UC Irvine School of Fine Arts Rejects Statue of Raoul Wallenberg

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com

Reference is made to my previous posts about an effort to have a statue of Raoul Wallenberg placed on the UC Irvine campus.

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com/2011/07/raoul-wallenberg-monument-at-uc-irvine.html 

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com/2012/01/wallenberg.html

Below is a copy of a letter sent to Peter Lancz, the organizer of the drive, by Joseph S Lewis, Dean of the Clair Trevor School of the Arts dated January 30, 2012. 

This is the same department that just this past Saturday hosted some kind of symposium by a group of anti-Israel activists and film makers.

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com/2012/02/this-it-aint.html

Do you suspect that had someone wanted to erect a statue of Nobel Peace Prize winner Yasser Arafat on the campus, the school would have given it more favorable consideration?

"Uhhhh, yeaaaah."

So do I.

The Occupy Movement: It's a Federal Case

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com



With this weekend's violence in Oakland, it is time to look into the national aspect of this phenomena from a law enforcement point of view. Can anyone seriously say that there is no national coordination going on here with these disruptions? From New York to Oakland to Los Angeles and beyond, it is one case of violence, public disorder, destruction and disruption after another. The question is will our Justice Department under Eric Holder seriously investigate it?

First of all, there is every reason to suspect that there is a link between the activists and the Democratic Party. Nancy Pelosi has publicly stated that she supports the protesters "when they speak truth to power". She also made her infamous, "God bless them" statement. President Obama, no less, said that he "can empathize with the protests". Nowhere do you see posters or chants attacking Obama or the Democratic Party.

In addition, I can name right off the top of my head three national organizations that have jumped into the Occupy Movement; SEIU, CAIR and the National Lawyers Guild, the latter of which was created in the 1930s as a legal arm of the Communist Party USA. Its Los Angeles director, James Lafferty, has not only taken a leading role in the LA protests, but was arrested in New York.

The point of the matter is this; if Occupy leaders are coordinating across state lines to cause disruption and violence, that is where federal law enforcement should step in. Let me note that I do not see a dangerous parallel with the civil rights protests of the 1960s when the FBI was wiretapping Martin Luther King under orders from J. Edgar Hoover. King's protests resulted in local arrests because he was engaging in civil disobedience of unconstitutional laws, but nowhere did King and his followers engage in violence. They did not throw rocks at police. They did not forcibly take over buildings. They never tried to shut down a sea port by forcibly occupying it. They did not assault people or cause property damage.

As for what is happening today, local law enforcement does not have the tools to go beyond making arrests at the local level. When it comes to any form of national coordination of violence , it requires a federal agency to effectively coordinate across state lines to investigate it.

That is why we have federal agencies to begin with. For example, if a local drug dealer is standing on an Oakland street corner selling drugs to addicts, that is a case for the Oakland police. But when that seller is connected to a larger dealer who is obtaining his heroin supplies from another dealer in New York, now you need a federal agency like DEA, which can coordinate together effectively to take down what is a national trafficking organization,.

Can anyone seriously argue that the Occupy movement, which has long ago crossed from peaceful protest to violence and disruption, is a spontaneous, local phenomena with no national coordination?  Hardly.

It is past time that the Department of Justice started to investigate this movement on a national level. The RICO statute may be the appropriate tool. It is possible that the FBI is already looking into it, but if so, are they on a tight leash with this politically-oriented Justice Department under Eric Holder?

Final comment on Oakland: It is time for some serious charges that carry some serious prison time for those who were arrested.

Convictions in Canadian Honor-Killing

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com


A Canadian court has convicted three members of an Afghan immigrant family for first-degree murder, a case in which four female members of the family were murdered. The below report from CNN tells the story.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/29/world/americas/canada-honor-murder/index.html?section=cnn_latest

This case has aroused wide publicity in Canada. It is a classic case of honor-killing. The husband was infuriated at his three daughters, who were rebellious and embracing a freer Western life style. Mr Shafia's first wife was also killed because it was believed she was facilitating the daughters' rebellious behavior.

The verdict sends an important message to the rest of the country. That is that certain traditions, customs and beliefs are not acceptable in a free country that demands equality for all.

It is also a reason why shariah law must not be allowed to gain any kind of foothold in Western countries. The US and Europe have also experienced "honor-killings". It is one aspect of shariah that has no place in Western society. The point is this: Murder is murder and will be treated as such. There can be no allowances made for any religious beliefs that immigrants may bring with them from their countries of origin. In many of their previous countries, great consideration is given to the idea of honor-killing. This results in lenient sentences for the offenders. That cannot happen here.

If we allow shariah law to gain a foothold in our country, it will only grow. It is unacceptable for us to leave Muslim immigrants to the mercy of shariah within their own families or communities when it is in direct violation of our own laws and constitution. In Great Britain, local shariah courts have been allowed to operate in civil property matters. At the same time, there are loud demands from people like Anjem Choudary and his radical groups that shariah become the law of the land. In Choudary's own words, that means honor-killings, stonings, death to homosexuals, and apostates from Islam. Great Britain has allowed the camel to get his nose under the proverbial tent.

I absolutely do not mean to imply that all or even most Muslim immigrants want to practice these things in America. Many came here to escape that type of oppresion. I am of the opinion that most Muslims realize that these things are not part of American culture, are contrary to American law, and are conducting their lives accordingly. Yet, honor-killings have, indeed, occurred in the US- in Buffalo, St Louis, Phoenix, and other places. They are isolated incidents,and the victims themselves are Muslims, but the justice must be sure. Everyone in this country is guaranteed certain rights to life. That includes rebellious wives and daughters, gays, and people deciding to change religions or just abandon a religion. We cannot turn a blind eye to these practices and allow people to be victimized in the name of multi-culturalism.

Malmo: 1945 and 2012

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk

Hat tip to Jihad i Sverige (Jihad in Sweden)

From the Swedish-language site Jihad i  Sverige, I am cross-posting (and translating) an announcement of a feature film that is showing this weekend in Sweden about the arrival in Malmo, Sweden of Jewish survivors of the Holocaust. A 2-minute trailer is also available in English at the below link (Hoppets Hamn) The film is appearing as part of Europe's observation of Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27).

Malmö

Idag antisemitismens huvudstad

i Sverige. Då: Hoppets hamn för tusentals

överlevande...Malmo

Today the capital of anti-Semitism in Sweden

Then: harbor of Hope for thousands of survivors

**

Våren och sommaren 1945 anländer

nästan 30 000 överlevare från de

tyska koncentrationslägren till Sverige.

På kajen i Malmö hamn upplever de

sina första ögonblick av frihet.

Det är där livet börjar igen.

In the spring and summer of 1945, almost 30,000 survivors of German concentration camps arrived in Sweden. On the quais of Malmo's harbor, they experienced their first view of freedom. It was there that life began again.

**

Filmfotograferna är på plats och i en

journalfilm ser vi den leende, tioåriga

flickan Irene, som precis stigit av

färjan. I samma film möter vi nyfödda Ewa

när hon bärs iland av sin utmattade

mamma, stöttad av en Röda Kors-syster.

Film photographers were at the scene, and in a news film we see the smiling, ten-year-old girl, Irene, just when she gets off the ferry. In the same film, we meet the new-born Ewa as she is carried by her exhausted mother, supported by a Red Cross nurse.  

**

I Hoppets hamn lär vi också känna ton-

åringen Joe, som anländer till Sverige

efter att ha förlorat sin familj.

Han blir god vän med den 15-årige Röda

Kors-volontären Stig från Malmö och

deras möte kommer att förändra Joes liv.

In Hope's Harbor, we also meet the teenager, Joe, who arrives in Sweden after losing his family. He becomes good friends with 15-year-old Red Cross volunteer Stig from Malmo, and their meeting will change Joe's life.

**

I Magnus Gerttens nya långfilms-

dokumentär berättar dessa överlevare

om frihetens ögonblick och om frågorna

de burit med sig ända sedan kriget.

Samtidigt är det en film om den hjälpande

hand som Malmö och Sverige räckte fram

till dom som kom levande ur koncen-

trationslägren

Magnus Gertten's new feature film documentary tells us about the survivors at freedom's moment and about questions they carry since the war. At the same time, this is a film about the helping hand that Malmo and Sweden extended to those who came as survivors from concentration camps.

**

Hoppets Hamn visas denna helgen i SvT2

SVT2 fre 27 jan kl 15.50
SVT2 lör 28 jan kl 14.30
SVT2 sön 29 jan kl 00.55

Hope's Harbor will be shown this holiday on SvT2

SVT2 Friday, 27 January. 15:50 

SVT2@ Saturday, 28 January 14:30

SVT2, Sunday, 29 January 00:55

------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Jihad i Sverige points out at the top, Malmo today is no longer hope's harbor, rather it is the capital of Swedish anti-Semitism. The Jewish community is leaving Malmo as fast as it can get out, unable to deal with the harassment, assaults and vandalism it suffers from Malmo's Muslim immigrant population, which makes up some 25% of the city's population, and has turned the Rosengard section into a "no-go zone."

And what support do the Jews get from Malmo's mayor, Ilmar Reepalu? None. His attitude is that the Jews are welcome to leave since he identifies them with Israel, a nation he despises. He is a disgrace.

Ohio State University Newspaper Ad

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com



Hat tip to Frontpage Magazine


David Horowitz's Freedom Center has placed an ad in THE Ohio State University newspaper (The Lantern) that has the little rascals all riled up. It lists former Muslim Student Association leaders of various college campuses who have gone on to join the ("lesser") jihad.  Frontpage Magazine also has a report about the controversy.

http://frontpagemag.com/2012/01/25/ohio-state-students-mobilize-against-freedom-center-ad/

Again, I invite my Muslim readers, especially those who are involved with the Muslim Student Union at UC Irvine, to weigh in. I think we can have a respectful discussion on this topic. Does the ad stigmatize all Muslims on college campuses or even all MSU/MSA members?

What about the statement that there is a fine line between freedom of  speech and hate speech? How does this compare with statements made at UCI over the years by Amir Abdel Malik Ali, Mohammed al Asi, and others?

C'mon! It's all about dialogue.

The Leopard Will Change His Spots

Book of Obama Chapter 13

And the Holy One, anointed by Holy Chief of Justice, John of Roberts, returned to the Dome of the Capital, dressed in the Holy suit and tie and addressed the assembled chapter of the Congress, the Holy Justices of the land, the members of the anointed Cabinet and guests from near and far, the Anointed One, Wearer of the Mantle of Power, spoke:

I ended the war in Iraq, I killed the evil bin Laden, and personally I welcomed all the soldiers home from Iraq. I am the Holy One, the President and I can do everything.  I have brought peace to the world, the world respects us better now than at any time, I will end the war in Afghanistan too.  For I am the Messiah of the World.

I want all of you, My slaves oops My people to remember what I did for you after World War 2.  My Grandfather who fought with Patton (and liberated Auschwitz) and My Grandmother who built the entire US Navy by herself, got to go to college for nothing.  They built the US to its greatness all by themselves.

But now I see that you have done everything to destroy Me.  You have overspent, you have destroyed My credit (and yours), you have bought homes that you could not afford.  But I am here.  I will pay your mortgages.  I will refinance your mortgages.  I will make it all better.  I am your Savior.

I will prevent jobs from going overseas.  I will investigate businesses who outsource their jobs to China.  (That is until Warren Buffet tells Me to stop.)  There will be no more bailouts for banks, for Wall Street, for anyone, except for Unions.  I saved the auto industry.  No one helped Me.  And they are stronger now than before.  (Sorry about the Volt thing.)  I will make other nations have an equal playing field with Me.  I am the equalizer.

I will tax the rich higher.  And I will tax everyone else higher too.  I will change the tax code.  I am Omnipotent.  I can and will do all.

I salute America's teachers.  I stand by your unions.  I will throw more money to you so you can indoctrinate the children.  I want a law saying that a child must stay in school until either he or she graduates or turns 18.  That way I can have them indoctrinated to be our slaves.  I will find a way to destroy the home schools, the private schools (But not the ones My daughters attend.), and the religious schools.  Everyone will learn the same, think the same, live the same.  Everyone will get free college under Me.  (Except to the "good" schools.)

I will give citizenship to every immigrant to the United States.  It matters not to Me if they are legally here or not.  And I demand that this be done before the November elections (I need the votes.).

I will create jobs in energy.  I will have the oil fields opened up.  (Until the environmentalists either go to court or demand that I stop.)  I demand that we develop alternate energy (The people who created Solyndra have given Me more money.  I need to give them more government funds.)  Under Me the United States has imported less oil than in the last 16 years.  (Not really but if you tell a lie long and loud enough the sheeple will believe it.)

I will clear away all the Red Tape, all the government regulations that hold business down.  But only until I am re-elected.  Then not only will it all return but I will impose stricter restrictions upon the land.

Under My leadership the Muslim world has undergone transformations.  I was the cause of the Arab Spring, the Arab renewal, the Muslim revival.  This is all good in My eye.  I will remove Assad from Syria, nukes from Iran and Jews from Palestine.  I will defeat the evil Netanyahu and replace him with the moderate Abbas.  There will be peace through out the land, for under Me all will drink the Kool-Aid and sing the Kumbaya.  Under Me all men, all women will live in peace.  There will be peace, the peace of Islam and the joy of the jizya.  This I will demand of the world.

Upon listening to this the people turned to each other and wondered why the Anointed One didn't do any of these things when He first came into office.  They saw what He had done and shook their heads.  In a loud voice they shouted:

NOT THIS TIME!

It's 2012!

We are experiencing Solar Activity on a scale we haven't seen in decades.  The Sun has come to life and is throwing a fit.

RADIATION STORM IN PROGRESS: Solar protons accelerated by this morning's M9-class solar flare are streaming past Earth. On the NOAA scale of radiation storms, this one ranks S3, which means it could, e.g., cause isolated reboots of computers onboard Earth-orbiting satellites and interfere with polar radio communications. An example of satellite effects: The "snow" in this SOHO coronagraph movie is caused by protons hitting the observatory's onboard camera.

ALMOST-X FLARE AND CME (UPDATED): This morning, Jan. 23rd around 0359 UT, big sunspot 1402 erupted, producing a long-duration M9-class solar flare. The explosion's M9-ranking puts it on the threshold of being an X-flare, the most powerful kind. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured the flare's extreme ultraviolet flash:

"This was amazing," he says. "It was a wonderful experience to see these stunning auroras."

NOAA forecasters estimate a 10% - 25% chance of continued geomagnetic storms tonight as effects from the CME impact subside. The odds will increase again on Jan. 24-25 as a new CME (from today's M9-clare) approaches Earth. High-latitude sky watchers should remain alert for auroras.

We could experience blackouts, loss of satellite signals, even loss of television (cable) systems.

A powerful solar eruption is expected to blast a stream of charged particles toward Earth tomorrow (Jan. 24), as the strongest radiation storm since 2005 rages on the sun.

Early this morning (0359 GMT Jan. 23, which corresponds to late Sunday, Jan. 22 at 10:59 p.m. EST), NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory caught an extreme ultraviolet flash from a huge eruption on the sun, according to the skywatching website Spaceweather.com.

According to NOAA, this is the strongest solar radiation storm since May 2005, and as a precaution, polar flights on Earth are expected to be re-routed within the next few hours, Kathy Sullivan, deputy administrator of NOAA, said today at the 92nd annual American Meteorological Society meeting in New Orleans, La.

The solar flare spewed from sunspot 1402, a region of the sun that has become increasingly active lately. Several NASA satellites, including the Solar Dynamics Observatory, the Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), and the Stereo spacecraft observed the massive sun storm.

A barrage of charged particles triggered by this morning's solar flare is expected to hit Earth tomorrow at around 9 a.m. EST (1400 GMT), according to experts at the Space Weather Prediction Center, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Scientists call these electromagnetic bursts "coronal mass ejections" (CMEs), and they are closely studied because they can produce potentially harmful geomagnetic storms when the charged particles rain down Earth's magnetic field lines.

In addition to generating stronger than normal displays of Earth's auroras (also known as the northern and southern lights), geomagnetic storms aimed directly at our planet can also disrupt satellites in orbit, cause widespread communications interference and damage other electronic infrastructures.

"There is little doubt that the cloud is heading in the general direction of Earth," Spaceweather.com announced in an alert. "A preliminary inspection of SOHO/STEREO imagery suggests that the CME will deliver a strong glancing blow to Earth's magnetic field on Jan. 24-25 as it sails mostly north of our planet."

Sunday's solar flare was rated an M9-class eruption, which placed it just on the verge of being an X-class flare, the most powerful type of solar storm. M-class sun storms are powerful but mid-range, while C-class flares are weaker.

NASA routinely monitors space weather conditions to determine any potential hazards to the astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Based on the agency's assessment, the six spaceflyers currently living and working on the orbiting outpost are not in any danger, said NASA spokesman Kelly Humphries.

"The flight surgeons have reviewed the space weather forecasts for the flare and determined that there are no expected adverse effects or actions required to protect the on-orbit crew," Humphries told SPACE.com in an email.

Finish reading here

The year is 2012 and perhaps the Disaster Gods don't wish to wait until December 21st.

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle