Eboo Patel Speaks at UC Irvine

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


Last night, Eboo Patel, who serves on President Obama's advisory board for Faith Based Neighborhood Partnerships, spoke at UC Irvine. The talk was hosted by UCI and the Orange County Center for Living Peace. The audience was between 200-300 persons, a mix of students and people involved in peace and interfaith programs. I attended and was able to videotape the event. I will be putting the video up on this site later this week.

As said, a lot of the folks there were involved in interfaith and peace programs, probably members of Living Peace. Before the event, some people standing near me were chatting. One of them had apparently just been named "compassion director, coordinator" or something like that. There was also a table outside where one could purchase copies of Patel's books.

Virtually everybody who mattered in Orange County was there.The head imam of the Irvine mosque was there. He came up to say hello, and we chatted briefly. The head of the Olive Tree Initiative was there. Retired vice chancellor Manuel Gomez was there. Current vice chancellor Thomas Parham gave the welcoming speech. I even thought I saw OC Human Relations Commission CEO Rusty Kennedy there up front and hobnobbing with the dignitaries before the speech. At least it looked like Kennedy; tall creme colored suit with nobody in it.

This week, I had a chance to watch a couple of previous videos of Patel speaking. No question, he is eloquent and impressive. Born in India to a Muslim family, he grew up in Illinois and is currently the director and founder of Chicago-based Interfaith Youth Core. He is heavily involved in interfaith programs.

I had hoped to be able to participate in the q and a after his talk, but it was announced at the outset that there would be a short q and a with 2 or 3 questions from the student audience.

Patel did not disappoint in his speech. He is an impressive speaker-even better that President Obama. He not only speaks without a teleprompter; he speaks without notes.

Patel spoke of the importance of diverse peoples working together. He had anecdotes of peoples of different backgrounds learning to work together in places like Nicosia, Cyprus. He said that we must set aside the unsolvable differences between us and concentrate on what holds us together in our common interests. He quoted someone as having said that only a homogeneous society could operate as a democracy while diverse populations had to be held together under a dictatorship-until the US. He told of his meeting with the Dalai Lama in India. He had a number of compelling phrases, like, "Either we learn to live together as one, or we die separately as fools".

Patel also mentioned that when he meets with people, questions come up about "the elephant in the room". He didn't say what that elephant was, but said that when we concentrate solely on the elephant, we ignore all the other animals in the zoo. At one point, he acknowledged that some had accused him of being a radical Muslim, but how could he be so radical when he was involved in all these interfaith activities? He did make reference to specific periods of Islamophobia in the US after 9-11 and at the height of the Ground Zero mosque furor. However, there was no mention of the on-going persecution of non-Muslim religious minorities from one end of the Islamic world to the other or the killings between Sunni and Shia (the elephant in the room?)

The audience loved it. There was nothing in his words that I took issue with. I was so impressed I wanted to rush outside and buy his books, CDs, DVDs, and exercise videos.

When he finished, four pre-selected students were called upon to ask questions including one female, a young Muslim student, and two other young men, one of whom I believe is active in the Olive Tree Initiative. Of course, they were friendly questions, and Patel knocked them out of the park.

Had I been able, I would have liked to ask Patel about the recent accusations coming from an Egyptian magazine (Rose El Youssef) that listed him as one of "6 Muslim Brotherhood operatives in the US government". ( I don't know if that is true or not.)  I would have also liked to ask him, as has been reported, how he could appear on a panel  in July 2011 at an Islamic Society of North America conference with Siraj Wahhaj, a man who has called America a "filthy garbage can" and called for an Islamic takeover of the US.  I suppose he would have handled the questions adroitly stating on the record that he has no connections whatsoever to the Muslim Brotherhood. How could someone who is involved in interfaith programs and who spoke so eloquently support a group that is sending its followers in Egypt out to burn down Christian churches? Perhaps he would have told me that he debated furiously against Wahhaj on that panel. (I don't know what was discussed.) Besides, any hostile  or critical questions would have probably resulted in my being tarred and feathered by the audience. Hell hath no fury like the peace and compassion crowd.

On a serious note, however, and I am going out on a limb here, but it seemed to me that the UCI Muslim Student Union was sparsely represented in the audience- if at all. Of course, it was hard to tell, but I didn''t see any familiar faces, and I only noticed a couple of women in the audience wearing the hijab, and one of them was rather elderly.

Ironically, it was three years ago in the very same hall that the MSU disrupted the speech of the Israeli ambassador to the US. There was no mention of that either last night.

Making It Hurt --- A Thank You Letter To Obama

Hat Tip to Patriot's Corner

This is from a single mother in Texas. I will add nothing to this and thanks to PUMAbydesign's site.

Can you feel this mother's pain and anguish? I am sure most of us can relate in some way shape or form. I know I can and so can my family.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yolanda Vestal, single mom and Texan in an effort to vent her frustration posted a letter to her Facebook page in which she called Barack Obama out on his prize legislation, Obamacare and the fact that he’s so out of touch with the suffering of Americans under his reign.

Clearly, Vestal’s letter hit has a note with tens of thousands of Americans because it has gone viral.

See Vestal’s letter below:

This ‘thank you’ letter to Barack Obama has gone viral.

Read it and share!

Dear President Obama,

I wanted to take a moment to say thank you for all you have done and are doing. You see I am a single Mom located in the very small town of Palmer,Texas. I live in a small rental house with my two children. I drive an older car that I pray daily runs just a little longer. I work at a mediocre job bringing home a much lower paycheck than you or your wife could even imagine living on. I have a lot of concerns about the new ‘Obamacare’ along with the taxes being forced on us Americans and debts your are adding to our country. I have a few questions for you Mr. President.

Have you ever struggled to pay your bills? I have.

Have you ever sat and watched your children eat and you eat what was left on their plates when they were done, because there wasn’t enough for you to eat to? I have.

Have you ever had to rob Peter to pay Paul, and it still not be enough? I have.
Have you ever been so sick that you needed to see a doctor and get medicine, but had no health insurance because it was to expensive? I have.

Have you ever had to tell your children no, when they asked for something they needed? I have.

Have you ever patched holes in pants, glued shoes, replaced zippers, because it was cheaper than buying new? I have.

Have you ever had to put an item or two back at the grocery store, because you didn’t have enough money? I have.

Have you ever cried yourself to sleep, because you had no clue how you were going to make ends meet? I have.

My questions could go on and on. I don’t believe you have a clue what Americans are actually going through and honestly, I don’t believe you care. Not everyone lives extravagantly. While your family takes expensive trips that cost more than most of us make in two-four years, there are so many of us that suffer. Yet, you are doing all you can to add to the suffering. I think you are a very selfish and cold hearted man, who does not care what is best for the people he was elected by (not by me) to represent, but more so out for the glory of your name attached to history. So thank you Mr. President, thank you for pushing those of us that are barely staying afloat completely under water and driving America into the ground. You have made your mark in history, as the absolute worst and most hated president of the United States. God have mercy on your soul!

Sincerely,
Yolanda Vestal
Average American

I have been where Yolanda is. It isn't easy to live through. It isn't a good place. But with our current President and his wife, it hurts worse every time you see Barack Hussein Obama on the golf course or Michelle Obama talking about her lobster dinner.  They are so Out of Touch, so Clueless to what the average American lives with, it is no longer funny.

I wonder how many more Yolandas are out there and how many voted for Obama twice?

Wednesday's Hero

This post was suggested by Cat



Capt. Glenn Black
From Idana, Kansas



From his Silver Star citation: For gallantry in action while participating in aerial flight in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations as pilot and flight leader of a B-25 type aircraft. On 22 June 1944, Lieutenant Black led a flight on a mission against shipping and harbor installations at Leghorn, Italy. On the bomb run intense, accurate anti-aircraft fire was encountered by the formation, holing many aircraft, as a result of the heavy defenses, Lieutenant Black sustained a shattered right arm, his co-pilot was painfully injured in the hip, one engine and the hydraulic lines were shot out and gasoline flooded the ship due to a direct hit on the gas tank. Despite his severe and painful wounds, Lieutenant Black, with the aid of his co-pilot, held the plane on course in to the target, enabling his bombardier to drop his bombs on their objective. By the time a friendly field was reached, the effects of the co-pilots hip wound seriously compromised the strength of his legs and, although almost at the point of complete exhaustion from the loss of blood, Lieutenant Black manipulated the rudders while his co-pilot handled the other controls, still at Lieutenant Black's directions. In spite of the feathered propeller, and without flaps or wheels down, a successful crash-landing was completed. By his great determination and outstanding heroism, Lieutenant Black has reflected the highest credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of the United States.

You can read more about Capt. Black 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.

MPAC Conference in Los Angeles Nov 2, 2013

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

Hat tip Annaqed


On November 2, the Muslim Public Affairs Council held a meeting on the topic of  extremism at the Islamic Center of Southern California in Los Angeles. About 50 people attended. Below is a report complied by Chris Chrisman, who attended the event. I will let the report speak for itself, but what was notable was the criticism of the Saudi and Wahhabist  influence. Keep in mind that Chrisman, whom I personally know,  is an expert on Islam and not one to be duped.

The official release of MPAC's statement has yet to appear on their website.

http://www.annaqed.com/en/content/show.aspx?aid=16500

List of speakers

Dr. Saleh Kholaki – dentist and officer of ICSC in various capacities for over 25 years

Haris Tarin – director of MPAC Washington, D.C., office

Asim Buyuksoy – current director of religious affairs at ICSC, candidate for masters degree in Islamic studies at Claremont University

Dr. Mahmoud Abdel-Baset --   chemist and officer of ICSC in various capacities for over 25 years

Ahmed Younis, JD – adjunct assistant professor and PhD candidate at the College of Educational Studies at Chapman University.  Named as one of the world’s 500 most influential Muslims in 2009, 2010, and 2011

Dr. Gasser Hathout – Professor of Medicine at UCLA Medical School.   Active in the Southern California Muslim community for 35 years

Dr. Khalid Abou El Fadl – Professor of Islamic Law at UCLA School of Law.  One of the world’s leading authorities on Islamic law and Islam.

Steve Emerson Interview on Fox News

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


Hat tip Creeping Sharia


Below is an interview of Steve Emerson of the Investigative Project on Terrorism by Fox News in connection with his film, "The Grand Deception." This video is worth a look.


http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/2013/11/04/documentary-highlights-dangers-of-muslim-brotherhood-in-america-video/

Did you note the clip of Siraj Wahhaj?  "America is a garbage can".

Wahhaj, along with Amir Abdel Malik Ali, was an invited speaker of the Islamic Circle of North America in 2011 in Yorba Linda, California, an event that drew a protest, which in itself (the protest) , drew condemnation from groups like CAIR. Wonder why folks protested?

He also sat on a panel with Eboo Patel, President Obama's advisor on faith based partnerships, in July 2011 at a joint Islamic Society of North America-Muslim Students Association conference.

Why would a man who advises the president on faith-based partnerships participate in a panel with Siraj Wahhaj? (Eboo will be speaking at UC Irvine tomorrow evening.)

In addition, the Muslim Brotherhood document shown by Emerson is the same one I confronted MB spokesman Ibrahim el Hudaiby with in 2008 when he spoke at UC Irvine. He denied knowledge of it and called it a forgery. Yet, it was introduced as a government exhibit in the 2007 Holy Land Foundation trial in Dallas.

Emerson also referred to quashed investigations into the MB's finances in America. Most likely, he was principally referring to reported superseding indictments planned by the same US Attorney's office in Dallas that (successfully) prosecuted the Holy Land Foundation.

Emerson is right. The Muslim Brotherhood, in spite of its denials (ex. El Hudaiby) does have its tentacles in America. Even within the current administration

Who Or What Caused The Explosion At Iran's Arak Heavy Water Plant?

Last week an explosion rocked the heavy water plant being built in Arak, Iran.  It is not known whether it set back the Iranian Nuclear Program back a while or if it was just another hiccup to that program.  Nor is it known whether it was sabotage or just an industrial accident.  But it did happen.

From Debka:

Tehran did its utmost to conceal the mystery blast which last week struck the heavy water reactor under construction at Arak in western Iran. It is revealed here for the first time by debkafile’s intelligence and Iranian sources. The explosion, whether accidental or not, will delay for a second time the reactor’s first test with real fuel. Tehran informed the International Atomic Energy Agency in August of a previous holdup.

The cause of the blast and the extent of the damage it caused have not yet been established. According to the partial information initially reaching our sources, it occurred inside the reactor building when preparations were underway for a test scheduled for this month with artificial fuel and light water. The site of the explosion may have been the large coolant containers and the pressure gauges attached to the reactor’s core.

Iranian Atomic Council experts and intelligence agents are testing four possible causes of the explosion:

1. Sabotage.
2. A virus planted in the computers that control the systems administering the test.
3. An error in engineering calculations in the design of the coolant containers which underestimated their strength for standing up to the required level of pressure.
4. The deliberate sale to Iran of inferior steel materials that were not strong enough to withstand such pressure.

Last August, Iran informed the nuclear watchdog that the test with real fuel would be the final one before the reactor entered its running-in stage. The damage caused by the explosion will have postponed that stage indefinitely.

The Arak reactor, known as IR-40 and designed for a capacity of 40 megawatt, is the cause of deep concern in Israel because it is capable of producing plutonium for use in nuclear bombs as an alternative to enriched uranium.

It has been known that there are men and women in Iran who disagree with Iran's nuclear program and have sabotaged it before.  Acts that have cost them dearly.  And it is known that in their rush to build their program they have used inferior materials in the buildings.  One good earthquake and they will crash to the ground.  And in the past computer viruses like Stuxnet have caused great harm to the Iranian program.

Any of the above scenarios could be the reason for this explosion.  Just was it big enough to stop the Iranians from getting a nuclear weapon soon?

A Reminder!

Tonight turn back your clocks at 2 am and change the batteries in your smoke alarms.  You will get an extra hour to sleep and peace of mind that your family is safe from fire.

Solar Eclipse

Early Sunday morning, Nov. 3rd, sky watchers along the east coast of North America might notice something missing--a piece of the sun. A partial solar eclipse will be underway at sunrise. In the United States, visibility stretches all the way from Maine to the southern tip of Florida. Later, the Moon will cover the entire sun producing a total eclipse over parts of the Atlantic Ocean and Africa.

  Early Sunday morning, sky watchers along the east coast of North America might notice something missing--a piece of the sun. A partial eclipse will be underway at sunrise. Dawn will look something like this:

As much as 54% of the sun will be covered by the New Moon; the size of the bite depends on location. To see it, look east between about 6:30 am and 7 am EST. Although low-hanging clouds might dim the sun to naked-eye visibility, safe solar filters are strongly recommended. Aluminized Mylar and #14 welder's glass are popular choices. Also, don't forget that Daylight Time changes to Standard Time at 2 am on Nov. 3rd. Set your clocks back one hour before the eclipse begins!

Sunrise is just the beginning. Next, the eclipse races across the Atlantic toward Africa where coverage reaches 100%. Inside a narrow path of totality, sky watchers can see the sun's ghostly corona spring out from behind the Moon. The dark core of the Moon's shadow will touch parts of several African nations including Gabon, the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia. In those places, totality can be seen. Meanwhile, a partial eclipse will be visible across the entire continent.  You can view the visibility map here.

You can find out more about the upcoming Solar Eclipse at SpaceWeather.

Open Mosque Day in Southern California

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


This past Sunday was proclaimed Open Mosque Day in Southern California by the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California. Several mosques were open to the public for tours and presentations. A friend sent me this composite report from multiple persons who visited multiple mosques.

OPEN MOSQUE DAY -- MUSLIMS SERVE UP TEA AND TAQIYAH

Sunday, October 27, was Open Mosque Day at twenty-two Mosques and Islamic Centers in Southern California. An invitation communique from the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California assured non-Muslims that “Muslims are happy to answer questions about their religion.”   Based on reports from those who visited the mosques, their hosts were very cordial.  The visitors were provided with refreshments, guided tours, and even question and answer sessions about the mosque and Islam in general. However the answers to ideological questions left more than a few visitors disappointed, and they felt their intelligence was insulted by the evasive answers.  Taqiyah – the art of deception to hide the shameful truth about Islam -- was on full display.

For those unfamiliar with this term, the Quranic reference to taqiyah is Surah 3:28:  ‘’Let believers not make friends with infidels in preference to the faithful – he that does has nothing to hope for from Allah – except in self-defense.”  The Arabic word for self-defense here is tuqah which means to guard against.  In Reliance of the Traveler, section r8.2 on Permissible Lying , it says, “When it is possible to achieve such an aim (as advancing Islam) by lying but not by telling the truth, it is permissible to lie if attaining the goal is permissible, and obligatory to lie if the goal is obligatory.  . . . But it is religiously more precautionary in all such cases to employ words that give a misleading impression, meaning to intend by one’s words something that is literally true, in respect to which one is not lying, while the outward purport of the words deceives the hearer . . . .”

As we will see below, the hosts at the mosques could not defend their ideology by telling the truth, so they resorted to lying.

The mosquing of America is proceeding at a rapid pace, underwritten by oil-rich countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The number of mosques and Islamic Centers almost doubled from 1,209 in 2000 to 2,106 in 2011, most of this increase occurring after Islamic terror attack on 9/11/01.   It is estimated that 80% of the new establishments  are sponsored (and guided) by the Wahhabi sect in Saudi Arabia, with their U.S.-based Muslim Brotherhood affiliates operating as the front-men for the projects.  (See Chapter 8 of “The Brotherhood, America’s Next Great Enemy” by Erick Stakelbeck .)  In 1995, Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, boasted at an Islamic conference in Ohio, “We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America, not through the sword but through dawah [proselytizing].”  He has since been banned from entering the U.S.

But dawah and taqiyah seem to work only among the uninformed. Sooner or later, however, the converts to Islam will read the actual sacred texts of Islam and realize that the sweet words and deceptive answers to questions about Islam are not true.  It is reported that 75% of the converts to Islam leave the faith within a few years. (See:  http://somalifreethinkers.blogspot.com/2010/09/why-muslims-are-leaving-islam.html )   Muslims themselves acknowledge that over 6 million Muslims leave Islam every year.  Truth has a way of catching up with falsehood.

In view of the prevalent deception during Open Mosque Day, it is important to pay close attention to the answers given to the ideological issues that are of most concern to non-Muslims.  The following is a compilation of the issues discussed at various mosques along with the truth found in the recognized sacred Islamic texts.

1. Ritual demeaning of Jews and Christians by Muslims --  It is well-known that Muslims pray five times a day, but fewer people realize that within those prayers Muslim are required to recite Surah 1 of the Quran (Al-Fatihah) at least seventeen times a day.  (See Reliance of the Traveler, sections f8.17 and f10.2 and http://www.askimam.org/public/question_detail/21811 .)  Surah 1 contains the passage asking Allah to guide Muslims to the straight path, “not of those who have incurred Your wrath nor of those who have gone astray.”   Muhammad himself confirmed that the people referred to in the passage are the Jews and the Christians (See Bukhari, Vol. 1, Book 12, Number 749)  Further confirmation of the demeaning of Jews and Christians in Al-Fatihah is provided in Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Vol. 1, page 87, and in Tafsir Al-Jalalayn, page 2.
When asked about this verse, the imam of the Islamic Society of Orange County, Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi, responded that you cannot take one verse alone to make a point about Islam because that verse may take things out of context. He added that the demeaning of Jews and Christians occurred only during a certain period of time when Muslims were fighting Jews and Christians   (If that is so, why do Muslims continue to pray their anti-Jewish and anti-Christian prayer seventeen times a day some 1400 years later?)  The Imam of the Lomita mosque acknowledged that the interpretation was true, but he said he was “not comfortable” with that interpretation.  (Sure, when Jews and Christians are asking, it would be difficult to be comfortable about a sacred text in the Quran demeaning them!)

Another verse in the Quran that demeans Jews and Christians is Surah 5:51: “Believers, take neither Jews nor Christians for your friends.”  The same prohibition is reflected in Surahs 3:28, 3:118, and 9:23. Responding to this command, the imam of the Lomita mosque said that a lot of his friends were Jews and Christians and that Muslims respect all religions.  To prove  his point he called up some middle school students who parroted the same mantra.

Another offensive text in the Quran is found in Surahs 5:59 and 5:60 that says most Jews (People of the Book) are evil-doers and that Allah transformed them in to apes and swine and those that serve the devil.  The only response to this that could blurted out was that the quotation was “taken out of context.”  That phrase was repeated quite often during Open Mosque Day.  

2. Worldwide violence against Christians -- The Quran instructs Muslims in Surah 8:60, “Muster against [the unbelievers] all the men and cavalry at your command, so that you may strike terror into the enemy of Allah and your enemy, and others besides them who are unknown to you but known to Allah.”  The first part of this verse is also the motto of the Muslim Brotherhood, written in Arabic on their logo. During September and October of this year alone, there were over 800 Christian casualties at the hands of Muslims,  including Kenya (249, mostly Christian), Nigeria (240), Pakistan (196), Syria (82), and Iraq (23).  The Islamic terrorists in the Kenya shopping center attack in September quizzed their captives on the Shahada and other Islamic trivia questions to determine who they would spare and who they would murder.

When asked about this lethal persecution of Christians, Dr. Siddiqi of the Islamic Society of Orange County blamed the violence on old tribal customs in geographically isolated countries, not Islam.  The  Imam of the Lomita mosque said that Americans are not getting the real news. The Imam of the Anaheim mosque blamed Latinos for 42% of the terrorism in the U.S., and he said Muslims account for only 6%, but he didn’t cite his source.    Obviously, if the data sample goes back far enough in time, one could probably produce data that shows that most of the terror attacks in the U.S. were perpetrated by Native Americans (aka Indians).  Here is an article showing the ominous present-day trend of Islamic terror attacks around the world:
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/10/28/terrorist-attacks-and-deaths-hit-record-high-report-shows/

When asked about 9/11 the Imam of the Lomita mosque said that “we Muslims suffered the most. We were scared to go to work or school.”   (That “suffering” is compared with the violent deaths of three thousand innocent victims!)  The same Imam also asserted that many of the terrorists don’t even go to mosques and don’t have a connection with Islam.  He acknowledged that those doing the work of Allah would go to heaven, but “we may not agree with their methods.”  (Perhaps he should read the Quran-laced final instructions of Muhammad Atta to his fellow 9/11 hijackers. Atta was more versed in the Quran than most Muslims.  (See:  http://www.islamreform.net/new-page-108.htm )

3. Perverted definitions of good and evil -- Islamic Sharia Law is based on a concept that good and evil cannot be determined by the use of reason.  Instead, it is based solely on what Muhammad (and Allah) determined was good or evil.  (Reliance of the Traveler, Section a1.4)  The Quran states in Surah 33:21 that Muhammad is the “good example” for Muslims to follow, even though many of his acts would be criminal offenses in most civilized countries today.  This is why Muslim countries rejected the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and adopted their own Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam in 1990. It states in Article 24, “All the rights and freedoms stipulated in this Declaration are subject to the Islamic Sharia.”

So when the Open Mosque Day hosts at the King Fahd Mosque in Culver City were confronted with some clearly evil acts perpetrated by Muslims, they could not respond with appropriate outrage.  Here are just a few of the situations they dodged:

· Muslim destruction of churches and temples – Host: That is taken out of context. The Prophet made sure churches and temples were not destroyed.  (Actually, Muhammad expelled all three Jewish tribes from Medina, finally beheading 600-900 Jews in the market square of Medina.  See Ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad, para. 690.)

· Muslim targeting Christians in Syria – Host: Bad things happen on both sides in time of war.

· Wife beating per Surah 4:34 – Host: That is taken out of context. The Prophet never beat any of his wives. (Ayisha claimed that Muhammad struck her and caused her pain in the reliable Sahih Muslim hadith, Book 004, Number 2127.)

· The Muslims’ silence about acts of jihad – Host: Most Muslims are busy working and raising families and don’t get involved with speaking out.  (Actually, Sharia Law says it is unlawful for a Muslim to criticize the acts of other Muslim. See R of T, Section r2.8 and r20.2.)

· The fact that the Muslim Student Association recites the Muslim Brotherhood creed that says “Jihad is our Way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope.” – Host:  I’ll put you in touch with the president of the MSA West.

What is more tragic is that the King Fahd mosque is shielding its own congregation from the unsavory truths about Muhammad despite the Quran’s endorsement of Muhammad as the “good example.” Here is one visitor’s story in her own words:

After the men went away, a very friendly young girl with a hijab came to me and I was talking with her.  She was from Saudi Arabia and her parents dropped her off at the mosque for Quran study.  She was 9 years old. . . I then said to her did you learn about your prophet? She said she was learning some.  Then I told her did you know that he married a 9 year old girl, just like you? Her jaw dropped and she was astounded.  I told her that he was “engaged” to her when she was 6 and then he married her and was over 50.  I also told her it was his favorite wife, Ayisha.  She was stunned.  (See the reliable Bukhari hadith Volume 5, Book 58, Number 234)

4. Inequality of women --  Women are definitely in an inferior position based on the Quran and reliable hadith.  Surah 4:34 says that Allah has made men superior to women.  The testimony of two women is equivalent to one man (Surah 2:282).  Women inherit one-half of their male counterparts. (Surah 4:11) A reliable hadith has Muhammad asserting that women are deficient in intelligence and religion (See Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 6, Number 301.)

So it was almost laughable when a Muslim woman at the Anaheim Mosque claimed that it wasn’t until Muhammad appeared on the scene that women actually became respected on earth.  When the imam was questioned about the requirement of four male witnesses to lead to a rape conviction (per perversions of Surahs 4:15 and 24:14), the imam suddenly said he had to leave.

5. Hijab as rejection of Western customs -- Many of the visitors to Southern California mosques noted that the Muslim women all wore hijabs.  While “liberated” Muslims insist that there is no Islamic requirement to wear hijabs or niqabs, there is increased pressure on women by their mosque leaders to wear them to signal their rejection of Western customs.  Sharia Law (Reliance of the Traveler, Section w23.1) says a woman is naked (‘awra) if any part of her body is exposed in public, except perhaps her hands and face.  However, the Quran (Surah 24:31) only requires women to be modest in their appearance.

When a woman who was selling hijabs one of the mosques was asked why she wore a hijab, she replied that the Quran says women must wear it.  Calling her bluff, a visitor handed her a Quran and asked her to show him the specific verse.  She could not.

6. Corruption of United States history – The first war entered into by the United States was against the Barbary Pirates in North Africa. After winning independence from the British, the U.S. was no longer protected by the treaties (and tribute) negotiated by Great Britain.  The Barbary Pirates began attacking American ships and enslaving the crew and passengers. When the American ambassador to Europe at the time,  Thomas Jefferson, protested to the Dey of Algers, he was told, “…that it was founded on the Laws of their Prophet, that it was written in their Koran, that all nations who should not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as Prisoners, and that every Musselman (Muslim) who should be slain in Battle was sure to go to Paradise.”  At one time the United States was spending 20 percent of its national budget paying tribute (extortion) to the Barbary Pirates.

So it was a bit disturbing that the State College Mosque of Omar Al-Farouk in Anaheim featured a display titled “The Quran’s Place in American History” which asserted that 1) there was no hostility between Muslims and Americans in the early American history, and 2) that both Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson read the Quran.  (The truth is that both Adams and Jefferson had copies of George Sale’s 1734 English translation of the Quran which included the following assertions: 1) the Quran is a manifest forgery; 2) Muhammad owed his progress and establishment almost entirely to the sword; 3) Muhammad was really the author and chief contriver of the Quran; 4) Muhammad told a woman that no old woman would enter paradise, and 5) the pilgrimage to Mecca was so filled with silly and insignificant things that Muhammad found he could abolish idolatry much more easily that he could eradicate the superstitious bigotry to which Muslims were addicted at that temple. Congressman Keith Ellison should be ashamed that he swore his oath of office on Jefferson’s Quran.)  

7. Mosque-planting for worship or for establishing enclaves?  -- It is apparent from the mosques that were visited that the local Muslims had little to do with the financing of the mosques or even deciding on their location.  Generally, many of the new mosques in the U.S. are not in areas where there are large numbers of Muslims.  Examples include Culver City (CA), Lomita (CA), Murfreesboro (TN), and Sheepshead Bay (NY).  Erick Stakelbeck, in “The Brotherhood,” suggests that there is a sinister strategy at play:  By locating a mosque away from where the Muslims actually live, it makes the mosque a commuter destination, and the resulting traffic and congestion drives out the non-Muslims from the community.  Then the Muslims can buy housing at depressed prices and create a Muslim enclave near the mosque.
Related to this political strategy is a telling statement by the Muslim Brotherhood in their 1991 Explanatory Memorandum outlining their long-range strategic plans for the United States:

 Understanding the role and the nature of work of the “The Islamic Center” in every city with what achieves the goal of the process of settlement:

. . . Thus, the Islamic center would turn into a place for study, family, battalion [for launching jihad?], course, seminar, visit, sport, school, social club, women gathering, kindergarten, office of the domestic political resolution [i.e., enforcing Sharia law], and the center for distributing our newspapers, magazines, books and our audio and visual tapes.

Note that nowhere in that statement is the idea of worship even mentioned. Several mosque observers at this year’s Open Mosque Day noted that the prayer demonstrations seemed to be perfunctory; “rushed and dull,” as one observer put it.

7.  Literature advocating violence in mosque libraries and bookstores --   Some of the books found at the mosques included works by Syed Qutb, Sayyid Mawdudi, and Bilal Phillips.  Examples of their teaching:
Qutb: “The true basis of the Islamic approach . . . moves forward to liberate mankind from servitude to other human beings, so that they can worship Allah alone. Its aim is to destroy tyrannical forces and regimes which force people to submit to a rule different from that of Allah, and apply a law other than His own. . . From the Islamic point of view, jihad has its own justification, derived from its own system.”  (In the Shade of the Quran, Vol. VII, page 25-28)

Mawdudi: “Anyone who wants to uproot mischief and disorder from this world and wants to reform
mankind should realize that he cannot do so by mere sermonizing and counseling. It is useless. He should rise against the government of false principles; he should seize power, remove the wrongdoers from the seat of authority and set up a government based on sound principles and just administration [i.e., Sharia law].” (The Essence of Jihad, Page 10-11)

The Saudi-paid imam of the King Fahd Mosque in Culver City, Fahad al Thumairy, was expelled from the United States in 2003 for his support of terrorists in the 2001 attack on New York City and Washington, D.C.  At the Open Mosque event, the hosts at the King Fahd mosque announced that they are now expecting a new Imam from Saudi Arabia in February. (Good luck with that!)  Earlier in October of this year, a new convert to Islam from Southern California, Hasan Abu Omar Ghannoum (aka Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen), was arrested as he boarded a bus bound for a likely jihad engagement overseas.  No local mosque is willing to claim credit for his conversion or his radicalization.

Move Out The Chaplains, Move In The Counselors.

Hat Tip to the Right Truth

No this is not a Halloween prank.  It is a systematic plan to remove G-d from every facet of the military.  No longer will cadets be taking their honor oath in the name of G-d.  It is optional.  Christians are considered terrorists.  And now the Navy is doing away with Chaplains.  They are replacing them with licensed practical counselors.

For years, the Navy Chaplain Corps has undergone little scrutiny or evaluation of its capabilities or effectiveness. Once examined, it becomes clear that the Chaplain Corps is expensive and provides a redundant religious capability, and its members are routinely employed beyond their capabilities. Therefore, the Department of the Navy (DoN) should begin phasing out active duty chaplains, replace them with licensed professional counselors (LPCs), and utilize the Reserve Chaplain Corps for duty exclusively in combat-designated areas.

Read the full article here.

When a person is troubling and needs advice he or she doesn't turn to a LPC, they turn to G-d.  Will they prevent religious services on bases?  And if allowed, who will lead them?  Is this only Christian chaplains or are other faiths included in this?  I wonder if this will apply to Muslim Imams?  Or are they the privileged faith?

I doubt any LPC would have the courage or fortitude of spirit to sacrifice themselves the way Alexander D. Goode, George L Fox, Clark V Poling and John P Washington did on that horrible night on Feb 3, 1943 on the USAT Dorchester.

4 men of G-d who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their fellow man.

BOO!

The scariest kitty I could find!

Happy Halloween!

Computer Problems

Posting will be very light until I can either fix my computer or get a new one. I apologize in advanced. If you can a small donation to the Monkey in the Middle Fund will help immensely.

Any amount will help!

Thank you;

Findalis

Release Prisioners And Demand The Moon!

That is the cry from Abu Mazen Mahmoud Abbas now that Israel has released 26 more murderers in order to get the Fakistinians to come to the negotiating table.  In fact, they aren't negotiating, they are just demanding more and more.  Barack Hussein Obama and John Kerry is demanding that Israel give them everything they demand.

From Debka:

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu lamented Monday, Oct. 28 that the release Tuesday night of 26 jailed Palestinians serving life sentences for murdering Israelis, the cause of widespread popular ire, was “one of the hardest decisions” he has ever made. But he faces much harder decisions from the list of tough demands, debkafile's sources report were presented Israel by the Palestinians in ongoing US-sponsored negotiations, The prime minister has not made them known to the Israeli public. The new Palestinian terms are so harsh as to surely defy even US Secretary of State John Kerry’s skills in bridging differences.

The prime minister also kept mum about his offer to the Palestinians of financial compensation for land remaining under Israeli control – the first time any Israeli leader has put a price tag on disputed territory.

The 16 Palestinian demands, which debkafile reveals exclusively for the first time below, make the release of convicted Palestinian murderers a dangerous exercise in futility, because each demand is enough to drive the negotiations into impasse, just as Mahmoud Abbas did two years ago.

After seeing the Palestinian list, Netanyahu should have put the release of prisoners on hold until Abbas comes around to a rational perception of the negotiations as a give-and-take process for the object of reaching an agreement – not an opportunity for outrageous extortion.

Israel’s senior negotiator Justice Minister Tzipi Livni tried arguing that the Palestinians were just making an opening bid and they expected it to be driven down in the bargaining process. However, negotiations have been going on for three months and the process is into the fourth month of the nine-month period assigned up to deadline.

Mahmoud Abbas, rather than seeking common ground, has used the time to raise his price for a deal to an exorbitant level, while keeping his hand firmly on the terrorist spigot.

It is a matter of record that a large proportion of jailed terrorists have reverted to violence after they walked in the past through the exits of Israeli jails.

First published list of Palestinian demands:

The United States and Israel must acknowledge that the Palestinian state is

“under occupation.” (This is the Palestinian response to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s demand to recognize Israel as the Jews’ national state.)

Israeli must repeal legislation extending Israeli law to East Jerusalem

The Palestinians will have full sovereignty over their air space. (This will bar Israeli air force flights over Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip).

The Palestinians will have exclusive control of all border crossings to neighboring nations. i.e. Israel and Jordan.

Israel’s withdrawal to the pre-1967 boundaries is not enough. Its pull-back must go all the way to the 1949 armistice lines, additionally annexing to the Palestinian state broad strips of Israeli land that were demilitarized at that time. Among the areas which the Palestinians want to lay hands on are the Ayalon Valley, the Latrun enclave and the Armon Hantatiz district of Jerusalem between the Old City and West Jerusalem; the Huleh Lake Valley; the Golan slopes running down to the Sea of Galilee; and the Nitzana belt north of the Gaza Strip – plus one third of Dead Sea water and shore.

( The Palestinians hope to grab substantial Israeli territory beyond the pre-1967 borders by invoking the long moribund 1949 accords.)

Electromagnetic space (radio frequencies, satellite and other communications) will be under sole Palestinian control

The Palestinians are ready to relinquish 1.9 percent of West Bank territory.

All parts of East Jerusalem including the shrines sacred to Muslims, Christians and Jews will come under sole Palestinian authority against a pledge of freedom of worship.

Israel and its armed forces will draw back from the Palestinian state over a three-year period. Six months after the draw down is complete, the Palestinians will be willing to sign final peace treaties with the State of Israel

The US and Israel must accept the settlement of the Palestinian refugee problem as “a just and agreed solution.”

Every Palestinian refugee (as per the Palestinian Authority’s definition of up to the fourth generation) will be free to choose between three options: settlement in Israel or the Palestinian state or staying at their present locations.

Whichever option is chosen, the refugees will be entitled to appropriate restitution.

Only when the refugee issue is finally resolved will the Palestinians agree to declare their dispute with Israel at an end

An international mechanism will be tasked with administering the disposition of the Palestinian refugees and their resettlement. It will be composed of Palestinian, Israeli, American, European, Canadian, Australian, Japanese and Arab League representatives

The Palestinian state will be authorized to sign treaties including military pacts without the intervention of a third party, such as Israel.

All parts of the Palestinian state will be clear of Israeli civilian and military presence.

My advice to Bibi Netanyahu is to immediately cease all negotiations with this idiot, tell Obama to shove off and annex every inch of Judea and Samaria.  An ultimatum to the Fakistinians giving them 1 hour to get their sorry asses off of Jewish land before they are wiped off the face of the Earth would also be in order.  Anything less is capitulation and will lead to the genocide of every Jewish person living in Israel.  A concept that Barack Hussein Obama is not only working towards, but eagerly planning.

Wednesday's Hero

This post was suggested by Michael



Cmdr. George S. Rentz
59 years old from Lebanon, Pennsylvania
Commander USS Houston (CA-30)
July 25, 1882 - March 1, 1942



A Navy chaplain who served during World War I and World War II, Cmdr. George Rentz was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for selfless heroism following the loss of the USS Houston (CA-30) in the Battle of Sunda Strait becoming the only Navy Chaplain to be so honored during the war.

You can read more 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.

Whatever Happened to, "If You Like Your Plan, You Can Keep It"?

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


No matter how we reform healthcare, we will keep this promise to the American people: If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period. If you like your healthcare plan, you'll be able to keep your healthcare plan, period. No one will take it away, no matter what."
-President Obama, June 2009


That was the promise President Obama unequivocally made to all of us. It appears it was a lie. Now, as people are losing their health insurance, White House spokesman Jay Carney is, as usual, struggling for an explanation.

http://www.newsmax.com/newswidget/obama-millions-lost-health/2013/10/28/id/533516?promo_code=125BD-1&utm_source=125BDTelegraph_Media_Group&utm_medium=nmwidget&utm_campaign=widgetphase1

"So it's true there are existing healthcare plans on the individual market that do not meet those minimum standards and therefore do not qualify for the Affordable Care Act,"

-Jay Carney

Well, at least Jay didn't say that Obama's previous statement was "inoperative" (old Watergate joke).

Here is the lie: The IRS was saying as early as 2010 that millions of people would lose their current health care insurance.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/10/29/white-house-knew-as-early-as-2010-millions-would-lose-health-plans-under/

Yet, on June 28, 2012, Obama spoke on television from the White House and repeated his promise that those who liked their insurance would keep it. Here is a quasi-sympathetic article from Politifact (Tampa Bay Times) at the time. The important point is what Obama said after the Supreme Court ruling.

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/jun/29/barack-obama/barack-obama-says-under-his-health-care-law-those-/

To those of you who voted for Obama in spite of all the red flags and those of you who have defended Obamacare in spite of all the warnings, I have to say: If you have been hurt by Obamacare, I find it hard to have any sympathy. We warned you this would happen.

But there is hope for you yet. I am predicting that this whole mess will collapse under its own weight. Even some Democrats in Congress-those who are not driven ideologues- are beginning to understand what a disaster this is.

Liar, Liar!!!!!

For the last 4 years President Barack Hussein Obama promised the American people that if you liked your doctor, your healthcare plan;  you can keep it.


Click here if video fails to load.

Just one of numerous promises Barack Hussein Obama broke to the American people.  In fact it has now been revealed that President Obama knew all along that you could not keep your healthcare plan, your doctor, and that the costs of Healthcare will skyrocket.

President Obama repeatedly assured Americans that after the Affordable Care Act became law, people who liked their health insurance would be able to keep it. But millions of Americans are getting or are about to get cancellation letters for their health insurance under Obamacare, say experts, and the Obama administration has known that for at least three years.

Four sources deeply involved in the Affordable Care Act tell NBC NEWS that 50 to 75 percent of the 14 million consumers who buy their insurance individually can expect to receive a “cancellation” letter or the equivalent over the next year because their existing policies don’t meet the standards mandated by the new health care law. One expert predicts that number could reach as high as 80 percent. And all say that many of those forced to buy pricier new policies will experience “sticker shock.”

None of this should come as a shock to the Obama administration. The law states that policies in effect as of March 23, 2010 will be “grandfathered,” meaning consumers can keep those policies even though they don’t meet requirements of the new health care law. But the Department of Health and Human Services then wrote regulations that narrowed that provision, by saying that if any part of a policy was significantly changed since that date -- the deductible, co-pay, or benefits, for example -- the policy would not be grandfathered.

Buried in Obamacare regulations from July 2010 is an estimate that because of normal turnover in the individual insurance market, “40 to 67 percent” of customers will not be able to keep their policy. And because many policies will have been changed since the key date, “the percentage of individual market policies losing grandfather status in a given year exceeds the 40 to 67 percent range.”

That means the administration knew that more than 40 to 67 percent of those in the individual market would not be able to keep their plans, even if they liked them.

Yet President Obama, who had promised in 2009, “if you like your health plan, you will be able to keep your health plan,” was still saying in 2012, “If [you] already have health insurance, you will keep your health insurance.”

“This says that when they made the promise, they knew half the people in this market outright couldn’t keep what they had and then they wrote the rules so that others couldn’t make it either,” said Robert Laszewski, of Health Policy and Strategy Associates, a consultant who works for health industry firms. Laszewski estimates that 80 percent of those in the individual market will not be able to keep their current policies and will have to buy insurance that meets requirements of the new law, which generally requires a richer package of benefits than most policies today.

The White House does not dispute that many in the individual market will lose their current coverage, but argues they will be offered better coverage in its place, and that many will get tax subsidies that would offset any increased costs. “One of the main goals of the law is to ensure that people have insurance they can rely on – that doesn’t discriminate or charge more based on pre-existing conditions. The consumers who are getting notices are in plans that do not provide all these protections – but in the vast majority of cases, those same insurers will automatically shift their enrollees to a plan that provides new consumer protections and, for nearly half of individual market enrollees, discounts through premium tax credits,” said White House spokesperson Jessica Santillo.

Individual insurance plans with low premiums often lack basic benefits, such as prescription drug coverage, or carry high deductibles and out-of-pocket costs. The Affordable Care Act requires all companies to offer more benefits, such as mental health care, and also bars companies from denying coverage for preexisting conditions.

Today, White House spokesman Jay Carney was asked about the president’s promise that consumers would be able to keep their health care. “What the president said and what everybody said all along is that there are going to be changes brought about by the Affordable Care Act to create minimum standards of coverage, minimum services that every insurance plan has to provide,” Carney said. “So it's true that there are existing healthcare plans on the individual market that don't meet those minimum standards and therefore do not qualify for the Affordable Care Act.”

Other experts said that most consumers in the individual market will not be able to keep their policies. Nancy Thompson, senior vice president of CBIZ Benefits, which helps companies manage their employee benefits, says numbers in this market are hard to pin down, but that data from states and carriers suggests “anywhere from 50 to 75 percent” of individual policy holders will get cancellation letters. Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger, who chairs the health committee of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, says that estimate is “probably about right.” She added that a few states are asking insurance companies to cancel and replace policies, rather than just amend them, to avoid confusion.

A spokesman for America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), an insurance trade association, also said the 50 to 75 percent estimate was consistent with the range they are hearing.

Those getting the cancellation letters are often shocked and unhappy.

George Schwab, 62, of North Carolina, said he was "perfectly happy" with his plan from Blue Cross Blue Shield, which also insured his wife for a $228 monthly premium. But this past September, he was surprised to receive a letter saying his policy was no longer available. The "comparable" plan the insurance company offered him carried a $1,208 monthly premium and a $5,500 deductible.

And the best option he’s found on the exchange so far offered a 415 percent jump in premium, to $948 a month.

"The deductible is less," he said, "But the plan doesn't meet my needs. Its unaffordable."

"I'm sitting here looking at this, thinking we ought to just pay the fine and just get insurance when we're sick," Schwab added. "Everybody's worried about whether the website works or not, but that's fixable. That's just the tip of the iceberg. This stuff isn't fixable."

Heather Goldwater, 38, of South Carolina, is raising a new baby while running her own PR firm. She said she received a letter last July from Cigna, her insurance company, that said the company would no longer offer her individual plan, and promised to send a letter by October offering a comparable option. So far, she hasn't received anything.

"I'm completely overwhelmed with a six-month-old and a business,” said Goldwater. “The last thing I can do is spend hours poring over a website that isn't working, trying to wrap my head around this entire health care overhaul."

Goldwater said she supports the new law and is grateful for provisions helping folks like her with pre-existing conditions, but she worries she won’t be able to afford the new insurance, which is expected to cost more because it has more benefits. "I'm jealous of people who have really good health insurance," she said. "It's people like me who are stuck in the middle who are going to get screwed."

Richard Helgren, a Lansing, Mich., retiree, said he was “irate” when he received a letter informing him that his wife Amy's $559 a month health plan was being changed because of the law. The plan the insurer offered raised his deductible from $0 to $2,500, and the company gave him 17 days to decide.

The higher costs spooked him and his wife, who have painstakingly planned for their retirement years. "Every dollar we didn't plan for erodes our standard of living," Helgren said.

Ulltimately, though Helgren opted not to shop through the ACA exchanges, he was able to apply for a good plan with a slightly lower premium through an insurance agent.

He said he never believed President Obama’s promise that people would be able to keep their current plans.

"I heard him only about a thousand times," he said. "I didn't believe him when he said it though because there was just no way that was going to happen. They wrote the regulations so strictly that none of the old polices can grandfather."

For months, Laszewski has warned that some consumers will face sticker shock. He recently got his own notice that he and his wife cannot keep their current policy, which he described as one of the best, so-called "Cadillac" plans offered for 2013. Now, he said, the best comparable plan he found for 2014 has a smaller doctor network, larger out-of-pocket costs, and a 66 percent premium increase.

“Mr. President, I like the coverage I have," Laszweski said. "It is the best health insurance policy you can buy."

SOURCE

The government has had 3 years to put together a working website and program for this bill.  But
instead of working hard to roll this program out with few glitches, HHS decided to make this as painful and hard as possible. I can only assume that it is to then propose a Single Payer System.  A system that will ration healthcare and deny benefits.

What we are seeing is the true face of our Socialist President and his cronies.  Spend the money and damn the people.

Oliver Stone at UC Irvine

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


On October 26, motion picture producer Oliver Stone appeared at UC Irvine along with Professor Peter Kuznick of American University to promote their movie and book entitled, "The Untold History of the United States". The event was sponsored by the UCI Dept of Film and Media Studies and the UCI Humanities Collective.

After a couple of introductory remarks by UCI officials, Mr Kuznick introduced the film. (Stone had not arrived yet.) The film, narrated by Stone, lasted about an hour and basically was devoted to attacking the foreign policy of the United States. I say basically because it was a rambling film beginning with sinister images of George W Bush and Dick Cheney in the aftermath of 9-11. The idea was that Bush and Cheney used 9-11 to promote their vision of attacking several Middle Eastern countries. The film ridiculed the idea that the administration had chosen hundreds of US locales and events as possible terrorist targets like the Indianapolis 500, petting zoos, amusement parks etc. Some in the audience laughed derisively.

(No mention was made of the Boston Marathon. Apparently, Bush and Cheney overlooked that one.)

The film moved on to cover all the controversial aspects of the resultant war on terror; the Patriot Act, the invasion of Afghanistan ("even though no Afghans were among the 9-11 hijackers", completely ignoring the fact that Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda were based in that country), the Iraq war, Abu Ghraib, water-boarding, and on and on. References were made back to Vietnam to drive home the point that America is an imperialistic country- a description that was made several times during the Q and A. There were scenes of Americans torturing foreign prisoners, but the scenes came from previous motion pictures involving actors. There were also actual Abu Ghraib photographs, more graphic than previously seen by the public in that they showed full frontal nudity of the prisoners.

I also noted that Stone's skill in film making also includes the appropriate use of low volume background music. Whenever Bush and Cheney were pictured, the music was sinister in nature, but when the election of Obama was portrayed, the first images of Obama were accompanied by uplifting 4th of July-type music.

Not to say that Obama didn't come in for criticism, but  the main theme seemed that Obama continued the Bush policies so as not to be perceived as weak on defense. His campaign funding was also criticized. During the Q and A, Stone described Obama as a reasonable man, but he was concerned about how a hard-line successor like Bush or Cheney might abuse his powers (paraphrasing).

There was also much use of the National Anthem being played in the background (very low in volume) in slow motion, sad tones so as to reinforce the impression that America has lost her way and is betraying her ideals..

There were also at least three references to "neo-cons" in the movie. There was the requisite condemnation of Wall Street, the banks and the bank bailouts, as well as a reference (with sinister music) to the "infamous" Koch Bothers. (No mention of George Soros) and the Tea Party (no mention of Occupy)

I reiterate here that the movie was rambling in case you think this posting is rambling. In discussing Southeast Asia, there was a reference made to a statement by Alfred W. McCoy, who was the author of ,"The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia", a book written in 1972 that charged the CIA as being complicit in heroin trafficking in the Golden Triangle area of Burma, Thailand and Laos, as well as Vietnam through their support of corrupt anti-Communist officials and armies, who in turn had their hands in the drug traffic. There was a shot of the book cover, with a sub-title that said something like, "How the CIA was involved in the Drug Trade". I am paraphrasing. One or two words may be off, but that was the message conveyed.  Being an old DEA agent who served in Thailand a few years after the book came out, I have read the book and still have a copy on my book shelf. There is no such sub-title on the cover. True, there is much criticism in the book of the US -and the CIA-supporting corrupt people in the aforementioned countries because they were anti-Communist.

The most ridiculous shot of the movie was a shot of ex- playboy LA mayor Antonio Villaraigosa giving a speech and decrying the money spent on the military as opposed to education or some other social program.

I mean, quoting Antonio Villaraigosa??!!

The most offensive line was a statement by Stone in the narration that described "Navy Seals executing Osama bin Laden vigilante style and dumping his body into the sea".  There was also a reference to "the terror threat grown wildly out of proportion."

The film ended with Stone pleading for an America with more understanding of the positions of our enemies, surrendering the idea of American exceptualism, peace, love, etc.

Upon the completion of the film, Stone entered the hall and he and Kuznick sat at the stage to take questions. I got the first, and it went something like this: "I am a part-time teacher here at the UCI Ext and I would like to address this to Mr Stone because like you, I am a military veteran during the same time period. Unlike you, I was not sent to Vietnam, rather Germany, so I have great respect for your military service to our country. I do feel, however, that your experience has turned you against your country, and I would like to know if you ever considered that were it not for the US and particularly our military, I don't think any country in the world would be living in freedom today. If I have any message for the young people in this room it is that in spite of this one-sided presentation, all our mistakes and dark chapters in our history-and we are still making mistakes today, this is a great country and does deserve your support and loyalty." (Mild applause).

Stone's first sentence back to me was, "Obviously, Sir, we disagree." He then went on a long answer outlining his points beginning with his original belief that the Vietnam war was just when he was sent there, but how he changed his opinions after he returned. He then went on to a litany of other issues before the moderator moved on to the next question. At some point during the Q and A, he made references to former presidents who had led the country into war and who had run against war vets. The prime example he used was George McGovern, who had been a fighter pilot in World War II vs Richard Nixon, who was a "rear echelon officer making his money in the Navy playing cards". (Again I am paraphrasing.) He also mentioned George W Bush, of course, but said nothing about draft dodger Bill Clinton, who defeated George HW Bush and Bob Dole, also decorated WW II vets.

I did not videotape this event because at the start, they requested no taping. I could have made a scene and insisted on the right to tape since it was a public event at a public university, but since they announced that the school would be posting it on their website, I decided not to.

There were three or four other questions. One older vet became emotional in asking for the Veterans Administration to take more action to help homeless vets. Neither Stone nor Kuznick had much to add to that. A couple of other questions were, frankly, difficult to understand.

During the Q and A, I heard the speakers make several references to America as an imperial power. of course, they did not list any of America's colonies.

To sum up, this movie, while well-produced, is a one-sided presentation of many complex issues in our history including today's issues. While there were several criticisms of intelligence gathering that has intruded on the privacy of the American public, issues like Benghazi, Operation Fast and Furious, and the IRS scandal  were not delved into. Perhaps, that has something to do with when production on the film closed. I don't know. I attended this event because I anticipated (correctly) that it would be an exercise in America-bashing. I hoped that I would get an opportunity during the Q and A to say something positive about our country for the benefit of the students in the audience. It was about the only positive thing said about our country all evening.

But what do you expect on the campus of an American university?

Time's Up!

For Obama's appeasement of Iran's Nuclear Program.  This is the latest assessment of the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS).  An assessment that is very scary to comprehend.

Iran could produce enough weapons-grade uranium to build a nuclear bomb in as little as a month, according to a new estimate by the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), considered one of the United States’ top nuclear experts.

ISIS made the estimate in a new report published on Thursday by USA Today.

"Shortening breakout times have implications for any negotiation with Iran," stated the report. "An essential finding is that they are currently too short and shortening further."

David Albright, president of the institute and a former inspector for the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said the estimate means that Iran would have to eliminate more than half its 19,000 centrifuges to extend the time it would take to build a bomb to six months.

The Obama administration has said Iran is probably a year away from having enough enriched uranium to make a bomb. Requests for comment on the ISIS report from the National Security Council and the State Department were not answered.

In the report, Albright said negotiations with Iran should focus on so-called "breakout" times, or the time required to convert low-enriched uranium to weapons-grade, according to USA Today.

Albright, who has testified before Congress, said the negotiators should try to find ways to lengthen the breakout times and shorten the time that inspectors could detect breakout.

ISIS' analysis is based on the latest Iranian and United Nations reports on Iran's centrifuge equipment for producing nuclear fuel and its nuclear fuel stockpiles.

Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium has nearly doubled in a year's time and its number of centrifuges has expanded from 12,000 in 2012 to 19,000 today.

Senator Mark Kirk, an Illinois Republican whose Senate Banking Committee is considering legislation to tighten Iran sanctions, said the report shows that Iran is expanding its nuclear capabilities under the cover of negotiations.

"The Senate should move forward immediately with a new round of sanctions to prevent Iran from acquiring an undetectable breakout capability," he told USA Today.

The White House has said new sanctions legislation should wait while current negotiations - scheduled to resume officially in Geneva next month - are moving forward.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said his country has no interest in nuclear weapons but that producing nuclear fuel is Iran's right. His foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, has said Iran will not ship its nuclear stockpile to a third country.

Iran has refused to let international inspectors into its nuclear facilities to verify they are being used for peaceful purposes, access required under international agreements it has signed.

On Wednesday it was reported that a prominent Iranian lawmaker has claimed that Tehran does not need any more 20 percent-enriched uranium.

“Tehran reactor fuel has been supplied and currently no need is felt for production of 20 percent-enriched uranium," the lawmaker, Hossein Naqvi Hosseini, was quoted as saying.

He added that "Tehran is ready to convert its stockpile of 20 percent-enriched uranium to fuel rods and remove concerns over its non-peaceful use.”

The comments come a week after Iranian negotiators met with representatives of the so-called P5+1 - the United States, China, Russia, France, Britain and Germany.

During the two-day session in Geneva, the first round of talks between the sides since the election of Rouhani, Iran presented what it described as a breakthrough proposal that would include snap inspections of its atomic sites.

The proposal was described by the White House as "useful". White House spokesman Jay Carney said it showed a "level of seriousness and substance that we have not seen before." Western negotiators described the talks as the most detailed and serious to date.

ISIS estimated in October of 2012 that Iran could produce enough highly enriched uranium for a bomb within 2-4 months. The new estimate is based on an analysis of the latest reports by Iran and the IAEA.

ISIS considered various scenarios, including if Iran decided to build a covert enrichment plant like it has under a mountain in Fordow, near the city of Qoms, that was designed for optimal efficiency and minimal time to enrich enough uranium for bomb making.

Such a facility built with current Iranian technology could produce enough material for a bomb in a week, according to the ISIS report.

"If they did that and they were caught it would be a smoking gun of a nuclear weapons program," Albright said, according to USA Today.

ISIS has in the past produced satellite imagery which proves that Iran was making alterations to the Parchin complex, a military site that the IAEA says was possibly used to test conventional explosive triggers for a nuclear blast.

Iran has refused to give the IAEA access to sites, documents and scientists involved in what the agency suspects were efforts, mostly in the past but possibly ongoing, to develop nuclear weapons.

SOURCE

It is only a matter of time before Iran builds a bomb, tests a bomb, then sets a list of demands to the world.  When the world had a chance to stop Iran, they did nothing.  Now they will murder thousands of Jews Israelis and the world will applaud their accomplishment.

This is just another failure by the Failure President:  Barack Hussein Obama.

Soon to be seen over Tel Aviv:



Click here if video fails to load.

Apartheid State?

In an Apartheid State the rights of minorities are drastically reduced or ignored.  Just ask any Black South African who lived through that nation's apartheid period.  They had no right to vote, live where they wanted to, go to school, learn their native language, worship God how they wished, etc...

This term is applied to Israel by anti-Semites who wish to destroy the Jewish nation.  They claim that Israelis Jews are committing every crime known to mankind to the Palestinians Fakistinians.  One of the biggest ones is that non-Jews cannot rise in the ranks of the IDF.

Not true.  Just ask the Druze.  They are not only drafted the same as their Jewish counterparts, they have every right that any other citizen of Israel has.  And the IDF has proven this once again.

Col. Rassan Alian

Economics Minister Naftali Bennett, Chairman of the Bayit Yehudi faction, expressed satisfaction Thursday with the planned appointment of Col. Rassan Alian to head the Golani Brigade. Alian will be the first Druze to command the brigade.

The appointment will be formalized once Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon signs it.

"Rassan is a Druze," Bennett told his Facebook friends. "Rassan is also a brother: we went through Officers' Training Course in the same company at [the Officers Training School,] Bahad 1, we navigated and trained together, and he ran faster than I did, and I do not forgive him for that to this day."

Col. Alian fought in the Second Lebanon War as Commander of the Rotem Battalion and was wounded in the course of that war. Married and a father of one, he lives in Shefaram, in northern Israel.

Alian was commander of the Duchifat Battalion in the past, and was also Deputy Commander of the Golani Brigade, among other command positions he has been posted to.

The next commander of the Nahal Brigade will be Col. Uri Gordin, formerly commander of the elite infantry commando, Sayeret Matkal. Col. Yair Valensky will be the commander of the "Iron Tracks" tank formation, Col. Yoram Knafo will be commander of the Golan artillery formation, Col. Sasi Aka will be in charge of the Kela' David missile formation, which specializes in anti-tank warfare, and Col. Y will command the Active Defense Wing.

The IDF will also soon have its first Bedouin tank commander, Cpl. Mustafa Tabash.

The appointments of members of minorities to sensitive military positions belie the oft-stated claim, by Israel's foes, that it practices "aparheid" toward its minorities.

SOURCE

Show me where in the Arab or Muslim world that Christians, Druze, Jews, Hindus, or Buddhists not only serve in their militaries but rise to high rank and offices.  You will not find one single example. In the Middle East is a man or woman judged not by their religion, not by their tribe but by their merit.  Nor will you hear any condemnation of this appointment from the citizens of Israel either.  There will be no riots, no protests about his appointment.

Congratulations Col. Alian, Son of Grace.