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Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz (Blue and White) spoke Tuesday morning with US Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III, who congratulated him on his continued term as Defense Minister within Israel’s new government. In a statement, Israel's Defense Ministry said that "the two continued the discussion begun in Washington concerning the imperative to strengthen and fortify Israel’s security vis-v-vis external challenges." "They further discussed the continued need to halt Iranian nuclear plans as well as the current opportunities to advance regional peace and expand normalization agreements. "Gantz thanked the Defense Secretary for his and the administration’s support of Israel and...

Alice's looking glass had an odd property. It not only reversed the appearance of objects, it reversed logic.. When Alice entered the world behind the mirror 'she discovered that if she tried to run she remained in place. If she wanted to go toward something she had to try to move away from it. The claim that abortion "empowers" women uses such reverse logic. The most powerful action a woman can take is to make a new human being. Abortion shuts down that powerful activity. Making babies allows women to have a huge impact on the world. . Two of...

Abortion supporters claim that making a baby is too much for many women today. The poor little things purportedly need abortions because they cannot handle such a difficult and demanding task. Abortion supporters tell working class women they can only be empowered by working for someone else. I don't know what percentage of modern women really lack the strength to make babies, but I know that some modern women are as strong or even stronger than women 50 years ago. A woman I worked with before I retired was mopping floors and emptying trash a couple of weeks before giving...

(And you wonder why Britain is in trouble ....) After just one day of classes at her summer school of choice, Emily Birkenshaw had already learned a crucial lesson: how to "go floppy" when facing arrest. "You're heavier then, so you can't be carried," she said, with the genuine delight of a new recruit. The 24-year-old been practising by linking arms with her classmates and singing loudly at a pretend policeman. "It just felt really empowering," she said. "If that happened [in real life] – and I hope it wouldn't – I'd know how to do it without getting hurt."...

CHICAGO (Reuters) – The sign at the entrance to President Barack Obama's new 2012 campaign headquarters says: "Respect. Empower. Include. Win." A swarm of reporters got a sneak peak at the Obama's headquarters on Thursday at a downtown Chicago office building. The 50,000 square-foot space occupying a full floor of the building, is mostly open except for rows of tables sparsely populated by roughly 50 staffers and volunteers. The number of campaign operatives will be increased during Obama's re-election bid and Campaign Manager Jim Messina and other operatives said the space's organization reflects Obama's grassroots campaign style, which is open...

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - President Pervez Musharraf vowed on Thursday to support reforms to empower women in Pakistan's male-dominated society, but said the ultimate responsibility for change lay with women. In the country of 160 million people, women, especially in poor, rural areas, are subjected to widespread violence and discrimination. In a case that shocked the country last month, a woman minister in a provincial government was shot dead by an Islamist zealot who later said women should not be involved in politics. "We have taken many steps to empower you politically and economically but ultimately it is you who have...

The best economic theory of the day suggests human behavior is contagious. It follows logically that what the article "IRAQ's NATURAL STATE" says about human nature is that "empowering figures" build self sustaining societies whereas "power consolidators" slowly descend into hell, taking every body else with them. The idea that Iraqis will reject violence sooner if more of them have jobs is a legitimate argument only if those jobs are sourced from free market investment. The entire country needs some version of Milton Freidman's Negative Income Tax. If on the other hand, tribal chieftains and theocratic oligarchs are put in...

One of the most radical anti-growth, anti-housing, anti-road, anti-everything proposals possible is now winding its way through the California Assembly, being pushed ahead by environmental activists looking for the silver bullet to stop any project they don't like. AB 528 would "authorize any person with a beneficial interest in the outcome to commence a civil action to enforce specified laws, including regulations ... that provide for the protection or enhancement of public health or the environment." It is sponsored by Assemblyman Dario Frommer, D-Los Angeles, and co-sponsored by Assemblyman Mike Gordon, D-El Segundo. In simple terms, if you or any...

Twenty facts about Israel and the Middle East 4/24/2002 On April 24, 2002, Bill Bennett, Jack Kemp, and Jeane Kirkpatrick issued an open memorandum (attached below) about Israel and the Middle East. These 20 facts will help serve as a primer for those trying to understand the historical context of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The world's attention has been focused on the Middle East. We are confronted daily with scenes of carnage and destruction. Can we understand such violence? Yes, but only if we come to the situation with a solid grounding in the facts of the...