Breaking News: Baroness Lady Catherine Ashton Says EU Talks With Iran Have Failed

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



What a shock.



"No peace in our time"


http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/04/06/eu-foreign-policy-chief-says-nuclear-talks-with-iran-have-failed/?test=latestnews

We should have listened to Nigel Farage of the European Parliament when he warned us that the Baroness Lady Catherine Ashton (former treasurer of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament)had absolutely no qualifications to be the head of the EU's Foreign Affairs office. He was right.



Well, I guess we can always turn back to our own Madeleine Albright.

Jane Fonda Still Doesn't Get it

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



Hat tip Newsmax






So now Jane Fonda tells Oprah Winfrey that she made  one unforgivable mistake when she allowed herself to be photographed on that North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun in Hanoi in 1972.


http://www.newsmax.com/newswidget/Jane-Fonda-Unforgivable-Mistake/2013/04/03/id/497721?promo_code=11C04-1&utm_source=11C04Maggies_Note_Book&utm_medium=nmwidget&utm_campaign=widgetphase1

“I made one unforgivable mistake when I was in North Vietnam, and I will go to my grave with this,” Jane Fonda says on the Oprah Winfrey Network.

"I don't know if I was set up or not,”

This isn't new. She wrote this a few years ago in one of her autobiographies when she was describing her trip to Hanoi and praising her travel companion, "fellow patriot" Ramsey Clark, in the same passage. 

Fonda doesn't get it. She never has.

She made her unforgivable mistake when she went to North Vietnam in the first place. Who set her up for that?

“There were no planes, the gun was not operable. It didn’t matter. This is an image that belied everything that I was,” Fonda said.

Really? In November 1970, there was this:


http://garyfouse.blogspot.com/2011/12/jane-fionda-and-800-pond-gorilla-in.html

Maybe Ms Fonda would like to explain to Oprah how she acted that day at Cleveland Airport in her confrontation with US Customs officers.

That image of her on the anti-aircraft gun did not belie anything.  In my mind, it fully illustrated everything she was.

What Happens When You Complain About Anti-Semitism on Campus: The Case of Tammi Benjamin at UC Santa Cruz

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

The appropriately named Banana Slugs of UC Santa Cruz (America's Wackiest University)

"(3) as recently as this morning, I have received hateful, anti-Semitic email accusing Jews of being "the cause of global financial and political unrest," "barbaric," "evil," and "today's Nazis"; (4) in these situations things often turn violent, such as recently when a large group of students, including several SJP members, illegally "occupied" a UC Davis administration building, which resulted in the protesters committing assault and battery against students with dissenting views."
-Tammi Benjamin
Adj teacher UCSC


As my regular readers know, I am a supporter of the AMCHA Initiative (now linked on this blog) and the efforts to fight back against the anti-Semitism on California campuses that is being fueled by the organized effort to de-legitimize the Jewish state of Israel. Recently, I posted a report of a resolution passed at UC Berkeley by the student government urging UC President Mark Yudof to censure UC Santa Cruz part-time Hebrew lecturer Tammi Benjamin, a founder of the AMCHA Initiative.

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com/2013/03/berserkley-students-going-after-tammi.html

Since that time, the controversy has continued. Benjamin has formally complained about harassment and fears for her physical safety to the office of the UCSC president, George Blumenthal, who apparently can't answer his own mail, as you will see below.

The exchange of letters below begins with a UCSC reply dated February 28 to Ms Benjamin's letter expressing her concerns.

Begin forwarded message:

From: Maurene Catto <mcatto@ucsc.edu>

Date: February 28, 2013 11:33:18 AM PST

To: T Benjamin

Cc: Carole Rossi <crossi@ucsc.edu>, president@ucop.edu,  Jesse.bernal@ucop.edu, Chancellor <chancellor@ucsc.edu>,  charles.robinson@ucop.edu, Laura.Welp@ed.gov,  Ashish Sahni <ashish@ucsc.edu>

Subject: Correspondence from Associate Chancellor Sahni

Ms. Rossman-Benjamin:

On behalf of Associate Chancellor Ashish Sahni, please see the attached letter dated February 28, 2013.

Thank you.

Maurene Catto

--

Maurene Catto Executive Assistant to Chancellor George Blumenthal
University of California, Santa Cruz
200 Clark Kerr Hall
1156 High Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95064

Email: mcatto@ucsc.edu

Voice: 831.459.4291
Fax:   831.459.2098

www.ucsc.edu

 http://amchainitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Rossman_Benjamin-022813.pdf

 From: Tammi Benjamin [mailto:

Sent: Monday, March 25, 2013 9:50 AM
To: Chancellor
Cc: Laura Welp; President; regentsoffice@ucop.edu; Charles Robinson; Jesse M. Bernal; Carole Rossi; Ashish Sahni
Subject: Fwd: Correspondence from Associate Chancellor Sahni

Dear Chancellor Blumenthal,

I believe you have misunderstood the intentions of my previous correspondence, and I would like to clarify them.

As you know, last summer I spoke out against campus anti-Semitism at a synagogue near Boston, in order to alert members of the local Jewish community to the problem of intimidation and harassment that some Jewish students face on college campuses today.  In my speech, I did not state, nor imply, that all Muslims or members of MSA and SJP are terrorists, or associate with terrorists. I spoke to raise awareness about a situation that exists in some instances on some campuses.  My intention was not to make a blanket statement or blanket accusations.  Yet my statements are being distorted by the Committee for Justice in Palestine to demonize me, I believe in retaliation for my speaking out against campus anti-Semitism in general, and initiating a Title VI complaint in particular.

In exercising my 1st amendment rights, a campaign of harassment, defamation and intimidation has been waged against me by CJP students. They certainly have the right to disagree with me, to ask for clarification, to voice dissent.  However their chosen response is deeply disturbing and alarming. Rather than disagree with me in a way that fosters understanding or asks for clarification, I am being harassed, intimidated and defamed in ways that are causing me to fear for my physical safety (as you will see below).

My purpose with this letter is not to shut down free speech or dissent, nor to request that you do so in this instance.  Rather, I want to make you aware of my urgent concern regarding the violent campaign that is being waged against me by CJP students and my concern that other students and faculty may now feel afraid to speak up about anti-Semitism on our campus after having seen the repercussions for doing so, and I want to urge you to address these concerns as quickly as possible.

Please understand that not only have my words been misinterpreted and misconstrued, but a vicious campaign has ensued that includes everything from defamatory flyers posted widely on our campus; a petition accusing me of racism; a series of more than a dozen Youtube videos condemning me as "hateful," "dangerous," and "Islamaphobic;" and a website with an illegally pirated video that has been taken out of context. In addition, students UC campus-wide have been urged to fill out hate-bias reports against me, and last week the ASUC passed a libelous resolution condemning me for my "inflammatory, hateful, and racist assumptions."

Please understand that besides harming my reputation as a UCSC faculty member, the CJP's attacks on me, as well as the attacks they have helped to organize on other UC campuses, have not only caused me considerable emotional distress but, for many reasons, have made me fear for my physical safety and for the safety of other students and faculty who choose to speak out about campus anti-Semitism, including: (1) the last time faculty members were vilified on campus posters, two of them had their houses firebombed and another (my neighbor) had his car completely destroyed by a bomb; (2) both the petition and the video of me have been widely circulated on the International Solidarity Movement listserv - a listserv on which death threats based on dissenting views are not uncommon; (3) as recently as this morning, I have received hateful, anti-Semitic email accusing Jews of being "the cause of global financial and political unrest," "barbaric," "evil," and "today's Nazis"; (4) in these situations things often turn violent, such as recently when a large group of students, including several SJP members, illegally "occupied" a UC Davis administration building, which resulted in the protesters committing assault and battery against students with dissenting views.

Given these concerns and that my intent is not to shut down free speech but to prevent harassment and physical harm, I felt deeply dismayed by your last letter in response to me. Considering the grave escalation of the situation, I was disturbed to receive no response for two weeks, followed by a reply that I felt ignored and belittled my concerns.  This issue is very serious.

Yes, students have the right to speak out when they disagree, but these students are now violating University policies. In violation of the UC Policy on Student Conduct 102.09, they are engaging in harassment, "conduct that is so severe or pervasive, and objectively offensive...[that it] substantially impairs [my] access to University resources and opportunities." In violation of UCP 102.24, "the actors have communicated a serious expression with intent to terrorize [me], or have acted in reckless disregard of the risk [of doing so]." This situation has gone from free dissent to a very public and potentially very dangerous witch hunt.

I am not asking you to curtail free speech, but I am asking you to prevent the harassment and terrorization of a UC faculty member, and to ensure the physical, emotional, and intellectual safety and freedom of expression for all students and faculty who speak out against anti-Semitism on our campus. 

I eagerly look forward to hearing what steps you will take to address this situation.   

Thank you,

Tammi Rossman-Benjamin

Lecturer in Hebrew

On Mar 26, 2013, at 10:35 AM, Ashish Sahni wrote:

Dear Professor Benjamin:

I again write on behalf of Chancellor Blumenthal.

We take your concerns about your personal safety and wellbeing very seriously. As such, I have asked AVC Scott for Risk and Safety Services (copied) to follow-up with you directly to do an assessment around your safety and make any recommendations as needed. I am sure that AVC Scott  will be in contact you with directly.

Sincerely, Ashish.

Ashish Sahni

Associate Chancellor

_____________________________________________________________________________ 

Dear Chancellor Blumenthal: 

Thank you for your 3/26/13 response to my letter and for taking my safety concerns seriously. I will look out for an email from AVC Scott.

I mentioned another concern in my letter with regard to what I perceive as violations of UC policy sections 102.09 and 102.24. Can you please clarify your understanding of these sections as it relates to the CJP students' behavior? 

According to the UC policy definition, harassment is defined as "conduct that is so severe or pervasive, and objectively offensive...[that it] substantially impairs access to University resources and opportunities." As I mention in my letter, the actions of the CJP students have gone beyond free dissent and become a serious campaign of harassment. The CJP students are not simply expressing their disagreement with me but making false accusations and defaming my name through a well-orchestrated campaign. The CJP's campaign includes: 

• a pirated video and defamatory petition accusing me of racism and censorship and urging President Yudof to condemn me; 
• the widespread posting all over campus of defamatory flyers which falsely and maliciously imply that I have called members of the CJP and MSA "terrorists"; 
• a series of 14 defamatory video "testimonials" suggesting that I am "Islamophobic," "hateful," "racist," and that I have "created a dangerous environment" at UCSC; 
• collaboration with members  of Students for Justice in Palestine on other UC campuses, especially at UC Berkeley, to launch a UC-wide campaign to vilify and defame me that includes calls for students on all UC campuses to fill out hate-bias reports against me and a libelous resolution condemning me for my "inflammatory, hateful, and racist assumptions" that was unanimously passed by the ASUC.  

These actions have caused me considerable emotional distress, made me feel uncomfortable and fearful on campus, and negatively affected my interactions with students and colleagues both inside and outside of the classroom. 

The CJP students have also "acted with reckless disregard of the risk of terrorizing me," i.e. they "caused me to fear bodily harm, and consciously disregarded the risk of doing so." As I mentioned in my previous letter, forwarded below, a number of events have caused me to fear for my safety as a result of the reckless and vilifying actions of these students. 

Therefore, I would greatly appreciate your thoughts on whether CJP students have violated sections 102.09 and 102.24 of the UC Policy on Student Conduct and Discipline. In my case, as well as in the case of future students and faculty members, I want to make sure harassment and terrorization are never protected under the doctrine of free speech. I feel strongly that students should be encouraged to speak up whenever they disagree, but that the fine line between free dissent and harassment/intimidation/terrorization should always be safely guarded.

Thank you for the clarification,

Tammi Rossman-Benjamin

Lecturer in Hebrew

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

What is it that the suits at UC Santa Cruz (America's Wackiest University) don't get? Benjamin is being harassed and efforts are being made to silence her because she reports on the anti-Semitic outrages going on not only at UCSC, but on other California campuses as well. Does she not have the right to speak out and respond to the (free speech) of the anti-Israel crowd? Is free speech only for those who bash Israel?

It is time to call in the lawyers.

The CSCOPE Teaching Controversy in Texas Grows

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



Hat tip Radical Islam

That controversy in Texas over the CSCOPE teaching agenda in Texas schools continues to grow. Now it appears that school kids in the Lone Star State are being taught that 9-11 was our fault.

http://www.radicalislam.org/news/us-schoolchildren-being-taught-us-blame-911



The above looks like one of my multiple choice questions in, "Let's Play what the Hell happened today in Iraq/Afghanistan, Pakistan?"

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.