Lost in the shuffle last week, and largely ignored in the media, was the news that Donald Trump brokered an agreement between the UAE and Israel which will begin the process of normalization between the two countries.
Despite this not being big news in the United States for some reason, (and we know what that reason is…) it still earned worldwide recognition and led to another Nobel Peace Prize nomination for the President. Here is more on the deal:
The agreement, called the Abraham Accord, will lead to diplomatic normalization between the two countries, starting with an exchange of ambassadors, then leading to further agreements in technology, security, health care, and other critical areas. Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and Middle East–peace consigliere, said during the press briefing to expect flights from Dubai and Abu Dhabi to Tel Aviv, creating greater interfaith exchange.
The deal will also ease domestic political pressures in the two countries. To cement Emirati support for the agreement, the Netanyahu government has agreed to freeze its plans to “declare sovereignty” over West Bank settlements.
This is just the latest in a string of victories for the Trump administration in an attempt to bring peace to the Middle East. Since recognizing Jerusalem as the official capital of Israel here is a list of some of Donald Trump’s other accomplishments in the region:
First there was the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which is establishing “full normalization” with the Jewish state, and will formalize an agreement at the White House later this month.
Then there was Kosovo, which is establishing relations with Israel and putting an embassy in Jerusalem under the terms of a deal brokered by the Trump administration last week.
Then Chad, a majority-Muslim nation, announced earlier this week that it will be putting an embassy in Jerusalem. Saudi Arabia announced that it will allow Israeli commercial flights above its airspace — not just to Dubai, but to all eastbound destinations.
And on Friday — the 19th anniversary of 9/11 — Bahrain announced that it, too, would normalize relations with Israel. It was a profound statement of peace, defying the efforts of terrorists to set the world on a path to endless religious war.
And this is just the beginning:
Other nations, too, are stepping forward to improve ties with Israel: Serbia is moving its embassy to Jerusalem as part of the Serbia-Kosovo agreement, and the African nation of Malawi is following suit.
The acceptance of a Jewish State in the Middle East by its Muslim and Arab neighbors is emboldening other countries to develop the closer links with Israel they have long desired but which they have feared to forge.
More nations, both in the Middle East and beyond, are likely to follow suit in the coming weeks.
I believe quite a bit of this probably has to do with recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and pulling out of the Iran deal, because it made it clear that after years of not being serious the United States was finally going to align itself with Israel and stand strong behind that nation. That might be an over-simplification but I believe it played a role.
Despite all of this, Joe Biden cannot give the President credit in the Middle East so he basically claimed that Donald Trump might have blundered his way into peace in the Middle East.
“I think Trump is going to accidentally do something positive here, in terms of this issue of… other Arab states” acknowledging Israel, Biden said during a virtual fundraiser organized by the liberal, pro-Israel lobby J Street.
Joe Biden is mostly just upset about the President ripping up the Iran nuclear deal which was supposedly Barack Obama’s biggest foreign policy victory. You can believe what you want about this President, and you can think what you want about this President, but none of this has been an accident. Donald Trump has started the ball rolling toward peace in the Middle East and he deserves credit for it.
I am not naive enough to believe this is all going to hold, we have seen how volatile the region is, but this is a step in the right direction and hopefully this will be the beginning of a beautiful friendship…
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
City owned gyms in San Francisco are open while privately owned gyms remained closed
We have already seen San Francisco’s hypocrisy in regards to its COVID-19 lock down rules when Nancy Pelosi was allowed to get her hair done in a shuttered salon without wearing the required mask while also getting an illegal blow drying, but that was just the tip of the iceberg if this story is true.
Another group of businesses which are not allowed to open in San Francisco are the gyms. Unless of course you are a gym in a city-owned building, if so you have been open for moths while other gym owners struggle just to make it through the pandemic. Here is more:
For months, the city of San Francisco health order has prevented local gyms from opening its doors, but some city-owned gyms have been back open for months and are allowing city employees to use them, crushing private gym owners.
Needless to say, this is not sitting well with gym owners in the city:
“It’s shocking, it’s infuriating,” said Daniele Rabkin from Crossfit Golden Gate.
She said she has done everything she can to keep her gym on Sutter Street alive.
“It just demonstrates that there seems to be some kind of a double standard between what city employees are allowed to do and what the residents of San Francisco are allowed to do,” said Dave Karraker, owner of MX3 Fitness in the Castro.
Once again we learn that there are two classes of people in this country, the ruled class and the ruling class, and if you are not part of the aristocracy you are nothing and there is no soup for you.
It makes you wonder how many other businesses are facing this double standard, not only in San Francisco but across the nation, that we do not know about yet.
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
We have heard several stories about teachers who do not want parents to listen in on virtual classes when schools resume during the COVID-19 pandemic, but one thing is for sure and that is they certainly want to spy on student’s homes while they are in virtual class.
Back on August 24th we found out a teacher called the police because a student had a BB gun properly stowed on the wall in his room and the principal backed up the decision to send the police to this boy’s house by claiming that all school rules extend to the home during virtual classes.
As outrageous as that story is it gets even worse in Colorado Springs because, according to this story, a teacher actually called the police because a student had a toy gun at home during a virtual class. Here is more:
A 12-year-old boy has been suspended for having a toy gun he never brought to school.
Isaiah Elliott attends Grand Mountain, a K-8 grade school in the Widefield District #3, just south of Colorado Springs.
On Thursday, Aug. 27, the seventh grader was attending on online art class when a teacher saw Isaiah flash a toy gun across his computer screen. The toy in question is a neon green and black handgun with an orange tip with the words “Zombie Hunter” printed on the side.
The teacher notified the school principal who suspended Isaiah for five days and called the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office to conduct a welfare check on the boy without calling his parents first.
“It was really frightening and upsetting for me as a parent, especially as the parent of an African-American young man, especially given what’s going on in our country right now,” said Isaiah’s father, Curtis Elliott, in an exclusive interview with FOX31.
I said this the last time and I will say it again: This increased access into the homes of Americans is sure to be seen as a welcome side effect of the pandemic for the authoritarians on the left, and we are seeing with all the regulations and orders they have been handing down that it is going to be extremely hard for them to give back any of the power they have usurped. If you think this is going to end after the election in November you are sadly mistaken, this is about more than just one election…
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Judge upholds Donald Trump’s restrictions on H1-B visas
Back in June of this year Donald Trump issued an Executive Order temporarily banning H1-B visas in an attempt to help American workers who lost their jobs due to the over-reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic by many of the State governors.
As expected the lawsuits quickly followed and on Friday a Judge upheld the ban on H1-B visas, here is more:
A federal judge on Friday rejected a lawsuit by business groups and is allowing President Donald Trump to temporarily bar the entry of foreign contract workers who are hired to take the U.S. jobs needed by Americans.
The decision is a big labor rights win for American employees because it recognizes a president can use his authority under section 212(f) of federal law to block the inflow of foreign workers if they have a damaging impact on Americans’ economic circumstances.
The decision is a big setback for the Fortune 500 companies objecting to Trump’s June 22 proclamation. The proclamation temporarily bars the entry of foreign workers via the huge H-1B, J-1, H-2B, and L-1 labor pipelines, which keep roughly two million compliant and cheap contract workers in jobs needed by unemployed blue collar and white collar Americans.
Here is more:
“The court rejects the Plaintiffs’ statutory and constitutional challenges to the Proclamations … [and] the court concludes that the Plaintiffs are not likely to succeed on their challenges to the Proclamations,”
This is a big win for Donald Trump’s immigration and economic policies but we know that this is going to be appealed so this is not over by a long shot.
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Sunday, September 6th open thread: ‘Supremacy’
“This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24 KJV)
Here is this week’s open thread. Please feel free to post links to interesting articles and to discuss whatever issues arise during the course of the day. Nothing is off-topic here.
You can subscribe to America’s Watchtower to receive email updates and you can also follow America’s Watchtower on Facebook and Twitter by clicking the links on the right.
This week’s musing brings us the band performing “Supremacy” live in 2013:
Wake to see
Your true emancipation is a fantasy
Policies
Have risen up and overcome the brave
Greatness dies
Unsung and lost, invisible to history
Embedded spies
Brainwashing our children to be mean
You don’t have long
I am on to you
The time, it has come to destroy
Your supremacy
New York City is still not allowing restaurants to open for indoor dining even though Winter is just around the corner and many of them face the prospect of closing their doors forever if they are not allowed to open. In fact Bill de Blasio has stated he has no plan to allow restaurants to open indoor dining anytime soon.
You can imagine the strain this is putting on restaurant owners who are just trying to survive these totalitarian measures. Well, now 300 restaurant owners are trying to fight back by filing a $2 billion lawsuit against New York City. Here is more:
More than 300 restaurants have joined a class-action lawsuit seeking over $2 billion in damages due to the city’s ongoing indoor dining ban. Il Bacco — a restaurant on the border of Little Neck, Queens and Nassau County — filed the lawsuit on Friday in the state Supreme Court in Manhattan, alleging that Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s executive orders have violated its constitutional rights. In the suit, the Italian restaurant alleges that it can’t serve diners indoors, while its neighbors in Long Island — just 500 feet away — can. “According to Gov. Cuomo, it is dangerous to eat at [Il Bacco] in Little Neck, Queens, but it is safe to dine indoors a few hundred feet east,” the suit says. As of Monday, Crain’s reports that at least 337 restaurateurs have signed onto the class-action suit against the city and state.
Can you imagine owning a restaurant in New York City and being told you can not open while only 500 feet away restaurants are thriving?! This is simply not justifiable by any means. It is time for the people of New York to start fighting back and hopefully this is just the beginning.
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Nancy Pelosi blames the hair salon for setting her up
Nancy Pelosi has been taking quite a bit of heat today after being caught getting her hair done in a salon during the COVID-19 lock down, as well for not wearing her mask and for getting an illegal blow dry.
Today she fired back at her critics, refusing to apologize for the double standard. But she did not stop there, she claimed she was set up by the owner of the hair salon and demanded an apology. Here is more from the article:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declined to apologize Wednesday for her visit to a San Francisco hair salon that was supposed to be closed under the city’s coronavirus pandemic rules, and suggested the business had tricked her.
Pelosi said she took responsibility for falling for the “setup” to have her hair done inside the salon Monday. But the San Francisco Democrat said that if anyone owes an apology, it’s the salon.
“I think that this salon owes me an apology, for setting me up,” she said at an event about school reopenings in San Francisco’s Noe Valley.”
What I find funny about this excuse is that it sounds like an excuse Donald Trump would use and an excuse which she would be ridiculing if he did.
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Nancy Pelosi caught getting her hair done in salon despite COVID-19 shut down order
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic San Francisco hair salons are prohibited from operating. Starting today they are allowed to open for outdoor appointments only. Unless of course you are Nancy Pelosi, she was seen getting her hair done indoors recently despite the shut down order.
Here is more:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited a San Francisco hair salon on Monday afternoon for a wash and blow-out, despite local ordinances keeping salons closed amid the coronavirus pandemic, Fox News had learned.
In security footage obtained by Fox News, and timestamped Monday at 3:08 p.m. Pacific Time, the California powerhouse is seen walking through eSalon in San Francisco with wet hair, and without a mask over her mouth or nose.
Apparently the owner of the salon rents out the chairs to independent hairstylists and she is none too happy about this news:
“I was like, are you kidding me right now? Do I let this happen? What do I do?” Kious told Fox News, while noting that she “can’t control” what her stylists do if they rent chairs from her, as “they’re not paying” at this time.
Kious cast Pelosi’s visit as a double standard.
“It was a slap in the face that she went in, you know, that she feels that she can just go and get her stuff done while no one else can go in, and I can’t work,” Kious told Fox News, adding that she “can’t believe” the speaker didn’t have a mask on. (From the footage, it appears Pelosi had some kind of covering around her neck.)
“We’re supposed to look up to this woman, right?” Kious said. “It is just disturbing.”
Kious said Pelosi received a wash and a blow-dry, but told Fox News that “you’re not supposed to blow dry hair” according to coronavirus safety precautions for hair salons.
“We have been shut down for so long, not just me, but most of the small businesses and I just can’t – it’s a feeling – a feeling of being deflated, helpless and honestly beaten down,” Kious said.
“I have been fighting for six months for a business that took me 12 years to build to reopen,” she explained. “I am a single mom, I have two small children, and I have no income.”
She added: “The fact that they did this, and she came in, it’s like a slap in the face.”
And to top it off she did not wear a mask and got her hair blow dried, which is also not allowed in the new totalitarian United States.
It is just more proof that there is a ruling class and a ruled class and there are two sets of rules. Nancy Pelosi might be the highest ranking person in the government to be caught in this type of double standard but she is not the first one. Several other politicians have violated their own COVID-19 orders because they feel they are more important than the plebeians.
I have documented just a few here, but the most recent example comes from none other than the mask-shaming Andrew Cuomo who was caught outside in public not wearing a mask.
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Appeals Court refuses to drop Michael Flynn case
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals today ruled against Michael Flynn’s attempt to have the case against him dismissed despite the fact the Department of Justice is no longer pressing charges against him.
Here is more:
A federal appeals court has dealt a setback to Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump‘s first national security adviser, ruling that a District Court judge can proceed with a planned hearing on the Justice Department’s attempt to abandon the criminal false-statement case against Flynn.
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting en banc, voted 8-2 to reject Flynn’s effort to dismiss the case immediately. The court’s ruling Monday also rejected efforts by Flynn to remove District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan from the case over allegations of bias.
It is hard to keep up with all the twists and turns in this case but back in June a three judge panel on this very same court ruled that Judge Sullivan had to drop the case against Michael Flynn. This judge said no, the court is wrong and now this decision overturns its own panel’s decision and rules in favor of the judge the panel had previously ruled against. When they want to get somebody they are going to get them and there is not much anybody can do about it, if they can do this to somebody like Michael Flynn what chances to average people have if we get in the way?
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Sunday, August 30th open thread: ‘MK Ultra’
This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24 KJV)
Here is this week’s open thread. Please feel free to post links to interesting articles and to discuss whatever issues arise during the course of the day. Nothing is off-topic here.
You can subscribe to America’s Watchtower to receive email updates and you can also follow America’s Watchtower on Facebook and Twitter by clicking the links on the right.
This week’s musing brings us the band performing “MK Ultra” live in 2009:
Coercive notions re-evolve,
A universe is trapped inside a tear,
It resonates the core,
Creates unnatural laws,
Replaces love and happiness with fear
How many lies will you create?
How much longer until you break?
You mind’s about to fall
They are breaking through,
Now we’re falling,
We are losing control
The mind becomes a wall.
All of history deleted with one stroke”
America's Watchtower 