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The politics of war
Israel went to the polls last Tuesday and it is the turn of the United States next Tuesday. The differences in the two elections are self-evident. Compared with the US, which has favourable geography and does everything at scale, Israel is tiny and part of an unstable region. For its elections, it has adopted an almost pure form of proportional representation based on lists. This encourages multiple parties and can make it almost impossible to form a government, as we can now see. The US system is complex in its own way but discourages third parties. Yet for all the differences in size, geography, and political systems, the fates of the two countries are closely connected. Israel has come to depend on the US to sustain its military strength, and over the past few tumultuous years that dependence has created resentment in the United States. The Biden administration was punished for appearing to give Netanyahu a blank check after the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023, and not holding Israel back as it employed ruthless tactics in Gaza. Because of the treatment of Palestinians, American views of Israel have grown progressively more negative over the past few years. Only a third now support the Israeli government. While on the left, this is largely because of how Israeli forces have operated in Gaza and, more recently, how the settler movement has behaved in the West Bank, for the American right the issue has been about how Benjamin Netanyahu persuaded Donald Trump to forget his wariness about more Middle Eastern wars and agree to a joint attack on Iran, which has gone badly wrong. The Palestine question was not a big issue for the two large Jewish blocs in last Tuesday’s election. Both supported a tough response to Hamas after October 2023 and neither accepts a two-state solution. It was, however, the threat posed by the ethno-nationalist policies of Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, the two extreme members of Netanyahu’s coalition, and their tolerance, even encouragement, of settler violence, that brought out the Arab voters. (In principle this should strengthen their position though to turn into real power would require the ‘Change Bloc’ overcoming their opposition to involving Arab parties. The alternatives are a National Unity government, defection from the Change Bloc to Netanyahu, or deadlock and another round of elections in the new year.) There was also broad support for the war against Iran among the Jewish parties. The difficulty here is that the objectives behind the war have yet to be met, and that continuing with military operations depends on the United States. In this way the two elections have come together at a crucial moment. If Netanyahu hoped that a victory over Iran would help him retain his majority, cementing his legacy as an Israeli war leader, it did not work out that way. Trump also expected a great victory about which he could boast. He promised at most the end of a hateful and aggressive regime, with a record of hostility to both the United States and Israel, or at least the elimination of Iran’s military capabilities and the end of its nuclear programme. Eight months on, there is not much to boast about; vital objectives remain elusive: the Iranian regime is even more hardline than before; the international economy is barely coping with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz; and Saudi Arabia is struggling with an unwanted conflict with the Yemeni Houthis. For all these reasons, the Iran War has been a dark cloud hanging over both elections. Yet the issue has been approached in different ways. Netanyahu sought to push the issue before the election while Trump has been more cautious. Trump’s essential claim is that there is nothing to worry about and he’s still working out what final steps need to be taken to provide a definitive conclusion to the conflict. Netanyahu’s final pitch was that there was lots to worry about. He focused on Israel’s dire security situation, with the Iran War unfinished and the prospect of imminent economic isolation because of international sanctions. For him it is imperative to defeat Iran decisively, and without delay. Why this different response to the same war? Part of the answer lies in how public opinion in the two countries responded to the war. In this post, I show how this came about. We await the outcome of the US midterms but know the result, at least in terms of the share of the vote if not yet the shape of the new government, of the Israeli election. With the elections out of the way Netanyahu is pressing for another round in the war. Trump is less sure. I conclude with thoughts on the importance of how he decides.
Politics
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World Conference on Traditional Medicine 2026 delivers landmark outcomes for global health
Expert Committee Meeting members at the World Conference on Traditional Medicine 2026© WHOThe World Conference on Traditional Medicine 2026 concluded in Beijing on 18 October with several key outcomes aimed at strengthening global cooperation for health and well-being. These included the adoption of the Beijing Initiative on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Traditional Medicinal Plant Resources, the promotion of the New-Era Shennong Herbal Project, and the publication of the Report on artificial intelligence empowering global traditional medicine development (2026). The conference also marked the establishment of the Global Alliance for Traditional and Integrative Medicine (GATIM) to foster international scientific collaboration.The biennial conference, held on 17–18 October at the China National Convention Center in Beijing, was co-hosted by the People's Government of Beijing Municipality, the National Health Commission, the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the National Medical Products Administration. WHO joined the Conference as co-sponsor, aligning with the country’s Healthy China initiative, which is overseen by President Xi Jinping. The initiative seeks to expand inclusive, high-quality health services, drive innovation in traditional medicine, and reinforce the principle that a healthy population is fundamental to national prosperity and strength. H.E. Li Qiang, Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, addressed the opening ceremony, emphasizing the critical role of traditional medicine as a unique force in safeguarding human health and advancing civilization. "Traditional medicine has followed a distinctive path of development through long-term practice," Li stated. He called on the international community to strengthen cooperation, make better use of global traditional medicine resources, and jointly address challenges to human health. Premier Li also highlighted the necessity of harnessing science and technology to accelerate the innovative development of traditional medicine. He announced that China would promote the digital and intelligent transformation of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and encourage active participation from both Chinese and foreign research institutions and enterprises. Furthermore, he expressed China's willingness to expand pilot programs to open up the medical service sector and work with all parties to advance the development of Belt and Road medicinal resources conservation centre.Addressing the Conference participants via a video message, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, said, "This is not a choice between tradition and science. It is about bringing knowledge systems together through research, innovation, regulation and quality assurance. We need stronger evidence on what works, for whom, and under what conditions."Dr Saia Ma'u Piukala, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific, addressed the opening session, underscoring the importance of integrating traditional medicine into mainstream health systems in line with the call of the WHO Global Strategy on Traditional Medicine 2025–2034. In the closing session, Dr Shyama Kuruvilla, Director of the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre, expressed appreciation for the achievements of the conference, where different world views and scientific and programmatic advances were exchanged with a clear focus on practical action to advance traditional medicine for the health and well-being of people and the planet.The conference, held under the theme Technology Empowerment and Integrated Development: Advancing Traditional Medicine for All, featured a government forum, ministerial round table and eight parallel forums to advance all four objectives of the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025–2034: strengthening evidence, ensuring safety through regulation, integrating traditional, complementary and integrative medicine into health systems, and realizing its value through action across sectors.Over the two-day event, nearly 2000 participants, experts and scholars from 103 countries and areas, including 16 ministerial-level health officials, delivered over 150 high-level speeches and reports. Discussions covered key areas such as the integration of traditional medicine into international health systems, evidence-based development, drug regulation and the application of artificial intelligence in traditional medicine.
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DataFi Donation Ceremony at the Ministry of Health-Remarks by ADCM Steve Bremner
DataFi Donation Ceremony at the Ministry of Health Remarks by Acting Deputy Chief of Mission a.i. Steve Bremner (…) I’m pleased to join the Ministry of Public Health and our implementer, Palladium, today to hand over IT equipment including 80 laptops, 300 tablets, and Monitoring and Evaluation reporting tools for CSBII. Good health decisions start with good data. When a health worker in a remote commune notices unusual fever cases, that information must reach district and national teams fast. Every hour counts. Fast, reliable data helps the Ministry detect an outbreak early, send teams where they’re needed, and stop a disease before it spreads. These laptops and tablets will help do exactly that. They’ll strengthen Madagascar’s health information system and disease surveillance so health workers can collect, report, and use data faster and more accurately. This support reflects the America First Global Health Strategy. Under this strategy, the United States works directly with partner governments based on country ownership, shared investment, and accountability for results. Together, we’re strengthening Madagascar’s ability to detect and respond to outbreaks quickly though the MOU signed in December 2025. This work protects Malagasy families and the American people. Today also marks a transition. The Data.FI project is ending, but the work will continue. Palladium will continue to carry these same activities forward through a new project, AFGHS Palladium, under the State Department’s Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy. The new project will put an even stronger focus on results. Mister SG, your ministry’s close collaboration with Data.FI made today possible. I hope you will bring the same commitment to this new project. Together, we can deliver even greater results and speed up the transfer of skills to Ministry teams. Our shared goal is to build the ministry’s capacity to lead, manage, and sustain these systems on its own. That is Madagascar’s path to self-reliance. Equipment alone doesn’t stop an outbreak. People do. To the health workers and data managers who will use these tools: thank you for your dedication. To the Ministry: we count on you to put these devices to work quickly, keep them in good condition, and protect the data they hold. That’s how this investment will deliver results for years to come. The United States stands with the Government of Madagascar. We commend the Ministry of Public Health for its leadership. We look forward to continuing our collaboration through AFGHS Palladium and beyond. Thank you. Misaotra betsaka.
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Science Begins With Wonder and Sometimes With a Salamander.
The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by the Don & Beth Straus Center at Birch Bay Village. BAR HARBOR—The children had come to see the axolotls, those odd little salamanders with pink frills around their heads and the remarkable ability to grow back what they lose. But also there were stickers. There were crafts. There was the kind of excitement that makes a roomful of kindergarteners forget, for a little while, that sitting still is ever a requirement. And then there were the animals themselves, alive in their clear cases at the MDI Biological Laboratory, where 12 children from Pemetic Elementary School got to meet the creatures they had been learning about in class. “Do you love them?” their teacher, Carol Null, asked. The answer came back in a chorus. “I do!” “I do!” “I do too,” Null said, smiling. “I love them even more now.” That was the thing about a day at the lab. Science was no longer a picture in a book, or a word on a classroom wall. It had a face, a tail, and a set of extraordinary powers. And for a child, sometimes that is where wonder begins. Sometimes learning about science is about stickers. Sometimes it’s about bright pink feathers and getting super excited about that glow in the dark. Sometimes learning about science is joy—pure and simple joy. That’s how it was October 28 at the MDI Bio Lab as Miss Hannah (known in the lab as Dr. Hannah Lust, director of STEM, undergraduate and graduate Training), other scientists, graduate students, and MDI Bio Lab staff, hosted 12 students from Carol Null’s Pemetic Elementary School’s kindergarten class. The 2.5-hour program created by Dr. Lust focused on axolotls, a species of mole salamanders, a superhero in the animal world: a superhero with some scientific-study worthy superpowers. One of those superpowers come from the axolotls’ ability to regenerate body parts, including entire limbs. But also, they’re cute. This fall, before coming to the internationally renowned lab nestled in Salsbury Cove, Null has been integrating axolotls into her class. They’ve been part of the kids’ vocabulary and their storytelling. They’ve been part of science. They’ve been part of the children’s learning about facts vs opinions. The Pemetic Elementary kindergarten students learn about invasive species and the impact on the ecology and one student related it to their dad, who lobsters, and his worries about green craps, an invasive species in Maine. “Are they bigger or smaller than you thought they’d be?” the children are asked after the scientists show them multiple see-through cases of axolotls, lined up on a table that they’re told not to jiggle. “Bigger!” “I think they’re bigger.” “Smaller!” The bio lab opening its doors to the collaborations and to students and families is a norm, but this is the first program of this kind. It’s meant to encourage kindergarten students about axolotls. But when the students come to the bio lab something else happens too—something beyond Null’s child-focused teaching—the students see science—and the regenerating creatures in real life. They do crafts. They speak with them. They meet people who know all about them: scientists and educators who talk to the kids like they’re equals. That’s a superhero power, too. Null speaks about meeting the kids where they’re at in her classroom, letting their interest and hearts lead her in their learning. That requires recognition of interests, of individuality, of empathy. Some would argue that’s a super power, too, but it’s also in those 12 students as they listen to the storybook, encounter those live axolotls, and hear about how axolotls might help advance society’s understanding of human health. As Eddie Seckeler (comparative animal models, CORE facility manager), carefully puts the axolotls on a cart and rolls them away, some of the children stop what they’re doing to watch. “Bye axolotls.” “Bye!” “Bye!” The axolotls are not just images in a book, Hello, I’m an axolotl by Hayley and John Rocco; they are real and cool. MDI Biological Laboratory scientists Dr. Prayag Murawala and Dr. James Godwin who both feature in the Roccos’ book. The kindergarteners get to meet them in real life, off the page, in the world, doing science. They learn from them, laugh with them. “The visit is about more than meeting an unusual animal. By introducing children to scientists working in their own community, the experience helps make science tangible and accessible. Students can see that science is not just something they read about in books or learn about at school. It is something real people do every day by asking questions, making observations and working to understand how the world works,” explains MDI Biological Laboratory Director of Communications Rebecca Woods. While the students make axolotl-related crafts around tables, graduate students and staff help out. Ryan holds up his construction paper setting and axolotl to show Omar Maged, a graduate student. “Do you like it?” Ryan asks, eyes wide, turning from his axolotl to look up at Omar. Omar studies the construction paper for a moment, smiles and says definitively, each word important. “It is beautiful.” Null says that she’s so thankful for all the “amazing” community partners that her school and her students get to interact with as they learn and grow and live, but emphasized how the MDI Bio Lab goes out of its way to create something meaningful, something that allows her young students to build their own agency, to know that they can be impactful in their community, to show them how how things they learn about in text is connected to themselves and their community. Woods explains, “Axolotls have an extraordinary ability to regenerate, or regrow, certain body parts, including limbs. Scientists study these animals to understand how regeneration works and what their biology might teach us about tissue repair and healing in humans.” The children enter the space for “a memorable introduction to a big scientific question,” Woods said. “How can some animals regrow body parts? The encounter encourages children to look closely, wonder about what they see and begin to understand how scientists use observations and experiments to investigate questions.” “For the students, the visit is an opportunity to explore a fascinating animal and meet scientists in their own community,” Woods explains. “For MDI Biological Laboratory, it is a chance to share the excitement of research, nurture curiosity, and help young learners discover that science begins with asking questions.“ At the beginning of the school year, Pemetic kindergarteners didn’t know what the axolotl was—at least not exactly—now they know all about the axolotl’s life cycle. “It’s different than a butterfly,” one student told Mrs. Null. It is. The change and knowledge might seem small**,** but it offers a glimpse of what happens when a subject moves beyond the pages of a book and into a child’s world. The children have been learning about butterflies at the Charlotte Rhoades Park and Butterfly Garden. At both the garden and the MDI Bio Lab, the children see the animals, meet the scientists who study them and at the lab encounter a question that researchers are still working to answer: how can some creatures regenerate body parts, and what might that teach us about healing in humans? They leave with gift bags, paper-plate salamanders, new things to wonder about and a connection between the science they learn in school and the work happening in their own community. The axolotls may be remarkable for their ability to grow back what they have lost. For these young students, the day offers something different: a chance to discover how much there is to ask, observe, and imagine. When Null’s students had time to use chalk and draw whatever they want, in the beginning of the year, they drew rainbows. Now? They’re using that chalk and choosing to draw axolotls instead. About MDI Bio Laboratory For more than 125 years, MDI Bio Lab has been a center for training and research in comparative biology. In the last two decades its biomedical research has focused on aging, regeneration, and environmental toxins. The Laboratory houses 11 research groups staffed by an international team of world-class scientists and graduate students. It also leads a statewide network of colleges, universities and research institutions that collaborate to provide training, research experiences and financial support to help young Mainers play a bigger role in today’s biomedical revolution. Located on Maine’s rugged coast, the Laboratory’s 100+ acre campus houses research facilities, cottages and dorms that house visiting scientists and students. It is also home to MDI Bioscience, a subsidiary working to design innovative techniques to speed the drug discovery process. The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Rick Osann Art. LINKS TO LEARN MORE NIH INBRE MDI BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY Pemetic Elementary School Hello, I’m an Axolotl Photos: Carrie Jones/Bar Harbor Story HELP SUPPORT THE BAR HARBOR STORY When we started The Bar Harbor Story, we didn’t know if anyone would read it. But you showed up. You shared. You sent tips. Now—over 400,000 views every month later—it’s clear: people here care about their community and each other. We’ve kept everything free because news should never be out of reach, but every one of our stories takes time to write, and your support keeps The Bar Harbor Story going. If you value our work, please consider a paid subscription, a founding membership, or a sponsorship. It truly helps us cover one more meeting, tell one more story, shine one more light. Even $5 a month makes a difference. Click here to become a one-time supporter now. Thank you so much for being here. Founding member information can be found here. Have questions about sponsorships? Just send Shaun an email at sfarrar86@gmail.com, he’d love to hear from you. Subscribe Share Bar Harbor Story Share Leave a comment
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