north-east of Mauritius, Rodrigues is a small volcanic island, with its local telecommunications services currently provided by satellite connectivity. PCCW Global has agreed with Mauritius Telecom to construct and maintain a high speed submarine cable connecting the Indian Ocean Islands of Rodrigues and Mauritius which will vastly improve connectivity for Rodrigues.


text:
package akka.actor

import akka.testkit._

object HotSwapSpec {
  abstract class Becomer extends Actor {}
}

class HotSwapSpec extends AkkaSpec with ImplicitSender {
  import HotSwapSpec.Becomer

  "An Actor" must {
    "be able to become in its constructor" in {
      val a = system.actorOf(Props(new Becomer {
        context.become { case always => sender() ! always }
        def receive = { case _       => sender() ! "FAILURE" }
      }))
      a ! "pigdog"
      expectMsg("pigdog")
    }

    "be able to become multiple times in its constructor" in {
      val a = system.actorOf(Props(new Becomer {
        for (i <- 1 to 4) context.become({ case always => sender() ! s"$i:$always" })
        def receive = { case _ => sender() ! "FAILURE" }
      }))
      a ! "pigdog"
      expectMsg("4:pigdog")
    }

    "be able to become with stacking in its constructor" in {
      val a = system.actorOf(Props(new Becomer {
        context.become({ case always => sender() ! "pigdog:" + always; context.unbecome() }, false)
        def receive = { case always  => sender() ! "badass:" + always }
      }))
      a ! "pigdog"
      expectMsg("pigdog:pigdog")
      a ! "badass"
      expectMsg("badass:badass")
    }

    "be able to become, with stacking, multiple times in its constructor" in {
      val a = system.actorOf(Props(new Becomer {
        for (i <- 1 to 4) context.become({ case always => sender() ! s"$i:$always"; context.unbecome() }, false)
        def receive = { case _ => sender() ! "FAILURE" }
      }))
      a ! "pigdog"
      a ! "pigdog"
      a ! "pigdog"
      a ! "pigdog"
      expectMsg("4:pigdog")
      expectMsg("3:pigdog")
      expectMsg("2:pigdog")
      expectMsg("1:pigdog")
    }

    "be able to hotswap its behavior with become(..)" in {
      val a = system.actorOf(Props(new Actor {
        def receive = {
          case "init" => sender() ! "init"
          case "swap" => context.become({ case x: String => context.sender() ! x })
        }
      }))

      a ! "init"
      expectMsg("init")
      a ! "swap"
      a ! "swapped"
      expectMsg("swapped")
    }

    "be able to revert hotswap its behavior with unbecome" in {
      val a = system.actorOf(Props(new Actor {
        def receive = {
          case "init" => sender() ! "init"
          case "swap" =>
            context.become({
              case "swapped" => sender() ! "swapped"
              case "revert"  => context.unbecome()
            })
        }
      }))

      a ! "init"
      expectMsg("init")
      a ! "swap"

      a ! "swapped"
      expectMsg("swapped")

      a ! "revert"
      a ! "init"
      expectMsg("init")
    }

    // "revert to initial state on restart" in {

    //   val a = system.actorOf(Props(new Actor {
    //     def receive = {
    //       case "state" => sender() ! "0"
    //       case "swap" =>
    //         context.become({
    //           case "state"   => sender() ! "1"
    //           case "swapped" => sender() ! "swapped"
    //           case "crash"   => throw new Exception("Crash (expected)!")
    //         })
    //         sender() ! "swapped"
    //     }
    //   }))
    //   a ! "state"
    //   expectMsg("0")
    //   a ! "swap"
    //   expectMsg("swapped")
    //   a ! "state"
    //   expectMsg("1")
    //   EventFilter[Exception](message = "Crash (expected)!", occurrences = 1).intercept { a ! "crash" }
    //   a ! "state"
    //   expectMsg("0")
    // }
  }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Characters come in all different shapes and sizes. Cartoon figures, stick figures, sketch style, even dino-robots. Whatever character is used that figure must be interesting, relatable, or fun and whimsical. They must draw you in (no pun intended). With the Shakoo project we used a sketch style super hero to help explain all the ways Shakoo works. It's a fun approach about a very important topic. Enjoy!