This is Hanukkah in America. A land of tolerance and religious freedom.

Deutsche Welle 12.27.2019

Police in New York City have registered at least six attacks against Jews in the city since Hanukkah began on Sunday. In response, the city is stepping up security in neighborhoods with a large Jewish population.

“The persistent and violent anti-Semitic attacks on Jews in the New York area has reached a crisis level,” said Eric Goldstein, the CEO of the UJA Federation of New York, a large Jewish charity.

“It’s something that’s very alarming, and we treat it very seriously,” police Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison said at a Friday news conference.

A recent increase in anti-Semitic attacks has prompted New York City to increase its police presence in neighborhoods with large Jewish populations, the mayor of New York announced on Friday following the most recent attack.

At least six attacks against Jews have been reported in New York City since Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish festival of lights, began on Sunday.

New York Mayor Bill De Blasio with community leaders

Read more: American Jewish Committee CEO: ‘It’s time to wake up and see the menace clearly’

More officers will be sent to patrol in the neighborhoods Borough Park, Crown Heights, and Williamsburg.

Police will also make more frequent visits to synagogues.”I feel pained that in this society, a place that is supposed to be of respect for everybody, a season when we’re supposed to be respecting everybody, we see hate rearing its very ugly head. We will not accept it,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said during a visit with representatives of a local Jewish community.

Children and adults attacked

The mayor’s announcement followed an assault on Friday morning. A woman slapped three other women wearing traditional Jewish clothing and shouted anti-Semitic slurs at them. The assailant was arrested and will be charged with a hate crime.

Similar events have unfolded all week long. On Monday, a 65-year-old Orthodox Jewish man was punched in the face. That same day, teenagers allegedly attacked two Jewish children.

On Tuesday, a group of people allegedly threw a drink on a 25-year-old man and shouted anti-Semitic slurs. Later that day, a 56-year-old man reported he had been physically assaulted.

A woman on Thursday hit a 34-year-old Jewish woman in the head with a bag and said, “Your end is coming.” She was later charged with assault as a hate crime. 

Officials speak out

The string of assaults follows a deadly attack at a kosher market in northern New Jersey on December 10 that left six people dead.

Read more: How can Germany better protect its synagogues?

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has asked a state hate crimes task force to support police in investigating the attacks.

“It’s even more despicable that it occurred over the holidays,” the governor said.

https://www.dw.com/en/new-york-boosts-policing-after-despicable-anti-semitic-attacks-on-hanukkah/a-51816065

Here are the 24 movies the techie go to magazine WIRED selected as the “absolute best” of the past 10 years.  Not what you will likely find in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal or The New Yorker.

Wired 12.26.2019

https://www.wired.com/story/best-movies-2010s/

 

The Germans certainly have credibility in determining who is a “Dangerous” leader.

It’s a sad fact too many Americans go blithely along believing the Buffoon in Washington is a competent leader. What do you expect?  This is the voting public which gave the World Ronald Reagan and Bush 43.

Excerpted from Deutsche Welle 12.26.2019

When asked who posed the greatest threat to world peace, Germans in a recent poll overwhelmingly pointed to one person — Donald Trump. The US president beat out the leaders of North Korea, Russia, China and Iran.

Although Washington is one of Germany’s closest allies, public trust in the US has significantly eroded under President Donald Trump, a new YouGov survey showed.

Germans were asked who was more dangerous: North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Russian President Vladimir Putin or US President Donald Trump.

Some 41% of Germans said they thought Trump was the most dangerous out of the five world leaders.

In second place was Kim with 17%, followed by Putin and Khamenei with 8%. Coming in last was China’s Xi with 7%.

Over 2,000 people in Germany took part in the survey, which was commissioned by news agency dpa.

https://www.dw.com/en/germans-think-trump-is-more-dangerous-than-kim-jong-un-and-putin/a-51802332

Trump has been in office three years. His impact on the American judiciary with the appointment of a record number of ultra conservative ideologues to the Federal Courts is having a catastrophic impact on Progressive change.

It is not the Twitter Storm Trump has unleashed which should alarm people. It is Federal Judges with their life long tenure which is a the Dark Storm descending on American freedom.

The Guardian 12.25.2019

No president has secured so many important judgeships so quickly – and progressive say the damage will be lasting.

Critics of Donald Trump make much of the fact that his legacy will forever bear the stain of impeachment, whatever the outcome of the prospective Senate trial next month.

But Trump is positioned to bequeath a much more substantial legacy, one that progressive activists and civil rights advocates warn will harm the cause of equality in the United States for decades to come.

With a dozen confirmations last Thursday alone, Trump hit an end-of-year tally of 133 district court judges out of 677 total, 50 appeals court judges out of 179 total, and two US supreme court justices out of nine total.

Carl Tobias, a professor at Richmond School of Law specializing in federal judicial selection, called Trump’s performance on judges – with the notable assistance of the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, and outside groups such as the Federalist Society – “an amazing accomplishment”.

“He has really made an imprint on the federal appeals courts,” said Tobias. “About a quarter of the active judges by now have been appointed by him. And that’s really substantial.”

Tobias said that Trump’s judicial record could help pave the way to his re-election.

“Issues like abortion, LGBTQ rights, religious freedom – the judges are being chosen to take a particular view on those issues.”

That legacy is a judiciary remade deeply conservative in Trump’s own image. In securing the confirmation of his 50th appeals court judge earlier this month, Trump cemented his status as the most accomplished sponsor of federal judges in the modern history of the presidency.

No president has secured so many important judgeships as quickly. Barack Obama managed to confirm only 55 appeals court judges – in eight years. Trump’s presidency is not yet three years old.

“Among conservatives, this is probably one of the biggest bright spots,” said Josh Blackman, a professor at the South Texas College of Law specializing in the supreme court and constitutional law. “Not all conservatives are happy with a lot of things Trump has done, but on judges he’s killing it. It’s an across-the-board success that we’ve seen in this area.”

 

Trump continued to run up the score on judges until the last minutes of the congressional calendar year. As the House debated impeachment, the Senate went to work on a final 13 Trump nominees to serve on district courts, one level below the appellate courts.

“While Democrats in the House wasted all their time this week on a partisan impeachment,” Vice-President Mike Pence tweeted jubilantly on Friday morning, “the Senate confirmed 13 new judges making that a total of 185 amazing judges picked by President @realDonaldTrump!”

Legal analysts have blasted Trump and McConnell for allowing an unprecedented number of nominees to advance who have staked out extreme philosophies or been flagged as unqualified by the American Bar Association (ABA), the country’s largest non-partisan coalition of lawyers.

Progressive activists additionally express alarm at the relative youth of many Trump nominees, who assume lifelong appointments upon confirmation.

“The American people should be deeply troubled and scared as to the status of their rights and liberties over the next three to four decades,” said Daniel Goldberg, legal director at the progressive Alliance For Justice.

“It’s critical that the next Democratic president prioritize the courts like never before. While Donald Trump has been able to get his judges confirmed, we have never seen progressives as galvanized on the court issue as they are now.”

The confirmation this month of Sarah Pitlyk to the district court in St Louis and Lawrence VanDyke to the 9th circuit court of appeals, both of whom were rated unqualified by the ABA, should give Americans cause for alarm, said Goldberg, whose group has produced the report Trump’s Attacks on Our Justice System.

Pitlyk “spent her career fighting IVF and surrogacy” and VanDyke “has spent his career fighting environmental protections, women’s rights and LGBTQ rights”, Goldberg said.

Trump’s work on the courts would not have been possible without the assistance of McConnell, who blocked Obama judicial nominees and then relaxed Senate rules to accelerate the installation of Trump nominees. Another key Trump partner in the effort is the Federalist Society, the conservative legal group that has vetted judicial candidates and spoon-fed them to the White House.

Blackman said that former Senate majority leader Harry Reid’s 2013 decision to take the so-called “nuclear option” and abolish a rule requiring 60 votes to approve federal judicial appointments – a decision that followed unprecedented stalling on judicial appointments by then minority leader McConnell – had made it easier to confirm judges with ideologies outside the mainstream.

“I think because the nuclear option is gone, you no longer have to appeal to 60, you can appeal to 50,” said Blackman. “And I think with that, you have less of a need to appeal to the moderates, so I definitely think the tilt of the nominees is definitely away from the center.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/dec/25/trump-judiciary-judges-legal-america

UPDATE: Yesterday the local sports world was all atwitter about the return of Marshawn Lynch to the Seattle Seahawks. The Oakland native made live miserable for the San Francisco 49ers in his prime.

Today’s question posed by the local press is, “How much will that matter” on Sunday evening in Seattle?

Excerpted from San Francisco Chronicle 12.24.2019

It’s quite possible that what’s unexpectedly emerged as a massive pregame story line — the return of Marshawn Lynch to the Seahawks — won’t have even a minor impact on Sunday’s game.

Can a 33-year-old running back really hop off his couch and jump-start an injury-thinned team in a game that will determine the NFC West champion?

The odds are better that Lynch, who went through his first NFL practice in 14 months Tuesday, will have a few forgettable carries against the 49ers rather than offer an unforgettable performance.

On Tuesday, after his first practice, Lynch, known for not speaking with the media, showed he was still at least the same interviewee that he was in his prime.

“Happy holidays,” Lynch said in his lone words to Seattle reporters. “Merry new year. You all have a great day. It’s great for me to be back. Thanks.”

Still, Lynch announced his first “retirement,” via Twitter, during Super Bowl 50. After he was ejected from a home game in 2017, the Oakland native, then with the Raiders, watched the rest of the game in the stands and hung out with fans on BART when it was over.

So it’s understood that the physical, five-time Pro Bowler known for his “how-did-he-break-that-tackle?” runs is known for doing the unexpected, on and off the field.

So what can Lynch realistically offer the Seahawks (11-4) when they host the 49ers (12-3) on Sunday in his first game with Seattle in four seasons?

“I don’t think,” Seattle head coach Pete Carroll said, “that we should ever set any expectations that are too low for Marshawn.”

The Seahawks spiced up a game that didn’t need any more seasoning by signing Lynch on Monday night. After injuries devastated their third-ranked rushing attack, they will play for the division title with Lynch, just-signed Robert Turbin, 30, who last played in an NFL game in October 2018, and rookie Travis Homer, a sixth-round pick who has played 34 career offensive snaps.

On Tuesday, Carroll indicated the Seahawks, who had maintained a relationship with Lynch over the years, had informed him of their interest when running back Rashaad Penny tore his ACL on Dec. 8. They also brought in Turbin for a workout after Penny’s injury.

Carroll expressed confidence in their ability to skip offseason workouts, training camp and 15 regular-season games and still flourish in the finale.

“These guys have been working,” Carroll said. “They’ve known there were opportunities that were coming. And in the true competitive sense, these guys have always been all about, they’re working. They’ve worked hard to be ready. So I’m not worried about that. … These guys are going to be just fine. I’m not worried about it a bit.”

Lynch visited Seattle’s facility on Dec. 12 for what was then viewed as a personal visit. He has spent the past few weeks doing intense workouts in San Francisco with his longtime coach, Tareq Azim, NFL Network reported.

Could he provide an emotional jolt for the Seahawks, whose myriad injuries beyond their backfield help explain why they are home underdogs?

“Well, we didn’t have a car parade or anything,” Carroll said. “But they were fired up to see him. I said to Marshawn, ‘Some of these guys were watching you in high school.’ He says, ‘I think they were maybe in grade school.’

https://www.sfchronicle.com/49ers/article/49ers-Seahawks-Marshawn-Lynch-is-back-but-how-14930612.php

Unscripted and Unedited. Fascinating interview with Rudy Guiliani. 

New York  – Olivia Nuzzi 12.24.2019

As the black SUV came to a stop on 33rd Street in Manhattan, its lights flashing, a pale hand stretched through the open window of the passenger door and gave a little wave. It was attached to Rudy Giuliani, who smiled from behind his tortoiseshell sunglasses. He apologized for being late. “Couldn’t go on sidewalks like I used to,” he said, mourning a perk of his past life as mayor.

It was early in the afternoon on Sunday, December 8, and Giuliani had just returned from Ukraine, where he said he was looking for information to undermine the case to impeach his client, President Donald Trump.

“We snuck out of Kiev to escape having to answer a lot of questions,” he said, though it wasn’t clear if he meant from the press or government officials. “They all thought we were going to leave on Friday morning, and I organized a private plane to go to Vienna on Thursday night.”

The back of the car was cluttered with luggage. His bodyguard, a retired NYPD officer who loves Donald Trump almost as much as he loves his boss of ten years, got out to move the bags to the trunk while Giuliani climbed into the backseat.

When Giuliani got to his hotel in Vienna, he said it was 2:30 in the morning, and the first thing he did was search for opera tickets. “Lo and behold, that Friday night they were performing Tosca, with the conductor Marco Armiliato.” He sang me an aria from Rigoletto, one of the first pieces he fell in love with when he was introduced to opera in high school, as he theatrically conducted with his hands.

Over a sweater, he wore a navy-blue suit, the fly of the pants unzipped. He accessorized with an American-flag lapel pin, American-flag woven wallet, a diamond-encrusted pinky ring, and a diamond-encrusted Yankees World Series ring (about which an innocent question resulted in a 15-minute rant about “fucking Wayne Barrett,” a journalist who manages to enrage Giuliani even in death).

In addition to being the president’s free personal attorney, Giuliani, who is 75, is an informal White House cybersecurity adviser and a high-priced cyber-security contractor. In one hand, he clutched three phones of varying sizes. Two of the devices were unlocked, their screens revealing open tabs and a barrage of banner notifications as they knocked into each other and reacted to Giuliani’s grip. He accidentally activated Siri, who said she didn’t understand his command. “She never understands me,” he said. He sighed and poked at the device, attempting to quiet her.

Giuliani is quick to announce that he knows “every block of this city,” but he lives on the Upper East Side and doesn’t linger much across or below the park. When I asked him to bring me somewhere he likes to hang out, he quickly directed his bodyguard to the Mark, a five-star hotel on East 77th Street. Always a creature of habit, Giuliani is extra-aware of where he’s welcome these days. He says that “because of what’s happened” his circle is tightening, that he doesn’t trust anyone anymore.

Open link to read the entire article.

http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/12/a-conversation-with-rudy-giuliani-over-bloody-marys.html

 

Talk about Back to the Future.  Could it be the Beast Mode will return to torment the 49ers’ one more time this coming Sunday in Seattle?

Excerpted from San Francisco Chronicle 12.23.2019

The 49ers’ high-stakes meeting at Seattle on Sunday didn’t need any more intrigue, but it arrived Monday anyway: The Seahawks plan to add Beast Mode to their barren backfield.

Seattle head coach Pete Carroll indicated the team would sign five-time Pro Bowl running back Marshawn Lynch, 33, who hasn’t played in an NFL game since Oct. 14, 2018, when he was with the Raiders. Lynch, an Oakland native who played at Cal, played for Seattle from 2010 to 2015.

“He’s really excited about the chance to help us,” Carroll said on 710 ESPN Seattle. “If we get a chance to get the Beast back on the field, we’ll see how that works out.”

Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch as teamates

The Seahawks need backfield reinforcements after running backs Chris Carson (broken hip) and C.J. Prosise (broken arm) sustained season-ending injuries in their 27-13 home loss to the Cardinals on Sunday. Running back Rashaad Penny (knee) was placed on injured reserve Dec. 14, the first major hit to the NFL’s third-ranked rushing attack.

On Sunday, after Carson and Prosise were injured, the Seahawks’ lone running back was rookie Travis Homer. The sixth-round pick had 16 yards on five carries and a 15-yard reception against Arizona. He has 52 yards on eight carries this season, with his season-long, 29-yard run coming on a fake punt.

The Seahawks have leaned heavily on their run game since Carroll arrived in 2010: They rank second in the NFL in rushing attempts over the past 10 seasons.

“We do kind of like running the football, you know?” Carroll said when asked about the backfield attrition. “It’s a challenge. (General manager John Schneider’s) got to get working. He had a plan.”

That plan doesn’t involve just Lynch. The Seahawks reportedly also have interest in two other veterans, C.J. Anderson, 28, and Robert Turbin, 30. Anderson, then with the Rams, had 132 yards on 23 carries and a touchdown in the 2018 regular-season finale against the 49ers.

 

 

While Christmas trees are lit throughout much of the World the eight day Hanukkah commemoration,”Fetival of Lights,” is a spiritual time of the year for people of the Jewish Faith.

Deutsche Welle 12.22.2019

Over 2,000 people attended the event at Brandenburg Gate, while Jews in Munich recognized International Holocaust Survivors Night. Religious and political leaders denounced anti-Semitism and far-right extremism.

Chanukah, also known as the “Festival of Lights” commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem after the Maccabees’ victory over the Syrian armies in 164 BC.

Jews in Germany kicked off the eight-day Hanukkah celebration on Sunday by lighting Europe’s largest menorah at Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.

Anti-Semitism on the rise
The celebration comes after a turbulent year for Jews and other minority groups in Germany and across Europe, with far-right extremism on the rise and headline-making anti-Semitic attacks, including the October shooting of a Jewish synagogue in Halle, which left two dead and two others injured.

Holocaust survivor Margot Friedländer and Josef Schuster, the president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, and a Jewish boy from Berlin lit the first candle on the 10-meter-high menorah.

Over 2,000 people were there to attend the 15th anniversary of the Brandenburg Gate menorah lighting, including Germany’s Minister of Justice and Consumer Protection Christine Lambrecht, Berlin Governing Mayor Michael Müller and Bundestag Vice President Petra Pau.

Read more:Hanukkah in Berlin: German president calls Jewish community ‘a gift’

Berlin Chabad chairman Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal was also present at the ceremony. He spoke about the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp, the 75th anniversary of which will be observed on January 27, 2020, and decried modern anti-Semitism. “Anti-Semitism is a poison, no matter where it comes from,” news agency EDP quoted him as saying. “We won’t give in.”

Schuster added that religious freedoms could again be at risk in Europe.

Read more:Germany synagogue attack: Who were the victims in Halle?

According to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, the assailant confessed to having both anti-Semitic and far-right motives.”After the attack on October 9, there have been many signs of solidarity. That gives us courage,” said Schuster.

A new candle will be lit on the candle at the onset of darkness each evening until December 30. The menorah consists of eight candle holders, and a ninth holder in the middle for a candle that is used to light the rest.

Keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive is one crucial and increasingly difficult task,” said Charlotte Knobloch, President of the Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria.

“If we light this year’s Chanukah candle in Munich, there will be another light that reminds us that the darkness will never prevail and that our minds the world can illuminate,” she said. The ceremony took place as part of the International Holocaust Survivors Night. New York and Moscow are also participating today, while Paris and Jerusalem follow on December 23.

https://www.dw.com/en/berlin-celebrates-start-of-hanukkah-by-lighting-biggest-menorah-in-europe/a-51774457

TERRIBLE.  The 49ers won the game tonight but it all takes a back seat to the human element.

San Francisco Chronicle – Ann Killion 12.21.2019

This is a big game for the 49ers. An epic game.

But it’s still just a game.

The 49ers sadly got a shocking dose of perspective before Saturday’s game against the Rams. Backup quarterback C. J. Beathard (pictured above) flew early Saturday morning to Nashville to be with his family after learning that his younger brother Clayton (pictured below)  was stabbed to death Friday night. The 22-year-old, who played quarterback at Long Island University, was one of two young victims killed outside a bar.

The tragedy will certainly resonate with the team. Beathard, who was the 49ers starting quarterback for parts of 2017 and last season, is popular with his teammates.

The team released a statment before the game: “”The 49ers family was shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the tragedy involving C.J. Beathard’s younger brother, Clayton. We extend our heartfelt sympathies to C.J. and the entire Beathard family as they cope with the unthinkable loss of a loved one. C.J. has traveled home to join his family knowing he has the support of our entire organization as they grieve the passing of Clayton.”

This is an unusually close team, as I wrote about in an interview with general manager John Lynch. There is a connectedness that is often missing on NFL teams. The team talks about itself as a family, and we saw how raw the emotions were when head coach Kyle Shanahan presented game balls to John and Jed York following the game in New Orleans.

The family has suffered a tragedy. There’s a game to play. But everyone is well aware that it’s just a game.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/49ers/annkillion/article/49ers-team-tragedy-puts-big-game-in-perspective-14924676.php

Nearly 90 years after Hitler expelled Jews from the military, the German government will have Rabbis as part of its armed forces.

Deutsche Welle 12.20.2019

Rabbis haven’t had a place in the German military since Hitler expelled Jewish soldiers. Decades after the Holocaust, Germany has restored the tradition.

Germany’s defense minister on Friday signed an agreement to reintroduce rabbis into the armed forces to look after the spiritual needs of Jewish soldiers, saying it was a “strong sign” of diversity and openness.

Ten rabbis will begin working for the Bundeswehr in the coming months, Defense Minister Annagret Kramp-Karrenbauer said. 

Among Germany’s 180,000 soldiers there are around 90,000 Christians, 3,000 Muslims and 300 Jews. German soldiers can report their religious beliefs on a voluntary basis.

Read more: Opinion: Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer — a battle is won, but the war isn’t over

Together with the President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, the minister signed the agreement at a Jewish conference in Berlin.

Schuster called the day “historic” for relations between Jews and the German army.

“People who consider themselves to be part of a democratic society should and must take responsibility for it,” he said, adding that the introduction of rabbis into the military is “a signal for… the strength of democracy.”

A ‘broken history’

The military has not employed rabbis since Hitler came to power in 1933 and expelled all Jewish soldiers from the army. 

Kramp-Karrenbauer spoke of the “broken history” between Jews and the military. She said that the step to restore the position of rabbis within the military is a sign of the organization’s diversity. Jews have a home within the army just as they do in Germany, she said.

Read more: One in four Germans hold anti-Semitic beliefs, study finds

The military rabbis will be headquartered in Berlin. They will serve Jewish soldiers stationed both in Germany and abroad, covering the same duties as Evangelical and Catholic chaplains. Plans to introduce Muslim religious counselors are also in the works.

Parliament is likely to approve the measure early next year.

Among Germany’s 180,000 soldiers there are around 90,000 Christians, 3,000 Muslims and 300 Jews. German soldiers can report their religious beliefs on a voluntary basis.

https://www.dw.com/en/germany-to-reintroduce-rabbis-into-army/a-51753983