Putin Bombs Our "Allies" in Syria ...US Screwed!

RUSH: 
Now, Syria.  Let me see if I can make sense of this for you.  'Cause what's happening in Syria, based on what we learned yesterday about Putin -- and what he said to the UN about us abandoning our role, our moral leadership there -- as best I have been able to assemble this, here is what's happening.  

Over the past few weeks we have learned that Russia is sending military planes and soldiers to Syria.  We didn't like it.  When asked about it by the United States, Russia said, "Mind your own business; it's none of your business.  What are you gonna do about it?" 

They, of course, knew we were gonna do nothing about it.  

Then at the UN Vladimir Putin announced that Russia was gonna take the lead in fighting ISIS because we had given up, essentially. The Western world had decided it wasn't worth it, it wasn't worth the risk, that we had abandoned our moral leadership.  

Putin at the UN says, "Do you realize what you've done?"  So he decided to swoop in and single-handedly take the lead in fighting ISIS, which Obama still will not refer to as a terrorist or Islamic extremist group.

Now, that was supposed to explain Russia's military presence in Syria, that Putin was taking three-day in fighting ISIS.  

That is a key point in understanding what's going on here.  

Our secretary of state (who once served in Vietnam) John Kerry -- Jean-Francois Kerry -- and Obama said they were open to the idea of Russia -- and, by proxy, Iran -- joining the fight against ISIS.  

Now, in Putin's mind, we haven't joined anything; we are abandoning it.  This is also key to understand.  In Putin's mind, what he said yesterday at the UN, we have essentially checked out of the hotel. 

And they've checked in, and they are single-handedly fighting ISIS. 

So Kerry, in a face-saving move, goes out and says, "We are open, of course," as though we're still the world's lone superpower, which we aren't because Kerry and Obama don't even want to be.  

Kerry goes out and says with his "superpower secretary of state" attitude that we're perfectly fine. We're open to the idea of Russia and Iran joining the fight against ISIS, when in truth we have abandoned it.  

Last night there were reports that Russia had warned us to get all of our planes out of Syrian airspace because they were going to mount an attack. 

Now, I don't know how it is in this administration, but any previous administration, if a Soviet leader had called and warned us to get out of Syrian airspace, we would have had some choice words for the Soviet leader, and we would have told him, "You don't dare launch your aircraft or else."  

But we're not dealing with administrations like we've had in the past.  Putin (essentially Russia) warns us to get all of our planes out of Syrian airspace.  We scoffed at the warning. 

 This morning there were reports that Russia had indeed conducted its first bombing mission. 

And this is what CNN was all excited about.  It's been practically wall-to-wall news this morning on CNN that Russia had indeed done its first bombing mission in Syria, 'cause everybody assumed he was bombing ISIS, 'cause that's what he said he was gonna do, and we had welcomed it. "Oh, sure! You want to join us in the fight against ISIS?  Head on in here, Vladimir. We'd be happy to have you and the Iranians come in and partner up with us." 

Except Putin threw a change-up curveball and didn't attack ISIS.  No, no, no.  This is where it gets really, really interesting.  They didn't bomb any ISIS targets.  

Instead, Putin and Russia bombed "moderate" rebels that are our allies. (laughing) I'm sorry.  I shouldn't laugh.  Russia targeted "moderate" rebels that are supposed to be our allies fighting ISIS, and all this time we welcomed them in, under the premise that they're gonna join us in hitting ISIS targets. 

Putin comes in, but he doesn't hit ISIS targets. He hits our allies, the so-called moderate rebels.  There are now unconfirmed reports that Russia hit a CIA-vetted moderate Syrian rebel group that was receiving US anti-tank missiles.  So instead of Russia targeting ISIS, which they led everybody to believe they were gonna do and which we welcomed them to do, they hit a moderate rebel group that the CIA had vetted and told Obama they're us, they're our allies, they're good people, we can partner up with 'em.  That's who Russia hit.

So the Russians hit these moderate rebels because they, the moderate rebels, want to bring down Assad even more than they want to defeat ISIS.  And Putin does not want to get rid of Assad.  And nor does Iran want to get rid of Assad.  So while we thought Russia was coming in to bomb ISIS, and we're creating the illusion or operating under the illusion that we are doing the same thing, they hit our allies. 

This is serious, serious stuff.  And Kerry, here, grab sound bite 25.  

This is Kerry.  

They've been running around all day today trying to get comment from Russian and American officials about this.  

This was at the UN this morning, Security Council meetings on counterterrorism, John Kerry spoke about the battle against ISIS and these Russian air strikes in Syria, and here's a portion of what he said, and I'll characterize it after you hear it.

KERRY: 
If Rusia's recent actions and those now ongoing reflect a genuine commitment to defeat that organization, then we are prepared to welcome those efforts and to find a way to deconflict our operations and thereby multiply the military pressure on ISIL and affiliated groups.  But we must not and will not be confused in our fight against ISIL with support for Assad.  Moreover, we have also made clear that we would have grave concerns should Russia strike areas where ISIL and Al-Qaeda affiliated targets are now operating -- are not operating.

RUSH:  Well, that's exactly what they're doing, Secretary.  They're attacking targets where our allies are operating, not ISIL.  So if Russia's recent actions, we're prepared to welcome them.  Our people are clueless here, sadly, is what it seems like and don't know how to react to this. So the best they can do is to go out and act like Russia is following through on what it said it was gonna do.  This whole statement from Kerry sounds like it's predicated on his belief that they're hitting ISIS.  First half of this statement, he thinks they're hitting ISIS. 

He knows they're not.  He's trying to tell anybody listening, "Hey, they're hitting ISIS. We agreed to it and we're all-in for 'em, but if they veer from this then we're gonna have a sit-down with 'em."  

That isn't gonna happen.

The only reason Putin's doing any of this is because he's confident as hell we're not gonna do anything about it.  What is this deconflict anyway?  And to find a way to deconflict our operations and thereby multiply the military?  We are so, so screwed.

END TRANSCRIPT

Chag Samaich

Congressman drinks Pope's "Sherayim"

It seems that the minhag of chapping shrayim from Rebbes is really "darkei Amorie" a goyishe minhag that the chassidim adopted!
Here we see Congressman Brady chapping shrayim from the Pope!

When Pope Francis concluded his historic address to Congress on Thursday, dozens of lawmakers followed as he left the podium, hoping to clasp the hand or touch the garments of His Holiness.

Then there was Rep. Bob Brady (D-Pa.), who instead dashed to the podium to swipe the pope’s drinking glass.

The half-full glass of water has now become something of a holy relic for the congressman.

Brady took the glass back to his ­office, where he drank out of it, and held it up for his wife, Debra, and staff members so they could drink from it as well.

“How many people do you know that drank out of the same glass as the pope?” he boasted to the Philadelphia Daily News.

He then poured the water into a bottle so he can sprinkle later it on his four grandchildren and one great-grandchild, he told the Washington Post.

Anything the pope touches becomes blessed,” Brady told the paper.

Modal Trigger

“I think so and no one is going to change my mind.”

This isn’t Brady’s first heist.

The congressman confessed to the newspaper that he also stole the water glass used by President Obama during his first inauguration.

He didn’t drink out of that one, though. He just put it in his curio cabinet at home, where this one, too, will go.

First, though, he’ll have Philadelphia police fingerprint it, to document its authenticity, he told the Philly Daily News.

Brady represents part of Philadelphia and plans to follow the popular pontiff there this weekend.

Pope Francis honors the 3,000 9/11 victims with moving speech condemning senseless acts of violence during interfaith ceremony

Pope Francis, center, looks on as Jewish and Muslim representatives shake hands during a multi-religious prayer for peace at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York City, New York, USA, 25 September 2015

In the most emotional speech of his American tour yet, Pope Francis mourned the lives of the nearly 3,000 victims of the 9/11 attacks and condemned senseless acts of violence while speaking in the foundations of the former Twin Towers. 

Speaking at an interfaith ceremony at the National September 11 museum, the pope said there should be opposition to 'any attempt to make us all the same.' Rather, he encouraged all to 'say yes to our differences, accepting reconciliation.'

Francis visited the museum after praying beside the memorials' twin fountains and meeting with several victims' families. Earlier in the day, he gave a rousing speech to the United Nations General Assembly, as he continues his six-day, three-city tour of the U.S.

As he took the podium this afternoon, Pope Francis quickly apologized that he would giving his speech in Spanish, saying his skills in English were not as good.

He then reflected on his feelings upon visiting the site where so many lives were lost.

'I have many different feelings,' the pope said. 'I'm moved by being here at Ground Zero where thousands of lives were taken in a senseless act of violence. You can feel the pain here. It's palpable.' 

“kauft nicht bei Juden” (Do not buy from Jews) EU Sanctions Israel while removing Sanctions from Iran

by Giulio Meotti

Will Europe put a Yellow Star on Israeli Products?

Why not finish the job and use that handy yellow star instead of labels?

The European Union has just agreed to remove the sanctions from Iran’s anti-Semitic regime and put them on the Jewish State of Israel.

In the very same week that the EU Court of Justice based in Luxembourg relaxed the sanctions against Iran's main aluminum manufacture company (Iralco), the very same EU imposed its first sanction against Israel.

It consists of the marking of products from Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, to become effective from next month. Goods -- fruit, vegetables, cosmetics, textiles and toys -- worth €220 million -  are exported to the EU from “settlements” each year.

The “settlement products” are labeled by Europe not only because these are political symbols, but also because it knows that businesses in Judea and Samaria are a very important part of the Israeli economy with companies such as Oppenheimer, Super Class and Shamir Salads, Golan Heights Dairies , Ahava, Hlavin, Beitili and Barkan Brackets.

The European blacklist not only violates international free trade, it is an obstacle to Mideast coexistence and constitutes the revival of Judeophobic racism.

Europe really just wants to inflict pain on Israel’s economy. One example? More than 80% of dates from the Jordan valley are grown for export, mainly to France, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Scandinavian countries. Label these and Israel may lose that market. And it is already happening.

In Norway, two of the main importers of vegetables, Bama and Coop, have agreements with suppliers in Israel stating that fruits and vegetables produced in Judea and Samaria shall not be supplied to them. 

It is happening everywhere in the old continent.

The initiative has been advocated in a letter signed by 16 European foreign ministers - including my disgraced Italian minister – and has been voted in by a large majority at the European Parliament.

It is the first time since Hitler’s Germany that a specific stigma is put on manufactures and agricultural products of the Jewish people.

The European Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank whose daily proposals arrive on the table of European legislators, also suggested sanctioning some Israeli banks. Israeli degrees from Ariel University in Samaria will also be targeted by the European Union.

Israel can avoid tourism in distant and cold Iceland, after its capital Reykiavik approved and then retracted a boycott of all Israeli products. But Israel cannot afford a boycott of Europe. That’s why Israel and its friends must respond to this anti-Semitic policy.

It seems in fact that Hitler’s call “kauft nicht bei Juden” (Do not buy from Jews) has resurfaced in the timid Europe. We have only one answer to this anti-Semitic policy: purposely buying the Israeli products produced in Judea and Samaria.

Before Europe again places a yellow star on Jewish products. 

Pope Francis forgot to mention "G-D" in the entire address to congress!

Pope Francis speaking before Congress this morning did something highly unusual for a 
“man of G-d”,
 He didn’t open up in prayer and he did not invoke G-d in any way, shape or form. 
Instead, he jumped right into preaching the Laodicean gospel of social justice.  Wow. 

Pope Francis made a fogged reference to the Catholic church priest sex scandals, and spent nearly 23 seconds talking about it. 

He said there should be “hope, forgiveness and rehabilitation” for the gay pedophile bishops who committed decades of vile sex crimes. 

He said NOTHING to the victims and their families. Not one word. 

The message the Pope sent is that the Catholic church has no desire to do one bit more than the law will force them to do.

  Shameful and disgusting.Francis talks incessantly about “healing the world”, and he won’t even help to heal the victims that his own church created. 

Francis again invoked the memories of Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr. in an ongoing bid to call America to social justice. Still no references to G-d, the 4 Iranian hostages with one of them being a Christian pastor? 

Not a word. I guess they don’t count. 

He then closed his “sermon” by saying “G-d bless America”. Finally, the “vicar of Christ” mentioned G-d. Ugh.

America, behold your False Prophet. Please step up and take the Mark.

Rosh Hashanah in NY - 100 Years Ago in pictures

 Rosh Hashanah in NY - 100 Years Ago

Photos of praying, going to prayer, promenading, Tashlich - and even a New Year's nap.

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Rosh Hashana NY 1910

INN:LBD

Celebrating Rosh Hashana on the East Side" (circa 1910, Bain Collection, Library of Congress)

Tashlich on the Brooklyn Bridge, 1909. The New Year prayer is traditionally said at a body of water where the worshipper "casts" his/her sins
Normally, we focus on pictures of the Holy Land found in the Library of Congress archives' American Colony collection.

In honor of the High Holy Days, we present vintage pictures of the holidays in New York City, taken in the early 1900s by George Bain and also housed in the Library of Congress archives.  Our thanks to the librarians and archivists at the Library of Congress.



Jewish boy in prayer shawl on Rosh Hashanna (1911)

Tashlich prayer on the Brooklyn bridge (1919)

Jews praying on the Jewish New Year (circa 1905)



Worshippers (1907)

Tashlich on the Brooklyn Bridge (1909)

Going to prayers (circa 1910). Note the pipe in the elderly man's hand

Selling New Year's cards, East Side, New York City (1910)

Going to synagogue (circa 1910)

"New Year's Parade" (1912)

Jewish New Year's nap, East Side (1912)

Pope Exits Giant Airbus and Gets Into Tiny Symbolic Car

REPENT! Says The Holy SEE!
This holy "anuv" got out of this gigantic  airbus and squeezed into a tiny Fiat ....?
The gas usage alone of bringing the "poor man's" pope here was approx $60,000.00 not counting surcharges etc!
Meanwhile he has a bunch of gas guzzling SUVs in back and in front of his tiny car!
So what is his message?
Help the poor!
Why doesn't he open the coffers of the Vatican that contain trillions and hand it out to the poor? That would be a great start!

He’s also the head of state of the Vatican, which as a government has possibly the most restrictive immigration and citizenship policies of any nation in the world.

The pope, traveling to the U.S. for the first time, has made a special appeal to Americans to welcome immigrants, using his address to a joint meeting of Congress Thursday to invoke the Golden Rule in demanding generosity toward the millions of Central and South Americans seeking to come to the country.

The Vatican  for its part, welcomes millions of visitors a year — but allows only a very select few, who meet strict criteria, to be admitted as residents or citizens.

Only about 450 of its 800 or so residents actually hold citizenship, according to a 2012 study by the Library of Congress. That study said citizens are either church cardinals who reside in the Vatican, the Holy See’s diplomats around the world, and those who have to reside in the city because of their jobs, such as the Swiss Guard.

Spouses and children who live in the city because of their relationship with citizens — including the Swiss Guard and workers such as the gardener — can also be granted citizenship. But that means few of the Vatican’s citizens are women.

A Vatican spokesman did not return an email seeking comment on its policy.

"Gmar Tov!" 800 Muslims dead as they make "Oleh Regel" to Mecca!

At least 780 people were killed and  805 injured in a stampede Thursday on the outskirts of Mecca, the deadliest tragedy to strike the annual hajj pilgrimage in more than two decades.

Thursday’s crush happened in Mina, a large valley about five kilometers (three miles) from the holy city of Mecca that has been the site of hajj stampedes in years past.

Mina is where pilgrims carry out a symbolic stoning of the devil by throwing pebbles against three stone columns. It also houses more than 160,000 tents where pilgrims spend the night during the pilgrimage.

The stampede occurred in a morning surge of pilgrims at the intersection of streets 204 and 223 as the faithful were making their way toward a large structure overlooking the columns, according to the Saudi civil defense directorate.

The multi-story structure, known as Jamarat Bridge, is designed to ease the pressure of the crowds and prevent pilgrims from being trampled.

The civil defense directorate, which provided the death toll, said at least 805 other pilgrims were injured in the stampede.

Ambulance sirens blared as rescue crews rushed the injured to nearby hospitals.

More than 220 rescue vehicles and some 4,000 members of the emergency services were deployed soon after the stampede to try to ease the congestion and provide alternative exit routes, according to the directorate.

Amateur video shared on social media showed a horrific scene, with scores of bodies — the men dressed in the simple terry cloth garments worn during hajj — lying amid crushed wheelchairs and water bottles along a sunbaked street.

Survivors assessed the scene from the top of roadside stalls near white tents as rescue workers in orange and yellow vests combed the area.

Photos released by the directorate on its official Twitter account showed rescue workers helping the wounded onto stretchers and loading them onto ambulances near some of the tents.

Some 2 million people are taking part in this year’s hajj pilgrimage, which is an obligation of every able-bodied Muslim. The pilgrimage began in earnest Tuesday.

Saudi authorities take extensive precautions to ensure the security of the hajj and the safety of pilgrims.

There are about 100,000 security forces deployed this year to oversee crowd management and ensure pilgrims’ safety during the five-day pilgrimage.

At Mina specifically, authorities have put measures in place over the years to try to alleviate the pressure posed by masses of pilgrims converging on the site of the stoning ritual.

Officials use surveillance cameras and other equipment to limit the number of people converging on the site, and the Jamarat Bridge has multiple exits to facilitate the flow of people.

But tragedies are not uncommon.

The death toll from Thursday’s stampede far exceeded that of a similar incident in 2006, near the site of the latest incident, when more than 360 pilgrims were killed in a stampede. Another stampede at Mina in 2004 left 244 pilgrims dead and hundreds injured.

Frum Dogs will Fast this Yom Kippur!

On just about every day of the year, Shadow and Custer enjoy a hearty diet of kibbles and the occasional leftover piece of challah or gefilte fish.

But come Yom Kippur Tuesday evening, these dogs — Shadow’s a 16-pound poodle, Custer, a 26-pound schnauzer — follow the lead of their owner, Cheryl Degani: They fast.

“It was my idea,” says Degani, a 59-year-old accountant from suburban New City and mother of two adult children.

Growing up in the Rockland County town of Hillcrest, she was always a little more zealous than everyone around her, she says, and began fasting on the Day of Atonement even before her bat mitzvah, at age 12.

“People say, ‘Are you kidding me? Are you for real?’ ” she says of her decision to have her dogs observe the holiday with her. “I say: I have to fast, they have to fast.”

Those concerned about whether fasting affects her pets’ health can bark off, Degani says.

“I can leave my dogs food all day long, but if I’m not there, they’re not eating it,” says Degani, who nevertheless makes sure her pups’ water bowls are never empty. “Dogs are social — a dog doesn’t want to eat until I get home and I’m there.”

Modal Trigger

Shadow and CusterPhoto: Angel Chevrestt

It’s kosher with the experts, too.

“If you have an otherwise healthy dog, then it’s probably not a huge deal,” says Dr. Danielle Palatt, of Brooklyn’s Vinegar Hill Veterinary Group. “Missing two meals isn’t necessarily a health risk for a healthy animal — even if they don’t understand what’s going on.”

But they do understand, insists Degani, whose dogs are fluent in fasting. They know the drill for many Jewish holidays, she says, and believes they definitely smell something in the air just before Yom Kippur.

“I think they have a Jewish essence,” she says. “There’s no doubt about it.”

They may not have been bark mitzvahed, she adds, but they feel religion down to their Milk Bones: “They know a lot. They know something [is going on]” on the big day.

Yom Kippur

Suzanne Chava Gruer Missing ...disappeared in Flatbush!

Police are asking for the public’s help in the search for a missing Brooklyn woman. 

Officials say 45-year-old Suzanne Gruer was last seen Aug. 31 at her home on Kings Highway in Midwood.

She wears a reddish-blonde wig, has blue eyes and has fair skin with freckles. She is 45 years old. She lived at 2410 Kings Highway.

Gruer stands at about 4 feet 11 inches tall and weighs 150 pounds.

Police are asking anyone with information on her whereabouts to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.

Yeshiva Bochrum riot like Shvartzas in Geulah!

Bochrim have a lot of time on their hands now, because of Bein Hazmanim, so they want to show the Arabs how to really riot!
All the Torah that they learned this zman means absolutely nothing!
At this time no one even knows why they are rioting!
So the Arabs and the Bochrim got together to undermine the Police Force! Very nice!

My Yom Kippur Lesson From My New Hasidic Neighbors

By Jonathan Leener

As a rabbinical student, going to synagogue rarely produces feelings of anxiety or fear. With time, even giving the dvar torah or facilitating parts of the service become habitual. While living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan for years, I also became spoiled by the dozens of synagogues that met both my religious and cultural demands. The options were so vast that I could customize my own shul schedule every Shabbat. This synagogue with its rocking Friday night davening and the other synagogue Shabbat morning with its hot kiddush.

This all changed a couple of weeks ago when my wife and I moved to Williamsburg, the epicenter of Hipsters and Hasidim. A quick “Google search” revealed that our synagogue going would be rather different in the new neighborhood. Williamsburg certainly has no shortage of synagogues. In parts, it even resembles Jerusalem’s ultra-Orthodox Mea Shearim neighborhood with a shul on every street corner. The only challenge…I’m not Hasidic nor do I own a shtreimal or bekishe. Although my hair is long enough to make payot , I would still look more like a Beatle than a Hasid. There was no way to disguise myself. How would I ever fit in?

I woke up Shabbat morning and for the first time since my Bar Mitzvah I was terrified about going to shul! I was scared that they would judge me and challenge my Jewishness. I was certain I would be made uncomfortable. After all, it seemed like every week I had read another horror story regarding their community and their insularity. Why would they make an exception for me?

My wife finally convinced me to give it a try, so I found my white shirt and black pants and headed out. I had no real plan, I did not know anyone or know of a specific shul. I figured I would walk into south Williamsburg and see what happens. After only a couple of minutes I ran into a Hasid. He seemed like he was in a hurry to get to davening, but at the time he seemed like my best chance of actually finding somewhere to go.

“Follow me” he said in a broken English. We walked together for a couple of blocks in silence. When we arrived at a rather run down building he pointed to the basement. “Are you sure this is it?” I said to him. He nodded his head and walked away. This was not the synagogues of the suburbs that I had grown up with. It was literally a hole in the wall.

As I walked down the stairs, the little children dressed in their Shabbos finest looked at me as if I had come from another world. I slowly opened the door and saw a couple of men sitting and learning with their children. “Is it okay if I come in?” I said to a man by the door. “Can you come in? Of course! What kind of question is that?!” he responded in his heavy Yiddish accent. He was almost insulted by the question itself.

“A Yid is a Yid,” he assured me.

He quickly made me a cup of coffee and we schmoozed about how I was going to become a rabbi. He was delighted and excited for my work ahead.

As the other Hasidim came in for morning prayers, they all came up to me and introduced themselves and greeted me with a smile. One of them ran to get me a tallit and another went to bring me a siddur and a chumash. They made sure I liked my seat and was comfortable. As the service began, I felt transported in time. The beautiful melodies and the rhythmic swaying or shucking was completely memorizing. I had a feeling that my ancestors davened in a shul like this back in Poland.

When the Torah came out the gabbai approached me and asked for my Hebrew name. I was shocked. On the Upper West Side I had been to several synagogues for years and never honored with an aliyah, but there I was in this small shtiebel in Williamsburg getting called up to the Torah on my very first visit. They even called me, “HaRav Channan David”. They redefined for me what Jewish Hospitality — hachnasat orchim — should look and feel like. With small and intentional gestures, the great divide between us seemed insignificant.

With the conclusion of the service, they invited me to stay for kiddish. Cholent, whiskey, and kugel was on full display. The conversation was rich and diverse as we discussed the Iran deal, inter-marriage, Israel, Donald Trump, the rabbinate, Carlebach niggunim, and much more. They made me promise I would come back again (they even recruited me for their daily minyan) as we sat around the tables that they had pushed together.

When I finally left, I was truly overwhelmed by the experience and their generosity. I also felt so guilty for unfairly judging them, assuming they would be closed and uninviting. With Yom Kippur only days away, how can I ask God to judge me with compassion when I cannot even do the same for my fellow Jew? My new neighbors reminded me of the oldest Hasidic wisdom, as the Baal Shem Tov taught, “Be careful when you pass judgement on another. It is really yourself whom you may be judging.”

This article first appeared at the Times of Israel blog.