Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com
Hat tip Vlad Tepes
This video comes to us from London, via Vlad Tepes, where a demonstration was held outside St James Church. You will see an argument among 4 people, one of whom is pro-Israel and identifies himself as an Arab. (He apparently produced the video because in the captions, he is identified as "me".) He is engaging mostly with a grey-haired man labeled as "useful idiot". Early in the video, a woman identifies herself as Palestinian, asks him to turn his back, leave, and tells him she can tell by his features that he is Israeli, which the young man denies. Most tellingly, at the 4:15 mark, another man (labeled as "barbarian"), who is pro-Palestinian, heatedly tells him that he is a "frigging Jew". He then catches himself and says, "Sorry. You are a Zionist."
This exchange is about 16 minutes long and is rather tedious after the above-mentioned portion.
To me, the comment by "barbarian" calling the man a "frigging Jew", is instructive. He then catches himself and changes it to "Zionist". That is the code word, but the man made a slip of the tongue.
You see, it is not so much about the land as it is about religion.
*Update: Hat tip Pro-Israel Bay Bloggers
Why St James Church in London? Here is some necessary background.
http://proisraelbaybloggers.blogspot.com/2013/12/crossing-line-in-london.html
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Monday, December 30, 2013
Muslim Persecution Of Christians: October, 2013
Two of the most tragic Islamic attacks on Christians, killing several women and children, took place in the month of October, one in Syria, another in Egypt.
On October 21 in Syria, U.S.-supported Islamist rebels invaded and occupied the ancient Christian settlement of Sadad for over a week, until ousted by the Syrian army. What took place that week was "the largest massacre of Christians in Syria," in the words of Orthodox Archbishop Alnemeh. Among other things, 45 Christians—including women and children—were killed, several were tortured to death; mass graves were discovered; all of Sadad's 14 churches, some ancient, were ransacked and destroyed; the bodies of six people from one family, ranging from ages 16 to 90, were found at the bottom of a well (an increasingly common fate for "subhuman" Christians).
The jihadis also made a graphic video (with English subtitles) of those whom they massacred, while shouting Islam's victory-cry, "Allahu Akbar!" ["Allah is Greater!," meaning "than anything"]. Another video, made after Sadad was liberated, shows more graphicatrocities.
The day before rebels invaded Sadad, on Sunday, October 20, the Church of the Virgin Mary in Warraq, near Cairo, Egypt, was attacked during a wedding ceremony. The attack left four dead and nearly two dozen wounded. According to a report issued by a forensic team, two of those murdered were young girls, each named Mary: 12-year-old Mary Nabil Fahmy, who was shot five times in the chest, and 8-year-old Mary Ashraf Masih ("Masih" meaning "Christ"), who was shot in the back.
The security forces charged with protecting the church were seen leaving their posts immediately before the massacre began, as happens frequently in Egypt and other Islamic nations. In the words of Asia News, "Eye-witnesses of the al-Warraq attack confirm that despite numerous distress calls, police and ambulances only arrived on the scene two hours after the shooting."
These massacres in Syria and Egypt received scant attention and even less condemnation from Western media and governments. Instead, people such as Mohamed Elibiary, an Obama administration Homeland Security adviser, condemned Copts who raise awareness of anti-Christian violence in Egypt as promoting "Islamophobic" bigotry.
Although Christians are habitually killed in Muslim countries, as this series attests, the U.S. government rarely condemns the practice or even acknowledges it. When five Muslims were killed in western Burma, however, the U.S. issued a formal condemnation, according to Voice of America, "urging authorities to do more to address the long-standing sectarian tension there."
The rest of October's roundup of Muslim persecution of Christians around the world includes (but is not limited to) the following accounts, listed by theme and country in alphabetical order, not necessarily according to severity:
Apostasy, Blasphemy, Proselytism
Iran: Mariam Naqqash, a female convert to Christianity, was sentenced to four years in prison by a court in Tehran. The Christian convert was found guilty of "endangering national security by spreading religious propaganda in the country," and allegedly being a spy for Britain and Israel. According to Adnkronos News, "renouncing the Muslim faith is punishable [in Iran] with the death penalty. Over 300 Iranian converts to Christianity have been arrested over the past two years, according to opposition websites."
Kazakhstan: After Bakhytzhan Kashkumbayev, a 67-year-old pastor, was released from five months' detention, based on charges his family and others insist are spurious. After being reunited with his family, he was arrested again within minutes, now accused of "propaganda of terrorism or extremism, or public calls to commit an act of terrorism or extremism, as well as the distribution of material of the content indicated." His son, Askar, told Forum 18 News Service, "These new accusations are complete rubbish. They're trying to turn my father into a terrorist." Grace Church in Astana, where Kashkumbayev served, has, according to the report, long been subject to state harassment, including accusations of being involved in espionage, fraud, money laundering, distributing extremist texts and using hallucinogenic communion drinks.
Kenya: Charles Matole, pastor of the Redeemed Gospel Church, was found shot dead while still sitting with a Bible on his lap: "We found him with blood oozing from the head," said a choir member. The pastor had been receiving threatening phone text messages. Similarly, Pastor Ebrahim Kidata of the East African Pentecostal Churches was found murdered, strangled to death, in a patch of bushes.
Pakistan:
- After a Muslim man slaughtered a Christian—in broad daylight and in front of police—accusing him of being "an infidel who blasphemed against Muhammad" (see September report), a group of armed men broke into the dead man's family home, threatening to kill its members if they did not withdraw their police complaint against the murderer, and convert to Islam. Fr. Arshad Gill, a priest in Karachi, told Asia News "about this 'sad story' in which the victim is 'an innocent man' and his family is told to convert to Islam or die. For him, the case epitomizes the situation of Pakistan's minorities, forced to live 'in conditions of profound insecurity' in which events such as this one tend to exacerbate the situation…. Found in Article 295, B and C of the Pakistan Penal Code, the [blasphemy] 'law' punishes with death or life in prison anyone who desecrates the Qur'an or defames the name of the Prophet Muhammad." Those few political activists who have tried to repeal the law—such as Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, a Muslim, and Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, a Christian—have been murdered.
- Three other Pakistani Christians face a possible death sentence on what lawyer Sardar Mushtaq Gill says are "trumped up charges" of blasphemy. One of the Christians, Asif Pervaiz, is accused of sending phone text messages with "abusive language against Muslims, Islam, Prophet Mohammed and the Koran." Two other Christians, Pastor Adnan and Mushtaq Masih, were also arrested for allegedly writing "derogatory remarks" about Islam. Gill also said, "Days back we received some heart breaking information that there is one group who forced Christians to
accept Islam at gun point."
- Another Christian man accused of blasphemy, 26-year-old Adnan Masih, trained as a pastor at a United Pentecostal seminary, is being hunted by police. In addition, the banned Islamic extremist group, Jamaat ud Dawa, in Lahore, issued a fatwa, or Islamic decree, calling for his death because he sought to correct misconceptions about Christianity in a Muslim book by noting biblical verses that refuted Islamic characterizations of Christianity. A source said that the hunted man had no idea that "pointing out false references in a book would land him in such big trouble." In the words of a representative of Jamaat ud Dawa: "The police better arrest the blasphemer and hand him over to us on Saturday [Oct. 19]. We will not be responsible for any law-and-order situation in the city if the police fails to keep its assurance. How dare someone use derogatory language against our beloved prophet … Don't they know that the Koran orders us to slit the throat of whoever is disrespectful to Allah's beloved prophet."
- Rana Tanveer, a chief reporter for The Express Tribune, received a one-page letter in Urdu threatening him to stop covering the plight of minorities. He was further accused of being an "apostate" for allegedly sympathizing with Christians and Ahmadis, instead of with their Sunni Muslim oppressors. He was also threatened with death, "from where you cannot even imagine." Tanveer, a Muslim, insists that all his reports are objective and based on facts.
Dhimmitude
Indonesia: Still insisting that Susan Jasmine Zulkifli, a Christian woman appointed governor of the sub-district of Lenteng Agung, in West Java, be removed solely because of her faith (see September report), Muslim protesters stepped up their threats, including carrying a coffin in a protest march of some 600 Muslims—a clear death threat —and waving flags symbolic of death. The Christian woman had been promoted in June by the Governor of Jakarta, who said in response: "I make my choices based on merits, not looking at religion."
Iran: After being arrested in a house church December 2012 and charged with consuming alcohol in violation of the Islamic theocracy's laws, four Christians were sentenced to 80 lashes for drinking communion wine. "The sentences handed down to these members of the Church of Iran effectively criminalize the Christian sacrament of sharing in the Lord's Supper and constitute an unacceptable infringement on the right to practice faith freely and peaceably," a human rights activist said.
Iraq: The nation's Christians, more than half of whom have fled since the U.S.-led invasion a decade ago, are now also being targeted in and fleeing from northern Iraq, which until recently was considered a relatively safe region for Christians fleeing violence in the south. Recently, for example, a suicide bomb went off outside the home of Christian politician Emad Youhanna in Rafigayn, part of the Kirkuk province, injuring 19 people, including three of his children. Several more bomb attacks have also taken place in the northern city of Erbil, for which al-Qaeda claimed responsibility. According to Christian News, "In early September, Christians in the village of Deshtakh complained that they were facing harassment from local police. A group of Christian young people said that policemen told them that they 'should not be in Iraq because it is Muslim territory.' Violence in the south of the country is also escalating. Church leaders in Baghdad say that there are attacks onChristians every two or three days."
Lebanon: Muslims in the historically Christian nation are appropriating Christian land. According to Agenzia Fides: "An urgent reminder to curb the misuse of land belonging to Christians in order to build housing for the Muslims was launched on Monday, October 14 from Talal al- Doueihy, leader of the Movement 'Lebanese Land, our Land'…. Across the Country there are outbreaks of clashes due to problem regarding land. Last week, in the Christian village of Alma (district of Zghorta) residents had complained that the Muslims of the area of al-Fuar had begun to build houses without permission. Already at the end of August, the same Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Rai had called Christians to limit the sale of their property to avoid jeopardizing the demographic-confessional balance."
Pakistan: After the bombs in the church of All Saints in Peshawar, where nearly 90 people, including many women and children, died, Agenzia Fides reported that, "the situation remains tense in the Pakistani society: not only tragedy but also horror. The Christians said they were 'horrified' by the rumors that link the bombs in Peshawar to the vast problem of organ trafficking: this is what some members of NGOs in civil society in Pakistan told Fides. Some of the 'jackals,' presumably local paramedics, seem to have taken advantage of the high number of deaths and injuries in order to steal the bodies of victims and exploit them for the illegal organ trade. 'If this were true, it would mean that there are criminals who are taking advantage of the suffering of Christian victims in a truly blasphemous and sacrilegious manner,' notes Fr. Mario Rodrigues, a priest of Karachi." Meanwhile, some of the Christian survivors who mourned the deaths of loved ones too openly, were attacked, beaten, and threatened with death. Finally, in a separate story, a Christian, Harrison Masih, working in a store, who used to debate religion with a Muslim customer, Maulvi Khalad, got into an argument when Khalad tried to get him to convert to Islam, "telling him that he would enter paradise that way." But, as Harrison related, because he refused to convert and apparently did not want want any trouble, "I quit my job at the medical store but Khalid, and three other men, came to my house and threatened me and my family."
About this Series
- To document that which the mainstream media often seems to fail to report.
- To suggest that such persecution is not "random" but systematic.
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Palestinians: Is Abbas Being Asked to Sign His Death Warrant?
An article by Ali Salim pointing out why there won't be a peace deal. In doing so,
The European and American attempts to impose an academic and economic boycott on Israel increase in direct proportion to the signs that the Palestinian-Israel peace process is sinking into the mud. Boycotts, however, will simply make the Israelis more obstinate and worsen the situation. President Obama tried to reassure Israel recently by promising that the future final status agreement would not turn the West Bank into "a replica of Gaza." He was referring to the rockets the Palestinians began launching from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory as soon as Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip, and stressed that in any peace agreement, the United States would not allow another Palestinian terrorist state, this one in the West Bank, to shell Israel.Before he ran for the Presidency Barack Hussein Obama promised his Arab friends that he would do everything he could to have Palestine from the river to the sea. Until this year he couldn't work on that due to the fact he needed Jewish money for his reelection. (Jews would vote for Hitler if he had a "D" after his name.) Now he cannot run for the Presidency again and he doesn't need the Jews. He can throw them into the camps. Thus he will try to fulfill his promise to his Arab friends and save any legacy his Presidency might have. And in the process he will be instrumental to the murder of over 6 million more Jews. That should make his and Michelle's day!
The Israelis, who have already agreed to the establishment of a Palestinian state bordering on Israel, justifiably demand that it be demilitarized and that Israel itself be responsible for security along the Jordan River. Their demand is based on past experience and meant to prevent rockets, mortar shells, explosives and arms in general from being smuggled into the West Bank. The Palestinians' outright rejection the West's demands might well raise suspicions in the objective observer. The Palestinians claim that Israel has a peace agreement with Jordan and therefore should have no fear that weapons will be smuggled into the West Bank. Such a claim is made only by those who conveniently forget about the thousands of rockets and other weapons used by Palestinian terrorists to attack Israel, and that have been smuggled into the Strip from Egypt, which also has a peace agreement with Israel.
Mahmoud Abbas not only refuses to recognize the State of Israel as the national homeland of the Jews, but, notably, he demands that Israel be forced to absorb Palestinians as part of the so-called "right of return," instead of demanding, more naturally, that they be absorbed into the future Palestinian state -- all the while demanding that there be no Jews in the Palestinian state.
What the Palestinians do not yet understand is that the West is losing both interest in and patience for the Palestinian cause. Millions of refugees, an unprecedented number since the 1930s, are massed at borders and seeking ports of entry all over the world. Today, millions of starving Syrian refugees -- having become burdens threatening the internal security and economy of countries such as Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and even Bulgaria -- are freezing in cardboard cartons and flimsy tents.
Millions of Africans crowd into leaky boats and then drown seeking the shores of Europe, where they hope to find a decent living, while others are interned and humiliated by the Italian authorities on the island of Lampedusa. No one seems to care that in the Arab countries, masses of Muslims die in terrorist attacks at the hands of other Muslims.
In the meantime, industriously ignoring these humanitarian catastrophes, the West closely focuses on what it likes to call "finding a solution for the Palestinian problem." This focus has nothing to do with concern for the Palestinian people; it is rather a symptom of the West's complete inability to cope with the world's genuine refugee problems.
Only few of the real Arab refugees from the 1948 War in Palestine remain, and would be at least 65 years old today if their families had left when the Arab leadership called on the Arabs to flee from Palestine. All those who fled were promised that once the Arab armies won the war and slaughtered or expelled the Jews, they would return to their homes and could loot and despoil Jewish property as they pleased. Hundreds of thousands of Arabs therefore abandoned their homes in 1948 and settled in the neighboring countries, eventually engendering millions of descendants who have built their lives in the host countries and need only to receive citizenship.
The United States and the Arab countries perpetuate the issue of the so-called "Palestinian refugees" with the aid they give to relief organizations, primarily UNRWA. They waste time, money and energy on the Palestinians, in both "Palestine" and other countries, and delay interminably the day when the descendants of the original refugees become citizens of the Arab countries in which they now live, they live. It should be recalled that the Arabs who did not flee from Palestine in 1948, now live in Israel where they make up one-fifth of the population, hold equal rights to the Jews there, have their own political parties, members of Knesset, judges on the Supreme Court, senior diplomatic posts, serve in the army only if the so wish, and are welcomed in all leading professions, including professorships in university and as senior physicians in Israeli hospitals.
Perpetuating the status of "refugee" to five generations of their descendants means the Palestinians and the West continue to foster the false hope of the "right of return," making it increasingly difficult to offer these poor souls -- whose ancestors chose to chose to displace themselves - the right to a productive life, as all other refugees and their descendants enjoy in the countries to which they chose to go.
The Americans and Europeans cynically manipulate the Palestinians, to whom they are nothing more than insignificant pawns in the plot to prolong and escalate the Arab-Israeli conflict in order to justify their continued involvement in the Middle East; in reality, their motives are in no way humanitarian.
The lack of a solution for the Palestinian problem is a tragedy; the situation should sadden every Arab with a conscience. The Palestinian leadership and interested parties throughout the Arab-Muslim world delude the Palestinians into thinking that some day in the slight-of-hand foggy future they will return to "Palestine," that is, the territory of the State of Israel. They manipulate the Palestinians even as it is perfectly clear to the entire world that the Jews will never agree to absorb the millions of descendants of the 1948 Palestinians refugees who today live in the Arab countries: to do so would mean destroying Israel by flooding it with its enemies. If the West were genuinely interested in peace in the Middle East, its top priority would be to clarify the situation for the Palestinians and campaign for their citizenship in the Arab world. It is clear, therefore, that the ultimate goal of the West, and particularly Europe, is to destroy Israel by using the descendants of these Palestinians as weapons -- first of displacement, then extermination. One need only look at how Muslims are currently treating Christians, as well as other Muslims -- as there no longer any Jews to speak of; as the saying goes: "First the Saturday people, then the Sunday people" -- in countries as diverse as the Sudan, Nigeria, Iraq, Mauritania and Egypt.
International law does not allow refugee status to be inherited, but both the West and our Palestinian brothers continue to use the unjustified and incidentally illegal status of refugees as profitable political-economic merchandise. The corrupt agencies of the United Nations, particularly UNRWA, perpetuate and fatten themselves on the obscene amounts of money flowing into the "Palestinian problem," which for years has not been a humanitarian issue. The Palestinian problem is nowhere on the agenda of the Arab countries, which are caught up in the internal chaos created by the Arab "Spring," and instead has become a lucrative economic project for a whole series of racketeers, rob the millions of genuine refugees around the globe, many of who are also Arabs, of their rights.
The situation in Europe is complex and complicated. Thousands of immigrants knock on the gates of the West in search of employment and a better life, even though the West itself is on the brink of bankruptcy. To them, compared to the countries they are fleeing, the West still looks like Paradise. The Europeans have also muddied the definition of "refugees seeking political asylum" -- people who genuinely need protection from persecution. Those who go Westward in search of work cross many poor countries where they are not in danger yet claim, unjustly, that they are refugees fleeing for their lives. This confusion also makes it difficult for the West to solve the problem of millions of genuine refugees who clearly are in imminent danger.
The worst problem of all, however, is the cynical game of manipulating world public opinion played by the rival Palestinian leaders in their undying efforts to perpetuate the Palestinian issue, which has now become Big Business, to ensure it is never resolved. Not only is Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, not considered the legitimate leader of the West Bank and was never elected in a fair and honest election, only a manipulated one but the Palestinians dispersed among the various Arab countries, and especially the West Bank and Gaza, do not consider him as representing them - as well as opposing any political arrangement with Israel for fear it might interfere with the glittering hypnotic promises of their return to "Palestine."
Mahmoud Abbas undoubtedly knows that the instant he signs an agreement with Israel, the Palestinian terrorist organizations will assassinate him. No Palestinian will agree to an arrangement that would limit his return to the future Palestinian state, currently the territory of the State of Israel.
No Palestinian leader will recognize Israel and certainly not one of them will agree to the final, definite end of the conflict. Mahmoud Abbas' refusal to recognize Israel as the national homeland of the Jewish people, his refusal to waive "the refugees' right of return," his refusal to stop adding to his endless list of demands to end the conflict and his refusal to allow Israel to oversee the Jordan River are all proof that the Palestinians' plan to destroy the State of Israel has not been altered since its inception, even if perhaps its methodology has been tweaked from time to time.
The real tragedy is that nowhere on the Palestinian horizon is there a mechanism in place for a democratic way to end the conflict. Many Palestinians favor the violent, radical Salafist-jihadi agenda of the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, while others reject the Islamist agenda and its lifestyle. The conflict between the two has trapped and dead-ended the Palestinians.
The Gaza Strip has been under the control of Islamists for years, and they are gradually taking over towns and cities in the West Bank. It is this situation that prevents the fractured Palestinian leadership from reaching an internal reconciliation and constructing a model for united governance that could end the confrontation between the Jews and the Palestinians. It is clear that if elections were held today in the West Bank, Hamas and other Salafist-jihadi organizations would win. It would seem there is only one model around which Palestinians can unite: the desire to end not their conflict but rather the State of Israel. The Jews are fully aware of the Palestinian model and refuse to accept any arrangement that will endanger their security.
Thus, tragically, Palestinian politics are at the moment leading the Palestinian people noplace. It was recently made known that the Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip, who lob rockets into Israel and mine the security fence separating Israel from Gaza, are currently having logistic problems of electricity, concrete, fuel and food -- the result of flooding caused by recent severe rainstorms. Faced with insurmountable problems, the Hamas leaders turned, indirectly, to Israel for help.
For years Hamas has been guilty of the criminal neglect of the people who live under its rule, and now its leaders are calling for help, claiming that they are "besieged" -- by the Egyptians as well as the Israelis -- and that they are facing a "humanitarian crisis," and are prepared to accept aid from Israel, but only secretly!
Since the violent takeover of the Gaza Strip, Hamas has poured millions of tons of concrete into building tunnels the sole purpose of which is to provide easy access for terrorist operatives seeking to infiltrate into Israel. Hamas could have used the concrete to build houses, schools and hospitals, but instead diverted it to reinforcing terrorism. Hamas evidently far prefers to spend its billions on weapons it can use against Israel rather than on the agriculture, economy, health and welfare of the people who are dependent on it.
In the meantime, while the Palestinian Authority announced that it did not intend to pay the salaries of its Gazan employees, it was Israel that recently agreed to help Hamas out of its difficulties and provide it with fuel, concrete, medicine and food, despite the fact that throughout the years Hamas has killed hundreds of Israelis with its rockets, bombs and suicide bombers and is still overtly planning to wipe Israel off the map. How lucky for the Palestinians that their enemies are the Jews. While the Palestinian and Islamic terrorist organizations plan their attacks on Israeli civilians, the government of the Israeli occupation, despite the apparent indifference of their leaders, regards the Palestinians themselves as human beings.
The rampant mismanagement by Europe, the UN's treatment of the Palestinians and Mahmoud Abbas's floundering and weakness as a policy-maker have prepared the ground for a general takeover of the Palestinian issue by radical Islamic elements, and it will occur in the foreseeable future. On the West Bank it is claimed that in the meantime, only Israeli intelligence, which props up Abbas, has prevented the Islamists from taking complete control.
It is shocking, but not surprising, that in such a complex situation people such as the EU's Foreign Minister Catherine Ashton and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry are trying to force Israel to give up assets critical to its security. They are exerting their pressure in the wrong direction: they should instead campaign for citizenship for the Palestinians in the Arab countries, a quest that would quickly clear their heads of the nonsense of the "return;" stop the tide of money flowing into UNRWA and end the fiction of the "Palestinian refugees."
As the Arab countries -- relatively new artificial creations temporarily pasted together with the lies of the Sykes-Picot Agreement, disintegrate into their original warring tribes and sects -- Ashton, Kerry, et al are nevertheless trying to create yet another artificial state, "Palestine," which will quickly become another Islamist country, officially refusing, as a matter of policy, to recognize the State of Israel and seeking to destroy it.
At his last meeting with Kerry, Abbas rejected the Israeli demand for security control along the Jordan River. Abbas and his supporters are planning to smuggle weapons into the West Bank from Jordan and to transfer them to the local Palestinian terrorists who will use them to attack Israel from the east -- exactly as Hamas began attacking from the south the instant the IDF withdrew from the Gaza Strip. Obama's recent assurances that the United States will not allow the West Bank to become "a replica of the Gaza Strip" are as valid as his assurances regarding other cardinal issues, such as Syria and Iran -- further "replicas of promises" never kept.
SOURCE
Saturday, December 28, 2013
DOJ Charges "Knockout" Hate Crime
Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com
It was so predictable. After a wave of "knockout" incidents in East Coast cities by blacks targeting whites and Jews, the Eric Holder Justice Department has charged a 27-year-old white thug for carrying out a similar crime against a 79 year-old-black man.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/12/27/doj-charges-knockout-game-suspect-with-hate-crime-why-now/
Let me be clear: I have no sympathy whatsoever for Conrad Barrett, the man charged with carrying out the crime. Depending on his previous record, I hope he gets a long term in prison to think about his deed.
Yet the obvious question must be asked: Why now? Why hasn't the Justice Department stepped in in all these previous cases which involved black on white "knockout" assaults? Aside from whites in general, Jews have been specifically targeted. Where was the Justice Department?
The conclusion that must be drawn is that this Justice Department does not consider black on white assaults to be hate crimes no matter how clear it is they were racially motivated. Thus, only certain "victim groups" are protected. That apparently does not include whites or Jews (the largest victim group among religiously-motivated hate crimes according to the last several years of FBI statistics). Can we add Asians to that mix? In recent years, there have been many complaints of Asian students being assaulted in Philadelphia schools by black students.
It is undeniably true that blacks were routinely victimized by violence at the hands of whites up until a few decades ago in the South. It was wrong then, and it is just as wrong now when blacks target whites for assault. Furthermore, as we become an increasingly diverse population, and whites are transitioning from being the majority to only a plurality among several groups of "people of color" (a fashionable term that is used to divide us), the rationale for only recognizing particular ethnic groups as perpetrators or victims becomes less justifiable. Hate is wrong and acting out on that hate is wrong.
If we are going to have hate crimes on the books, then they must be applied equally across the board. We can not expect that from Eric Holder and his Justice Department.
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com
It was so predictable. After a wave of "knockout" incidents in East Coast cities by blacks targeting whites and Jews, the Eric Holder Justice Department has charged a 27-year-old white thug for carrying out a similar crime against a 79 year-old-black man.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/12/27/doj-charges-knockout-game-suspect-with-hate-crime-why-now/
Let me be clear: I have no sympathy whatsoever for Conrad Barrett, the man charged with carrying out the crime. Depending on his previous record, I hope he gets a long term in prison to think about his deed.
Yet the obvious question must be asked: Why now? Why hasn't the Justice Department stepped in in all these previous cases which involved black on white "knockout" assaults? Aside from whites in general, Jews have been specifically targeted. Where was the Justice Department?
The conclusion that must be drawn is that this Justice Department does not consider black on white assaults to be hate crimes no matter how clear it is they were racially motivated. Thus, only certain "victim groups" are protected. That apparently does not include whites or Jews (the largest victim group among religiously-motivated hate crimes according to the last several years of FBI statistics). Can we add Asians to that mix? In recent years, there have been many complaints of Asian students being assaulted in Philadelphia schools by black students.
It is undeniably true that blacks were routinely victimized by violence at the hands of whites up until a few decades ago in the South. It was wrong then, and it is just as wrong now when blacks target whites for assault. Furthermore, as we become an increasingly diverse population, and whites are transitioning from being the majority to only a plurality among several groups of "people of color" (a fashionable term that is used to divide us), the rationale for only recognizing particular ethnic groups as perpetrators or victims becomes less justifiable. Hate is wrong and acting out on that hate is wrong.
If we are going to have hate crimes on the books, then they must be applied equally across the board. We can not expect that from Eric Holder and his Justice Department.
What the Palestinians And Arabs Think of Kerry's New Ideas
From Gatestone Institute
The Palestinian Authority does not like U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's latest ideas for peace between the Palestinians and Israelis.
The Palestinians especially do not like Kerry's proposal that Israel maintain a military presence in the Jordan Valley if and when a Palestinian state is established next to Israel.
Kerry, however, does not seem to be impressed with the Palestinians' rejection of his ideas. He appears convinced that immense pressure on the Palestinians will eventually force them to succumb.
Palestinian Authority officials complained this week that Kerry is obviously not taking them seriously. "Although the Palestinian Authority leadership has turned down his ideas, Kerry continues to exert heavy pressure on us because he thinks he can impose his will on us," remarked a senior Palestinian official in Ramallah. "Of course, Kerry is living in an illusion if he thinks we would change our position."
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who briefed Arab foreign ministers in Cairo on December 21, repeated his opposition to Kerry's ideas. Before that, Abbas sent a letter to President Barack Obama expressing reservations about Kerry's proposals.
Abbas has even won the backing of the Arab League for his stance. So it is not only the Palestinians who are now saying no to Kerry, but the Arab countries too. "The U.S. proposals achieved Israeli expansionist demands, and guaranteed [Israel's] continued control of [the Jordan Valley] on the security pretext," said a statement released by the Arab League.
Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Araby said that not one Israeli soldier could stay in the West Bank.
The Arab League's position is a severe blow to Kerry's ongoing efforts to persuade the Palestinian Authority to accept his ideas. Having won the backing of the Arab countries, Abbas now feels more confident to say no to Kerry and his proposals.
When Kerry next returns to the region, Abbas will once again tell him that he doesn't accept his ideas, particularly in the wake of the Arab League's having also rejected them.
Abbas, however, seems to have a problem not only with the idea of maintaining an Israeli military presence in the Jordan Valley.
A Palestinian official, who also said that Abbas had won backing from the Arab countries for his stance, revealed that Abbas continues to stick to his positions on a variety of issues pertaining to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict -- positions that openly contadict most of the Israeli and American demands.
The official summed up Abbas's position as follows:
- No to a demilitarized Palestinian state;
- No to recognizing Israel as a Jewish state;
- No to a solution that does not include all of east Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state;
- No to another interim agreement with Israel and, of course,
- No to the presence of any Israeli soldiers in the Jordan Valley.
Until recently, the Palestinian rejection of Kerry's ideas was expressed in a rather polite manner.
In the past few days, however, senior Palestinian Authority officials have begun launching a scathing attack on Kerry, with some accusing him of "endorsing" Israel's position on most issues related to the conflict with Israel.
PLO Secretary-General Yasser Abed Rabbo said that Kerry's proposals on security will lead to the "total failure" of the peace talks with Israel. Kerry's ideas, he added, have provoked a "real crisis." Abed Rabbo said that Kerry "only wants to win over the Israelis and [allow] settlement expansion at our expense."
In an interview with Voice of Palestine radio, Abed Rabbo continued his unprecedented criticism of both Kerry and his proposals. "Washington does not have the right to determine where our borders would be," he declared. "We won't allow Israel to slice off any parts of our land. If the Americans want, they can give Israel parts of California and Washington. This land belongs to the Palestinians."
The Arab League's rejection of Kerry's ideas not only complicates his efforts to achieve a deal between Palestinians and Israelis, but also ties Abbas's hands. It is hard to see how Abbas would be able to retract his position now that the Arab League has also rejected Kerry's ideas.
Kerry will now have to launch a new diplomatic campaign to convince the Arab League to change its position. And for the Arab countries to do that really would take a miracle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I give Obama until next April before he becomes so angry with Israel that he orders an attack. It has been revealed that he promised the Fakistinians everything from the river to the sea in 2007. It also has been known that the Obamas have a deep hatred of Israel and the Jewish people. If it wasn't for Jewish money, he would have made that known earlier.
It is also known in Israel that Obama had been stringing Netanyahu along. He never had a notion of attacking Iran. In fact he is dropping Israel as an ally and picking up Iran. So much for his promises.
There will come a time when Israel will attack Iran. Obama will help condemn Israel, then lead the attack on that nation. The only question left is what will he do to the 6 million+ Jews living in the United States?
Friday, December 27, 2013
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
In The Beginning... REPOST
I originally wrote this post for Christmas Eve 2008 the 40th anniversary
of the flight of Apollo 8. I repost it for tonight to remind us of
that mission and of a time in which Americans were more appreciative of
G-d.
*******************************************************************
Three words read by William Anders aboard the Apollo 8 mission on Christmas Eve 1968.
1968 was our Annus horribilis. It was a year of unrest at the Democratic National Convention. It was the year that saw the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. It was a year in which riots and protests were the daily fare on the nightly newscasts. It was a year in which America felt at its lowest point. And America needed a boost.
When the Apollo 8 mission was originally planned the mission was not suppose to go to the moon. It was suppose to be in a low Earth orbit checking out the systems on the Command module and possibly the lunar module if one had been ready by then. Instead the mission was changed and Apollo 8 would be the first manned mission to go to the moon. In itself it would be a very dangerous mission, the first of anything is alway a dangerous mission to accomplish. Because of the nature of the mission and the decision to change it, the true mission was kept a secret from the public until the official announcement on 12 November 1968, less than 40 days before the scheduled launch.
Apollo 8 launched at 7:51:00 a.m. on December 21, 1968. During the flight, three fellow astronauts served on the ground as capsule communicators (usually referred to as "CAPCOMs") on a rotating schedule. The CAPCOMs were the only people who regularly communicated with the crew. Michael Collins was the first CAPCOM on duty and at 2 hours, 27 minutes and 22 seconds after launch radioed, "Apollo 8. You are Go for TLI". This communication signified that Mission Control had given official permission for Apollo 8 to go to the moon. Over the next twelve minutes before the TLI burn, the Apollo 8 crew continued to monitor the spacecraft and the rocket. The S-IVB third stage rocket ignited on time and burned perfectly for 5 minutes and 17 seconds. The burn increased the velocity of Apollo 8 to 35,505 feet per second (10,822 m/s) and the spacecraft's altitude at the end of the burn was 215.4 miles (346.7 km). At this time, the crew also set the record for the highest speed humans had ever traveled.
Five hours after launch, Mission Control sent a command to the S-IVB booster to vent its remaining fuel through its engine bell to change the booster's trajectory. This S-IVB would then pass the Moon and enter into a solar orbit, posing no further hazard to Apollo 8. The S-IVB subsequently went into a 0.99 by 0.92 AU solar orbit with an inclination of 23.47° and a period of 340.80 days.
The Apollo 8 crew were the first humans to pass through the Van Allen radiation belts, which extend up to 15,000 miles (25,000 km) from Earth. Scientists predicted that passing through the belts quickly at the spacecraft's high speed would cause a radiation dosage of no more than a chest X-ray, or 1 milligray (during the course of a year, the average human receives a dose of 2 to 3 mGy). To record the actual radiation dosages, each crew member wore a Personal Radiation Dosimeter that transmitted data to Earth as well as three passive film dosimeters that showed the cumulative radiation experienced by the crew. By the end of the mission, the crew experienced an average radiation dose of 1.6 mGy.
At about 55 hours and 40 minutes into the flight, the crew of Apollo 8 became the first humans to enter the gravitational sphere of influence of another celestial body. At 64 hours into the flight, the crew began to prepare for Lunar Orbit Insertion-1 (LOI-1). This maneuver had to be performed perfectly, and due to orbital mechanics had to be on the far side of the Moon, out of contact with the Earth. After Mission Control was polled for a Go/No Go decision, the crew was told at 68 hours, they were Go and "riding the best bird we can find". At 68 hours and 58 minutes, the spacecraft went behind the Moon and out of radio contact with the Earth.
When the spacecraft came out from behind the Moon for its fourth pass across the front, the crew witnessed an event no one had ever seen — Earthrise. Borman saw the Earth emerging from behind the lunar horizon and called in excitement to the others, taking a black-and-white photo as he did so: Earthrise, seen for the first time by human eyes. In the ensuing scramble Anders took the more famous color photo, later picked by Life magazine as one of its hundred photos of the century.
As they rounded the Moon for the ninth time, the second television transmission began. Borman introduced the crew, followed by each man giving his impression of the lunar surface and what it was like to be orbiting the Moon. Borman described it as being "a vast, lonely, forbidding expanse of nothing." Then, after talking about what they were flying over, Anders said that the crew had a message for all those on Earth. Each man on board read the story of creation from Book of Genesis. Borman finished the broadcast by wishing a Merry Christmas to everyone on Earth. His message appeared to sum up the feelings that all three crewmen had from their vantage point in lunar orbit. Borman said, "And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, and a Merry Christmas to all of you, all of you on the good Earth"
After 10 lunar orbit, Apollo 8 returned to Earth on 27 December 1968. A successful and historic mission.
So on this Christmas Eve, we should remember a historic moment in Human history that took place 40 years ago.
William Anders
"We are now approaching lunar sunrise and, for all the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a message that we would like to send to you.
View at YouTube
On this Christmas Eve I wish to again recall the words of Apollo 8 in wishing you a Merry Christmas.
*******************************************************************
Three words read by William Anders aboard the Apollo 8 mission on Christmas Eve 1968.
1968 was our Annus horribilis. It was a year of unrest at the Democratic National Convention. It was the year that saw the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. It was a year in which riots and protests were the daily fare on the nightly newscasts. It was a year in which America felt at its lowest point. And America needed a boost.When the Apollo 8 mission was originally planned the mission was not suppose to go to the moon. It was suppose to be in a low Earth orbit checking out the systems on the Command module and possibly the lunar module if one had been ready by then. Instead the mission was changed and Apollo 8 would be the first manned mission to go to the moon. In itself it would be a very dangerous mission, the first of anything is alway a dangerous mission to accomplish. Because of the nature of the mission and the decision to change it, the true mission was kept a secret from the public until the official announcement on 12 November 1968, less than 40 days before the scheduled launch.
Apollo 8 launched at 7:51:00 a.m. on December 21, 1968. During the flight, three fellow astronauts served on the ground as capsule communicators (usually referred to as "CAPCOMs") on a rotating schedule. The CAPCOMs were the only people who regularly communicated with the crew. Michael Collins was the first CAPCOM on duty and at 2 hours, 27 minutes and 22 seconds after launch radioed, "Apollo 8. You are Go for TLI". This communication signified that Mission Control had given official permission for Apollo 8 to go to the moon. Over the next twelve minutes before the TLI burn, the Apollo 8 crew continued to monitor the spacecraft and the rocket. The S-IVB third stage rocket ignited on time and burned perfectly for 5 minutes and 17 seconds. The burn increased the velocity of Apollo 8 to 35,505 feet per second (10,822 m/s) and the spacecraft's altitude at the end of the burn was 215.4 miles (346.7 km). At this time, the crew also set the record for the highest speed humans had ever traveled.
Five hours after launch, Mission Control sent a command to the S-IVB booster to vent its remaining fuel through its engine bell to change the booster's trajectory. This S-IVB would then pass the Moon and enter into a solar orbit, posing no further hazard to Apollo 8. The S-IVB subsequently went into a 0.99 by 0.92 AU solar orbit with an inclination of 23.47° and a period of 340.80 days.
The Apollo 8 crew were the first humans to pass through the Van Allen radiation belts, which extend up to 15,000 miles (25,000 km) from Earth. Scientists predicted that passing through the belts quickly at the spacecraft's high speed would cause a radiation dosage of no more than a chest X-ray, or 1 milligray (during the course of a year, the average human receives a dose of 2 to 3 mGy). To record the actual radiation dosages, each crew member wore a Personal Radiation Dosimeter that transmitted data to Earth as well as three passive film dosimeters that showed the cumulative radiation experienced by the crew. By the end of the mission, the crew experienced an average radiation dose of 1.6 mGy.
At about 55 hours and 40 minutes into the flight, the crew of Apollo 8 became the first humans to enter the gravitational sphere of influence of another celestial body. At 64 hours into the flight, the crew began to prepare for Lunar Orbit Insertion-1 (LOI-1). This maneuver had to be performed perfectly, and due to orbital mechanics had to be on the far side of the Moon, out of contact with the Earth. After Mission Control was polled for a Go/No Go decision, the crew was told at 68 hours, they were Go and "riding the best bird we can find". At 68 hours and 58 minutes, the spacecraft went behind the Moon and out of radio contact with the Earth.
When the spacecraft came out from behind the Moon for its fourth pass across the front, the crew witnessed an event no one had ever seen — Earthrise. Borman saw the Earth emerging from behind the lunar horizon and called in excitement to the others, taking a black-and-white photo as he did so: Earthrise, seen for the first time by human eyes. In the ensuing scramble Anders took the more famous color photo, later picked by Life magazine as one of its hundred photos of the century.
As they rounded the Moon for the ninth time, the second television transmission began. Borman introduced the crew, followed by each man giving his impression of the lunar surface and what it was like to be orbiting the Moon. Borman described it as being "a vast, lonely, forbidding expanse of nothing." Then, after talking about what they were flying over, Anders said that the crew had a message for all those on Earth. Each man on board read the story of creation from Book of Genesis. Borman finished the broadcast by wishing a Merry Christmas to everyone on Earth. His message appeared to sum up the feelings that all three crewmen had from their vantage point in lunar orbit. Borman said, "And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, and a Merry Christmas to all of you, all of you on the good Earth"
After 10 lunar orbit, Apollo 8 returned to Earth on 27 December 1968. A successful and historic mission.
So on this Christmas Eve, we should remember a historic moment in Human history that took place 40 years ago.
William Anders
"We are now approaching lunar sunrise and, for all the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a message that we would like to send to you.
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.Jim Lovell
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
"And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.Frank Borman
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
"And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas – and God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth."
View at YouTube
On this Christmas Eve I wish to again recall the words of Apollo 8 in wishing you a Merry Christmas.
And God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth.
How Will Obama Respond to Egypt?
Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com
Now that the Egyptian government has called a spade a spade and labeled the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization, isn't President Obama put in a bind? Surely, the Egyptians will arrest more MB members for being active in a terrorist organization. How will Obama and his inept secretary of state, John Kerry, respond? After all, the Brotherhood is the bunch that they prefer to see in power.
So now will Obama condemn the action? Will the US cut aid to Egypt?
In spite of the thousands of protesters that the MB is sending out into the streets to battle the police, the coup was supported by the majority of the Egyptian people, who had taken to the streets of their cities by the millions to protest the Morsi regime's heavy-handed tactics. They wanted the military to restore order to the country. We hear a lot of lip service from Obama and Kerry that "the Egyptian people must decide". But if the majority of the Egyptian people support the coup and the taking down of the Muslim Brotherhood, who is Obama to complain?
The fact of the matter is that despite all the protestations of innocence from Ikhwan Web, the MB's English-language web site, the Brotherhood has engaged in massive violence. Today, it stands accused by the government of the bombing of police hqs in Mansoura. Just since the military coup, They have driven their followers to destroy over 80 Christian churches.
It will indeed be instructive to see how Obama responds to this latest development. If he takes the side of the Brotherhood, it will be one more indicator that he does, indeed, prefer Islamists to rule Middle Eastern countries as opposed to more friendly and secular governments. We see it also in Syria. We have seen it in Libya, with tragic results. We see it in Turkey. Coupled with his antagonism toward Israel, it is troubling to say the least. Meanwhile, in the face of massive persecution of Christians from one corner of the Islamic world to the other, Obama and his administration are silent. Troubling, indeed.
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com
Now that the Egyptian government has called a spade a spade and labeled the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization, isn't President Obama put in a bind? Surely, the Egyptians will arrest more MB members for being active in a terrorist organization. How will Obama and his inept secretary of state, John Kerry, respond? After all, the Brotherhood is the bunch that they prefer to see in power.
So now will Obama condemn the action? Will the US cut aid to Egypt?
In spite of the thousands of protesters that the MB is sending out into the streets to battle the police, the coup was supported by the majority of the Egyptian people, who had taken to the streets of their cities by the millions to protest the Morsi regime's heavy-handed tactics. They wanted the military to restore order to the country. We hear a lot of lip service from Obama and Kerry that "the Egyptian people must decide". But if the majority of the Egyptian people support the coup and the taking down of the Muslim Brotherhood, who is Obama to complain?
The fact of the matter is that despite all the protestations of innocence from Ikhwan Web, the MB's English-language web site, the Brotherhood has engaged in massive violence. Today, it stands accused by the government of the bombing of police hqs in Mansoura. Just since the military coup, They have driven their followers to destroy over 80 Christian churches.
It will indeed be instructive to see how Obama responds to this latest development. If he takes the side of the Brotherhood, it will be one more indicator that he does, indeed, prefer Islamists to rule Middle Eastern countries as opposed to more friendly and secular governments. We see it also in Syria. We have seen it in Libya, with tragic results. We see it in Turkey. Coupled with his antagonism toward Israel, it is troubling to say the least. Meanwhile, in the face of massive persecution of Christians from one corner of the Islamic world to the other, Obama and his administration are silent. Troubling, indeed.
Wednesday's Hero
I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas. And to all those who are serving and are unable to be home, be safe and thank you.
Josh Groben - I'll Be Home For Christmas
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero.
Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look.
This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero.
Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look.
This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Tracking Santa
In 1955, a Colorado Springs-based Sears store ran an advertisement encouraging children to call Santa Claus on a special telephone hotline. Due to a printing error, the phone number that was printed was the hotline for the Director of Operations at the Continental Air Defense (CONAD). Colonel Harry Shoup took the first Santa call on Christmas Eve of 1955 from a six-year old boy who began reciting his Christmas list. Shoup didn't find the call funny, but after asking the mother of the second caller what was happening, then realizing the mistake that occurred, he instructed his staff to give Santa's position to any child who called in.Listen to Colonel Shoup talk about the experience.
Needless to say many children and parents were delighted to receive this information. Little did they know that a tradition had been born.
Three years later, the governments of the United States and Canada combined their national domestic air defenses into the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), but the tradition continued. Now major media outlets as well as children call in to inquire on Santa's location. NORAD relies on volunteers to help make Santa tracking possible. Many employees at Cheyenne Mountain and Peterson Air Force Base spend part of their Christmas Eve with their families and friends at NORAD's Santa Tracking Operations Center in order to answer phones and provide Santa updates to thousands of callers.
View at YouTube
About 800 service members and their families volunteer, and shift run from 2 a.m. MST December 24 to 2 a.m. Christmas morning.
In 1997, Canadian Major Jamie Robertson took over the program and expanded it to the Web where corporation-donated services have given the tradition global accessibility. In 2004, NORAD received more than 35,000 e-mails, 55,000 calls and 912 million hits on the Santa-tracking website from 181 countries. In 2005, more than 500 volunteers answered questions. In 2006 half a million calls and over 12,500 e-mails were handled from 210 territories. The site now gets well over 1 billion hits.
NORAD details its tracking system:
Detecting Santa all starts with the NORAD radar system called the North Warning System. This powerful radar system has 47 installations strung across the northern border of North America. NORAD makes a point of checking the radar closely for indications of Santa Claus leaving the North Pole on Christmas Eve.
The moment our radar tells us that Santa has lifted off, we use our second mode of detection, the same satellites that we use in providing warning of possible missile launches aimed at North America. These satellites are located in a geo-synchronous orbit (that's a cool phrase meaning that the satellite is always fixed over the same spot on the Earth) at 22,300 miles above the Earth. The satellites have infrared sensors, meaning they can detect heat. When a rocket or missile is launched, a tremendous amount of heat is produced - enough for the satellites to detect. Rudolph's nose gives off an infrared signature similar to a missile launch. The satellites can detect Rudolph's bright red nose with practically no problem. With so many years of experience, NORAD has become good at tracking aircraft entering North America, detecting worldwide missile launches and tracking the progress of Santa, thanks to Rudolph.
The third detection system we use is the Santa Cam. We began using it in 1998 - the year we put our Santa Tracking program on the Internet. NORAD Santa Cams are ultra-cool high-tech high-speed digital cameras that are pre-positioned at many places around the world. NORAD only uses these cameras once a year - Christmas Eve. The cameras capture images of Santa and the Reindeer as they make their journey around the world. We immediately download the images on to our web site for people around the world to see. Santa Cams produce both video and still images.
The fourth detection system we use is the NORAD jet fighter. Canadian NORAD fighter pilots, flying the CF-18, take off out of Newfoundland to intercept and welcome Santa to North America. Then at numerous locations in Canada other CF-18 fighter pilots escort Santa. While in the United States, American NORAD fighter pilots in either the F-15 or F-16 get the thrill of flying with Santa and the famous Reindeer Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph. About a dozen NORAD fighters in Canada and the United States are equipped with Santa Cams.
This year NORAD will be going live with its webcast and instead of hourly updates they will be in real time.
There are people who say that Santa Claus could not travel the whole world in one night. But they forget that Santa is a magical being, and magical beings can defy the laws of physics.
The fact that Santa Claus is more than 16 centuries old, yet does not appear to age, is our biggest clue that he does not work within time as we know it. His Christmas Eve trip may seem to take around 24 hours, but to Santa it may last days, weeks or even months in standard time. Santa would not want to rush the important job of distributing presents to children and spreading Christmas happiness everyone, so the only logical conclusion is that Santa functions within a different time-space continuum than the rest of us do.
To watch out for Santa via NORAD go here
Remember to leave out your milk and cookies for Santa and a carrot or two for the reindeer.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Monday, December 23, 2013
Susan Rice Calls Benghazi "False Controversy"
Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com
National Security Adviser Susan Rice went on 60 minutes and told Lesley Stahl that Benghazi was a "false controversy", which she doesn't have time to think about.
http://video.foxnews.com/v/2964855246001/susan-rice-dismisses-benghazi-as-false-controversy/
Where does one begin? A US ambassador and three other embassy employees murdered by an attack on our consulate. Pleas for help denied during the attack. A false narrative about what the attack was all about. Subsequent revelations about previous requests for more security denied by the State Department. Survivors held incognito. Lies before Congress. A president and secretary of state who were missing in action.
And this woman has the gall to call this "a false controversy". How dare she? I want her to look the families of the four killed in that attack and tell them that this is a "false controversy."
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com
National Security Adviser Susan Rice went on 60 minutes and told Lesley Stahl that Benghazi was a "false controversy", which she doesn't have time to think about.
http://video.foxnews.com/v/2964855246001/susan-rice-dismisses-benghazi-as-false-controversy/
Where does one begin? A US ambassador and three other embassy employees murdered by an attack on our consulate. Pleas for help denied during the attack. A false narrative about what the attack was all about. Subsequent revelations about previous requests for more security denied by the State Department. Survivors held incognito. Lies before Congress. A president and secretary of state who were missing in action.
And this woman has the gall to call this "a false controversy". How dare she? I want her to look the families of the four killed in that attack and tell them that this is a "false controversy."
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Monkey In The Middle Mourns The Passing Of Our Fellow Warrior: Loki
From Holger Awakens
It is with such a heavy heart that today we are confronted with the shock and grief at the passing of a true Patriot to this country and a true friend. Tim Kerlin, known to most at the world of Blog Talk Radio as "Loki" has passed away suddenly. I received word this morning of this (thank you RZ) and direct you to the announcement over at a12iggymom.wordpress.com
I met Loki at his Blog Talk Radio show back in about 2006 or 2007 - I had run into him first as he was contributing to the BTR show "Jihadi Killer Hour" hosted at BTR by Pat Dollard. Loki was an expert on the U.S. Constitution and joined Pat Dollard on a few occasions. Not long after, I became a regular listener to the "Halls of Valhalla" BTR show hosted by Loki.
In 2009, I had the honor of meeting Loki in person at the first big DC rally that coincided with the 9/11 attacks anniversary.
Since then, I have been to hundreds of Loki's shows, I have been a guest on his show and have phoned in probably 100 times.
I can say this with complete certainty, this country has lost one of our truest Patriots. Loki adored the Constitution, honored the Constitution, studied the Constitution and lived the Constitution.
It is a sad day. My thoughts and prayers go out to Tim's wife and his children and his entire family. You lost one helluva husband and father...and I lost a tremendous inspiration and mentor...and we all lost a true American patriot. But thanks to Tim Kerlin....to the viking imp, "Loki"...we all have more rounds in our ammo belt to fight the war due to the tireless effort this man put forth to save our precious country.
Men the likes of Tim "Loki" Kerlin are hard to replace. Patriots who love their nation, love liberty will be missed when they pass. And so it is with our Loki. We will not see his like again for many, many years.
We send out our condolences to The Kerlin family. How sad it is to lose a loved one so close to Christmas. May the G-d of Israel bring comfort to them in this time of grief. May G-d bless them.
It is with such a heavy heart that today we are confronted with the shock and grief at the passing of a true Patriot to this country and a true friend. Tim Kerlin, known to most at the world of Blog Talk Radio as "Loki" has passed away suddenly. I received word this morning of this (thank you RZ) and direct you to the announcement over at a12iggymom.wordpress.com
I met Loki at his Blog Talk Radio show back in about 2006 or 2007 - I had run into him first as he was contributing to the BTR show "Jihadi Killer Hour" hosted at BTR by Pat Dollard. Loki was an expert on the U.S. Constitution and joined Pat Dollard on a few occasions. Not long after, I became a regular listener to the "Halls of Valhalla" BTR show hosted by Loki.
In 2009, I had the honor of meeting Loki in person at the first big DC rally that coincided with the 9/11 attacks anniversary.
Since then, I have been to hundreds of Loki's shows, I have been a guest on his show and have phoned in probably 100 times.
I can say this with complete certainty, this country has lost one of our truest Patriots. Loki adored the Constitution, honored the Constitution, studied the Constitution and lived the Constitution.
It is a sad day. My thoughts and prayers go out to Tim's wife and his children and his entire family. You lost one helluva husband and father...and I lost a tremendous inspiration and mentor...and we all lost a true American patriot. But thanks to Tim Kerlin....to the viking imp, "Loki"...we all have more rounds in our ammo belt to fight the war due to the tireless effort this man put forth to save our precious country.
Cattle die,
Kinsmen die,
You yourself die;
I know one thing which never dies:
The judgment of a dead mans life.
Men the likes of Tim "Loki" Kerlin are hard to replace. Patriots who love their nation, love liberty will be missed when they pass. And so it is with our Loki. We will not see his like again for many, many years.
We send out our condolences to The Kerlin family. How sad it is to lose a loved one so close to Christmas. May the G-d of Israel bring comfort to them in this time of grief. May G-d bless them.
America's Not So Bright Future ~~~ J.D. Longstreet
Stolen from Faultline USA
Back in 2012, the government took our 100 watt light bulbs and left us with these awful, pathetic, sickly, fluorescent bulbs. (The 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act) These ugly, squiggly, things are called "Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs." In my opinion, the "light bulb" portion of the name is a fraud.
Now that they have taken our 100 watt and 75 watt bulbs, they will relieve us of our 60 watt and 40 watt bulbs effective in 2014. (Stores will be allowed to sell their inventory of the 60 and 40 watt bulbs but after that -- there will be no more.)
Why does this upset me? WHY, indeed?!
I’ll point you in the direction of some evidence that the fluorescent bulbs may not be as helpful and energy efficient as claimed and might even damage American’s health and contribute to pollution of the earth. You decide, for yourself, if you really want to put them in your home, where you and your children will be exposed to them, or if you want to raise hell with the Congress until they repeal this ridiculous law and give us back our tried and true incandescent light bulbs.
Did you know it required a special exemption from the Environmental Protection Agency of the US government to allow fluorescent lamp bulbs to be sold to the pubic in the US in the first place? Why? Mercury, that’s why!
“Fluorescent lights are filled with a gas containing low-pressure mercury vapor and argon, or sometimes even krypton. The inner surface of the bulb is coated with a fluorescent coating made of varying blends of metallic and rare earth phosphor salts. Fluorescent light bulbs are more energy efficient than incandescent light bulbs of an equivalent brightness, and the efficiency of fluorescent lighting owes much to low-pressure mercury photon discharges. But fluorescents don't produce a steady light, and they burn out more quickly when cycled frequently; they also contain items such as fluorine, neon, and lead powder as well as mercury.” (From: “Compact fluorescent light bulbs contaminate the environment with 30,000 pounds of mercury each year” SOURCE. (This article was written by Mike Adams a natural health researcher and author with a strong interest in personal health, the environment and the power of nature to help us all heal He has authored and published thousands of articles, interviews, consumers guides, and books on topics like health and the environment, impacting the lives of millions of readers around the world who are experiencing phenomenal health benefits from reading his articles. Adams is an independent journalist with strong ethics who does not get paid to write articles about any product or company.)
Also from the same article we learn this:
“According to www.lightbulbrecycling.com, each year an estimated 600 million fluorescent lamps are disposed of in U.S. landfills, amounting to 30,000 pounds of mercury waste. Astonishingly, that's almost half the amount of mercury emitted into the atmosphere by coal-fired power plants each year. It only takes 4mg of mercury to contaminate up to 7,000 gallons of freshwater, meaning that the 30,000 pounds of mercury thrown away in compact fluorescent light bulbs each year is enough to pollute nearly every lake, pond, river and stream in North America (not to mention the oceans.")
Then, there is this. The CFL bulb “…. can cause people with epilepsy to experience symptoms similar to the early stages of a fit. There have also been complaints of discomfort from people with lupus”." Read more about this in The Daily Mail.
Now… what if you accidentally drop and break one of the CFL’s? Well, you could be looking at a $2000.00 plus “professional clean-up job”. I mean… they do contain Mercury, remember? Don’t believe me? Check this story out: The CFL mercury nightmare [break a compact fluorescent, face $2000 in cleanup costs] SOURCE
Add to this the fact, and I do mean fact… that there certainly appears to be less light output (lumens) from the CFL than from an incandescent bulb.
Now… all the research I have done tells me that the CFL’s produce the same lumens as a comparable incandescent bulb. But, in practice, I have found that replacing a 60 watt incandescent with a 60 watt CFL will not produce the same amount of lighting. The area I am trying to light is dimmer, not lighted nearly as well, with the CFL as it was with the incandescent. I have found the same true with 75-watt bulbs and 100-watt bulbs. I have even swapped the 60’s out for 75’s and the 75’s out for 100 watt CFL's and I STILL don’t see the crisp brightness I get from the old incandescent bulb.
These days, I am using 150 watt CFL.s to replace the old 100 watt incandescent bulbs around my home. And I am STILL not satisfied with the light from the CFL. In fact, I have taken to carrying a penlight flashlight in my pocket, all the time now, in order to see into many of the dark spaces that were not dark before the CFL's. (I suffer from "nearsightedness" and those of us with that curse require LIGHT to be able to see clearly.)
Now, I am not an engineer. I’m just an old country boy, who has been around the block a few times, and experience tells me there HAS to be something different about the lumens emitted by an incandescent and the lumens emitted by a CFL. Is it a different KIND of light -- a different COLOR of light? Is that what the matter is?
OK... so I did a bit more research and this is what I found:
A 100-watt incandescent light bulb will produce about 1200 lumens. I read that a 20 t0 25 watt CFL will produce the same amount of lumens... but… if the light fixture you are using isn’t DESIGNED for CFL's you will get a "dingy looking" light. Not nearly as bright as the old incandescent bulb! It seems someone forgot to inform us that CFL's radiate their light differently. What that means is... that even though the CFL is producing the same amount of lumens, it may not be producing the same amount of light to the lighted area! AHA! I knew it! Read more on this here.
So besides the fact that CFL's don’t work well in cold climates… or just plain old cold weather, they don’t work well, at all, in overhead fixtures, they don’t work, at all, with dimmers, they contain poison, they do not produce the same amount of light as the incandescent light bulbs… in today's light fixtures, and ...they must be treated as hazardous waste material when you get ready to toss one out, … why… they’re just GREAT!
Why do I get the feeling I’ve been scammed… yet again?
As I write, I am in my office, and I have five different light fixtures on right now. I have CFL's in all five of them and, frankly, it is as through I am sitting here, in front of this computer, working by the light of a number of oil lamps situated around the room! The light is that bad! If I drop something on the floor, I have to get up and turn on the overhead lights, which have four four-foot long fluorescent bulbs in them, so I can find the dropped item on the floor. If the dropped item happens to have rolled beneath my desk, out comes the trusty penlight pocket flashlight in order to find it in the shadows.
This is madness! I’m at the point, with the CFL bulbs, that I would happily see the oceans boil and keep my incandescent bulbs!
I have nearly depleted my horde of 100 watt incandescent bulbs. In fact, my last inventory I had only two bulbs left. I've been supplementing them with 90 watt bulbs I was able to find at one of the big box stores. They, too, will be gone soon.
I was thinking recently how the CFL bulb so accurately represents an America in decline. We've lost our "brightness", and have become the "dim lights" of the world as a result of our public eduction system that often ranks beneath that of third world countries. "Smart" people, "bright" people, would not have allowed their government to do this to them. But WE did.
I also wonder if a contributing factor to the lost luster of the once "Shining City On A Hill" is the possibility that we have changed all the light bulbs in the city to Compact Fluorescent Bulbs!
Back in 2012, the government took our 100 watt light bulbs and left us with these awful, pathetic, sickly, fluorescent bulbs. (The 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act) These ugly, squiggly, things are called "Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs." In my opinion, the "light bulb" portion of the name is a fraud.
Now that they have taken our 100 watt and 75 watt bulbs, they will relieve us of our 60 watt and 40 watt bulbs effective in 2014. (Stores will be allowed to sell their inventory of the 60 and 40 watt bulbs but after that -- there will be no more.)
Why does this upset me? WHY, indeed?!
I’ll point you in the direction of some evidence that the fluorescent bulbs may not be as helpful and energy efficient as claimed and might even damage American’s health and contribute to pollution of the earth. You decide, for yourself, if you really want to put them in your home, where you and your children will be exposed to them, or if you want to raise hell with the Congress until they repeal this ridiculous law and give us back our tried and true incandescent light bulbs.
Did you know it required a special exemption from the Environmental Protection Agency of the US government to allow fluorescent lamp bulbs to be sold to the pubic in the US in the first place? Why? Mercury, that’s why!
“Fluorescent lights are filled with a gas containing low-pressure mercury vapor and argon, or sometimes even krypton. The inner surface of the bulb is coated with a fluorescent coating made of varying blends of metallic and rare earth phosphor salts. Fluorescent light bulbs are more energy efficient than incandescent light bulbs of an equivalent brightness, and the efficiency of fluorescent lighting owes much to low-pressure mercury photon discharges. But fluorescents don't produce a steady light, and they burn out more quickly when cycled frequently; they also contain items such as fluorine, neon, and lead powder as well as mercury.” (From: “Compact fluorescent light bulbs contaminate the environment with 30,000 pounds of mercury each year” SOURCE. (This article was written by Mike Adams a natural health researcher and author with a strong interest in personal health, the environment and the power of nature to help us all heal He has authored and published thousands of articles, interviews, consumers guides, and books on topics like health and the environment, impacting the lives of millions of readers around the world who are experiencing phenomenal health benefits from reading his articles. Adams is an independent journalist with strong ethics who does not get paid to write articles about any product or company.)
Also from the same article we learn this:
“According to www.lightbulbrecycling.com, each year an estimated 600 million fluorescent lamps are disposed of in U.S. landfills, amounting to 30,000 pounds of mercury waste. Astonishingly, that's almost half the amount of mercury emitted into the atmosphere by coal-fired power plants each year. It only takes 4mg of mercury to contaminate up to 7,000 gallons of freshwater, meaning that the 30,000 pounds of mercury thrown away in compact fluorescent light bulbs each year is enough to pollute nearly every lake, pond, river and stream in North America (not to mention the oceans.")
Then, there is this. The CFL bulb “…. can cause people with epilepsy to experience symptoms similar to the early stages of a fit. There have also been complaints of discomfort from people with lupus”." Read more about this in The Daily Mail.
Now… what if you accidentally drop and break one of the CFL’s? Well, you could be looking at a $2000.00 plus “professional clean-up job”. I mean… they do contain Mercury, remember? Don’t believe me? Check this story out: The CFL mercury nightmare [break a compact fluorescent, face $2000 in cleanup costs] SOURCE
Add to this the fact, and I do mean fact… that there certainly appears to be less light output (lumens) from the CFL than from an incandescent bulb.
Now… all the research I have done tells me that the CFL’s produce the same lumens as a comparable incandescent bulb. But, in practice, I have found that replacing a 60 watt incandescent with a 60 watt CFL will not produce the same amount of lighting. The area I am trying to light is dimmer, not lighted nearly as well, with the CFL as it was with the incandescent. I have found the same true with 75-watt bulbs and 100-watt bulbs. I have even swapped the 60’s out for 75’s and the 75’s out for 100 watt CFL's and I STILL don’t see the crisp brightness I get from the old incandescent bulb.
These days, I am using 150 watt CFL.s to replace the old 100 watt incandescent bulbs around my home. And I am STILL not satisfied with the light from the CFL. In fact, I have taken to carrying a penlight flashlight in my pocket, all the time now, in order to see into many of the dark spaces that were not dark before the CFL's. (I suffer from "nearsightedness" and those of us with that curse require LIGHT to be able to see clearly.)
Now, I am not an engineer. I’m just an old country boy, who has been around the block a few times, and experience tells me there HAS to be something different about the lumens emitted by an incandescent and the lumens emitted by a CFL. Is it a different KIND of light -- a different COLOR of light? Is that what the matter is?
OK... so I did a bit more research and this is what I found:
A 100-watt incandescent light bulb will produce about 1200 lumens. I read that a 20 t0 25 watt CFL will produce the same amount of lumens... but… if the light fixture you are using isn’t DESIGNED for CFL's you will get a "dingy looking" light. Not nearly as bright as the old incandescent bulb! It seems someone forgot to inform us that CFL's radiate their light differently. What that means is... that even though the CFL is producing the same amount of lumens, it may not be producing the same amount of light to the lighted area! AHA! I knew it! Read more on this here.
So besides the fact that CFL's don’t work well in cold climates… or just plain old cold weather, they don’t work well, at all, in overhead fixtures, they don’t work, at all, with dimmers, they contain poison, they do not produce the same amount of light as the incandescent light bulbs… in today's light fixtures, and ...they must be treated as hazardous waste material when you get ready to toss one out, … why… they’re just GREAT!
Why do I get the feeling I’ve been scammed… yet again?
As I write, I am in my office, and I have five different light fixtures on right now. I have CFL's in all five of them and, frankly, it is as through I am sitting here, in front of this computer, working by the light of a number of oil lamps situated around the room! The light is that bad! If I drop something on the floor, I have to get up and turn on the overhead lights, which have four four-foot long fluorescent bulbs in them, so I can find the dropped item on the floor. If the dropped item happens to have rolled beneath my desk, out comes the trusty penlight pocket flashlight in order to find it in the shadows.
This is madness! I’m at the point, with the CFL bulbs, that I would happily see the oceans boil and keep my incandescent bulbs!
I have nearly depleted my horde of 100 watt incandescent bulbs. In fact, my last inventory I had only two bulbs left. I've been supplementing them with 90 watt bulbs I was able to find at one of the big box stores. They, too, will be gone soon.
I was thinking recently how the CFL bulb so accurately represents an America in decline. We've lost our "brightness", and have become the "dim lights" of the world as a result of our public eduction system that often ranks beneath that of third world countries. "Smart" people, "bright" people, would not have allowed their government to do this to them. But WE did.
I also wonder if a contributing factor to the lost luster of the once "Shining City On A Hill" is the possibility that we have changed all the light bulbs in the city to Compact Fluorescent Bulbs!
Celebrating Diversity
Pat Condell now rails on the Chinese. A must listen!
Click here if the video fails to load.
It's all about difference.
Horrific animal cruelty that shames China. Dogs beaten to death by laughing mob.
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/4...
Live animals used as keychains in China
http://www.9janinja.com/2013/12/cruel...
China's angora fur trade horror
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/530...
China dog meat festival targeted by activists
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/world...
Chinese dog meat festival where 10000 are slaughtered will go ahead
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/...
Theatre of the absurd: Human and religious rights at the UN
http://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmu...
United in Tyranny: The United Nations Human Rights Council
http://www.libertiesalliance.org/2013...
Click here if the video fails to load.
It's all about difference.
Horrific animal cruelty that shames China. Dogs beaten to death by laughing mob.
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/4...
Live animals used as keychains in China
http://www.9janinja.com/2013/12/cruel...
China's angora fur trade horror
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/530...
China dog meat festival targeted by activists
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/world...
Chinese dog meat festival where 10000 are slaughtered will go ahead
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/...
Theatre of the absurd: Human and religious rights at the UN
http://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmu...
United in Tyranny: The United Nations Human Rights Council
http://www.libertiesalliance.org/2013...
Friday, December 20, 2013
Duck Dynasty To A & E: NO SHOW!
I do not watch Duck Dynasty, I am NOT a fan, and I have watched the craze over this show for the last few months. I do find it refreshing to have a show on television that promotes family values, honesty and prayer. So the furor over what Phil Robertson said is just a bunch of extreme Homosexuals getting their panties in a bunch. And A & E fired Phil for his words. The Robertson clan has given this statement:
We want to thank all of you for your prayers and support. The family has spent much time in prayer since learning of A&E's decision. We want you to know that first and foremost we are a family rooted in our faith in God and our belief that the Bible is His word. While some of Phil’s unfiltered comments to the reporter were coarse, his beliefs are grounded in the teachings of the Bible. Phil is a Godly man who follows what the Bible says are the greatest commandments: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Phil would never incite or encourage hate.We are disappointed that Phil has been placed on hiatus for expressing his faith, which is his constitutionally protected right.We have had a successful working relationship with A&E but, as a family, we cannot imagine the show going forward without our patriarch at the helm. We are in discussions with A&E to see what that means for the future of Duck Dynasty. Again, thank you for your continued support of our family.
Duck Dynasty is the highest rated program on Cable TV. That is something A & E should remember. Their viewer base is not gay men and women. And their viewers are furious at A & E. Something they and their advertisers should remember and consider very strongly. I wonder if these gay activists will start condemning Muslim Imams when the demand (and help bring about) the deaths of gays?
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Hatem Bazian: Professorial Conspiracy Theories
Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com
"Although recent French medical reports suggested otherwise and that he died of natural causes, yet we are left to ponder the reasons and the hands that carried out the murder not whether it was a murder."
-Hatem Bazian
Al Jazeera
Berkeley professor Hatem Bazian is a two-trick pony who divides his time trying to delegitimize Israel and pushing the Islamophobia line that Muslims are being persecuted notwithstanding the fact that Muslims are the world's greatest practitioners of religious persecution in the world today. In this article written recently for Al Jazeera, Bazian tries to make the argument that:
1 Yasir Arafat really was poisoned-even though the French just announced from their forensic tests that he was not.
2: The Israelis ordered it.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/12/why-was-arafat-killed-201312394616797450.html
Rather than try to argue all the conspiratorial arguments as to why the Israelis had a motive to kill Arafat, let me cut to the chase on a couple of points.
First of all, it has not been proven that Arafat was murdered. The French report refutes it (Huffington Post/Reuters).
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/03/yasser-arafat-not-poisoned_n_4377739.html
Of course, the Israelis had a motive to kill Arafat. He was a terrorist responsible for the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands of innocent human beings. Were I in charge of Israel, I would have ordered his death decades ago.
However, with Bazian's "evidence" you couldn't put a dog in the pound. All he has is his suspicions. When you have as much blood on your hands as Arafat, it may be surmised that a lot of people might have had a motive. Maybe some Palestinians were upset at the millions Arafat and his wife stole. At the time of Arafat's death, his wife was living in luxury in Paris.
Until Bazian can produce real proof, this belongs right up there with claims that LBJ had JFK assassinated and the white "establishment" had Malcolm X murdered.
Hopefully, Professor Bazian is not spouting this black helicopter stuff in his classroom.
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com
"Although recent French medical reports suggested otherwise and that he died of natural causes, yet we are left to ponder the reasons and the hands that carried out the murder not whether it was a murder."
-Hatem Bazian
Al Jazeera
Berkeley professor Hatem Bazian is a two-trick pony who divides his time trying to delegitimize Israel and pushing the Islamophobia line that Muslims are being persecuted notwithstanding the fact that Muslims are the world's greatest practitioners of religious persecution in the world today. In this article written recently for Al Jazeera, Bazian tries to make the argument that:
1 Yasir Arafat really was poisoned-even though the French just announced from their forensic tests that he was not.
2: The Israelis ordered it.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/12/why-was-arafat-killed-201312394616797450.html
Rather than try to argue all the conspiratorial arguments as to why the Israelis had a motive to kill Arafat, let me cut to the chase on a couple of points.
First of all, it has not been proven that Arafat was murdered. The French report refutes it (Huffington Post/Reuters).
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/03/yasser-arafat-not-poisoned_n_4377739.html
Of course, the Israelis had a motive to kill Arafat. He was a terrorist responsible for the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands of innocent human beings. Were I in charge of Israel, I would have ordered his death decades ago.
However, with Bazian's "evidence" you couldn't put a dog in the pound. All he has is his suspicions. When you have as much blood on your hands as Arafat, it may be surmised that a lot of people might have had a motive. Maybe some Palestinians were upset at the millions Arafat and his wife stole. At the time of Arafat's death, his wife was living in luxury in Paris.
Until Bazian can produce real proof, this belongs right up there with claims that LBJ had JFK assassinated and the white "establishment" had Malcolm X murdered.
Hopefully, Professor Bazian is not spouting this black helicopter stuff in his classroom.
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