Ayaan Hirsi Ali-"Infidel"

by Gary Fouse
fousesquawk



Ayaan Hirsi Ali


For those of you who have never heard of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, it behooves you to learn about her. She is truly a remarkable person. I have just finished reading her autobiography, "Infidel". It is a book everybody should read.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali is originally a Somali who grew up as a Muslim in Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Kenya and Ethiopia. She lived through the civil war in Somalia and experienced female circumcision as a young girl. (Female circumcision is not practiced by all Muslim societies. It is mostly found in certain regions of Africa.)

She also grew up experiencing doubts about the restrictions placed on her by her religion, restrictions which she occasionally violated.

Eventually, Ayaan's father arranged a marriage for her with a Somali man who was living in Canada, a marriage she wanted no part of. While en route to Canada, Ali got on a train in Germany and proceeded alone to The Netherlands, where she became a refugee. In The Netherlands, she educated herself and eventually became a Dutch citizen while hiding from her family, and, when they found her, resisting their pleas to return to the family fold and accept her marriage.

All during these years in The Netherlands, Ali was astounded at the openness and tolerance of the Dutch authorities and people toward immigrants. She was also surprised at how so many Muslim immigrants seemed so ungrateful toward the Dutch and unwilling to assimilate. She also criticized the Dutch for being too tolerant and simply allowing immigrants to live in their own ghettos and continue their old traditions and customs-including in the case of certain groups, "honor killings" and forced female circumcision.

Ali was in The Netherlands on September 11, 2001 and was profoundly affected by the slaughter. She eventually came to the conclusion that there was no God, and renounced Islam. As she began to speak out publicly, it caused a furor not only with her family, but also among Muslims in The Netherlands and other European countries. Death threats began to pour in. During this same period, Ali was elected to the Dutch Parliament in January 2003. One of the efforts she led was to try and get the government to keep statistics on the number of "honor-killings" that were taking place in the country, which they were not doing. The government agreed to try it on a pilot basis in two police regions out of the twenty-five total. In those two regions between October 2004 and May 2005, eleven Muslim girls were killed by their families for reasons of "honor".

At a certain point, the threats became too real. The tipping point was in 2004, when she collaborated with Dutch film maker Theo Van Gogh to make a short film called "Submission", which was critical of Islam's treatment of women. It had become Ayaan's driving mission in life to publicize the plight of Muslim women, especially those who had been subjected to forced female circumcision and "honor-killings", practices that were now taking place not only in Africa and the Middle East, but within Muslim communities in Europe as well.

The film caused a firestorm within Europe's Muslim communities. The same year, a Moroccan immigrant in Amsterdam shot and stabbed van Gogh to death as he rode his bike on a public street. Before he was arrested, he pinned a threatening note to Ali on the knife and left it in Van Gogh's chest. As a result, Ayaan was taken into protective custody and off into a series of safe houses, both in The Netherlands and the US.

Eventually, the Dutch government moved to strip her of her citizenship on grounds that she had falsely filled out her application papers for asylum, which she had always admitted so as to keep her family from finding her. Eventually, she resigned from Parliament and left The Netherlands.

Today, Ali still lives in the West, but still with death threats hanging over her head. Her family has renounced her. What is the lesson to be learned from Ali's story? There are many, but as Ali has stated herself, it is Western ideas of tolerance that have allowed Muslim girls and women to be victimized within their own families and communities. The Dutch and other Europeans have thought that they were showing their tolerance by allowing immigrants to live in their own communities and according to their own traditions. Yet this same "tolerance" was allowing innocent girls and women to having their rights violated-rights that are guaranteed by Western laws and constitutions. This is unacceptable. Every human being who resides in the West-including the US-should be protected from these practices. There can be no exceptions in the name of freedom of religion or political correctness. So called "honor-killings" have no place under our laws nor forced female circumcisions. Immigrants who choose to come to the West must be under no illusions that we will turn a blind eye to these practices. They must understand that we have laws that protect women-and homosexuals as well from persecutiuon and violence.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a hero who has placed her very life on the line to speak her beliefs and tell her story. We must stand behind her. Who knows? Maybe someday, she will be remembered as another Martin Luther King.

Counterrorism Calender 2010 - Interactive Four Color

 by Maggie @ Maggie's Notebook

No wonder Umar Faruk Abdulmutallab's name did not show up on our terrorist watch lists. The folks at the National Counterterrorism Center were scurrying around to meet the deadline for their new 2010 counterterrorism calendar, which is an interactive four-color publication -  under the masterful direction of the National Counterterrorism Chief, Michael Leiter. There is also a 'daily planner' version in a pdf doc. Not sure how we use it for daily planning. It is 160 pages - that's a lot to print out. hmmmm. Maybe we can order it, but...don't see that info anywhere on the website.

Counterterrorism Calendar 2010

The interactive calendar details terrorist groups, methods and tactics, terrorist profiles, and a list of rightwing extremists (nah, just kidding about that last one). There is an interactive map with a guide to the history, areas of operation and the current status of terrorist groups. I launched the map and found al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (Yemen) - the one Janet Napolitano was so amazed to find still yet determined to kill us, or maybe it was news to her the Yemen group even existed.

I launched the interactive historical timeline of terrorism and clicked on December. Abdulmutallab was not profiled. Maybe we're still not certain the Christmas Day underpants bomber was a terrorist.

Under Methods and Tactics, there is a category for "Terrorism Definitions." "Politically motivated violence" is mentioned. Religious violence is not mentioned, but that's fair because Islam is a government, not just a religion. You might remember that we recently officially renamed terrorists as "unprivileged enemy belligerents." "Belligerents are mentioned as "mismatched in their military capabilities...."

We have only four countries listed as state sponsors of terrorism: Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria.

The Terrorist Exclusion List Designees (TEL) excludes members of their organization on the list from immigrating. Hamas didn't make the list.

Git yer counterterrorism calender here.

More "Transparency" From Our Government

By Gary Fouse
fousesquawk



"Listen, Harry. About that Cadillac Tax...."

"Don't worry about it."


Another smoke-filled backroom deal for the Democrats on health care. You saw it all on C-SPAN, right?

No?

Well, the union boys saw it because they were there. So now the Democrats have moved a step closer to their goal by exempting union members from the so-called "Cadillac tax" on high-value health insurance plans. Non-union members? Sorry. You're going to be stuck with it.


http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/01/15/democrats-hammered-room-deal-unions-health-care/


You see, this health care bill is so great, they have to make deals with key voting members and constituent groups to exempt them from the provisions that are so great. That's how Ben Nelson agreed to vote with the boys to push the bill along. He got an exemption for Nebraska from the Medicaid costs. In other words, the other 49 states will have to pay more to cover Nebraska's share. In this latest outrage, the unions get a break from another one of the onerous provisions. That's how the Democrats keep the unions on board. Now rest assured the unions will support the health care bill.And how!

"Whadda'ya mean youse don't support the health care bill?"


But hey! It's all very transparent, you see. All on the uppity-up. Strictly legit. In fact, it's on C-SPAN just like President Obama promised us over and over and over. You Sir! You saw it on C-SPAN, didn't you?

"Yeh, I did."

Prayers For Peace, Rockets, And A New Daycare Center.

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

This month has been busy for the residents of Sderot (pronounced:  STAY'rot).  Let us start with this bit of optimism.

Sderot, Israel (31.12.09): Hours before the new year, as hundreds of pro-Palestinian and Arab demonstrators gathered at the Erez Crossing chanting "Katyushas on Ma'alot, Qassams on Sderot," while Israeli demonstrators at another Gaza viewpoint a few meters away gathered together to communicate a very different message.

A group of Israelis singing songs of peace versus a group of Arabs calling for the bombing of these people.  And the idiots on the left (especially the ones in the White House, Speaker's Office and the Senate Majority Leader) all have concluded that Israelis don't want peace, only Arabs do.

And black is white, good is bad, up is down.  Nothing to see here folks...just move along.

That was the optimism.  Now for the news:

Worst Rocket Escalation to Strike Israel Since Operation Cast Lead

by Anav Silverman

Since Operation Cast Lead, over 306 rockets have been fired from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. On Sunday, January 10, Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu told cabinet ministers that he regarded the recent escalation of rocket attacks very seriously.

Rocket attack in Sderot. (Photo: Hamutal Ben Shitrit/Sderot Media Center)

"Last week 20 rockets and mortar rounds were fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip. The Government's policy is clear: Any firing at our territory will be responded to strongly and immediately."

Both Netivot and Ashkelon were hit by Grad rockets in the recent rocket escalation. On New Years' eve, two Russian-made Grad artillery rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip and struck Israel, with one hitting the southern town of Netivot, a city of about 26,000.

The Color Red system did not go off at the time of attack, and Netivot residents had no warning of the incoming rocket attack. No damages were reported but one woman suffered shock.

The last Grad rocket to strike Netivot had exploded near a synagogue nine months ago, causing heavy damage to the building.

A week later, on Thursday, January 7, a Grad-type Katyusha rocket fired from the Gaza Strip struck a field south of Ashkelon, causing no damage or injuries. Air sirens, however, did sound, sending Ashkelon residents into panic.

Ashkelon, a coastal city with over 100,000 residents, has been a target of Palestinian-fired Katyusha rockets for nearly four years.

Since the start of 2010, tens of Iranian-supplied mortar rockets have also hit southern Israel. Terrorists also fired an anti-tank missile at IDF troops on the Gaza border.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) claimed responsibility for the recent firing of the rockets.

Hamas boasted on Friday Jan. 8, that it had managed to smuggle new types of weapons into the Gaza Strip. Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, published photographs on its website of the new weapons. The weapons include missiles with a double warhead, 107-mm caliber missiles that are designed to penetrate fortified structures and a new type of armor piercing RPG missile.

Abu Ubeida, the Hamas spokesman stated that the group "has thousands of fighters and good weapons capable of harming Israel."

Former OC Southern Command Maj.-Gen. Yom Tov Samia predicted on Sunday that another war with Hamas was inevitable.

"We are before another round in Gaza," Samia told Army Radio in an interview.

"I am very skeptical about the possibility that Hamas will suddenly surrender or change its ways without being hit much more seriously than it was during Cast Lead."

Will someone please explain the meaning of the word CEASE-FIRE to Hamas!  In a cease-fire both side stop shooting at each other.  If one side starts shooting again, then the cease-fire is over, battle begins anew.

Now for a little good news:

A new rocket-proof daycare center was inaugurated in the southern city of Sderot on December 27. The money for the furniture, equipment, and toys was donated by 13 year-old Thomas Cole of Toronto on the occasion of his Bar Mitzvah.

United Israel Appeal of Canada’s website reported that the dedication ceremony was attended by 35 members of Cole’s family, including his parents and grandparents, as well as by Sderot Mayor David Buskila, who unveiled a plaque of recognition and affixed the mezuzah together with Thomas.

The daycare center was built to withstand rocket attacks and contains three classrooms. It will serve approximately 45 infants ranging in age from three months to four years. The center will specifically serve the Reut community, a group of 150 young families who have made Sderot their home over the last decade.

Eran Shmueli-David, director of UIAC’s Israel Emergency Campaign, said that “this gift was implemented thanks to the tireless efforts of Eddy Azran, UIAC’s local coordinator in Sderot. It was his persistence and determination that pressed the municipality to open the new building as soon as construction was completed.”

Thomas Cole personally chose to dedicate the money to the Sderot Daycare Centre out of several options given to him by the B’nei Tzedek program of UJA Federation.

Read the full story here.

Young Thomas Cole of Toronto not only is on his way in life to becoming a man of good character, but has shown to the world the true meaning of becoming a man.  The unselfish giving unto others.  In Master Cole's case, his generosity will help many children to have a better life.

His parents MUST be busting at the seams with pride.

You can HELP too.  It isn't hard.  Just a few dollars can and does go a long way.  Just click here and follow the instructions.  Your donation to the Sderot Media Center will help the people of Sderot and the Western Negev.  People who have been under rocket attack for the last 9 years.

The Children of Sderot sent out messages of peace and hope.
The Children of Gaza send out rockets to destroy them.

Yet Hamas screams bloody murder whenever the Israelis strike back at them.

Not this time.

The time is coming when the people of Israel will have had enough.  When they will attack in retaliation, and not stop until Hamas is fully destroyed.  This next time nothing will be able to stop the IDF from achieving their directive.  Not the UN, not the EU, and definitely not Barack Hussein Obama.  Let Hamas and their anti-Semitic allies on the left cry all they want.  They will cry, scream, and throw a temper tantrum like they did last year.  But things are different now.  Europe is fed up with their antics.  The US isn't buying their lies.  And there will be elections this year.  Now Hamas will have to contend with that.

And the Children of Sderot truly might have a peaceful childhood.

Israel Apartheid Week is Coming to a Campus Near You

by Gary Fouse
fousesquawk




(Hat tip to Donald Douglas of American Power)



This coming March 1-7, many US campuses will again be treated to an anti-Israel week of events and speakers under the banner "Israel-Apartheid Week". It is now been an annual event for the past five years and has regularly come to the University of California at Irvine. It is an alliance between Muslim Student Associations, leftist activists, leftist professors and radical Islamic elements. You can visit Israel Apartheid Week.org to view their agenda. Let me tell you what to expect if your local campus is involved.

The campus will see a succession of speakers whose main thesis is that Israel is a racist, genocidal, apartheid state that wants to kill the Palestinians. Israel will be compared to the Nazis. There will be no criticism of the terrorist attacks on Israel by Hamas and Hizbollah, rather these two groups will be presented as heroes standing up for their people. They will scoff at any mention of the rockets that Hamas shoots into southern Israel, which launched the Gaza war last year.

The speakers will dismiss any consideration of a two-state solution. What they want is a one-state solution with majority Palestinians in charge. Of course that would have to involve the so-called "Right of Return" of Palestinians who left Israel in 1948-49-plus their descendants. What these people really want is the removal of Jews from the Holy Land. They will probably try to avoid saying that explicitly, but that is what they want.

Aside from Israel, America will be condemned over and over for its support of the Jewish state including "all those weapons we have given them to drop on Palestinian children." Of course, with Obama in office, many of these folks are taking a "wait and see" attitude, but they will naturally call George W. Bush every name in the book. If you listen to these speakers, you will come away with the impression (correctly) that they don't much care for America.

You will also hear reference after reference to "Zionists", which is code language for Jews. Most speakers have learned that if you put the adjective "Zionist" in front of the word "Jew", you can't be accused of being anti-Semitic. Sometimes, the speaker will forget and attack Jews per se. There are many anti-Semitic elements to be found within this movement. When speaking to US audiences, they usually try to conceal it, but make no mistake. It is there.

And who will these speakers be? They will be a combination of leftist activists who have found an issue to fit in with their radical agenda. That is the pro-Palestinian/anti-Israel/anti-US agenda. You will see groups like "Student-Worker Alliance" and "Students for Peace and Justice" on the fringes. There will probably be an imam or two who will give a fire-breathing speech against Israel. The most significant aspect, which you will witness, is the alliance between the radical left and radical Islamists. The Palestinian issue is an excuse that they both use.

You will also see the usual collection of leftist professors, who have also jumped into this with both feet. There will probably be a "Middle East seminar" that will advertise itself as impartial-until the moment they start speaking. Many of these professors/panelists will come from other universities, often they are faculty from various Middle Eastern studies departments, which are generally snake nests of anti-Israel agitation.

Don't be surprised if one or more of the speakers are Jewish themselves. There are plenty of these characters out there. They delight in being used by the Palestinian lobby to attack Israel. It is their way of expressing their personal rebellion. One of the most notable is the discredited former DePaul University professor Norman Finklestein, a bitter man who can't speak for ten seconds without attacking someone in vile terms. He now makes his living as an "independent scholar", whatever that is, going from campus to campus with his message of hate. As I understand it, he is already booked to take his road show to Emory University in March.

Now what if you decide to attend some of these events? First of all, the lecture hall will probably be filled by the campus Muslim Student Association and folks "from the community" who are all on the same page. Listen and observe what happens if you or someone else takes an opposing point of view. Talk about being the skunk at the garden party! (I know from experience.) I go to as many of these hate fests as I can, and try to challenge the speakers with questions.

I should also point out that this week is always a difficult week for Jewish students on campus. Many Jewish students on campuses around North America (I am including Canada) feel intimidated and reluctant to express their Jewish identity. Many who have spoken out in favor of Israel have been insulted, intimidated, and sometimes even physically attacked. This has happened more than once at UC-Irvine. One pro-Israel Jewish student had her camera shoved in her face by a Muslim student. (They don't like being filmed.) Another Jewish girl who was filming an event was followed back to her car by a group of Muslim males and accosted as she tried to leave. Both she and a citizen witness had their cars surrounded as the males took down their license numbers and VIN numbers. Campus police did nothing. As for the university, everything is free speech. No harm, no foul.

So what should be our responsibility? We can't stop these events from happening. It is protected free speech. Nor should we disrupt or engage in unruly behavior as that would only put us on the same level as our adversaries. Neverheless, we have our right of free speech as well. We can express our support of Israel and America and show that we stand against anti-Semitism. We can show all the students witnessing these events who the good guys are.


My suggestion is turn out, observe, listen and during the Q&A, ask your questions and express your point of view. This is still America. If you defend the right of Israel to exist and defend itself from terrorism, turn out and make your view known in a responsible manner. If you don't like hearing America attacked and defamed, stand up and defend America from the radicals. If an anti-Semitic remark is made by a speaker, point that out. Do not engage on attacks on Islam as a religion nor attack Muslims as a people. That makes us guilty of the same offense we are objecting to. If you are subject to intimidation or physically accosted, notify the campus police and insist on filing a report. If they or the university fails to take action, report that fact publicly. Finally, spread the word on what you observed through e-mails, blogs, Facebook or however you correspond. This is a story the news media ignores. Consequently, much of the public is not aware of what is going on within our universities. They need to know.

Democrats will get Single Payer: The White House Secret You Need to Know

by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

On the heels of two articles by Jim Simpson at The Examiner detailing Universal Voter Fraud Registration to steal your vote, BigGovernment's SusanAnne Hiller explains how a single-payer health care plan will come to be. Congress will abdicate some of their power to the Executive Branch, and it can be done even if health care legislation fails.

It all has to do with stealing the authority to manipulate your social security and the path to do that is written into the health care bill. If the bill fails, nevermind, there are two pieces of legislation waiting in the wings to transfer Medicare out of Social Security and into the hands of the Executive Branch.

The deliberate setup for the White House power grab is built into the each of the health care bills and, if they fail, little-known twin bills called “MedPAC Reform of 2009” are waiting in the wings.  The bills, S.B. 1110 and H.R. 2718, craftily amend the Social Security Act and transfer the Medicare guideline and rule setting processes, from the legislative branch to the executive branch.  These bills offer cover to one another in case one doesn’t pass the House or Senate, respectively.  Remember, Democrats need to gain executive branch authority by amending the Social Security Act over Medicare regulations and physician fee schedules to transform the health care system in a single-payer, socialized system.

More importantly, Medicare’s regulations and physician fee schedules are the keystone to developing payer systems and reimbursement models across the entire health care industry.  And where Medicare goes, insurers follow.

Not wary yet?

Specifically, the language in the Reid bill intentionally places unlimited power directly in the hands of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, including the ability to designate covered services, or rationing.  The Pelosi bill creates a Health Choices Commission and its “commissioner” is empowered to make the same decisions.  More alarming, both will have to take direction from the White House–and its unconfirmed czars–due to their executive branch affiliation.

 After a thorough overview of exactly what is going on, Hiller says:

In any of these legislative scenarios–Pelosi, Reid or MedPAC bills–the White House gets the power it seeks–and needs–in order to accomplish the task at hand–a single payer, government-run health system.

Read the story at BigGovernment. Get on the phone and ask your Congressmen if they know about the provisions in the health care bill, and if they know about S.B. 1110 and H.R. 2718. Quite frankly, they probably do not. Read about Universal Voter Registration: What the Dems know that we don't, here, here and here.

What Say You, Yvonne Ridley?

by Gary Fouse
fousesquawk



Yvonne Ridley


I have written previously about Yvonne Ridley, British journalist who became a radical convert to Islam after her detention by the Taliban while trying to cover the allied invasion of Afghanistan after 9-11. She came to UCI to speak a couple of years back. On that occasion, she spoke in humorous terms about her Taliban captors, whom she described as sort of curmudgeonly, but harmless characters, who eventually released her although or perhaps because she drove them crazy- in her words. Of course, she never mentioned the executions in the soccer stadiums of the women who had committed adultery. In the wake of the recent protests in Iran and the Viva Palestina fiasco in Egypt and Gaza, I have thought again about this woman. You see, aside from being a fierce opponent of Israel and overall radical, Ridley has also been employed by Press-TV, the Iranian English-language press organ, which has been giving such sympathetic coverage to the George Galloway/Viva Palestina convoy. Since Ms Ridley has read my blog and once sent in a nastygram comment to something I had written, I thought she might like to answer a couple of questions in light of recent events.

Ms Ridley, what is your reaction to the death of the Egyptian policeman, who was killed by Gazans at the Rafah border crossing as they were awaiting Sir George's arrival? I noted that your reporter colleagues at Press TV neglected to ask Sir George anything about that policeman when he arrived at Heathrow Airport.



But more importantly, do you support the Iranian government crackdown on Iranians protesting in the streets? What about the people shot down in the streets?


What about the tortures and the hangings? What about the hangings of homosexuals in Iran?


What do you think about the persecution of members of the Bah'ai faith in Iran? When I say persecution, I mean arrests, torture, murder, and rape.

That is the Iranian government you work for, Ms Ridley. What say you?

And while we are at it, would you care to comment about those Taliban soccer stadium executions of women during their rule in Afghanistan?


What say you, Yvonne Ridley?