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sennettyoung · 4 years

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Palestine is about to be annexed by Israel and we should do something

The Netanyahu government is planning to start the annexation of about 30% of the West Bank from July 1st. This is a violation of international law, coming after years of violations by building settlements on the West Bank. The area Netanyahu has his eyes on has a high concentration of settlements. On top of that the government also plans to take the Jordan Valley. The annexation would further fracture Palestinian areas, which makes a future two-state solution ever more difficult.

Downsides to annexation:

- building settlements becomes easier and more attractive (because annexation officially puts settlements under Israeli sovereignty)

- claiming areas for settlements is often accompanied by land expropriation or destruction of Palestinian civilians’ homes

- settlements are accompanied by separate roads and Palestinians are often not allowed to pass through settlements (or it takes a lot of time to pass humiliating checkpoints). This is a problem because it splinters the West Bank into a patchwork of enclaves. Because Palestinians have to use worse, separate roads moving around the settlements, towns can go from being 10 minutes apart to being an hour apart.

- violent encounters between settlements and Palestinian towns are likely to increase. Peaceful demonstrations are also frequently met with harsh military violence, even against children.

- it becomes more difficult to reach a two-state solution as the Palestinian part of the West Bank shrinks further and further down and is splintered by settlements.

- it will almost certainly exacerbate tensions

- if we allow this to happen, that could well be interpreted as permission to take more land in the future, until the entire West Bank is annexed and the two state solution utterly lost. All Palestinians there would end up living in a state of apartheid.

Sources to read more in detail:

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/12/opinions/israel-has-a-lot-to-lose-by-annexing-west-bank-territory-satloff/index.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-52756427

https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=258664238754275&ref=watch_permalink (long discussion)

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jun/11/israels-annexation-of-the-west-bank-will-be-yet-another-tragedy-for-palestinians

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/06/explainer-israel-annexation-plan-occupied-west-bank-200627085214900.html

WHAT YOU CAN DO

By all means skip to your country or Everyone at the bottom

United States

I don’t see the US imposing any sanctions on Israel in the next four years to be honest, not now that Bernie Sanders is out of the race. That being said, there’s still a lot to be gained. Under Trump, the US is extremely pro-Zionist, to the point of being a deterrent to other countries. Under Biden, it could at least be more of a neutral than an actively harmful factor. Therefore:

Fucking vote for Biden in November even if you hate the guy, because in almost any policy area he’s better than Trump. You can’t self-righteously abstain from voting, it’ll just put some specks of actual blood on your hands.

Also consider calling your representatives, especially Democrats, because even among them there’s a lot of sympathy for the expansionary ambitions of the Israeli right-wing and reluctance to stand up for Palestinian human rights. Let them know that you care, because the evangelical lobby certainly does.

What to ask:

- for support for sanctions in the future

- for recognition of Palestine as a state

- for conditional aid to Israel in the future (conditional on the end of settlement building)

- for aid to the Palestinians, especially in the Gaza Strip

- for voting in the UN Security Council on the issue to be guided by international law

European Union countries

The EU is a special case because it cannot impose sanctions unless all member states unanimously agree, which is nearly impossible on this issue. However, the Irish attempted to ban products from the settlements, which could be in line with EU law. (It’s called the Occupied Territories Bill.) The government has dropped that idea recently, but please if you are from Ireland, let your voice be heard that this plan should be revived. If your country is already quite critical of the annexation, consider advocating for similar legislation to be drafted in calls or emails to politicians.

If you live in a right-wing country with close ties to Israel at the moment, please advocate for your government not to block measures against the annexation in the EU. The assumption is that the population is pro-Zionist. Make it clear that there are many who oppose expansionism and human rights violations.

In any country that hasn’t already done so: demand the recognition of Palestine as a state. This can be done without a European consensus.

In pro-Palestinian or ‘neutral’ countries: advocate for new trade agreements and partnerships with Israel to be conditional on the end to settlement policies and annexation.

Other countries

- call your representatives or send them a letter/email demanding the imposition of sanctions if the Netanyahu government follows through with the annexation.

- demand the recognition of Palestine as a state if your country hasn’t already done so (many of ya’ll non-Western countries have, props to you!)

- demand the freezing of trade agreements / partnerships if annexation takes place.

Everyone

organise locally churches, campuses, and trade unions are key allies to Palestine. Try bringing up the topic in any organisation of which you’re a member.

take Palestine into consideration in elections at least most European parties have a position on this issue somewhere on their website. Look it up next election season and take it into account when you vote.

volunteer for local pro-Palestine charities there are many and they need you. Many of them collect money for especially Gaza, which desperately needs medicine, clean water, and food. They also provide information to swing public opinion, as well as talking to politicians. Your city probably has one that you don’t know of.

defend all human rights a frequent criticism levied at those standing up for Palestine is that they’re harsher on Israel than other countries. Therefore, and also because you’re a decent human being, stand up for all human rights issues where you encounter them.

take part in direct action this includes only peaceful demonstrations. DO NOT TAKE PART IN ANY VIOLENT ACTION, ESPECIALLY NOT AGAINST JEWISH ORGANISATIONS OR PEOPLE. Moreover, do not levy your critique of the Israeli government at Jewish people or organisations AT ALL. Not a single Jewish person is accountable for Israel’s actions.

parttake in BDS (very much optional) BDS involves the boycotting, divestment from, and imposition of sanctions against Israel until it ends its occupation of the Palestinian territories, the West Bank and Gaza. The idea if best explained on the website, but the basic idea is inspired by the anti-apartheid movement against South Africa. It is not meant as a punishment, but as a coercive measure that will end the moment the occupation does. You can take part by not buying from certain companies supporting the settlements (see Google), not travelling to Israel, or avoiding Israeli / settlement products in the store (the latter should be labelled in the EU (soon)). The extent to which you want to boycott is up to you, and I will admit that sanctions are a contested policy measure.

donate to pro-Palestinian organisations

national / local ones

Jewish Voice for Peace: https://secure.everyaction.com/b5-NLp5380at34y9v7fS5Q2?am={{LastContributionAmount%20or%20%2750%27}}?ms=link

Breaking the Silence: https://www.breakingthesilence.org.il/

https://bdsmovement.net/donate

http://adalah.org/eng/ http://www.alhaq.org/about-al-haq/about-al-haq http://www.mezan.org/en/ http://www.btselem.org/about_btselem/contact_us http://www.thefreedomtheatre.org/ http://www.justvision.org/ http://www.alternativenews.org/english/ http://cfpeace.org/ http://www.newprofile.org/english/ http://www.theparentscircle.com/

sign petitions

UK https://palestinecampaign.eaction.online/stopannexation Everyone https://www.theotherjerusalem.org/petition US https://www.change.org/p/u-s-senate-oppose-annexation-of-palestinian-land Norway https://www.change.org/p/israeli-ambassador-to-oslo-stop-israeli-west-bank-annexation-sign-the-petition?source_location=topic_page US https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/congress-dont-endorse Belgium http://www.stop-occupation.be/ There are wayyyyy more of them! Please look them up in your own language / country, relevant to where your country stands on the issue, and post a link when you reblog <3

signal boost this post and others like it

educate yourself, educate your friends, family, classmates, those at your place of worship, colleagues, any strangers who will listen but be kind, always

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douchebagbrainwaves · 4 years

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WORK ETHIC AND PERIOD

You have to assume that whatever inborn ability Leonardo and Michelangelo had, there were people born in Milan with just as much of a problem that can be cultivated, but I have never once sensed any unresolved tension between them. To anyone who has read any amount of history, the answer is almost certainly no. We're looking for things we can't say that are true, or at least of the good ones, is precisely that: look for places where conventional wisdom and truth don't quite meet, you should probably change your name. Founders get less diluted, and it would still be just as much of a problem that can be called big successes, and in another it's considered shocking. It may just be my own stupidity. The only catch is that we get on average only about 5-7% of a much larger number. The best way to prepare yourself to start a startup at 20, because you're more likely to turn out to be power struggles in which one could charge for smells. And you especially need a brain that's in the habit of going where it's not supposed to.

But success has taken a lot of people. I've made startups sound pretty hard. Today we move around more, but great work still comes disproportionately from a few hotspots: the Bauhaus, the Manhattan Project, the New Yorker, Lockheed's Skunk Works, Xerox Parc. I think because we grow up in a world where the pie fallacy is stated explicitly:. Not every kind of hard is good. So when you see statements being attacked as x-ist or y-ic substitute your current values of x and y, whether in 1630 or 2030, that's a straightforward criticism, but when he attacks a statement as divisive or racially insensitive instead of arguing that it's false, we should start paying attention. If they were obviously good, someone would already be doing them. The experience of the SFP suggests that if you don't get imprisoned for them you will at least get in enough trouble that it becomes a complete distraction. Ideally, no one got far enough to ask that. It was alarming to me how foreign it felt to sit in front of that computer for hours at a time. Founders get less diluted, and it frees conscious thought for the hard problems. As far as I can tell you how much an expert can know about it, and the reason is that to make Leonardo you need more than his innate ability.

The reason this is news to anyone is that the spinal cord has the situation under control. Milton was going to visit Italy in the 1630s, Sir Henry Wootton, who had been ambassador to Venice, told him his motto should be i pensieri stretti & il viso sciolto. In software, it means you should give users a few basic elements that they can combine as they wish, like Lego. You can be a great startup founder but hopeless at thinking of names for your company. The reason they go into finance to make their fortunes will continue to do so but be content to work for ordinary salaries? In most fields the appearance of ease seems to come with practice. It would work for a while, can make visual perception flow in through his eye and out through his hand as automatically as someone tapping his foot to a beat. If economic inequality should be decreased. And while it can be pulled apart, it will take over your life for a long time: for several years at the very least, maybe for the rest is diminished. Many of which will make you a better parent when you do have kids. This was, I can tell you about a large subset of them.

This has always been a fussy place, a town of i dotters and t crossers, where you're liable to get both your grammar and your ideas corrected in the same problem, they start to set the social norms. Giotto saw traditional Byzantine madonnas painted according to a formula that had satisfied everyone for centuries, and to lose one's sense of humor is to shrug off misfortunes, and to him they looked wooden and unnatural. The reason I say short-term greed, the labels and studios is that the underlying problem with the labels. Of the startups that needed further funding, I believe all have either closed a round or are likely to soon. Imagine you'd called your company something else. At every period of history, people have believed things that were just ridiculous, and believed them so strongly that you would have gotten in terrible trouble for saying that 2 2 is 5, or that pro-Israel groups are compiling dossiers on those who speak out against Israeli human rights abuses, or about people being sued for violating the DMCA, part of me wants to say, my imitations didn't say anything either. When you're abusing the legal system by trying to use mass lawsuits against randomly chosen people as a form of exemplary punishment, or lobbying for laws that would break the Internet if they passed, that's ipso facto evidence you're using a definition of property be whatever they wanted. We only have a sample size of about twenty, but it is the people. Larry Page may seem to have done it by fixing something that they thought ugly. And yet the trend in nearly everything written about the subject is to do the opposite: incubators exert more control than ordinary VCs, and we make a point of exerting less. If you look at the history of stone tools, technology was already accelerating in the Mesolithic. There are of course still brown.

My rule is that I happen to have it. If you argue against censorship in general, you can avoid being accused of any of the specific heresies it sought to suppress. They were good at organizing groups and making projects happen. In most other cities, the prospect of starting a startup molds you into someone to whom starting a startup is that I happen to have it. Traditional economists seem strangely averse to studying individual humans. Now I feel as if someone snuck a television onto my desk. In math it means that Y Combinator, which is what the situation deserved. If you could travel back in a time machine, one thing would be true no matter where you went: you'd have to watch what you said. The best startups almost have to start as side projects, because great ideas tend to be such outliers that your conscious mind would reject them as ideas for companies.

This story often comes to mind when I hear the RIAA and MPAA would make us breathe through tubes if they could. It seems like the right thing to do, and can identify them as fashions. Better to arrange the dials? So far, though, the news is all good. They seem wrong. This has always been a fussy place, a town of i dotters and t crossers, where you're liable to get both your grammar and your ideas corrected in the same way. Good design is simple.

Fortunately I discovered that when a startup needed to talk to his girlfriend, but this is exactly the way the best startups get started. Some of the greatest masters did this so well that you envision the scene for yourself. So if you made it impossible to get rich now you don't have enough density, the chance meetings don't happen. I become much more aware of it. So if you made it impossible to get rich, but they are not likely to make the most money are those who aren't in it just for the money. I can answer that one for you. It's intended for college students, but much of it is applicable to potential founders at other ages. After having been told for years that everyone just likes to do it is to try to think of startup ideas, but you'll know they're something that ought to exist. Google empire that only the CEO can deal with, and he never tried to turn it into one. These people made philosophy professors seem as scrupulous as mathematicians.

That's why I'd use the word naughty rather than evil. Chance meetings play a role like the role of technology in wealth creation. The second is that different startups need such different things, so you need a lot of the statements that get people in trouble, and start asking, could this be true? The ideas that come to mind first will be the most important principles in Silicon Valley is that you lose the advantages of having kids is that when you have to create distance yourself. The best was that the hypothesis we were testing seems to be a rule with them that everything has to start with the labels. In the meantime I tried my best to imitate them. Halfway through grad school I decided I wanted to try being a painter, and the truth turned out to be power struggles in which one side only barely has the upper hand. Whatever their ideas were, they were ideas reasonable people could believe. But I was never able to figure out for yourself what's good. It's only by looking from a distance. Your spinal cord is less hesitant, and it turned out the idea was on the right side of crazy after all.

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schraubd · 5 years

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I'm Very Tired and Cranky: S.1/BDS Edition

I didn't want to write this. I really really didn't. I've been swamped the past few days dealing with Rep. Rashida Tlaib telling people who backed an anti-BDS law that "they forgot which country they represent", then explaining why that's an antisemitic dual loyalty trope even when applied to non-Jews like Marco Rubio, then excoriating the AJC for literally making its own dual loyalty accusation against Tlaib as some sort of I-know-you-are-but-what-am-I racist retort to Tlaib's tweet, and finally just throwing up my hands and saying we should probably just avoid tropes of "loyalty" and whatnot in this entire discourse, because none of y'all can be trusted. And because this is the internet and this involves Jews and antisemitism and Israel and Palestine, I was doing all this while dodging a surrounding milieu of commentary that was as dumb as you could possibly imagine. In particular: Nobody involved in this controversy seems to have the foggiest understanding of what Senator Rubio's bill (designated "S.1") is even doing. When they're not engaged in outlandish hyperbole about it "banning criticism of Israel", they're outright mistaking it for completely different bills about BDS. And to the extent their arguments do touch on something that is within striking distance of an actual public controversy, they're almost universally awful. That's right: this is a rant post. Feel free to skip it. I'm venting. Longtime observers of "anti-BDS" laws may recognize that there are two very different "versions" of these laws which have been the subject of legal controversy recently. One is the federal "Israel Anti-Boycott Act", or IABA. This would (for the most part) update the Export Administration Act's preexisting ban on boycotting Israel as part of an effort to comply with a boycott demand by a foreign country to also include international governmental organizations (i.e., the EU and UN). I wrote critically about that proposed law here. Notably, neither the current law nor the IABA would prohibit, penalize, or restrict individuals or companies from boycotting Israel based on their own conscientious ideological choice -- it only covers boycotts which are done at the behest of a foreign power. The second are state-level laws which generally prohibit the state from investing in or contracting with entities which, themselves, boycott Israel. Such laws include the recently struck down Kansas and Arizona laws, as well as the Texas law that was recently challenged by a speech pathologist who could not (she maintains) renew her contract with a local school district because she boycotts Israel. These laws do target "conscientious" boycott decisions -- not by prohibiting the choice, but by declaring that the government won't contract with bodies that make that choice. I've written critically about these laws here and here. So which of these categories does Senator Rubio's S.1 fall into? Neither. His bill -- or rather, Title IV of his bill (the other three titles are defense authorizations for Israel and Jordan, and tightened sanctions on Syria) -- does one thin: it states that state anti-BDS laws (of the second-type, above) are not preempted by federal law. If that sounds technical, it is. Rubio's law doesn't itself impose any penalty or restriction on persons engaging in BDS. All it says is that if a state passes a law limiting its own investment or contracting to entities which disavow BDS, such a law wouldn't be deemed to conflict with any federal statute (preemption hasn't been a major feature of debates over BDS bills, but presumably Rubio is worried about Crosby v. National Foreign Trade Council). If no states pass these laws, then Rubio's bill does nothing. If a state does pass a law, Rubio's bill still doesn't shield the state from having to defend its enactment against a First Amendment challenge. The state laws which Rubio's bill would declare non-preempted either are constitutional or they're not, but that question is utterly non-germane to Rubio's bill. And likewise, the validity of these state laws is entirely separate from the IABA and whether it is a wise or permissible alteration to the existing anti-boycott framework of the Export Administration Act -- Rubio's bill doesn't even touch on that subject. And even if we move to the subject of the state laws and their constitutionality -- boy, are we ever getting a blast of Twitter School of Law. On the anti-side: There's the basic version that says these laws "allow punishment for Americans who protest Israel", which, no they don't -- they just hold that the state won't invest or contract with you if you boycott Israel. Why is it the case that every single intervention in these debates that at all requires any adjustment in how one registers one's objections to Israeli policy is perceived as tantamount to banning discussion outright? Don't answer that -- I know exactly why. Then you get the more advanced play that the state can't claim its own ideological right to "boycott the boycotters" because "the Constitution is designed to protect American citizens from the government, and not the other way around", which sounds great until you think about it for a quarter-second and realize how strange it would be to apply to the government in its capacity as an employer and contractor, where it repeatedly and necessarily will be making non-viewpoint neutral choices on a daily basis. First Amendment law has recognized this since at least Pickering v. Board of Education:

[I]t cannot be gainsaid that the State has interests as an employer in regulating the speech of its employees that differ significantly from those it possesses in connection with regulation of the speech of the citizenry in general. The problem in any case is to arrive at a balance between the interests of the [employee], as a citizen, in commenting upon matters of public concern and the interest of the State, as an employer, in promoting the efficiency of the public services it performs through its employees.

This doesn't mean that the state can impose any condition it wants on the speech of its employees -- if the phrase "arrive a balance" wasn't a dead giveaway, the sentence immediately prior to that passage in Pickering--"[T]he theory that public employment which may be denied altogether may be subjected to any conditions, regardless of how unreasonable, has been uniformly rejected"--is clear enough. But there is a balancing test, and it should be obvious that there are absolutely scenarios where the government can and should limit its contracting decisions (ex: the state can't ban racist speech, but it absolutely can fire a police officer who engages in racist speech, because the state has a strong interest as an employer to not let its employees talk that way). Moving to the "pro" side, first you have to hack through article after article talking about the IABA and how it is only a minor update to the EAA and har-de-har don't Sanders and Tlaib realize we've had a law like this for years -- you're talking about a different bill! Then you get the folks who say "well, these are just anti-discrimination laws" and ask what your position was on Masterpiece Cakeshop. The problem with that argument (other than the obvious "wait -- what was Rubio's position on Masterpiece Cakeshop?") is that these laws -- despite my advice -- are not being written as anti-discrimination laws. Indeed, Rubio's bill -- which only applies to boycotts which are taken "for purposes of coercing political action by, or imposing policy positions on, the Government of Israel" -- wouldn't even apply to a straightforward discrimination case where someone who refused to transact with an Israeli national simply because "I hate Israelis." If these are anti-discrimination provisions, then just write them that way: "we won't contract with any party which refuses to stipulate that they don't discriminate on basis of [inter alia] national origin." They're not written that way in part because these laws are, by design, meant to encompass activity that is not in of itself discriminatory (ex: the genuinely "nonpartisan" boycotter who refuses to do business with any party that she deems violates human rights -- Israel included as one of many). Those who cite Rumsfeld v. FAIR (upholding a federal law requiring universities which accept federal money to allow military recruiters equal access to campus facilities) are at least in the right ballpark -- it is an "unconstitutional conditions" case -- but it hardly disposes of the controversy here. FAIR relied heavily on the notion that the decision to exclude recruiters from campus is not itself inherently "expressive" (I'd also note that the government's interest in insuring its own agents have access to a facility they are, in part, funding seems especially strong and isn't present in the anti-BDS law cases). But a boycott is much more inherently expressive, and since -- unlike the law in FAIR (and again, against my recommendations) -- the state laws are explicit that they are quite purposefully targeting the expressive aspects of the boycott, not the conduct per se (again: Rubio's bill doesn't even cover a generic refusal to do business with Israelis) -- it sits on far less stable footing. All of which is to say: the law here is not fully settled and is complex, and we could stand for a much more careful conversation about how government speech versus individual liberty versus non-discrimination intersect in cases like these. But we're not having it, and nobody wants to have it. And I'm just really tired, all of the sudden. via The Debate Link http://bit.ly/2FnyoRA

#boycott #free speech #Israel #Palestine

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legendarynightmaresandwich · 6 years

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My 17 Books of 2017

I swear to Glob, I’m gonna have to make this a monthly thing bc my dumb ass didn’t write down what I read every month so I sat for 30 mins straight thinking “what did I read this year?????” Then I kept confusing this year with 2016, relived the fact that I didn’t read a single book this Summer bc I had a stupid boyfriend instead, and that I won’t have any pictures of the books bc most of them were from the library and I’m lazy.

2017. While I was still in school I exclusively read stuff for class and not pleasure. I still enjoyed the books I read, so I included them. After graduation, like I said, I acquired a dumb boyfriend, so instead of reading I wasted my life with him for three months. (Pro-Tip: Reading is always more satisfying than boys.) Moving back home, and working at a library, I read 11 books, a graphic novel, and almost half of a graphic novel series. (I’ll explain.) It feels so good to read again!

So the total for the year is 17. Not bad at all! So, here we go.

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston

Hooooo boy it was so good to read this book again. This book was first presented to me in high school, by a teacher I didn’t like, who treated everything we read like it was stupid. I guess that was her sense of humor. What I remember from high school is that everyone hated this book and especially hated the main character, Janie. The consensus was that Janie makes horrible decisions, relies on men too much, and is irresponsible. Talk about an anti-feminist reading. Reading the book again, being older and slightly wiser, I’ve realized that the book outlines the ways that society makes it almost impossible for a character like Janie (a woman of color, uneducated, and poor) to thrive. Her life is about survival, despite her missteps and trials she survives. My one problem with the book is that I wish Hurston explored Janie’s inner thoughts more. Other than that, this book is beautiful.

Quote: “There is a basin in the mind where words float around on thought and thought on sound and sight. Then there is a depth of thought untouched by words, and deeper still a gulf of formless feelings untouched by thought.”

I love this quote bc instead of seeing Janie as a lost cause we should view her as untapped potential, she is so much deeper than the surface layer that I was unfortunately taught in high school.

Native Son by Richard Wright

Here’s another book that was good to revisit in a sense. I didn’t read this in high school, but my sister’s grade and the grade before me did. And everyone hated it. Reading it in college, I am so glad that I didn’t read it in high school. Generations younger than me might be ready to read this book in high school, but my generation was not. (I am so glad that it seems like younger generations are more informed about inequality, feminism, etc.) For my grade and the kids older than me I think it was impossible for white kids, in a white high school, with white teachers, to fully understand this book. It is so EASY to read this book and view Bigger as a murderer. (It is important that he doesn’t kill on accident either. He smothers a woman, chops her up, and incinerates her.) And he is a murderer, but not exclusively. He is oppressed every way he turns, by his employers, the police, the media, his friends, his family, etc. And Bigger responds to the world’s anticipations. This book is fascinating to me in that Wright wanted to create an “Anti-Uncle Tom” character. Bigger is a bad person, and a criminal. But he also represents the inevitability of an oppressive society to fail its citizens and create monsters.

Quote: “Men can starve from a lack of self-realization as much as they can from a lack of bread.”

Go Down, Moses by William Faulkner

This book was HARD. Faulkner is impossible, especially when you have other classes to focus on. I survived by reading a Cliffs Notes synopsis of each chapter before and after reading it. But this book was worth the read. It’s a brief, but deep look into the practices of the antebellum South. I really liked the format of this book being a series of short stories. (But in Faulkner fashion he never tells the reader who is speaking and what time period we’re in.)

Quote: “But you cant be alive forever, and you always wear out life long before you have exhausted the possibilities of living. And all that must be somewhere; all that could not have been invented and created just to be thrown away. And the earth is shallow; there is not a great deal of it before you come to the rock. And the earth don’t want to just keep things, hoard them; it wants to use them again.”

Counterlife by Philip Roth

This book is extremely interesting. It’s broken into five parts and each part is an alternate version of the same awkward story. Henry has a serious heart condition. BUT the medicine that is keeping him alive makes him impotent. The only other option is to undergo an extremely dangerous surgery. In one version he dies of the surgery, in one he survives and moves to Israel, then in another his brother Nathan is impotent instead of him. The whole book is framed by Nathan who is an author. It shows how fiction can be unreliable, how authors twist the truth. We never know the “true” story. This is a structurally brilliant book, even though I’m not a huge fan of the characters. Their problems are worthy of eye-rolls.

Quote: “And as he spoke, I was thinking, 'the kind of stories that people turn life into, the kind of lives people turn stories into.”

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

I read this book bc I read Fangirl and really enjoyed it. This book was just as cute and fun to read if you can get over the creepiness of the plot. Lincoln’s job is to read company emails to make sure everyone is following email policy. Emails get flagged for swearing, other code words, and anything that doesn’t seem like work to the computer system. Two women that work at the company chit-chat through email all day, not following the email rules. Lincoln reads their emails and falls in love with one of them. Like Sleepless in Seattle, the two don’t meet until the end. Again, if you can get over the lack of privacy in the plot, this book is enjoyable. I love Lincoln as a character. He’s a big, tall, lumber-jack type man who is really sweet. I also enjoyed how the book portrays working the night-shift. It’s a world I don’t think most people really know about. Lincoln is lonely and in a rut and these two hilarious women are the only bright spot in his life.

This book is cute, and it was a good break from reading heavy stuff for class.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

I have always wanted to read this book. The cover is beautiful. (That shouldn’t matter...but it does.) It seems like the general consensus of this book is that it is life changing. This book will inspire you! This book will make you take the initiative to follow your dream! Snake oil. Maybe I’m cynical, but I HATED this book. It’s preachy, it’s chock full of cliches, and worst of all I cannot get over how sexist this book is. The boy character is allowed to have a dream and pursue it. But the girl’s dream is to STAY BEHIND AND WAIT FOR HIM TO COME HOME????? That’s her dream!?!? That sucks!!!!!!! That’s unacceptable to me. Every nice thought or potential mantra to be gleaned from this book is completely overshadowed by the mistreatment of the female characters. LAME.

It by Stephen King

I read this book bc I wanted something really long to read at jury duty. This book is so long, but I honestly loved every second of it. I was borderline obsessed for two weeks of my life. I completely fell in love with the characters, my precious babies. I was always weirdly fascinated by the mini-series when I was little. I really liked getting to know the kids and then the adults. I was surprised that the book is not split half in half, but the adult scenes are mixed in with the childhood memories. I really enjoyed this book that my first reaction to seeing the new It movie was to be MAD at what they changed. That hasn’t happened in a while. (Harry Potter anyone?) I thought the tumblr love for Pennywise was funny to a certain extent, he’s pretty hilarious in the movie. But in the book...real life nightmares were had. Nothing in particular gave me a nightmare, just the overall vibe and tone of the book stressed me out and kept me awake. This book really transported me. When I was reading it, for better or for worse, I was in the town of Derry.

Quote: “Maybe there aren't any such things as good friends or bad friends - maybe there are just friends, people who stand by you when you're hurt and who help you feel not so lonely. Maybe they're always worth being scared for, and hoping for, and living for. Maybe worth dying for too, if that's what has to be. No good friends. No bad friends. Only people you want, need to be with; people who build their houses in your heart.”

Fair Play by Tove Jansson

I love this book. Tove Jansson is the creator of Moomin and I only recently found out that she wrote a few books too. Fair Play was the only one my library had so I checked it out. And it was amazing. <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

The more I learn about Tove, the more obviously autobiographical her books seem. This book is a series of short stories about two women who live together and learn to work around and with each other in every way. Mari is sensitive where Jonna is gruff. They are both stubborn about different things and have a beautiful symbiotic relationship. In some reviews I’ve read of this book people go out of their way to make sure it’s known that Mari and Jonna’s “sisterhood” is strictly “platonic.” I roll my eyes, bc CLEARLY they are not. They are life partners and have a deep love for each other that goes beyond just being roommates. Plus, it’s pretty obvious that Mari, a writer, is Tove Jansson, and Jonna, an artist, is her life partner and graphic designer Tuulikki Pietila.

But back to the book. It is an absolutely beautiful series of short stories. I wouldn’t even call them stories. They are more like little snippets of daily life. They are full of subtle emotion and are written in such a straight forward but artistic way. Simple prose carries deep meaning in this book.

Quote: “It is simply this: do not tire, never lose interest, never grow indifferent—lose your invaluable curiosity and you let yourself die. It's as simple as that.”

The Artist of Disappearance by Anita Desai

I originally read this book for a class (Landscape Architecture of India) and to be honest I skimmed through it and wrote a bullshit book report. When I saw it in the library I wanted to try it again. This book is just three short stories I can’t believe I didn’t find time to read it before. I didn’t really like the third story, about man living in the mountains, but the first two are great. The first is about a man trying to figure out how to insure a dusty mansion full of treasures. The second is about a woman translating a work of fiction, on the brink of madness as she becomes more of a creator than strictly a translator. These two are among the best short stories I’ve read. The writing is so beautiful.

Quote: “Everything in the house turned damp; the blue fur of mildew crept furtively over any object left standing for the briefest length of time: shoes, bags, boxes, it consumed them all. The sheets on the bed were clammy when he got between them at night, and the darkness rang with the strident cacophony of the big tree crickets that had been waiting for this, their season.”

Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie

I’ve been meaning to read some Agatha Christie for some time now. I read And Then There Were None in high school and absolutely hated it. I was interested in this one bc I know Christie went on many archaeological digs. So I thought this book would contain interesting historical elements about archaeology in the Middle East and ancient Mesopotamian culture. Not at all. Lapis lazuli is mentioned once, cylinder seals are briefly mentioned, everything else mentioned are just “tablet fragments” and “vases.” I was disappointed. I was also really disappointed by how BORING this book is. The mystery is slightly compelling, but nothing exciting really happens. This is a Poirot mystery, another reason I picked it, but he doesn’t show up until halfway through the book! The book is narrated by a nurse. She’s tough and straightforward. I really liked her at first, but throughout the book she is straight up racist. The Middle East is a “primitive” land to her. The natives speak in a “funny, sing-song” language. She is suspicious of the native men around the dig being thieves. She’s even prejudiced against Poirot, showing much disdain toward his accent.

At least Poirot is nice. And he solves the stupid mystery. How does a woman drink a WHOLE GLASS of acid without noticing??? This book was dumb. I don’t think I’ll read Christie again. In this instance my high school self was right.

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

I was really excited to read this book, Neil Gaiman has yet to disappoint me. I love the way this book was written. I especially loved how in the introduction Gaiman outlines all the female Norse gods whose stories have unfortunately not survived. (Makes me want to write some Norse mythology fanfiction. Nerd alert.) I love these characters, the stories are so interesting. A very good read.

Quote: “The Norse myths are the myths of a chilly place, with long, long winter nights and endless summer days, myths of a people who did not entirely trust or even like their gods, although they respected and feared them.”

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Jumped on the bandwagon with this one. This was a really popular book at the library so I checked it out. It’s cute. (Bridget Jones is better.) The book promised to make me cry, but I didn’t. I really liked the main character, Lou. She’s funny and just trying to figure out her life which I related to. A quick read, VERY predictable.

After You by Jojo Moyes

I liked the Louisa character from Me Before You, so I thought I would read the sequel. It was disappointing. Everything fun and admirable about Lou is lost. The story-line where Will’s conveniently long-lost teenage daughter shows up is stupid. The love interest is boring. Really, a terrible sequel. I’m sure there’s better fan fiction out there.

The Whispering Muse by Sjon

This book is plain weird and not my favorite. Luckily, it’s short. I like the mythological/folkloric aspects of the story. My main issue is that the main character is so unlikable. He’s pompous, annoying, and rude. Not endearing in any way. The ending is very strange.

Autumn by Karl Ove Knaussgard

I LOVED this one. The author is writing letters to his unborn daughter. They’re not really letters though, more like small essays on completely random topics: frogs, sunset, plastic bags, embarrassment. The author has a fascinating way of thinking, and the connection to his daughter made the book sweeter. This will be the first of three, I think a book will be published for each trimester? Not sure. But I can’t wait to read the rest.

The Fables Series by Bill Cunningham

Fables starts out great. Fairy Tale characters in NYC, trying to survive. The premise was intriguing and the first few volumes are awesome. It was everything I wanted Once Upon A Time to be. Where OUAT is over-dramatic and embarrassing, Fables is gritty and clever. It started falling apart for me about halfway through the series.I wound up only liking a few characters that the series kept straying away from. Sitting and reading a whole, long-winded story about Little Boy Blue, when Snow White and the Big Bad Wolf are so much more interesting, got tedious. To be honest, I just skimmed through the later issues.

Origin by Dan Brown

Dan Brown’s worst book, in my opinion. I’ll have to read some of his others again to make sure this theory pans out, but the writing in this one is so condescending. It was really annoying. It’s as if Dan Brown thinks his audience is stupid. Instead of saying “Beethoven was playing on the radio” he’ll write “18th century composer, known for works such as this and that, emitted from the iHome music player that was invented in 2005.” Every little detail has some shitty explanation. He explains what Uber is, what William Blake’s most famous poem is, "Nicolaus Copernicus … the father of the heliocentric model — the belief that the planets revolve around the sun — which ignited a scientific revolution in the 1500s"; "Friedrich Nietzsche, the renowned 19th-century German philosopher and atheist"; and "Winston Churchill himself, the celebrated British statesman who, in addition to being a military hero, historian, orator, and Nobel Prize-winning author, was an artist of remarkable talent." WE KNOW. Or you could google it!

Honestly, the writing made this book hard to read and not be insulted by. I did like the story. It’s interesting, very contrived but it’s Dan Brown. Contrived is his middle name. This book read like a shit mystery with sentences from wikipedia copied and pasted in.

Quote: "'Robert,' Ambra whispered, 'just remember the wise words of Disney's Princess Elsa.' Langdon turned. 'I'm sorry?' Ambra smiled softly. 'Let it go.'" (The "it" in question is Langdon's cellphone.)

I can’t believe I had to read that with my own eyes.

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

My last read of 2017. I was intrigued by the movie trailer and the cover of the book is beautiful. This book will stick with me for a while. One review describes it perfectly.

“It’s been a long time since a book filled me with this kind of palpable, wondrous, disquiet, a feeling that started on the first page and that I’m not sure I’ve yet shaken.” -Matt Bell

This book is beautifully disturbing. And the ending is perfect! It’s a trilogy, but I don’t know if I even want to read the other two yet. I think I have to let this one marinate for a while.

A stunning read, a great way to end the year.

Quote: “I am walking forever on the path from the border to base camp. It is taking a long time, and I know it will take even longer to get back. There is no one with me. I am all by myself. The trees are not trees the birds are not birds and I am not me but just something that has been walking for a very long time…”

And there you have it! My year in books. Here’s to next year!

#2017 #happy new year #tove jansson #native son #their eyes were watching god #annihilation #dan brown #origin #books

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the-record-columns · 5 years

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March 20, 2019: Columns

Out of the ashes: An old radio from an old and dear friend…

The 1930 Crosley console radio

By KEN WELBORN

Record Publisher

At this past Monday night's meeting of the Rotary Club of North Wilkesboro, Dr. Conrad Shaw was honored with this year’s Rotary Club Citizen of the Year Award.

This much deserved award was received by Dr. Shaw with thankfulness and humility as he was literally surrounded by family and friends.

On a personal level, Conrad Shaw was the principal of the North Wilkesboro Elementary School for 14 years, eight of them when I was a student there. He was the nearest thing to God-on-this-Earth I ever knew--running a very tight ship--tough, but always fair. And, when we left the 8th Grade for high school, we could read, write, count, and knew we had better behave. No if's, no and's, no but's, no or's, no nor’s - PERIOD!

We were none the worse for the wear, either

Many years later, I helped launch Thursday Magazine, predecessor to The Record. I used the old Hoyle Hutchens house on E Street in North Wilkesboro for our offices, and it became a refuge for anything old, odd, or eclectic. Among my favorite things in that office was my old radios. Over the years I had bought everything from a coin-operated radio in a metal case to a wide variety of other radios out of everything from Bakelite cases to some with beautiful woodwork.

The one common thread through all these radios was Conrad Shaw, who had become a dear friend in my adult life. After he left NWES, he worked the rest of his education career at Wilkes Community College, He retired in 1995 and made a hobby of restoring old radios--a hobby which meshed perfectly with mine. Over a period of time he has repaired and or restored nine radios for me. When we had that awful fire in 2004, all of them burned up. Not too long after the fire Conrad asked me about the radios and I told him they were all lost.

Around Christmas time of that year, I received a phone call from Conrad asking me to stop by and see him. Of course I was glad to, and even more so when I realized why he had called. Sitting in his basement workshop was a beautiful 1930 Crosley console radio. Conrad plugged it in and in about 30 seconds it was playing perfectly. He went on to explain the steps he had gone through in restoring the radio to its original working condition, and that it came from the home of the late musician and historian J. Jay Anderson. I told Conrad about some of the things I had purchased from that estate and my own somewhat quirky relationship with the eccentric Mr. Anderson.

"I knew you had purchased several things from there," Conrad began. “And you had told me you had lost most of your radios in that fire. To That end, I want to make this old Crosley console a gift to you. You can now say you are back to collecting radios again."

I was, and am, more pleased than I can say in words. Yes, I love the old radio, but more importantly, I love being thought of. It is a wonderful feeling — the feeling of friendship I feel when Conrad makes one of his visits to the offices of The Record.

Truly, Conrad Shaw has been good to me my whole life — even before I knew it.

Congratulations again on being Rotary's Citizen of the Year, a much deserved honor.

Time After Time By HEATHER DEAN JOURNALIST/PHOTO JOURNALIST

Generation X: We were the most radical in so many ways. Atari was in three colors, we pulled down the Berlin wall, TV shows and movies were all original (there was no need for remakes or reality TV), the music was full of synthesizers and wicked cool guitar riffs. We were making history in all genres, especially in the areas of the World Wide Web. Star Wars was everything good in life, and the effects were cutting edge technology. David Hasselhoff was the coolest guy ever.

Fast forward to 2019. We the teens of the 80’s are now parents and some even grandparents. Cars can’t fly like we had planned, but they can talk like KITT. We hold palm sized computers in our hands, and can speak or text anyone in the world in an instant. All our Sci-Fi fantasies turned into term papers and valedictorian speeches of our well laid plans for the future, have turned into distant memories, like the fog at a Bon Jovi concert- palpable then gone.

Last week the best of the 80’s were brought back for a weekend as the Wilkes Playmakers presented the hit musical “Back to the 80’s.” All the characters had heartthrob names: Corey, Tiffany, Debbie, Ferris, Eillen, and Alf. The nerd learned karate kid moves and took down the bully at the end. The kids sang songs by WHAM, Madonna, The Buggles, Cindy Lauper, and Jefferson Starship to name just a few. (My favorite was a reference to Milli Vannili.)

During rehearsals, we had to explain why some of their lines were so funny to us, the parents. The kids just didn’t get it. Some of them had never seen the iconic movies they were playing out on stage. The Breakfast who? What’s an Atari? They had never known a time without cell phones and they certainly didn’t know the struggle to create the perfect mix tape.

So here our theatre kids were, learning 80’s dance moves, and songs, albeit with eyes rolled the first few weeks of rehearsal. Then came time for costuming; the girls were mortified at the shoulder pads, blue eye shadow, everything neon, and big hair. As they filed in for dress rehearsal I squealed and said “Oh. Em. Gee. You look AMAZING!!!” They were spot on with the help of moms who lived it. “Heather, we look stupid. I can’t believe y’all wore this mess. It’s so gross.” But that ‘gag me with a spoon’ sentiment soon led into a love of everything glossy and hot pink and was replaced with “hang on, you need more blush” and “is my hair big enough?’ Pass the Aquanet please.”

Our kids had struggled at first, but in the ‘final countdown’ they had morphed into GenX, and it showed. A packed Thursday night rarely happens, and we had to use overflow parking down the street at the First Baptist Church for every performance. Saturday sold out, something that hasn’t happened in a decade, and Sunday’s show was almost sold out, another rarity. These kids were now the history makers, as the audiences cheered and sang along with the live band. Many even dressed up in 80’s regalia to attend the show.

One night, as we were all in the dressing room helping the girls get ready, two of the girls said “If we were teens in the 80’s I bet we would be best friends” This struck me as funny. “If you were bff’s in the 80’s, you would be your mom and me now.” Eyes widened and a hush fell in the hairspray laden air. “Ladies, as cool and amazing as you are NOW, is how totally radical your parents and I were THEN.” Perspective. It will get you every time.

Then, “Oh, Heather, you’ll always be cool.”

Bless em.

Congratulations to cast and crewmates of Back to the 80’s. It was totally tubular.

Give Peace a Chance

By EARL COX

Special to The Record

Jared Kushner, senior adviser and son-in-law to U.S. President Donald Trump, has been working on a peace plan to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Details of this plan are being kept under lock and key but will be revealed soon after the elections in Israel on April 9th. If Benjamin Netanyahu is reelected, he will become the longest serving prime minister in Israel’s history thus far. It would be quite an achievement for both Trump and Netanyahu to have a workable peace plan with the Palestinians however, unless and until the Palestinians and all parties to any such plan agree that Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state, no peace plan will be possible. Furthermore, the world must stop holding Israel to a different and higher standard. Rules, regulations, fairness and justice must apply equally to all.

Israel is often accused of being an apartheid state however nothing could be further from the truth. All Israeli citizens are not Jewish however all are treated equally under the law without regard to race, religion or sexual orientation. Muslims, Bedouins, Druze and others serve in senior level positions within the government of Israel, however the media and the liberal left want the world to believe otherwise.

Here in the United States there has been a growing movement on our college and university campuses by various pro-Palestinian organizations such as Students for Justice in Palestine. These organizations, with the support of liberal professors, are promoting and engaging in BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) campaigns against Israel claiming they are helping the Palestinian cause. Those who promote the truth in an attempt to stop these anti-Semitic BDS campaigns are accused of stifling freedom of speech.

The aim of the BDS movement is not to help the Palestinians. It is to isolate Israel internationally and do as much economic harm as possible as part of the plan to erase Israel from off the face of the earth. The Palestinians are then expected to be crowned rightful heirs to inherit whatever remains of the Jewish state.

Thanks in large part to the efforts of the Israel Allies Foundation which is the international arm of the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus, a total of 27 states have passed legislation making it illegal for local governments to contract with companies that participate in the BDS movement. Opposition to such anti-BDS legislation leans heavily on the complaint that Americans’ First Amendment rights are being infringed upon. However, none of the anti-BDS legislation restricts an individual’s right to boycott Israeli products or businesses. It only restricts the government from being party to such boycotts.

The BDS movement incorrectly and unfairly places blame on Israel for all aspects of the conflict with the Palestinians despite the fact that Israel has made multiple peace offers all of which the Palestinians have rejected. Those in the BDS camp promote a distorted history that Israel is an illegal occupier of the land and maintains that Israel is responsible for Palestinian poverty and suffering. The BDS movement holds out false hope to the Palestinians that they can achieve their nationalistic aspirations without having to negotiate a deal directly with the Israelis because only Israel will be forced to compromise for peace.

By attempting to bludgeon Israel into submission through economic isolation, they believe Israel can be weakened enough to capitulate to every Palestinian demand. This is unrealistic, especially given Israel’s strong economy and superior military capabilities. In short, the Palestinians want a Jew-free state. They want Israel eliminated and replaced with a Palestinian state.

BDS must be stopped in its tracks. How can you help? Ask your local grocery stores and other retailers to consider stocking Israeli products. Buy Israeli Bonds to support the booming Israeli economy and whenever you have an opportunity, speak the truth about Israel. A loss for the BDS movement is a win for everyone else - Israelis and Palestinians. This is how to give peace a chance.

‘I’m a Teacher and Legislator: We’re Making Strides in Increasing Teacher Pay’

By REP. JEFFREY ELMORE

N.C. House

This week, we received welcome news in our efforts to increase teacher pay in North Carolina.

According to a new report released on Tuesday by the National Education Association, one of the nation’s largest teacher unions, North Carolina has now jumped to 29th in the nation in average teacher pay and second in the Southeast. In addition, the average teacher salary in North Carolina has now reached $53,975.

As a public-school teacher for nearly two decades in Wilkes County and a legislator in the N.C. General Assembly since 2012, I have a personal understanding of the challenges facing our teachers. Furthermore, as the only school teacher in the state legislator, I know that teacher pay is an emotional issue for many in our state, as the education system has had an impact in some way on everyone.

Regardless of political party, ensuring quality teachers in the classroom is of the upmost priority. Sadly, teacher pay has been used as a political football, even a weapon, by politicians to advance their agenda and careers for decades. For me, this is very frustrating and it is my goal to highlight the positive work being done to reward our teachers.

Make no mistake, there is more work to be done and we will continue to build on these efforts. This report is exciting news, especially when you look at how far we have come in teacher pay.

When voters gave Republicans the majority in the General Assembly in 2011, North Carolina was ranked 47th in the nation in teacher pay. Furthermore, due to decades of irresponsible spending and budgeting, school systems across the state were considering a reduction in force, instituting hiring freezes and furloughing teachers.

That’s why we immediately went to work and laid out a plan to reward, recruit and retain teachers in North Carolina. We set out realistic goals, not based on winning votes, but actually delivering real results for our teachers, students and parents.

After five consecutive years of pay increases for our teachers, including over 9% in the past two years, we are meeting those goals and getting the results we planned for. As reported this past week, North Carolina is now 29th in the nation and second in the Southeast in teacher pay – and has an average teacher salary of nearly $54,000.

In fact, teacher salaries in North Carolina have risen at the third highest rate in the entire country over the past five years.

While the ranking is a step in the right direction, and second in the Southeast is a great accomplishment, we must and will do more. Our goal is and has been to reward teachers for their hard work while ensuring our children are getting the best education possible to prepare them for the future.

Since the Great Recession, our state has faced many challenges. We have made progress. We will continue to prioritize our state’s sound fiscal footing. We will continue to save for the unexpected rainy day. Lastly, we will continue to make strategic investments for our future.

Representative Jeffrey Elmore serves the 94th House District in the N.C. General Assembly and is the Chairman of House Education K-12 and Education Appropriations. He is also in his eighteenth year as a Wilkes County School teacher.

Conway, a Black River and Spring Time

By CARL WHITE

Life in the Carolinas

I discovered historic downtown Conway, S.C., by happenstance while on my way to Myrtle Beach for the production of our first Christmas special. On that day I was the guest for the morning show on 93.9 FM WCRE in Cheraw. When I left the studio I put the Myrtle Beach address in my GPS. Based on the displayed ETA, the drive time was about two and a half hours; this would give me plenty of time to arrive and check into our hotel before evening activities.

About midway through the drive I realized I was seeing places and things I had never seen before. For me, this is always exciting and I was stopping more than I had planned, and before long I became aware that time was slipping away. I knew if I were not careful, I would go from having plenty of time to being late, so I got back on the road.

I soon found myself in the midst of a picturesque Southern town with charming buildings reminiscent of times before strip malls and by-passes, times when the town center was the heart of commerce, shopping, dining and entertainment.

It was late afternoon, Christmas music filled the air and the streets and storefronts were decorated, thus intensifying the feeling of being in a special place. This was a part of Conway that I had never seen before. I guess I was like the millions of other people who only knew the Conway by-pass, which, like most by-passes, has no sense of history.

From downtown I crossed the Waccamaw River and continued to Myrtle Beach. When I arrived at the hotel, I asked the front desk staff what they could tell me about Conway. I collected some information and contact names and went on with the evening's events.

It would be some months before I could make it back to Conway, but when I did, my first stop was the Chamber of Commerce. I learned about the historic Live Oaks that some call the oldest citizens in town. It is said that some of the trees predate the founding of America.

I was given the name of Larry Biddle as a champion for all things Conway. I called Larry and asked if we could meet. He agreed and we met that afternoon and I was given the grand tour of Conway as it is today and a lesson on the founding of Conway and much of its colorful history.

While I had gone fishing in the black waters of the Waccamaw River, I did not know that the river was the highway for the Waccamaw Indians who were in the area prior to the founding of America.

The Waccamaw was also the water way that a young Englishman traveled while charting the Royal Governor, Robert Johnson's Township Plan. The King's Town was formed in 1732 and the name was shortened to Kingston before finally becoming Conway.

I enjoyed discovering this part of our history while strolling on the meandering boardwalk along the banks of the Waccamaw. This is also when I noticed the beauty of spring time in Conway. The tender green color of new leaves on the trees that border the Waccamaw River looked fresh and alive. From certain views, the moss draped ancient Live Oaks and large azaleas were spectacular.

There are many more stories for me to share about historic Conway and her people, this one is about how I first discovered this charming Southern town and the beauty she displays in spring time.

Carl White is the executive producer and host of the award winning syndicated TV show Carl White’s Life In the Carolinas. The weekly show is now in its seventh year of syndication and can be seen in the Charlotte viewing market on WJZY Fox 46 Saturday at 1noon. For more on the show visit www.lifeinthecarolinas.com, You can email Carl White at [email protected].

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leftpress · 7 years

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The Bizarre Far-Right Billionaire Behind Trump's Presidency

When all seemed to be falling apart for Trump this summer, one shadowy billionaire offered up his own massive political infrastructure, which included Steve Bannon and Kellyanne Conway, and saved Trump’s campaign from demise

youtube

July, 2016 and a very disorganized Trump campaign is headed into an equally chaotic Republican National Convention. The latest fundraising numbers for June are dismal, and according to CNBC, Trump is second guessing his decision to make Mike Pence his running mate, making last minute phone calls to assess the pick just days before the event. Past GOP candidates John McCain and Mitt Romney have decided to skip the convention. So have both former Bush presidents. One day before the convention and there’s still no official list of speakers. Nevertheless, July 18th roles around and the GOP has to move forward with the show.

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GOP Convention “Keep on singing […] USA, USA” The convention is considered a disaster. It exposes a party in disarray. Delegations from Iowa and Colorado stage a walkout over a critical rules vote. Delegates chanting, Denver 7 Broadcast “Roll call vote, roll call vote […] Right there in the top right you can actually see Kendal Unruh in blue. She’s one of the leaders of the never Trump or dump Trump movement, trying to get the rules changed at the start of the convention to let delegates vote their conscience.” Subsequent polls show Trump trailing Clinton in need-to-win swing states. Coupled with a string of bad press stories, including Trump’s fight with the family of a fallen Iraq vet, the Trump campaign seems to have lost its momentum. Joe Scarborough, MSNBC “Donald Trump is just not doing what is required to win.” In a surprise move, the Trump campaign shakes up it’s leadership at the eleventh hour, bringing on far-right editor in chief of Breitbart News Steve Bannon along with former Republican pollster Kellyanne Conway. Days later, David Bossie, head of the corporate advocacy group Citizens United, is brought on as deputy manager of the campaign. The campaign also hires the data mining firm Cambridge Anayltica tasked with probing the American voters mind. At a glance, these last-minute developments look desperate and disjointed. Dana Perino, FOX “I don’t know what they’re doing. I wish I could tell you.” But a closer look reveals something different. It reveals a hidden connection between these players, a thread between this seemingly random cast of actors. Enter billionaire hedge fund manager Robert Mercer and his daughter Rebekah. They’ve been eyeing Trump ever since their first choice, Ted Cruz, dropped out of the primaries back in May. SOT — Ted Cruz “We are suspending our campaign.” Robert Mercer is part of a new class of billionaires, along with the Koch brothers for example, who’ve used the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, which allows for unlimited amounts of cash contributions in US elections, to set up their own powerful political infrastructures that today they rival that of the two major parties. The fuel behind Mercer’s influence, along with most of the top activist billionaires in America, is the absurd sums of money he accrues at the investment company he runs, Renaissance Technologies, based on Long Island, New York. Its famed Medallion fund is one of the most successful hedge funds in investing history, averaging 72 percent returns before fees over more than 20 years, a statistic that baffles analysts, and outranks the profitability of other competing funds, like the ones George Soros and Warren Buffet run. In 2015, Mercer had single-handedly catapulted Cruz to the front of the Republican field, throwing more than $13 million into a super PAC he created for the now failed candidate. But with the Trump campaign faltering and struggling for support, there’s a second chance for the Mercers to make a big bet. The Trump campaign is well aware of this. In fact, sources within Mercer’s super PAC would later tell Bloomberg news that moments after Cruz drops out of the race, Ivanka Trump and her wealthy developer husband, Jared Kushner, approach the Mercers, asking if they’d be willing to shift their support behind Trump. The answer is an eventual but resounding yes. In the months leading up to Trump’s presidential win, the Mercers would prove a formidable force. Beginning after the disastrous Republican convention in July, they would furnish the Trump campaign not only with millions of dollars but with new leadership. But they would furnish him with something more: a vast network of non profits, strategists, media companies, research institutions and super PACs that they themselves funded, and largely controlled. Carrie Levine, Center for Public Integrity “I think what you’ve seen is a lot of these organizations in this network come out to play a role in the 2016 elections.” With the Mercer family in the picture, the post-convention shake-up starts to make sense. Take Steve Bannon. He and Robert Mercer have been close for years. And Mercer is a top investor in Breitbart news, where Bannon was chief editor. Mercer’s also funded a number of Bannon’s media projects. Kellyanne Conway also comes out of this network. Before becoming co manager of Trump’s campaign, she headed up operations for Robert Mercer’s super PAC when it was supporting Ted Cruz. Deputy campaign manager David Bossie was president of Citizens United before joining the campaign, an organization Mercer has heavily funded since at least 2010. Cambridge Analytica, the mysterious data mining firm that received grudging praise after predicting the race’s outcome more accurately than any other polling company, is also heavily funded by Robert Mercer, and was employed by the Cruz campaign before Mercer switched over to Trump. In fact, the Mercers’ political infrastructure is so entrenched, that Rebekah Mercer herself sits on the 16 person executive committee of Trump’s transition team. Mercer’s foray into the White House may seem to have been born partly out of luck, especially with Trump instead of Cruz as his stalking horse. But his rise to power was systematic, and it was years in the making. The web of connections Mercer’s built over the last decade is vast and complex. It includes efforts to dismantle tax law and weaken the IRS; it’s about funding quack scientists and conspiracy theorists who blame the government for, among other things, playing a role in the San Bernadino massacre and of colluding with the United Nations in using climate change as an excuse to implement environmental laws meant to depopulate America’s midwest. It’s about pouring money into the neoconservative John Bolton Super PAC, which props up candidates who ascribe to Bolton’s very hawkish foreign policy. But one of Mercer’s earliest activist ventures was financing a slew of fringe documentary projects that’ve helped raise the profiles of people like Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachmann and most notably, the director of those films, Steve Bannon. Bannon, who was previously a naval officer and Goldman Sachs investment banker, made his first documentary in 2004 about Ronald Reagan. It retold his biography using washed out, black and white archival footage of the Hollywood actor, painting him as brave protector of western democracy from the threat communism. In the Face of Evil “You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this the last best hope of man on earth or we’ll sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness.” The film wasn’t a commercial success. According to the reviews, it was a flop. But it developed a cult following. And it revealed that there was an untapped audience for this sort of film, which demonized America’s current establishment while lamenting the death of old-time conservatism under Reagan. In the Face of Evil would also connect Bannon to conservative author Peter Schweizer, who’s namesake book the film was based on. It would also connect him to another rising conservative figure Bannon met at a screening of his Reagan film in Beverly Hills, a man Bannon recalled in a Bloomberg piece who came up to him after the showing like a “bear,” he said “who’s squeezing me like my head’s going to blow up and saying how we’ve gotta take back the culture.” His name: Andrew Breitbart, a conservative commentator who for the next few years would join Bannon and Schweizer in their efforts to establish a fresh conservative narrative, with Breitbart himself focusing on an idea for a new media company, something partly inspired by a trip to Jerusalem and the need to create an outlet "that would be unapologetically pro-freedom and pro-Israel", something that would come to fruition in 2007 and that he would call breitbart.com. “One of the things I admired about [Breitbart],” Bannon said in that Bloomberg story, “was that the dirtiest word for him was ‘punditry’ […] Our vision—Andrew’s vision—was always to build a global, center-right, populist, anti-establishment news site.” But that wasn’t all. What Bannon, Schweizer and Breitbart really wanted to forge was a multi-teared effort to push their agenda. They wanted to fund Schweizer’s books and Bannon’s films. They wanted a research wing. Ultimately, they wanted to create a media infrastructure big enough to pump their ideology into America’s national discourse. But they needed more investors. And they needed large investors, people who could fund this giant operation for a sustained period of time, because what this right-wing trio had set out to do wasn’t to simply start a business. It was to transform America’s rage, it’s largely white, rural, working class discontent into a political movement that would storm Washington, first in the form of the Tea Party, and again six years later in the form of Trump. That influx of cash would come from the organization more famous now for the Supreme Court decision it inspired than for the media and political work it’s done for decades, thanks in part to funders like the Koch brothers and, of course, Robert Mercer. The pro-corporate advocacy group Citizens United was created in 1988, and for years it had pumped out television ads, films and other forms of media content that sought to put pressure both on Democrats as well as more moderate Republicans to embrace a far-right, corporate-friendly approach to politics. Citizens United Promo “Remember that the left controls Hollywood. They control entertainment. They control the movies. They control television. They control mass media. They control certainly journalism. And so, what Citizens United has figured out is that through the media, they can in fact move public opinion. They can shape America, and thereby shape Washington.” It was that effort that gave rise to the film Hillary: The Movie, which in turn lead to the supreme court case that changed the way politics is done in the United States. It’s worth noting that the Citizens United decision to allow for unlimited campaign contributions through super PACs didn’t originate from any billionaire or corporation directly complaining about contribution limits. It originated from this documentary, which Bannon directed, and which FEC rules barred from being shown because it fell under the category of “electioneering communications.” Essentially, union and corporate funded groups like Citizens United couldn’t air anything critical about a candidate within 30 days of the primaries, and 60 days of the general elections. The Supreme Court’s decision to strike down that rule opened up the floodgates for unlimited campaign spending, which Citizens United and its billionaire and corporate donors seized upon. Citizens United has been heavily funded by the Koch Brothers and their network of donors, which Mercer joined early on. But in 2010, Mercer decides to extend his reach and influence beyond the confines of that network, beginning first with Breitbart News, which at the time had hit a bit of a rough patch. Andrew Breitbart had put out a misleading video that showed a Department of Agriculture official, Shirley Sherrod, making what people characterized as racist remarks towards white people. Sherrod was fired, and when it came out afterwards that the clip had been manipulated, Sherrod sued Andrew Breitbart. The lawsuit fell on the heels of another false video exposé Breitbart had done a year earlier involving the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, known as ACORN, which had resulted in their loss of private and government funding. After the Sherrod video, the media virtually blacklisted him along with his site from mainstream. The hiccup prompted Mercer to capitalize on the event. According to Bloomberg news, he puts upwards of $10 million in the company later that year, making him a top investor. The next two years are spent expanding and sharpening these media connections. Bannon continues to produce documentaries, including The Undefeated, featuring the rise of Sarah Palin, as well as Occupy Unmasked, which aimed to discredit the 2011 protest movement. Occupy Unmasked (Breitbart): “These people feel morally justified to commit crimes.” Schweizer continues publishing his books, most notably Clinton Cash in 2015, which Bannon adapted into a documentary and which fueled the right’s obsession with Hillary Clinton and the sources for her foundation. Meanwhile, Mercer is quietly lubricating his political and financial empire, doling out money to a whole slew of conservative non profits such as the Heartland Institute, the Heritage Foundation, the CATO Institute, Citizens United and many more. Then, in 2012, Andrew Breitbart dies suddenly from a heart attack. Wolf Blitzer, CNN “[…] dead at the age of 43. Breitbart was certainly a driving force in the Tea Party movement as well as a very influential political voice on the internet.” Mercer and Bannon, who was a board member at Breitbart, quickly rearrange leadership roles in an effort to not lose any momentum. In fact, Breitbart’s death seemed to have been a morbid blessing for the group. Breitbart, unlike his compatriots, had always been more of an old-school, more moderate conservative. He’d worked at the Drudge Report, which many saw as a bullhorn for the Bush administration. More surprisingly, he’d been a researcher for Arianna Huffington, and helped create an early model for what would become the liberal Huffington Post. So: Mercer, Bannon and Schwiezer crank up the heat. In the months after Breitbart dies, Bannon is made executive chairman of breitbart.com. Schweizer, meanwhile, founds a new research group that focuses on feeding content to Breitbart news and Citizens United for their documentary projects called the Government Accountability Institute, where Mercer is a top funder while Bannon sits on the board. These shifts are all taking place in the shadows of the presidential race between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. Romney epitomized the GOP establishment, and Mercer must have been reluctant to give to his campaign: he ended up throwing about a million dollars into a super PAC supporting Romney, a paltry number compared to the $15 million he spent on Trump, and the $13 million he spent on Cruz. Romney’s loss was a heavy defeat for Republican voters around the country. With so many Americans still struggling to get back on their feet after the 2008 economic crisis, his defeat angered many GOP voters. Some blamed Obama and the Democrats. Others blamed the Republican establishment, including Romney himself. But at the NYU Club in New York, moments after the news of Obama’s reelection, one unsuspecting voice would take a small group of wealthy donors by storm, blasting the Romney team for dropping the ball on their data mining and canvassing operations. That woman was Rebekah Mercer, Robert Mercer’s daughter. After Romney, Rebekah became her father’s right hand. Before that, Robert Mercer’s role in his political dealings was to supply money to the people he admired and trusted, people like Bannon, Schweizer and Breitbart. Rebekah wanted to change that. She wanted accountability over the money her father spent. And Romney’s failure provided an opportunity to step into the republican arena and assert her and her father’s agenda. Between 2012 and 2016, she would take formal leadership positions at the think tanks and non profits her father funded. She became a director at Peter Schweizer’s Government Accountability Institute. She took over the Mercer Family Foundation. And more recently, she managed her father’s super PAC, alongside Kellyanne Conway. She and her father began to engage more in what you might call a kind of sniper fire politics, investing money in very specific races and causes. Carrie Levine “We’ve seen Robert Mercer put money into super pacs in races that have something to do with often tax. This cycle he gave money to a super pac backing a primary challenger to senator John McCain in Arizona. McCain is a Republican and he was the cochair of the senate committee that investigated Renaissance’s tax strategies.” McCain would later say he thought Mercer was doing this because of that investigation, which was looking into whether RenTec had avoided more than $6 billion in taxes over the course of 14 years. For the 2016 Republican primaries, Robert Mercer decided to put his support behind Ted Cruz and so did Bannon. But as Cruz faltered and took positions that ran counter to Bannon’s conservative agenda, like supporting the TPP, Mercer and Bannon began questioning their support of a candidate who was too obviously trying to appease both the disgruntled American voter as well as corporate interests in Washington. In the end, Cruz’s evangelical christian persona failed to cover up his true identity, which was as a Harvard-educated lawyer who’d worked for years in Washington including as a young clerk in the Supreme Court. Robert Mercer seldom makes public appearances and he never talks to the press. The only time he’s spoken publicly was in 2014, after he received a lifetime achievement award from the Association for Computational Linguistics. In the hour-long acceptance speech he gives in Baltimore, Maryland, Mercer spends almost all of his time talking about his passion for computers. Robert Mercer “I loved everything about computers. I loved the solitude of the computer lab late at night. I loved the air-conditioned smell of the place. I loved the sound of the discs whirring and the printers clacking.” None of his remarks are political, except for one comment he makes, when he’s talking about the time he worked at the Air Force weapons lab in New Mexico, and the one day he discovered how to make their computers run 100 times faster. Robert Mercer “A strange thing happened. Instead of running the old computations in 1/100 of the time, the powers that be at the lab ran computations that were 100 times bigger. I took this as an indication that one of the most important goals of government-financed research is not so much to get answers as it is to consume the computer budget. Which has left me ever since with a jaundiced view of government-financed research.” Mercer doesn’t quite fit into an established upper class. He isn’t exactly a Wall Street type, and neither are the 300 employees, many of whom are, like him, advanced mathematicians and physicists, who work at Renaissance Technologies’ brainchild, the Medallion fund. Carrie Levine “I think it’s interesting to note that this is a guy who has a programming background, a coding background who didn’t start out on Wall Street and so he’s come to this through sort of a different route […] He’s spoken very little about his political giving and so we can’t say a lot about his motives, at least not [from] what he’s said.” The fund is known for its secrecy. It’s been closed to outside investors since 2005, and what exactly they trade isn’t fully understood. What is known is that what Mercer along with retired Renaissance Technologies founder James Simons and co CEO Peter Brown have done is master the math behind something called quantitative trading, which involves gaming the stock market using advanced algorithms and data analysis to create unprecedented profits. Bill Black, former bank regulator “All they do is make one group of literally billionaires slightly richer than another group of billionaires […] but they add absolutely nothing to the economy or the world effectively.” 2016’s list of biggest political donors is stacked with billionaires who’ve made their money by engaging in what amount to different forms of gambling. The largest donor of the cycle, Tom Steyer is a hedge fund manager. The second, Sheldon Adelson, is a casino magnate. The third, Donald Sussman, is a quant fund manager. Strangely enough, founder of Renaissance Technologies James Simons, who’s one the Democrats’ largest donors, is number 5 on the list, while his colleague and Republican counterpart Robert Mercer is number 7. Bill Black “It’s not a coincidence that the enormous amounts of wealth go to people who are connected with gambling, but recall that they don’t gamble. Adelson is the House. The House, mathematically, is going to win. And the idea at the hedge fund is that is, again, to have better math than the other billionaires so that you have — statistically you’re going to win.” Casino capitalism has given people like Robert and Rebekah Mercer riches and power beyond most people’s imagination. But the role of activist billionaires in American politics isn’t new. It’s just become stronger as wealth is concentrated in fewer hands, with the top 1 percent of Americans today holding on to 40 percent of the country’s wealth, and with much of that increase taking place in the finance and energy sectors of the economy. The rise of people like Robert Mercer and the Koch brothers reflects how billionaires have gradually taken more direct control over politicians and the state. Bill Black “One of the things that is really useful if you’re a billionaire and that you get your money by doing nothing socially useful, is to valorize what you’re doing and to demonize anyone that might actually restrict it by law, regulation even social mores. And propaganda is historically, the answer to that.”

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thisdaynews · 5 years

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How Trump's New York negotiating style landed him on the brink of impeachment

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/how-trumps-new-york-negotiating-style-landed-him-on-the-brink-of-impeachment/

How Trump's New York negotiating style landed him on the brink of impeachment

President Donald Trump. | Spencer Platt/Getty Images

President Donald Trump has always viewed life through the prism of his next real estate deal, betting he can just bulldoze opponents into giving him what he wants. But Washington doesn’t work that way.

Now, as he battles an impeachment inquiry that sprang from his alleged attempt to bully a foreign leader, those who know Trump say it’s in large measure because he never made the switch from the brash, no-holds-barred New York businessman portrayed in “The Art of the Deal” to the president of a country governed by laws and norms of behavior.

“He’s used to getting what he wants and he’s a tough street guy,” said Billy Procida, a former vice president for the Trump Organization. “He’s been dealing with subcontractors his whole life. You know what it’s like to deal with subcontractors? They’re all terrorists. They all want more money for the job and then you’ve got to fight them and say, ‘OK, quid pro quo, I’m going to give you this, you do that, I’ll give you this, you do that, if you don’t do this, I’m going to do that.’”

The disjuncture between the table-pounding imperatives of New York real estate and the delicacies of international diplomacy helps explain, these people say, why Trump is having trouble understanding why his “perfect” phone call with Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, may have crossed a line.

“He does nothing without a quid pro quo,” said a former White House official. “Nothing. Whatever deal has got to be to his advantage.”

“He treats a lot of conversations and a lot of negotiations, including with foreign leaders, along those lines,” said another former White House official. “‘What is it that you want? Here’s what we want.’ How can we find a way to reach some kind of deal or accommodation where we both get what we want but in particular where I, representing the U.S., get what I want.”

These ex-officials weren’t at all surprised, therefore, to learn that Trump had asked Zelensky to do him a “favor” while nudging him to launch investigations of his political adversaries — a 30-minute conversation whose interpretation is at the heart of Democrats’ impeachment drive.

House leaders, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have charged that Trump’s chat with Zelensky is evidence enough of “bribery” and “extortion” — their characterization of what the president said was a “perfect” phone call, and his Republican allies say is just the normal give-and-take of foreign affairs.

What’s more, Trump’s defenders say, his upfront negotiating style has its advantages.

“He’s very direct from the beginning about what he wants,” said a former administration official. “You’re not wondering about what he wants or what the end goal is. … [T]hen he’ll hammer at it, so it’s clear that the person understands it and then that every time he speaks to that person, it will be repeated until whatever goal is achieved.”

Trump’s win-at-any cost mentality has those who have worked or dealt with Trump guessing that the known occasions when he pressed for Ukraine to investigate his rivals — the July 25 call with Zelensky and several with his ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland — aren’t the only times he did so.

“He would just never take no for an answer if he wanted something,” said Barbara Res, a former vice president for the Trump Organization. She expects him to try to horse-trade with Senate Republicans and threaten to torpedo their reelection efforts if they show signs of disloyalty during the impeachment inquiry.

Asked for comment, White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said, “President Trump’s ‘style’ is exactly what provided lethal aid to Ukraine so it could protect itself from Russian aggression, while the so-called ‘no drama’ Obama ‘style’ only gave Ukraine blankets and pillows — leaving our international ally dangerously vulnerable.”

Trump’s never-say-die mentality

At times during his business career, Trump’s sheer persistence paid off — even on some of his worst deals.

Take his doomed gambling ventures: While most businessmen would have pulled out and quit, Trump persevered and personally made millions of dollars for the better part of two decades after all three of his casinos in Atlantic City had filed for bankruptcy in the early 1990s.

Trump, who has often cast his predecessors as weak leaders who got steamrolled by China, staked his claim to the presidency on that kind of ability to play a weak hand well. “I do deals. That’s what I do. I do really good at deals,” he told CNN in September 2015 as his fledgling campaign was just starting to get a serious look.

His past colleagues also see a pattern in Trump’s real estate days that has repeated itself throughout his time in office: He becomes obsessed with trying to do any deal quickly, and likes to assess how much he has to give in order to get something.

“A lot of it is using leverage to negotiate, seeking to bully and apply pressure and force concessions, and you see it in negotiations with foreign countries, especially with China and trade,” said one former White House official.

Trump has yet to consummate a trade deal with China, though there are signs that Beijing’s growing impatience with the on-again, off-again negotiations has led to concessions.

And the president’s defenders say his approach is responsible for some major wins, from browbeating NATO countries to increase their defense spending to negotiating the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, his revised trade deal with Canada and Mexico.

But Trump’s style has also clearly foundered with North Korea, which has continued to expand its missile and nuclear programs despite his alternating threats to incinerate Pyongyang or make it the next Singapore. His “deal of the century” between Israel and the Palestinians has yet to be unveiled, and Iranian leaders have so far resisted his entreaties to negotiate as well as his campaign of “maximum pressure.”

Then there is Washington, where the policy process often moves slowly and there are laws governing what officials can and can’t do and how regulations can be written.

Here, his operating style has caused problems.

As the head of an eponymous family business, Trump was accustomed to making almost every major decision. It’s been hard for him to adapt to the sprawling and sometimes willful federal bureaucracy, where decisions can get slow-rolled, altered or simply ignored as they filter their way down the organizational chart.

Officials have frequently boasted to reporters about how they’ve thwarted Trump’s whims, as with his orders to assassinate the president of Syria, or pull out of NATO, or build a border moat filled with snakes or alligators.

One of them — an anonymous senior official styling himself as the leader of a cadre of “adults in the room” within the administration —has even parlayed a New York Times op-ed touting his “resistance” into a book on the same subject.

Some foreign leaders — notably Japan’s Shinzo Abe — have learned to adapt to Trump by reading “The Art of the Deal,” which lays out his favorite negotiating and strategy tactics.

But others have learned, to their chagrin, that it can be surprisingly easy to persuade Trump to adopt their positions — only to discover later that his commands don’t always get executed.

After Trump tweeted in August that he had ordered U.S. companies look for an alternative to manufacturing goods in China, for instance, staffers told reporters that Trump hadn’t issued any official order, explaining that the president was only warning companies to pull back from China.

And his now-infamous decision to pull U.S. troops out of Syria during a phone call with Turkey’s president led to weeks of chaos, angry outburst from Republican senators, charges of betrayal by America’s Kurdish allies, and ultimately — military officials have hardly been shy about bragging — a partial reversal.

“He may say, ‘Yes, yes I agree’ and the day after when you go back to the White House, nobody has heard about it,” said Gérard Araud, who dealt with Trump when he was the French ambassador to the U.S. and is now SVP at communications firm Richard Attias and Associates. “There’s no instructions down to the bureaucracy to implement what the president says.”

Some have raised a different issue they found frustrating about working with Trump: The president doesn’t see the value of actually preparing for negotiations, which makes it hard for his foreign interlocutors to get traction on their priorities.

That accords with the testimony of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the National Security Council official responsible for Ukraine policy. Vindman told House impeachment investigators that Trump ignored his briefing materials ahead of the call with Zelensky.

“He believes that everything should be solved at his level,” said one former official. “He doesn’t enter into the details.”

Some Trump allies defend his negotiating style as one perfectly suited to driving a hard bargain with foreign countries and leaders of the opposite party.

“People who are sissies and people who can’t take tough people say, ‘Oh he’s relentless,’ but you know who wins? The tough people win, the sissies lose,” said John Catsimatidis, a New York billionaire businessman who has known Trump for 35 years.

“I don’t think any negotiator would be a good one if they were just giving things away without getting things in return,” one former White House official said.

It’s exactly that mindset, however, that seems to have gotten Trump into trouble with the Zelensky call by linking cooperation with Ukraine to investigating the Bidens — and led top aides like former national security adviser John Bolton to call it a “drug deal.”

“There’s always an ask,” a former White House official explained when asked whether Trump had pulled a Zelensky-type move on other foreign leaders. “‘You do this’ and more than a suggestion that something will happen. … He very seldom listened without coming up with a ‘This is what I need you to do and I’m willing to give this to you if you do it.’”

Three people who know Trump or have dealt with him called him “transactional,” with one Middle Eastern ambassador to Washington saying that Trump’s negotiating style has filtered down to senior staffers who are “always bargaining” with their foreign counterparts.

Sometimes Trump’s wheeling and dealing with foreign counterparts takes familiar forms, albeit of the kind of corporate championing that is normally left to ambassadors and secretaries of commerce.

Trump has placed a particular emphasis on urging countries to sign lucrative contracts with flagship American companies such as Chevron and Boeing — deals he can then take credit for brokering, according to the Middle Eastern ambassador.

When Trump was a businessman in New York, many of his fellow real estate tycoons learned to avoid him at all costs, viewing him as erratic — an assessment that would doubtless ring true to other world leaders.

“No good comes from being too close to him,” said a New York real estate businessman who has dealt with Trump. “Because he’s so unpredictable and so opportunistic, it’s like having a gun that you never know if you point at it if it’s going to fire back at your own face so the strategy as far as I’m concerned is don’t engage. There’s no reason to engage.”

“He is entirely opportunistic, entirely inconsistent,” this person said. “There’s no predictability except his own unpredictability.”

#brink #Foreign #impeachment #Politics

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courtneytincher · 5 years

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Saudi Arabia’s Hyper-Nationalism Is Here To Stay

As Saudi Arabia adjusts its social contract to lean away from religion and towards nationalism, it is siphoning power away from the religious extremists who have long dogged its reputation and security. But in so doing, it is also giving power to a new brand of Saudi radical: the hyper-nationalist. And while the Saudi hyper-nationalist trend does not seek the same kind of violent, global caliphate as previous Saudi extremists like Osama bin Laden, they nevertheless pose a real risk not just to the reputation of the Kingdom, but to its more independently-minded Gulf Arab neighbors, and aspects of its critical relationships with the West. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his hyper-nationalist deputies, Saud al-Qahtani and his agents in the Center for Studies and Media Affairs, are carrying out a far-ranging campaign against activists, academics, influencers and public personalities to rapidly transform Saudi Arabia’s social contract from religion-cum-tribalism to modern nationalism. The imperatives driving this transformation are multiple. At its core, the Saudi social contract is years out of date. The religious establishment’s long-standing loyalty, especially after the Siege of Mecca in 1979, helped glue Saudi society to the monarchy. But Saudi religiosity is changing, undermining the political potency of the clerics who once could reliably rally followers to the flag. The Kingdom’s cradle-to-grave welfare system is increasingly unaffordable; whereas once Riyadh could dump dollops of cash onto unruly citizens and regions to purchase loyalty, now the state must find means to turn its citizens into productive workers thriving in their currently moribund private sector. With the religious and economic planks weakened, Riyadh has sought to use nationalism as a salve to patch the strained relationship between rulers and ruled.It is a remarkable pivot. Saudi nationalism is a relatively new concept: not until 2005 did King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein officially recognized a National Day for the Kingdom, and only in recent years has the holiday begun to gain steam in the public sphere. Saudi kings typically saw nationalism as a dangerous flirtation with the anti-monarchical, pan-Arab nationalism espoused by Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser, and therefore sought to limit its growth. Now the Kingdom is embracing the concept with gusto to shore up its social contract.On the edges of this growing nationalist movement are the hyper-nationalists—mostly men, often young, who patrol social media, sometimes in foreign languages like English. They help shape the narrative of the Kingdom’s reputation and establish new red lines that Riyadh must consider when crafting policy. In 2018 alone, they helped stoke Canadian-Saudi tensions; cheered on the detention of women’s rights activists; extolled mass executions of political dissidents; justified the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, while taking on the mantle of maintaining public order once held by the religious police. As the taboos of the old religious establishment fade away, the hyper-nationalists are moving to command public opinion. Sometimes, the hyper-nationalists are useful tools for the state to enforce policy, shape public sentiment, and adjust the social contract. As nationalism gains credence, the religious establishment’s disquiet with social reform will increasingly become irrelevant—an important evolution in the state’s character, as many social reforms, like allowing women to travel and work freely, are also economic in nature. It will also help isolate the religious extremists within Saudi Arabia; although jihadi ideology has been given a stinging propaganda defeat with the destruction of the territorial version of the Islamic State, young Saudis, particularly in hinterland provinces being overlooked by the Kingdom’s tumultuous reforms, nevertheless find solace in the appeals of extremist preachers. There may be military benefits as well: typically casualty-averse, more nationalist military ranks may increase their tolerance for risky operations and national sacrifice, traits that Riyadh has chased for decades with little success. That will allow Saudi Arabia to be more confrontational with its regional rival, Iran, and mitigate some of the war weariness cropping up from its intervention in Yemen.Other times, the hyper-nationalists have proven to be reputational and policy risks for a Riyadh trying to court foreign investment and maintain strategic alliances. Al-Qahtani is widely blamed for the botched Khashoggi operation, an issue that has soured relations between Saudi Arabia and America’s Congress. Saudi Arabia’s hyper-nationalists also helped drive the Canadian-Saudi diplomatic spat of August 2018 which has interrupted the long-standing relationship between Canada and Saudi students, and which threatened to derail business relations between the two countries. The hyper-nationalists have also raised tensions with Iran: in an editorial in state-backed Arab News in May 2019 (which is part of Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Research and Publishing Company that is a key vehicle in pushing the nationalist narrative), the editorial board argued for punitive military strikes against Iran in retaliation for the tanker attackers in the Gulf of Oman and attacks by the Houthis on Saudi oil infrastructure.Moreover, the ever-evolving concept of national dignity will produce new diplomatic challenges for both Riyadh and its allies. While Saudi Arabia has never welcomed foreign opinion on its domestic affairs, it has, in the past, been able to ignore popular opinion in the name of state security, as it did when it invited in Allied troops to defend the Kingdom from Iraq after the invasion of Kuwait in 1990, and, more recently, as it reaches out to Israel for a common front against Iran.Moreover, Saudi nationalists have shown less tolerance for the regional deviation of nearby Gulf Arab states. Qatar has taken the brunt of these attacks, and the blockade has become infused with a nationalist spirit that will be hard to turn down should Riyadh ever find resolution with Doha. In the future, Oman and Kuwait may also face the strengthened ire of these nationalists. Oman’s Sultan Qaboos has been independent enough, especially with Iran and Qatar, to face pressure from Riyadh. Qaboos helped scuttle a Saudi attempt to strengthen the regional Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) into a Gulf Union in 2013, something that upset Saudi Arabia’s strategy of turning the GCC into a more unified front against Iran. In addition, Oman has never joined the Qatar boycott, and Muscat has felt exposed enough to Saudi criticism to take stridently pro-U.S. measures, like inviting Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Muscat in November 2018, to reassure its alliance with the Americans. (It also opened up a military base with Britain, the first since decolonization in 1970). Finally, Kuwait’s long-standing territorial dispute in its oil-rich borders with Saudi Arabia also will increasingly take on nationalist tinges not present before.Perhaps most of all, Saudi Arabia’s new nationalism will infuse it with the political backing it needs to resist foreign influence to change its behavior. As Western allies grow concerned about Saudi Arabia’s human-rights record and conduct in Yemen, pressure from allies to change Saudi Arabia’s behavior will butt up against nationalist demands for the monarchy to maintain the Kingdom’s sovereignty. This will be a marked change from the heady days of George W. Bush and King Abdullah, when Bush helped pressure the king to hold municipal elections as part of his regional Freedom Agenda. Even close allies of the Kingdom may find that the more nationalism gains stature in Saudi Arabia, the more closed the minds of its officials become.Ryan Bohl is a Middle East and North Africa analyst at Stratfor. He holds a BA in history and an MAEd from Arizona State University, where he studied Middle Eastern history and education, and St. Catherine’s College at the University of Cambridge. He lived and taught in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar from 2009-14. Image: Reuters

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heyalexturner · 6 years

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HEY how's gal a predatory rape apologist? i dislike her for she's pro palestinian genocide but i've never heard of this.....

One of her friends posted an article about how Gal had shamed and bullied her when she got raped. She had posted it on Medium but it got deleted for some reason. I don't know her name but here's the deleted article: Recently Gal Gadot tweeted that bullying is unacceptable.Her hypocrisy is deeply wounding. The shame and blame she instilled into me after I was raped was deeply traumatizing.Gal is more than a bully; she is a predator who enables predators.This is my story.Thirteen years ago, I shared an apartment with Gal Gadot for two months in Milan, Italy. Several young girls lived in the building, all under contract with the same modeling management company.Shortly after we met, Gal invited me to share space in her room. Gal’s roommate Maya* was going back home to Israel. Maya was 15, and only spoke Hebrew.Maya was about to leave for the airport. Her bags were packed. The expression on her face was vacant. Tears were in her eyes. It was clear she was in deep pain.Gal calmly told me that the girl had been raped, and that the experience had put the girl in the hospital.Gal said the girl was stupid — for going to the wrong club, and for trusting the man who brought her there. I felt sorry for Maya, but I didn’t know what to do and I didn’t speak her language. I didn’t realize that meeting her would foreshadow my future.Gal had been in Milan for a few weeks. She said she would show me the ropes and who could be trusted. Her confident strength made me feel safe, protected, and loved in a way that I hadn’t felt before. Gal taught me to trust her. I was 18 and she was 19.Gal told me about men who followed models around to casting calls. They were paid by clubs to convince models like us to join them at these clubs in exchange for expensive food, drinks, publicity photos, and VIP treatment. Gal told me to never trust these men, because they rape.Gal’s previous roommate had been tricked by one of these men, and the underlying message was clear: trust Gal. I felt safe with Gal. I did not realize then how little I knew about rape, predators, and the culture that supports them.Gal and I spent most of our free time together. We shared food, clothes, and makeup. We went to the gym. We went shopping and tanning together. We went on photo shoots together. I made her a mix CD. I sang her to sleep. I watched her smoke constantly out of the window. We shared body insecurities, and she shared sex stories. She made sure to appear confident, knowledgeable, and successful — even then. She fed me information about Israel. Whenever she discussed Palestinians, she showed deep hatred.Gal set us up on dates with men who expected sex in exchange for the lavish meals they fed us, although we never slept with them. She would pick smaller men, and threaten them after dinner. They complained and she chased them off with more threats. She would laugh about it later. She used sex as a weapon.Several weeks into my stay, she took me to meet her Israeli friends including her best friend Ayala*. Ayala and her boyfriend Yaniv seemed very close. He appeared to dote on her, and they seemed very much in love.Gal, Ayala, Yaniv and I went out each weekend, sometimes with other friends. The four of us quickly became a core group. We went to clubs to spend time in the spaces reserved for celebrities.Hidden behind the historic exteriors of Milan’s ancient architecture were sensory-overwhelming nightclubs, decked out like palaces. These places were teeming with swarms of people feeding off of manufactured prestige. I was a sheltered child from a small town, and was utterly unprepared for the dark side of the modeling and nightlife industries.A short time later, Gal and I spent a weekend at Yaniv and Ayala’s room inside another shared apartment. Gal and I shared a pull out couch while Yaniv and Ayala slept in their bed. The room was close and intimate. We spent the evening laughing, watching movies, smoking, and drinking. Yaniv commented on how I could not hold my alcohol, fully aware I had no experience getting drunk.A week later, Ayala left for a modeling gig in Greece while Gal was in Ireland for a weekend shoot. Yaniv invited me out to dinner alone. Over dinner, we talked about our significant others, his travel around the world, and his time in the Israeli Defense Forces. I didn’t realize that his intentions were anything other than honorable. After dinner, his friend invited us to a new club.Yaniv asked if I had ever drank wine, knowing I had not. He bought me several drinks with dinner while telling me that I needed to try different varieties. It’s hard for me to remember what happened after that. I assume he drugged me.To this day, I have never been inebriated in that particular way, especially after only drinking wine. I was in and out of consciousness, and my body felt limp. I kept falling over. My brain felt like it was shutting down. Yaniv called his roommate Ofir to help carry me home. I couldn’t walk. I was dead weight. I remember odd pieces, like him repeatedly asking me in a sick, almost playfully malicious tone of voice if I thought I was smart.I remember thinking that we were going home so that I would sleep on the couch, as Gal and I had before. I woke up in Yaniv’s bed, naked. He had removed my clothes when I was unconscious. I remember him climbing on top of me. I could just barely say “no”, and “this isn’t right”. Then I blacked out.I woke up again while he continued raping me. He was restraining my arms so I couldn’t move. It was violent. There was pain. I will never forget how he looked in that dark room. I will never forget the absolute panic I felt. It was terror. I thought he would kill me next. His rape was full of hate. He did not look at me.I woke up the next morning, groggy and delirious. I asked Yaniv what happened. I wanted to hear him say it.“We had sex,” he said, and shrugged. “I thought you knew.”“I told you no,” I said, quietly.“You told me no but your body told me yes,” he said. That line still haunts my mind, 13 years later.I couldn’t get out of his bed, even though I wanted to leave. I was physically sick; not only still intoxicated from the aftereffects of whatever I consumed, but also bruised, shocked, and traumatized. As I lay in his bed, I listened to Yaniv call a friend and brag about having sex with an 18 year old. His conquest; an accomplishment; a notch on his belt.He told me that no one could know, because Ayala would be too hurt. Soon, he began ignoring me.I was disoriented and traumatized. I had absolutely no context to process what had happened. I had no sex education, and certainly no understanding of predators or the culture that supports them. I had been taught a woman should be a virgin until marriage.I thought sex was about love. What I experienced from him was not love. It was hate and disgust. I didn’t have the language to call this rape. Rape was something to fear from strangers while walking alone down the street. Rape was not committed by a friend.I thought he was my friend.I was used, discarded, and alone.Almost alone. At least I had Gal, I thought. She came home two days later. She knew something had happened by looking at me. I wonder if I reminded her of her previously raped roommate.Gal immediately began interrogating me. I could see no compassion in her eyes. I told Gal something had happened between Yaniv and I.She took me down to the basement. It was cold, mechanical, and frightening. We were alone. Then her anger exploded.She stood over me, intimidating and loud, blaming me for what happened. Her eyes were fire. I had already felt small and violated, but she shamed me into feeling obsolete. I felt extremely dirty. Already in shock, I disassociated from my body. I can’t remember most of her words. I remember being in utter terror of her anger.She was furious for Ayala and “what I had done to her”. Gal pointed her finger in my face like a weapon. She asked me how I could do this, and that I needed to make this up to Ayala. She made me feel ashamed, that the whole event had been my fault, and that I had brought it upon myself by being so naïve.After that, I feared Gal. I spent nights out as long as I could, hoping to avoid her. When I did see Gal, she would speak of nothing other than her conviction that I needed to speak with or write to Ayala. She would not let up. She was obsessed. There was absolutely no understanding from her. I don’t know how she could not have seen how the rape changed me. I was no longer the same person.On my last night in Milan, Gal made one final attempt to get me to submit to her demands. She brought me downstairs to a computer. Gal put her hands on me and forced me into the chair. She made me open my email account and write Ayala’s address in the address bar.Standing behind me and above me, Gal held my shoulders down with a terrible pressure, preventing me from escape. She attempted to dictate what she called my “confession and apology”. I could not do it. I was crying, and my head seemed to break apart. My heart felt like it was bleeding out. My stomach was in awful knots. I began disassociating from my body. I could not speak. I could not write her lies.She referred to the rape as “your mistake”.After what felt like several hours, Gal eventually gave up in disgust. It was late at night. She made me promise I would write the letter to Ayala. I never wrote the letter.I returned home confused, silent, and ashamed. Later Gal returned to Israel for her military training. I ended my modeling career as another young woman assaulted, used, and disposed by the industry and its enablers. I did not think I would ever see Gal again.When I was getting my degree in Women’s and Gender Studies, Gal showed up on Maxim in a bikini and heels, the cover girl of their issue on the women of the Israeli Defense Forces.When I saw her face, I had an immense panic attack. I had no idea how much she would upset me. My rape came flashing back. I could feel Gal’s hands pushing on my shoulders. My throat closed up and my heart raced. The nightmares continued to haunt me every night.After I graduated, I worked as the director of the sexual assault services program back in my hometown. I spent many years helping survivors to validate their experiences and process emotions, yet I still deeply struggled with my own.Yaniv Nahoum is responsible for drugging and raping me. That was not Gal’s fault. But her confidence and her power in blaming me opened up a part of my brain, and filled me with an all-consuming shame. I can still feel the pressure of her hands pushing down on me.The trust she built with me was a gateway to my total devastation.Predators gain trust in order to exploit it for their advantage.Gal has succeeded in a predatory industry because she is a predator. She is unafraid to destroy others in pursuit of her ambitions. Like any strong predator, she knows how to target, destroy, and consume the weakest and most vulnerable.Highly skilled predators in our society manage to land roles where they cultivate public trust.Bill Cosby put on a sweater and built trust as a Huxtable.Gal Gadot put on a breastplate and became an icon for women.A predator in a costume is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.When Gal Gadot says that she supports sexual assault survivors, do not believe it. Her actions speak louder than words.*not her real name

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letangminh · 7 years

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What Is the Best Jojoba Oil Of 2017-2018? – Best Jojoba Oil Brand

What Is the Best Jojoba Oil Of 2017-2018?

When making mention of the natural oil products for your skin and hair, it will be your biggest mistake if missing jojoba oil. It’s used to deal with skin conditions such as acne, psoriasis, chapped skin, and sunburn. Furthermore, it’s formulated into some products including makeup removers, shampoos, hair conditioner, and moisturizers tolerably well. But, the most popular application of the jojoba oil is the “carrier oil” because it can enhance the absorption of other oils effectively.

So, if you’re considering some issues about the best jojoba oil, then you’re in the right place since we’re going to introduce a couple of important things about this oil.

What is exactly jojoba oil?

Jojoba fruits

The jojoba oil is extracted from a jojoba plant’s seeds, which is a desert shrub or small tree native to the Southwest United States. This oil is nearly suggested as the best product for skin care since it’s truly a wax ester that is made of long straight chains of wax molecules. Relying on that, the jojoba oil has a very long shelf life and never be rancid.

What makes jojoba oil beneficial?

If talking about beauty benefits, the jojoba oil boasts its great resume, especially when using daily.

Jojoba oil for skin

Jojoba leaves, nuts and oil in a spa

With the waxy property, this oil’s role is similar to human sebum that can serve as the natural moisturizer for the skin. Besides, it helps to eliminate excess oil and keep your skin’s utmost oil levels. What’s more, it deals with acne and eczema well. You can see this clip to know how to use the jojoba oil for facial skinhttps://youtu.be/U0jDMoUIwXw

Jojoba oil for hair

Jojoba oil is an ideal organic hair care

The best jojoba oil aids to moisturizer your hair as well as improving its texture. Furthermore, it can remove dandruff and dry scalp effectively if availing as a conditioner. Wonderfully, some have utilized it to treat baldness. This clip will illustrate to you how to apply the jojoba oil for hairhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zesomju_JqI

Jojoba oil for fungal agent

If you get athlete’s foot or toenail fungus, try using the jojoba oil to remove them now. Besides, it contains the anti-inflammatory action that aids some symptoms such as swelling, itching, pain, etc.

Antioxidant effect

Thanks to a high number of vitamin E and B complex, this oil helps to clean free radicals and stop cell damage. In addition, this antioxidant effect protects against cancer, especially skin cancer.

Some considerations when looking for the best jojoba oil

So, you’re amazed at the little yet miracle plant and numerous ways for different beauty purposes. But, you’re wondering how to choose the prestigious brand of the jojoba oil. The answer is here.

100% organic

When selecting the products that you’re going to apply into your skin, make sure you buy the ones 100% organic. It’s because your skin is the biggest organ in the body and it’s porous. That means it can absorb the things you rub. So, if you put something containing nasty preservatives and additives, it will make your skin become bad.

100% pure

In order to cut costs, some companies mix refined jojoba with the cold-pressed one, creating a lesser quality oil. That’s why you need to read the ingredient list carefully and remember to ask some questions about this product before buying.

Cold-pressed method

It’s extremely important to get the cold-pressed jojoba oil because this method of extraction will give you a pure and unrefined oil. Meanwhile, the refined one, which is extracted from the leftover, is lower quality.

Price

Normally, the cheap jojoba oil is non-organic and mixed with refined oil and other chemicals that can badly affect the skin.

Where to buy jojoba oil?

You can buy Jojoba Oil at your local health food store, specialty grocery stores and sometimes drugstores.

Personally, I prefer buying Jojoba oil online. There are so many many brands for you to choose them freely. And there is another important fact I like is I can refer to many reviews of the buyers for the products they bought before. Thereby, I can pick out the best jojoba oil for me among thousands of products. And Amazon is the online store I often visit whenever I want to buy something. And how about you? Please let me know your opinion by leaving a comment below

How to use jojoba oil?

As a face moisturizer: If you want to use this oil as a face moisturizer, try applying 4-6 drops after waking up and before going to bed. You also put 1-3 drops on your wrinkles and move in a circular motion to remove irritation and solve skin infection. Using twice a day to your affected areas will bring the best results.

As an antiaging serum: Blend the half tablespoon of jojoba oil, pomegranate, and primrose oil, 20 drops of pomegranate oil, and 15 drops of lavender oil to make an antiaging serum. Apply it to your face and neck every morning and night.

To deal with your chap lips: Apply 1-2 drops on your lips directly.

As the treatment of hairlost: Try blending 2 tablespoons of this oil with 10 drops of rosemary essential oil to do an effective mixture for the treatment of hair loss. Apply this mixture on your hair, massage gently, and leave for 20-30 minutes. Apply it twice a week to stop your hair from losing.

To moisturize your hair: Try putting 3-4 drops to your hair conditioner or apply 1-2 ones on your wet hair after showering.With the greatest uses and benefits when using this kind of oil, continue following us and find out what the best jojoba oil is for you.

Top 5 best jojoba oils of 2017-2018

Best Jojoba Oil By Sky Organics: For skin and hair that feels velvety, smooth & soft. Feel your skin and hair soft and moisturized

Jojoba Oil by Leven Rose: Made in the USA. Great for Hair, Skin & Nails. Nothing Added Or Taken Away.

NOW Organic Jojoba Oil,4-Ounce: Certified Organic - 100% Pure.Organic Moisturizing Oil - For Skin, Hair & Body.Multi-Purpose

Viva Naturals Cold Pressed and Hexane Free Organic Jojoba Oil - Golden, 4 oz: Cold-Pressed & Certified Organic. Versatile Beauty Oil. Long Lasting Nourishment. Restores Weak, Brittle Ends of hair. Promotes Hair Growth

ArtNaturals USDA Certified Organic Jojoba Oil: 100 percent natural standards. Paraben and cruelty free. Gentle astringent properties deep-cleanse skin and pores without irritation. High Vitamin E content. Ideal carrier oil for using with all essential oils.

Brand

Content

Ingredients

Our rating

Sky Organics

4 oz.

100% pure organic highest grade jojoba oil. Cold-pressed and unrefined.

Laven Rose

4 oz.

100% Pure Jojoba Oil

NOW Foods

4 oz.

Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil

Viva Naturals

4 oz.

Organic Cold-Pressed Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis) Oil

ArtNaturals

4 oz.

100% Cold-pressed Organic Jojoba Oil

<h3>1.<a href="http://amzn.to/2hcHWRN" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Best Jojoba Oil By Sky Organics</a></h3><p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Best-Jojoba-Oil-Sky-Organics/dp/B0186UG6YE/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li3&tag=makedreamco01-20&linkId=cb1b522693cf2514074b6b32716db5da" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer"><img src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B0186UG6YE&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=makedreamco01-20" border="0" /></a><img style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=makedreamco01-20&l=li3&o=1&a=B0186UG6YE" alt="" width="1" height="1" border="0" />The Best Jojoba Oil by Sky Organics is sourced directly from organic farms in Israel, ensuring its highest and unrefined grade. Due to a low-fat content, this product is actually known as a wax than an oil.<br /> The waxy property will stop exterior elements from penetrating into your skin and seal moisture to maintain the skin hydrated for a longer period. The best thing is to leave it overnight and wash in the morning. Furthermore, the waxiness of this oil protects your lips from outer elements such as casual dryness, the cold, the wind, etc. Put it every morning to keep your lips tender and soft.<br /> Thanks to a high number of vitamin B and E, the jojoba oil by <a href="https://www.skyorganics.us/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Sky Organics</a> is perfect for refreshing the skin that is exposed to the sun for a long time. What’s more, psoriasis and eczema can be lessened effectively because this oil acts as both an emollient and anti-inflammatory.<br /> Especially, you will receive a free eBook with necessary beauty tips and DIY beauty recipes so that you are able to avail this oil to make excellent mixtures for your skin, hair, and nails.</p>

Pros

check100% organic – all are sourced directly from organic farms in Israel

checkContains essential vitamins and minerals for smooth, soft and healthy skin and hair

checkClosely resembles human sebum

checkPacked in a 4oz bottle – easy to carry around

Cons

checkSome claim the smell likes bacon

location-arrowCLICK HERE FOR BEST PRICE ON AMAZON<h3>2.<a href="http://amzn.to/2xK7PmV" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Jojoba Oil by Leven Rose</a></h3><p>The Jojoba Oil by Leven Rose is described as a popular product with a high rating and top reviews online. Moreover, <a href="https://www.levenrose.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">its company</a> is famous for organic<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Jojoba-Oil-Leven-Rose-Moisturizer/dp/B00GJX58PE/ref=as_li_ss_il?s=beauty&ie=UTF8&qid=1505701490&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=jojoba+oil&psc=1&linkCode=li3&tag=makedreamco01-20&linkId=b446b0a81757acdef20e9f2ace87cad0" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer"><img src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00GJX58PE&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=makedreamco01-20" border="0" /></a><img style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=makedreamco01-20&l=li3&o=1&a=B00GJX58PE" alt="" width="1" height="1" border="0" /> natural beauty and skin care products.</p><p>It comes in a 4oz dark bottle with a glass dropper that protects it from the sun and helps to maintain a good and long condition. Plus, it is convenient to carry around.</p><p>With 100% pure unrefined jojoba oil, it offers maximum anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits as well. What’s more, there are no parabens and additives.</p><p>Most people love the fact that this product penetrates into their skin deeply and quickly and leaves no greasy residue.</p><p>Additionally, it serves as an ideal makeup remover, skin moisturizer, hair conditioner, etc. Via using it on a regular basis, your skin, hair, and nail will become healthier.</p>

Pros

check100% pure unrefined jojoba oil

checkBe versatile

checkTreats with skin, hair, and nail purposes well

checkMade in the USA

checkComes with a convenient packaging and a dropper

check100% money back guarantee

Cons

checkThose who are sensitive to the scent cannot stand its light smell

location-arrowCLICK HERE FOR BEST PRICE ON AMAZON<h3>3.<a href="http://amzn.to/2xahjEO" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">NOW Organic Jojoba Oil,4-Ounce</a></h3><p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/NOW-Organic-Jojoba-Oil-4-Ounce/dp/B0019LTGOU/ref=as_li_ss_il?s=beauty&ie=UTF8&qid=1505701490&sr=1-4&keywords=jojoba+oil&linkCode=li3&tag=makedreamco01-20&linkId=ff5a1977e5bdc60b04a311bc05c72760" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer"><img src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B0019LTGOU&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=makedreamco01-20" border="0" /></a><img style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=makedreamco01-20&l=li3&o=1&a=B0019LTGOU" alt="" width="1" height="1" border="0" />In need of the softer skin, healthier hair, and oil for general massage or bath care, the NOW Organic Jojoba Oil might be your good selection. Be known as a leader in the natural product industry, NOW Foods has proved its value via introducing high-quality products that permit people to lead their healthier lives.</p><p>With its high stability and cosmetic versatility, it’s perfect for all hair and skin types, making it softer and smoother to touch. Moreover, it contains a large number of nutritional compounds including fatty alcohols and fatty acids that are effective to put directly on your body.</p><p>Wonderfully, the organic jojoba oil by <a href="https://www.nowfoods.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">NOW Foods</a> is expeller-pressed and produced with no hexane and other solvents or chemicals. Try applying it instantly after showering or bathing to keep your skin moisturized. It won’t leave any greasy residue, of course.</p><p>In addition, don’t forget to drip some drops into your conditioner, shampoo or moisturizer to boost your skin and hair care products. Or use it as a massage oil in order to sooth away your pain.</p>

Pros

checkBe certified by USDA – 100% organic

checkHexane and paraben free

checkNon-GMO

checkThe bottle contains UV light protectant

checkCan be availed as a beard oil

checkTreats with skin, hair, and body well

Cons

checkThe scent might not be suitable for those who are too sensitive

checkThe cap is easily leaky when pressurized

location-arrowCLICK HERE FOR BEST PRICE ON AMAZON<h3>4.<a href="http://amzn.to/2yigPg9" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Viva Naturals Cold Pressed and Hexane Free Organic Jojoba Oil - Golden, 4 oz</a></h3><p>Here is another top brand of the jojoba oil, the Viva Naturals Jojoba Oil. Not only is it 100% organic and pure but <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Viva-Naturals-Pressed-Hexane-Organic/dp/B01AYG74DK/ref=as_li_ss_il?s=beauty&ie=UTF8&qid=1505701490&sr=1-8&keywords=jojoba+oil&linkCode=li3&tag=makedreamco01-20&linkId=f785d4ba55fad6beea07e8a7c93102e2" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer"><img src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B01AYG74DK&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=makedreamco01-20" border="0" /></a><img style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=makedreamco01-20&l=li3&o=1&a=B01AYG74DK" alt="" width="1" height="1" border="0" /> also be free of hexanes (a kind of neurotoxic petrochemical solvents). Also, it’s cold-pressed to keep essential nutrients such as vitamins B, E, and other important fatty acids.</p><p>This product easily and deeply penetrates into your skin and nourishes it as well as preventing aging signs and hair troubles.</p><p>Each 4oz bottle is made from dark glass that helps to maintain the shelf life of the best jojoba oil via protecting it from the sun. Additionally, the company ensures that their product can last at least two years. And if being kept in the appropriate conditions, it can last up to five years.</p><p>What’s more, the jojoba oil by <a href="https://vivanaturals.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Viva Naturals</a> is food-grade. So, feel free to apply it around your mouth. Besides, it’s produced in GMP-certified cities in the US.</p>

Pros

checkBe very versatile

check100% pure and hexane free

checkBe certified organic and used the cold-pressed method – brings maximum benefits

checkBe effective to work with a variety of skin types, especially sensitive ones

checkPromotes hair development

Cons

checkThe dropper sometimes leaks

location-arrowCLICK HERE FOR BEST PRICE ON AMAZON<h3>5.<a href="http://amzn.to/2fsSPif" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">ArtNaturals USDA Certified Organic Jojoba Oil</a></h3><p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/ArtNaturals-USDA-Certified-Organic-Jojoba/dp/B00VSH7LAG/ref=as_li_ss_il?s=beauty&ie=UTF8&qid=1505701490&sr=1-9&keywords=jojoba+oil&linkCode=li3&tag=makedreamco01-20&linkId=9a1f0d1bfff8cf6bc8171ca9b4ffdff8" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer"><img src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00VSH7LAG&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=makedreamco01-20" border="0" /></a><img style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=makedreamco01-20&l=li3&o=1&a=B00VSH7LAG" alt="" width="1" height="1" border="0" />The ArtNaturals Jojoba Oil is organic and cold-pressed that effectively cleanses and moisturizes your skin. At the same time, it delivers antioxidant-rich ingredients that can lessen the free-radical process. Thanks to a high number of vitamin E, this product is able to deal with dandruff, rash, psoriasis, itch, and dry skin well.</p><p>Furthermore, the powerful anti-bacterial properties work as a gentle astringent, assisting to remove pores, clean the skin, moisturize the body, and aid in <a href="http://benefitsofjojobaoil.com/jojoba-oil-for-scalp-psoriasis/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">the relief of psoriasis</a>, age spots, and dandruff.</p><p>Try adding this oil to your shampoo or facial cream to get an extra boost of vitamin E. Or use it as a conditioner to remove dandruff, relieve brittle and dry hair, and soften mustaches and beards. What’s more, it’s a perfect makeup remover that easily takes off mascara and foundation.</p><p>This jojoba oil comes in a glass bottle with the glass dropper. Though some claim that the dropper might sometimes break when using. Besides, if you’re a scent-sensitive, please consider carefully because this product comes with a strong and heavy smell.</p>

Pros

checkBe certified by USDA – 100% organic

check100% pure, with no parabens

checkBe very versatile

checkBe rich in vitamin E

checkBe ideal to use as “carrier oil” with other essential oils

Cons

checkStrong and heavy scent

checkSometimes, the product leaks

location-arrowCLICK HERE FOR BEST PRICE ON AMAZON<h2>Conclusion</h2><p>With a seemingly endless resume of benefits, the jojoba oil deserves to be the ideal product that can deal with any man or woman’s skin, hair, and body. And after reading all the above best jojoba oils of 2017-2018, which one is suitable for your demands most? Please share your opinion by leaving comments below.</p><p>In the upcoming article, I will discuss the best of copper petide serums, a must-have beauty product for you. Wait for it, will be quick.</p>

You can read this original writing here : What Is the Best Jojoba Oil Of 2017-2018? – Best Jojoba Oil Brand

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politicalfilth-blog · 7 years

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An Honest Conversation with Pro Trump and Anti-Trump Supporters on Impeachment Day

We Are Change

youtube

Luke reports live from outside of the Trump Tower on the “day of impeachment”..

Luke: “There was a lot of comments online about how this was going to be a crazy day with Antifa taking over the streets. Here on the ground it’s quite the contrary, so far we only have a few Trump supporters and around forty anti-Trump activists. So it will be interesting to open up a discourse with these different individuals. I’m going to question both sides logic and discuss their mutual hypocrisy. I want to see if they want to impeach Trump for the right reasons or for the reasons that the media manipulated them.”

On the anti-Trump side Luke saw a lot of people with signs saying things like “Abuse of Power”, some people chanting, “Hey Hey Ho Ho, Donald Trump Has Got to Go”, some pink hats, a make America literate again poster and a guy with Trump puppet coming out of his pants.

Vladimir Putin was also apparently in attendance with the anti-Trump activists , or at least his masked look-alike.

Luke decides to start interviewing on the Trump supporter side, he speaks with a man who identifies himself as Red Pill Ken from Twitter. Luke asks him “Why are you out here supporting Trump?”

Ken responds, “Because an attack on Trump is an attack on Americana, it’s all about red, white and blue regardless of what background your from, if your from Americana, there is nothing wrong with being American first, the other side lost this debate in November when we elected Donald Trump, they seem to be on a pattern of trying to disrupt this man who we put in office and I am out here to give Mr. Trump my support. Also to let people know that most mainstream media is fake, it’s like CNN that’s why I have this t-shirt here, you know what Kathy Gifford did they are fake news, you have to go to different websites like Infowars, Drudge Report and Breitbart to get your news on an alternative point of view.”

Luke, “Are there any policies of Mr. Trump that you are disappointed in?”

Ken, “I’m disappointed that he has not repealed the ‘unaffordable care act’ and also upset about the strike on Syria that wasn’t Mr. Assad’s fault. I wasn’t in support of that at all.”

Luke, “What do you think of Trump aligning himself with the Kurdish rebels near Syria?”

Ken, “This is a mistake that Mr. Trump makes, he likes to give people the responsibility to take over their jobs. McMaster has a different viewpoint than Trump, the president has to get rid of McMaster because he is a globalist that wants to put boots on the ground, that is his mindset. It’s these people that are responsible, although it’s Trump who will be responsible in the tail end. I am asking him to get rid of McMaster. I will be the first one to call our president out when I think he’s crossed the line.”

Luke heads back to the anti-Trump side for an alternative perspective, he speaks with a gentleman who is wearing a black cape, Jesse Jackson for President pin, and a red eye mask.

Luke asks him why he is at the protest, the masked man responds by saying “There are 193 countries on the planet and this is the worst one.”

Luke “Why is it the worst one?”

Masked Man, “Which country causes the most destruction to the planet and to America, than the United States of America?” Luke comments, “Well if you looks at pollution it is the U.S. the military does produce a lot of pollution.”

Masked Man, “What about the metal monster cars.”

Luke, “What would you say is your biggest problem with Donald Trump, if there was one issue that was important enough.”

Masked Man, “Actually it’s not really against, its sort of sympathetic, the man has an extreme medical problem, every indication is that he’s addicted to cocaine and it’s making him wild and mad and he’s not responsible. Aside from the meat and the alcohol, that he’s a cocaine addict, it’s an excellent excuse for him to get off, what else explains his behavior.”

Luke comments afterwards, “That may not have been the fairest guy to interview. I want to talk to more people to try an get a coherent answer as to why they want to impeach Trump.“

He then interviews another person in a pink hat, who says “I am out here because Donald Trump is a threat to this country and the world.”

Luke, “What do you think the biggest issue you have with Donald Trump, that you think he should be impeached for?”

Pink Hat, “He colluded with Vladimir Putin to become president and he is an unstable narcissist who is incompetent and has no qualifications to be president and I do not believe he won the election fairly.”

Luke, “When you look at Trumps foreign policy, he looks very aggressive towards Russia especially in Syria. Does it worry you that the moves he is making with Saudi Arabia and Israel against Syria and Russia.”

Pink Hat, “Well, it would take awhile for me to explain, but yes I am very unnerved about what he is doing in foreign policy. Not just Russia but also he has been selling us out to China he has been selling us out to the Saudis, he is conducting foreign policy for hire. His son-in-law’s company was basically selling Visa’s to rich Chinese people at the same time that he is deporting working undocumented people, he is selling immigration access to the rich.”

Luke says, “He has also been colluding with Saudi Arabia having donated 100 million dollars to his daughter after a major weapons deal, do you believe the Russian collusion with Putin is really a legitimate reason to impeach him though?”

Pink Hat, “I think that after Robert Mueller releases his report with all of the evidence it will be enough to initiate something.”

Luke returns to the Trump side of the protests, “Let’s see if they are going to stand behind him no matter what, or call him out for some of the mistakes he has made as President.”

Luke spots, a man carrying a Polish flag and introduces himself, Luke asks “Why did you come out here to support Donald Trump?”

Polish Flag Man, “I voted for him obviously, but today there were reports that there would be riots, that there would be a group of Antifa who are basically the communists kids trying to destroy everything, so when I heard they could riot and cause damage to the cities across the country, I’m not having that. Even though I disagree with the anti-Trump people, I disagree with Antifa a hell of a lot more… They don’t want to listen to anybody, even if you mildly disagree with them.”

Luke, “Are there any policies of Trumps that you feel disappointed in?”

Polish Flag Man, “At the moment not really, I was really hoping they would take care of health care though, that has been a severe problem for this country and you see the effects of it on a lot of people. The conservatives have had eight years to come up with a solution and now they are in conflict and can’t come up with something, you guys had all this time…”

Luke, “Are you concerned about him aligning with a group of anarchist and communists, the Kurds inside of Syria in order to fight the Syrian government?

Polish Flag Man, “That was an action of his that I did not really agree with, to attack Assad, especially over that chemical attack, there is conflict about what happened. I wasn’t in support of that, we see the pattern in taking down countries like these and taking down their leaders and the substitution for that will become ISIS. He understands why Putin is aligning with Assad to keep the greater evil out…. I was hoping we could focus on ourselves and fix stuff within.”

Luke, “I know a lot of people like to shift the blame on to McMaster but Trump is the one that appointed him. McMaster is hungry for war with Russia, while Flynn wasn’t, he was kicked out. I think unfairly on some levels and now he has a very pro war guy. They released a memo a couple of days ago saying they will strike Syria again if they use chemical weapons.”

Polish Flag Man, “I completely disagree with that policy, God I hope Trump doesn’t do something stupid… like that.”

Luke speaks with another young man named Tommy, Tommy says “He is just here to protect America, and to protect freedom of speech. These people want to completely change it into some sort of hybrid between communism and fascism. We weren’t expecting a riot this is just a way to protect against the potential of a riot.”

A man sporting an Uncle Sam style costume pulls out a large poster of ‘Michael Moore as Uncle Sam’ that says “I Want You For the Army of Comedy”.

He then he says “We need to control ourselves, because we can not win against ignorance. Let’s dress up, let’s make a mockery of this mockery, this is what we need to do guys. The question is not the answer ever.” to which a anti-trump activist asks “Your with Vladimir Putin right?” to which the man replies, “Pointing at Trump tower, he is with Vladimir Putin, I am very much not with Vladimir Putin.

Luke asks, “Do you think the Russian ties are the main reason for impeachment?”

Army of Comedy man, “I think the Russian ties have got to make us think about impeachment but we also need to think about that, we have eliminated freedom of the press by selectively lying about truths. We are discrediting people by race and religion, the last time that happened was under Adolph Hitler. Everything is a false truth to discredit people that say the truth.”

Luke asks a woman, “What is the most impeachable offense that Trump has committed?”

She says, “The most recent one is his tirades against Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, he has been stalking them, threatened them, harassed them and tried to extort them by threatening them with publishing bad news on them in the National Inquirer. If you or I did that we would be locked up for stalking.”

Luke “Do you think the tweets are the most important aspect of having him impeached?”

She says, “I would say there is a lot of evidence of his crimes in his tweets, the tweeting itself is not a crime, but there is your evidence, right there.”

Luke “A lot of people on the right make the argument that the media has been attacking him unfairly in some instances, whether appropriate or inappropriate what do you make of that argument?”

She replies “I never like to bring up Obama, but the truth is no president has ever been more harassed by media in general than Barrack Obama. How did he take it, like a man, this guy (Trump) takes it like a 12 year old boy that needs to wear diapers. He’s sick….”

Luke “What do you think of Trump’s foreign policies?”

She replies, “What foreign policy, to collude with our enemies, and disrespect our allies, that foreign policy?”

Luke discusses how Trump appears to be making foreign policy moves against Syria and Russia.

She responds, “I feel like that is just a distraction, he is looking to start a war, he is a psycho with the nuclear codes in his pocket and it’s very very dangerous.”

Luke, “who do you think the war would be between.”

She responds, “Probably North Korea…. I don’t know what news your listening to but I listen to the mainstream news. MSNBC and CNN”

Luke, “Do you think they are honest?”

She replies, “Yes I do actually, and him calling them fake news is a complete lie.”

Luke, “By the way, this is the same mainstream media that told us there was weapons of destruction in Iraq.”

She replies, “Well they were fed that information from the Bush Administration and Hillary Clinton believed it to. They often repeat the news as it’s fed, they didn’t lie, when you repeat something that’s given to you as truth from a reliable source such as United States Intel, it’s the U.S. Intel that’s the lie.”

Luke wraps up the video by commenting:

Not too much logic there, I can’t believe people still believe the mainstream media or the Russian collusion delusion, these things will only lead to more war and more Balkanization. These things are a big distraction put on my the mainstream media and that’s coming from a fair perspective because I think there are legitimate reasons to criticize Donald Trump. Let me know what you think in the comment section below. We keep seeing the continuation of the foreign policy that was done by Bush and Obama now with Trump. Sadly most of the anti-Trump activists do not seem to be aware of this, many of the Trump supporters however are. They are also hopeful and optimistic about Trump’s policies which can be a fault when you give someone the full benefit of the doubt. These conversations need to happen more often so we can understand each others sides.

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thisdaynews · 5 years

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Can Jared’s millennial ‘mini-me’ bring peace to the Middle East?

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/can-jareds-millennial-mini-me-bring-peace-to-the-middle-east/

Can Jared’s millennial ‘mini-me’ bring peace to the Middle East?

Avi Berkowitz (right), an aide to Jared Kushner since the presidential campaign of Donald Trump, has been tapped to replace Middle East peace envoy Jason Greenblatt. | Craig Barritt/Getty Images

white house

Thirty-year-old Avi Berkowitz has landed a very big job.

Before his promotion this week to a leading role in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, 30-year-old Avi Berkowitz filled a number of odd jobs in the West Wing. They have included shepherding distinguished visitors — the likes of Kim Kardashian, Jeff Bezos, Sheldon Adelson — around the White House, and hanging onto Jared Kushner’s phone while Kushner is in meetings, a duty that sometimes had Berkowitz responding to messages on his boss’ behalf.

“There are times when people think they’re texting with Jared, but they’re actually texting with Avi,” said one former White House official, who recalled thinking, “Holy crap” when witnessing Berkowitz reading an incoming message from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman on Kushner’s phone. (Berkowitz and Kushner dispute this. “I have never texted anyone from Jared’s phone nor do I read his messages,” said Berkowitz. “Anyone who says otherwise is mistaken.”)

Story Continued Below

In his new role, Berkowitz will be perceived, more so than his predecessor, as an extension of Kushner, who has employed the young Harvard Law School graduate in various capacities since 2012. In 2017, Trump tapped his son-in-law to develop the administration’s plan to resolve the Israel-Palestinian conflict, which the president has called “the ultimate deal.”

But those efforts have foundered as the White House has continually delayed the release of the plan’s details, while both sides of the conflict have dug into entrenched positions.

What scant hopes there were of success evaporated further on Thursday when The New York Times first reported that special envoy for Middle East peace Jason Greenblatt was resigning, and the White House announced that Berkowitz, in conjunction with Brian Hook, the State Department’s special representative on Iran, would be taking on his duties.

White House officials insisted that Greenblatt was stepping down to spend more time with his family after a grueling travel schedule, but his approach to the conflict differed markedly from Kushner’s. Early in his tenure, Greenblatt made efforts to meet with Palestinian leaders, while Kushner slammed them as “hysterical and erratic” in July when they boycotted a conference on economic development in Bahrain.

A friend described once seeing Berkowitz, an avid chess and piano player, perform both activities at the same time. His new duties will also involve multitasking. The White House is still sorting out the details of the shake-up, but Berkowitz will retain some of his current duties while taking on his new role. It is still being determined whether Berkowitz, currently a deputy assistant to the president, will get a new title.

The young aide — widely described as quiet and intelligent — has been steeped in the details of the peace process from the start, and administration officials say he has taken an increasingly substantive role in it over time. But seasoned diplomats greeted news of his elevation with incredulity.

“Avi Berkowitz cannot fulfill Jason Greenblatt’s role in this situation,” said Aaron David Miller, who worked on Bill Clinton’s attempts to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict as a top member of the president’s negotiating team. “My takeaway from this is that I’m not sure frankly that anyone on this team, including Avi Berkowitz, believes that this initiative has any chance of actually creating a framework that would allow Israelis and Palestinains to negotiate, let alone reach any type of agreement.”

Martin Indyk, who served as special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotations under Barack Obama, called the move a “downgrade.”

Some of the naysayers come from within Trump’s own camp. “People will walk past his desk and he constantly has the Drudge Report and Twitter up. No one thinks of him as a policy person,” said an administration official, who noted another of Berkowitz’s duties: handling Kushner’s press relations in the aftermath of former Kushner spokesman Josh Raffel’s departure from the White House early last year.

“He is in the service of Jared, not Trump,” this person said. “Some people are scratching their heads to watch this guy go from keeping Jared’s schedule and secrets to brokering peace in the Middle East. It’s a big leap.”

“Jared listened to Jason. Jared trusted Jason’s insight into the lay of the land, and also how to negotiate things, and navigate things,” said a former White House official who, by contrast, described the working relationship early on between Kushner and Berkowitz as, “Jared saying, ‘Go get my coffee,’ and Avi saying, ‘I’ll be right back.’”

Top administration officials stress that Berkowitz will not be shouldering Greenblatt’s role on his own, and argue that he is more familiar with the plan than an external hire would be.

“I do think he is qualified to do what’s expected of him, and it will continue to be very much a team approach kind of place. I don’t think that’s going to change,” Greenblatt said. “He’s developed quite a good relationship with the relevant Middle East ambassadors and diplomats. He interacts with them a lot because of his role with Jared and when I’ve seen those interactions, they’ve been very positive.”

Asked by a reporter for The Telegraph whether he had confidence in Berkowitz, Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu responded, “Why not?”

Berkowitz met Kushner in 2011 while playing basketball at a Passover celebration in Arizona, and began working for him at Kushner Companies, the family real estate firm, the next year, after graduating from Queens College in New York.

Like Kushner, Berkowitz is an Orthodox Jew with close ties to Israel. He is fluent in Hebrew, and in his late teens went to live and study in the country for two years. And like his mentor, Berkowitz is skinny and clean-cut, which has helped him earn the nickname “mini-me.”

After enrolling at Harvard Law School, Berkowitz continued to work for Kushner in the summers, and he began contributing to Kushner’s New York Observer, writing on campus controversies at Harvard — including one in which a student drew charges of anti-Semitism for describing an Israeli official as “smelly” — and the pros and cons of various private jet services.

A law school acquaintance described him as a “quiet, nice kid,” adding, “Nothing surprising or political.”

After graduating from law school in 2016, he went to work for Kushner on the campaign, where he oversaw “Trump Tower Live,” the campaign’s in-house talk show, streamed on Facebook.

His final piece for the Observer, written just before the election, argued the bullish case for Apple’s stock, a prescient and profitable call, given that the stock price has doubled since fall 2016, and financial disclosures show it as Berkowitz’s largest personal holding, worth between $100,000 and $250,000.

During the transition, Kushner dispatched him to receive Sergei Kislyak, then the Russian ambassador to the U.S., who used the occasion to arrange a meeting between Kushner and the head of a sanctioned Russian bank. The episode was scrutinized in the Mueller report.

At the White House, he has continued to bond socially with Kushner while supporting him in a variety of capacities. One official recalled Kushner and Berkowitz beating since-departed aides Johnny McEntee and Keith Schiller in a game of two-on-two basketball on the White House grounds early in Trump’s term.

In a 2017 Business Insider profile, then-White House spokeswoman Hope Hicks described Berkowitz’s role as fetching coffee and performing other administrative tasks. But his portfolio has expanded dramatically as the administration has worn on.

“His role generally has been growing as he learned the material,” said Trump’s ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, who praised Berkowitz for putting in 18-hour days.

“They just did not pick Avi out of the basement in the White House to throw into this job,” said Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition.

Emeritus Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz, a staunch Israel supporter and outside legal adviser to Trump, spent two days holed up at the White House in July 2018, reviewing the peace plan with Kushner and Greenblatt.

Dershowitz praised Berkowitz, who also attended the meetings, saying he was immersed in the details of the plan and contributed to the discussion. “Clearly, he was the low man on the totem pole in that room. He was the guy if you had to send him out for something you could send him out,” Dershowitz said. “But his substantive ideas were there.”

Dershowitz declined to discuss the specifics of those talks, but he said Berkowitz was especially attuned to the diplomatic realities of the region. “He was always thinking about not only what would be good in the plan, ideally, but what would be acceptable to the Palestianians, what would be acceptable to the Saudis” and other regional powers, he recalled.

This spring, when Netanyahu found himself unable to assemble a governing coalition, Dershowitz said Berkowitz sought his advice in follow-up phone calls, as the administration weighed delaying the plan’s release in response to Israel’s political turmoil.

The group did decide to push back the release of the as-yet unseen plan, and Greenblatt, who has six children, decided to return to the private sector rather than stay on.

Berkowitz’s promotion is the latest sign that well past the midpoint of Trump’s first term, the White House has grown increasingly reliant on a shrinking group of loyalists.

“Could you pull some Middle East expert out of some university or out of a prior diplomatic role? Sure,” said a former senior administration official. “But that whole team isn’t going to trust them. It’s so sensitive.”

Dennis Ross, who served as Bill Clinton’s Middle East envoy, interpreted Greenblatt’s departure as a sign that the Trump administration does not expect its forthcoming peace plan — which is set to be released at some unspecified point after Israel’s Sept. 17 elections — to lead even to follow-up negotiations.

A White House official contested this interpretation, saying, “We get criticized all the time by the people who worked on this for a long time and failed.”

But if the plan is in fact dead on arrival, Ross said, Berkowitz will be left with something of a mop-up job, tasked with finding areas for incremental progress and trying to prevent the plan’s release from deepening the conflict.

“His challenge will be in the aftermath of the release of the plan to try to make sure you can manage the situation,” said Ross, who this month published a book, “Be Strong and of Good Courage,” about the Israel-Palestine conflict. “When you have a sense of hopelessness out there, that doesn’t make stability more likely.”

It promises to be a much more daunting task than keeping Kushner caffeinated, which for the record, one White House official disputed was ever part of Berkowitz’s official duties.

“Fetching coffee is not one of Avi’s responsibilities at the White House, nor has it ever been,” the official said. “However, if you’re thirsty, he is always happy to help.”

#Foreign #middle #Peace #Politics

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the-record-columns · 7 years

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April 19, 2017: Columns

Let there be light…

By KEN WELBORN

Record Publisher

Deserved or not, I have managed to get a bit of a reputation for knowing a few things about the history of North Wilkesboro and Wilkes County.

Or as Blair Gwyn used to say, “If he doesn’t know, you’ll never know he didn’t know.”

Clearly, I like this, because of the amazing company it brings to my offices here at The Recordand Thursday Printing. And, in fairness to my mother’s baby boy, if I don’t know the answer, I can often steer folks to Sandra Watts (very knowledgeable on genealogy) at the bank across the street, or to someone else who can help them.

To that end, on Monday a man who lives in Traphill, named Bob Johnson, stopped by our office to ask if I knew the location of Carlton’s Hardware in North Wilkesboro. Well, that one was easy, because the store was right across the street next to another North Wilkesboro icon, Carl W. Steele’s jewelry store.

Mr. Johnson pulled out an envelope and gave me an old flyer from Carlton’s Hardware store in near perfect condition. It was mailed to “Postal Patron Local” with a one-cent George Washington pre-canceled stamp.

As we looked through it, it was amazing at the variety of merchandise available and the prices — a Pyrex teapot for $1.95, a five-pound bag of Vigoro plant food 50 cents, light bulbs 10 cents, Sherwin-Williams best grade of house paint for $4.90 gallon, even a Coleman gas iron for $7.50. The flyer was also full of timely information like the dates for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day (which I later used to find it was printed in 1950), as well as household hints and recipes galore. There was even a recipe for peanut butter and onion sandwiches — just add mayonnaise.

In no time, I started telling stories on the Carlton’s, who just happened to be one of my customers in 1960 when I took over a Greensboro Daily News paper route from Ed Finley, Jr. The owners were Mr. and Mrs. Hill Carlton, who lived on Sixth Street across from two of my other customers, Fred Hethcock and Carl Steele. I would stop in and see them on Friday afternoon or Saturday at the store to collect my forty-five cents for the paper. Mrs. Carlton was always pleasant, usually standing behind the counter in a cotton dress and apron, while Mr. Carlton busied himself filling customers’ orders.

He was every inch a gentleman who greeted his customers politely, and, if he knew them personally, would never fail to ask about them and their family. I mentioned earlier that Mr. Carlton knew where all his merchandise was located and that the store was always dark.

Well, it stayed dark.

Once Mr. Carlton determined what his customer needed, he would set about filling the order.

It was a sight to behold.

The building was long and narrow, and throughout the store, white cords hung from the ceiling. Each white cord was attached to an old keyless electric light. These fixtures with naked light bulbs were mounted way up on the rafters, and the sturdy white cords were attached to the on and off chain. As he would head back into the inky darkness of the hardware store, Mr. Carlton would reach up and pull the string, turning on the light just over his head.

Continuing down an aisle, he would never let go of one string until he was where he could reach the next one. Then, holding a light cord in each hand, he would simultaneously pull them both, cutting off the one behind him and cutting on the light above the area to which he was walking. This process was completed over and over as he moved on toward the back of the store, never allowing more than one light bulb to burn at a given moment. It always made me think of a circus acrobat floating from trapeze to trapeze, and looked like flash bulbs going off during a night baseball game.

The Lord may have said, “Let there be light,” but Hill Carlton was there to say, “Not over 40 watts at a time!”

Thank you for the visit, Mr. Johnson. You’re welcome back anytime.

How to treat soul cancer

By LAURA WELBORN

When we think of skin cancers it seems pretty apparent that they are treated by surgically cutting them out. First, the doctor cuts and then the tissue is evaluated. Next, if any signs of cancer are still remaining in the margins of the cut tissue, a larger cut is made. This procedure continues until the margins are clean and the cancer is gone.

Reflect on the steps required to eradicate cancerous cells and how they’re actually similar to the steps toward removing the diseased elements that reside within our inner, spiritual selves. Read the list below and consider the parallels:

How to treat skin cancer:

1. realize the need to be evaluated.

2. go to someone who could help.

3. The “problem” areas are thoroughly investigated and recorded.

4. Surgical plans are made to eradicate the problem.

5. Surgery is performed.

6. A close inspection follows to ensure the problem is eliminated.

7. A regular follow up is scheduled to safeguard against the problem returning.

Realize that dealing with the dark defects that loom in the soul are often much more difficult to identify than a mole or freckle changing its shape. But also know that the insidious cancers within the heart are easy to hide. These “cancers” are issues like pride, untamed anger, lust, selfish ambition, greed, jealousy, deep insecurity, revenge, wounded relationships, lack of forgiveness, inappropriate relationships and a mean spirit.

As you look at your own life, don’t wait for issues to fester, allowing soul cancers to grow. Find someone who can help you prepare for the needed surgery. Invite others to the exam table of honesty and deal with issues before they deal v you a world of pain and hurt. Don’t let another week go by without taking steps toward healing.” Doug Fields in Homeword Devotionals

Kitty Owens

One way to become mindful of our “cancers” that seem to eat us from the inside out is through Yoga. The movements and quietness of Yoga is soul healing. Here’s what Kitty Owens has to say about Yoga… “Yoga is about living well, yes, and long, of course, and ageing well. It is about waking up to a day as good as or better than any other you have ever spent. A little stiff? That eases once the body starts moving--certain special movements help considerably even with those diseases associated with ageing that younger folks share, especially arthritis, for instance. Energy lifts when you remember to breathe fully, using your diaphragm (you probably started suppressing it as a teenager). You meet the day with heightened awareness of life's gifts, great and small, especially if you practice a bit of meditation. You treat people well because you remember we are all one. One.

To take a yoga weekend retreat with Kitty at the Art of Living in Boone, April 21-23, call 800-392-6870.

BDS is a Moral Failure

By EARL COX

Special to The Record

Those who participate in singling out and attempting to hurt Israel through boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaigns are anti-Israel and not pro-Palestinian as they often claim. The purpose of BDS is purely anti-Semitic meant only harm Israeli businesses and her economy. If this were not so, those who support BDS would recognize that many Palestinians and Arabs freely and happily work for Israeli companies on both sides of the imaginary “Green Line.” When Israeli industries and factories suffer, Palestinian and Arab workers suffer, too.

The BDS crowd either has no conscience or has forgotten the lessons of history. If the church and others who know, or should know, right from wrong fail to stand up against any and all efforts and campaigns which single out Israel and the Jews as somehow deserving of being held to a different and higher standard, then they are failing to recognize the evil at the heart of BDS and anti-Semitism. Such moral failure paved the way for six million innocent people to be murdered for no other reason than Jewish blood coursed through their veins and it must never happen again. Sadly, as the Holocaust becomes a fading memory, far too many are losing any sense of shame at harboring anti-Semitic and anti-Israel sentiments. It’s almost become fashionable to hate Israel and this is especially egregious when talking about Christians and church leaders who are either indifferent to Israel or who are members of those denominations which have spearheaded BDS campaigns. After all, BDS is purely a campaign against Israel which is antithetical to the Word of God.

The Bible talks about a time when evil will be called as good and good will be called as evil. Being a Zionist means believing that Jews should have their own, sovereign nation yet liberal professors and the media speak about Zionism as though it were evil instead of something just, right and moral. Many who support BDS think they are somehow helping the Palestinians. These naïve people have bought into the distortions perpetrated by the media and the images staged by the Palestinians themselves showing suffering and poverty which they blame on Israeli policies. The Palestinian people are, indeed, neglected and suffering but it’s thanks to their own government. Their poverty has nothing to do with Israel. Israel and other countries around the world pump hundreds of millions of dollars annually into the Palestinian economy which only serves to shore up the corrupt Palestinian government. This sad fact was revealed during Operation Protective Edge. Instead of using the humanitarian aid they received to build roads, hospitals, schools, parks, housing and so on, the Palestinian government redirected this funding into the construction of tunnels to invade Israel’s territory. The world was deceived and betrayed and their generosity was used for evil.

No, Israel is definitely not responsible for Palestinian suffering. This rests squarely on the shoulders of their unstable government and their own uncivilized attitudes and behavior. Remember back during the 2005 Gaza Disengagement when Israel unilaterally withdrew and forcibly removed its citizens from their homes in Gaza in order to give the land to the Palestinians? Many do not know that under Israeli stewardship, Gaza was a beautiful beachfront community with thriving greenhouses, a lush agricultural industry and a solid community infrastructure. When the Palestinians were given the deed to Gaza, among their very first acts as new “property owners” was to demolish the greenhouses, plunder the fields, burn the crops and tear down the synagogues. The greenhouses and the fields were income producing and the synagogues could have been renovated and utilized for schools, housing or other honorable purposes instead of destroyed and reduced to rubble.

Prejudice against Israel which is manifesting in BDS campaigns is the same bigotry which was at work during the rise of Nazism which ushered in a time of unspeakable atrocities. With some exceptions BDS is, indeed, damaging to the Israeli economy but also to the Palestinian economy. While Israel has learned to operate in a global marketplace with many of its products, inventions and technologies being integral parts of the products the world has come to depend on and enjoy, the same is not true for the Palestinians. Israel produces quality products at competitive prices which serves to support a sizeable contingent of Palestinian and Arab workers.

The movement by the European Union demanding the labeling of products made in Judea and Samaria not be labeled as “Made in Israel” is all part of the global BDS campaign to discredit Israel. The United States has now jumped on the bandwagon with President Obama ordering the same damaging labeling. All this is an attempt to delegitimize Israel even if Palestinian lives and livelihoods are hurt or ruined in the process.

But the BDS movement does not stop with products. The press has been reporting on academic boycotts as well as a movement by a group of British doctors who have called for the exclusion of Israeli physicians from the World Medical Association. This would have been a huge mistake. Thank God that the World Medical Association did not support the call to boycott Israeli physicians. Israel is so far advanced in the fields of science, technology and medicine that any boycott against Israeli doctors would have been a setback for the global medical community and not just for Israel.

So whether you’re in the market for the best and latest technology in solar shield protection, the most sophisticated computer software or in need of treatment for a complicated medical condition, the answer is probably in Israel. A boycott against Israel is a boycott against humanity and this is a moral failure.

Some honey with my steak

By CARL WHITE

Life in the Carolinas

Colorful expressions are as common in the south as pine trees and humidity. We say and do things in our way, and that way is a blending of traditions and customs from around the world.

Local colloquialism’s help to define a people, I recall reading an article some years ago in which the writer said that in the warmer states people speak in a more relaxed manner. In general, I agree. However, I think that there are people from all regions of the world that have speaking behavior that ranges from formal and proper to slang.

Written words enjoy the same journey. We can experience the cultures and sounds of the world by reading the pages of a book or newspaper column.

I recall an interesting visit to the Outer Banks. I was doing research for a story, and in doing so, I met several local fishermen who trace their family from Europe to the New World. I would soon learn that many of their words and speech patterns had changed little from the time their ancestors made the journey to what we now know as the United States.

It was not enough to listen close to understand what was being said. I had to ask about the meaning of the words, everyone in the community did not speak that way, but some did. I learned a lot, and it was an excellent experience.

I am in the ranks of those who travel much, and in doing so, I am always looking for a good local place for a meal. I like finding the places where the locals eat. It’s a great way to meet people and get a real feel of an area.

The food is usually better, and the service has its flavor as well. “Hi Honey” What can I get for you? Sweetie, can I get you some more coffee? Sugar, how’d you like them greens? Thanks, Darling, Y’all come back.

These expressions are authentic southern. Life is not always easy, and the time we take to set down for a meal may be our only escape from the day. Excellent service blended with good food is hard to beat, but when you get that little extra, it makes a big difference.

I know the waitress is not family, but those familiar kind expressions give that feeling. I ask my niece Kaylee how she felt about these expressions, she said she liked it. “It’s nice,” she said, “and besides that helps the waitress get a better tip.”

Southern writer Doc Lawrence said being called Sugar by his waitress was delightful “It makes my day, and you never know, those sweet ladies may be angels sent to make our lives just a little bit better.”

It’s the small things in life that matter.

Ken Welborn said he likes it when his waitress calls him honey and yet there are others who don’t like it at all. That’s the way it is in life, everyone is different.

I am aware of politically correct notions; however, I don’t spend a lot of time worrying about someone hurting my feelings. I for one think we need more hugs, more doors being held open for others and kind words.

A little honey with my steak is just fine.

Carl White is the executive producer and host of the award winning syndicated TV show Carl White’s Life In the Carolinas. The weekly show is now in its 8th year of syndication and can be seen in the Charlotte viewing market on WJZY Fox 46 Saturdays at 12 noon. For more on the show visit www.lifeinthecarolinas.com, You can email Carl White at [email protected]. Copyright 2017 Carl White

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