Honduras Defending Democracy and Constitution

by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

In researching the events taking place in Honduras, I see President Obama immediately cited the outster of President Manuel Zeyala as "not legal." Another "gird your loins" moment for the American President. The question is: was this a coup d'etat or a constitutional succession?

Roberto Micheletti

Why did the Supreme Court rule that ousted President Manuel Zelaya was subverting the rule of law in Honduras? Why did Congress rule the same?

Zelaya's term of office ends in 2010. He called for a "controversial referendum" to take place on June 28th. The referendum, if approved, would have made changes to the Honduran Constitution to allow Zelaya to run for office for another term, an action the Supreme Court says is not lawful.

While Honduran law allows for a constitutional rewrite, the power to open that door does not lie with the president. A constituent assembly can only be called through a national referendum approved by its Congress.

But Mr. Zelaya declared the vote on his own and had Mr. Chávez ship him the necessary ballots from Venezuela. The Supreme Court ruled his referendum unconstitutional, and it instructed the military not to carry out the logistics of the vote as it normally would do.

After the Supreme Court declared the referendum not lawful, Zelaya vowed to hold a vote on the referendum anyway. Zelaya dismissed "the military chief," Romeo Vasquez, who opposed Zelaya's position on the referendum. The Supreme Court asked that Vazquez be reinstated. Zelaya refused.

So on Thursday he [Zelaya] led a mob that broke into the military installation where the ballots from Venezuela were being stored and then had his supporters distribute them in defiance of the Supreme Court's order.

The attorney general had already made clear that the referendum was illegal, and he further announced that he would prosecute anyone involved in carrying it out. Yesterday, Mr. Zelaya was arrested by the military and is now in exile in Costa Rica.

The Supreme Court voted to remove Zelaya "to defend the rule of law."

The Honduran Congress later swore in its leader, Roberto Micheletti, as the new head of state after voting to remove Mr. Zelaya for "manifest irreuglar conduct" and "putting in present danger the state of the law."

Micheletti said that the orders carried out as issued by the Supreme Court and the Congress "was not a coup d'etat, but a constitutional succession."

The new government's foreign minister, Enrique Otez Colindres said the new government looks forward to meeting with OAS officials:

...so they can realize that this is a government that respects all laws and the only thing it did was to remove a president for systematically violating the constitution.

Manuel Zelaya was elected as a conservative. He has progressively moved away from that position and cemented relationships with Cuba's Castros, Venezuela's Chavez and Bolivia's Morales. As Wall Street Journal writer, O'Grady said, it is not "about left-right politics."

It is about defending the independence of institutions that keep presidents from becoming dictators.

So how do the Honduran people feel about the ouster? The Latin Business Chronicle says that Honduran business support the Supreme Court and Micheletti's new government:

It is extremely popular,” says Jacqueline Foglia Sandoval, former president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Honduras. “I don’t know of any one who isn’t celebrating."

[The attempted referendum] followed three years of Zelaya policies that were seen as arbitrary and often hurting business, Foglia Sandoval says.

Over the last three years, our ex president had created political and social chaos,” she says. “He [was] very unpredictable and many times [imposed] arbitrary actions that …affected the business climate.

The Latin Business Chronical reports that wage hikes smacked of socialism and resulted in the loss of 150,000 jobs.

[Zeyala] in December to raise the minimum wage by 60 percent despite that unions had demanded 20 to 30 percent and employers had countered with zero to 10 percent.

Not only did he exceed the union demands, but also imposed the new laws as companies already had their 2009 budgets ready, Foglia Sandoval points out. As a results some 150,000 jobs were lost during the past six months, she says.

Another concern was his talk about implementing socialism of the 21^st century, modeled on Venezuela. “People associate socialism with ration cards, with lines, with the things we do not want,” Foglia Sandoval says. “It’s a poor country, but we don’t have rationing, or lack of mobility, or have to ask permission for moving.” Further issues raised by the business community is the lack of security, which Sandoval said Zelaya completely ignored. Drug trafficking is growing and people fear for their personal safety. Foreign investment has diminished, and Zelaya's treatment of foreign oil companies was considered "hostile."

In January 2007, Zelaya announced plans to temporarily assume control of oil terminals and restrict imports of oil to one company in an effort to reduce fuel prices. However, after the US Embassy in Honduras warned that the takeover would have serious consequences, the government reversed its position on the terminals.

Fogliz Sandoval said relations with the U.S. were "worsening."

The people of Honduras are standing to protect their Constitution. This is a hallelujah moment for Democracy.

President Obama has said that the ouster of Manuel Zelaya was "not legal." Obama has said the U.S. will "stand on the side of democracy." He has said nothing about the legality of Zelaya subverting the Honduran Constitution. That is the issue. If a democratic election is held, and then the one democratically elected attempts to take over the government illegally - then why are we not talking about that?

Rudi Stettner at Rant Rave looked at the differences in Obama's handling of the Iranian election and the Honduran succession and summed it up this way:

One thing that was established in the Honduran coup. When there is a "progressive" consensus, Obama will quickly find his voice. Since Islamic radicals are the fascists that liberals love, a blind eye will be turned to their sins.

EPA Hushes Dissent: Inconvenient Truths

By Maggie at Maggie Thornton

Repeated lies from a Government to the people is usually the strategy of a third-world country or a dictatorship, but we find it happening in the United States every day. These are big lies, important lies, lies that affect the future of all of us...the future of our children and grandchildren and their children. Just as the media has refused to do much reporting on the Cap and Trade Bill, they also will not tell you of the lies leading up to the vote on the Waxman-Markey Bill. In this case, the EPA silenced and suppressed opposition, and blatantly lied. See a video below.

EPA

Here's the opening of an Investor's Business Daily editorial from Friday, June 26th, 2009 - the day of the House vote:

Climate Change: A suppressed EPA study says old U.N. data ignore the decline in global temperatures and other inconvenient truths. Was the report kept under wraps to influence the vote on the cap-and-trade bill?

The Competitive Enterprise Institute released a study that they say was "suppressed" by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The report says that the United Nations uses "outdated research" on climate change and "ignores the latest scientific findings." From the report:

Given the downward trend in temperatures since 1998 (which some think will continue until at least 2030), there is no particular reason to rush into decisions based on a scientific hypothesis that does not appear to explain most of the available data."

As Obama and Pelosi have shoved this legislation down our collective throats, many Americans are gullible enough to think this legislation takes us to nirvana. Many are dreaming of working among the "green" jobs that will save America. Wake up America. Those dreams you are dreaming of, will turn into nightmares.

Little evidence? Outdated U.N. research? No reason to rush? This is not what the Obama administration and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were telling us when they were rushing to force a Friday vote on Waxman-Markey. We were given the impression that unless we passed this cap-and-tax fiasco, polar bears would be extinct by the Fourth of July.

Internal EPA emails show that the Agency knows and understands that their data is wrong, and those emails also show that they were intentionally suppressed. This is the people's EPA. Wake up America. Do you get your news from David Letterman?

The report was the product of Alan Carlin, senior operations research analyst at the EPA's National Center for Environmental Economics (NCEE). He's been with the EPA for 38 years but now has been taken off all climate-related work. He is convinced that actual climate observations do not match climate change theories and that only the politics, not the science, has been settled.

One of the e-mails unearthed by CEI was dated March 12, from Al McGartland, office director at NCEE, forbidding Carlin from speaking to anyone outside NCEE on endangerment issues such as those in his suppressed report.

All this is particularly interesting because of the charges by Al Gore, NASA's James Hansen and others that the Bush administration and energy companies actively suppressed the truth about climate change.

Carlin was told March 17: "The administrator and the administration have decided to move forward on endangerment, and your comments do not help the legal or policy case for this decision. . . . I can only see one impact of your comments given where we are in the process, and that would be a very negative impact on our office."

In other words, the administration and Congress had their collective minds made up and didn't want to be confused with the facts. They certainly didn't want any inconvenient truths coming out of their own Environmental Protection Agency, the one that wants to regulate everything from your lawn mower to bovine emissions and which says the product of your respiration and ours, carbon dioxide, is a dangerous pollutant and not the basis for all life on earth.

Thank you to Investor's Business Daily for making this information available. I hope you will read the entire editorial. Thank you to Senator Jim Inhofe who has led the way to understanding the deception behind global warming/climate change. This video is a bit long, but it's full of useful information.

Related:
Media Ignore EPA Suppressing Skeptical Global Warming Report


California Zoning Laws Coming to Your Neighborhood, In Any State - Courtesy Cap and Trade




Senator Jim Inhofe

Iran: Liberal Thought, Liberal Democracy Ends

by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the June 12th elections were "the end of liberal democracy and liberal thoughts."

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

In other words, the next time "Western states" meddle in Iran's affairs, the President has a plan.

President Ahmadinejad said, “From now on, we will bring you to justice at any international meeting.”

He excoriates the West and cannot understand how the U.S., Germany, France and the U.K. can talk about human rights when our own hands are "stained with the blood of innocent people," and then there's our rotten and satanic attempts to "damage Iran's Islamic system...."

Ahmadinejad had something to say about Obama's outreach to Iran - you remember that offer to "talk." After Obama's comments during the Iranian street protests, Ahmadinejad said the U.S. didn't follow "international rules and norms," and besides that, we were just downright "impolite." He advises us to "correct" our "behavior."

You can read the article here or here at Judeopundit who also has some commentary worth reading.

North Korean Ship Goes Free: US Won't Inspect -- A Response from Radarsite

I have asked Maggie Thornton to cross post the article below to Radarsite because I feel that is important. It is important for us to see what lengths our Chamberlainesque government will go to to avoid any confrontation whatsoever with our avowed enemies. The excuse, as usual, is that we cannot be seen to be acting unilaterally -- so therefore we will not act at all.

There are times in the life of a nation when words just aren't enough. When action, and only action will suffice. This is one of those times. And the whole world is watching us as we disgrace ourselves and bow down before the bully. How on earth are we ever going to contain the escalating threats of proliferation if we are on record for being unwilling to put our lives on the line, and to back up our words with our actions?

Has our once-proud State Department merely become an extension of the corrupt UN, is our Defense Department seemingly at the beck and call of a cowardly pacifist president. For the sake of some pie-in-the-sky concept of Universalism have we bartered away our national identity?

The only military response we have given to North Korean aggressions so far is purely defensive: If you attack us we can shoot down your missiles. Is this a cogent deterrent to a determined enemy? No wonder our great nation is viewed by our adversaries with nothing but well-deserved contempt.

Cowardice must support itself with rationalizations; bravery needs no rationalizations. The road we have chosen is the road of the coward. And I am ashamed. - rg

North Korean Ship Goes Free: U.S. Won't Inspect

by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

Any U.S. credence given to the authority of the United Nations is not only laughable but dangerous. With all the bluster about U.N. resolutions keeping North Korean ships from delivering nuclear materials on either end - either to another rogue country from North Korea or bringing such materials into North Korea, was just so much talk, and of course, most of us saw the U.N. resolution for what it was...worthless.

North Korea Protests U.S.

The Undersecretary of Defense Michele Flournoy said "that Washington has ruled out use of military force to inspect the North Korean freighter." It is understandable that the U.S. and other free world countries have their hands tied by the ruse of a impotent resolution. What is not understandable is the weak statements released by our Defense Department. I would rather hear nothing than hear this garbage:

The U.N. resolution lays out a regime that has a very clear set of steps," Ms. Flournoy said, according to the Yonhap news agency. "I want to be very clear. ... This is not a resolution that sponsors, that authorizes use of force for interdiction."

Ms. Flournoy said the U.S. still has "incentives and disincentives that will get North Korea to change course."

"Everything remains on the table, but we're focused on implementing the resolution fully, responsibly and with our international partners," she said.

Some 100,000 North Koreans reportedly gathered and threatened the U.S. with "a fire shower of nuclear retaliation" and shouts of "Let's crush them." Our Navy has been shadowing a North Korean ship and wasting manpower and fuel for what? The Kang Nam I is on it's way to Myanmar, and there is speculation about what is aboard: are there nuclear materials aboard, as they know the Kang Nam I has carried in the past - and carried directly to Myanmar? Who knows. Officials are "guessing." Maybe artillery...may other "conventional weaponry." Maybe "missiles." We pay the Defense and State Departments to do what you and I would and could do, for free - come up with answers to thwart the North Korean menace to the world, and our solutions would have nothing to do with the U.N.

Our Defense Department and State Department should be leading the way...berating the United Nations for it uselessness, for its ongoing work to promote dictators and lawless countries. Freedom comes at a price and the price should be the demise of the U.N.

Sderot: Iran and A Cinemateque

by Findalis



Just 2 separate articles on the occurring violence that is happening in Sderot from Gaza:

Iran too close for Israel's Comfort

by Noam Bedein

While the world follows Iranian developments from the grandstands of YouTube, the people of southern Israel have had front row seats for some time now.

When Iran's protege, Hamas, staged a coup in Gaza that placed 1.4 million Palestinians under 'Hamastan' military rule, no one thought of how southern Israelis would be affected. Located less than one mile away from Sderot, Gaza's dramatic developments would come to affect everyone in the region.

Before Israel disengaged the Jewish communities from Gaza in August 2005, the Palestinian Authority had promised vast properties of some of these communities to Hamas. Four months later, in January 2006, Hamas won a stunning victory in the Palestinian Authority legislative elections, which resulted in the Mecca Accord of March 2007, which obligated the PA to share all foreign assistance with the Hamas organization.

All this placed Hamas in a strategic position from where it could launch attacks on Israel, even before the Hamas military coup.

Iranian Hamas terror tactics have dominated the lives of the people of Sderot. A town battered by sustained attacks for eight years, Sderot has become the only city to remain under continuous siege in the 21st century.

Sderot woman overlooks her home, damaged in a Qassam attack during the recent Gaza war.

Photo: Noam Bedein

In 2008 alone, the Hamas-controlled Gaza regime fired over 3,300 rockets, mortars and Grads towards the Western Negev and southern Israel, 50 percent more than the previous year.

Five months after Operation Cast Lead, Hamas has fired over 215 rockets during the Hamas-Israel 'ceasefire.' Is anyone even keeping track of the number of failed ceasefires that Israel has held with Hamas in the past two years?

For Sderot residents, the knowledge that this has been Israel's third failed ceasefire with Hamas is not surprising.

In a June 17 appearance at the Knesset, Israel Security Agency director Yuval Diskin warned that "Hamas is continuing to increase its strength, manufacture longer-range rockets and smuggle rockets of a far superior quality,". In that light,every citizen of southern Israel knows that a massive escalation is around the corner, which will force more than one million Israelis in southern Israel into the seeming safety of protected rooms and bomb shelters.

Shoshana Swissa, a kindergarten teacher in Sderot recently told Sderot Media Center that ”Even today, in these relatively quiet days in Sderot, every single morning we exercise a drill for the 3-year-old children in our kindergarten. The staff teaches them how to run in 15 seconds towards the safe room when the Color Red alert siren sounds. ”

Turning the Gaza Strip into an Iranian military buffer zone

During Israel's second ‘ceasefire’ with Hamas, between June 2008- December 2008, Hamas did not waste any time building up its military capabilities. Israeli intelligence sources confirm that Hamas dug between 400 and 600 smuggling tunnels that connected Sinai and Gaza in order to “import” guns, missiles, explosives, money,and terrorists, along with oil, fuel, metal, cloths, electronics and even a lion for Gazan's zoo - earning the Hamas regime between 30-50 million dollars a month from the digging of the tunnels and the goods smuggled through.

The Iranian influence and involvement with the Gaza Strip peaked during the summer of 2008, when hundreds of Iranian missiles were smuggled in, to be fired massively only a few months later at southern Israelis during Israel's last military operation in Gaza.

Meanwhile, the Hamas regime trained tens of thousands of children and woman in Gaza during summer 2008, in anticipation of an Israeli counterattack to the Hamas reign of missiles.

Accepting Iran, accepting Hamas

Hamas today has become more acceptable as a resistance organization among political sectors worldwide. The most recent acceptance overture was made by the former US president Jimmy Carter, who visited Gaza this June and asked the European Union to take Hamas off the charts as a terrorist organization.

It should come as no surprise that a terrorist organization like Hamas, which has killed and wounded thousands of Israeli by suicide bombings and rocket fire, is now accepted as a legitmate governing body. If Iranian President, Ahmedinejad is invited to open a UN Conference on Human Rights and is then invited to meet with the Swiss President, then Western embrace of Hamas is just around the corner.

In the meantime, Sderot and southern Israel can only gear up for another round of rocket fire in the near future.

If Iranians really want to know where all their money from the sale of oil is going to they only have to look at 3 places: Their nuclear program which IS attempting to build an Nuclear bomb, Hamas and Hezbollah. With poverty in their own land, food prices soaring and violent crackdown on dissent, Iran is more concerned with providing weapons to Hamas and Hezbollah, then anything else. If you ever wondered where the Kassams that Hamas still fires into Sderot and the rest of Israel come from, look no further than Iran.

Bringing Israeli and Arab Worlds Together at the Sderot Cinemateque

by Anav Silverman

In a region where rockets have hammered civilian residents for the past eight years, the local Sderot Cinemateque remains a popular pastime for residents looking to enjoy a film. As the only rocket-proof cinema in Israel, the Sderot Cinemateque was built eight years ago, right around the time when the first Qassam slammed into Sderot.

The rocket-proof cinema allows local residents to enjoy a film uninterrupted when the rocket alarm, or Tzeva Adom sounds to warn residents of impending Qassams from Gaza. It remains a popular hangout regardless of rocket fire.

A week ago, I had the opportunity to watch a film at the Cinemateque during the eighth annual Cinema South Festival which was held from June 7-12. The festival features the films of graduate students studying in the Department of Film & TV at the local Sapir College. The festival also screened Israeli films that were awarded top prizes abroad as well as international films from Mexico, Hong Kong, and France.

International festival guests included filmmakers Carlos Reygadas from Mexico, Thierry Michel from Belgium, Osvalde Lewat-Hallade of Cameroon and Abi Feijo from Portugal among many others.

I had the opportunity to watch Ajami, one of the featured films of the festival,along with the hundreds of other area residents and international guests. Ajami, named after the largest Arab neighborhood in Jaffa, was co-directed by Israeli Yaron Shani and Jaffa-born Arab, Scandar Copti. The film tells the story of two Muslim Arab brothers and is set against the background of a revenge murder, gangs, Bedouin revenge squads, a Christian Arab godfather and Israeli police.

Ajami was filmed in Arabic -and most of the actors were from the Ajami neighborhood. The mostly Israeli audience at the Sderot cinemateque, myself included, followed along by reading the Hebrew subtitles below.

The film has won international acclaim and was shown in France’s prestigious Cannes Film Festival this past May.

In an interview with the New York Times, the directors of the film, Copti and Shani described their relationship outside of directing of the film, to which both wrote the script. When Shani’s city, Ashdod, was targeted by Gaza rockets in the recent war, Copti called him and said “Take your daughter and your wife and leave.” According to the NYT article, Shani does the same for Copti. Both the directors and the cast where present at the screening in Sderot.

There was something quite unique about watching Ajami in an Israeli rocket-proof theater on the Gaza border. In area that has been devastated by rockets and trauma, it is cultural events like the Cinema South Festival which brings hope for a normal reality that citizens on both sides of the Gaza border continue to seek.

Strange that a movie theater has to be bomb-proof, isn't it? But that is the reality of life in Sderot. Sderot is a small town that has faced the brunt of rocket attacks for 9 years now. Israel was guaranteed that if they "ethnically cleansed" Gaza of all Jews the rockets attacks would cease. The Israelis did just that in 2005, and the attacks got worse.

Now President Obama is singing the same song: "If you "ethically clean" Judea and Sameria of all Jews, there will be peace!"

Right, and I have a bridge in Brooklyn for those who believe this lie to buy.

Unless the PA is willing to be demilitarilized, there can never be peace. Strange as that sounds, it is not Israel who is anti-peace (regardless of what the Useful Idiots of Free Gaza keep saying), but it is the thugs and murderers of Hamas and the PA who will never accept a Jewish nation, never accept Israel and never stop their attacks.

Yet the world loves Hamas. It cries make peace with Hamas. How can one make peace with them when they have openly stated that their goal is the total destruction of Israel and the death to all Jews world-wide?

Again I ask you, my reader to pray for the people of Sderot, to pray for an permanent end to the rocket attacks, and if you are able to, to donate a few coins to the Sderot Media Center. They do such good work in the city of Sderot. Just click here and follow the instructions. All the funds collected go directly to helping the people of Sderot.

Pulling Out of Iraq: An Exchange of Thoughts

A note from Radarsite: While browsing through my documents file this afternoon I came across this forgotten exchange between myself and another commenter, Ms. Jennifer Solis, from the comments section of one of Dr. Daniel Pipes excellent articles, dated July 2007, "Salvaging the Iraq War". In the article Dr. Pipes puts forward his argument for keeping our troops in Iraq. In support of this view he lists the following reasons:
* Contain or rollback the Iranian and Syrian governments.
* Assure the free flow of oil and gas.
* Fight Al-Qaeda and other international terrorist organizations.
* Provide a benign presence in Iraq.

Considering the approaching deadline for a complete withdrawal of all of our combat troops in Iraq, and the escalating threats we now face from our emboldened Islamic enemies in Iran and Afghanistan, from the Taliban, Al Qaeda, Hezbolla, and Hamas, I feel that this discussion of the issues involved is perhaps even more pertinent today than it was in 2007. I hope that you agree. - rg

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

The Battle of Iraq and the Clash of Civilizations
Reader comment on article: Salvaging the Iraq War
Submitted by Roger W. Gardner (United States), Jul 29, 2007 at 16:31

What I am about to say is certain to offend a lot of people, but I'm going to say it anyway. Whether we stay in or Iraq or leave, the war that we have had thrust upon us will continue. For it is not just about Iraq, or Afghanistan, it is not just about al Qaeda. Iraq is just one of the battles in this war. This war is not about what we have done or haven't done in the Middle East.

This war we are in is a war against the hate-driven, pride/revenge culture of the Arab world (in which I include Iran) and the violence-prone religion which supports it. This is just the latest attempt of the Arab-Muslim world to fulfill their God-given destiny to conquer the West. Since the seventh century there have been at least a half dozen of these major attacks against the Judeo-Christian West -- some of which came perilously close to succeeding.

Fortunately, their invasions were thwarted and they were driven back across the Mediterranean, where they licked their wounds and plotted revenge and withdrew further into barbarism. Until this backward and hateful culture is thoroughly destroyed or utterly dominated -- as the last vestiges of the brutal warrior code of the Samurai had to be totally destroyed in WWII -- this never-ending war will continue. If there is nothing else that we have learned from our past conflicts with the Arab world, we can be certain of this -- they hate us, they hate our freedoms and they hate our success and they will never give up their attempts to conquer us.

For most Westerners, certainly for most Americans, it is so much easier to believe that what we are dealing with here is a small group of violent fanatics who have "hijacked" a peaceful religion -- like the Nazis "hijacked" Germany -- rather than having to contemplate the awful alternative: that a major world religion could, itself, be violent and that we are, indeed, in the first days of an inevitable and bloody "Clash of Civilizations." I truly wish that it were otherwise, but wishing won't make it so.

ingredient for lasting peace in Iraq
Reader comment on article: Salvaging the Iraq War
Submitted by jennifer solis (United States), Aug 22, 2007 at 14:58

Interesting suggestion to remove to the deserts and borders. I agree; however there's an imperative ingredient I wish Mr. Pipes would comment on; the inevitable civil war and resulting decimation of citizenry. All we're doing now is postponing what is in my estimation (however politically incorrect for me to articulate) the sad but obvious ingredient for a lasting peace in Iraq. Massive decimation.

After the Gulf war, how did Saddam manage to stop the Kurdish uprising? There was lasting peace afterwards; the Sunnis, Shi'te and Kurds knew, respected, feared the "strong horse" after that. He knew the mentality and culture of Irac citizenry better than we do (or admit we do). How did World War II end? We did not fight that war and succeed by having a "politically correct" mentality. We had a P.C. attitude in Viet Nam and we lost. Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and the fall of Berlin.......we won.

President Bush is right when he (all too infrequently) says we must stay on the offensive. Wars are won by offensive action, not defensive action. However, the ingrained cultural desire for Theocratical rule (inspite of the 'elections') on the part of the Irac populace has/ will trap them; they are the ones in a "quagmire". Sadly, to the Iracs fear and respect are synonomous; this applies towards whomever eventually brings peace to that country. -JS

Reply to Ms. Solis' comments
Reader comment on article: Salvaging the Iraq War
in response to reader comment: ingredient for lasting peace in Iraq
Submitted by Roger W. Gardner (United States), Aug 22, 2007 at 21:34

Sadly, I find myself in almost total agreement with Ms. Solis' thoughtful and straightfoward comments. We are in a real war and, as she pointed out so well, half-measures just won't do. Culture does matter. And the culture in most of the Middle East isn't quite the same as the culture in Sweden. I remember, back when our troops first entered the city of Baghdad, one of our embedded reporters was interviewing some of the Iraqis on the street, who were dancing and rejoicing over the apparent fall of Saddam Hussein. One of these excited Iraqis spoke English, and when the reporter asked him how he felt about those people who supported Saddam, he answered, "If I catch one I'll slit his throat and drink his blood!" And I remember thinking --Jeez! And this is one of the good guys!

Yes, they actually might continue"decimating each other" and , yes, there might be a civil war. And finally, you're absolutely right about some people seeming to need strong dictators, even if they're brutal and muderous -- some Russians still look back lovingly to the good old days, when their kindly Uncle Joe was in charge.

Yet despite all of these ominous -- indeed, sometimes seemingly inevitable -- scenarios, we still have to stay there and win. Why? Because all of the senior Al-Qaeda leaders have said that the battle for Iraq is absolutely central to their plans to eventually take control of the entire region and turn it into their long-awaited Caliphate. Like it or not, this is the center of focus for our war against Al-Qaeda. We just cannot allow Iraq to turn into another Taliban-like theocracy. We cannot allow Al-Qaeda to win.

Again, I agree with almost everything the observant Ms. Solis has said; but I respectfully disagree with her conclusion.

knowledge vs. opinion
Reader comment on article: Salvaging the Iraq War
in response to reader comment: Reply to Ms. Solis' comments
Submitted by jennifer Solis (United States), Aug 23, 2007 at 18:54

How much does the average American know about the religion of Islam?

Do they know that the Qu'ran is the Islamic "bible"? That Islam is the world's second largest religion? That in the Qu'ran the most assured way of going to "heaven" is to kill a Christian or a Jew? That in the Qu'ran you're commanded to lie? That in the Qu'ran you're instructed to "kill the infidel (anyone not of Islamic faith) wherever you find him"? All this is permitted in "times of jihad" (translated "my struggle, my fight". Ominously, the title of Hitler's book, "mien Kaumpf ", translates the same.).

Since 632 AD, the Qu'ran has been the Muslim's bible. There is no other. I appreciate Mr. Gardner's views in "The Battle of Iraq and the Clash of Civilizations". The truth is sad but the truth is this: a religion, second largest in the world, outrageously and graphically violent since it's inception, was sleeping for a couple of centuries; now, since Munich, it's raised it's ugly head.......Americans know about 9-11. Do they realize the vast majority of "peaceful" Muslims turn a blind eye toward their Muslim brothers planning "jihad"?

I agree that Iraq is the main Theater in the war. Strategically we would be fools to give it up. But trying to introduce a Democracy to a culture that is blind, has been blind for over a thousand years due to a dictatorial, violent religion is truly folly. Muslims born in Afganistan who realize this have left; Muslims born in Irac who realize this have left. Recently the "President" of Iraq and his cabinet announced their intention of going on a three-month vacation. Of course the American advisors quickly "hushed" that idea..........I had a hunch when I heard it that the new heads of the government of Iraq wanted to "get the hell out of dodge" while they could.

I found Mr.Gardner's letter to be observant -- "until this hateful and backward culture is thoughly destroyed or utterly dominated........" Question: how will this culture be dominated? What kind of domination has brought a period of peace to the Middle East before? Therein lies the answer. Removing our troops to the deserts and borders as Mr.Pipes suggests will force the Iraqis to step up. Force is something that is in the Iraqi's mental vocabulary. Whomever rises to power in Iraq, if he doesn't cooperate with American forces, blow him up. Really. Then whomever rises again to power, again, if he does'nt cooperate with American forces, blow him up. The Iraqis aren't mentally retarded; soon they'll catch on that they're being FORCED to cooperate with American forces. Let them have a "Theocracy". And, once again, let us be the "strong horse" in the war. -JS

Note: since the Kurds are the only ones who have proven the ability to self-govern, I would remove our forces also to the north to provide extra protection for the Kurds.

Response to Ms. Solis' comments
Reader comment on article: Salvaging the Iraq War
in response to reader comment: knowledge vs. opinion
Submitted by Roger W. Gardner (United States), Aug 24, 2007 at 17:31

Once again, I must respond to the knowledgable Ms.Solis' well-reasoned statements. I think that she might agree that sometimes -- like in 1941 -- war is the answer, the only answer that will do. And I agree that a strong hand will most likely be necessary for some time to come.

I hold no illusions concerning the difficulties we face in Iraq, and with this whole violent culture; however, if it is any solace to Ms. Solis (no puns intended), when, after Japan's unconditional surrender, we occupied the country and declared our intentions to bring about a democracy there, the wise men here and elsewhere hastened to point out -- quite reasonably -- that for us to attempt to change an alien culture, that had been more or less unchanged in thousands of years, a culture based on a foreign religion and on a national creed of the warrior and centuries of Emperor Worship, was both arrogant and foolhardy, and almost assuredly impossible.

It took about 5 years.

Before the pundits had time to write many books on this subject, Japan already had major league baseball and was quickly beginning to outdistance some of the Western democracies in performing those miracles of capitalism. All this, without losing their essential unique Japanese culture. The same thing happened in South Korea. And the entire Soviet Union fell apart before the CIA had had time for their morning coffee.

Once again, I don't underestimate the difficulties we face, and are going to face in the future in the Middle East and elsewhere. But as the previously examples have proven, there's always room for hope.

On a more personal note, it's been a pleasure talking with you.

And it's also been a pleasure following all of the other thoughtful comments on this subject.

RWG

unconditional surrender
Reader comment on article: Salvaging the Iraq War
in response to reader comment: Response to Ms. Solis' comments
Submitted by jennifer solis (United States), Aug 24, 2007 at 18:53

I thank Mr. Gardner for his response and thoughtfull, "dealing with the reality" commentary. The illustration of the situation of Japan, after WW II, is an interesting one. I'd like to ask Mr. Gardner to comment, however, on these points:

There was one confirmed leader of Japan; the United States had one Leader with whom to sign the treaty, and to whom the Japanese populace would in it's entirety acknowledge. Sure, at the time we didn't know for sure what the citizenry would do. But there was the track record of the Japanes' extreme loyalty toward ONE leader (Saddam never had the loyalty of all three tribes).

The Japanese fought wearing uniforms. How can you fight (in Iraq) an invisible army?

Hiroshima and Nagasaki................what an attention getter / way to gain respect (fear).

The Japanese unconditionally surrendered. Turns out that they did. Turning out not the same in Iraq.

Last, but not least, Japan's religion was not the second biggest in the world, their soldiers where not funded by an eternal flow of oil money, and we showed no mercy in this country by having internment camps on our home soil. Not that I desire internment camps for Muslims. There was, I believe, a "tougher mettle" attitude of Americans back then (they lined up around the block to enlist).

What are your thoughts, Mr. Gardner? -JS

Reply to Ms. Solis' comments
Reader comment on article: Salvaging the Iraq War
in response to reader comment: unconditional surrender
Submitted by Roger W. Gardner (United States), Aug 26, 2007 at 18:48

Dear Ms. Solis,

As usual, your comments are right on target. Ironically, although I keep agreeing with you, the disagreement seems to continue. As much as I enjoy this ongoing debate, I'm afraid I' m going to have to bow out at this point. Not because I think this discussion isn't an important one, or that I think your ideas aren't sound -- they are -- but I'm just beginning to wonder if this is the proper place to keep this dialogue going.

However, because of the respectful and serious manner in which you've framed your last questions, I'm not going to just disappear without at least attempting to answer them to the best of my ability.

One of the additional reasons I feel that it's probably a good idea for me to leave this particular discussion at this point is that I feel that -- as interesting as it has become -- it has strayed a little too far from my original intent in posting that first "Battle of Iraq ---" comment. If you recall, far from attempting to minimize the problems we are facing in this volatile region, I was attempting to prove that they were in fact much bigger and more ominous than some people seemed to believe; that, rather than being a comparatively smallish war confined to one relatively small country, it was, in my view, just one battle in a much larger and more dangerous looming worldwide conflict.

Yes, as you point out so clearly, there are many differences between what is currently going on in Iraq and what previously happened in Japan and South Korea. And yes, there are of course further differences between what happened in these two countries after WWII and what transpired with the sudden fall of the Soviet Union in 1989. My purpose in siting these examples was not to presume that what happened in these countries could , or ever would, happen the same way in Iraq, but to show that, what appears at first sight to be absolutely insurmountable problems, sometimes turn out to be otherwise. This thought gives me cause for a little optimism.

If you will recall my previous remarks about the violent culture of the Middle East, in general, and Iraq, in particular, I have no illusions about the grave difficuties we face there in the future. Indeed, it may be necessary for us to maintain a strong military presence in this area for 50 years or more.

I completely agree with your assessment of the need for a powerful and intimidating force there to accomplish our long term goals. In order to do this, however, I believe we need two things -- both of which seem to be in dangerously short supply right now -- manpower and willpower. Hopefully, in the future we can correct these shortfalls.

Once again, Ms. Solis, I've thoroughly enjoyed this discussion and hope to continue it somewhere else at a later time.

Best wishes,

Roger G.

the pleasure is mine
Reader comment on article: Salvaging the Iraq War
in response to reader comment: Reply to Ms. Solis' comments
Submitted by jennifer solis (United States), Aug 28, 2007 at 15:28

Dear Mr. Gardner,

Thank you for your reply. That you replied at all to my somewhat acerbic letter is testimony that you're a gentleman and also to your genuine interest and concern reguarding Iraq.

Thank you for pointing out also that what appears to be at first " absolutely insurmountable problems" sometimes turn out to be otherwise. Correcting the seemingly dangerous short supply of manpower and willpower. I couldn't agree with you more, Mr. Gardner.

I will look forward to any other possible replies of yours towards Mr. Pipes' articles, etc. I too have very much enjoyed the back-and- forth..................very respectfully, -JS

Where is CAIR on Iran?

Cross-posted by Gary Fouse
fousesquawk



Mr Awad, Mr Hooper?


I periodically check out the official website of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) to see if they have issued a statement on the happenings in Iran. I have thus far, failed to find any mention of Iran on their site. Of course, it may be that they posted something briefly and I missed it. Or it may be that their national leaders have issued a statement which doesn't appear on the website. Maybe it's all my ineptitude, but I just can't find any mention or statement by CAIR.

Of course, any time you read their website, you will find lots of reports of anti-Muslim bigotry and Islamophobia that they report, as well as reports of all the good works they are doing to promote inter-faith understanding and articles that dispel rumors about the group.

I have found a statement on Iran on the website of the Islamic Society of North America, which calls on the Iranian government to release those arrested during the disturbances, particularly one individual. That's about as far as it goes.

But nothing from CAIR. Can anybody help me out here? Or does CAIR not want to discuss the atrocities and crimes carried out by Islamic governments against their own people? If you want to find CAIR condemnations of Israel when it fights back against terrorists, you will be rewarded. But what about an Islamic government (that's what it calls itself) murdering its own people on the streets of Iranian cities?

So if anyone can illuminate me on any statements by CAIR, it's executive director, Nihad Awad or press spokesman, Ibrahim Hooper, I will be happy to acknowledge them.

Michael Jackson

Cross-posted by Gary Fouse
fousesquawk






I never was a fan of Michael Jackson. Maybe I was just a few years too old to be caught up in his music. That is not to deny his talent, which he was obviously born with. As a singer, he was OK. His extraordinary skill was his dancing and choreography. But who am I? Michael Jackson was possibly the biggest music star of all time. Still, with all the monumental problems going on in the world-especially in Iran, it seems incongruous to me that the world has come to a standstill over his death. Better it come to a standstill over the death of Neda, the young Iranian woman shot dead in the streets of Teheran by a hoodlum government.

Like it or not, however, this Michael Jackson thing is not going away any time soon. The whole episode is a mess-far beyond a 50-year-old man-child dying suddenly of cardiac arrest. No, this has all the ingredients of another Anna Nicole Smith drama complete with drugs, pain-killers, questionable conduct by a physician, alleged injections of Demerol, pending autopsy results, prominent pathologists like Cyril Wecht coming out of the woodwork to second-guess, and CPR performed by a cardiologist on a bed. Throw in the custody battle to come over his three kids and fighting over his estate. Add millions of fans lighting candles, holding vigils, crying, and what have you; it's going to be all Michael-all the time-even if the world comes to an end.

As cynical as I am, I was touched yesterday by the account of local ABC reporter Leo Stallworth, as he recounted his meeting with Jackson a few years back during the course of the infamous child-molestation trial. One day, Stallworth was walking across the parking lot of the courthouse when he encountered Jackson, who was sitting in an SUV. Jackson, recognizing him as a reporter, waved him over, introduced himself, and invited him into the vehicle for a chat. He asked Stallworth about his childhood and how he came to be a reporter. He then explained to Stallworth that he himself was a human, but one who had never had the opportunity to have a cherished childhood. There's not much more I can add to that because I can't tell the story in as moving a way as Stallworth did.

From what we all know of Jackson's life, it is a given that he did not have a normal childhood. Nor did he have the opportunity to become a normally-functioning adult. He have heard stories of possible abuse by his father, but I am no more qualified to pass judgement on that than anyone else. Nor can I pass judgement on the charges of pedophilia, of which he was acquitted. I have my own opinion, but that is all it's worth.

For all his talent, Jackson's legacy will always be clouded. There will always be the questions about chemical dependency, his eccentricities, and the eternal question of his relationships with young children. Was it simply a matter of a confused individual trying to capture a childhood he never had for altruistic reasons, or was it something more sinister? Aside from the superstar performer and the million-selling hits, what will be Jackson's legacy as a person and a citizen? It is unfortunate that we may never settle that question once and for all. Yes, he was a tragic figure-like many others who were brought down by their careers and celebrity. Jackson enjoyed many rewards in life for his talent, but it came at a price.

At the end of it all, I can't decide whether I pity him or not. I do feel, however, that there are more important people and issues in the world that we should be crying over.

Catholic Colleges Supporting Abortion Advocates and Gay Marriage

by Barbara W. Sowell

The Cardinal Newman Society has posted an article naming 10 Catholic Colleges and universities that are promoting student internships with organizations that support abortion and/or Gay marriage.

Here's an excerpt from the article, "Ten Catholic Colleges Support Internships with Advocates of Abortion, Gay Marriage"

A national Catholic higher education organization has identified 10 Catholic colleges and universities that are promoting student internships with organizations whose missions or activities are directly opposed to the moral teachings of the Catholic Church, including on fundamental issues such as abortion and marriage.

“This discovery validates the concerns of so many thousands of faithful Catholic parents and students, that public scandals at Catholic colleges are just the tip of the iceberg,” said Patrick J. Reilly, President of The Cardinal Newman Society. “Under what definition of ‘Catholic education’ do students receive academic credit to work for leading pro-abortion organizations?”

Last week, CNS wrote to the presidents of these colleges and universities to inform them of the problems with their internship programs. None have yet indicated that they will take steps to remedy the problems.

The internship programs—along with concerns about theological dissent, weakening academic standards and declining campus culture at many Catholic colleges and universities—help explain why most students and recent graduates of Catholic institutions believe that abortion and gay marriage should be legal, despite the Church’s clear teachings to the contrary. That was one of the disturbing findings of a November 2008 study published by the CNS Center for the Study of Catholic Higher Education and titled “Behaviors and Beliefs of Current and Recent Students at U.S. Catholic Colleges.”

Go to the article here for a listing of the institutions involved.

Message from Focus on the Family Action, Inc.

Congress is considering two bills – the Hate Crimes Act and ENDA (Employment Non-Discrimination Act) – that would severely threaten our religious beliefs and our ability to share those beliefs. I invite you to join me in signing a Focus Action petition opposing these bills and asking Congress to stop them now.

Sign the Petition here.

Join Christians Against Leftist Heresy

 

Technorati Tags: Cardinal Newman Society,Catholic,colleges,universities,internships,abortion,homosexual,homosexuality,Gay marriage,Focus on the Family,Hate Crimes Act,ENDA,Employment Non-Discrimination Act

A Major Shift in Priorites

Michael Jackson is dead. All other current crises will now be put on hold. Sorry Ahmadinejad, sorry Kim Jong Ill, but your audiences have all left the room. No one is paying any attention to you today, current events have pushed you off the stage. Ahmadinejad, you will just have to continue work on your nuclear weapons without comment from the West. And Kim Jong Ill, your threats and provocations have no weight with us today. Your newsworthiness has been usurped by a much more significant story, a much more significant crisis.
Michael Jackson is dead. From Fox News to the BBC, it has already been decided, this is the major issue of the day. Forget about nuclear proliferation. Forget about escalating threats and impending confrontations. Forget about the Global War on Terror. The Western World has spoken, they have made their priorities known. The Western World has decided what is truly important today, and what is not. And you, Ahmadinejad, and you Kim Jong Ill, just don't have what it takes to compete with this current crisis. So, just do whatever you want to do, we're going to be ignoring you for awhile. You see, you're just not as important as you thought you were. - rg

3 Years Is Too Long!

by Findalis


June 25, 2009 will be the 3rd anniversary of the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit. 3 years of being a POW. Yet in his case the International Red Cross is not allowed to visit, the world's media (excluding the media in Israel) is silent, and the leaders of the world are more concerned with recognizing Hamas (the kidnappers) and not one lone Israeli soldier.

It was Yelena Bonner, the widow of Andrei Sakharov who brought up Gilad's plight to the public forum in a speech given at the Oslo Freedom Forum:

Why doesn’t the fate of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit trouble you in the same way as the fate of the Guantanamo prisoners?

You fought for and won the opportunity for the International Committee of the Red Cross, journalists, and lawyers to visit Guantanamo. You know prison conditions, the prisoners’ everyday routine, their food. You have met with prisoners subjected to torture. The result of your efforts has been a ban on torture and a law to close this prison. President Obama signed it in the first days of his coming to the White House…

But during the two years Shalit has been held by terrorists, the world human rights community has done nothing for his release. Why? He is a wounded soldier, and fully falls under the protection of the Geneva Conventions. The Conventions say clearly that hostage-taking is prohibited, that representatives of the Red Cross must be allowed to see prisoners of war, especially wounded prisoners, and there is much else written in the Geneva Conventions about Shalit’s rights.

The fact that representatives of the Quartet conduct negotiations with the people who are holding Shalit in an unknown location, in unknown conditions, vividly demonstrates their scorn of international rights documents and their total legal nihilism. Do human rights activists also fail to recall the fundamental international rights documents?

And yet I still think (and some will find this naive) that the first tiny, but real step toward peace must become the release of Shalit. Release - and not his exchange for 1,000 or 1,500 prisoners who are in Israeli prisons serving court sentences for real crimes.

Returning to my question of why human rights activists are silent, I can find no answer except that Shalit is an Israeli soldier, Shalit is a Jew. So again, it is conscious or unconscious anti-Semitism. Again, it is fascism.

Gilad Shalit is a Jew. That is why the world accepts Hamas' continued captivity of Sgt. Shalit. Dr. Bonner saw the truth, when will the rest of the world see it.

Dhimmi Carter has suggested to President Obama that Hamas be taken off the terror group list. Perhaps President Obama do so when and if Hamas releases Sgt. Shalit first. It would be a gesture on Hamas' part that they are willing to become civilized and follow international law. Until that they must be kept on the terror group list.

Not once during President Obama speech to Muslims that he gave in Egypt did he mention Gilad Shalit. Not once. Isn't it about time that he did.

And isn't it about time you did too. You can. For the next 24 hours go onto Twitter, Facebook and other networking sites and shout out about this injustice. A Soldier's Mother has done just that with:

We MUST get #Gilad to the top on Thursday! Spread it using RT Facebook, LinkedIn – email. Please Thursday remember #Gilad!"

Let us all make Thursday Gilad Shalit Day.

It is time to bring Sgt. Shalit home. Let it be soon!

"From Mumbai to the USA: Are you ready yet?": A Second Look

A note from Radarsite. Interestingly, this article from November 2008 shows up as the most read article on Radarsite for today, June 24, 2009. It has consistently been among the top three Radarsite articles for the past three days. These hits are coming from all over the world. I have no idea why this particular article has garnered so much interest lately, and I would appreciate any thoughts on this subject. - rg
FBI Academy
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---------------------------------------------------------------

How could our enemy make themselves any more obvious? Here is the truth, plain and simple: the enemy is Islam. Their avowed mission is to utterly destroy or totally dominate the West. They have been prosecuting this War against the West for at least five decades now. Since World War Two, they have been responsible for innumerable bloody attacks against our innocent civilians, against our innocent women and children. Every year they grow stronger, and more and more emboldened. Every year they increase the frequency and the severity of their attacks. And what price have they paid for this relentless orgy of mass murder? What real pain have we ever actually inflicted on them? What have we done to them to deter them from further attacks? Anything? Have we ever really hurt them at all?

Are we going to continue relying on the United Nations to admonish them and to dissuade them from their great jihad against the West? Are we going to look for help from this useless multi-national organization, who has repeatedly sanctioned these terrorist attacks by presenting Islam as the victim of Western aggression? Are we going to look to the toothless and morally conflicted EU to help us to win this war? Those cowardly Europeans who cannot even find the will to protect their own nations from this encroaching Muslim menace?

After all this time, do we really not know who the enemy is? Do we really not know who gives them comfort and succor? Are we still determined to close our eyes and ears to this loud and clear message from Mumbai?

Or are we finally ready now to fight this war with brave deeds instead of cowardly words, to finally inflict some real pain on this blood-soaked enemy who is determined to destroy us? Are we ready now?

If we are ready, if we are truly determined to protect ourselves, then we must deter the enemy. Do we really have no weapons in this war? Are we really that helpless? The answer is No. We have the weapons to use, we just have to use them. We just have to get serious. Here is how we could begin.

Number one:

All Muslim immigration to the US must be curtailed immediately.

Number two:

All Muslims here in this country, whether citizens of this country or not, must be treated as enemy aliens, and either rounded up or deported.

Number three:

Islam must be declared to not be considered a religion, but rather an enemy ideology, incompatible with our democratic principles, and the practice of Islam must be declared illegal in the US or any of its territories.

Number four:

We must close all mosques and all Islamic organizations. Anyone promoting or advocating Islam must be declared to be an enemy of the State.

Number five:

Any country that promotes the cause of Islam must henceforth be considered an enemy of the United States.

Number six:

Any threats against the West in general or America in particular must be considered acts of war. And the country from which these threats emerge must be punished in some immediate and meaningful way. In this, we will act ruthlessly and unilaterally, regardless of the interests of other countries or of the corrupt, anti-Western, pro-Islamic UN.

Number seven:

All options must be left on the table. The nuclear option must be made real. If our very existence is to be at stake, then we must be prepared to threaten the very existence of our enemies.

Number eight:

No more words. No more empty diplomatic sanctions. If we are attacked we will react violently and disproportionately and without mercy.

Number nine:

We are ready now to show the world that we truly do have the will to survive and the will to inflict terrible injuries on our enemies. And to our enemies we say this, We have exhausted all other means of deterrence, now we are going to use our awesome might to subjugate you and destroy your will. If you will not respect us then, by God, you will learn to fear us. Know that there will be no limits to our revenge. We will find you and we will kill you. We will kill your families and we will destroy your homes. We will flatten your cities and reduce your countries to ashes before we will submit to your barbaric will. Take a lesson from Imperialist Japan. You have awakened and angered a great beast and now you will pay the terrible consequences of your folly.

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U.S. Attorney Larry Brown and CNCS Displeasure with Walpin

By Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

One of the issues concerning Gerald Walpin's firing that is not being discussed much, is the displeasure of acting U.S. Attorney General Lawrence Brown with Walpin. Another not being discussed at all, is why the CNCS board turned hostile toward an investigation CNCS had tasked Walpin with, via Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Lawrence G. Brown

Acting Attorney General Lawrence G. Brown sent a letter to the "Integrity and Ethics" Counsel of Inspectors General, asking that Walpin be scrutinized for an ethics breach in the investigation of Kevin Johnson, Sacrament0 Mayor, and of course, former NBA "star."

At this point, the investigation had been completed. Here are Brown's concerns about Walpin:

1) Walpin was not authorized to recommend Suspension and Debarment for Kevin Johnson and Dana Gonzalez - overstepping his authority.

2) Walpin's report and his conclusions seemed overstated and not reflective of the investigation

3) Walpin released information to the press that the case was being referred to the U.S. Attorney's office for a decision on whether to prosecute criminally or civilly, before notifying Brown's office. Brown asserts that he learned about it through the Sacramento Bee and not through proper channels.

4) Walpin withheld information from the U.S. Attorney's office.

5) Walpin did not achieve a "settlement agreement" quickly enough to allow Johnson to be released from the Suspension upon becoming Sacramento's Mayor. The Sacramento Bee was calling for a quick resolution because it was believed that the City of Sacramento could not receive federal funds if their Mayor was under suspension.

Brown wrote the letter to the Ethics Committee on April 29, 2009. You can read Brown's letter here.

Gerald Walpin responded with an 18 page letter [undated from what I can see]. You can read Walpin's letter here. Because he answers every accusation by Brown in detail, I cannot easily put it down in a bulleted list. I've outlined what I see as the pertinent points dispelling Brown's claims.

This is important because after Walpin was fired, reports were everywhere that he mishandled the investigation of Kevin Johnson? But did he? We have an acting U.S. Attorney General making the charge. How does Walpin fight back against that? Maybe his 18-page response "to the complaint" shows another side, and in fact, it does - if the media would just report it.

Here are snippets of Walpin's counter:

About overstepping his authority: Walpin said it is his job to forward an investigation to the U.S. Attorney when he believes it may merit criminal or civil prosecution. He explained to Brown that the difference between "grant fraud" and the "contract fraud" that U.S. Attorney's offices are more familiar with, is an important difference. Walpin said I:

...quoted one of "Mr. Brown's ultimate supervisors, the Deputy Attorney General in emphasizing the importance of prosecuting "grant fraud," and support of "an energized and empowered IG community working in tandem with...Federal prosecutors" to achieve that end.

Walpin pointed out his procedure for submitting the case to the U.S. Attorney General was the same procedure his predecessors used:

I am informed that it has been the custom in my office, before I commenced as IG, to send a referral with such a covering letter. Aside from personally communicating the seriousness of the OIG’s decision to make the referral, it serves as an Executive Summary of the referral, which here was 33 pages long. Most United States Attorney’s offices to which I have forwarded referrals with such an “executive summary” cover letter, always containing my explanation of why I believed the conduct warranted prosecutorial action, have expressed appreciation for such explanations and summaries. Indeed, when I, together with Supervisory Special Agent (“SSA”) Morales and Special Agent Wingers, met with Mr. Brown and several of his fellow Assistant U.S. Attorneys, on August 25, 2008, they complimented us on our referral and the personal interest we took in it by traveling to California to meet with them.

Walpin responded that Mr. Brown's view that an IG has no further role is wrong:

The Senate Report, explaining the purpose of the Inspector General Act of 1978, specifies that the IG has the duty to “[a]ssume a leadership role in any and all activities which he deems useful to promote economy and efficiency in the administration of programs and operations or prevent and detect . . .waste in such programs and operations.” S. Rep. No. 95-1071, at 27 (1978), reprinted in 1978 U.S.C.C.A.N. 2676, 2702 (emphasis added).

Mr. Brown’s misunderstanding of the proper role of the IG is further shown in his
assertion that the IG is the “investigative arm of the CNCS Agency.” The IG is statutorily made independent of the CNCS Agency, with responsibility to oversee and criticize what CNCS is doing if the IG believes that the agency is thereby wasting Federal funds -- including the waste of the right to recovery Federal funds from a grantee that misused Federal funds granted to it.

Of Brown's assertion that the IG "is not intended to act as an advocate for suspension or debarment," Walpin responds:

...the procedure exists to protect all Federal funds by denying new funds to an individual or entity who/which has shown by uncovered facts not to be trustworthy or responsible in the prior use of Federal funds....For the Suspension and Debarment procedure to work to protect Federal funds, the investigative agency, upon determining that the facts it uncovered warrant suspension, must make a recommendation of suspension to the agency's Suspension and Debarment official. That is exactly what OIG did here.

Walpin's response on When and How Mr. Brown Learned of the Suspension Recommendation: Brown not only knew "long before" he says he knew, but "he and his office assisted OIG in its suspension recommendation by submitting a letter, requested by the Suspension and Debarment Official as needed before that official would issue the Suspension order.

Mr. Brown’s assertion of lack of advance knowledge and surprise at the suspension
procedure is clearly without factual basis.

There's far more on Brown's alleged surprise notification in the letter on pages 4-6.

Walpin's response on The Propriety of the OIG Press Release: The Sacramento Bee, on September 24, 2008 and it's morning edition on September 25th, reported "its own discovery of the names of suspended parties" from a list that the General Services Administration (GSA) maintains. He says the OIG issued no press release on that date, as Brown accused.

After The Bee's initial article was published, Walpin says the OIG issued a press release on September 25, 2008. In that press release, Walpin says he "largely repeated the grounds for suspension set out in the Notice of Suspension, issued by the Corporation's Suspension and Debarment Official and publicly posted on the GSA website.

It's important to note that before the idea of firing Gerald Walpin became the thing to do, the corporation, CNCS, issued the Notice of Suspension of Kevin Johnson. Perhaps CSNC didn't know that their soon-to-be-President Obama would not be happy with their actions.

Walpin responds to The OIG Investigators' Alleged Withholding of Information From the U.S. Attorney's Office: Brown said that Walpin held back a letter from an elementary school principal (Herinder Pegany) where the principal claimed that "St. HOPE AmeriCorps members had performed after-school tutoring at his school." Walton said the letter actually said that the principal "knew that members were assigned to his school to conduct tutoring," but "he did not know how many members were assigned to his school...because he did not directly supervise the members." The point, said Walton, was not whether or not AmeriCorps members had been assigned to the school, but if in fact, they had "performed such tutoring." That fact was not established through the Principal's testimony because he said he had "no personal knowledge" of such tutoring.

Simply put, OIG does not provide to U.S. Attorney’s office all documents prepared as memoranda of work done during an investigation (and OIG’s Special Agents so informed Mr. Brown when they met with him), but rather all documents which provide usable evidence, whether probative of guilt or innocence. Particularly given the lack of personal knowledge provided by Mr. Pegany, I fully understand, as I previously told Mr. Brown, the good faith judgment call made by these two experienced Agents not to include that memorandum in the referral to the United States Attorney’s office. That decision certainly does not warrant the charge against them of any intent to conceal.

Brown asserted that Walpin "misled" his office through a heading in OIG's referral letter, titled "AmeriCorps Members Performed No Tutoring." Walpin says below that heading was the explanation that substantiated interviews with staff.

Brown's assertion that in the August 25th meeting he and his staff "expressed [their] concern that the Walpin's report conclusions "seemed overstated...."

What Mr. Brown and his colleagues said was that they would be studying all of the files that OIG had provided to see if criminal intent and knowledge could be established for a criminal prosecution; they never expressed any concern concerning the existence of a viable civil case.

Regarding the charge that Walpin failed to conduct an audit:

OIG then responded that an audit was neither feasible nor needed, and is not used in many investigations. OIG explained that the allegations in this case involved misuse of AmeriCorps members, and not to missing or misused funds, making an audit not warranted.

However, on September 11th, Assistant U.S. Attorney Newman asked OIG to prepare a report on St. HOPE's financial records to determine the extent of St. HOPE's liability to return any or all of the grant funds that it had received." At this time, a subpoena was served on October 1, 2008 on St. HOPE. As late as January 22, 2009 only partial information had been provided. Repeated letters to St. HOPE and St. HOPE's attorney on non-compliance were issued.

Yet, the U.S. Attorney's office took no action to enforce the subpoena.

On February 4, 2009, additional documents were provided, and AUSA Newman advised that OIG auditors "should base their report on the documents" available, "even though a big void in the required documents remained." Missing were:

“Source documentation for costs charged to the grant; complete general ledger (only a partial ledger was produced); reconciliation of costs charged on the Financial Status report to the general ledger, including match funds; explanation of the methodology for allocating costs between match and federal share; [and] identification of the accounting system used.” In other words, there were gaping
holes in the documentation. But to demonstrate OIG’s cooperation with the USA’s office, OIG's audit staff prepared its report.

The conclusion:

The report’s conclusion was straight forward:

None of the costs charged to the grant are allowable, primarily because the
AmeriCorps members’ service activities were not consistent with the grant
requirements.

Contrary to . . . grant requirements and prohibitions, we found that St. HOPE AmeriCorps members performed little, if any, of the service agreed to and stipulated under the grant. Instead, they were used for non-authorized and prohibited activities, including services that displaced St. HOPE employees, a violation of 42 U.S.C. § 12637 Non duplication and Non displacement. We also found instances where AmeriCorps living allowances and benefits were unlawfully used to supplement the salaries of St. HOPE employees. Another grant requirement is that all allowable cost must be adequately documented. . . . . We found an almost total lack of documentation to support St. HOPE’s performance of the grant, despite our repeated requests to St. HOPE for grant-related documents.

After the U.S. Attorney General's office asked for an audit, and after a subpoena was largely ignored by Kevin Johnson, the Attorney General's office refused to enforce the subpoena. Note also that Executive Director of Kevin Johnson's St. HOPE Academy, Rick Maya, resigned due to misconduct by Kevin Johnson. Maya claims that another board member deleted Kevin Johnson's emails during the federal investigation that Walpin was conducting. This article details 9 reasons for Maya's resignation. It's astounding. I hope you'll read it.

At the time of Walpin's firing he had also completed an investigation into City University of New York (CUNY), AmeriCorps largest program. Walpin said neither the CUNY report or the Kevin Johnson-St. HOPE Academy investigation were "well-received by top CNCS management."

So what changed at CNCS, because after all, the investigation came at the request of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger:

A Sacramento-based nonprofit run by former NBA star and Sacramento mayoral candidate Kevin Johnson is facing scrutiny after a teenager complained of inappropriate touching by Johnson.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s office asked the federal government to investigate because the nonprofit, St. HOPE, has received money in the past from the federal AmeriCorps program.

One thing changed? Barack Obama was elected President and we know he has big plans for AmeriCorp. How can you achieve the huge expansion he has in mind, with millions, probably billions in federal funds funneled to them, with a-Gerald-Walpin reporting some nasty theft of taxpayer dollars?

A new report:
Schwarzenegger Involvement: Kevin Johnson Investigation by Gerald Walpin


Related and Background:

Michelle Malkin has news of The First Lady's coming speech at CNCS

Gerald Walpin Firing Update: AmeriCorp $75 Million Musused: Michelle Obama Hires?

Kevin Johnson - St. Hope Scandal: Rick Maya Resigns, Gerald Walpin Investigates

White House Charges Walpin Confused, Disoriented, Disruptive

Who is Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson - Walpin-Johnson Investigation

Anti-Israel De-shelving Operation at Trader Joes Fizzles

Cross-posted by Gary Fouse
fousesquawk





I am happy to post this article from the Jewish Journal on the attempt by a San Jose activist group to organize a de-shelving operation at Trader Joe's stores selling Israeli products. Kudos to Trader Joes for standing up to these yahoos. According to the article below, the whole operation was a big dud.

Kudos also to those readers who picked up on the issue and spread the word. The power of the blogosphere should not be underestimated.I am also attaching a reader comment on my original thread from a Trader Joes worker.

Finally, I deleted a comment from a woman believed to be part of the de-shelving movement not because I disagreed with it, rather because it was little more than talking points propaganda. She did acknowledge her disappointment and stated that the next step would be to boycott Trader Joes. If that ever gets off the ground, I will be happy to let my readers know so that Trader Joes can experience another surge in sales.

Anti-Israel Group Boycotts Trader Joe’s
By Lilly Fowler and Tom Tugend
Jewish Journal


By Lilly Fowler and Tom Tugend

Although “World Refugee Day,” the boycott of Trader Joe’s planned by the anti-Israel group “Don’t Buy into Apartheid,” came and went on Saturday, June 20, with no apparent incidents in Los Angeles, other cities in California did witness protesters invade the popular supermarket chain.

Kate Raphael, one of the organizers of the event, said she joined approximately 20 others as they marched into a Trader Joe’s store in Oakland, Calif., passing out hundreds of leaflets, which condemned Israel’s actions, while taking Israeli products off the shelves. Similar demonstrations happened in San Francisco and Sacramento.

In Los Angeles however, the only unusual activity reported was that of local patrons walking into the national food chain to ask to buy Israeli products in specific.

E-mails calling for a response to the boycott had circulated virally in the week prior throughout the Jewish community, as well as on Facebook, asking people to patronize the store in defiance of the boycott and in support of the Jewish State. Roz Rothstein, CEO of StandWithUs, said that her pro-Israel organization had also urged supporters across the United States and elsewhere to go into Trader Joe’s and other markets to purchase Israeli goods.

Despite the Jewish backlash, Raphael declared the “Don’t Buy into Apartheid” demonstrations a success.

“I think overall the response by customers was quite positive,” Raphael said, when describing the reaction to her group and their effort to alert customers to what they see as Trader Joe’s unfair policy: stocking Israeli products, while carrying no Palestinian goods.

She said while some customers argued with her and other demonstrators, others simply thanked them for the information. The response on the part of Trader Joe’s staff was equally wide-ranging.

The manager of the Oakland store informed the group that they would not stop carrying Israeli products until a majority of their customers stopped buying them.

But Alison Mochizuki, a spokesperson for Trader Joe’s more than 300 stores, reiterated the privately owned chain’s stance.

“Trader Joe’s will not be used as a political tool, and we will not remove any products under pressure from any group. We believe our customers are smart and capable enough to make their own choices,” she said.

Raphael said her organization will be releasing a press release and pictures of the boycott on Monday, June 22.

“Don’t Buy into Apartheid,” is part of the “Global BDS Movement,” or “Boycott Divestment Sanctions Campaign,” and aims to “oppose Israeli occupation, apartheid, violence, and land theft and to support equality and justice for all, including the Palestinian people.”

StandWithUs has called the campaign “one-sided” and has accused the organization of undermining the Middle East peace process.
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At June 21, 2009 7:31 PM , Anonymous said...
HI! I WORK FOR TRADER JOE'S AND I JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR NEGATIVE PUBLICITY! WE ARE SO BUSY MORE THAN EVER! OUR TJ'S DOES OVER $100,000 A DAY AND WE ARE BREAKING ARE YTD (YEAR TO DATE) DOLLAR AMOUNTS WHICH MEANS WE HAVE TO ORDER ALOT MORE ISRALI PRODUCTS THAT ARE FLYING OFF THE SHELVES SO YOU ARE DOING THEM A BIG FAVOR AS WELL AS OUR EMPLOYEE'S WE HAVE TO WORK OVER TIME BECAUSE OF OUR HIGH VOLUME SALES THANKS TO YOU! YOUR AWESOME!! PLEASE KEEP DOING WHAT YOU ARE DOING! WE ARE MAKING SO MUCH MONEY AND WE OWE ALL TO YOU!


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Neda: The Voice of the Iranian People

by Barbara W. Sowell at Faultline USA

By now the videos of Neda’s death have spread far and wide across the world making her the symbol of the voice of the Iranian People.

Today is Father’s Day. No father should have to live to witness the death of a beloved child.

While glued to Twitter early yesterday afternoon I made the mistake of clicking on the link to the close-up, gruesome, and very graphic YouTube video of Neda’s death. The image of her beautiful eyes in the last moment of her life seared itself into my soul. I could not shake her dying image from my mind and just prayed all day for her family.

By nighttime the new Twitter hashtag: #Neda was burning up the internet with Tweets and RT’s.

RT Woman killed in front of her father "ندا (#Neda) which means voice or call in Farsi. She's the voice of the people a call to freedom"

4 Neda, girl murdered in Iran on film: Eternal rest grant unto her O Lord & let perpetual light shine uponher. #neda

Read the moving account from the doctor who tried to save her from BreakForNews with graphic still shots taken from the video.

Technorati Tags: hashtags,hashtag,Twitter,Neda,Iran,Iranelection,Tehran

Remembrances of a Lithuanian Jew

Cross-posted by Gary Fouse
fousesquawk



Memorial in Israel to a Lithuanian shtetl (Anikst)


Back in the 1990s, I was researching my first book on the languages of the former Soviet republics, which included a chapter on the Soviet Jews. In Rockville, Maryland, I met the acquaintance of a remarkable woman named Basya Shadevichene, a Lithuanian Jew who had survived German occupation during World War II. Her story is so moving that I would like to repeat it here.

First, I should supply a little background. When the Soviet Union annexed the Baltic states of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia after a brief period of independence, many viewed their Jewish populations, rightfully or wrongfully, as Soviet supporters. Thus, when the Germans occupied those states during World War II, Jewish residents were subject to acts of murder by Baltic nationalists-even before the Germans instigated their own "solution to the Jewish problem". It is a complicated and dark chapter in the history of the Baltic states.

The reader will also note a lot of reference to language(s) in the text since this was the focus of the book.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

"I was born in 1921 in the Ukraine. My mother was Ukrainian, and my father Lithuanian. Within a couple of months of my birth, my family moved to Lithuania, where I grew up. The language that we spoke at home was Yiddish, which my mother spoke with a Ukrainian accent.

At the age of 6, I began attending a Jewish public school in which the language of instruction was Yiddish. At this school, we also studied in Lithuanian and Hebrew. Subsequently, I attended gymnasium.

At the age of 13, my parents took me to Kaunas, the temporary capital of Lithuania since Vilnius was occupied by Poland. In Kaunas, I attended a Hebrew gymnasium. All of the subjects were taught in Hebrew except Lithuanian and German classes. later, I had to switch to a less expensive gymnasium because my family's economic situation was very bad. Both of my parents were tailors, and in those days, people would sew one suit, wear it for twenty years and pass it on to their sons. So, as you can see, business was not very good.

In 1937 I graduated from the gymnasium but couldn't receive the diploma due to some unpaid tuition. I was able to begin at Kaunas University on a provisional basis where I studied philology (German, Latin and Greek).

After the Soviets occupied eastern Poland in 1939, they returned Vilnius to Lithuania. Therefore, many of the faculty and students at Kaunas University moved to the University of Vilnius. In Vilnius, I was able to get a job teaching Lithuanian to Polish-speaking children. At the same time, I was attending a Hebrew teachers academy from which I graduated. My dream was to be a teacher in a Hebrew school.

When the USSR took over Lithuania in 1940, all Jewish institutions were closed. Schools, yeshivas, gymnasiums, teachers' academies, libraries and synagogues. Everything.

When the Germans invaded Lithuania as part of the USSR, we were living in a shtetl (village occupied principally by Jews). When we heard the news, I was with my sister on a trip to a lake. The Germans overran Lithuania so fast that we couldn't return to our shtetl, and all we could do was join the thousands of people fleeing. The roads were choked with people in their wagons, on foot or bicycle, and the German planes were bombing us and shooting at us from very low in the sky. My sister and I were the only members of our family to survive. I lost my parents and brother during the German occupation.

My sister and I were able to get out of Lithuania and ended up in Russia. Eventually, I heard about a Lithuanian division being formed in Russia to fight with the Soviet Army against the Nazis. At that time, I was teaching in a middle school, but I left my job and walked three days in the bitter cold to Morshansk, from where I was taken to Gorky. This trip took almost a day. I rode on an open train car until I reached the division which I joined as an interpreter. By then, I knew Yiddish, Lithuanian, Hebrew, German and Russian. In June 1944, I arrived back in Lithuania with my division. I received many medals from the Soviet Government for my wartime service. I was released from the army at the end of 1946.

When I returned to my shtetl in 1944, I couldn't find a single Jew. I lost my mother, father, brother, two uncles and an aunt, along with their families. Twelve of them in all had been killed. A Polish woman, who was a former neighbor in my shtetl, had kept a few photographs, one of which was of my mother. I loved my mother very much, and today, this photograph is hanging in my bedroom across from my bed. I talk to her every day when I get up and before I go to bed.

All of the Jewish people in my shtetl and throughout Lithuania were killed, a total of about 200,000 according to the Lithuanian newspapers. Between my shtetl and that of my husband, I saw two large pits where Jews had been pushed in alive and executed. One pit had contained 2,000 women, the other 4,000 men. Eventually, Jewish survivors built a fence around the pits and erected two large stone monuments on which was written: 'Here lie 2,000 Jewish women and 4,000 Jewish men who were killed by the German fascists and Lithuanian nationalists' We wanted to inscribe the same text in Yiddish but could not get permission from the local authorities.

After the war, the Soviets refused to allow Yiddish or Hebrew schools. People who wanted to study either language were considered 'Zionists' and subject to deportation. There was an informal Jewish theatre in Vilnius, but it had to operate in a discreet manner. The Yiddish-speaking population has grown older, and many have died. The younger generation of Jewish people have grown up speaking mostly Lithuanian and Russian.

The Yiddish language is still an international language for Jews around the world. In Israel, there are many elderly Yiddish-speaking people. In answer to your question, Yiddish will not die as long as the Jewish nation survives. It will continue to be an international language for Jews."

Ms Basya Shadevichene
Rockville, Md
July 26, 1996

from: The Languages of the Former Soviet Republics-Their History and Development
by Gary Fouse
University Press of America, 2000
pp 379-381

Into the Maelstrom: Closer and closer

A note from Radarsite: Considering the perilous situations developing today, June 19, 2009, in both Iran and with North Korea, this two-month old article seems even more meaningful. What will this fateful weekend bring? Will our weak-kneed President continue his course of answering Iran's and North Korea's escalating challenges and provocations with noncommittal and toothless rhetoric? Will he unequivocally condemn the vicious mullahs and support the revolution? Will he give the order to our Navy to intercept and board that suspicious North Korean vessel headed toward Singapore?

Take heed, America, this is how our sworn enemies have answered our Chamberlainesque appeasement-oriented President's peace feelers -- with contempt and escalation. This is the maelstrom toward which we are headed, the maelstrom that you have created. God help us all. - rg

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

Can't you feel it? Events are moving faster and faster now. We're sailing into the whirlpool. Threats which once seemed faraway and merely hypothetical are now growing exponentially, swirling around us, drawing us ever closer into the vortex. And we seem helpless. We procrastinate and equivocate. We can't make up our minds. We're lost in a hopeless labyrinth of ambiguities and euphemisms.

Meanwhile, circling us like sharks sensing blood, our enemies are sensing our weakness. Ahmadinejad steps up his threatening rhetoric: They will become nuclear, they will have their bomb. The UN and NATO are either anti-American or useless. The hopelessly conflicted IAEA is impotent: pro-Muslim Al Baradi faults the West and sides with Iran. Kim Jong Ill drops out of the non-proliferation talks and give the rest of the world the finger. Russia and China sense their main chance and are eagerly building up their arsenals. All of the petty potentates are rattling their sabers. The ragtag Somali pirates, the motley teenage Al-Shabaab, are calling our bluff and threatening revenge. The reinvigorated Taliban is busy with their bloody Reconquista of Afghanistan. The crises are converging. Can't you feel it?

Alas, our captain and crew are woefully inexperienced and morally conflicted and the helmsman has lost his grip on the wheel. Are we really doomed to founder? Where is that brave pilot to guide us through this dark night and bring us into safe harbor? Where is that barely remembered voice of manliness and courage? Who will replace the fallen helmsman before it is too late?

We call out but no one answers. Are we really all alone? Abandoned by an incompetent captain and a useless crew? Are we, the passengers, our only hope of salvation? To save our great ship must we all become mutineers?

The great whirlpool is drawing us steadily into its deadly grasp. Soon our decisions will be made for us by forces beyond our control. Our enemies grow more emboldened while our nominal allies vacillate or turn their backs. Terror groups will become nuclear. Israel will be crippled or annihilated. North Korea will develop long range nuclear capability and blackmail the world. Russia and China will thwart us at every turn. Western Europe will fall to the Muslim menace and sharia law will be incorporated into our legal system. Our street gangs will run rampant and our borders will remain porous. Americanism will become a lost idea.

Is this how our great ship will founder? Are we truly helpless in the maelstrom? Someone please tell me I'm just being melodramatic, that things aren't as perilous as they seem, that the maelstrom is nothing but an overblown metafor. That we'll pull through somehow, we always do.

Someone?
Anyone?

The Iranians and Their Government

Cross-posted by Gary Fouse
fousesquawk



The Iranian "election" -and the winner is.......
(Tip of the hat to the great Don Martin)


I must confess I have very mixed reactions to the happenings in Iran over the "re-election" of Ahmadinejad. That's because I vividly remember the hostage crisis thirty years ago, when our diplomats were held under threat of trial and execution while a feckless president named Jimmy Carter wrung his hands in helplessness. Like most Americans, I was outraged. I could not understand why we did not go to war and crush Iran. Yes, it would have probably meant the deaths of most if not all of the hostages, but America would not have been humiliated by a third-rate country run by fanatical mullahs.

I also remember the behavior of some Iranians living in the US at the time, especially the so-called Iranian students, many of whom supported the revolution. I was stationed with DEA in Los Angeles at the time and recall that we had a rash of heroin and hashish smuggling cases involving young Iranians whose funding for their stay in America had been cut off. In one case, we arrested several Iranians connected with the seizure of hash concealed in framed pictures of the Ayatollah Khomeini. I remember the satisfaction I felt as I tore apart the portraits to remove the drugs in front of the prisoners, who gritted their teeth in silent rage.

I also remember the day shortly after our diplomats had been taken hostage that hundreds of Iranians decided to march through the streets of Los Angeles in support of the Ayatollah. They had been denied a permit but chose to march anyway. We knew there was going to be violence, and I have to admit, a couple of my colleagues and I were tempted to take the day off and go "kick some ass". Fortunately, we decided not to put our jobs on the line and we stayed put. As it was, hundreds of counter-demonstrators, outraged Americans, lined the streets and jeered the marchers. The police were out in force, but could not prevent the melee that ensued as the Iranians were spit upon and attacked by the counter-protesters. A lot of Iranians were beaten up that day including women. Many others were arrested along with members of the Jewish Defense League and their leader, Irv Rubin, who were right in the thick of it. (I was not an admirer of Irv Rubin.)

How did I feel about what happened? I was giddy with joy.

Suffice to say, I did not care much for Iranians in those days, and that is putting it mildly.

I also cheered when Iraq, under Saddam Hussein launched a war against Iran. I knew Iraq under Saddam was no ideal nation, but they were fighting our enemy, and so I thought it was right that the US gave support to Saddam in that instance.

Was I wrong to feel those sentiments? I honestly don't know. I do know, however, that I don't feel those sentiments now. As I have told my Iranian friends (Yes, I have a few), eventually, one needs to let go of those kinds of feelings. (Of course, I am much more aware now of the numbers of Iranians I meet who are refugees from the present regime.) So, was it racism on my part? No-it was wounded national pride. I am a nationalist, and I don't like to see my country humiliated.

But how am I supposed to feel now as we witness a mass wave of rejection on the part of so many thousands of young Iranians toward their despicable government? Again, I have mixed feelings. For many years now, I have refused to feel bad for the Iranian people living under such a backward government. After all, they chose that government, didn't they? They threw out the Shah, brought in the Islamic Republic and shouted, "Death to America", so it was my feeling that they had the government they deserved. I was more concerned with the dangers that government posed (and poses) to the West and Israel.

However, I have to take into account that Iran is a young country in demographics. Most of its people were either very young or not yet born in 1979. They see the freedoms that the West enjoys and they want to join in. Maybe they have been swept up in the world-wide Obamamania and they want to join in that as well, who knows?

At any rate, it is no longer 1979; it is 2009, and things are stirring in Iran. What should be the response of the Obama administration? The President is choosing his words carefully-as he should. Obviously, while he supports the idea of more freedom in Iran, the US doesn't want to be seen as propping up the opposition. That would be counter-productive. Are we working behind the scenes to undermine the Iranian government? Hard to say with this administration, but I hope we are. If this government can fall without us or Israel having to go to war, the whole world will be better off.

I have to confess, I still am cynical when I hear American politicians pander about the "Iranian people having the democracy they so richly deserve", but hopefully, there will be another Iranian revolution- as peaceful as possible. If the Iranian people can somehow remove this odious regime and restore Iran to a positive position in that volatile part of the world, I will tip my hat to them.

So there is my confession. The statute of limitations is in effect.

Flight 93 Blogburst: False AP report: Obama did NOT say that Iran must respect voters' choice

by Findalis

Obama's comments were mushy, yes, but at least he said the most important thing, according to AP:

He said it's up to Iran to determine its own leaders but that the country must respect voters' choice.

Why then have reputable people continued to pass harsh judgment? And why would AP paraphrase what would have been Obama’s key statement?

Turns out Obama said no such thing. What he actually said is that the VOICES of the Iranian people should be heard and respected, not their votes:

And particularly to the youth of Iran, I want them to know that we in the United States do not want to make any decisions for the Iranians, but we do believe that the Iranian people and their voices should be heard and respected.

This is consistent with the rest of Obama's remarks. He never said a word about respecting votes. Obama did mention "the democratic process," but far from saying anything about this process having to meet any standards of integrity, he instead implied strongly that he will accept whatever result the "process" followed by the Mullahs produces:

We will continue to pursue a tough, direct dialogue between our two countries, and we’ll see where it takes us. But even as we do so, I think it would be wrong for me to be silent about what we’ve seen on the television over the last few days.

The only operative concerns that he mentions are for: "free speech, the ability of people to peacefully dissent." When he talks about the "democratic process" going forward, all he urges is that the process be peaceful and that dissent be allowed. He says nothing about the process being honest:

...there appears to be a sense on the part of people who were so hopeful and so engaged and so committed to democracy who now feel betrayed. And I think it’s important that, moving forward, whatever investigations take place are done in a way that is not resulting in bloodshed and is not resulting in people being stifled in expressing their views.

It is no accident that Obama ended with the statement that AP paraphrased so egregiously (equating his call for bloodless suppression with a demand for legitimate elections). This was his theme throughout. He views the honesty of Iran's democratic process as something to be judged by the mullahs, who he clearly accepts to be the sovereign power, regardless of the merits of competing claims.

AP covers its tracks, just like they did with the Flight 93 memorial

AP's fraudulent report about Obama demanding respect for voters' choice was the primary print report on Obama's comments. Now that it has already misled millions of people, AP has covered its tracks by filing an update that overwrites the errant statement. This is what AP does when it gets caught putting out misinformation. To avoid issuing a correction, they flush the misleading story down the memory hole by using the same url for a completely different story. (Google only finds AP's original article still posted at Fox News.)

AP did the same thing last year after it was taken to task for failing to check the most basic facts in a story about the controversy over possible Islamic symbolism in the Flight 93 memorial. Ramesh Santanam reported a number of conflicting factual assertions, like the 44 blocks:

Opponents also claim there is a plan to have 44 glass blocks, for the 40 victims and four hijackers, in the design.

"That's an absolute, unequivocal fabrication that is being portrayed as fact," said Edward Felt's brother, Gordon Felt, president of Families of Flight 93. "It's misleading and helps drive the conspiracy theory."

When it was pointed out that Santanam could have found the four extra blocks just by opening up the design drawings and counting, AP quickly filed a completely different story (about fundraising for the memorial), under the same url.

It's not that there is anything inherently wrong with AP using subject feeds that automatically update with their latest offering. It is that AP is systematically using this system to dodge corrections. This is actually their official policy:

For corrections on live, online stories, we overwrite the previous version. We send separate corrective stories online as warranted.

Except AP virtually never issue corrective stories, for the simple reason that AP has no established correction procedure. They just do the overwrite thing and say "too bad."

Well this time the overwrite thing is not good enough.

Demand a corrective story about AP's false paraphrase of Obama's words

Associated Press obviously understands the importance of Obama saying that Iran must respect voters' choice or they wouldn't have bothered to pretend that he said it when he didn't. They don't just fail to mention Obama's glaring omission on this crucial point, but actually tell the public via false paraphrase that he did say what he glaringly omitted. This cannot stand. Faced with our new president's key statement on a historic crisis, AP reports a photo negative of what Obama actually said.

There may be no established procedure for AP corrections, but anyone can still send a pre-written email to AP CEO Tom Curley, Chairman Burl Osborne, Editor Kathleen Carroll, the reporters who worked on the story (the egregious Jennifer Loven, along with Anne Gearan and Robert Burns), plus a smattering of other AP editors and bureaucrats. Who knows. There may even be a limit to how disingenuous some of these people are willing to be.


To join our blogbursts, just send your blog's url.

In Memory of Stephen Tyrone Johns

By Findalis

Hat tip to Simply Jews


A week ago a warm, loving, gentle man was gunned down by a sick nut case who could not bear the fact that all people as equal.

Stephen Tyrone Johns never held public office, never gave away a fortune to charity, and never won American Idol.

He was just an average Joe, trying to earn a living. A family man with small children.

Stewphen Johns has been described as one of the nicest men who worked there. He even held the door open for the killer when he saw the 88 year old man trying to enter and held the door open for him.

That was the type of man Stephen Johns was. Caring more about others than himself.

The Washington Branch of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) has set up a Memorial Fund for the Johns Family:

The American Jewish Committee's Washington, D.C. chapter has set up a memorial fund to benefit the family of Officer Stephen Tyrone Johns, who was killed Wednesday at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. The organization said it will soon have a place on its Web site where one can contribute, but those who want to donate immediately should send checks made out to the American Jewish Committee, with "Holocaust Museum Memorial Fund" in the memo line, to:

American Jewish Committee, Washington Chapter

C/O Melanie Maron

1156 15th Street, NW, Suite 1201

Washington DC 20005

One hundred percent of the contribution will go to the Johns family.

A Facebook page has also been set up.

Flowers wilt and die, the Memorial Fund will last for years to help his family cope with his loss.

More Thoughts on the Holocaust Memorial Shooting

Cross-posted by Gary Fouse
fousesquawk



US Holocaust Museum, Washington DC


The shooting at the Holocaust Museum, combined with the shootings in Arkansas and Kansas, have continued to spur a public discussion on the motives of the shooters and their political implications. Many pundits on the left have continued to use the Tiller murder and the murder at the Holocaust Museum as a basis to attack "right-wingers" and conservative commentators for "inciting hate", while ignoring the murder of a soldier at a US Army recruiting office by a Muslim convert, who has publicly stated that he acted out of religious motives. One of my readers has asked how I would have reacted if the Holocaust Museum shooter had been a Muslim instead of the actual shooter, one James van Brunn, who is being portrayed as a right-wing white supremacist and anti-Semite. Fair enough question, but it should be pointed out that van Brunn apparently had a collection of "enemies" that were spread across the political spectrum.

To begin with, I have condemned all three shootings. None can be justified even though I believed that Dr George Tiller was a monster. His murder was not justified, nor does it, in my view, incriminate abortion opponents as a whole. To suggest that even a sizable minority of anti-abortion activists advocate abortion clinic bombings and the murder of abortion doctors is outrageous. The accused shooter is nothing more than a misguided extremist who should have kept his anti-abortion activities confined to working within the legal and political system to change the laws.

Now to Mr van Brunn. As the investigation unfolds, it appears that this individual is, in fact, a white supremacist and anti-Semite. Yet, it appears that one of his other possible targets may have been the conservative journal, Weekly Standard, whose offices were visited by FBI agents in the days following the shooting inquiring if they had received any threats. It appears this individual had imagined enemies across the political spectrum, and that he cannot be so easily pigeon-holed into the conservative bracket as some, like Keith Olbermann, would suggest. Olbermann has even gone so far as to suggest that the deaths of Dr Tiller and Holocaust Museum security guard Stephen Johns have validated the report by the Dept. of Homeland Security regarding "right-wing hate groups". (Mr Olbermann, of course, conveniently leaves the whole Arkansas shooting out of the equation.)

The lesson of the Holocaust Museum shooting is not that anti-Semitism is in sole possession of the right, as Olbermann would have us believe. Far from it. As Professor Jack Levin of Northeastern University reminded Olbermann on "Countdown" last week, there is more anti-Semitism emanating today from the left. This is what Levin and others describe as the "new anti-Semitism" embraced by the left locked in an embrace with the pro-Palestinian forces as a result of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. I would stress that the left to which Mr Levin refers can be found mainly on our university campuses, where radical Muslim Student Associations have found a ready ally in academia.

This is not to deny the existence of extremists such as the various militias and the likes of Timothy McVeigh and Neo-Nazi skinheads. They are out there, and they must be closely monitored just as any other group or individual determined to advance their cause(s) from outside the established system.

But I have yet to address my reader's question as to my response had the Washington shooter been a Muslim. Obviously, that would have buttressed my belief that extremist Muslims tend to hold anti-Jewish attitudes. Yes, I would have added this to a host of other anti-Semitic incidents committed and inflammatory words uttered in the name of (radical) Islam. However, I would not have condemned all Muslims for the act, and surely, I would know that decent and responsible Muslims would have condemned the action. But it was not committed by a Muslim, thank God.

That, I think, leads to what I consider the only sensible conclusion to be drawn from the three murders: First, that they were committed by three deranged individuals, whose acts cannot be condoned; second, that their actions should not serve to drag in and implicate every other person or group that could possibly be linked to the primary motive, such as religion, stance on abortion, or where they stand on the right-left political spectrum. Finally, we should all stand together on these incidents and use not them (or ignore) them in the name of our ideological positions. All three incidents go to show that we have a cancer in our society (or multiple cancers) and that we need to work together to eradicate it.

American Red Cross Symbol Offends Muslims: British Flag Offends Muslims

by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

A British member of parliament says that the symbol of the American Red Cross - the red cross - is offensive to the country's Muslims. Foreign Office minister Chris Bryant says the "red cross" is undermining the work of the humanitarian organization.



American Red Cross

This isn't just an off-the-wall suggestion. MP's were already debating a symbol for the American Red Cross - maybe a diamond-shape - to remove the disturbing vision of what might be considered a Christian Cross - which might conjure visions of the - The Crusades. What?

The red crescent is the symbol used for the American Red Cross in many Muslim countries. That's fine by me, but Great Britain isn't a Muslim country...yet. Read more at Always on Watch.

The Queen has her problems too. Muslims do not like the British Flag, known as the Union Jack. You see it has a cross also, and for those Muslims enjoying British hospitality, well they just can't handle that offensive flag and the "establishment" seems to be only too happy to accommodate. Read it here and here and here and even more here.



The British Flag

Visit Amboy Times and see their ongoing, work-in-progress, The List of Things That Offend Muslims.

Gerald Walpin Firing Update

by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

I have updated my original reporting on the firing of Inspector General Gerald Walpin but so much information is becoming available that some of it deserves it's own little spot in the webosphere. Be sure to watch the AmeriCorps video below. It will remind you of the "change" President Obama has in mind for us, as he removes the voices that report AmeriCorps' misconduct and waste of taxpayer funds.

Gerald Walpin

First some commentary. Perhaps you can supply some answers:

Here's a few questions I have about Inspector Generals. In this case, Walpin was employed by a corporation. The corporation would supposedly be invested in the IG ferreting out misuse of federal monies. In this case, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) appears to be invested in funneling money to whomever they choose, and the appearance is they are thwarting the IG's ability to do the job. So of what value is the IG position?

CNCS - photo from CNCS website

The idea is that the IG does not work for the White House, and so political motivations are taken out of the equation. However, Barack Obama did the firing. Michelle Obama is doing the hiring. Is there something I'm missing here?

Michelle Obama

Background and original reporting with updates: Gerald Walpin was the Inspector General recently fired by President Barack Obama. The firing was handled outside of a Congressionally-mandated statute which requires the President to provide details of the reasons for the firing. Again, Obama ignored the statute and the White House counsel simply said their reasons were sufficient.

Walpin had investigated an Obama donor, Sacramento, CA Mayor Kevin Johnson, and his handling of government funds to his own organization, the St. Hope Academy. The investigations all involved AmeriCorps.

Walpin's audits are posted online: IG Walpin's "Audit Reports with thanks to Michelle Malkin.
I've opened only two to-date. The first on Walpin's list reported a $6,976 "education award" (read that taxpayer money) with $12,740 in administrative costs. The second was an audit of AmeriCorps April 1, 2005 through December 2007 which showed a disputed $7.7 million dollars.

Michelle Obama possibly has a part in this. The corporation that Walpin works for, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), is moving her chief of staff, Jackie Norris, to CNCS as a senior advisor.

In two articles from Youth Today, here and here, there are reports of other Walpin findings, which include that AmeriCorps' largest and most expensive program, does not meet federal guidelines. Walpin advised that the federal government "should halt the program and recover up to $75 million. CNCS, however thumbed their noses at that and said they would not go after the money. So much for Inspector Generals who do their job.

Gerald Walpin replied by email to the White House Counsel Norm Eisen, who made the phone call to Walpin, instructing Walpin to resign or be fired within one hour (via Jake Tapper):

Walpin told Eisen that he took "this statutorily-mandated independence of my office very seriously, and, under the present circumstance, I simply cannot make a decision to respect or decline what you have said were the President's wishes within an hour or indeed any such short time."

Congress intended the Inspector General of CNCS to have the utmost independence of judgment in his deliberations respecting the propriety of the agency's conduct and the actions of its officers. That is why the relevant statute provides that the President may remove the IG only if he supplies the Congress with a statement of his reasons - which is quite a different matter than executive branch officials who serve at his pleasure and can therefore be removed for any reason and without notification to Congress.

Note that until Walpin sent this email, Obama had not notified Congress, and to-date has not provide Congress with the reasons for Walpin's firing, as mandated by congressional statute.

More as it becomes available




AmeriCorps Video

Bulldozing American Cities: Flint Michigan Must Shrink

by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

lint, Michigan is said to be one of the poorest city in the United States. The Treasurer of Michigan's Genesee County, Dan Kildee, says Flint must shrink by 40 percent to survive.

Flint, Michigan

Barack Obama likes that idea of Shrink to Survive, and would like to apply it to other distressed cities around the U.S. Obama is not the only one interested. For some reason, "charities" have "approached" Kildee as well.

Using a study by the Brookings Institution, Kildee says he will "concentrate" on fifty cities that need shrinking, as designated by Brookings.

Did you know that there is a university program already established to identify shrinking cities? I didn't know that, and I bet you didn't either. The University of California, Berkeley's Karina Pallagst is the director of the Shrinking Cities in a Global Perspective program. UC Berkeley is evidentally looking globally for such cities. Can that be the case?

Big Brother abides in Flint:

Flint's recovery efforts have been helped by a new state law passed a few years ago which allowed local governments to buy up empty properties very cheaply.

They could then knock them down or sell them on to owners who will occupy them. The city wants to specialise in health and education services, both areas which cannot easily be relocated abroad.

Maybe the owners of these properties welcomed government intervention, but then again, maybe they didn't. Some 1,100 properties have been pulled down in Flint. They are described as "abandoned homes." Another 3,000 need to be razzed.

Already, some streets peter out into woods or meadows, no trace remaining of the homes that once stood there.

Choosing which areas to knock down will be delicate but many of them were already obvious, he said.

The city is buying up houses in more affluent areas to offer people in neighbourhoods it wants to demolish. Nobody will be forced to move, said Mr Kildee.

"Much of the land will be given back to nature. People will enjoy living near a forest or meadow," he said.

Mr Kildee acknowledged that some fellow Americans considered his solution "defeatist" but he insisted it was "no more defeatist than pruning an overgrown tree so it can bear fruit again".

There are many blighted cities and towns around. They probably need to go, but I see this working only when the property owner wants to take the offer from the government. I'd like to know how many property owners objected to the big brother grab.

You can read the comments of some Flint residents faced with abandoned homes and high crimes from The Flint Journal.

Anyone have an idea why charities would be interested in this program, or why this has anything to do with Barack Obama? Did I mention that Michael Moore calls Dan Kildee his "friend."

I am willing to meet any Arab leader, even in Riyadh

by Findalis


In an unprecedented speech at Tel Aviv's Bar-Ilan University, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke those words.

In the same speech he uttered the words: Palestinian State. The first Prime Minister of Israel to do so. But he also laid down quite a few conditions for there to be peace between the 2 peoples:

“I turn to you, our Palestinian neighbors," he said, let us start negotiations for peace immediately. I say to you – we want to live with you in peace and good neighborly relations. I want our children will dream of a better future and realize it. That we will put our energy into plowshares and pruning scissors, not swords... I do not want war. No one in Israel wants war. Let us join hands and work at peace. There is no end to the flourishing we can bring to our two nations."

"The simple truth," he added however, "is that the root of the conflict is the refusal to accept the Jewish people’s right to exist in its historic homeland. Whoever thinks that the enmity to Israel is the result of our occupying Judea and Samaria is confusing cause and effect." He then enumerated instances of Arab belligerence against the Jews in the Land of Israel before 1967.

The closer we come to a peace the more the Palestinians move away, he said. "Every retreat by us was met with thousands of suicide terror bombings and rockets."

"We vacated the Gaza Strip to the last centimeter and received a rain of missiles on our communities and our children. Hamas and Hizbullah keep saying that their aim is to free Akko, Beersheva and Haifa. Even the moderate Palestinians, even now, are unwilling to say the simplest thing: Israel is the state of the Jewish People and it will stay that way.”

He added: "In order to achieve peace one needs courage and honesty on both sides – not just the Israeli side. The Palestinian leadership must recognize Israel as the state of the Jewish people."

“The demand to settle Palestinian refugees inside Israel is incompatible with the continued existence of Israel as a Jewish state," he said. "It is possible to solve this problem outside the borders of Israel. There is wide national agreement about this among us.”

"Judea and Samaria are not a foreign country for us. This is the land of our forefathers. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The right of the Jewish people over our country does not come from the suffering we have been through. Some say if it weren’t for the Holocaust there would be no State if Israel. But I say that if Israel had been established n time there would not have been a Holocaust," Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu reiterated Israel's long standing desire for peace. A desire held by all Israelis since the founding of the nation in 1948.

"Peace has always been our objective," Netanyahu began. "Our prophets always envisioned peace; we bless each other with Shalom; our prayers end in peace."

The prime minister said that he was willing to meet any Arab leader anywhere.

"I turn to Arab leaders: Let's make peace, I am ready," Netahyahu said. "I am willing to go to Damascus; Riyadh, to meet anytime and anywhere."

Netanyahu also warned of the threat emanating from Iran, saying, "The biggest threat to Israel, and the middle east and all of humanity is the meeting between radical Ismalism and nuclear weaponry."

Netanyahu called on the Palestinians to "begin peace talks immediately, and with no preconditions."

The prime minister continued to speak of the heavy toll the ongoing conflict has taken, mentioning his being a bereaved brother.

"I don't want war. Nobody in Israel wants war," he said to applause.

"If the advantages of peace are so clear, we must ask - why is peace still far? What is perpetuating the conflict for over 60 years? We must reach the root of the struggle," Netanyahu ascertained.

"Let me use the most simple words - the root of the struggle is the refusal to recognize the Israel as the Jewish state. The initial Arab refusal was to a Jewish state in any location, before Israeli presence in the West Bank," continued Netanyahu.

"The closer we get to an agreement with the Palestinians, the further it is rejected. We tried a withdraw with an agreement, without one, a partial withdraw and offered a near-complete withdraw. We uprooted Jewish settlers from their homes, and got a barrage of missiles in return," he said of the Gaza pullout.

"Sadly, even the Palestinian moderates won't say the most simple statement - Israel is the Jewish national state, and will remain such.

"To achieve peace, courage and honesty are needed from both sides. The Palestinians must say - 'enough with this conflict. We recognize Israel's right to exist, and want to live by their side.'

"A public Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish nation-state is a precondition for regional peace," Netanyahu said.

Now for the $64,000 question:

Did Netanyahu sell out? NO! He did not call for an freeze on Settlements, Jerusalem was to remain in Israeli hands, nor did he call for the ethnic cleansing of Jews from Judea and Samaria (The West Bank).

What he did call for is very simple:

1. Recognize Israel as a Jewish Nation.
2. No militarized Palestinian Nation.
3. No Law of Return for Palestinians.
4. Jerusalem, the city of David would be always be part of Israel.

The next round goes to the Palestinians, who if history is any indication of their intentions, will reject this out right.

Now what will Obama do?

Dear President Obama

By Findalis

Dear President Obama:

You are the thirteenth President under whom I have lived and unlike any of the others, you truly scare me.

You scare me because after months of exposure, I know nothing about you.

You scare me because I do not know how you paid for your expensive Ivy League education and your upscale lifestyle and housing with no visible signs of support.

You scare me because you did not spend the formative years of youth growing up in America and culturally you are not an American.

You scare me because you have never run a company or met a payroll.

You scare me because you have never had military experience, thus don't understand it at its core.

You scare me because you lack humility and 'class', always blaming others.

You scare me because for over half your life you have aligned yourself with radical extremists who hate America and you refuse to publicly denounce these radicals who wish to see America fail.

You scare me because you are a cheerleader for the 'blame America' crowd and deliver this message abroad.

You scare me because you want to change America to a European style country where the government sector dominates instead of the private sector.

You scare me because you want to replace our health care system with a government controlled one.

You scare me because you prefer 'wind mills' to responsibly capitalizing on our own vast oil, coal and shale reserves.

You scare me because you want to kill the American capitalist goose that lays the golden egg which provides the highest standard of living in the world.

You scare me because you have begun to use 'extortion' tactics against certain banks and corporations.

You scare me because your own political party shrinks from challenging you on your wild and irresponsible spending proposals.

You scare me because you will not openly listen to or even consider opposing points of view from intelligent people.

You scare me because you falsely believe that you are both omnipotent and omniscient.

You scare me because the media gives you a free pass on everything you do.

You scare me because you demonize and want to silence the Limbaughs, Hannitys, O'Relllys and Becks who offer opposing, conservative points of view.

You scare me because you prefer controlling over governing.

Finally, you scare me because if you serve a second term I will probably not feel safe in writing a similar letter in 8 years.

Lou Pritchett

Lou Pritchet is a former vice president of Procter & Gamble whose career at that company spanned 36 years before his retirement in 1989, and he is the author of the 1995 business book, Stop Paddling & Start Rocking the Boat.

Mr. Pritchett confirmed that he was indeed the author of the much-circulated "open letter." “I did write the 'you scare me' letter. I sent it to the NY Times but they never acknowledged or published it. However, it hit the internet and according to the ‘experts’ has had over 500,000 hits.

Al Qaeda to Kidnap Tourists in Islamic Lands - Exclusive Part 2

The following is Part 2 of an exclusive report from Lionheart in Luton, England. Cyber terror expert, Glen Jenvey interviews exiled cleric, Omar Bakri, who has been exiled from Britain and is now in Lebanon.

Read Part 1 here. Visit Lionheart's blog for background on investigative cyber-terror expert, Glen Jenvy or start here.

Al Qaeda to Kidnap Tourists in Islamic Lands says Cleric Omar Bakri

Lionheart's report below is written just after the beheading of British hostage Edwin Dyer in North Africa. If you are planning to travel to any Islamic land, you must read this investigative report because you will be a target for kidnappers, and it comes straight from the mouths of Al Qaeda.

I had some trouble understanding each word that Omar Bakri was saying. I have a very rough transcription of what I could understand below the video. My apologies for anything that is not correct. It captures the heart of the conversation if not every word.

If you have read Part 1 of this exclusive two-part report, you know that the War on Terror is far from over.

Exclusive: part 2 - al Qaeda to kidnap tourists
by Lionheart
Updated 6-11-2009

Glen Jenvey went undercover recently posing as a British journalist, to speak with Omar Bakri, head of the British wing of Al Qaeda's Global Jihad that is now headed up in our country by Anjem Choudry.

This interview was a follow on from Part 1: Al Qaeda & Hostages after Edwin Dyer was beheaded by Al Qaeda in North Africa because the British government would not release Osama Bin Laden's European ambassador Abu Qatada who is currently in prison awaiting extradition back to Jordan to face terror charges there.

Omar Bakri has stated that any non-Moslems entering Islamic lands now face the risk of being kidnapped and imprisoned, with the risk of being beheaded like Mr Dyer.

Egypt, Morocco, and Turkey, all popular holiday destinations where British and Western tourists have already been targeted by Al Qaeda, have all been singled out as places that are now vulnerable for tourists.

Travel to these places, and any other Islamic country at your own peril.

Further reading: Being British was a capital crime in the eyes of Edwin Dyer’s Al-Qaeda killer

End Lionheart article

*****

Rough audio transcription by Maggie's Notebook: Glen Jenvey interviewing Omar Bakri:

Jenvey: Two weeks ago was obviously the change in policy by al Qaeda of taking prisoners for prisoners, i.e. there are prisoners in British jails and Al Qaeda has adopted the policy of now taking prisoners in North Africa.

Omar Bakri: Al Qaeda is considered by a lot of Muslims around the world thought to be arrested and put in prison and especially in Europe and obviously they don't mean only Europe....many Muslims in the West in Guantanamo, in Spain, in Madrid, in Britain, in Holland, in Belgium, in Denmark. They are arrested not because they have committed any crime, and I don't think there is any strong cases in the UK, (unintelligible) ....get arrested by the Muslim community in the world. They would be be subject to face similar arrest for people, belong to their government around the world.

We understand from Al Qaeda now, they want to counter hostages who have been taken by the Western powers and put in prison, and they want to counter that by taking hostages and countering that. There is a way to stop this cycle. It is a bloody cycle. The way to put an end for those people who are the victims, who are in the middle of this conflict, the best way is to come face to face and to talk. It is about time for Western powers to think about the way they dealt with the IRA and Sinn Fein and Yasser Arafat and the PLO. Why not come face to face and deal with al Qaeda?

Jenvey: Do you think the policy change on taking hostage for hostage by Al Qaeda could mean that tourists in North Africa, Egypt, Morocco are in danger?

Are tourists at risk from Britain in NA and turkey?

Jenvey asks again if these areas will be unsafe for tourists.

Omar Bakri: My advice to tourists from all around the world , especially from Europe, is to be careful do not get in area which is Al Qaeda, or conflict in that area. We have prisons in that area (unintelligible).

There is more about areas that are not safe for tourists and dialog about negotiating with Al Qaeda in those areas. Rough transcription, but you get the idea.

End transcription

British Hostages and Al Qaeda: Lionheart Exclusive Part 1

This article by Lionheart, and Part 2 of the same article, needs no introduction, other than the comment that you may want to visit Lionheart's blog to read more about Glen Jenvey and what has happened to Lionheart over the past few years. Just dig through his archives.

Lionheart - Paul Ray

Lionheart is writing out of his hometown in Luton, England which has had many incidents of Muslim aggression towards the townspeople.

Exclusive: Part 1 - Al Qaeda & Hostages
by Lionheart
June 8, 2009

One of Britains leading terror experts Glen Jenvey went undercover recently on behalf of 'Defence of the Realm' media to interview Omar Bakri who is the exiled leader of the British wing of militant Islam that is now headed up by Anjem Choudry.

This interview was carried out approximately 1 week before the recent beheading of the British hostage Edwin Dyer in North Africa.

Part 2 of the interview to follow was carried out after Mr Dyer's beheading, and there is a very clear warning on where you should and should not go on holiday this summer. Read Part 2 here.

Terrorists on Air France Flt. 447? Weather Not Suspect?

by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

Two passengers aboard the downed Air France Flight 447 are reported to be listed on France's suspected "radical Muslim" list. Updates and details below as information becomes available.

Air France Flight 447

While it is believed the flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris that went down in Atlantic just off Brazil, may have had computer and icing problems, terrorism has not been ruled out. Two hundred and twenty-eight people died in the crash, including two Americans, Michael and Anne Harris from Lafayette, Louisiana.

French agents have found two names on the passenger list that are on "highly-classified documents listing the names of radical Muslims considered a threat to the French Republic." According to Sky News, the link is "highly significant."

The birth dates and family connections of the two victims are in the process of being determined. This is an important step because Muslim names are often identical or similar. The names of the two passengers have not been released. If the suspected passengers are the same as those on the "radical Muslims" list, how did they manage to slip through the cracks and board the plane?

Another report tells us that at least twelve flights took off from Rio de Janiero at approximately the same time and traveled on approximately the same flight path. So the question is, if these other flight did not report severe weather, and they did not, then is weather a suspected cause of the crash?

From the beginning, experts have doubted that weather could bring down an Airbus A330, and pilots have believed that the pilot of 447 would have skirted the storm.

Air France had four flights in this time and location spot:

One flight left Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at 4:20 p.m. At that same moment, another Air France flight left nearby Sao Paulo. A third Air France flight left Buenos Aires, Argentina, at 5:50 p.m., also heading for Paris. A final Air France flight left Sao Paulo at 7:10 p.m., almost exactly when the doomed flight took off from Rio.

All of these flights took a similar route toward Paris, heading first toward Recife on the east coast of Brazil and then continuing northeast over the Atlantic. None of the other flights experienced anything unusual, the spokesman said. All arrived in Paris the next day, with no significant delays of any kind.

Eight additional flights from other airlines proceeded similiarly as the flights above and none reported weather problems. While it is not impossible that one flight could run into worse conditions than the other airplanes in the area, but it would be unusual.

How about this very sad report: Italian who missed AF 447 flight dies in car crash.

An Italian woman who arrived to the airport late for the fatal Air France flight 447 has died in a car accident, according to ANSA news agency.

Johanna Ganthaler, a pensioner from the Bolzano-Bozen Province (South Tyrol, Italy) and her husband, Kirk, were on vacation in Brazil and missed flight 447 after arriving to the airport late. They were able to board a later flight and avoided being victims of the horrible crash.

The couple rented a car in Munich, Germany and decided to drive home to Italy. On their way home, while driving through Kufstein, Austria, their car ended up in the opposite lane and they had a head on collision with a truck.

The woman died at the hospital that she was taken to. Her husband is still in critical condition.

Trader Joe's not giving in to anti-Israel pressure

Cross-posted by Gary Fouse
fousesquawk






I recently posted a notice that a leftist anti-Israel group, South Bay Mobilization of San Jose, California was organizing an effort to force Trader Joes to remove Israeli items from its shelves. Here is an update:

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From my contact:

"According to Bob Zeidman and Jonathan Bernstein of the Anti-Defamtion League (ADL), the word from Trader Joe's corporate headquarters is that the company has no intention of boycotting Israeli products. Here is the response that the ADL received from Jon Basalone, Senior VP, Marketing, Trader Joes:

“We have received a few letters like this via our customer relations email as well. Our response is that we sell products, and do not use our products as political tools or to make any statements about any political causes. We have no intention of removing any products based on pressure from any group, no matter what they support or don’t support. As always, we believe our customers are smart, and they are capable of making decisions about what they purchase. Let me know if you have any more questions or need more information.”


Jonathan Bernstein added: "There is another email rumor circulating around about Trader Joes supporting KPFK radio in Los Angeles (a far-left channel)which is apparently false. I think they are eager to set the record straight before these things get out of control. They sent us a note about this matter as well."


Although it seems that TJ's will ignore the SBM's letter requesting a boycott, there's still the threat of SBM's "follow-up action" in local Bay Area TJ's on June 20th, which could spook local customers and managers. Unfortunately June 20th is a Saturday, so I won't suggest a counter-action on that day, but perhaps people can give their local TJ's manager a heads-up of what might happen in the store on that day.


And of course it still couldn't hurt to buy Israeli products at your local TJ's and to encourage the managers to buy even more, like Israeli wines."
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Fousesquawk comment: It seems to be a pattern that all the anti-Israel events are scheduled on the Jewish sabbath (Saturday), probably to limit a Jewish turn-out to counter protest. I'll make it a point to do my wine run at Trader Joes in Orange County to see if the loons are trying to do their disruption thing.

Youth in Israel Speak out About Obama's Cairo Speech (Videos)

by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

The following videos feature young Israelis and American Jews answering the question: What do you think about President Obama's Cairo speech?

Language Warning: Strong use of the "F" word and the "N" word. Don't watch the first video if you are easily offended. The second video is a more measured, but mixed, response.

The videos are produced by an American documentary maker, Blumenthal and are moving around the Internet with the moniker "Feeling the Hate in Jerusalem." I'm not seeing "hate" in these videos. I see deep frustration, dismay, fear and a feeling of gross unfairness with the way Israel is treated by the world. While I do not condone the language, these are young people and their lives lay ahead with great uncertainty. How would you feel if your country was under physical assault from all sides?

The first video begins with a young man in a bandanna speaking. Ignore this - just get past it. His response is not indicative of what is to come. His remarks are clearly racist. The filmmakers have been criticized for using "inebriated teenagers." You'll see the difference in response between those clearly drinking and those not, in the second video. Blumenthal says that absolutely no remarks positive to President Obama were edited out.

Here's a preview:

1) You're all about talking to the Arabs," says one. "You're going to Cairo making a speech to the Muslim world trying to get them to love you, what about the Jews, man? What are we, chopped liver? You don't care about us. Are we nothing to you? Do we matter? Do you care if we get driven into the sea? Do you care if we get nuked? Are we even... ugh... do you care about us?!"

2) My grandmother was in Auschwitz, Obama," he adds. "We're not going to take any Auschwitz bullshit! Listen, Obama, my grandma's number was 1268493, I remember her number on her arm, dude. And listen, never again will we deal with this, never again!"

3) Another member of the group stands up and declares, "I worked for the Obama campaign, but honestly, you f**kin' with Israel, you mother, STOP IT!" He stands and points his finger at the camera lens.

Israeli Youth Video




Youth in Israel Video

Trader Joe's Under Leftist Assault over Israel

Cross-posted by Gary Fouse
fousesquawk





I received this message from a colleague alerting me to the fact that Trader Joe's, a well-known market for imported foods and wines, is now under pressure to stop selling products made in Israel (like Israeli cous cous, for example). This effort is being launched by South Bay Mobilization, a leftist, activist anti-Israel bunch in San Jose, California. In addition to its letter to Trader Joe's asking them not to sell Israeli products, this bunch is asking its members to actually go into local Trader Joe's stores on June 20, which if you did not know, is "World Refugee Day" and "Day to de-shelve Israeli products". It appears they will do what French activists have been doing, filling their shopping carts with Israeli products (with great fanfare) then leaving them in the aisle. Neat, huh? Basically, they conduct themselves like vandals.

There is a letter below written by the Jewish advocacy group, Stand With Us that you can send Trader Joe's if you wish to counter the correspondence sent by SBM. At any rate, you might consider buying some Israeli products next time you go to Trader Joe's. I know I will.
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Dear Friends,


I have received some excellent ideas about how to approach the South Bay Mobilization's call for TJ's to boycott Israeli products. Here are some practical suggestions from two correspondents:


1) "I would suggest calling Trader Joe's, getting a contact and sending them that YouTube. What occurred in France is bound to be illegal because it jeopardizes Traders Joe's inventory and borders on vandalism. I would also encourage as many of us-Israel supporters to go into Trader Joes throughout the day [on June 20th] and if we have t-shirts that are supportive of Israel-wear them, go in there and BUY what they sell from Israel (I know they have goat cheese and frozen herbs ). Also, ask for Israeli wines (I hope they may soon stock them)."


2) "I suggest a counter letter writing campaign to Trader Joe's in support of continued selling of Israeli goods. In the letter, we would refute the bogus arguments. Other points could be that Trader Joe's has alot of Jewish customers who greatly appreciate the large number of kosher products. All products from Israel are kosher ( to the best of my knowledge) and boycotting Israeli products is not anti-Israeli but rather anti-Jewish."


If you should want to contact TJ's corporate headquarters, here is their info (I think the email addresses are correct, but I'm not sure):


Don Bane, Chairman and CEO (dbane@traderjoes.com)
Doug Rauch, President (drauch@traderjoes.com)
Charles J. Pilliter, SVP Operations (cpilliter@traderjoes.com)
Trader Joe’s Main Headquarters
800 S. Shamrock Ave.
Monrovia , CA 91016
phone: 626-599-3700 (customer service is extension 3035)
fax: 626-301-4431


Below is an open letter to Trader Joe's that Stand With Us posted today on its website.


http://www.standwithus.com/app/iNews/view_printer.asp?ID=1062


AN OPEN LETTER TO TRADER JOES
Filed under Israel, Boycott on 6/7/2009.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


We have just read a copy of the letter that you are about to receive from the South Bay Mobilization group, which encourages you to isolate Israel and punish it for the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Unfortunately, you are the new target of anti-Israel activist groups, who continue a propaganda campaign against Israel and distort facts to persuade merchants and others to boycott Israel. Such policies echo those that Arab countries have had since well before Israel's rebirth in 1948, and they also encourage and strengthen extremists who continue to undermine the peace process.

We note that the letter is a one-sided and self-serving view of the conflict. For example, there is nothing that describes the relentless terrorism coming from the variety of radical Palestinian groups surrounding Israel, including Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah, and fundamentalist groups like Islamic Jihad. We notice that their letter does not refer to Hamas, whose founding document calls for the murder of Jews and the destruction of Israel and which has caused the major problems for those who dream of peace in the region.

Also not mentioned in the letter, is the fact that Israel is only the size of New Jersey, and the terrorist groups surround it and continue to launch rockets from Gaza into Israel while calling for the ethnic cleansing of the Jewish people (check their founding documents, you can find them online).

What is mentioned in their letter is historically inaccurate, including issues about "stealing Palestinian land" and the building of the "segregation wall." It’s important to note that Jews have been in the region for over 3,000 years – all the archeology points to this fact – and the Palestinian Arabs never had a country in the region. While there are Palestinians who dream of peace and a better life for their children, the Palestinian leadership has never agreed to compromises that would have created two states, and they have tried to destroy Israel instead. Simply put, any negotiations that Israel has with the Palestinians will result in the creation of a new Palestinian/Arab state, not a reconstitution of a former entity. It is also important to note that the "segregation wall" is simply a security fence, which was built in response to the campaign of suicide bombings and terrorism launched by Palestinian leadership in 2000. The fence has helped reduce suicide bombings by almost 100 percent.

While Israel certainly is not perfect, no amount of propaganda can convince well-informed people that Israel is arbitrarily attacking its neighbors for sport.

We have always loved shopping at Trader Joes because you clearly have not allowed yourselves to be censored by political prejudice but rather offer an array of products that reflect the various tastes of your patrons. We salute you for standing clear of political pressure and maintaining your integrity and neutrality.

Thank you,

The Board and Staff of StandWithUs

A Simple Question

By Findalis

Courtesy of DryBones:



Now this is a very simple question. Why are the Palestinians forcing Jews out of their land, in effect creating a Jew-Free State, Judenfrei (Ethnic Cleansing) and the Israelis have to keep their Arab population? And why is the world letting them get away with it?

Could you imagine the uproar if Israel did that to her Muslim population. The world would be condemning Israel until the cows came home.

But the Muslim world is demanding that all Jews be removed from the West Bank and Jerusalem. Yes Jerusalem! Jerusalem was a Jewish city before there ever was a Mecca, before Jesus walked the land, before Muhammad was even born, before the Romans conquered Italy. There has been Jews living in Jerusalem for over 3500 years.

This is unacceptable! If Israel has to resettle Jews out of the West Bank, then all Muslims living in Israel must be resettled into the West Bank.

If Palestine is to be Judenfrei, than Israel should be free of Muslims.

George Galloway's Greatest Hits

Cross-posted by Gary Fouse
fousesquawk


Below is a video of George Galloway acting like a pussy cat on a British reality show that made him look like a joke. (I guess that's why they call it "reality TV".)

What follows is his appearance at UC-Irvine on May 21 when he called me a liar for reciting incidents in the US whereby pro-Palestinian demonstrators made anti-Semitic statements. Of course, he had the audience on his side on May 21 when he had a hall full of some 700 antri-Israel folks who cheered his statements as if they were at a soccer game.

At any rate, enjoy the montage. This is a member of British Parliament in action.

(As they say in Britain, "God save the Queen".)







"Now now, Georgie, we won't let that nasty old Fousesquawk take your milk away, will we?"

Cynthia McKinney at UC-Irvine May 13, 2009 Blaming AIPAC for Her Defeat

Cross-posted by Gary Fouse
fousesquawk




Above is a 7 1/2 minute video of Cynthia McKinney's appearance at UC-Irvine on May 13, 2009 sponsored by the campus Muslim Student Union (MSU). Five minutes into the tape, she takes a question from me (off camera to her right) asking her about anti-semitic statements made by her father and members of her New Black Party bodyguards, specifically Hashim Nzinga, that blamed Jews for her electoral defeats. My question (which is of low audible quality on the video), specifically asks her if she blamed Jews for her defeat. In her long and rambling answer, she mentioned AIPAC (America Israel Public Affairs Committee) as one of the factors in her defeat. She also quotes a report done by former Congressman Gus Savage (an odious little race baiter) which complained about AIPAC.

But enough about Gus Savage (who isn't worth the print). Here below is what my question was based on:



Cynthia McKinney's appearance at UC Irvine was an embarrassment to the university and the Muslim Student Union. She is just another radical and hateful figure who the MSU has dragged onto the UCI campus to push their radical and hateful message. Of course, it all rests on the alter of free speech, but it is still worthwhile to expose it to the public for what it is.

Obama Corrupts Jerusalem Embassy Act

by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

The Jerusalem Embassy Act commitment was deep-sixed on Friday night after Obama et al removed a critical sentence from the agreement. Friday night shenanigans are well-underway, but I must say, the word "shenanigan" has far too frivolous a tone for what is actually happening.

Barack Obama

Our President has rendered a commitment to Israel "gone," as though it never existed. The history is that in 1995 Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act to insure that the U.S. Embassy in Israel would be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem because Israel considers Jerusalem it's nation's capitol, and Israel has the right to designate their capitol. The U.S. Embassy was mandated to take up its Jerusalem presence by May 31, 1999, but today, our Embassy remains in Tel Aviv.

As bureaucrats are wont to do, for one reason or the other, every six months since May 31, 1999 a "Presidential Determination," in the form of a memo has been sent to the U.S. Secretary of State, titled "Suspension of Limitations Under the Jerusalem Embassy Act." The memo with the hefty title is simply a legal waiver moving the deadline for our Embassy's Jerusalem presence forward another six months. This has been going now, all these long years.

But now, everything has changed, just as so much has changed since January 20, 2009. The memo went out as usual, but with one big change. A sentence has been completely excised from the memo:

My Administration remains committed to beginning the process of moving our embassy to Jerusalem.

So on a Friday evening when not many are paying attention, we find that Barack Obama has undone what Congress did in 1995 with the Senate adopting the Jerusalem Embassy Act by a vote of 95 to 5, and House doing the same with a vote of 374-37.

It appears that Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton believed that Congressional authority through their vote is, in reality, only an "advisory," because it "impermissibly interferes with the President's constitutional authority." If the U.S. Constitution places the conduct of foreign policy in the hands of the President, then any resolutions Congress makes are possibly invalid.

If the above is assumption is correct, the only power Congress has is to deny funding - in this case - for the establishment of a new Embassy in Jerusalem. To date, Congress has not denied funding for a U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.

The website Palestine Facts says that the Clinton White House:

...refused to move the embassy citing harm to America's national security, believing that it would interfere with peace process negotiations. In fact, the Act gave the U.S. President a "waiver authority" under which he could suspend the [implementation] for a period of six months if he determines and reports to Congress in advance that such suspension is necessary to protect the national security interests of the United States.

Both Presidents Clinton and Bush used this waiver to postpone any change, fearful of the reaction of Palestinian Arabs, even though Bush promised to move the embassy if elected in 2000. The US refusal to act on the embassy move, leaving Israel as the only country in the world where the US embassy is not in the designated capital city, has encouraged Palestinian Arabs to believe they may eventually succeed in driving Israel out of Jerusalem.

Although President G. W. Bush campaigned on the Embassy move, we know that never happened. He began waffling soon after taking office. I think Bush, however, added the sentence:

My Administration remains committed to beginning the process of moving our embassy to Jerusalem.

The Jerusalem Embassy Act commitment has gone to feed the fishes. As of today, the "commitment" sentence is missing and the only option seems to be that we have Barack Obama's non-commitment to establishing a U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem - which he wants to cede to the Palestinians.

George Mitchell: Israel Under Seige from Obama White House

By Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

George Mitchell and his entourage are moving into Jerusalem. Mitchell, President Obama's Special Envoy to the Middle East is in the mood to get serious with Israel. Israel is under seige from the Obama White House, and the push is on to whip Israel into submission. Perhaps there is another way to interpret the following - maybe I'm reading it wrong, but since the media isn't talking about this, how would we know. Let me know what you think.

Jerusalem

Big News being reported nowhere except from The Mideast Peace Pulse blog at the Israel Policy forum (read about them at bottom of article):

Next week the high commissioner, George Mitchell, is to return. But this time he is not coming alone. He will be arriving with a whole organization aimed at executing Barack Obama's policies for the Middle East.

George Mitchell is no longer going solo. He has appointed four deputies. The first, David Hale, from the State Department, will reside regularly in Jerusalem. The second, Mara Rudman, served as chief of staff of the National Security Council under Clinton and was extremely active in the New America Foundation which concerns itself a great deal with providing aid for the Palestinians. She will be stationed in Washington and coordinate the administration's activity with the representative in Jerusalem.

The third is a former military man, Fred Hoff, an expert on Syrian affairs. He has a clear world vision, which states that the US administration must reach a deal with Syria before withdrawing from Iraq.

George Mitchell himself will arrive in Damascus, for the first time, already in the next few weeks. Until now Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman visited there twice. These visits signify an upgrading in talks between the United States and Syria.

The fourth figure is the region's military advisor, US Security Coordinator Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton, who is building the Palestinian Authority's military forces. Just recently he and the defense minister agreed to continue to expand the forces operating in the West Bank.

Mitchell's organization was established in order to channel all of American policy towards Israel and the surrounding countries into one conduit. To unite this into one coordinated voice encompassing all branches of government. The embassy in Tel Aviv will provide services, and the consul in Jerusalem, whose working relations with the Palestinians were not exactly to their satisfaction, has been replaced by one of the State Department's stars, former head of the Israel and Palestinian desk: Daniel Rubinstein.

The days of a shuttle envoy, who waits to have meetings set up with Israel officials, asks questions and waits for answers that often fail to come, have passed. From now on we're talking about a permanent presence, with presidential authority, which executes the White House policy, gets updates from the field, follows implementation of policy from up close and reports directly to the president on an ongoing, daily basis. A front line branch office of the White House.

The IPF (Israel Policy Forum) says their mission is:

...to promote active U.S. Engagement to achieve a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and peace and security for Israel with the Palestinians and the Arab states.

George Mitchell represents the strong arm of the U.S. government, "a permanent presence, with presidential authority." Israel is under seige from the Obama White House and I hope Netanyahu can stand up under the pressure.

Normandy Invasion

By Findalis

On June 6, 1944 at 0630, the largest invasion fleet ever seen in human history brought 160,000 troops from many nations to 5 beaches in Normandy, France.

It was the start of D-Day. The long planned and awaited invasion of France by the French, British and Americans.

I could write reams of words describing the invasion, the horror of the landings, the causalities (10,000 Allied troops wounded or killed), and the heroism of the men who risked their lives to bring about the destruction of Nazi Germany.

Instead I present you a few videos that in words and pictures tell the story more eloquently than I could ever do.

Gen. Dwight David Eisenhower's D-Day Message to the Troops:



View at YouTube

D-Day 6/6/44:



View at YouTube

D-Day Homage:



View at YouTube

To the men who fought upon the beaches of Normandy to save Europe:

Thank You!

Letter From Anti-Defamation League to Attorney General

Cross-posted by Gary Fouse
fousesquawk



Attorney General Eric Holder


Below is a copy of a letter from Michael A. Salberg of the Anti-Defamation League to Attorney General Eric Holder. It concerns British MP George Galloway's Viva Palestina drive to gather money and supplies for Gaza. While I am not qualified to comment on the details contained in Mr Salberg's letter, I can state as an eyewitness that on May 21, Galloway spoke at UC-Irvine and that during his appearance, boxes were passed around to receive cash contributions from the audience. It seems logical to me that the Justice Department check into this matter.
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May 14, 2009


The Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr.
Attorney General of the United States
United States Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001

Dear Attorney General Holder:

We are writing to bring to your attention our concerns about the US-based organization Viva Palestina US and to urge the Justice Department to investigate reports of fundraising by th is organization for the purpose of providing material support to Hamas.

Viva Palestina US is being promoted by British Member of Parliament, George Galloway, who led a March 9, 2009 convoy of trucks loaded with supplies which were delivered to Hamas in Gaza together with a substantial amount of cash.

According to reports, the initial “Viva Palestina” effort raised in excess of one million British pounds and included 100 vehicles presented to Hamas authorities. At a press conference in Gaza announcing the donations, Galloway openly stated: “We are giving you now 100 vehicles and all of their contents, and we make no apology for what I am about to say. We are giving them to the elected government of Palestine.” Galloway also is reported to have personally donated three cars and ₤25,000 to Hamas, met with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and indicated that he was given a Palestinian passport. A March 24, 2009, article in the Guardian UK reported that the UK Charity Commission is currently investigating Viva Palestina. Viva Palestina’s Facebook group page confirms that its bank accounts have been frozen.

During a recent US speaking tour, George Galloway urged American activists to organize a Viva Palestina convoy of their own. On the last stop of his tour in Anaheim on April 7, 2009, Galloway announced that plans for a Viva Palestina US convoy were underway. There, he reportedly encouraged his audience to contribute to Viva Palestina US to enlarge the original effort, stating for example:

It’s very easy for you. If I can raise 2 million you can raise 10 million. If I can raise 110 vehicles you can raise 500 vehicles. 500 trucks flying American flags would be quite a site going into Gaza.

The Viva Palestina US convoy is set to travel to Egypt on July 4, 2009, to purchase materials and to enter Gaza on July 7. According to their web site, organizers hope to bring 500 vehicles and $10 million to Gaza.

In furtherance of this activity, Viva Palestina US announced today on its website that the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (“IFCO”), a New York-based organization seeking “to advance the struggles of oppressed people for justice and self-determination,” is acting as Viva Palestina US’s “tax free fiscal agent” and that checks should be made payable to “IFCO – Viva Palestina.”

Notably, Mr. Galloway was scheduled to make several stops in Canada during this trip to North America but was denied entry on the grounds that he had provided material support to Hamas. Mr. Galloway is now scheduled to speak at a number of locations in the United States beginning May 17, 2009, and we expect that he will use these engagements to urge contributions to Viva Palestina US.

For your reference, we have attached a list of Mr. Galloway’s planned speaking engag ements, as well as other information relating to Viva Palestina US in the United States.

We know the Department of Justice takes seriously its role to prevent the United States from being used as a base for fundraising and support for designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations and we urge you to promptly pursue this matter.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can provide you with any additional information.

Sincerely,

Michael A. Salberg
Director, International Affairs
Anti-Defamation League

Glen Beck's Encounter with The View - The Truth Video

by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

You've heard the first part of this story: Glen Beck, his wife and friends, get onto Amtrak and his way to the Correspondents Dinner in Washington, D.C. Finds a conference table on the train and is told those seats are reserved.

Glen Beck

Beck thinks the seats must surely be held for Joe Biden and expects him to get on when they reach NYC. Instead, a police cadre enters the care and escorts Barbara Walters and Whoopee Goldberg to the seats.

Beck has fun with it on his TV show. BaBwa and Whoopee don't like it - they are they say "pissed." Glen was already scheduled to appear on the view when the Amtrak incident happens. He shows up for The View and it wasn't a happy occasion.

Well, we've heard a lot about this. Beck seemed to acknowledge that he was wrong - BaBwa didn't "call him over," he went over to BaBwa. But that's not the end of the story. The Divas say the seats were not reserved for them and indicated that Beck lied.

Scott Baker at Breitbart TV did some investigating. Who lied? Is Glen Beck actually a lying sack of dog mess, as Whoopee said? or...Watch the video - it's fascinating. These women are out-of-control.

Homily To The Muslims.

By Findalis

Book of Obama, Chapter 6

It came to pass that on the 4th day of the month of June, the Anointed One journeyed to the land of the Pharaohs. In the city of Cairo, where no Pharaoh had ever walked, the Anointed One, spoke to the assembled at the Hall of Learning.

I carry to you the goodwill of MY people of America and the peace of the Mosques of America: assalaamu alaykum.

We in the West have kept the Muslim down in the gutter for too long. We have colonized your lands, stolen your property and kept you in ignorance. But I will CHANGE that.

On 9/11 you attacked us, and we were angry. But that is now over. We can work together without us mentioning 9/11, all is forgiven.

This CHANGE will not be easy. This CHANGE will not take place overnight. It will take a year or two, but I will bring CHANGE and HOPE to all the Muslim world.

I tell you that I am a Christian, but MY father, grandfather and brother were all Muslims. I spent many years as a boy in a Muslim land. I worked with Muslims in Chicago. And I learned your history. How you developed Algebra (actually invented in India) , the Magnetic Compass (invented in China), pens and printing(invented in China), all the while bringing peace, prosperity, and harmony to the world ( as long as the Christians, Jews and Hindus paid a special tax and lived as second class citizens). Your level of medicine rivaled that of the modern world of today (that is if you like dipping fly wings into your tea and drinking it to cure disease). How you brought about the Renaissance and Enlightenment (both would have come earlier if Muslim armies hadn't invaded Europe).

I know that Muslims were fundamental to the establishment of the United States. That Muslims fought in our wars, served in government, stood for civil rights, started businesses, taught at our Universities, excelled in our sports arenas, won Nobel Prizes, built our tallest building, and lit the Olympic Torch (all within the last 50 years). We were first recognized by Morocco (that is after France, Great Britain, and Spain).

You have a bad misconception of ME. MY America is Muslim friendly with a Mosque in every state and 1200 in the nation. We welcome Muslims with open arms. You are free to force your women to wear your burkas, insist on forcing Christians and Jews into a Dhimmi role, and kill your female relatives if they upset your honor. Just don't show anti-Semitic pictures. Don't yell your true feelings of hatred in the world.

We are all humans. We must all respect that.

I will state it again: America is not at war with Islam. (So please don't attack us again, right?)

I will not keep MY troops in Afghanistan or Iraq. I will have them away from those lands within a few years. (I'm gonna need them to destroy Israel.) We will keep up the illusion of fighting the extremists with the help of of the Muslim world. (I know you don't want them to lose and I need to save face.) We will defeat them together. (Or not, they are useful to keep the sheep scared.)

I will bring a solution to the Palestinian problem. It is all the fault of the Israelis. They will do what I will say. There will be peace. For I will make Israel give the Palestinians everything that they want, and the Palestinians will not have to do anything. And if there isn't peace, then I will blame the failure on the Israelis.

I will allow Iran to have Nukes, and will make everyone give up theirs instead. That way the Muslim world can have as many Nukes they wish to force their will on others.

I grant Freedom of Religion to all Muslims. The 7 million Muslims in America (There are no more than 3 million Muslims in America) have such freedom. That is why we welcome efforts like Saudi Arabian King Abdullah's Interfaith dialogue (How many churches and synagogues are there in Saudi Arabia?) and Turkey's leadership in the Alliance of Civilizations (As long as non-Muslims accept the Dhimmitude).

The right of women to wear the hajib I give freely. You should educate them, but remember your faith does not allow them to be treated equally.

I give you the gift of Democracy. But only the Democracy that you want. I urge you to treat your non-Muslims with dignity, but remember they are Dhimmis and you know the rights they are to have.

And then He spoke from the Koran, He spoke the words of peace and understanding.

The assembled in the Hall of Learning rose in great cheers. For He will give them the world on a platter and they have to do almost nothing. No more cries of: "Death to Israel!" No more whispers and planning. All they have to do is sit back and let it happen.

But a wind began to stir. The discord of dissent was coming from the Holy City. The Leader of the Hebrews, Netanyahu arose. He spoke the words of discourse loud enough for all to hear:

NO WE WON'T!!!!!!!

Lionheart Blamed for Luton Firebombing?

by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

According to Lionheart's blog, The Daily Mail published an article that "suggested" that he [Lionheart] might be the firebomber of the Luton Islamic Centre in Bury Park Luton.

Lionheart - Paul Ray

If you've been following this story, you know that those in Luton, like Lionheart, who have been attempting to fight against their city being swallowed up by Islam have had some wary eyes cast toward them. The fact that Lionheart might be blamed for the Luton firebombing is almost a foregone conclusion, because Muslim forces in the area want rid of him and city fathers seem to bow to Islam. If you know anything about Lionheart and his journey, however, you know that he would never be involved in such an act.

This allegation was based upon crests and shields on my blog, and letters the Islamic centre supposedly received before the attack.

Now the Daily Mail has attached Lionheart's name to this event.

[Lionheart speaking] When Tim Stewart, the Daily Mail journalist, spoke to me on the phone about these letters and the link between the shields and crests on them and those on this blog, I said to him that if the Islamic centre had been sent the letters, and there was a direct link to my blog, then why have the police not pulled me in for questioning over it? To this he replied that he didnt know whether they had given the letters to the police or not.

What would be the first thing you gave to the police after this type of attack?

Considering the Daily Mail have printed my name over such a very serious crime, subtly linking me to the attack on a religious building based upon some supposed letters that they dont even know exist, or whether the the police have them or not, isnt it only fair that the authenticity of the letters in question was validated before printing the story, linking me to it, and then allowing millions of people to read it?

After Lionheart spoke to the Daily Mail by telephone and published his own post about the Daily Mail article, they pulled the story, but his name is now out there and this is a very dangerous situation for him and his family.

Edwin Dyer, a U.K. citizen was just beheaded by al Qaeda in Africa. His crime? Returning home from a music festival. If you don't think what the Daily Mail has done to Lionheart is dangerous and irresponsible, then you MUST think again.

There should also be a criminal investigation over the Daily Mail article to get to the bottom of why the Daily Mail printed their story based upon them, and why I was personally linked to the the arson attack of a religious building in a national newspaper, with criminal charges brought against those who wrote the article.

It is an extremly damaging article, that has very serious implications to me.

The post that Lionheart wrote in response to the Daily Mail - read it at Lionheart and spend some time in his archives to get the full flavor of what is going on in the U.K.

Related: Luton Firebombing: Islam Grows in House of Commons

Conspiracies? The Killings in Kansas and Arkansas

Cross-posted by Gary Fouse
fousesquawk



Scott Roeder




Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad



Within a day of each other, two shooting incidents have put the news media and the left in America on the spot. Those would be naturally, the killing of late-term abortion doctor George Tiller in Kansas-allegedly by a 51-year-old anti-abortion figure and the shooting at an Army recruiting center in Arkansas-allegedly by a Muslim convert, who it now appears spent time training in Yemen. What are the implications of the two cases? Obviously, they are not connected to each other, yet one case (Tiller) has ignited a firestorm from the left-anxious to prove that anti-abortion activists and other figures like Bill O'Reilly have blood on their hands. On the other hand, if the Tiller case cries out for further investigation into the likelihood of conspiracy (which is reasonable), does the shooting in Arkansas cry out for a look into the wider implications of the shooter's thinking and his possible connections? Will the news media give equal attention to both? Will the media remember Private William Long (the Arkansas victim) nearly as long as it remembers George Tiller? History suggests it will not.

The problem with the Arkansas case is that it would take the left and the news media down a road it is not anxious to travel-an examination of the shooter's motivation, which appears to be religiously inspired. It appears that the suspect, Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, formerly Carlos Bledsoe, may have had other targets in mind. The AP is reporting that Muhammad had maps to other military locations in the Southeast, Philadelphia, and New York-including Jewish locations. Ah yes, there's that old bug-a-boo again, just like the case in New Jersey of a couple of weeks back, it appears Jews were also on the hit list. Similarly, what was the suspect doing in Yemen recently? Who was he in contact with? Who taught him what? And who paid for him to go to Yemen in the first place? Who provided him with a false Somali passport, for which he was arrested in Yemen? Hopefully, the Eric Holder Justice Department, aided by a horde of investigative journalists, will dig deep into the issue and leave no stone unturned until it gets to the bottom of this terrible act.

Won't it?

One thing is for sure. DOJ and the MSM will devote every resource imaginable into trying to determine if there is a link between Scott Roeder and such entities as Operation Rescue. Moreover, did Bill O'Reilly's features on Tiller, ("the baby killer") incite Roeder into action? At least people like Keith Olbermann are already convinced beyond a shadow of any possible doubt. Will they show the same determination in digging out the details surrounding Mr Muhammad's motivation and connections?

Similarly, how long do you think the media will run with the Arkansas story? If you judge other similar incidents in recent years, like the attacks at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Seattle or San Francisco, it's hard to be optimistic. The attacks in Seattle (July 2006) and San Francisco (August 2006)were targeted against Jews specifically, yet the stories disappeared from the news pages within a day. If, in fact, Muhammad was arrested in possession of maps to Jewish centers, isn't it in the interest of public safety to broadcast that bit of news and let people know if they are a target?

Part of the reason is the media's extreme reluctance to concentrate on any story that has a Muslim anti-Semitic aspect to it. We all know about the Jihad business, but the press and the left are noticeably unwilling to write about radical Muslims who preach hatred towards or target Jews. Indeed many Muslims will explain that they are not anti-Jewish because Jews are considered "people of the book" who worship the same God. No, it's just "Zionists that they are opposed to."

Indeed, were we to delve deeper into the anti-Semitic aspects of these attacks/conspiracies, we are faced with the proposition that the idea of Jihad goes way beyond fighting perceived injustices committed by America and Israel toward Muslim peoples. It means we would have to go back into the passages of the Quran and the statements of the Prophet Mohammed that refer to Jews in unsettling ways. These are topics that the likes of Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow are not likely to spend much time on if any. It is much more to their taste to dwell on the murder of an abortion provider and use it to bash pro-life forces and conservative commentators.

Just a hypothetical here: Suppose Mr Muhammad had killed George Tiller-not for performing abortions- but because he was a Jew (which he was not). What take would the kids at MSNBC put on that story do you think?

I say both incidents are worthy of a deeper investigation to determine if others were involved. In the Tiller case, is there a direct connection to the organized anti-abortion forces? I doubt it, but I have no objection to law enforcement doing the necessary investigation into Scott Roeder's associations. I think a similar investigation is warranted into Muhammad's connections (He was already under FBI investigation prior to the shooting.)If, in fact, American Jews are being targeted by radical Jihadists, that must be brought out for a couple of reasons: First, American Jews need to know if they are in danger of violent attacks. Second, it raises a broader question, which is, why randomly attack innocent American Jews if it's only about "The Zionists"?

I don't think the mainstream news media wants to deal with that question. Sadly, I doubt the current administration does either.

What Will Obama Say in Cairo?

Cross-posted by Gary Fouse
fousesquawk



Al Azhar University, Cairo


With President Obama on his way to Cairo to deliver an address labeled as a message to the Muslim world, speculation is rife that this will be yet another "apology" to be issued on behalf of America for all the "wrongs" we have committed.

The speech, which will be given at Cairo's Al Azhar University, has now been preceded by Obama's puzzling statement that Iran is entitled to pursue "nuclear energy", probably a sign that the Obama Administration will stand down from our resistance to Iranian nukes.

So what will Obama say to the Muslim world? Will he remind them of America's long history of foreign aid to poor Muslim nations, such as Indonesia in the wake of the tsunami that hit that nation not so long ago? Will he remind them how America liberated Kuwait-a Muslim nation- from a brutal Iraqi occupation not so long ago? Will he remind them of how America came to the aid of Muslims in Bosnia when they were being besieged by Serbs not so long ago? Will he remind them of how America liberated Afghanistan and Iraq from horrific (Muslim) regimes and gave them the chance to live in freedom? Will he remind them of how Muslims are allowed to worship freely in America while in many Muslim countries, non-Muslims are routinely persecuted and/or outlawed?

Probably not.

What I expect will be apologies for Gitmo (which he says he will close but has not yet done), enhanced interrogations and the war of terror. He will wring his hands about how America has failed to "understand" the Middle East. He will never think of asking anyone for any apologies for 9-11. Whether he will even bother to ask decent, peaceful Muslims to join us in defeating terrorism is doubtful.

What is especially frustrating is that conciliatory talk from Obama will fail to wean over the radicals who hate everything we stand for. On the contrary, it will only demonstrate weakness and a lack of resolve on our part. They are already drawing the obvious conclusions that this president will not seriously fight terror or take hard measures to protect America from future attack. Iran (and North Korea) are free to pursue their nuclear weapons while Israel is on notice that America will now tilt to the Palestinian cause and the Arab world. Far from being grateful or moderating their objectives, they will now push full steam ahead.

That is what I expect Obama to say in Cairo and the effect it will have. If he does, in fact, say those things, it will deepen the suspicion in my mind that this president is not overly proud of his country. It's bad enough if he sends that message to us; it's worse if he sends that message to our enemies-and those who are straddling the fence.

I hope to God I am wrong, but I am not looking forward to this trip.

Geithner, Feds Sued for Shariah Compliant Financing

by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and the Federal Reserve attempted to have a lawsuit dismissed against them, which charges that U.S. ownership of American International Group (AIG) is unconstitutional because AIG is the "market leader in Shariah compliant financing."
The lawsuit cites links between "charities that receive funds as a result of Shariah-compliant financing and "terrorist organizations that are hostile to the United States."

Timothy Geithner

The controversy involves Shariah-compliant financing, part of which requires charitable contributions to those who "struggle for Allah" ("jihad").

The lawsuit is filed as Kevin J. Murray v. Timothy F. Geithner and Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The Thomas More Law Center is representing Mr. Murray. U.S. District Judge Lawrence P. Zatkoff pointed to a "government co-sponsored forum entitled Islamic Finance 101." Murray argues that it is unconstitutional for the government to own 77.9% of a company that "extensively practices Shariah-compliant finance."

Geithner and the Feds asked the judge to dismiss the case immediately. In what a Washington Times editorial describes as a "devastating 16-page decision," Judge Zatkoff denied Geithner's motion, which said the U.S. was in "Times of Crisis" when the ownership of AIG occurred. Zatkoff said that even though we may have been in "Times of crisis," such times "do not justify departure from the Constitution."

Hurrah for a judge who respects the constitution and rules for the Constitution and intends for a citizen to have a full hearing on the issue. What a refreshing change in a week that has seen Attorney General Eric Holder completely and blatantly dismiss a voter intimidation case against the New Black Panthers, with plenty of evidence, including video and witness testimony.

Photo Credit: Manuel Balce Ceneta