Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
In spite of President Obama's low poll numbers, many pundits-including Republicans- insist that none of the current Republican candidates are up to beating the President in 2012. They say that the reason Donald Trump is doing so well in the polls vis-a-vis the other candidates is that he is speaking his mind, which is what the conservative voters are craving. Nonetheless, few think that Trump can continue without blowing himself up eventually. Assuming that is true, who would be the best equipped to take on Obama next year?
Mitt Romney is considered one of the front-runners. I was never more impressed with him than when he dropped out of the primaries last go-around and made a great speech in doing so. Yet, he is viewed as another slicked-down politician who instituted his own health care plan in Massachusetts. In addition, some don't want to vote for a Mormon, which is sad, in my view.
Mike Huckabee is as bland as every woman's first husband. He is boring to watch on TV, and that controversial Arkansas pardon will come back to haunt him.
Sarah Palin is very appealing to a lot of folks, but she needs to overcome that poor performance as VP candidate. I love her views, but there is a perception that she's not up to the job. (Doesn't exactly doom your chances though, does it?)
I also like Michele Bachmann, but it seems she has the same perception problem that Palin has.
Tim Pawlenty and Rick Santorum have the right views. They are young and energetic-looking, but don't really look too presidential, do they?
Speaking of looking not-too-presidential, how about Newt Gingrich? Of all of them, he is the most eloquent spokesman for conservative issues. He is also a genuine historian who really seems to understand the issues. Yet, he has no chance. When he was Speaker of the House, he changed his tune daily depending on what he thought the best strategy of the day was. Then there is that little matter of marital fidelity-you know the time he dropped by his wife in the hospital, to tell her he was leaving her for another woman while she was being treated for cancer? I would still like to see him run simply for the voice he would add to the debates.
Same for all of them, actually. They all have something to contribute to the national debate over the role of government in our society and the direction we are going both domestically and internationally.
But they are all lacking that certain something that conservatives are craving and think they see in Trump. Someone who has charisma, genuine conservative values, and isn't afraid to stand up and tell it like it is without worrying that he/she may lose some constituency group. Who is that someone that isn't afraid to tell the other side to go jump in a lake? Who is that person that can capture the imagination of conservatives the way Obama did with liberals and..........well, dopes, while not trying to fool anybody? In my opinion, that would be someone who isn't even running yet.
That person would be Allen West.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Sioux Falls-An Unlikely Battleground
Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
Sioux Falls, South Dakota would seem an unlikely place for confrontations between Muslims and non-Muslims. Yet this small city of some 120,000 souls in the nation's heartland has been the scene of some contentious divisions between Muslims and non-Muslims.
Sioux Falls is one of those communities chosen by our government to resettle Somali and Sudanese refugees. Surprisingly as it may seem, the city has four mosques-including a mega-mosque currently under construction, a project opposed by many in the town who question why the need for yet another. Recently, Frank Gaffney of Family Security Matters came to town to screen the movie, "Iranium", which sparked protests by the local Muslims, led by former US Senator from South Dakota, James Abourezk, himself an Arab-American. The below article is by Jerry Gordon in Red County.
http://www.redcounty.com/content/muslim-brotherhood-victories-washington-tallahassee-and-sioux-falls
The below link is a report on the film by the Argus Leader (South Dakota).
http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011103290317
There have also been several anti-Israel demonstrations organized by the Islamic Center of Sioux Falls. In addition, there has been a drive led by State Senator Dan Lederman (R) and citizen activists to pass a state law designed to ensure that only laws in conformance with the US Constitution can be added to state law-an effort to preclude any future attempt to incorporate sharia law into the state code.
http://www.dakotavoice.com/2011/02/lawmakers-unit-behind-anti-shariah-law-bills
In the middle of all this is a former Catholic nun named Lisa Marie Johnson of Mary's Project, who has been a leader in the above issues.
http://www.marysproject.com/about-marys-project/index.php
Not surpringly, Lisa Marie is paying a very personal price. She has been confronted on the phone several times by angry Muslims, insulted and had her car tires slashed. Just this week, she has had rocks thrown through the windows of her Sioux Falls home. Yes, opposing sharia has its price. Here is an account of her experiences just in the past year.
In September of 2010, at about 6 pm on a Wednesday evening, a male intruder made his way into her apartment building and was lurking on all fours by the door of Lisa Marie's neighbor. A 9-11 call by a neighbor sent him fleeing before the police could arrive. He was described as a dark-skinned male 20-30s, speaking with a foreign accent and driving an older model, white, 4 door sedan.
Also, in the fall of 2010, Lisa Marie was walking around her neighborhood when a white car driven by an African-appearing man with a white skull cap slowly followed her and tried to call her to get into his car. He continued to slowly follow her until turning off and speeding off when he saw a police car approaching. Lisa Marie described him as African (not African-American), Somali or Sudanese.
In January 2011, during the state legislative session arguing the state law issue, the tires of Lisa Marie's car were slashed as it was parked in her driveway.
On March 29, 2011 – The day of Iranium screening (followed by a panel discussion with Tom Trento, State Senator Dan Lederman and Captain Joel Arends), at about 4:30 pm, a car was sitting in her alleyway right in front of her house entrance watching her door. There were 3 men in a car with tinted windows. A neighbor pulled up and stayed in her car watching. They saw her, did not move, and stayed where they were for 3 minutes before slowly moving down the alleyway. Lisa Marie was at the hotel screening room at that point getting ready for the evening event after a day of press conferences.
On April 21st and April 22nd. On Thursday early in the morning, a rock was thrown through the window of Lisa Marie's house. It completely shattered the window. Lisa Marie was up on the second floor, and the rock came threw a second floor window. On Friday, another rock came through the window of the front door of her house, again shattering the window. These were big rocks that fit in one's whole hand, It was estimated that the perpetrator would have had to be only about 3 feet away from the window, to aim and break it like he did. Lisa Marie lives in an old historical home and the windows are old and quite thick.
This is the type of intimidation that Lisa Marie has had to put up with because of her opposition to militant Islam-even in a place like Sioux Falls, South Dakota. My admiration goes out to her for having the courage to not stand down in the face of thuggery.
fousesquawk
Sioux Falls, South Dakota would seem an unlikely place for confrontations between Muslims and non-Muslims. Yet this small city of some 120,000 souls in the nation's heartland has been the scene of some contentious divisions between Muslims and non-Muslims.
Sioux Falls is one of those communities chosen by our government to resettle Somali and Sudanese refugees. Surprisingly as it may seem, the city has four mosques-including a mega-mosque currently under construction, a project opposed by many in the town who question why the need for yet another. Recently, Frank Gaffney of Family Security Matters came to town to screen the movie, "Iranium", which sparked protests by the local Muslims, led by former US Senator from South Dakota, James Abourezk, himself an Arab-American. The below article is by Jerry Gordon in Red County.
http://www.redcounty.com/content/muslim-brotherhood-victories-washington-tallahassee-and-sioux-falls
The below link is a report on the film by the Argus Leader (South Dakota).
http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011103290317
There have also been several anti-Israel demonstrations organized by the Islamic Center of Sioux Falls. In addition, there has been a drive led by State Senator Dan Lederman (R) and citizen activists to pass a state law designed to ensure that only laws in conformance with the US Constitution can be added to state law-an effort to preclude any future attempt to incorporate sharia law into the state code.
http://www.dakotavoice.com/2011/02/lawmakers-unit-behind-anti-shariah-law-bills
In the middle of all this is a former Catholic nun named Lisa Marie Johnson of Mary's Project, who has been a leader in the above issues.
http://www.marysproject.com/about-marys-project/index.php
Not surpringly, Lisa Marie is paying a very personal price. She has been confronted on the phone several times by angry Muslims, insulted and had her car tires slashed. Just this week, she has had rocks thrown through the windows of her Sioux Falls home. Yes, opposing sharia has its price. Here is an account of her experiences just in the past year.
In September of 2010, at about 6 pm on a Wednesday evening, a male intruder made his way into her apartment building and was lurking on all fours by the door of Lisa Marie's neighbor. A 9-11 call by a neighbor sent him fleeing before the police could arrive. He was described as a dark-skinned male 20-30s, speaking with a foreign accent and driving an older model, white, 4 door sedan.
Also, in the fall of 2010, Lisa Marie was walking around her neighborhood when a white car driven by an African-appearing man with a white skull cap slowly followed her and tried to call her to get into his car. He continued to slowly follow her until turning off and speeding off when he saw a police car approaching. Lisa Marie described him as African (not African-American), Somali or Sudanese.
In January 2011, during the state legislative session arguing the state law issue, the tires of Lisa Marie's car were slashed as it was parked in her driveway.
On March 29, 2011 – The day of Iranium screening (followed by a panel discussion with Tom Trento, State Senator Dan Lederman and Captain Joel Arends), at about 4:30 pm, a car was sitting in her alleyway right in front of her house entrance watching her door. There were 3 men in a car with tinted windows. A neighbor pulled up and stayed in her car watching. They saw her, did not move, and stayed where they were for 3 minutes before slowly moving down the alleyway. Lisa Marie was at the hotel screening room at that point getting ready for the evening event after a day of press conferences.
On April 21st and April 22nd. On Thursday early in the morning, a rock was thrown through the window of Lisa Marie's house. It completely shattered the window. Lisa Marie was up on the second floor, and the rock came threw a second floor window. On Friday, another rock came through the window of the front door of her house, again shattering the window. These were big rocks that fit in one's whole hand, It was estimated that the perpetrator would have had to be only about 3 feet away from the window, to aim and break it like he did. Lisa Marie lives in an old historical home and the windows are old and quite thick.
This is the type of intimidation that Lisa Marie has had to put up with because of her opposition to militant Islam-even in a place like Sioux Falls, South Dakota. My admiration goes out to her for having the courage to not stand down in the face of thuggery.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
A Mideast Devoid Of Christians
By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle
This is the goal of the Muslim world. In every Muslim nation there is an official systematic policy to destroy every Christian church, community, life in order to free themselves of the blight they see within their midst. This isn't a new phenomena in these countries, they rid themselves of Jews decades ago.
I wrote in 2008 that the PA is planning to turn the Church of the Nativity into a Mosque. It is only a matter of time until there are almost no Christians in Bethlehem. Then the PA can evict the Nuns, Priests and Brother who reside at the church (Their usefulness as mouth pieces will be done.), and then loot the place and rework it into a Mosque.
It is not as if Muslims have any respect for the Holy sites of other people. The desecration of Joseph's Tomb or the Statues of Buddha is the best example of what will happen to every Christian holy site that falls under the sway of these madmen.
Why is it the Christian churches for the most part, are silent on this? Only a few will cry out for their persecuted brethren. What is scaring them into silence?
The silence of the Christian world is deafening. Especially to those communities who are being erased from the lands they lived in since way before Mohammad was born.
This is the saddest Easter in the long epic of Arab Christianity: The cross is near extinction in the lands of it origin. The much-vaunted diversity of the Middle East is going to be reduced to the flat monotony of a single religion, Islam, and to a handful of languages.
In 1919, the Egyptian revolution adopted a green flag with the crescent and the cross. Both Muslims and Christians participated in the nationalist revolution against British colonialism. Now, according to the Egyptian Federation for Human Rights, more than 70 Christians a week are asking to leave the country due to Islamist threats.
The numbers are telling. Today there is only one Middle Eastern country where the number of Christians has grown: Israel. As documented in the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, the Christian community that numbered 34,000 people in 1949 is now 163,000-strong, and will reach 187,000 in 2020.
In the rest of the Middle East, the drive for Islamic purity is going to banish all traces of pre-Islamic pasts. This has affected not only Christians, but other non-Islamic communities too, such as the Zoroastrians and Baha’is in Iran (the late also found refuge in Israel, in Haifa.)
The silence of the global forums, the flawed conscience of human rights groups, the self-denial of the media and the Vatican’s appeasement is helping facilitate this Islamist campaign. According to a report on religious freedom compiled by the US Department of State, the number of Christians in Turkey declined from two million to 85,000; in Lebanon they have gone from 55% to 35% of the population; in Syria, from half the population they have been reduced to 4%; in Jordan, from 18% to 2%. In Iraq, they will be exterminated.
Should the exodus of Christians from Bethlehem continue in the next two or three decades, there may be no clergy left to conduct religious services in Jesus’ birthplace. In Iran, Christians have become virtually non-existent since 1979, when Khomeini ordered the immediate closure of all Christian schools. In Gaza, the 3,000 who remain are subjected to persecution. In Sudan, Christians in the South are forced into slavery.
Israel’s flag a symbol of hope
In Lebanon, the Maronites, the only Christians to have held political power in the modern Arab world, have been reduced to a minority because of Muslim violence and Hezbollah’s rise. In Saudi Arabia, Christians have been beaten or tortured by religious police. Benjamin Sleiman, archbishop of Baghdad, is talking about “the extinction of Christianity in the Middle East.”
The Christian Egypt was symbolically represented by former United Nations Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, a Christian married to a Jewish woman whose sister was the wife of Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban. In 1977, Boutros-Ghali, who was then Egypt’s foreign minister, accompanied President Anwar Sadat to Jerusalem.
Sadat, who as a child had attended a Christian school, was killed because the treaty his signed with the “Zionists,” among other reasons, and his cold peace is now under attack from the new rulers in Cairo.
In 1948, the Middle East was cleansed of its ancient Jews. Today is the Christians’ turn. Just as Islamist totalitarians have ruthlessly persecuted Christians in the Middle East, they have been waging war for the past 63 years to destroy the Jewish state in their midst. That’s why the fate of Israel is intertwined with the fate of the non-Muslim minorities.
Should the Islamists prevail, the Middle East will be completely green, the colour of Islam. Under atomic and Islamist existential threats, the remnant of the Jewish people risks being liquidated before Israel’s centennial in 2048. It’s time for Christians to recognize that Israel’s survival is also critical and vital for them. During the Holocaust, when most Christians were bystanders or collaborators, the Yellow Star was a symbol of death for the Jews. Today, the white flag with the beautiful six pointed star is a symbol of survival and hope for both Jews and Christians.
Giulio Meotti, a journalist with Il Foglio, is the author of the book A New Shoah: The Untold Story of Israel's Victims of Terrorism
Full Story
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| After |
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| Before |
It is not as if Muslims have any respect for the Holy sites of other people. The desecration of Joseph's Tomb or the Statues of Buddha is the best example of what will happen to every Christian holy site that falls under the sway of these madmen.
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| Joseph's Tomb |
Why is it the Christian churches for the most part, are silent on this? Only a few will cry out for their persecuted brethren. What is scaring them into silence?
The silence of the Christian world is deafening. Especially to those communities who are being erased from the lands they lived in since way before Mohammad was born.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
About That Royal Wedding
Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
A few days ago, I posted a spoof on the up-coming royal wedding. One of the pictures I posted showed the usual collection of riff-raff known as Islam4UK, Anjem Choudary's gang, doing a London street protest with their posters promising beheading to anyone who dared to say a cross word about Islam.
Some spoof.
Yesterday, Muslims Against the Crusades-or something like that, formally petitioned for a protest permit on the day of the wedding. They are promising to disrupt the wedding.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/04/20/militant-muslim-group-plans-protest-royal-wedding/?test=latestnews
Anjem Choudary is the type of example that Muslims in the West would be advised not to follow. This element is accomplishing nothing more than marginalizing its own people. Is this really what Muslims in Western countries want to be-on the fringes of society, despised by the native populations? That is precisely what they are accomplishing in the UK and other Western European nations, where they spit on local values and traditions and refuse to assimilate. In the US, we have managed (for the most part) to avoid those kinds of extremes because our Muslim immigrants came here educated and with professional skills. Economically, they are not on the lower scales. Yet, even among our own Muslim youth, radicalism is increasingly catching on. As it does, US Muslims are finding themselves increasingly alienated from the rest of society. Correspondingly, anger is increasing in the US as the public sees more examples of radical thought and speech accompanied by occasional terrorist acts and or plots. More and more Americans are saying that Muslims need to accept American values and assimilate if they want to feel welcome here.
If British Muslims are becoming a despised minority, then they have only themselves to blame. To engage in another loud and disrupted protest against the royal wedding will only increase the anger from the British public and hurt the decent British Muslims. It is the latter who need to stand up forcefully and combat this rubbish from within their own community. Silence will be interpreted as assent.
fousesquawk
A few days ago, I posted a spoof on the up-coming royal wedding. One of the pictures I posted showed the usual collection of riff-raff known as Islam4UK, Anjem Choudary's gang, doing a London street protest with their posters promising beheading to anyone who dared to say a cross word about Islam.
Some spoof.
Yesterday, Muslims Against the Crusades-or something like that, formally petitioned for a protest permit on the day of the wedding. They are promising to disrupt the wedding.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/04/20/militant-muslim-group-plans-protest-royal-wedding/?test=latestnews
Anjem Choudary is the type of example that Muslims in the West would be advised not to follow. This element is accomplishing nothing more than marginalizing its own people. Is this really what Muslims in Western countries want to be-on the fringes of society, despised by the native populations? That is precisely what they are accomplishing in the UK and other Western European nations, where they spit on local values and traditions and refuse to assimilate. In the US, we have managed (for the most part) to avoid those kinds of extremes because our Muslim immigrants came here educated and with professional skills. Economically, they are not on the lower scales. Yet, even among our own Muslim youth, radicalism is increasingly catching on. As it does, US Muslims are finding themselves increasingly alienated from the rest of society. Correspondingly, anger is increasing in the US as the public sees more examples of radical thought and speech accompanied by occasional terrorist acts and or plots. More and more Americans are saying that Muslims need to accept American values and assimilate if they want to feel welcome here.
If British Muslims are becoming a despised minority, then they have only themselves to blame. To engage in another loud and disrupted protest against the royal wedding will only increase the anger from the British public and hurt the decent British Muslims. It is the latter who need to stand up forcefully and combat this rubbish from within their own community. Silence will be interpreted as assent.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Would Jew Believe This?
By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle
A young boy returned home from Hebrew school, washed his hands and sat down to dinner.
His father asked him what he learned that day in school.
The boy replied that the Rabbi told his class the most amazing story of how the Jews were rescued from the Land of Egypt and brought to the Land of Israel.
His father smiled and asked his son to relate the story the Rabbi told them.
"Sure Dad," the boy said. "Now this story happened a long time ago, before the time of CNN. Before the time of computers, and cell phones. Before even TV. I think it was in the 1920s or so it happened.
"Egypt was ruled by this guy named Pharaoh. I think it means "Nasty Egyptian". And we Jews were his slaves. We didn't like being slaves and prayed to G-d to set us free. G-d heard our prayers and sent us a miracle.
"G-d sent the IDF back in time to rescue the Children of Israel (I think they rescued the parents too.). The Commandos diverted the Egyptian Army while the Children and their parents fled to the Red Sea (It was red because G-d turned the water to blood like in Zombie Killers 3.). There the IDF built Pontoon bridges across the Red Sea for the people to go across. When the Egypt Army tried to follow, the IDF blew up the bridges.
"Then this guy named Moshe Dayan (He is the head of the IDF, I think. Rabbi said he was G-d's greatest profits.) lead the Children of Israel (and their parents) to Mount Sinai where Moshe lays down the law, destroys the Golden Calf and leads them to Israel.
"But it took them 40 years because nobody had a GPS and Moshe would not ask for directions."
His father had a look upon his face that was a cross between total astonishment and WTF. "Is this what the Rabbi taught you?"
"No Dad," the boy said. "But you wouldn't believe the crazy story he did tell."
Here is that crazy story:
This video tells the story very well too:
A young boy returned home from Hebrew school, washed his hands and sat down to dinner.
His father asked him what he learned that day in school.
His father smiled and asked his son to relate the story the Rabbi told them.
"Sure Dad," the boy said. "Now this story happened a long time ago, before the time of CNN. Before the time of computers, and cell phones. Before even TV. I think it was in the 1920s or so it happened.
"Egypt was ruled by this guy named Pharaoh. I think it means "Nasty Egyptian". And we Jews were his slaves. We didn't like being slaves and prayed to G-d to set us free. G-d heard our prayers and sent us a miracle.
"G-d sent the IDF back in time to rescue the Children of Israel (I think they rescued the parents too.). The Commandos diverted the Egyptian Army while the Children and their parents fled to the Red Sea (It was red because G-d turned the water to blood like in Zombie Killers 3.). There the IDF built Pontoon bridges across the Red Sea for the people to go across. When the Egypt Army tried to follow, the IDF blew up the bridges.
"But it took them 40 years because nobody had a GPS and Moshe would not ask for directions."
His father had a look upon his face that was a cross between total astonishment and WTF. "Is this what the Rabbi taught you?"
"No Dad," the boy said. "But you wouldn't believe the crazy story he did tell."
From Chabad
After many decades of slavery to the Egyptian pharaohs, during which time the Israelites were subjected to backbreaking labor and unbearable horrors, G‑d saw the people's distress and sent Moses to Pharaoh with a message: "Send forth My people, so that they may serve Me." But despite numerous warnings, Pharaoh refused to heed G‑d's command. G‑d then sent upon Egypt ten devastating plagues, afflicting them and destroying everything from their livestock to their crops.
At the stroke of midnight of 15 Nissan in the year 2448 from creation (1313 BCE), G‑d visited the last of the ten plagues on the Egyptians, killing all their firstborn. While doing so, G‑d spared the Children of Israel, "passing over" their homes-hence the name of the holiday. Pharaoh's resistance was broken, and he virtually chased his former slaves out of the land. The Israelites left in such a hurry, in fact, that the bread they baked as provisions for the way did not have time to rise. Six hundred thousand adult males, plus many more women and children, left Egypt on that day, and began the trek to Mount Sinai and their birth as G‑d's chosen people.
Happy Passover!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
And It Begins...
By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle
The ArabLeague Cowards are preparing to demand the UN set up a No Fly Zone over Gaza. This is the same group of cowards who demanded a No Fly Zone over Libya then ran at the first sign of trouble.
League Cowards deceived the UN last time over Libya they turned tail and ran like the cowards they are leaving NATO but more importantly the US holding the bag (Ground troops will be landing soon.). This is what will happen again. Especially if the 3 Bitches Witches (Clinton, Powers, and Rice.) get their way.
The Arab
The Arab League on Sunday announced during a special meeting in Cairo that it plans to press the UN to impose a no-fly zone over Gaza amid an escalation in violence in the area, AFP reported.When the Arab
Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa said he plans to present the proposal to the UN Security Council, the report said.
The announcement came as Palestinian news agency Ma'an reported on Sunday that UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Roberty Serry successfully brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip including Hamas.
The deal, reportedly reached Saturday night stipulated that the IDF stop its air and artillery strikes against Palestinian terrorist groups, who also reportedly have agreed to halt their rocket and mortar fire.
Neither Jerusalem nor Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip have announced a ceasefire, but senior officials made statements Sunday hinting to their openness towards such a deal.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak said early Sunday that Jerusalem was willing to accept a mutual ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza after several days of projectile fire and IDF strikes, adding that "If necessary, we will act, but," he said, "restraint is also a form of strength."
"If they stop firing on our communities, we will stop firing. If they stop firing in general, it will be quiet, it will be good," Barak told Israel Radio.
On the Gazan the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, Al-Quds, said that it was committed to a ceasefire with Israel, saying it was in the "interests of our people not to give Israel an excuse to launch a major military operation in Gaza."
The announcement came only hours after the group claimed responsibility for firing three mortars and a rocket into Israeli territory Sunday morning.
Abu Ahmed, Islamic Jihad's spokesperson, said that his group would cease violence "so long as Israel fulfills it's responsibility and stops attacks against the Palestinian people in Gaza."
Hamas also softened its language on Sunday.
The group's spokesman in the Gaza Strip, Sami Abu Zuhri, on said that "The Palestinian factions are not interested in escalation." He added, "if the Israeli aggression stopped, it would be natural for calm to be restored."
Full Story
Friday, April 8, 2011
Burning Korans and Cartoons
Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
There is an interesting debate going on among some as to whether Florida pastor Terry Jones should be condemned or praised for his recent Koran burning, an act that has, predictably, led to deadly riots in Afghanistan. This, of course, is reminiscent of the European firestorm over the Mohammed cartoons. When it comes to these kinds of expressions, European law gets pretty murky since many countries have laws against "hateful speech". Just ask Geert Wilders in Holland or Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff in Austria, both of whom are being or have been prosecuted for speaking out against Islam. Till now, the cartoonists in Holland and Scandinavia have been protected by their respective nations against Middle Eastern and other Muslim calls for prosecution (and death). My own reaction is rather two-fold. On the one hand, I defend Wilders and Sabaditsch-Wolff for speaking out on the problems associated with the strict application of Islam in a free Western society and the lack of assimilation among their Muslim immigrants. I do not think they have been guilty of hate speech. On the matter of drawing cartoons depicting prophets and Muslim images in a negative light, as well as burning cartoons, I think they are ill-advised. Same with burning a Koran. However, any attempt to prosecute or kill those who engage in these acts is also something I absolutely condemn.
In the wake of the Koran-burning incident, President Obama, General Petraeus, Secretary Gates, and other officials have spoken out publicly in an effort to cool down the Muslim world-especially in Afghanistan, where we have troops fighting and who are now exposed to added anger and opposition. That's one thing. More troubling are the comments of people like Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a lawyer, no less, who has mused about his wish that (Jones) could be prosecuted.
Personally, I think that Terry Jones is a publicity-seeking, irresponsible jerk and that his actions are unwise. I am hardly a follower of the Koran; I have read it, and don't like much of what is in it. That is not the point. I am not ready to join those who think all Muslims are bad people just waiting to kill the rest of us. There are plenty of peaceful Muslims of good will who still consider the Koran to be their holy book-whether or not they strive to lead their lives in accordance with every word. Burning the Koran hurts them too.
Then there are the brave Muslims like Zuhdi Jasser and Steven Schwartz, who openly and courageously speak out against the jihadists and their apologists-including the wolves in sheep's clothing like CAIR. The Koran is still their holy book as well. We need to stand with them and support them. Does anyone actually think that burning a Koran is supporting people like Jasser and Schwartz?
That said, drawing cartoons and burning Korans is no justification for rioting and murdering. We Christians in America have had to suffer seeing a Jesus crucifix immersed in a jar of urine and hailed as a work of art in a New York art museum-subsidized by government funding no less. Yet, no one rioted. No art museum was burned or attacked. No one was killed. No death contracts were put out. That is the price of living in a free and civilized society.
Today, Christians can be mocked all day long in the West-especially Catholics. Jews are once again being subjected to rising anti-Semitism. Why is it only Islam that must not at all costs be offended? It is because Islam is militant, and the reaction is sure to be violent in certain quarters. Accordingly, many genuflect when Muslims are offended.
So the point I am coming to here is that while I disapprove of the cartoons and burning Korans, any attempt to prosecute (or kill) cartoonists and Koran burners must be opposed if we are to remain a free society. If our justice system, especially the politically-correct Justice Department finds an inventive way to charge Jones with a crime, then I must hold my nose and rise to his defense.
fousesquawk
There is an interesting debate going on among some as to whether Florida pastor Terry Jones should be condemned or praised for his recent Koran burning, an act that has, predictably, led to deadly riots in Afghanistan. This, of course, is reminiscent of the European firestorm over the Mohammed cartoons. When it comes to these kinds of expressions, European law gets pretty murky since many countries have laws against "hateful speech". Just ask Geert Wilders in Holland or Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff in Austria, both of whom are being or have been prosecuted for speaking out against Islam. Till now, the cartoonists in Holland and Scandinavia have been protected by their respective nations against Middle Eastern and other Muslim calls for prosecution (and death). My own reaction is rather two-fold. On the one hand, I defend Wilders and Sabaditsch-Wolff for speaking out on the problems associated with the strict application of Islam in a free Western society and the lack of assimilation among their Muslim immigrants. I do not think they have been guilty of hate speech. On the matter of drawing cartoons depicting prophets and Muslim images in a negative light, as well as burning cartoons, I think they are ill-advised. Same with burning a Koran. However, any attempt to prosecute or kill those who engage in these acts is also something I absolutely condemn.
In the wake of the Koran-burning incident, President Obama, General Petraeus, Secretary Gates, and other officials have spoken out publicly in an effort to cool down the Muslim world-especially in Afghanistan, where we have troops fighting and who are now exposed to added anger and opposition. That's one thing. More troubling are the comments of people like Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a lawyer, no less, who has mused about his wish that (Jones) could be prosecuted.
Personally, I think that Terry Jones is a publicity-seeking, irresponsible jerk and that his actions are unwise. I am hardly a follower of the Koran; I have read it, and don't like much of what is in it. That is not the point. I am not ready to join those who think all Muslims are bad people just waiting to kill the rest of us. There are plenty of peaceful Muslims of good will who still consider the Koran to be their holy book-whether or not they strive to lead their lives in accordance with every word. Burning the Koran hurts them too.
Then there are the brave Muslims like Zuhdi Jasser and Steven Schwartz, who openly and courageously speak out against the jihadists and their apologists-including the wolves in sheep's clothing like CAIR. The Koran is still their holy book as well. We need to stand with them and support them. Does anyone actually think that burning a Koran is supporting people like Jasser and Schwartz?
That said, drawing cartoons and burning Korans is no justification for rioting and murdering. We Christians in America have had to suffer seeing a Jesus crucifix immersed in a jar of urine and hailed as a work of art in a New York art museum-subsidized by government funding no less. Yet, no one rioted. No art museum was burned or attacked. No one was killed. No death contracts were put out. That is the price of living in a free and civilized society.
Today, Christians can be mocked all day long in the West-especially Catholics. Jews are once again being subjected to rising anti-Semitism. Why is it only Islam that must not at all costs be offended? It is because Islam is militant, and the reaction is sure to be violent in certain quarters. Accordingly, many genuflect when Muslims are offended.
So the point I am coming to here is that while I disapprove of the cartoons and burning Korans, any attempt to prosecute (or kill) cartoonists and Koran burners must be opposed if we are to remain a free society. If our justice system, especially the politically-correct Justice Department finds an inventive way to charge Jones with a crime, then I must hold my nose and rise to his defense.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
The Olive Tree Initiative at UC Irvine-The Zionist Organization of America Letters
Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
In the wake of the previously reported disclosure that UC-Irvine students participating in the Olive Tree Initiative reportedly met with a top Hamas official in the West Bank in 2009, the Zionist Organization of America has written two letters expressing outrage. The first letter is to the Jewish Federation of Orange County. The second is to UCI Chancellor Michael Drake. Both letters were provided to the Orange County Independent Task Force on Anti-Semitism, from where they are cross-posted here. Both letters are blistering. They may be accessed from the below link.
http://octaskforce.wordpress.com/2011/04/01/zoa-letters-to-oc-jewish-federation-uci-chancellor-drake-expreses-outrage-over-uci-students-meeting-with-hamas-leader/
What can I say? As one who has taught part-time at UCI for almost 13 years, I can tell you that the ZOA, the Orange County Independent Task Force on Anti-Semitism, myself and others have been complaining about this crap for years. All we can do is speak out and inform the public as we stand up not only for Israel, but more importantly for America and against anti-Semitism. All we have ever encountered is resistance and denial.
Now, however, the chickens are coming home to roost, not for anything that our side has done, rather because of what the other side has done. We knew that eventually, the truth would come out.
As the cop in Scarface said, "It's your tree. You're sitting in it."
fousesquawk
In the wake of the previously reported disclosure that UC-Irvine students participating in the Olive Tree Initiative reportedly met with a top Hamas official in the West Bank in 2009, the Zionist Organization of America has written two letters expressing outrage. The first letter is to the Jewish Federation of Orange County. The second is to UCI Chancellor Michael Drake. Both letters were provided to the Orange County Independent Task Force on Anti-Semitism, from where they are cross-posted here. Both letters are blistering. They may be accessed from the below link.
http://octaskforce.wordpress.com/2011/04/01/zoa-letters-to-oc-jewish-federation-uci-chancellor-drake-expreses-outrage-over-uci-students-meeting-with-hamas-leader/
What can I say? As one who has taught part-time at UCI for almost 13 years, I can tell you that the ZOA, the Orange County Independent Task Force on Anti-Semitism, myself and others have been complaining about this crap for years. All we can do is speak out and inform the public as we stand up not only for Israel, but more importantly for America and against anti-Semitism. All we have ever encountered is resistance and denial.
Now, however, the chickens are coming home to roost, not for anything that our side has done, rather because of what the other side has done. We knew that eventually, the truth would come out.
As the cop in Scarface said, "It's your tree. You're sitting in it."
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