Joseph Belbruno Blog

  Oldest Hatred The Chanukkah shootings on Bondi beach are the most horrific attack against Jews since the October 7 outrage. Antisemitism is enjoying a renaissance On Sunday evening Bondi beach in Sydney, Australia was the venue for a celebration of Chanukkah, the Jewish festival of light. “Let’s fill Bondi with joy and light,” an advertisement said. But instead of light there was darkness, in the form of two gunmen. Taking up a position overlooking the event, they let loose a hail of bullets into the crowd of Jewish partygoers, killing at least 15 people — among them a ten-year-old girl and a survivor of the Holocaust. It was, in the way of such atrocities, a pitiless and cowardly attack. People were killed simply because of their religion, not because of anything they had done. The Australian security services have questions to answer, given that one of the suspects, Naveed Akram, was on their radar because of previous associations. His father, Sajid Akram, the other suspect, ar...

  Tolerate antisemitism and the West is next Behind pro-Palestinian marches lies a murderous ideology seeking to overthrow modernity itself Melanie Phillips @MELANIELATEST Melanie Phillips The massacre at a Chanukkah candle-lighting ceremony on Sydney’s Bondi beach, in which at least 15 Jews were murdered, including a ten-year-old girl, and 30 others were wounded, was shocking but no surprise. When I visited Australia this year to promote my latest book, I found a Jewish community under siege. Two days after the Hamas-led atrocities in Israel on October 7, 2023, demonstrators had swarmed outside Sydney Opera House screaming, “Where’s the Jews?” and according to some reports, “gas the Jews”. Over the subsequent two years Australian synagogues have been firebombed; regular marches have chanted for the mass murder of Jews; on campus, Jewish students and academics have been harassed and intimidated; and the government’s hostility to Israel has been accompanied by mothballing key recomm...

  Putin will never stop trying to export chaos The Ukraine peace talks rest on a fallacy: that you can simply cut a deal with the Russian president and all will be well William Hague The American ambition to separate Russia from China is wishful thinking Next image  › Just over a week ago, the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning entered waters near Japan’s Okinawa islands. In an aggressive act, aircraft launched from its deck locked their radars on to Japanese fighter aircraft that were scrambled in response. Other Chinese aircraft that flew through the area were apparently joined by two Russian Tu-95 bombers. There is no doubt what they were doing: Beijing was demonstrating to the new Japanese prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, that her support for Taiwan comes at a cost. China was also testing the US reaction to this intimidation of its ally. The US State Department duly put out a statement reaffirming its “unwavering commitment to Japan”, although President Trump has not weighed...

  Watchdog: UK ‘dragging its heels’ on China threat Geraldine Scott - Assistant Political Editor Britain must stop “dragging its heels” over whether to add China to the top tier of its threat regime, parliament’s intelligence watchdog has warned. In its annual report the intelligence and security committee (ISC), comprising senior MPs and peers, flagged several areas of the National Security Act where there are “unresolved issues”. The foreign influence registration scheme (Firs) came into force in July and requires anyone carrying out “political influence activities” on behalf of a foreign power to register with the government or face prosecution. Russia and Iran are on the enhanced tier, which requires anyone working for those states to declare any activity, not just political work. Adding China would mean that people working in the UK under Beijing’s instruction would need to register with the government. “Given the extent of the threat posed by China (as identified in the commi...

  Bondi gunmen were inspired by Islamic State, had travelled to the Philippines, Australia police say SYDNEY, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Two alleged gunmen who attacked a Hanukkah event at Sydney's Bondi Beach had travelled to the Philippines before the assault which killed 15 people and appeared to be inspired by Islamic State, police said on Tuesday. The  attack  on Sunday was Australia's worst mass shooting in nearly 30 years, and is being investigated as an act of terrorism targeting the Jewish community. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up  here. The death toll stands at 16 including one of the alleged gunmen, identified by police as Sajid Akram, 50, who was shot by police. The man's 24-year-old son and alleged accomplice, identified by local media as Naveed Akram, was in critical condition in hospital after also being shot. Australian police said on Tuesday both men had travelled to the Philippines last month ...

  How to levitate objects sans magic Sound waves, magnets and electricity can all lift items off the ground In fiction, levitation requires magic. In the real world, all you need is physics. LILI DES BELLONS In fiction, magic makes levitation easy. With a simple swish-and-flick of his wand, Ron Weasley yanks a troll’s club high above its head in  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone . Through graceful martial arts, element benders in TV’s  Avatar  series launch boulders and waves of water skyward. And a casual gesture is all Marvel hero Scarlet Witch needs to fling away enemies. In the real world, sound, magnets and electricity can all create upward forces strong enough to cancel out gravity. Just don’t expect these levitation techniques to toss boulders or bad guys. At least, not without some outrageous — and dangerous — upgrades. Acoustic levitation devices  use vibrations to hold objects aloft . These machines typically blast sound waves too high-pitched for...