Wednesday Potpourri

First, in the matter of Yahya Sinwar, now deceased commander of Hamas in Gaza. The Wall Street Journal reported that Sinwar refused a cease fire deal with Israel because he knew that the Israeli opposition and the Biden administration was pressuring the Netanyahu government-- ergo, that he could get more if he held out.

Hopefully, this does not come as news. As we have often remarked in these pages, the Biden policy of pretending to be even-handed about the situation in Gaza has emboldened Hamas, making them think that Israel was being subjected to pressure to concede and to surrender.

Second, Kamala Harris has not been having a very good time. At one rally, after two men shouted out their allegiance to Jesus Christ, Kamala shouted them down, saying that they were at the wrong rally.

In addition, when a pro-Palestinian protester yelled something about Israel committing genocide, Harris replied: 

Listen, what he’s talking about, it’s real. It’s real.

It shows us why the Harris campaign does not want her to deviate from the text on her teleprompter.

Third, as you know, the Israeli plans for an attack on Iran were leaked by someone in the Biden administration. If you are surprised, welcome to the real world. This action, which does not much disturb the Biden team, is consistent with administration policy-- to save the Iran nuclear deal, to protect Iranian nuclear facilities, and to avoid hitting any Iranian energy infrastructure.

So, Biden has been protecting Iran and undermining Israel in the process. And yet, other countries in the region see things otherwise. Several Arab countries have given Israel the green light to proceed against Iran.

Stephen Green wrote this on PJ Media:

According to an Open Source Intelligence Monitor (OSINT) translation Sunday night, the Arab-language newspaper Al-Hurra believes that "several Arab Counties have recently sent Back-Channel Messages to Israel expressing Support for their Retaliatory Strike against Iran."

The unnamed Arab nations stressed that Israel's military action "should be 'Strict and Clear,'" but also requested "that they receive an Advanced Notice, so that they may be able to take Precautions in case of a Counterattack."

Those same nations "are also said to have shown Support for Israel’s Strikes against both Lebanon and Syria, including the Strike which Eliminated the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah."

Fourth, this is so bizarre that you assume it’s not true. Alas, it apparently is true. 

Evidently, Kamala has a Jewish problems. It did not begin when she declared that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza, but her off-the-cuff remark fueled the problem.

Now, according to Daniel Greenfield, Kamala and her husband are conducting mock Sabbath dinners.

There is no other way to describe them:

Harris-Walz Campaign Creates 'Kamala Shabbat' dinners that replace G-d with her

Absolutely bizarre. 

Dems supporting Kamala are encouraged to host 'Kamala Shabbat' dinners to discuss her and read " passages from her book, The Truths We Hold".

There's only one mention of G-d, but multiple mentions of Kamala.

There's no quotes from the Torah but quotes from Kamala's book.

You wonder whether they include the plagiarized passages.

If you didn’t know that Kamala was God, well, now you do.

Fifth, meanwhile in Denmark a therapist is being sued for misgendering a trans individual. The object of the misgendering is named Nadia Jacobson, who was born male and who now pretends to be female.

The therapist, by name of Lotte Ingerslev, had the gall to remark on her blog that said Jacobson was promoting fetish pornography-- offense against his/her good name.

Reduxx reports:

“In Danish law, it is generally recognized that deliberate misgendering of a trans person constitutes harassment.”

The lawyer further argued that Ingerslev’s decision to highlight Jacobsen’s homemade fetish pornography was done in an effort to “belittle” him, despite the fact that the content was posted online and available publicly. “The photos are completely irrelevant to Nadia Jacobsen’s voluntary work in advising and assisting sports organizations on inclusion and diversity, and the sharing had the sole purpose of belittling and harassing Nadia Jacobsen.”

Ingerslev’s blog post had documented the pornographic videos and images Jacobsen had posted to his social media and various fetish pornography websites. In one post made by Jacobsen to his now-defunct Tumblr account, nadiatv, he can be seen engaging with his male followers by way of gamifying his own sexual masochism.

If you think it can’t happen here, think again.

Sixth, back in the day, during the Covid pandemic, certain people claimed that the executives who did best in leading the fight against the virus were female. They were more empathic, or some such.

You will be happy to know that someone decided to test the point, and discovered that it is not true.

A recent study in The Leadership Quarterly revisits the claim that women governors during COVID-19 achieved better outcomes, including fewer deaths. The study shows that earlier findings are highly sensitive to specific assumptions, and once adjusted, gender has no significant impact on COVID-19 deaths.

The motivation behind the new study stemmed from the substantial media and academic attention given to the idea that women political leaders were particularly effective during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Reports highlighted leaders such as Angela Merkel of Germany and Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand as examples of women who handled the crisis better than many of their male counterparts.

Building on this narrative, academic studies, including a 2020 influential paper by Sergent and Stajkovic, indicated that U.S. states led by women governors experienced fewer COVID-19 deaths. The researchers behind the new study sought to test the robustness of this “women leadership advantage during crisis” hypothesis.

Actually, the leaders who did best in combating the virus were Swedes.

Seventh, civil rights attorney Laura Powell opines on Twitter about Kamala:

The idea of someone like her becoming the first woman president is such an insult to the many accomplished and talented women in our country.

This counts as the unspoken side of DEI. Giving jobs to unqualified people makes everyone look unqualified. Kamala is not a trailblazer; she will undermine opportunity for women.

Eighth, remember when remote work was all the rage. How many times have we read that employees who work from home are just as efficient as those who come to the office. Well, now, more and more companies are voting for in-person work. Among them, the head of Amazon Web Services, Matt Garman:

Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman tells WSJ’s Emma Tucker there is no remote or hybrid substitution for working together in person. His message to employees is “if it's not for you, then that's OK, you can go and find another company.”

Ninth, for counseling and coaching contact me at StuartSchneiderman@gmail.com.

Please subscribe to my Substack, for free or for a fee.