Where Did All the Christians Go?

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



Hat tip Raymond Ibrahim and Gatestone Institute



Raymond Ibrahim gives us an interesting picture of the status of Christians in the Middle East-especially with the current trials and tribulations of Egypt's Coptic Christian community.

http://www.raymondibrahim.com/muslim-persecution-of-christians/muslim-persecution-of-christians-january-2013/

So as we in the West all wring our hands over "Islamophobia", when do we stop to consider why Christianity and Judaism have all but disppeared from the very region where they were born (notable exception Israel)?

In the case of the Jews, even after the expulsion by the Romans from the Land of Israel, there continued to be Jewish communities in the Arab lands through the centuries, who lived in a dhimmi status-until 1948-49 when they were driven out of those countries after the creation of Israel. Almost one million people had to leave their homes often with nothing more than what they could carry. Nobody talks about them as they mourn the Arabs who left the newly-created Israel in 1948-most voluntarily upon the urging of the invading Arab armies who promised a quick return once they had driven the Jews out. Those refugees wound up in refugee camps in the neighboring countries, and there they remained unable-with the exception of Jordan- to become citizens and assimilate. They became known in the 1960s-yes the 1960s- as "Palestinians", useful pawns to the Arab world that cannot accept a Jewish state in the region.

As for the Christians, most notably, the Copts in Egypt, they have been increasingly marginalized and with the so-called Arab Spring, now find themselves in even more peril. Keep in mind that the Copts were in Egypt long before the Muslims and now make up about 10% in that country.

So why is it that in the region where the three monotheistic,  Abrahamaic faiths were born  Christianity and Judaism have all but disappeared-again with the notable exception of a greatly-threatened Israel? Could it be  despite all the claims that Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance that has always co-existed with and protected its religious minorities that just the opposite is true-that it is all about warfare, conquest and persecution?

Rather than launch into another discourse on that question, I suggest the reader read the history. Read the Koran. Learn how the Koran was put together, how it is organized, and how it is interpreted by Islamic scholars. Check out those scholars and the leading schools of Islamic thought. Read the Hadith. Read about the life of the Prophet Mohammed. Follow the events in the Middle East and the Islamic world as well as what is happening in Europe today. To be sure, read all sides. Evaluate the sources. Read between the lines. Attend those interfaith meetings and asked educated and pointed questions to the Muslim representatives. Carefully scrutinize what they say.

Do the research.

CSCOPE Teaching Controversy Heating Up

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot



Hat tip Creeping Sharia and Atlas Shrugs

Previously, I have written posts about the influence of an agency called CSCOPE in our schools-especially in Texas. Creeping Sharia has a post on a test question your kids may have already seen and taken.

http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/2013/03/28/texas-c-scope-tests-students-on-islamic-sharia/




I am surprised one of those choices wasn't helping little old ladies across the street.

How about these?

K  death penalty for gays
L   death penalty for those who blaspheme Islam
M  death penalty for apostasy
N  death by stoning for adulterers.

The above is also part of sharia-specifically under hudud sharia- penalty for crimes against God.

That brings us to a recent video that comes from Africa. Atlas Shrugs has posted it, and it has been picked up by other sites. It is graphic and highly disturbing. After careful thought, I have decided to post it. I will explain why below. ( I don't know what the sound track is saying or who put it in the tape.)



My dear readers, this is not about hating people who are Muslims, nor should it ever be. Surely, many Muslims in the US came here to escape this very barbarity. However, this is part and parcel of sharia law. It mandates a death sentence for acts which in our law are not even crimes. This is why so many states are trying to insure that this type of legal philosophy cannot worm its way into American law. It is not about discrimination. It is about human rights.

Our children are being indoctrinated by our public school system when it comes to the reality of this most controversial issue in the world today. This is the same public school system that systematically eliminates any references to Christianity-most recently even to mention the word, "Easter".

If you have  kids in school, you need to pay close attention to what they are being taught. It is well and good to teach tolerance. It is not good to teach misinformation and falsehoods. I am not suggesting that schools teach the darker sides of sharia law to classes that have Muslim children lest they be singled out for schoolyard taunting. Perhaps it would be better if the schools allowed the kids to learn about it the old-fashioned way-by experience as they grow up. If you can't teach the truth, it is better to teach nothing at all.

Would Jew Believe This? The Story Of Passover.

By Findalis
Monkey in the Middle

For my regular readers:

I have been in the hospital for the last 5 days, missed the first Seder night, and haven't been able to post in all that time.  So I'm posting these old posts for the holiday of Passover.

*************************************************************************

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."

***********************************************************************

Actually I'm not sure that is not the correct story.  It could be giving that a certain Time Lord, his TARDIS and a few units of the IDF could have pulled it off.

But perhaps G-d did it this way:

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.

*********************************************************************

Or maybe not.  Any way that G-d performed the miracle of the Passover was the correct story. 

UC Berkeley Student Government Goes After Tammi Benjamin

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



Hat tip Pro-Israel Bay Bloggers

This is what happens to you if you speak out on anti-Semitism on UC Campuses

Tammi Benjamin is an adjunct teacher at UC Santa Cruz (America's Wackiest University). She is also Jewish and a friend of mine. Tammi has been very active in trying to combat the constant anti-Semitism on UC campuses. In doing so, she helped start the AMCHA Initiative.

Now the little rascals at UC Berserkley are going after Tammi and calling her a racist for standing up to the MSA (Muslim Student Association chapters), Students for Justice in Palestine, and certain professors who are contributing to the anti-Semitic climate. Look at this below.

http://proisraelbaybloggers.blogspot.com/2013/03/jewish-community-hero-tammi-benjamin.html

And Wednesday, the resolution passed. The below article is from Electric Intifada, obviously an anti-Israel blog.

http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora/student-senate-uc-berkeley-passes-resolution-condemning-lecturers-islamophobic-hate

If I were Tammi, I would laugh this off and wear it as a badge of honor. Who cares what a bunch of dopey left-wing kids at Berkeley or Santa Cruz think of her? I seriously doubt the administration will do anything with this. If they do, they will be just as bad.

Here is the deal: If you are going to stand up to anti-Semitism on US university campuses, you have to single out the culprits. As for the UC system, it is clearly the various Muslim Student Associations and their front group, Students for Justice in Palestine, the latter because they have a few misguided non-Muslim members who have drunk the Kool Aid. They have a long history of dragging in anti-Semitic speakers during their anti-Israel hate weeks. For naming names, these dopey kids slam Benjamin as some sort of racist.

Of course, these various student governments are very selective in their outrage.

Did the UC Irvine student government ever condemn the statement of MSU-invited speaker Mohammed Al Asi in 2001 when he told an audience, "You can take the Jew out of the ghetto, but you can't take the ghetto out of the Jew"? Not to my knowledge.



Did the UC Irvine  student government ever pass a resolution condemning this poster put up by the MSU a few years back during their week of events? Not to my knowledge.











Did the UCI student government ever pass a resolution condemning the so-called Irvine 11, who disrupted the Israeli ambassador's speech? No-they supported the disruptors.

Did the UC Berkeley student government ever condemn the Students for Justice in Palestine after one of their members rammed Jessica Felber-a Jewish student- with a loaded shopping cart? Not to my knowledge.

Did they ever condemn Berkeley professor Andrew Gutierrez after he heckled and gave the finger to a group of Jewish students peacefully protesting swastikas on campus bathroom walls? Not to my knowledge.

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com/2010/05/uc-berkeley-professor-objects-to.html



Has the UC Irvine student government ever condemned the annual anti-Semitic remarks of Amir Abdel Malik Ali when he comes to speak during anti-Israel week? Not to my knowledge.

Did the UC SD student government ever pass a resolution condemning the MSA gal who told David Horowitz that she supported a statement by Hezbollah that all Jews should gather in Israel so as to make it easier to hunt them down? Not to my knowledge.

I think it altogether proper for UC President Mark Yudof to make a strong statement in defense of Ms. Benjamin. Personally, based on his past performance-or lack thereof-I doubt if he will.

I wonder when they are coming after me. Frankly, I don't care. If they do, it will go on my resume.

Who the Hell is Teaching at UC Irvine?

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

I guess when it comes to teaching, I am an old fuddy-duddy. I believe that those who carry the title of teacher or professor belong in the classroom. Of course, at the university level, professors are also supposed to engage in research and publishing. The reality is that many classes in universities are conducted by interns and graduate students while the professor is off digging under the pyramids or writing a book on the Cambodian influence on German literature. I get that. Of course, it doesn't pertain to me because I'm just a simple guy who grabbed a chance to get a masters degree late in my 40s. Thus, you will always find me in my UCI-Ext class teaching English as a second language at the appointed time.

But did you know that at UC Irvine (and UCLA), your kids may be taking classes taught by fellow undergraduate students?

Welcome to UTeach.



http://www.due.uci.edu/uteach/SeminarsS08.html

Can USay Doogie Howser MD?







Here's how YOU can teach your own college course.

http://www.due.uci.edu/uteach/

And who thought up this brilliant idea? Apparently, according to my inside sources, that would be the dean of undergraduate education, Sharon V Salinger, who reportedly got this bad idea from what they were doing at UCLA.

http://www.faculty.uci.edu/profile.cfm?faculty_id=5333


Sharon V. Salinger
Dean of undergraduate education
UC Irvine

I got a bulletin for Dean Salinger: Parents don't pay $10,000-30,000 a year to have their kids sit in classes taught by their fellow undergraduates. They pay to have their kids taught by professors (which is bad enough).

I also note that one of the courses is taught under the supervision of pro-Palestinian/anti-Israel activist Professor Mark LeVine. It concerns the "misinformation" about the Middle East coming from the media. God only knows what comes out of that class, but here's a clue.

"Course Description: To fully comprehend the world around you, it is advantageous to be familiar with where your information comes from. The Middle East is a hotbed of turmoil; it seems that the media dwells more on that region than any other part of the world. The problem is that much of the coverage of the region, regardless of whether it is produced in the West or Muslim world, features biased and inaccurate information that bombard viewers, listeners and readers. This seminar hopes to help us understand what are the most common of these biases and misperceptions and what may account for them."





Misperception in Benghazi Mark LeVine



And what a coincidence! This weekend, I am off to Mesa, Arizona to watch my beloved Cubbies in spring training. Armed with this latest info, I figure I can talk them into letting me play a couple of innings at second base.

UC Riverside Passes BDS Resolution

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



The UC Riverside Campus newspaper, The Highlander, is headlining this story appropriately as, "Passed and Shredded". It suggests that once again, the Palestinian-Israeli issue has led to to division, tension and at least intimidating glares on a US campus. In this case, the student government passed a resolution supporting boycott, sanctions and divestment from companies that do business with Israel, a resolution that the university will ignore-except for a brief statement.

http://www.highlandernews.org/8233/passed-and-shredded/

It appears that no resolutions were passed regarding the on-going massacres in Syria.

Nor the persecution of Coptic Christians in Egypt, the attacks on their churches, and the violence as the Muslim Brotherhood cements its grip on that country.

Nor the missiles fired into Southern Israel by Hamas in Gaza.

Nor the strife in Yemen as the last remaining Jews attempt to get out of the country and al Qaeda runs amok.

Nor the continuing bloodshed in Libya including the attack on the American consulate in Benghazi that killed 4 Americans including our ambassador.

Nor the Islamist-driven civil war in Mali.

Nor the constant terror attacks against Christians in Nigeria.

Nor the genocidal situation in Darfur as Islamists in North Sudan continue to threaten the black Christians and animists in South Sudan.

Nor the on-going bombings in Iraq as Sunni and Shia continue to kill each other and Christians flee persecution.

Nor the dwindling Christian population of Lebanon under Hizbollah

Nor the continuing killings and terror attacks in Afghanistan.

Nor the continuing terror attacks and killings in Pakistan as Christians continue to be persecuted as well as Ahmadi Muslims.

Nor the constant human rights violations in Saudi Arabia and second class status for women.

Nor the continuing development of nuclear weapons in Iran, the persecution of Baha'i and Christians and threat to world peace.

Nor the daily assaults and harassment against Jews in European cities by Muslim immigrants.

No. It is all about Israel,  a tiny democratic country where Arabs enjoy more rights that anywhere else in the region surrounded and threatened by barbaric, Jew-hating nations where human rights do not exist.

How ridiculous these university campuses look.

What Do These Pictures Have in Common?

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





Mohammed Rashed

Olive Tree Initiative (2012)

Not Just One Of The Righteous!

By Findalis
Monkey in the Middle

103 years ago today an angel sent by the Lord was born to Dr. Stanisław Krzyżanowski, a physician, and his wife, Janina.  A child who will grow up to save thousands of Jewish children from death in the Nazi Death Camps.

It was fomented into Irena a sense of Justice and equality among all people.  Her father Stanislaw died of Typhoid while attending patents whom other doctors refused to attend.  (i.e...Jews, Roma, etc...).  For this action the Jewish community offered to pay for Irena's education.

At university she spoke up against the practice of the ghetto-bench system that existed at some prewar Polish universities and as a result she was suspended from Warsaw University for three years.  But her greatest work was yet to come.

From Wikipedia:

During the German occupation of Poland, Sendler lived in Warsaw (prior to that, she had lived in Otwock and Tarczyn while working for urban Social Welfare departments). As early as 1939, when the Germans invaded Poland, she began aiding Jews. She and her helpers created more than 3,000 false documents to help Jewish families, prior to joining the organized Żegota resistance and the children's division. Helping Jews in German-occupied Poland meant all household members risked death if they were found to be hiding Jews, a punishment far more severe than in other occupied European countries.

In August 1943, Żegota (the Council to Aid Jews) nominated Sendler (known by her nom de guerre: Jolanta) to head its children's section. As an employee of the Social Welfare Department, she had a special permit to enter the Warsaw Ghetto to check for signs of typhus, something the Nazis feared would spread beyond the Ghetto. During these visits, she wore a Star of David as a sign of solidarity with the Jewish people and so as not to call attention to herself.

She cooperated with others in Warsaw's Municipal Social Services department, and the RGO (Central Welfare Council), a Polish relief organization that was tolerated under German supervision. She and her co-workers organized the smuggling of Jewish children out of the Ghetto. Under the pretext of conducting inspections of sanitary conditions during a typhus outbreak, Sendler and her co-workers visited the Ghetto and smuggled out babies and small children in ambulances and trams, sometimes disguising them as packages.

Children were placed with Polish families, the Warsaw orphanage of the Sisters of the Family of Mary, or Roman Catholic convents such as the Little Sister Servants of the Blessed Virgin Mary Conceived Immaculate at Turkowice and Chotomów. Sendler worked closely with Zofia Kossak-Szczucka, a resistance fighter and writer, and with Matylda Getter, a nun and the Mother Provincial of the Franciscan Sisters of the Family of Mary. She rescued about 2,500 Jewish children in different education and care facilities for children in Anin, Białołęka, Chotomów, Międzylesie, Płudy, Sejny, Wilno, and other places. Some children were smuggled to priests in parish rectories. She and her co-workers buried lists of the hidden children in jars in order to keep track of their original and new identities. Żegota assured the children that, when the war was over, they would be returned to Jewish relatives.

In 1943, Sendler was arrested by the Gestapo, severely tortured, and sentenced to death. Żegota saved her by bribing German guards on the way to her execution. She was listed on public bulletin boards as among those executed. For the remainder of the war, she lived in hiding, but continued her work for the Jewish children. After the war, she and her co-workers gathered together all of their records with the names and locations of the hidden Jewish children and gave them to their Żegota colleague Adolf Berman and his staff at the Central Committee of Polish Jews. However, almost all of their parents had been killed at the Treblinka extermination camp or had otherwise gone missing.

Today there are 10's of thousands of people alive today who would not be if Irena and her Żegota resistance members did not save those children.

Many awards were given to Irena over the years.  She was named one of the Polish Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem,  Given the Order of the White Eagle, the Jan Karski Award, Order of the Smile and the Audrey Hepburn Humanitarian Award (Posthumously).  In 2007 she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize but it was awarded to Al Gore for a flawed film on Global Warming.

Irena Sendler passed from this world on 12 May 2008 in the city of Warsaw, Poland at the age of 98.  But her work and story lives on.

In 1999, students at a high school in Uniontown, Kansas produced a play based on research into Irena Sendler's life story titled Life in a Jar. It has since been adapted for television as The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler. Actress Anna Paquin played Sendler. Her story was largely unknown to the world until the students developed The Irena Sendler Project, producing their performance Life in a Jar. This student-produced drama has now been performed over 285 times all across the United States, Canada and Poland. Sendler's message of love and respect has grown through the performances, over 1,500 media stories, a student-developed website with 30,000,000 hits, a national teaching award in Poland and the United States, and an educational foundation, the Lowell Milken Education Center, to make Sendler’s story known to the world.

In the fall of 1999, at Uniontown High School in Bourbon County, Kansas, four students were encouraged to work on a year long National History Day project which would extend the boundaries of the classroom to families in the community, contribute to history learning, teach respect and tolerance, and meet the classroom motto, "He who changes one person, changes the world entire."
Three ninth grade girls, Megan Stewart, Elizabeth Cambers, and Jessica Shelton, and an eleventh grade girl, Sabrina Coons, accepted the challenge and decided to enter their project in the National History Day program. Their teacher showed them a short clipping from a March 1994 issue of U.S. News and World Report, which said, “Irena Sendler saved 2,500 children from the Warsaw Ghetto in 1942-43.” He told the girls the article might be a typographical error, since he had not heard of this woman or story. The students began their research and looked for primary and secondary sources throughout the year.

They discovered that Irena entered the Warsaw Ghetto under the disguise of a non-Jewish social worker and talked Jewish parents and grandparents out of their children, rightly saying that all were going to die in the Ghetto or in death camps. Irena took the children past the Nazi guards, using a variety of methods for escape: putting the sedated children in body bags, putting the sedated children under a seat on the tram car, or helping the children escape through the old courthouse. After removing the children from the ghetto, Irena and her coworkers adopted the children into the homes of Polish families or hid them in convents and orphanages. She made lists of the children's real names and put the lists in jars, then buried the jars in a garden, so that someday she could dig up the jars and find the children to tell them of their true identity.

Read more about this amazing program here.  You can find more about the Lowell Milken Center here, here and here.

While the chances of her becoming a saint in the Catholic Church is slim, to the Jewish people Irena Sendler is a saint of the highest rank.

Al Qaeda, Barack Hussein Obama, Beirut, Drones, Iran, Lebanon, Middle East, Russia, Syria, US Foreign Policy, US Military,

By Findalis
Monkey in the Middle

Today an US drone was shot at in International Air Space by Iranian Forces.  It was repelled by US fighter Jets which are now flying escort for US drones.

The Syrian High Command issued an ultimatum to the Lebanese government to stop supporting the rebels or they will send their Air Force to strike the convoys and bases.

The Russian Navy decided not to have 3 warships dock at Tartus but diverted them to Beirut.

From Debka:

Middle East tensions are spiraling sharply six days before US President Barack Obama lands in the Middle East. Thursday night, March 14, an Iranian fighter jet tried to bring down a US Predator drone flying over Oman, i.e. the Straits of Hormuz - only to be warned off by flares from its US fighter escort.

This was not the first time a US drone was threatened by Iranian aircraft over the Persian Gulf, but in reporting the incident, the Pentagon revealed that the drones flying in the neighborhood of Iranian shores are now escorted by US jet fighters. A couple of hours earlier that evening, debkafile received an exclusive report from its military sources that the Syrian high command had just issued an ultimatum, on the orders of Bashar Assad, demanding that the Lebanese government put an immediate stop to the passage of armed Sunni fighters from Lebanon into Syria, else the Syrian Air Force would strike the Lebanese intruders’ convoys and also their home bases. Damascus claimed they were coming to fight the government alongside the al Qaeda-linked Jabrat al-Nusra.

Their incursion threatened to engender a major spillover of the Syrian conflict into Lebanon.

The danger of hostilities inching close to the Syrian port of Tartus, where Moscow maintains a naval base, decided the Russian Navy to instruct three warships carrying 700 marines to Tartus to change course and put in at Beirut instead.

The Iranians are openly supporting and fighting for Assad.  Al Qaeda is striving to take the Golan Heights, itching for a fight with Israel.  The Russians don't know which way to turn.  Support Assad or flee from the violence.  The UN peacekeepers on the Syrian-Israeli border have fled to Israel.  A patrol was kidnapped by al Qaeda.

All this on the eve of President Barack Hussein Obama's visit to the region.  A good example of his foreign policy in action.

More Government Lies (DHS)

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

Janet Napolitano


"Several hundred are related to sequester, but it wasn't thousands," Napolitano said March 4 at a Politico-sponsored event. "


"The director of U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, John Morton, said his agency had released 2,228 illegal immigrants during that period for what he called "solely budgetary reasons." The figure was significantly higher than the "few hundred" immigrants the Obama administration had publicly acknowledged were released under the budget-savings process. He testified during a hearing by a House appropriations subcommittee."

It seems our heroes in the administration can't get their stories straight about all those thousands of illegal aliens the DHS set free back onto our streets when they should have been set free to their own countries.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/14/ice-chief-acknowledges-more-than-2000-illegal-immigrants-released-for-budgetary/

Note the carefully-crafted words used by ICE Director John Morton.

"Morton told lawmakers Thursday that the decision to release the immigrants was not discussed in advance with political appointees, including those in the White House or Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. He said the pending automatic cuts known as sequestration was "driving in the background."

"We were trying to live within the budget that Congress had provided us," Morton told lawmakers. "This was not a White House call. I take full responsibility."

Translation? He's falling on his sword to protect the higher-ups-Napolitano and Obama. As we all know, the latter never takes responsibility for anything.

Do you think somebody ought to be fired here?



"Good news, Jake. The execution is cancelled. We can't afford the rope."

It Is A Pope

By Findalis
Monkey in the Middle

 Since February 28th the Roman Catholic Church has been without a Pope when Pope Benedict XVI stepped down from the Holy See.  Since yesterday afternoon the Princes of the Church, the College of Cardinals has been praying and contemplating a successor to him.

Today a new Pope has been chosen.  The Cardinal from Argentina, Jorge Mario Bergoglio.  He will be known to the world as Francis I.

Born 17 December 1936 to working class parents, he attended the seminary in Villa Devoto.  He entered the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) on 11 March 1958 and was ordained on 13 December 1969.

Pope Frances has rejected Liberation theology, same-sex marriage, women priests, abortion and euthanasia.  He is a humble man, who is a champion of the poor and working classes from which he arose.

Frances I is the first  pope from Latin America and the first to be chosen out of Europe in 1500 years.

No Jews Please!

By Findalis
Monkey in the Middle

That is what Frederick Cohn attorney for Abdel Hameed Shehadeh is demanding that the court do.  He is demanding that no Jews be allowed on the jury.  It would be inflammatory and they could not judge Shehadeh fairly.

An attorney has hatched a shocking scheme to defend an accused terrorist in Brooklyn federal court: Purge the Jews.

Lawyer Frederick Cohn will ask a judge today to bar Jews from the jury hearing the case against Abdel Hameed Shehadeh, who’s accused of lying about trying to join jihadists in Pakistan.

Abdel Hameed Shehadeh

“Given that there’s going to be inflammatory testimony about Jews and Zionism, I think it would be hard for Jews to cast aside any innate antipathy,” said Cohn, who is Jewish.

“The American Jewish community is heavily aligned with Israel and Zionism. Here is a guy who is a Muslim, who is opposed to those things.”

The subject of the controversial ban first arose at a recent court hearing.

“Your Honor . . . as you know, I’m not wild about having Jews on the jury in this case,” Cohn told Brooklyn federal Judge Eric Vitaliano in February.

Federal prosecutors William Sarratt and James Loonam reacted with alarm.

“I don’t think Judge [Robert] Levy will be ready to violate the Constitution and exclude people from the jury on the basis of their religious beliefs,” Sarratt told the judge.

Magistrate Judge Levy will begin selecting the jury this week.

The Shehadeh trial is not the first time jurors’ religious views have taken center stage at a court proceeding.

At the initial trial of two black men accused of civil-rights violations stemming from the Crown Heights killing in 1991 of Hasidic scholar Yankel Rosenbaum, Brooklyn federal Judge David Trager tried to balance the religious and racial composition of the jury.

But an appellate court overturned the verdict, saying the approach violated the Constitution.

Cohn conceded that his proposal is a “long shot.” But he argued that rules governing methods of selecting juries don’t allow attorneys to delve deep into the private recesses of a potential juror’s mind to determine if they are biased.

“I don’t know of a gentler way to deal with this, and sometimes you have to wield a meat ax,” Cohn said of the difficulty in ascertaining the deeply held beliefs of a potential jurist.

His client is a US citizen born and raised in New York who is charged with three counts of making false statements in connection with a terrorism offense.

Source

Given the acceptance of anti-Semitism I can see this happening.  Pretty soon it will be no non-Muslims on juries when a Muslim is being tried.  Then enforcement of Shar'ia Law.  We are slowly, but definitely losing the battle against the enforcement of Shar'ia in the US.

The Low-Information Voter’s Guide to Politics

By Findalis
Monkey in the Middle

by Oleg Atbashian

Are you typically lost when co-workers discuss current events around the water cooler? Do you have trouble figuring out the national debt or who that Ben Ghazi dude is, but you know what’s on Kim Kardashian’s grocery list?

If you think you only deserve fun answers to all life’s questions … you’re right! This primer will help you look smart and morally superior in any political discussion. Just memorize these big words, explained in easy terms you already know from TMZ and The Daily Show:

BIASED: If you have a weird friend who goes to church and her parents are still married, that’s what they are.

ELECTIONS: These are like the Teen Choice Awards: the coolest and most popular wins. Democrats always win because they are cool and popular. Republicans are more like your weird friend’s parents.

DEBT CEILING: This is like Lindsay Lohan’s probation: by law, she should go to jail if she gets arrested, but we all know she won’t.

PUBLIC EDUCATION. Think Memento. Remember how the guy in the movie learned to go through life and fight enemies by relying on snapshots, notes, and tattoos? Public education does that on a national level as a free service.

IM-MI-GRA-TION: Whew, that’s a long word — just like that velvet rope outside nightclubs. When really fun people arrive, you just open it right up.

QUAN-TI-TA-TIVE EASING: Remember Leonardo DiCaprio in Catch Me If You Can, and how he printed his own checks? Well, that’s what the Treasury secretary, Tim Geithner, does. It’s really cool.

TRILLION DOLLARS: This is a silly number. If someone says: “The U.S. national debt has topped 16 trillion,” take it easy. Remember how Jeffrey Dahmer was sentenced to fifteen life terms while having only one life?

Once you owe more than you can pay, numbers stop making sense. Anything above that is free money; spend it fast so you can get more.

ECONOMIC STIMULUS: It’s like Whitney Houston upping her dosage to get the same high, always needing to use more and more to “chase the dragon.”

SE-QUE-STRA-TION: This is just a made-up word that Republicans say to make you feel stupid.

FAIR SHARE: Someone you know has three Louis Vuitton handbags and you only have one. As many as you can get somebody else to steal from them and give to you — that is your fair share.

ENTITLEMENTS: This is like celebrities getting a $30,000 bag of goodies for showing up to the Oscars, so that the givers get more street cred and respect. And votes.

FOREIGN POLICY: Think Lady Gaga’s world tour: it’s totally awesome but can also get weird — like, she’s hot in places like Europe and Japan, but gets booed and canceled in places like Indonesia.

IRAN: Think Robert Downey Jr. — he may be calm at the moment, but if he gets his hands on the wrong stuff, he could trash his neighbor’s house and pass out naked on the lawn.

MUSLIMS: These are like the blue people from the movie Avatar — they live in a magic tree and don’t need human technology or any of our laws like gravitation, because they have a miraculous energy source inside their planet. Humans must respect that, and send them humanitarian aid. But instead, an evil corporation from Earth brings drilling equipment; that’s why all humans get killed.

ISRAEL: This is like the evil corporation from Avatar that landed on the blue people’s planet.

OIL: Think magic energy source on planet Pandora that humans want to steal. Get over it, humans!

OCCUPY WALL STREET: People in this movement are fighting greed by forcing Michael Douglas’ character in Wall Street to give more money to the 99% of people like us. We need to support their stand against corporations by friending them on Facebook™ and re-Tweeting them on Twitter™.

MEDIA: The good media are like paparazzi and E! Entertainment who keep it real by telling us all the truth about interesting people. The bad media are like bullies who make good people look bad. Nobody listens to them except for your friend’s weird parents.

HIGH-CAPACITY MAGAZINES: These do not contain expensive perfume samples that you can rip out while waiting at your hair salon. See GUN CONTROL.

GUN CONTROL: If Naomi Campbell had a gun, she would be shooting at her maids all the time. Without a gun she just beats them with a cell phone and then gives them compensation. Everyone is alive and happy. As long as the government keeps guns away from the citizens, Rihanna and Chris Brown will always be together.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Think Brad Pitt, dashing A-lister who can’t do anything wrong.

FIRST LADY: She is like Kim Kardashian, only with other people’s money.

VICE PRESIDENT: Think Steve Carell, a lovable nincompoop who likes to make others laugh.

WHITE HOUSE: This is like Cribs, a really fancy pad where celebrities hang out and party instead of working.

MIDDLE CLASS: These are like the extras in movies — kind of important but nobody cares who they really are.

CON-STI-TU-TION: It sounds almost like Cosmopolitan, except it’s really old and has no make-up ads or sexy pictures, but some people are really into it, like Antiques Roadshow.

Israel To Host 100s Of Foreign Fighter Pilots

By Findalis

Recently the Israeli Air Force (IAF) held training exercises with Hungry, Greece, Cyprus and Italy.  Now 100s of Fighter Pilots are coming to Israel for training exercises.

Hundreds of foreign pilots are scheduled to arrive in Israel for the largest-ever multinational training session to be held in the country, Channel 2 TV reported on Tuesday evening. The air forces would share theoretical information with each other and pilots would practice flying wing-to-wing with each other.

The names of countries set to partake in the joint exercise were under wraps.

Israel has held multiple exercises with other armies, and, in recent years, the Israel Air Force flew alongside foreign pilots in training runs in Greece, Hungry, Cyprus and Italy.

Israel can offer a great training ground — including low-altitude flying and drop zones for live ammo — for pilots from all over the world, Lt.-Col. Assaf told the channel.

Speaking with a helmet on his head to cover his face, and without revealing his family name, Assaf — one of the planning officers — described the benefits foreign air forces derivded when training in Israel. Israel’s knowledge of weapon systems owned by various Arab countries, and its years of experience, were of great value to its allies, the pilot said.

Source

In recent years there has been a move to bring Israel into the NATO fold.  It has only been by the veto from Turkey that Israel is not a member.  So this could be one step towards that.

-OR-

As Simply Jews mentions it:

Israel can offer a great training ground — including low-altitude flying and drop zones for live ammo...

Since the article doesn't go into further details re the drop zones, I think I can offer a few possibles, here:

Either way it is good news.

Bomb Iran



Click here if video doesn't load.

Guess Who Is, er, Was Being Honored by the State Department

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



Another State Department Fiasco

State Department

"In August, an Ibrahim tweet disseminated Hitler's notorious quote claiming that "no crime, no act against morality" lacks the hands of the Jews in it." 

Today, John Kerry and Michelle Obama are scheduled to honor a group of women they selected to receive an International Women of Courage award. However, one woman, Samira Ibrahim of Egypt, has been crossed from the list at the last moment because of an outcry. It seems the Jew-hating lady has a bad habit of celebrating little events like 9-11 and the killing of Israeli tourists in Bulgaria. The award has now been suspended as the DOS conducts an "investigation". The first article is by Samuel Tadros in the Weekly Standard. The second, by the Jewish Telegraphic News Agency (JTA), brings us an update.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/michelle-obama-and-john-kerry-honor-anti-semite-and-911-fan_706547.html

http://www.jta.org/news/article/2013/03/08/3121521/samira-ibrahim-acknowledges-anti-zionist-treat

Given the proven ineptitude of the State Department (under any administration, but especially so now), this should come as no surprise. I don't know anything about the other ladies listed, but I could certainly suggest some names that are missing from the list.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Nonie Darwish
Wafa Sultan
Elizabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff
Malala Yusufzai (the teenage girl shot by the Taliban)

Don't look for any of these women to be given that award anytime soon.

Ahmadiya Muslim Event at UC Irvine

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




On March 6, I attended an event at UC Irvine held by the Ahmadiya Muslim Student Union. The event was entitled, "Mohammed-Messenger of Peace". The audience consisted mainly of students who were getting extra credit from their classes to attend. There were some female Muslims present in hijabs. I did not see any of the Muslim Student Union members present (at least the ones I know by sight). Altogether, there were about 50-60 people present. It should be noted that the Ahmadiya MSU of UCI is separate and distinct from the MSU of UCI.

Prior to the event, I had a chance to chat with a few of the organizers. One was imam Nasir Shamshad from the Chino (California) mosque, who is an older Pakistani man. I asked him about the fact that his branch of Islam is not recognized by other branches and its members are subject to severe persecution in countries like Pakistan. He affirmed that and also affirmed that they were being persecuted by other Muslims. The reason for the divide is that the Ahmadis, contrary to other branches, claim that the successor to the prophet Mohammed has already arrived. That is in the person of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908), who founded the Ahmadiya branch in British India in the late 19th century,

The main speaker was a young man named Akmal Ahmad. Her spoke for about 30 minutes about the Prophet Mohammed. I won't go into detail because I am posting the video itself. Suffice to say that he presented the Prophet as a kind and forgiving man of peace who did many wonderful things. He also recounted how when Mohammed moved to the city of Medina, which was mostly Muslim, he entered into a pact with the Jewish community that enabled the Jews to freely practice their religion and be protected. (No mention of the jizya tax).

Then came question and answer, which was handled by Imam Shamshad, and I got the first one. I pointed out that there was some crucial information missing from the talk that the audience should be aware of-specifically that the Ahmadis were not recognized by mainstream Muslims, that they are in fact, persecuted in places like Pakistan even killed. I asked him to elaborate on that to the audience and explain who specifically was carrying out the persecution. This he affirmed by saying that each new messenger encountered persecution, but didn't seem to want to identify the perpetrators So I followed up and asked him to do so, which he did (Ahmadiya are being persecuted by other Muslims, Sunni and Shia.)

I later asked another question; I asked him to explain a point about Sharia law, specifically hudud sharia (penalty code) and what was the penalty in Islamic jurisprudence for an apostate- specifically one who publicly spoke out against Islam. He quoted Mohammed as saying, which says, "Let there be no compulsion in religion". He said there was disagreement on this point, but that in his view, there was no such thing as death for leaving the religion. (I did not mention"death" in my question.) He said the Koran said nothing about it and that Ahmadiyas did not believe in death for those who leave the religion

Another woman from the audience asked the iman about the question of multiple wives that Muslim men had and whether women in the time of Mohammed could have multiple husbands. In his long answer, the imam stated that before Mohammed, men could have as many wives as they wanted, but affirmed that women could have but one husband. A few minutes later, a female student asked a question about the marriage of Mohammed to Aisha, (who was by varying accounts 6- 9 years old at the time of marriage and 12- 13 at the time of consummation.) This launched an animated response by the imam who (in his less than perfect English) appeared to justify the practice of child marriage. He pointed out that it was the US Constitution that established age limitations-not any religious law. (This is in tape 3.) When the aforementioned lady in the audience asked how old Aisha was at the time of the marriage, he answered, "more than twelve. She responded that Aisha was 6 when the arrangement was made and that Mohammed was in his 50s. Mr Shamshad then challenged the questioner to do more research.

After the q and a, there was informal conversation in the room as refreshments were served. (This is not recorded.) I joined the aforementioned woman and her friend who were chatting with the organizers and speakers. We were invited to visit their mosque in Chino. At this time, another member of the audience, who was a member of the mosque, joined the conversation about the issue of Aisha. He pointed out that after Mohammed died, Aisha was free to do what she pleased. Till the day she died, she never criticized the Prophet in any manner. She was his willing partner and never claimed any mistreatment. He also pointed out that her father had freely given her to Mohammad, that other religions did the same at the time, and that modern-day critics should not be complaining (I am paraphrasing.) To that I said that while I acknowledged that it was a different time, place and culture, in the US today, it would not be acceptable. Girls below the age of consent are still victims of statutory rape. Further that any parent who would give their underage child to someone for marriage would be violating the law as well. That led to a discussion of whether a 16-year-old girl in the US could marry with their parents' consent, divorce their parents, etc. I reiterated that it was a different time, place and culture, but my concern was that this sort of thing might happen here in the present.

The tape of the actual presentation is contained below in three parts.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/AE1KWv3Q4rQ

http://www.youtube.com/embed/KdnsJWPSQKU

http://www.youtube.com/embed/npn-wFpxM1Q

The Ahmadiya branch, as stated, is not recognized by other branches due to their belief that a successor to Mohammad has already arrived. I am not aware of acts of terror or violence on the part of the Ahmadis. Yet, I came away with the impression that they are devout Muslims and make the same arguments we hear at other events by other Muslim groups. In their pamphlet, "True love for the Holy Prophet", which I picked up, they argue for the UN to pass binding resolutions that member states must outlaw insults to Islam and the Prophet. It plainly states that freedom of speech must give way to what, in effect, would be blasphemy laws.

It is necessary for world peace that this

is made a part of the UN peace charter

so that no member country would

allow any of its citizens to play with the

religious sentiments of others and so

that world peace is not allowed to be destroyed

in the name of freedom of speech.

I came to the event with some degree of hope that this was a group I could support. I left somewhat disappointed. I do, however, intend to learn more about the Ahmadis.

Why Does DHS Need Tanks?

By Findalis

Not the type of tanks that store oil, gas, or other liquids.  But the type of tanks that are used in battle.  That is the latest that I have found from my dear friend a12iggymom.

Obama DHS Purchases 2,700 Light-Armored Tanks to Go With Their 1.6 Billion Bullet Stockpile.

This is getting a little creepy.

According to one estimate, since last year the Department of Homeland Security has stockpiled more than 1.6 billion bullets, mainly .40 caliber and 9mm.

DHS also purchased 2,700 Mine Resistant Armor Protected Vehicles (MRAP).

 

Modern Survival Blog reported:

The Department of Homeland Security (through the U.S. Army Forces Command) recently retrofitted 2,717 of these ‘Mine Resistant Protected’ vehicles for service on the streets of the United States.

Although I’ve seen and read several online blurbs about this vehicle of late, I decided to dig slightly deeper and discover more about the vehicle itself.

The new DHS sanctioned ‘Street Sweeper’ (my own slang due to the gun ports) is built by Navistar Defense (NavistarDefense.com), a division within the Navistar organization. Under the Navistar umbrella are several other companies including International Trucks, IC Bus (they make school buses), Monaco RV (recreational vehicles), WorkHorse (they make chassis), MaxxForce (diesel engines), and Navistar Financial (the money arm of the company).

Read More: http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/

Read more: http://MinuteMenNews.com/2013/03/obama-dhs-purchases-2700-light-armored-tanks-to-go-with-their-1-6-billion-bullet-stockpile/#ixzz2MbRLiLBq

First the government buys billions of rounds of ammunition.  Now light tanks suitable for urban warfare.  Who the hell does Barack Hussein Obama believes he is going to be attacking?  Zombies?  It is beginning to look as if this government regime is preparing for a war with its own people.  And I might not be far from the truth if the Democrats do not take back the House in 2014.

Olive Tree Initiative- A Picture Says a Thousand Words

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

Hat tip Ha-Emet

KAFFEE AND KAFFIYAS

Olive Tree Initiative in Bethlehem (West Bank) - Sept. 8, 2012

The long-standing controversy over the Olive Tree Initiative continues.

l-r- Daniel Wehrenfennig OTI director, Victor Batarseh, Bethlehem mayor, Thomas Parham, UC Irvine Vice Chancellor

The Olive Tree Initiative is partially funded by the Orange County Jewish Federation and its subsidiary, the Rose Project. If you are a donor to that organization, you might ask them why.

DHS Debacle: Thousands of Illegal Aliens Released

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

                                                            Janet Napolitano 2010 Fousesquawk Jerk of the Year

The news out of Homeland Security gets worse. It wasn't just a few hundred illegal aliens who were relased onto the streets by Janet Napolitano's ICE. It was 2,000 with another 3,000 slated for release. And poor old Napolitano says she knew nothing about it. And the reason? The prospect of budget cuts in the wake of the coming sequester.

http://news.yahoo.com/ap-exclusive-dhs-released-over-2-000-immigrants-211615464--politics.html

Words cannot describe how feckless and incompetent this woman is. And she could not be in a worse position. This is who is responsible for our security. It just boggles the imagination. One could call for her resignation, but that won't happen. Obama has her back. It was probably the White House who told her to do it.

Oh, I forgot. She didn't know anything about it. That means Obama should fire her for gross incompetence.

But he won't.

Because this is what the Obama administration is doing by design. They are dismantling this nation brick by brick. How else do you explain this action? How else do you explain Operation Fast and Furious? How else do you explain Benghazi? How else do you explain Obamacare? How else do you explain the appointments of boobs like John Brennan and Chuck Hagel to such sensitive positions? How else do you explain our unwavering support of the Muslim Brotherhood as they install an Islamic government in Egypt while persecuting its Christian minority?

In the height of the Cold War, the Comintern could not have planned the destruction of the US as ingenuously as what we are seeing happen before our very eyes.