text:
The European Union Shows Bias Against Israel
by Michael Curtis
To adapt a saying of the British politician David Lloyd George, the European Union (EU) has sat on the fence so long on issues regarding Israel that the iron has entered its soul. It showed this once again in its one-sided approach in a new policy statement on the Gaza conflict between Hamas and Israel. The EU Foreign Ministers at their Council meeting in Brussels on August 15, 2014 declared they were "extremely concerned about the fragile situation on the ground following the recent conflict in the Gaza Strip." Understandably, they strongly welcomed the ceasefire that has been in place since August 11, though only once is the word "Hamas" mentioned.
The declaration does mention just once the threat to Israel posed by Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza by their rocket attacks and tunnel construction. But its main trust and "concern" as usual is limited to "the disastrous humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip particularly the conditions of the displaced population, water supplies, electricity services, unexploded ordinance as well as destroyed and uninhabitable homes."
Of course, the statement admitted that Israel had a right to protect its population, but using the current fashionable word it asserted that Israel must act "proportionally" and ensure the protection of civilians. The EU said nothing about the thousands of rockets and missiles that had rained down on Israeli civilians nor about the enormous wastage of resources by Hamas in building its more than 30 tunnels to be used for attacking Israel. Nor did it discuss the war crimes of Hamas in using children and other civilians as human shields to prevent Israeli retaliation against attack. Instead, it deeply deplored the loss of innocent lives and the high number of wounded civilians in the Gaza Strip and the rapid deterioration of the humanitarian situation.
The ministers of the EU therefore reiterated their readiness to contribute to a comprehensive and sustainable solution for the security, welfare, and prosperity of Palestinians and Israelis. To this end they proposed actions in a number of areas for relief, reconstruction, and rehabilitation. Surprisingly, disregarding the fact that Hamas occupies and controls Gaza, the ministers propose a training program for Palestinian Authority customs personnel and police for redeployment in Gaza.
Again, without concern for the security of Israel, the ministers will study options for full access and movements through all Gaza ports of entry. Israel must lift the blockade of Gaza to allow a fundamental improvement of living conditions of the Palestinian people in Gaza. The ministers are also preempting final-stage negotiations between Israel and Palestinians. In favoring a two-state solution, what they call "two democratic states," the ministers hold that the Gaza Strip constitutes an integral part of the territory occupied in 1967 and will be part of a future State of Palestine.
Can the EU be taken seriously on this issue? Their recent actions, along with statements by their officials, cast doubt. The High Commissioner, Catherine Ashton, has never been the closest friend of Israel, but she believes she is concerned with the soul of the State. In November 2013 she expressed the view that the boycott of goods from Israeli settlements can save Israel from itself since the expansion of the settlements means the creation of a single bi-national state.
In similar fashion, Lars Faaborg-Andersen, the Danish diplomat who is the EU Ambassador to Israel, acknowledged he was losing patience with Israel because of the expansion of settlements beyond the Green Line. He argued that because of this, countries would issue warnings to their citizens against conducting business with companies in the settlements.
The EU actions speak even louder than its words. Most recently, at the UN Human Rights Council on July 23, 2014, those actions were significant. The resolution of the UNHRC condemned "in the strongest terms the widespread, systematic, and gross violations of international human rights and fundamental freedoms arising from the Israeli military operations" in Gaza. It also called for an "international commission of inquiry" to investigate all violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law "in the Occupied Palestinian Territory." It was carried by a vote of twenty-nine nations to one, the United States.
All the eight members of the EU entitled to vote abstained, even the Czech Republic that in November 2012 was the only EU country to oppose granting nonmember state status to the Palestinians at the United Nations. Ireland was even prepared to vote in favor of the resolution. The behavior of the EU was all the more disconcerting because it explained that the resolution was unbalanced and inaccurate and prejudged the outcome of the investigation.
Indeed, the choice of William Schabas, the Canadian academic, as head of the commission of inquiry seems to bear this out. In 2001 he took part in a panel of the Russell Tribunal whose aim was to find Israel guilty of "the crime of apartheid." He held that Benjamin Netanyahu should be in "the dock of an international court" and was the single individual most likely to threaten the survival of Israel. It is difficult to conceive how Schabas can approach the Gaza issue with an open mind.
In casting his negative vote at the UNHRC meeting on July 23, Keith Harper, the U.S. ambassador, spoke of the resolution's one-sided approach to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, and that it was essential that the community of nations take a balanced approach to these issues." The European Union should take heed, act with some courage, and not see Hamas as morally equivalent to Israel.
Michael Curtis
Source: http://www.americanthinker.com/2014/08/the_european_union_shows_bias_against_israel.html
'I Dug Terror Tunnels in Gaza and Had No Idea'
by Orli Harari, Ari Yashar
Remarkable letter smuggled out of Gaza relates how Hamas manipulates Palestinian civilians to dig terror tunnels to Israel.
Diggers in Hamas Gaza tunnel
A gripping letter reportedly smuggled out of the Hamas terror enclave of Gaza reveals the nightmarish existence suffered by residents forced to dig terror tunnels for Hamas.
Fox News exposed the letter, which was hand-written in Arabic by a 30-year-old resident of Gaza City, and smuggled out to Itzik Azar, an Israeli living in the coastal region who was a friend of the writer's deceased father.
After his father was murdered by Hamas terrorists who seized his metalwork shop to produce domestic rockets, such as the M-75, the writer was forced into desperate financial straits, and seized a cryptic job offer.
He reports being picked up in a windowless truck with five others, which brought them to a building, from which they dug tunnels in intense shifts lasting ten days.
The writer reports arriving in the building the first time and being told to enter a hole in the ground.
"We walked for a few hundred meters, and when we got to the end, two Hamas members were waiting for us. They gave us working tools and explained to us what to do in order to make the tunnel longer," reports the writer.
The letter describes the grueling labor in unventilated shafts as Hamas terrorists shouted and occasionally assaulted the workers. Afterwards, they were transported home and given a paltry wage, not knowing "where we'd been, or what tunnel we dug."
As Hamas launched its terror war on Israel last month, using the tunnels to lethal effect on IDF soldiers in Operation Protective Edge and in several failed attempts to murder Israeli civilians, the writer "heard about the tunnels that Hamas dug and I understood that I helped them."
"We pray that the world will help to free us from the fearful and cruel Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip. I pray for death to all Hamas members and that we will get freedom and a chance to live a normal life for our children in Gaza. Inshalla (G-d willing)," concluded the letter.
A Hamas spokesperson recently told Al Jazeera that since Operation Pillar of Defense ended in 2012, "hundreds of our men were martyred digging the tunnels during the previous lull period. ...The mujahideen of the Al-Qassam Brigades were getting ready in the tunnels."
Many of those who survived digging the terror tunnels did not meet a better end than their fallen compatriots; according to reports, in recent weeks Hamas has executed dozens of the diggers to make absolutely certain they would not reveal information about the locations they were digging in.
Of the hundreds who died in the digging, "at least 160 children have been killed in the tunnels" reported the Journal of Palestine Studies in 2012, indicating how forced child labor was also committed by Hamas in its terror scheme.
The Hamas terrorists apparently were planning to use the massive web of tunnels into Israel to conduct a massacre on Israeli communities near Gaza on Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year.
Over 30 tunnels have been destroyed by the IDF in the course of the current operation, although that number is limited to the tunnels found until now, and may mean the threat posed by the tunnels has not been fully obliterated.
Orli Harari, Ari Yashar
Source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184095#.U--8GWMYjLN
Hamas Has Grossly Humiliated World Media in Gaza
by David Singer
Hamas threats and manipulation in Gaza turned the media into pawns rather than a source of information.
A family of 11 previously reported dead in an Israeli air strike in Gaza has turned out to be false – further fueling the unprecedented furor caused by the Tel Aviv based Foreign Press Association (FPA) issuing the following statement on 11 August slamming Hamas for its treatment of journalists during the current conflict:
"The FPA protests in the strongest terms the blatant, incessant, forceful and unorthodox methods employed by the Hamas authorities and their representatives against visiting international journalists in Gaza over the past month.
"The international media are not advocacy organisations and cannot be prevented from reporting by means of threats or pressure, thereby denying their readers and viewers an objective picture from the ground.
"In several cases, foreign reporters working in Gaza have been harassed, threatened or questioned over stories or information they have reported through their news media or by means of social media.
"We are also aware that Hamas is trying to put in place a 'vetting' procedure that would, in effect, allow for the blacklisting of specific journalists. Such a procedure is vehemently opposed by the FPA."
The FPA has also been mildly critical of Israel as this release on 23 July indicated:
"The FPA strongly condemns deliberate official and unofficial incitement against journalists working to cover the current warfare under very difficult circumstances as well as forcible attempts to prevent journalists and TV crews from carrying out their news assignments. While we do not condone the use of invective by any side, outright attacks on journalists are absolutely unacceptable."
On Tuesday, IDF forces aimed live fire at the Al Jazeera offices in Gaza City. The offices are on the 11th floor of a known commercial centre. The IDF apologised claiming it was in error and said they would investigate the incident.
Also Tuesday, FPA member Firas Khatib of BBC Arabic was physically attacked and abused in the midst of a live feed on the Israeli side of the border. "
The FPA numbers some 480 members representing TV, radio, photojournalists and print media from 32 countries including Australia, Qatar, Brazil, Norway, China , USA. Austria, Dubai, Russia, Japan, Finland, South Africa, Denmark and Germany, Turkey, the UAE and the United Kingdom.
It represents amongst others Le Monde, The New York Times, Reuters, the Guangming Daily, CBS Television, the Associated Press, Der Spiegel, the BBC, Danish Broadcasting Corp. and Bloomberg News. On its website, the FPA lists Australian journalists Matt Brown (ABC) and John Lyons (The Australian) as members.
Paul T. Jørgensen of Norway's TV2 states that:
"several foreign journalists have been kicked out of Gaza because Hamas does not like what they wrote or said. We have received strict orders that if we record that Hamas fires rockets or that they shoot, we will face serious problems and be expelled from Gaza,"
Alan Johnson reported in the Telegraph:
The Wall Street Journal's Nick Casey posted a photo of a Hamas spokesman being interviewed from a room in the hospital along with this tweet: "You have to wonder (with) the shelling how patients at Shifa hospital feel as Hamas uses it as a safe place to see media." After "a flood of online threats", the tweet was deleted.
John Reed of The Financial Times was reportedly threatened after he tweeted about rockets being fired from the same hospital."
Yet Jodi Rudoren, Jerusalem bureau chief of the New York Times – who was not in Gaza - tweeted:
"Every reporter I've met who was in Gaza during war says this Israeli/now FPA narrative of Hamas harassment is nonsense,"
It was a strange remark to make considering the above claims – and having regard to the following comment reportedly made by New York Times vice president for corporate communications Eileen Murphy that the newspaper's team in Gaza did not photograph any rocket launches, sent only "two very distant, poor quality images that were captioned Hamas fighters" and "hasn't even seen anyone carrying a gun."
Even more intriguing - Rudoren's deputy at the NYT - Isabel Kershner - was one of the FPA board members who approved the condemnatory statement. How could two colleagues from the same newspaper observing the same sequence of events come to such different conclusions?
British freelancer Harry Fear said he was asked to leave Gaza by three plainclothes Hamas officials at Al-Shifa Hospital - apparently for referring to rocket launches near his hotel. He reportedly said he did not feel any intimidation or interference.
Some reporters however reportedly received death threats. Sometimes, cameras were smashed. Reporters were prevented from filming anti-Hamas demonstrations where more than 20 Palestinians were shot dead by Hamas gunmen.
Evidence of Hamas controlling the flow of news is obvious in its failure to allow the media to:
independently determine, separate and verify the number of civilian and Hamas deaths photograph any Hamas forces launching rockets from residential areas or civilians being used as human shields.
A BBC investigation has uncovered photos of dead children from earlier conflicts being passed off as casualties in the current conflict – being fed to gullible reporters to send around the World to even more gullible target audiences.
Why would reporters keep going back into Gaza to be so humiliated by Hamas?
They are certainly not reporting what is actually happening.
Maybe they should stay out of Gaza and let Hamas do its own media releases.
The media barons would certainly save a lot of money.
David Singer
Source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/15517#.U--hsGMYjLN
Krugerplein, Again
by Martin Bosma
There are people who see Islamic immigration as a positive thing; that it creates "cultural enrichment" and "thriving immigrant neighborhoods." This is the vision of the liberal elites. There is also the reality.
Krugerplein, or Kruger Square, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is now the theatre of a series of incidents, starting with a woman who hung an Israeli flag outside her window. Muslims answered by displaying "Palestinian" flags.
The woman who hung the Israeli flag, Leah Rabinovitch, is originally from Mexico, and therefore probably may not have been aware of Islamic intolerance towards all things Jewish. Her neighborhood, however, is "non-western immigrants," meaning mostly Muslims.
She received death threats, had stones thrown through her windows, and had a Molotov-cocktail thrown at her home. The corporate owner of her apartment ordered her to remove the flag. Israel's flag after all, is considered a "provocation."
A view of the apartment building in Amsterdam where Leah Rabinovitch lives. After hanging an Israeli flag, she was subjected to stone-throwing, a death threat and a firebombing. (Image source: AT5 News video screenshot)
Checking at Krugerplein, last week, I counted seven "Palestinian" flags – flags which are never considered a provocation, of course.
The good news is that Israel's flag is back, again enjoying the Dutch sunlight.
What is revealing, however, is not what happened, but where it happened.
Krugerplein is at the very heart of the Transvaal neighborhood [Transvaalbuurt], built a hundred years ago. The streets are all named after the heroic Boer fighters, who waged a bitter guerrilla war against the colonial superpower of those days, the British empire. The names celebrate the traditional friendship between the Afrikaners/Boers and the Dutch. President Kruger, general Botha, Orange Freestate; they are all there.
In the 1920s and 30s, Jews from the overcrowded center of Amsterdam moved to Transvaalbuurt. In pre-World War II days, it counted 17,000 inhabitants, 70% of them Jewish. There was very little interest in religion. Many of them joined "left-wing" causes. Trade unions, and socialist and communist parties flourished -- a Dutch version of the Lower East Side.
Then the Hitler socialists came. The Germans sealed off the neighborhood with barbed wire. They named it Judenviertel II, Jewish Quarter Number Two. It became a ghetto, or better: a death trap. Jews from other parts of the Netherlands were forced to move to Amsterdam, and found refuge in the Transvaalbuurt. Deportations started, July 1942. The Jews were moved to the camps, and gassed.
Older people in the neighborhood can still tell stories. How, as young children, they were told by the Germans to stay away from the windows and not to peek outside when the Jews were marched off to the nearby Muiderpoort train station. Most seniors will still weep after two sentences as they will recall their lost schoolmates, or the kids they played with.
One sunny Sunday, it was all over. On June 20, 1943 the Nazis executed their last razzia in Transvaalbuurt. The remaining 5,000 Jews were ordered to go stand outside their houses, in the burning heat, and wait for German orders. Transportation was done by freight wagons, some of them also used for transporting cattle. It took them nine hours to arrive at Westerbork, a camp near the German border. After that: Auschwitz, Sobibor, Treblinka, death.
The Germans declared the Transvaalbuurt Judenrein ["free of Jews"]. It became a small ghost town.
In 1945, people said: Never again. Seventy years later, flying Israel's flag on Krugerplein will get you stones through your window, death threats, and a Molotov-cocktail.
There are people who see Islamic immigration as a positive thing; that it creates "cultural enrichment," and "thriving immigrant neighborhoods." But this is the vision of the liberal elites.
There is also the reality.
Leah Rabinovitch will probably not remain in Transvaalbuurt forever. It is too hostile there. Going to the supermarket and having to look over your shoulder constantly, fearing Muslim aggression, is not fun. If she moves, the neighborhood is again in the process of becoming Judenrein -- another step on our way to the multicultural paradise that awaits us all.
There is not even any outrage.
Razzia at Krugerplein, 1943. The people in the background are probably a Jewish family in front of their house, waiting for orders to march to the train station. The person on the left is a Jew from the Westerbork camp, who served the Germans as a member of the camp police. He wears a yellow star.
Jews from Transvaalbuurt rounded-up near Muiderpoort train station, waiting for trains to take them to the camps. Note the yellow stars!
Martin Bosma is a Member of Parliament, The Netherlands.
Source: http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4610/krugerplein-again
Caroline Glick: Anti-Semitism and Its Limitations
by Caroline Glick
Originally published by the Jerusalem Post.
Outside the US, throughout the Western world, anti-Semitism is becoming a powerful social and political force. And its power is beginning to have a significant impact on Israel's relations with other democracies.
Consider South Africa. Following a lopsided vote by the University of Cape Town's Student Union to boycott Israel, Jewish students fear that their own student union will be barred from operating on campus. Carla Frumer from the South African Jewish Student Union told The Times of Israel, "If they prove we are a Zionist organization and support Israel, they can have us banned and seek to de-register us."
In Sydney, Australia, Jewish families received a triple blow last week when Jewish children on a chartered school bus were assaulted by eight anti-Semitic drunken teenagers.
The first shock was that their children, some as young as five, were terrorized on their school bus.
The second shock was that the bus driver made an unscheduled stop to allow the anti-Semites to board the bus and harass the children.
The third shock was that after catching six of the eight assailants, the police let them out of jail the same evening.
Taken together, the incident revealed an obscene comfort level among Australian authorities with the terrorizing of Jewish children. Jewish families cannot assume that their children will be protected by non-Jews, whether they are school bus drivers or the police.
Unfortunately, these stories do not begin to scratch the surface of the rising tide of anti-Semitism in the developed world. From Paris to San Paulo, from Berlin to Boston the public space Jews can enjoy without fear is becoming more and more limited.
The same is the case in leftist political circles.
Last week, Paul Estrin, the president of Canada's Green Party, was forced to resign for his pro-Israel views. On July 25, Estrin posted a pro-Israel essay on the party's website. His post caused a furor among the party faithful. The Green Party's leader, MP Elizabeth May, distanced herself from Estrin. And almost the entire party leadership denounced him and demanded his resignation.
In an essay published this week in the Canadian Jewish News, Estrin explained that he joined the party because he wanted to make a difference in the spheres of the environmental protection and human rights. He did not believe that working to achieve these goals in the Green Party would require him to disavow his support for Israel. His recent experience showed him that he was wrong.
In his words, "I am now convinced that one simply can't [support Israel] within the confines of Canada's Green Party."
Similar sentiments have been expressed in recent weeks by pro-Israel members of Britain's Labor Party. After party leader Ed Miliband sided with the majority of the party membership and against Israel in Operation Protective Edge, Kate Bearman, the former director of Labor Friends for Israel, published an article in the Jewish Chronicle announcing that she was quitting the Labor Party.
Bearman wrote, "I feel Ed Miliband's rush to a condemnation of Israel's ground incursion into Gaza gave me no choice but to say goodbye to the party I have always voted and campaigned for."
A survey of Britons taken at the end of last month by YouGov showed that 62 percent believed that Israel had committed war crimes in Gaza. This includes 72% of Labor supporters and 57% of Conservatives.
In other words, nearly two-thirds of Britons believe that Israel has no right to defend itself. And since Israel is surrounded by forces that seek its destruction, we can extrapolate that nearly two-thirds of Britons would, at a minimum, have no problem with Israel being wiped off the map.
This rising political force of anti-Semitism is already impacting previously supportive governments' policies toward the Jewish state. Bowing to the anti-Israel positions of his Liberal-Democrat coalition partners, British Prime Minister David Cameron decided that arms exports to Israel will be suspended if Hamas continues its current round of war with Israel.
The primary engine propelling Western nation after Western nation to abandon their support for Israel and deny the protection of law to Jewish communities is the rising power of Muslim minority communities in these countries. As Douglas Murray explained in an essay published by the Gatestone Institute this week, when it comes to Israel and Jews, otherwise integrated, moderate Muslims in Europe are quick to join jihadists in denouncing Israel and rallying behind anti-Semitic curses and threats.
The unanimity of anti-Semitic prejudice among Muslim communities in the West, and its impact on the politics of Western nations, indicates that in the future, Western nations' polities toward Israel may have more in common with the positions of Sunni Arab states than with those of the US.
Since the dawn of modern Zionism more than a century ago, Arab societies have united around the cause of destroying Zionism as a political force and Israel as a physical entity. As a result, the default position of Arab governments has been to support Israel's destruction. They have advanced this goal through various means, including going to war against the Jewish state, supporting proxies and other irregular forces in their efforts to kill Jews and harm Israel, and using international organizations – first and foremost the United Nations – to institutionalize international anti-Semitism directed against the Jewish state and to criminalize Israel with the aim of expelling it from the international community.
In recent years, we have seen a gradual, quiet disassociation of various Sunni Arab regimes from the war against Israel as they viewed their interests as more aligned with Israel than with its battlefield foes.
The first time this occurred was during Hezbollah's war with Israel in 2006. In the opening weeks of the war, Egypt and Saudi Arabia were demonstrably excited at the prospect of an Israeli rout of Iran's proxy army in Lebanon. As they saw it, an Israeli victory over Hezbollah would deal a powerful blow to Iran's hegemonic designs over the Persian Gulf and Egypt. It would end the Muslim Brotherhood's romance with the mullahs in Tehran.
This Sunni Arab support for Israel only abated when then prime minister Ehud Olmert's serial blundering in his leadership of the war convinced Sunni leaders that Israel would not score a strategic victory.
Over the past six weeks of Operation Protective Edge, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have been even more open about their preference for an Israeli victory, which they view as a blow to the Muslim Brotherhood. Today these regimes feel far more threatened by the Muslim Brotherhood and Iran than they did eight years ago. Indeed, so great is their desire for an Israeli victory over the Muslim Brotherhood in Gaza that they are willing to publicly express their position for the first time.
It is not that "the Arab street" in Mecca and Cairo has stopped hating Jews. It is simply that the regimes are willing to neutralize the political influence of Jew-hatred in order to ensure their survival.
In the future, such a commonality of interests may be the only way for Israel to cultivate strategic cooperation with Western nations.
All of this is greatly disturbing. But at least today, it is not Israel's most pressing concern. The political salience of anti-Semitism in the West will have no impact on how the fighting ends.
The only players in the game today are Israel, Egypt and the Obama administration. And Israel's problem today is not the anti-Semitism of Western societies. It is the hostility of the Obama administration.
Unlike the situation in Europe, anti-Semitism is not a significant force in the US. Due in large part to Obama administration actions, there is a growing acceptance in Washington of the false, anti-Semitic charge that Israel dictates US foreign policy.
But the US public views Israel as an ally and a fellow democracy. And as a consequence, the majority of Americans consistently support Israel and expect the US government to support Israel in its wars against Islamic terrorists and its desire to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power. This general view is in turn reflected in the predominant pro-Israel positions taken by the vast majority of members of both houses of Congress.
Due to the fact that his position is out of step with the US public, Barack Obama has not been able to break openly with Israel. But behind the scenes, since the outset of Operation Protective Edge he has used his administrative powers to help Hamas and its Islamist sponsors in Turkey, Qatar and Iran to the detriment of Israel and the Sunni Arab regimes.
In other words, whereas David Cameron felt compelled by domestic political realities to turn on Israel, Obama feels compelled by domestic political realities to hide the fact that he has turned on Israel.
As The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, Obama's latest anti-Israel action was the institution last week of an unofficial arms embargo against Israel. Ignoring standard procedures adopted over the years in accordance with the US's strategic cooperation accords with Israel, Obama has chosen to deny the US military the power to automatically approve Israeli requests for resupply of ammunition and spare parts. All such requests must now receive specific approval from the White House.
To hide the hostile nature of his action, Obama has sought to present it as a simple reassertion of presidential control over US foreign policy – and so resonate the anti-Semitic undertones of allegations of Israeli control over US foreign policy.
In fact, Obama's actions constitute a presidential decision to abandon his own official policy of upholding the US's alliance with Israel.
Obama took a similar path last month with the highly discriminatory FAA flight ban on Ben-Gurion Airport. The FAA has not instituted such bans on countries like Ukraine and Pakistan where civilian passenger flights have actually been shot down. Yet, citing "an abundance of caution," the FAA instituted a flight ban on Israel where no civilian passenger jet was endangered.
As the administration presented it, the FAA decision to directly threaten Israel's economic viability did not derive from hostility to Israel, but from a concern for the welfare of airline passengers.
In a similar fashion, last month US Secretary of State John Kerry sought to misrepresent the administration's adoption of Hamas's cease-fire terms as the US's official position. Kerry claimed that he was merely amplifying the Egyptian cease-fire agreement that the administration claimed it supported, when he was actually abandoning it.
The massive destabilization of the Arab world in the wake of the Arab Spring has led many Israelis to reevaluate our region and the opportunities and threats it presents us.
With the rise of anti-Semitism as a political force in the Western world, and with the radical shift in US foreign policy under Obama, it is vital that Israel conduct a similar reevaluation of its relations with Western democracies.
Caroline Glick is the Director of the David Horowitz Freedom Center's Israel Security Project and the Senior Contributing Editor of The Jerusalem Post. For more information on Ms. Glick's work, visit carolineglick.com.
Source: http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/caroline-glick/anti-semitism-and-its-limitations/
Rouhani's One-Year Anniversary
by Majid Rafizadeh
At this time last year, Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian regime insider, assumed the office of presidency in the Islamic Republic. Rouhani was approved to run by the constitutionally-mandated and appointed 12 members of the Islamist and hardline Guardian Council, and after he gave empty promises of bringing "dignity" to the nation, freeing political prisoners, promoting civil rights, normalcy, reintegrating Iran in the world economically and politically.
Other crucial reasons behind his election included his loyalty to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iran's Islamist revolutionary principles, his background profile as a government insider and chief nuclear negotiator, the blessings of Supreme Leaders for him, and the low standards that the hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad set.
The purpose of having Rouhani as the president was evident from the beginning: for the first time, Ayatollah Khamenei and the senior cadre of the Islamic Republic's Revolutionary Guards Corps deeply felt that their hold on power was being threatened. This was due to international economic and political sanctions, Iran's nuclear defiance, along with disenfranchisement and discontent of Iranian youth (for reasons such as unemployment, human rights violations, suppression of freedom of press, expression, assembly, high inflation).
How has Rouhani served his regime? Under the first year of his presidency, Rouhani and his nuclear technocrat team were unprecedentedly and unexpectedly successful at reaching the regime's objectives. He was capable of achieving the ideological, economic, and geopolitical goals of the Islamist agenda of the ruling clerics.
It is crucial to point out that, in the first year, Rouhani's goal was to merge the Islamic Republic's ideological and Islamist principles with its economic, strategic and geopolitical interests. Rouhani wanted to ensure the survival of the Islamist regime.
The game that Rouhani and his team played with the West and particularly the United States was anchored in utilizing softer tones while exploiting the fragile and weak position of the Obama administration.
First, by striking the nuclear interim deal with the P5+1 (the United States, Russia, France, China, the United Kingdom, plus Germany), Rouhani and his technocrat nuclear team were successful in obtaining sanctions relief– worth between $6 and $7 billion – and suspending certain sanctions on some Iranian industries including the automotive sector, gold and precious metals trade, and petrochemical exports.
On the other hand, currently, the Islamic Republic's economy has been stabilized according to the International Monetary Fund, and oil exports have increased by approximately 25 percent, specifically to Asian countries, in the first six months of the year 2014.
While Rouhani has spent a considerable amount of his political capital on the international arena, nuclear talks, attempting to empower the Islamic Republic in the world affairs and economy, and removing economic sanctions, Iran's fundamental foreign policies in the region, internationally and domestically remain ideological and intact.
For example, President Hassan Rouhani voiced his support for the Syrian government, as Iran's support for the Syrian government financially, militarily, politically and advisory continues. Even after the use of chemical weapons against the civilians in Syria, Rouhani's administration has not shifted its support and policies towards President Bashar Al Assad.
In addition, under Rouhani's administration, the Islamic Republic continues to support non state actors such as Hezbollah and Hamas. In addition, the Islamic Republic's foreign policies towards Israel remain intact as well.
On the other hand, billions of dollars gained by the ruling cleric, are tightly distributed among the top officials. Millions of ordinary Iranian people still encounter hardship economically. In addition, the unemployment rate remains to be in double digits for millions of Iranian people.
When it comes to human rights and freedoms (assembly, press and speech), Rouhani has supported the status quo of repression. According to the Human Rights Watch, there has been "no sign of improvement" and the Islamic Republic continues to violate human rights under Rouhani.
On March 11, Ahmed Shaheed, the United Nations special rapporteur on the human rights conditions in the Islamic Republic of Iran, released his second annual report to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), pointing out that there exists an "apparent increase in the degree of seriousness of human rights violations" and he expressed his concern at the "rate of executions in the country, especially for crimes that do not meet serious crimes standards."
In addition, in October, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon released his annual report expressing concerns with regards to the continuing human rights violations in the Islamic Republic under Rouhani. Human Rights Watch points out that "The government continued to block access to Shaheed and to experts with other UN rights bodies."
It is an illusion to believe that any political figure in the Islamic Republic, who rises to power, will shift the Islamist, radical, and ideological perspective of this regime. Loyalty to the Islamist principles, antagonism towards Israel, and supporting Hezbollah, Hamas, or other Islamists groups, are the underlying and basic rules that each Iranian politician believes in and has to pursue, in order to survive and rise the political ladder in Iran. The higher an Iranian politician is in his political life and position, the more loyal he is to the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the more he voices his antagonism towards the state of Israel publicly or covertly, and the more he views the United States as a Great Satan. This underlying rule is the political formula for survival and promotion under the Islamist and ideological regime of the Islamic Republic.
Majid Rafizadeh, an Iranian-American political scientist and scholar, is president of the International American Council and serves on the board of the Harvard International Review at Harvard University. Rafizadeh is also a senior fellow at the Nonviolence International Organization based in Washington, DC and is a member of the Gulf project at Columbia University. He can be reached at rafizadeh@fas.harvard.edu. Follow Dr. Rafizadeh at @majidrafizadeh.
Source: http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/majid-rafizadeh/rouhanis-one-year-anniversary/
Council of the European Union: "All terrorist groups in Gaza must disarm"
by Dr. Aaron Lerner
Once again the EU calls for disarming the terrorists without linking it to anything else. The EU also mentions "expressed commitments of President Abbas" - a clear reference to the commitment made by Mahmoud Abba that the PA would honor signed agreements – agreements that provide for the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip.
And this while disarming the terrorists appears to be dropped from the Egyptian brokered talks. It would appear that the proposal allows the terrorists to manufacture an unlimited number of missiles from dual use materials as long as none are launched – for the time being – with Israel prohibited from doing anything more than adding them to the "target bank". And if the wording is correct – it appears that Hamas can even dig tunnels as long as the
way that they reach Israel is by linking to existing tunnels that cross under the border (wink wink).]
PRESS RELEASE - Provisional Version
Rue de la Loi 175 B – 1048 BRUSSELS Tel. : +32 (0)2 281 6319 Fax: +32 (0)2 281 8026
press.office@consilium.europa.eu
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/EN/foraff/144316.pdf
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/press
Gaza and MEPP
The Council discussed the situation in Gaza and adopted the following conclusions:
"1. The EU is extremely concerned about the fragile situation on the ground following the recent conflict in the Gaza Strip. It strongly welcomes the ceasefire which has been in place since 11 August and calls on all the parties concerned to agree on and abide by a durable ceasefire. The EU commends the considerable efforts and commitment of Egypt to broker this and earlier deals.
2. The EU remains concerned about the disastrous humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip particularly the conditions of the displaced population, water supplies, electricity services, unexploded ordnance as well as destroyed and uninhabitable homes. The EU calls for increased efforts to facilitate, in accordance with international humanitarian law, immediate and unimpeded humanitarian access into the Gaza Strip including for humanitarian personnel and supplies, and for the mobilisation of humanitarian aid for the population of Gaza.
3. The situation in the Gaza Strip has been unsustainable for many years and a return to the status quo prior to the latest conflict is not an option. A durable ceasefire must lead to a fundamental improvement in the living conditions for the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip through the lifting of the Gaza closure regime, and it must end the threat to Israel posed by Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza as demonstrated by rocket attacks and
tunnel construction. All terrorist groups in Gaza must disarm.
4. In this context and subject to the requests of our partners based on the outcome of the Cairo talks, the EU reiterates its readiness to contribute to a comprehensive and sustainable solution enhancing the security, welfare and prosperity of Palestinians and Israelis alike. The EU will develop options for effective and comprehensive action in the following areas: movement and access, capacity building, verification and monitoring, humanitarian
relief and post-conflict reconstruction and rehabilitation through international donor efforts including the eventual organisation of a donors' conference. The EU is ready to support a possible international mechanism endorsed by the UNSC, including through the reactivation and possible extension in scope and mandate of its EUBAM Rafah and EUPOL COPPS missions on the ground, including the launch of a training programme for Palestinian Authority customs personnel and police for redeployment in Gaza.
5. In line with UNSCR 1860, the EU is prepared to contribute to arrangements that prevent illicit trafficking in arms and ammunition to the Gaza Strip and which can ensure the sustained re-opening of Gaza's crossing points. The EU will also study options for an internationally-supervised mechanism to enable full access and movement through all Gaza ports of entry.
6. The EU recalls that the situation in the Gaza Strip has to be seen within the broader context of the Middle East Peace Process and the prospect of comprehensive peace where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace with secure and recognised borders. This remains our ultimate objective. The Gaza Strip constitutes an integral part of the territory occupied in 1967 and will be part of a future State of Palestine.
The situation in the Gaza Strip cannot and must not be seen separately from the broader challenges and developments on the ground that continue to make the prospect of the two state solution increasingly difficult to attain.
7. The EU has demonstrated its commitment to working with the government of Prime Minister Netanyahu and with the Palestinian consensus government comprised of independent personalities under the leadership and expressed commitments of President Abbas, which must exercise its full government responsibilities in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip including in the field of security, civil administration and through its presence at Gaza's crossing points. The EU reiterates that commitment today."
Dr. Aaron Lerner
Source: http://imra.org.il/story.php3?id=64671
Britain's "Murky Anti-Semitic Subculture"
by Samuel Westrop
For Israel to receive any leniency in the Western press, more Jews have to be killed; meanwhile, countless Muslims, it seems, can slaughter each other without eliciting any condemnation on the streets of London or Paris.
Recent anti-Israel protests have been attended by thousands across Europe. These protests come in opposition to attempts by Israeli forces to quell the rocket fire aimed at Israeli citizens by the Palestinian terror groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
In Britain, the protests in support of Hamas have been chiefly organized by a mixture of Sunni Islamist groups and groups aligned with the Socialist Workers Party. The attending protestors, though, seem to come from across the political and religious spectrums.
European hatred for the small Jewish state, or Jews in general, apparently continues to transcend all ideological differences to the point where pro-Assad activists can march alongside Sunni Islamists, while neo-Nazis stand shoulder to shoulder with Marxists.
Parliamentarians such as Andy Slaughter MP and George Galloway MP walked next to Islamist activists such as Ismail Patel, a supporter of the late French Holocaust Denier Roger Garaudy. Patel advocates the killing of adulterous women and has previously stated: "Hamas is no terrorist organization…we salute Hamas for standing up to Israel." Marching between Andy Slaughter and Ismail Patel was Hafiz al-Karmi, an official from the Palestinian Forum of Britain, one of the UK's leading pro-Hamas organizations.
Leading one of the largest anti-Israel protest marches on July 19 are Andy Slaughter MP (center, blue shirt) and George Galloway MP, next to Islamist activist Ismail Patel (second from left).
Activists from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, closely aligned with Britain's Socialist Workers Party, seemed happy to march alongside James Thring and Lady Renouf, two neo-Nazi activists. Thring, described as "an anti-Zionist activist who has been vocally supported by former the Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke," has been featured in revisionist pro-Nazi documentaries and is aligned with the "New Right" society, a British neo-Nazi organization.
Lady Renouf claims that Judaism is a "repugnant and hateful religion," and is described by Searchlight Magazine as "the chief cheerleader for disgraced Holocaust denier David Irving. Renouf has contributed to the defense of several other Holocaust deniers and has since become one of the most influential figures in this murky anti-Semitic subculture."
Activists from the Neturei Karta, an extreme anti-Zionist sect, have also been a recurring presence at recent anti-Israel protests. Neturei Karta recently protested in support of the Hungary's "neo-Nazi" Jobbik party, the officials of which have "rejoiced" at the deaths of Israeli soldiers killed by Hamas terrorists in Gaza. In 2006, Neturei Karta's UK branch leader, Ahron Cohen, stated that those Jews who perished in the Holocaust "deserved it."
A protester at a recent anti-Israel march in London
Other protestors have included activists from the Islamic Human Rights Commission, an Iranian-aligned Islamist group. Despite the Sunni-Shia fighting in Syria and Iraq, supporters of the pro-Assad terror group, Hezbollah, appeared to have no qualms about marching against Israel alongside supporters of Sunni jihadists waving the Black Standard, the preferred flag of Sunni Islamist terrorist organizations.
Other organizing groups behind the protests have included: the British Muslim Initiative, the president of which is Mohammed Sawalha, a fugitive Hamas commander who, the BBC reports, is "said to have masterminded much of Hamas's political and military strategy;" War on Want, a taxpayer-funded charity criticized for its use of "anti-Semitic themes to attack Israel" and its associations with a number of extreme anti-Semitic organizations; as well as Stop the War Coalition, the vice-president of which, Kamal Majid, has urged support for the Assad regime because of their "long history of resisting imperialism."
In July, at one anti-Israel march through London, Algerian protestors, some waving Socialist Workers Party placards, chanted "Heil Hitler." Leading anti-Israel activists such as Owen Jones, however, falsely claim that anti-Semitism only emanates from neo-Nazi groups. Jones also states that opponents to these anti-Israel protests are encouraging anti-Semitism themselves by devaluing the meaning of anti-Semitism through its overuse as a means to "silence critics of Israel's occupation."
Groups organizing these protests may claim that anti-Israel protests are not anti-Semitic, but these assertions are clearly contradicted by the number of anti-Semitic incidents in Britain that peak during moments of anti-Israel hysteria whipped up by these very same groups. The number of anti-Semitic attacks in July reached more than double the usual number.
Despite the organized mass-slaughter of Christians and Muslims by Islamist groups across the Middle East, the hotchpotch of extremist groups in Europe still find common cause in their outspoken hatred for Jews.
Groups such as the Palestine Solidarity Campaign are happy to protest the Jewish state, but have refused to express indignation over the tens of thousands of Palestinians currently being starved out by Assad's forces in the Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria. The Stop the War Coalition, meanwhile, continues to provide platforms to pro-Assad speakers.
In continental Europe, the hatred felt seems even worse. Protestors in Paris, Berlin and Antwerp chant death threats against Jews, set fire to synagogues and loot stores in Jewish neighborhoods.
As commentators have noted, the anger expressed at Israel's existence does not seem to apply to the far bloodier actions of Islamist terror groups across the Muslim world. Douglas Murray, writing in the Spectator, observed of the protestors: "These are the people who stayed at home throughout the Syrian civil war, stayed at home when ISIS rampaged across Iraq, stayed at home when Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab carried out their atrocities across central Africa and showed no concern whatsoever when the Muslim Brotherhood was running Egypt into the ground. Yet they pretend to care about Muslims."
How many Muslims and Christians must be murdered before these Western protestors look up from their obsession with the Jews?
Mehmet Gormez, head of Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate, recently claimed that around the world each day an average of 1,000 Muslims are killed – of which, he declared, "Almost 90 percent…are killed by other Muslims, by their brothers."
Or, to put it in another context, if the figure is accurate, every four days, Islamists murder more Muslims than those who have died in the last ten years of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
On the other hand, a number of Western commentators have complained that a lack of Israeli fatalities, due to the success of the Iron Dome missile-defense system, leaves the media with little choice but to blame Israel for the recent conflict with Hamas. As Hilik Bar, Secretary General of Israel's Labour Party, put it: "The coldhearted subtext is that Israelis must die in order for their military campaign to gain any sympathy."
Together, these concepts make for rather a grim arrangement: for Israel to receive any leniency in the Western press, more Jews are supposed to be killed; meanwhile, countless Muslims, it seems, can slaughter each other without eliciting any condemnation on the streets of London or Paris.
If anything unites these Western protestors of the Israeli state, it is not just their hatred for Jews, it is their zest for death and suffering.
Samuel Westrop
Source: http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4607/britain-antisemitic-subculture#
Council of the European Union: "All terrorist grou...
Mudar Zahran: Hamas is Killing my People
Federal Judge Orders IRS to Explain Lost Lerner Em...
Roots of Hatred: National Review looks at Nazis, I...
Michael Curtis: Israel in the Face of Aggression
Putting Israel's Self-Defense in Context
Robert Spencer: UK government "encouraging Hamas t...
Israel Outflanks White House in Pressing Gaza Stra...
Give This Young Israeli a Few Minutes of Your Time
Mordechai Kedar: Has Qatar Knuckled Under?
A Case for Kurdistan
Ukraine and Operation Protective Edge: Two Sides t...
The Fable of the Gaza Siege
Obama Reportedly Blocks Israel Missile Shipment
We Are Israel
WaPo weeps for Gazans lacking Airport, Seaport
Israel's Disproportionate Decency
Arab Press on Expulsion, Persecution Of Mosul Chri...
Obama's Indifference to the Islamic State Nightmare
Are "Integrated Muslims" Integrated?
Hamas Cheerleaders: Professional Failures of the W...
Happy Cat gets to Guard the Cream
Justin Trudeau and His Friends at the Terror Mosque
The West is Ignoring the Practitioners of 'Disprop...
Gaza: Hypocrisy Exposed
Khaled Abu Toameh:The Real "Siege" of the Gaza Strip
Geneva meets Jihad: The New Rules of War
When Muslims Fall Out
Between the Settlers and the Unsettlers, the One-S...
Kuwaiti Cleric to Hamas: Show Regard for Lives of ...
Hamas could have Chosen Peace. Instead, it made Ga...
'Freedom X' Takes on CAIR
Of Rocks and a Hard Place
The 20 Oddest Things People Actually Claim to Beli...
Relying on Abbas to Defang Hamas is Delusionary
"Palestinians" Begged Youtube to Remove This Video...
Video: Pat Condell on "Hypocrisy over Gaza"
Saudi King Warns of Fitna
IS Actively Joining Gaza Terror War on Israel
The Clearest Sign of Media Bias in this Conflict
British Jews and Israelis Defy MP Galloway in Brad...
Obama's Official Peace Partner for Israel Brags Ab...
A Middle Way for the Gaza Fight
After the War - a Cultural Statement
Ringleader Admits: Hamas Funded Kidnapping and Mur...
Hamas Tells the Truth about Itself
Muslims and Morlocks
Robert Spencer in FrontPage Mag: The Media's Silen...
Who is Israel's Most Powerful Enemy? The West
Troubling double standard: Outcry over Gaza deaths...
UN Not Rushing to Correct Gaza Casualty Tally
What Is to Be Done About Gaza?
Holy War Arrives in Germany
Left-Wing British Paper Runs Ad Condemning Hamas H...
Animation: The Simplest Way to Understand How Hama...


text:
NOWCAST NBC5 News at 6am
Live Weather Cameras
First Traffic
Ski and Board Report
Math+Science=Success
First with Kids
Text Free Zone
The Valley CW
Champlain Connection
COVID-19 in our region: What you need to know Breaking News: Sign up for our Coronavirus & Rossen Reports Newsletters <% if ( weatherAlerts > 0 ) { %> Severe Weather <% var weatherAlertsMessage = "There " + ( weatherAlerts > 1 ? "are" : "is" ) + " currently " + weatherAlerts + " active weather " + ( weatherAlerts > 1 ? "alerts" : "alert" ); %>
Cuomo on COVID-19 vaccine: 'This is the weapon that is going to win the war'
Updated: 5:51 PM EST Dec 3, 2020
Jake Cookson
just to show you how really it is in this box. Yeah. What is in this box? Maybe it's a Christmas present. Who would I give a Christmas present to of this? Let's not ask. This is a box of vaccines. Pfizer, which is a great New York company, made the vaccine. Pfizer developed the vaccine without any assistance from the federal government. They did it all on the road. Uh, on. We're very proud to call them in New York company, but it's a The vaccine process is a complicated process, and the distribution is going to take, ah, lot of working a lot of effort. The package itself comes with a Geo tracker GPS tracking device that can track the program and, ah, thermal monitor. So it monitors the temperature off the package. You want to know where the packages and the package has to stay at the right temperature, because if it doesn't, then the vaccine is destroyed. It comes in wrapped in dry ice, the dry ice because it has to be ultra cold. When you received the package, you have to replace the dry ice, and then you have to replace the dry ice every five days. Okay, Under the dry ice is the actual package that has the trays in it. Trays have the actual vials in? Yeah, a vile, By the way. The vials are made glass from Corning glass. Another great New York. A vile contains enough for five dosages. The vial comes with a diluting liquid, and the the actual vile gets diluted before the before the vaccination actually happens. One tray. They call this a trade. One tray can hold up to 195 vials. Each vial. This is a vile can do five dosages. The package itself can hold five trades, So roughly 5000 dosages could be in this one box. Uh, the storage and handling of the box itself is complicated. You can only open the box two times a day for 60 to 90 seconds each time, because keeping it the right temperature is very important. So it's either in ultra cold storage or it has dry ice. But then you can only open it twice a day for 60 seconds to 90 seconds. Uh, each time when you actually do the vaccine, you take out the vile the vial is frozen. You have to allow the vile to thaw at room temperature for about 30 minutes. You then dilute the vile for on let it stand for two hours, and then you have six hours to administer the dosage. Okay, so this is a complicated procedure. That's one dosage, and then the person has to come back and received the second dosage about 21 days later. So the package comes. It either has to be stored in ultra cold storage or the dry ice is replaced, and the dry ice can keep it up to 5000 dosages. Five dosages per diet per vial. Uh, and then there's a procedure to death or the vile. Dilute the dosage and then administer the dosage within six hours thereafter. And that's one dosage second dose of just 21 days later, and the person is not. The vaccine really is an effective until after the second dosage. So it's It's not easy, but it's riel and they're being manufactured and they're going to be shipped. And we're very proud off Pfizer who were proud of Corning, and we are working very hard to be ready for the distribution and training people on the distribution to make sure it's all done correctly. But this is the weapon that is going to win the war, and that is the light at the end of the tunnel, right? So it's not tomorrow. It's not a short tunnel, but we know the way through this. We just have to get there and we have to get there with as little loss of life is possible.
Following months of unprecedented restrictions and lifestyle changes, a coronavirus vaccine could arrive in New York state as soon as this month. During a COVID-19 briefing Thursday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo unboxed a tray of empty vaccine vials from American drugmaker Pfizer to showcase the expected shipping process. The governor has said that enough doses of the vaccine for 170,000 New Yorkers will arrive in the coming weeks. "This is the weapon that is going to win the war," Cuomo said, holding a vile up for reporters. "And that is the light at the end of the tunnel, right?"When the vaccines arrive in the state, they will come with strict guidelines for administration to the general public. That includes temperature-sensitive storage, specific dilution instructions and a waiting period between a first and second dosage. Cuomo noted there remains a considerable amount of work to be done before the vaccine is administered on a wide scale. Still, he says, all residents should seriously consider participating in what he called an "aggressive" rollout within the state. "I would never ask anyone in the state to take a vaccine that I was unwilling to take myself," the governor said. "...I want New Yorkers to start to think about it seriously." According to national polling first reported by the New York Times, more than half of United States residents said they would be willing to receive a vaccine for the virus once it becomes available. The added focus on a vaccine administration plan comes as the country experiences its most serious surge in infections, deaths and hospitalizations yet. The United States set a daily record for all three on Wednesday, including more than 3,100 deaths. Northern New York has seen a gradual increase in coronavirus infections during the past month. The region maintains the lowest hospitalization rate per capita of any in the state — approximately 0.01 percent. Click here to view COVID-19 data from around our region.
ALBANY, N.Y. —
Following months of unprecedented restrictions and lifestyle changes, a coronavirus vaccine could arrive in New York state as soon as this month.
During a COVID-19 briefing Thursday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo unboxed a tray of empty vaccine vials from American drugmaker Pfizer to showcase the expected shipping process. The governor has said that enough doses of the vaccine for 170,000 New Yorkers will arrive in the coming weeks.
"This is the weapon that is going to win the war," Cuomo said, holding a vile up for reporters. "And that is the light at the end of the tunnel, right?"
When the vaccines arrive in the state, they will come with strict guidelines for administration to the general public. That includes temperature-sensitive storage, specific dilution instructions and a waiting period between a first and second dosage.
Cuomo noted there remains a considerable amount of work to be done before the vaccine is administered on a wide scale. Still, he says, all residents should seriously consider participating in what he called an "aggressive" rollout within the state.
"I would never ask anyone in the state to take a vaccine that I was unwilling to take myself," the governor said. "...I want New Yorkers to start to think about it seriously."
According to national polling first reported by the New York Times, more than half of United States residents said they would be willing to receive a vaccine for the virus once it becomes available.
The added focus on a vaccine administration plan comes as the country experiences its most serious surge in infections, deaths and hospitalizations yet. The United States set a daily record for all three on Wednesday, including more than 3,100 deaths.
The US reports 3,100 coronavirus deaths in one day — 20% more than previous record
Northern New York has seen a gradual increase in coronavirus infections during the past month. The region maintains the lowest hospitalization rate per capita of any in the state — approximately 0.01 percent.
Click here to view COVID-19 data from around our region.
WPTZ Burlington
WPTZ Public Inspection File
WNNE Public Inspection File
©2021, Hearst Television Inc. on behalf of WPTZ-TV.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
First Baltic Summer School launches in Vilnius
Submitted by A. Santikarn on Tue, 26/07/2022 - 12:25
The 1st Baltic Summer School, organised jointly by the Centre for Geopolitics (POLIS, Cambridge) and the Faculty of History, Vilnius University (Lithuania), took place between 11-15 July 2022. The Centre was represented by Prof. Brendan Simms, Charles Clarke, Dr. Donatas Kupciunas and Ms. Elvira Tamus. 17 BA, MA and PhD students from Cambridge participated in the summer school – they were requested to introduce their study and research interests as part of the programme. The school started off with a welcome reception on Monday evening at the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania. On Tuesday, we listened to the welcoming speech of Prof. Rimvydas Petrauskas (Rector of Vilnius University) and Dr. Loreta Skurvydaite (Dean of the Faculty of History). Furthermore, we attended the lectures of Prof. Vasilijus Safronovas, Dr. Kestutis Kilinskas, Andrius Grodis, Dr. Inga Zaksauskiene and Prof. Brendan Simms. On Wednesday, we had student presentations: Antanas Terleckas (PhD), Lina Mumgaudyte (PhD), Teodoras Zukas (PhD), Jokubas Pukenas (MA) and Emilija Blockute (BA). Then, we received a tour from the Dean in the Vilnius University Library.
We started Thursday in the KGB Archive / KGB Museum with a workshop on methods and approaches to applied history along with the archive's history and sources (Dr. Marius Emuzis, Prof. Dr. Arunas Streikus). Additionally, we had a closer look at specific archival documents. In the afternoon, we attended a roundtable discussion on past and present challenges to the Baltic region security, featuring Charles Clarke, Dr. Arvydas Anusauskas (Lithuanian Minister of Defence) and Brian Olley (HM British Ambassador to Lithuania). The programme concluded with two receptions – at the Ministry of Defence and the British Embassy. On Friday, we had a tour of the historical centre of Vilnius.
To sum up, the attendees had a number of fruitful discussions on British-Baltic relations, Lithuanian and Baltic history, security policy and geopolitics. We were also provided with a fresh insight into current research, conducted by both academics and students, and had the chance to discuss contemporary challenges, tasks and opportunities. Our students from Cambridge very much enjoyed the summer school, and many expressed interest in pursuing further studies in this field of research. It was also an excellent opportunity for scholars and students from Cambridge and Vilnius to get to know each other and share their ideas. In conclusion, the Baltic Summer School 2022 in Vilnius was a highly successful collaborative event that has hopefully paved the way for future summer schools organised by the Centre for Geopolitics and Baltic universities and further strengthened relations between the UK and this strategically important region of Europe.
ministry_of_defence_14_july_2022.jpg
welcome_reception_11_july_2022-min.jpg


text:
Richard Anthony Parker (December 10, 1905 – June 3, 1993) was a prominent Egyptologist and professor of Egyptology. Originally from Chicago, he attended Mt. Carmel High School (then known as St. Cyril) with acclaimed author James T. Farrell. He received an A.B. from Dartmouth College in 1930, and a Ph.D. in Egyptology from the University of Chicago in 1938. He then went to Luxor, Egypt to work as an epigrapher with the University of Chicago's Epigraphic and Architectural Survey, studying the mortuary temple of Ramses III. When World War II necessitated a temporary halt to the project, Parker came back to Chicago to teach Egyptology at the university. In 1946, he  returned to Egypt to continue his work on the epigraphic survey, and soon rose to the position of field director.

In 1948, he founded the Department of Egyptology at Brown University and became its first chairman, and also assumed the newly created position of the Charles Edwin Wilbour Professorship.  That year, Parker also began his service as a founding trustee of the American Research Center in Egypt.

Parker's primary interests were in ancient science and mathematics. In 1951, he traveled to Egypt to examine monuments linked to ancient astronomy, and in subsequent years studied papyri at Paris, Florence, Vienna, Copenhagen and Oxford, in Britain. His major contributions included significant work in the areas of Egyptian language (including Demotic), astronomy, and chronology. Of particular note was his discovery that two ancient Egyptian calendars were employed simultaneously: a 365-day calendar used for administrative needs, and a lunar calendar used for religious and agricultural purposes. Parker's work in this area continues to influence Egyptological research.

In 1971, British Academy elected Parker as a corresponding fellow, the highest accolade for scholarship given in Great Britain. He was the only American Egyptologist selected for membership in the society. Parker also served on the visiting committees of Harvard University's department of Middle Eastern Civilizations, and was a member of the department of Egyptian art at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

Parker was a devoted fan of Brown University football, and was noted for foregoing trips abroad so as not to miss a home game.

Publications
 Medinet Habu Demotic Ostracon 4038 (1938) (doctoral dissertation; a revised version was published in Volume XXVI (1940) of the Journal of Egyptian Archaeology under the title A Late Demotic Gardening Agreement: Medinet Habu Ostracon 4038)
 Babylonian Chronology 626 B.C. - A.D. 45 (University of Chicago Press, 1942 [reprinted 1946])
 The Calendars of Ancient Egypt, Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization (University of Chicago Press, 1950)
 Sothic Dates and Calendar Adjustment
 The Problem of the Month-Names: A Reply (1957)
 Lunar Dates of Thutmose III and Ramesses II (Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 1957)
 A Vienna Demotic Papyrus on Eclipse- and Lunar-Omina (Brown University Press, 1959)
 Egyptian Astronomical Texts (with O. Neugebauer) (1960)
 A Saite Oracle Papyrus From Thebes (with J. Cerny) (Brown University Press, 1962)
 Two Demotic Astronomical Papyri in the Carlsberg Collection (1962)
 Egyptian Astronomical Texts, III. Decans, Planets, Constellations and Zodiacs (Brown University Press, 1969)
 The Calendars and Chronology, the Legacy of Egypt (1971)
 Demotic Mathematical Papyri (Brown University Press, 1972)
 Ancient Egyptian Astronomy, the Place of Astronomy in the Ancient World (Oxford University Press, 1974)
 The Edifice of Taharqa by the Sacred Lake of Karnak (with Jean Leclant and Jean Claude Goyon) (Brown University Press, 1979)
 Egyptological Studies in Honor of Richard A. Parker: Presented on the Occasion of His 78th Birthday (Leonard H. Lesko, ed.) (1986)

Notes

External links
 John Larson & Janet Johnson, In Memoriam: Richard Anthony Parker: 1905-1993 (1993)

People from Chicago
American Egyptologists
Historians of science
Dartmouth College alumni
University of Chicago alumni
University of Chicago faculty
Brown University faculty
Harvard University people
1905 births
1993 deaths
Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


A sleek, smooth razor cut bob with face-framing edges. Features a double-layered monofilament top.
Gorgeous shoulder-length pageboy style with chiseled ends and side-swept textured fringe. Features a double-layered monofilament top.
Transforming bob style with brow length bangs. Made with a double-layered monofilament top.
Long layered straight style with face-framing layers. Transforming bob style with brow length bangs. Made with a double-layered monofilament top.
Perfect tapered bob with feathered fringe for volume. Made with a double-layered monofilament top.
Long below the shoulder straight style with perfectly for a spirited energetic look. Features a double-layered monofilament top.
Classic freestyle shortcut with full brow length bangs, tapered side, and back. Features a double-layered monofilament top.
Shoulder length feathered expertly layered mid-length style with brow length bangs. Features a double-layered monofilament top.
Ultralight short lightly waved tapered style. The perfect Pixie style. Features a double-layered monofilament top.


text:
Hall of Fame Inductee - Jock Miller
Jock MIller, who graduated from Quincy High in 1957, was nationally ranked as a tennis player his junior year in high school. HIs state title winning efforts as a wrestler earned him a spot in the Hall of Fame. During his senior year, Miller was a member of Quincy HIgh's Wrestling squad, under the direction of head coach John Fish. He advanced through the state play-offs and captured the state title in the 112 pound weight class. After earning numerous varsity letters in both wrestling and tennis at Quincy High, Miller was awarded a double scholarship by Iowa State University. He stayed there for two years before returning home to attend Quincy College. Afterwards, Miller turned to his real love tennis. He moved to California in the late 50's, then traveled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he became a tennis pro at Brooks Country Club. Opportunities took Miller to Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver, Colorado a short time later, and then to the Tucson Country Club in Tucson, Arizona. Miller's big break in tennis came in 1962, when he purchased the rights to the Chicago stop of the Virginia Slims tennis tour. After a successful run there, Miller sold the rights to tennis great, Billie Jean King. He returned to Arizona where he and his wife raised four daughters. Jock Miller passed away in 1991.
Return to the Hall of Fame Inductee Page.
Copyright © 1998-2013 by Blue Devil Sports Hall of Fame, Quincy Illinois.
website maintenance courtesy of
Thanksgiving Tournament


If you are looking for ways to finance a used car you are buying from a listing online in Whitehorse, you've come to the right place. Smarter Loans offers the latest financing alternative for car investments which is called private sale auto financing. Designed uniquely for transactions between local residents, folks who choose private sale auto financing can now have smoother cash flows when buying a car found online or through a friend. Smarter Loans works with a handful of private sale auto loan providers for you to look towards. You can expect reliable financing under great terms and timely deliveries when you work with our set of private sale auto loan providers. The average timeline our applicants face is normally a few business days after submitting a form to one of our providers.
Regardless of your credit situation, you can get approved for private sale auto financing relatively easily.
It also makes it more attractive seeing how you can secure auto financing in Whitehorse in the luxury of your own house. Once you are ready to apply, you can choose to apply directly to one of our providers or pre-apply through Smarter Loans instead. The benefit of submitting an application to Smarter Loans is that we will take care of the selection for you. Before you know it, a suitable private sale auto loan provider in Whitehorse will contact you to complete your application and grant you a loan.
Below you will find a list of reputable auto loan providers in Whitehorse. You can apply with any of them directly. If you rather avoid this amount of work, pre-apply at Smarter Loans instead. We can use our expertise to connect you with the most optimal private sale auto loan provider in Whitehorse.


text:
Resolutie 1621 van de Veiligheidsraad van de Verenigde Naties werd unaniem door de
VN-Veiligheidsraad aangenomen op 6 september 2005 en
autoriseerde een versterking van de vredesmacht in Congo-Kinshasa met 841 manschappen.

Achtergrond

In 1994 braken in de Democratische Republiek Congo etnische onlusten uit die onder meer
werden veroorzaakt door de vluchtelingenstroom uit de buurlanden Rwanda en Burundi.
In 1997 beëindigden rebellen de lange dictatuur van Mobutu en werd
Kabila de nieuwe president.
In 1998 escaleerde de burgeroorlog toen andere rebellen Kabila probeerden te verjagen. Zij zagen zich
gesteund door Rwanda en Oeganda.
Toen hij in 2001 omkwam bij een mislukte staatsgreep werd hij opgevolgd door zijn zoon.
Onder buitenlandse druk werd afgesproken verkiezingen te houden die plaatsvonden in 2006 en gewonnen
werden door Kabila.
Intussen zijn nog steeds rebellen actief in het oosten van Congo en blijft de situatie er gespannen.

Inhoud

Waarnemingen
De overgangsinstellingen van Congo moesten zorgen dat vrije, eerlijke en vreedzame
verkiezingen konden doorgaan. De autoriteiten van het land leken goed bestuur en een transparant
economisch beleid na te streven. Men was echter bezorgd om de vijandelijkheden door gewapende groepen en
milities in het oosten van het land en de mensenrechtenschendingen daar.

Handelingen
De Veiligheidsraad autoriseerde op verzoek van secretaris-generaal Kofi Annan
een versterking van de MONUC-vredesmacht met 841 manschappen, waaronder 5 nieuwe politie-eenheden van 125
manschappen. Deze extra manschappen moesten ten laatste op 1 juli 2006 weer worden teruggetrokken.
Ten slotte werd MONUC ook geautoriseerd om de onafhankelijke kiescommissie van Congo bijkomende steun te verlenen.

Verwante resoluties
 Resolutie 1596 Veiligheidsraad Verenigde Naties
 Resolutie 1616 Veiligheidsraad Verenigde Naties
 Resolutie 1628 Veiligheidsraad Verenigde Naties
 Resolutie 1635 Veiligheidsraad Verenigde Naties

 1621
VR1621


Many accelerator programs will provide founders with up-front capital in exchange for equity in their business. We prefer to let our founders find their way first without that kind of pressure.
A selection of teams in each cohort will be offered a scholarship, (selected at Runway's discretion) where they can choose to Pay-it-Forward, or Pay up front.
The Runway Accelerator Program offers a high-value package of coaching and support, space, amenities and our eco-system partners who all provide discounted options for our start-up teams.
Introductions and mentoring by some of the region's most successful entrepreneurs and business owners.
An inside opportunity to pitch at a vast array of events.
Discounted services from a range of key business suppliers including legal, accounts, marketing, and more.
The Runway spirit is that by working together success can be shared to create more success, so that ultimately a "rising tide raises all ships" and everyone wins.
Runway recognises that not everyone has the capital required to establish or grow their business.
The Runway Pay-it-Forward model allows founders to complete the Runway Accelerator Program at no upfront cost, with the agreement that at a future date, founders will share their financial success back to Runway. This in turn will support other founders in the Runway program.
The pay-as-you-go option, ($6000 ex GST) offers a significant discount for the true costs, but enables the startup to pay a fixed up-front cost for the program, with nothing more to pay, and no equity exchange. This payment can be made in monthly instalments or a lump sum.
Send us an enquiry to find out more about our payment options.


text:
Happening now in France / Northern France /
Exhibition of Homer, the Greek poet of history, at the Louvre-Lens
By Pascale Filliâtre , Published: 21 February 2019, 15:57
© Paris Centre Pompidou – 2019. ADAGP Paris. — Return of Ulysses. André Derain circa 1938. Oil on canvas.
From March 27 until July 22, the Louvre-Lens Museum in Northern France is presenting an incredibly ambitious exhibition on the most famous poet in history: Homer, author of the Greek masterpieces the Illiad and the Odyssey.
But who was Homer? An ancient Greek poet, blind and wandering? A genius writer whose voice sounds through the centuries? Did he really exist? And, if so, was he the only author of the Illiad and the Odyssey, cultural milestones and the bedrock of Western Culture?
These are the questions that "Homer," the grand exhibition at the Louvre Lens, beginning on March 27, seeks to answer.
© Beaux Arts de Paris, Dist. RMN – Grand Palais / Image des Beaux Arts de Paris — The rage of Achilles. Louis Edouard Fournier. 1881.
Some 300 works were assembled to demonstrate the richness of the Homeric world, a universe as beautiful as it is mysterious, populated with legendary heros like Ulysses, Achilles, Hector, and Penelope. Whether archeological artifact or modern piece, the assemblege works to bring back to life the Pantheon of Greek Gods, the main characters of Homer's poems.
From Antiquity to the Renaissance
From the Ancient world to modern comic books, sculptures, tapestries, films, and animated films recall how these epics were put into images through the eras, as well as how they affected art history from Antiquity to the Renaissance.
© Beaux Arts de Paris, Dist. RMN – Grand Palais / Image des Beaux Arts de Paris — Battle in Troy. Etching by Jean Mignon. ENSBA – Paris.
By Pascale Filliâtre
Journalist-traveller. I often voyage to the end of the world to explore what France offers... just next door. filliatre.pascale@orange.fr
From March 27 to July 22, 2019
Lille: World Design Capital in 2020
Until December 31
Discover Hauts-de-France
Being a culture vulture
A stone's throw from the museum
Dig deep into learning at the Louvre-Lens!
We first come to Lens, in Northern France, to visit the Louvre-Lens, a northern wing of the great…
Contemporary-industrial
24 hours at the Hotel Louvre-Lens in Northern…
The Louvre-Lens Hotel is a former mining village that's become a crown jewel of Northern France, a…
Art everywhere in the city
"With Eldorado, Lille presents worlds from…
From 27 April 2019, Lille is set to be transformed into a mecca of Mexican arts and traditions. It…
Top 5 favorite restaurants for locals: Lille
Under an hour from the Belgian border, Lille reflects its Flemish neighbors through culture and…
Take the train of History
3 reasons to visit the Armistice Memorial
The museum located in Compiègne, in Northern France, is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the…
The Centenary of the 1918 Armistice
Celebrate Peace in these Hauts-de-France Gardens
On the former front lines of WWI in the Hauts-de-France region, resilience is best recognized…


text:
Q: Android Studio - Failed to create keystore I'm trying to run my app from inside Android Studio, but every time I try i get this error:
FAILURE: Build failed with an exception.

* What went wrong:
Execution failed for task ':android:validateSigningDebug'.
> java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException:
com.android.builder.utils.SynchronizedFile$ActionExecutionException:
com.android.ide.common.signing.KeytoolException: Failed to create
keystore.

* Try:
Run with --stacktrace option to get the stack trace. Run with --info or --debug option to get more log output.

* Get more help at https://help.gradle.org

BUILD FAILED in 2s

Searching for a solution online did not lead me to a suitable one.
Running it with the --debug option gives me this result:
15:21:41.278 [ERROR] [org.gradle.internal.buildevents.BuildExceptionReporter]
15:21:41.278 [ERROR] [org.gradle.internal.buildevents.BuildExceptionReporter] FAILURE: Build failed with an exception.
15:21:41.278 [ERROR] [org.gradle.internal.buildevents.BuildExceptionReporter]
15:21:41.278 [ERROR] [org.gradle.internal.buildevents.BuildExceptionReporter] * What went wrong:
15:21:41.278 [ERROR] [org.gradle.internal.buildevents.BuildExceptionReporter] Execution failed for task ':android:validateSigningDebug'.
15:21:41.278 [ERROR] [org.gradle.internal.buildevents.BuildExceptionReporter] > java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException: com.android.builder.utils.SynchronizedFile$ActionExecutionException: com.android.ide.common.signing.KeytoolException: Failed to create keystore.
15:21:41.278 [ERROR] [org.gradle.internal.buildevents.BuildExceptionReporter]
15:21:41.279 [ERROR] [org.gradle.internal.buildevents.BuildExceptionReporter] * Try:
15:21:41.279 [ERROR] [org.gradle.internal.buildevents.BuildExceptionReporter] Run with --stacktrace option to get the stack trace.
15:21:41.279 [ERROR] [org.gradle.internal.buildevents.BuildExceptionReporter]
15:21:41.279 [ERROR] [org.gradle.internal.buildevents.BuildExceptionReporter] * Get more help at https://help.gradle.org
15:21:41.279 [ERROR] [org.gradle.internal.buildevents.BuildResultLogger]
15:21:41.279 [ERROR] [org.gradle.internal.buildevents.BuildResultLogger] BUILD FAILED in 2s

The OS I'm using is Archlinux and the permissions for the .android folder are:
$ ls -la
drwxr-xr-x  4 speedking speedking    4096 15 nov 11.59 .android

Can anyone help me please?
Edit:
Building a signed apk does work, just running the app from Android Studio doesn't.
Running it with --stacktrace outputs this:
FAILURE: Build failed with an exception.

* What went wrong:
Execution failed for task ':android:validateSigningDebug'.
> java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException: com.android.builder.utils.SynchronizedFile$ActionExecutionException: com.android.ide.common.signing.KeytoolException: Failed to create keystore.

* Try:
Run with --info or --debug option to get more log output.

* Exception is:
org.gradle.api.tasks.TaskExecutionException: Execution failed for task ':android:validateSigningDebug'.
at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.executeActions(ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.java:100)
at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.execute(ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.java:70)
at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.SkipUpToDateTaskExecuter.execute(SkipUpToDateTaskExecuter.java:63)
at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ResolveTaskOutputCachingStateExecuter.execute(ResolveTaskOutputCachingStateExecuter.java:54)
at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ValidatingTaskExecuter.execute(ValidatingTaskExecuter.java:58)
at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.SkipEmptySourceFilesTaskExecuter.execute(SkipEmptySourceFilesTaskExecuter.java:88)
at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ResolveTaskArtifactStateTaskExecuter.execute(ResolveTaskArtifactStateTaskExecuter.java:52)
at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.SkipTaskWithNoActionsExecuter.execute(SkipTaskWithNoActionsExecuter.java:52)
at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.SkipOnlyIfTaskExecuter.execute(SkipOnlyIfTaskExecuter.java:54)
at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ExecuteAtMostOnceTaskExecuter.execute(ExecuteAtMostOnceTaskExecuter.java:43)
at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.CatchExceptionTaskExecuter.execute(CatchExceptionTaskExecuter.java:34)
at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskGraphExecuter$EventFiringTaskWorker$1.run(DefaultTaskGraphExecuter.java:248)
at org.gradle.internal.progress.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor$RunnableBuildOperationWorker.execute(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:336)
at org.gradle.internal.progress.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor$RunnableBuildOperationWorker.execute(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:328)
at org.gradle.internal.progress.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.execute(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:197)
at org.gradle.internal.progress.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.run(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:107)
at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskGraphExecuter$EventFiringTaskWorker.execute(DefaultTaskGraphExecuter.java:241)
at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskGraphExecuter$EventFiringTaskWorker.execute(DefaultTaskGraphExecuter.java:230)
at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskPlanExecutor$TaskExecutorWorker.processTask(DefaultTaskPlanExecutor.java:124)
at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskPlanExecutor$TaskExecutorWorker.access$200(DefaultTaskPlanExecutor.java:80)
at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskPlanExecutor$TaskExecutorWorker$1.execute(DefaultTaskPlanExecutor.java:105)
at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskPlanExecutor$TaskExecutorWorker$1.execute(DefaultTaskPlanExecutor.java:99)
at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskExecutionPlan.execute(DefaultTaskExecutionPlan.java:625)
at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskExecutionPlan.executeWithTask(DefaultTaskExecutionPlan.java:580)
at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskPlanExecutor$TaskExecutorWorker.run(DefaultTaskPlanExecutor.java:99)
at org.gradle.internal.concurrent.ExecutorPolicy$CatchAndRecordFailures.onExecute(ExecutorPolicy.java:63)
at org.gradle.internal.concurrent.ManagedExecutorImpl$1.run(ManagedExecutorImpl.java:46)
at org.gradle.internal.concurrent.ThreadFactoryImpl$ManagedThreadRunnable.run(ThreadFactoryImpl.java:55)
Caused by: org.gradle.internal.UncheckedException: java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException: com.android.builder.utils.SynchronizedFile$ActionExecutionException: com.android.ide.common.signing.KeytoolException: Failed to create keystore.
at org.gradle.internal.UncheckedException.throwAsUncheckedException(UncheckedException.java:63)
at org.gradle.internal.UncheckedException.throwAsUncheckedException(UncheckedException.java:40)
at org.gradle.internal.reflect.JavaMethod.invoke(JavaMethod.java:76)
at org.gradle.api.internal.project.taskfactory.DefaultTaskClassInfoStore$StandardTaskAction.doExecute(DefaultTaskClassInfoStore.java:141)
at org.gradle.api.internal.project.taskfactory.DefaultTaskClassInfoStore$StandardTaskAction.execute(DefaultTaskClassInfoStore.java:134)
at org.gradle.api.internal.project.taskfactory.DefaultTaskClassInfoStore$StandardTaskAction.execute(DefaultTaskClassInfoStore.java:121)
at org.gradle.api.internal.AbstractTask$TaskActionWrapper.execute(AbstractTask.java:731)
at org.gradle.api.internal.AbstractTask$TaskActionWrapper.execute(AbstractTask.java:705)
at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter$1.run(ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.java:122)
at org.gradle.internal.progress.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor$RunnableBuildOperationWorker.execute(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:336)
at org.gradle.internal.progress.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor$RunnableBuildOperationWorker.execute(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:328)
at org.gradle.internal.progress.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.execute(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:197)
at org.gradle.internal.progress.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.run(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:107)
at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.executeAction(ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.java:111)
at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.executeActions(ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.java:92)
... 27 more
Caused by: java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException: com.android.builder.utils.SynchronizedFile$ActionExecutionException: com.android.ide.common.signing.KeytoolException: Failed to create keystore.
at com.android.builder.utils.SynchronizedFile.doActionWithMultiProcessLocking(SynchronizedFile.java:267)
at com.android.builder.utils.SynchronizedFile.write(SynchronizedFile.java:232)
at com.android.builder.utils.SynchronizedFile.createIfAbsent(SynchronizedFile.java:328)
at com.android.build.gradle.internal.tasks.ValidateSigningTask.validate(ValidateSigningTask.java:90)
at org.gradle.internal.reflect.JavaMethod.invoke(JavaMethod.java:73)
... 39 more
Caused by: com.android.builder.utils.SynchronizedFile$ActionExecutionException: com.android.ide.common.signing.KeytoolException: Failed to create keystore.
at com.android.builder.utils.SynchronizedFile.lambda$createIfAbsent$0(SynchronizedFile.java:336)
at com.android.builder.utils.SynchronizedFile.doActionWithMultiProcessLocking(SynchronizedFile.java:265)
... 43 more
Caused by: com.android.ide.common.signing.KeytoolException: Failed to create keystore.
at com.android.ide.common.signing.KeystoreHelper.createNewStore(KeystoreHelper.java:158)
at com.android.ide.common.signing.KeystoreHelper.createDebugStore(KeystoreHelper.java:105)
at com.android.build.gradle.internal.tasks.ValidateSigningTask.lambda$validate$0(ValidateSigningTask.java:111)
at com.android.builder.utils.SynchronizedFile.lambda$createIfAbsent$0(SynchronizedFile.java:334)
... 44 more
Caused by: java.lang.SecurityException: class "org.bouncycastle.jcajce.provider.symmetric.IDEA$Mappings"'s signer information does not match signer information of other classes in the same package
at org.bouncycastle.jce.provider.BouncyCastleProvider.loadAlgorithms(Unknown Source)
at org.bouncycastle.jce.provider.BouncyCastleProvider.setup(Unknown Source)
at org.bouncycastle.jce.provider.BouncyCastleProvider.access$000(Unknown Source)
at org.bouncycastle.jce.provider.BouncyCastleProvider$1.run(Unknown Source)
at org.bouncycastle.jce.provider.BouncyCastleProvider.<init>(Unknown Source)
at com.android.ide.common.signing.KeystoreHelper.generateKeyAndCertificate(KeystoreHelper.java:254)
at com.android.ide.common.signing.KeystoreHelper.createNewStore(KeystoreHelper.java:143)
... 47 more

* Get more help at https://help.gradle.org

BUILD FAILED in 1s

A: It turned out I didn't have a debug keystore. A debug keystore is used to sign Android apps during development, to generate it I just typed this command in the terminal:
$ keytool -genkey -v -keystore debug.keystore -storepass android -alias androiddebugkey -keypass android -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000

as stated in this guide:
https://coderwall.com/p/r09hoq/android-generate-release-debug-keystores

A: It looks like you are running some Gradle stuff, just change from whatever you have there, and choose what to run: Application or whatever you have, but not gradle.

A: I kept getting this error too...to fix it:

*

*create a new project using the Basic Activity template (but any template probably works)

*

*in Android Studio > File > New > New Project... > Basic Activity > Next > re-name if needed > Finish

*after builds, run the app on a device/emulator

*now, run broken project we are trying to fix, and it should be working (tada!)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Remember, it is more humane and best to get two tiny kittens! They play a lot when you are gone to school, or work and we have a three month payment plan when you adopt two.
Please be aware that many tiny kittens are sad to leave their play pals and have usually bonded with a littermate that they have naturally selected who is equally- yoked with the same energy levels and has a compatible temperament. So, ask the caregiver's about who would make a nice pair and try not to split up best friends. You will get a better matched pair this way.
Besides having a more difficult time finding a home, many momma cats cry without their babies or become anxious when their babies are gone and search all over the house. If you would experience what we do you would open your heart to our "Mom and Baby Special" and adopt the momma cat half price.
If you currently have a cat get another cat of similar age! Please know that cats live in colonies naturally and that Over 50% of Adult Animals Loose their Lives in our municipal shelter system because People Only Adopt The babies! When you adopt an adult cat you save a life! All of our kittens will find homes!
If you have a cat over eight always get two kittens! Older animals don't enjoy being disturbed but do enjoy watching young animals play endlessly!
We want to help you to make the right choice for you, your family and your lifestyle. Most of our kittens are raise in private homes with people who love them and give them lots of love and attention, thus we raise some of the best pet-quality animals in Orange County.
However, some "Network" animals come from rescue situations that may demand that a kitten or cat be placed in an adult home without children. We will make recommendations so that you and your family can have the best possible adoption experience, so please allow us to be your guide.
We believe that you will be adopting a new family member and therefore we take the adoption process very seriously. Our caregiver's know a lot about the animals and you may speak with them either in person, or on a cell phone.
Our adoption events can be crowded with strollers and people buzzing around and therefore it may take awhile to select and complete our adoption process. The events can be fun and exciting but only frustrating if you have time constraints.
We have a mandatory 30 minute "Pet Parenting" class that is required to inform you of the latest products and how to transition your new pet into its' new home.
What You Need To Be Able To Adopt From "Our Network"
You must be 21 years of age or older; have proper current identification.
Adult Children who live at home must have their parents present.
Renters: you must be the lease holder (not a roommate) and have a copy of the lease indicating that a pet is welcome and that you have paid any required deposits.
When you adopt a "Network" animal, you are committing to maintaining the health of the animal and protect the animal from predators.
*You need the godparent or nearest relative's commitment - Driver's license number, name, address and phone number is required for our contract.
Cardboard carriers are provided. But, if you already have a carrier bring it along with a towel inside. Many of our animals are so nervous at adoption they may not have used a littler box while completing the adoption process.


It isn't the most sophisticated small SUV going and its interior feels rather cheap in places, but the Suzuki SX-4 S-Cross is still decent enough to drive and spacious enough for most families. It's great value, too, with lots of low-mileage examples going very cheaply, and it comes with plenty of equipment. What's more, Suzuki has a great reputation for reliability, so the SX-4 S-Cross should be dependable. Lohscheller said Opel will enter more than 20 new markets by 2022, with Argentina, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan among countries identified as potential export markets. Opel also is exploring whether to sell cars in China and Brazil, he said. But McLaren sounds none too keen on him doing the whole WEC schedule. McLaren racing director Eric Boullier told the BBC: "He has said he is keen to do some races outside. There is a case-by-case discussion. His main and first focus is F1, so that has to be the priority. We do everything we can to give him a competitive car and if he has this he will not race anything else. When riots rocked Detroit in 1967, Miller and Ford responded by recruiting minorities in the city. Miller also helped found the Economic Development Corp. of Greater Detroit to nurture small businesses owned and operated by African-Americans. "Le Mans is agreed," a source close to Toyota told the BBC. "The rest of the season is still being negotiated, but it looks like he will do most of the races." Lohscheller said Opel will enter more than 20 new markets by 2022, with Argentina, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan among countries identified as potential export markets. Opel also is exploring whether to sell cars in China and Brazil, he said. • Most expensive cars ever sold at auction • Brembo front-brake calipers We'd also option the Electronics package ($3000) for Sync 3 infotainment, dual-zone climate control, and more. Dodge Challenger fans can have a similarly equipped 707-hp Challenger SRT Hellcat for $65,290. The Chevy Camaro crowd can find a ZL1 coupe starting at $63,795. Both of those supercharged rivals are more powerful, but we think our Shelby GT350 ($61,045) will fulfill the fantasies of the Ford faithful—and anyone else with a pulse. To understand the significance of the Cavalier Mk3, we need to go back to 1981, when the Mk2 appeared. The Sierra, which arrived a year later in 1982, failed to match the Mk2's sales throughout its life but, in 1987, the last year of Cavalier Mk2 production, Uncle Henry's 'fortress of the fleets' finally sneaked ahead. Some argue that this is a measure of just how long it took us sceptical Brits to adjust to the Sierra's ahead-of-the-curve, jelly-mould looks. By which time we were ready for some svelte.


Developing a masterplan determines how an area should develop over time by setting a vision, framework and design guidance explaining how it will be achieved. Masterplanning is the lead discipline for many of our projects, where it is followed up by more detailed design of the public realm, landscape, roads and buildings.
Our innovative approach draws on multidisciplinary teams of experts including architects, planners, designers and ecologists, all working at the leading edge of design, development and economic planning. All of our work embodies our key principles of sustainability, creativity and high quality. We also make sure that it engages the public, addressing private and community interests in a collaborative, balanced way.


3 years & up. Inspire and be inspired with this set of 144 unique, soft formed loose parts that mimic elements we see in the world around us. The law of gravity will test a child's patience, concentration and problem solving skills while creating imaginative structures. The set includes loose parts that represent water, trees, bricks, wood, steel, stones, balls, and people. The idea guide is full of images that will help spark imaginations and inspire new creations.