How Historic Revisionism Justifies Islamic Terrorism

Raymond Ibrahim

How important, really, is history to current affairs?  Do events from the 7^th century—or, more importantly, how we understand them—have any influence on U.S. foreign policy today?
By way of answer, consider some parallels between academia’s portrayal of the historic Islamic jihads and the U.S. government’s and media’s portrayal of contemporary Islamic jihads.

While any objective appraisal of the 7^th century Muslim conquests proves that they were just that—conquests, with all the bloodshed and rapine that that entails—the historical revisionism of modern academia, especially within Arab and Islamic studies departments, has led to some portrayals of the Muslim conquerors as “freedom-fighters” trying to “liberate” the Mideast from tyrants and autocrats. (Beginning to sound familiar?)
Today’s approach to teaching the history of the Muslim conquests of the 7^th century is something as follows: Yes, the Mideast was Christian, but local Christians helped Arab Muslims invade and subjugate their countries in preference to Christian Byzantine rule, which was oppressive due to doctrinal disagreements over the nature of Christ.  Hence, the Muslim conquerors were actually “liberators.”

This perspective, as with many modern Western perspectives concerning Islam, is a product of modern day epistemic distortions, chief among them: 1) repackaged narratives of the “noble savage” myth—yes, 7^th century Muslim invaders were coarse, but had elevated ideals, including a fierce love for freedom and religious tolerance in comparison to Christians of the time (not to mention now); and 2) entrenched political correction that seeks to whitewash the true history of Islam followed by the uncritical acceptance of Islamic apologetics, some of which border on the absurd.

OC: Sebelius’s Big Day of Big Lies

Arnold Ahlert

Those Americans who watched Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’s testimony yesterday before the House Energy and Commerce Committee might be forgiven for thinking they were in an alternate universe. Despite her assertion that Americans should ”hold me accountable” for the ongoing debacle, Sebelius later claimed she was never warned by anyone that the scheduled roll out of the Healthcare.gov website would be the disaster it turned out to be. Furthermore, she stood by the assertion that the president has been “keeping his promise” with regard to the idea that Americans who liked their insurance policies could keep them. Fittingly, during the entire three and a half hours the Secretary testified, the Healthcare.gov website was down.

Sebelius’s contention that she was not warned of the problems with the website is a lie. CNN reveals they obtained a confidential report showing that while website creator CGI executives were publicly testifying about achieving milestones, they warned the administration a month before the launch that there were “a number of open risks and issues” associated with the website.

Daughters of the Jihad Death Cult

"I wanted to kill 20, 50 Jews." — Wafa Samir al-Biss, failed suicide bomber.

by
Robert Spencer

Last Monday in the Russian city of Volgograd, a 30-year-old woman from Dagestan named Naida Akhiyalova boarded a bus. Akhiyalova, a convert to Islam, soon afterward exploded a jihad-martyrdom suicide bomb vest, killing herself, murdering six other people, and injuring over 30 more. The vest, as it turned out, was a gift from Akhiyalova’s 22-year-old husband, Dmitry Sokolov, himself also a convert to Islam.

Political Rights in Palestine

"Neither customary international law nor the United Nations Charter acknowledges that every group of people [Palestinian Arabs included] claiming to be a nation has the right to a state of its own." ^[1]

31 October, 2013 | Eli E. Hertzhttp://www.mythsandfacts.org/
Update

The Mandate for Palestine, a legally binding document under international law, clearly differentiates between political rights - referring to Jewish self-determination as an emerging polity - and civil and religious rights, referring to guarantees of equal personal freedoms to non-Jewish residents as individuals and within select communities. Not once are Arabs as a people mentioned in the Mandate for Palestine. At no point in the entire document is there any granting of political rights to non-Jewish entities (i.e., Arabs). Article 2 of the Mandate for Palestine explicitly states that the Mandatory should:

Still don't get it or believe?

DHS Muslim Adviser: “United States of America Is An Islamic Country”…‏

 Islamists believe that once they have gained a foothold in a country, that country is then under the dominion of Allah; thus, we witness Muslims attempts to reclaim land throughout the globe they believe belongs to them.

Shari Goodman

Mohammed Elibiary is a Texas-based Islamic cleric who founded Lone Star Intelligence LLC, a security crisis consulting firm, and the Freedom and Justice Foundation in 2002 to “promote a centrist public-policy environment in Texas by coordinating the state-level government and interfaith community relations for the organized Texas Muslim community.”  His group successfully lobbied for the passage of Texas's Halal Food Law and the institution of Islamic prayers by imams in both chambers of the Texas State Legislature.  (See State House Proselytism).

In 2004, Elibiary spoke at a Dallas conference held in honor of the late Ayatollah Khomeini.  

The High Price of American Friendship

Jonathan S. Tobin, COMMENTARY 

As the New York Times reports today, Naftali Bennett, the head of the right-wing Habayit Hayehudi Party, is getting blasted in the Israeli media as a hypocrite for opposing the Israeli government’s decision to honor its promise to release more Palestinian terrorist murderers. Bennett happens to be a member of that government and his critics may have a point when they say that if he is as outraged about the release as he purports to be, he can always resign his Cabinet post. It is in that context that the Times and other outlets prefer to view the protests about the freeing of these killers as mere exploitation of the anguish of the families of their victims rather than an expression of genuine outrage, as it probably deserved to be understood.

"Not Remotely Acceptable"

It's infuriating when agents outside of Israel act against Israel.  But there is something uniquely distressing about damage we do to ourselves.  This is what I'm seeing now -- and feel compelled to write about.  The current situation is not only unacceptable, it's intolerable.

 

First, there is the prisoner release that took place this week.  Ostensibly, because we "promised" at the beginning of the negotiations.  It was the lure to bring the PA to the table. 

 

No one in Israeli officialdom, it seems, ever confronts the question of why the PA would need an enticement to come negotiate in order to secure the state they keep claiming they want. They should be running to talk. 

The Left's Continued Assault on the Truth About Benghazi

y ROGER ARONOFF October 30, 2013

The left-wing, George Soros-funded Media Matters has long held that the Benghazi scandal is a "phony scandal" and parroted the administration's pronouncements minimizing the scandal. Now, they have penned a book, The Benghazi Hoax, which formalizes this theory.

"The book-the first such endeavor for Media Matters, which is self-publishing it-was conceived of in the spring, as the congressional hearings on Benghazi were taking place, he [David Brock] said," according to Politico, which focused largely on the pro-Clinton aspects of the book. Brock is described in the article as the "Media Matters founder and Hillary Clinton ally," and it points out that Brock acknowledges that part-a "fraction," he claims-of their mission is "Supporting the Clintons."

"The book is the latest effort this year in what is likely to be more Clinton-centric efforts ahead of 2016." Indeed, the book mentions 2016 and Clinton several times and dismisses any attempts to tar Clinton's reputation as part of the Republican-conservative smear machine. They even cry "sexism" on behalf of Clinton.

OC: Obama's Health Care Reform Has Been A Lie From Day One

BETSY MCCAUGHEY, PHD 

Florida Blue canceled policies for 300,000 Floridians, Kaiser Permanente dropped 160,000 individual plan holders in California, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina mailed out 160,000 cancellation notices.

It's happening nearly everywhere. People were promised they could keep their health insurance plan. That was a lie. They were duped and dropped.

The liar is none other than the president of the United States. On June 15, 2009, President Obama told a town hall meeting: "No matter how we reform health care, we will keep this promise ... if you like your health care plan, you will be able to keep your health care plan. Period. No one will take it away. No matter what."
The fine print in his health law proves that he never intended to keep that promise.

Sec. 1251(a)(1) of the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) says that no one can be required to give up a plan in effect on March 23, 2010, when the law was passed. Those plans are "grandfathered." But following that guarantee is a list of costly requirements that made it difficult for insurers to keep offering your plan.
It gets worse. Union plans were "grandfathered" with none of those fine-print tricks and exceptions. Sec. 1251(d).

The law also left open the possibility that the president could impose additional requirements on grandfathered plans (except union plans). Two months after ObamaCare was passed, the IRS, Department of Labor and Department of Health and Human Services - all reporting to the president - churned out hundreds of additional rules to make it even harder for grandfathered plans to survive.

Your Opportunity is Being Transitioned

Sultan Knish

Do not panic. Everything is under control.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Transmen and Transwomen and people of uncertain gender identities, some of you may be alarmed by recent reports of malfunctioning health care websites and policy cancellations.

Do not be alarmed. We know what we are doing.

Health care plans are not being cancelled. Opportunities are being transitioned. Some people are being moved from bad health care plans to good health care plans with higher deductibles and higher premiums that will provide transmen with maternity care and people of uncertain gender identities with drug counseling and mental health treatment.

This is a good thing. Warning. This is a good thing.

You are being transitioned. Why do you resist?

Cultural psychology: How Islam managed to stay medieval for 1,400 years

Jihad Watch

While almost all other cultures changed from primitive and medieval to democratic and egalitarian societies, one culture managed to keep even its most brutal and backward traditions and values for 1,400 years until today. Still today, the majority of Muslims prefer to live by values that can be traced all the way back to the desert tribes in which the founder of their religion lived. Getting to know life in Muslim families and societies is like traveling back in time to the time of Muhammad. Here one finds shocking laws and traditions that are obviously criminal and inhumane -- but for some reason accepted -- in our otherwise humanistic culture.

Sudan: Government helping Muslim businessmen seize church property

 Jihad Watch
Yet another human rights abuse that the world "human rights" community ignores.
"Sudan Accused of Helping Muslim Businessman Seize Property from Church," from Morning Star News, October 30:

JUBA, South Sudan (Morning Star News) – After months of bulldozing or taking over church buildings on the pretext that they belong to South Sudanese who are no longer citizens of the country, authorities are aiding a Muslim businessman’s effort to take over church property in Khartoum North, sources said. 

Sudan’s police and security forces broke through the fence of Khartoum Bahri Evangelical Church this month, beat and arrested Christians in the compound and asserted parts of the property belonged to the Muslim investor accompanying them, sources said.

Connecticut: Mega mosque controversy becomes campaign issue

creeping

The cost of Muslim immigration is enormous. Nevermind the billions in security bureaucracy and inconveniences in travel of all sorts, but the constant legal and zoning jihad being waged by Muslims in every city in every state in the U.S. 
In this case, Muslims seeking a mega mosque failed to have zoning laws changed in their favor and as usual ran to Obama’s DOJ. The Muslims not only are willing to sabotage the city they live in and want to build their mosque in (ie, takeover), they get high profile New York City lawyers…pro bono. Taxpayer-funded DOJ dhimmis and pro-bono lawyers are forcing a mosque on local residents and local politicians want to rollover. Their idea of a “settlement” is to give the Muslims $100,000 cash and let them build the mosque. They couldn’t care less about the people they are supposed to represent.  

via Mosque controversy re-ignites in heat of fall campaign – Norwalk Citizen.
A Republican campaign flier circulated around West Norwalk has re-ignited controversy over a mosque proposed for Fillow Street weeks before the Nov. 5 municipal election.

Showdown Between Obama and Jewish Groups Over Iran Sanctions

Daniel Greenfield



Things are about to get interesting.

Obama is dumping Iran sanctions as his new crush on Iran’s new puppet grows. Meanwhile the Senate will consider sanctions on Iran. And Jewish groups have backed sanctions.

So the incredible diplomatic skills of Susan Rice and Ben Rhodes were deployed to convince Jewish groups to LEAVE IRAN ALONE. But it doesn’t seem to have worked.

White House national security advisor Susan Rice, her deputies Ben Rhodes and Tony Blinken and Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman met with the leaders of four major American Jewish organizations on Tuesday afternoon in an effort to dissuade them from lobbying the Senate towards passing harsh new sanctions against Iran, just as bilateral negotiations have resumed between the two nations.
The White House meeting witnessed forceful exchanges between the two sides on the merits of the sanctions package, sources tell The Jerusalem Post.

Poll: Most Israelis reject Jordan Valley withdrawal by IDF

By BENJI ROSEN

74% of Israeli Jews are against having international forces in the Jordan Valley, rather than the IDF, according to poll.

Sixty-three percent of Israelis oppose Israel withdrawing from the Jordan Valley, even if international forces take on responsibility for Israel’s security along the West Bank, a recent poll revealed.

The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA) commissioned the poll from Mina Tzemach, the noted pollster who is with Midgam. She surveyed 588 Israelis.

 

JCPA president Dore Gold, a former adviser to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, said his organization had sponsored the poll in response to various press reports on the subject.

Russia's New Jet Fighter

The fifth prototype of the Sukhoi T-50, a multi-role fifth generation aircraft with stealth technologies and nanotechnology-based developments which will be the core of Russia's future fleet of fighters, underwent a successful test flight

Ami Rojkes Dombe

(The Sukhoi T-50 Photo: Wikipedia/Alex Beltyukov)

 

Flight cadets and reserve fighter pilots should probably learn about the Sukhoi T-50 closely, as it will likely be flown by pilots of Arabian states across the skies of the Middle East in the not-too-distant future. As Russia's future fighter, it is intended to compete with the US F-35, and countries that the US is not fond of will stand in line at the gates of Sukhoi's factories. And yes, the T-50 is expected to be a stealth fighter.

Honor Killing Ads Are Honor-Killed‏

 

“Dishonourable ads pulled” Edmonton Sun

“ETS pulls controversial ‘Honour Killings’ advertisements CBC

“Controversial ads on Edmonton Transit Service buses will be removed” CTV News

“ETS removing ‘racist’ honour-killing ad” Edmonton Journal

 

Now helping Muslim girls is “racist”: Edmonton Transit has caved in to Islamic supremacist demands and taken down our AFDI bus ads offering help to Muslim girls living in fear of honor killing.
 

The enemedia is calling our ads “dishonorable” and, above all, “controversial.” It’s “dishonorable” and “controversial” to save lives? Under the Sharia it is. And so in Edmonton, Muslim Councillor Amarjeet Sohi ordered officials to take down the signs, immediately.

Yet vicious blood libels against Israel are OK, and are running on transit systems across Canada.

Apparently Muslims complained about our ads. Why?

The Daily TIP: Experts, diplomats: Impose more sanctions on Iran to strengthen the West's hand‏

Experts, diplomats: Impose more sanctions on Iran to strengthen the West's hand In latest regime walk-back, Iran nuke chief denies rumored concession on enrichment Egypt arrest sweep nets last top Muslim Brotherhood figure Israeli Air Force preps first hosted trilateral air exercise, shrugging off Turkish attempts at military isolation What we’re watching today:

Ami Ayalon, a mistaken "Gatekeeper"

Nurit Greenger

Gatekeeper means, doorkeeper, caretaker, a person who has the ability to protect a gate, another person, or a country.

Mistaken means, erroneous and misguided.

The subject

Maj. General (Ret.) Amihai "Ami" Ayalon, whom I heard speaking in front of audience this week, is a feisty man. He is one of the recipients of Israel's Medal of Valor for his participation in Operation Bulmus 6, also known as the Green Island raid in the Red Sea at the southern mouth of the Suez Canal, on the night of July 19, 1969 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Bulmus_6); he is also the former commander-in-chief of Israel's Navy, the previous head of Israel's Secret Service and a former member of the Knesset for the Labor Party. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ami_Ayalon). Ayalon also headed the "National Census" joint Initiative, in support of the Israeli-Palestinian peace initiative, with professor Sari Nusseibeh, the president of Al Kuds university in East Jerusalem.  But his claim to not so much fame is his recent contribution – by participating – in the disgraceful Oscar-nominated Israeli movie "The Gatekeepers."

Islamerica, Eurabia and Eurasia

Daniel Greenfield

Obama has claimed that the United States is “one of the largest Muslim countries in the world.” While the actual number of Muslims is in dispute, Islamerica is no match for Eurabia or Eurasia.

Europe has 44 million Muslims. If Turkey crawls into the European Union, that number will climb to 118 million. That’s more than double the number of Latinos in America.

If Obama decided to take in all of Syria and Somalia, just to be extra generous, his Islamerica still wouldn’t have a hope in hell of catching up to Eurabia or to the Eurasian Union.

The new evil empire in the east isn’t the USSR; it’s Eurasia, a replacement for the Warsaw Pact that turns away from the troubled economies of Eastern Europe toward the population-rich and resource-rich Muslim republics providing a growing share of Russia’s military and labor force.


The Eurasian Union, which is to include Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and possibly Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, is on track for 2015. A Eurasian Union would double Russia’s Muslim population and triple it if Putin is able to bring all the members he wants into his own EU.

New Orcam device turns the world into speech for the blind

OrCam is based on artificial intelligence and special algorithms built into a tiny computer that clips onto your eyeglasses.

By Karin Kloosterman

Liat Negrin demonstrating OrCam.

Liat Negrin is happy to demonstrate a new Israeli technology that “sees” and reads for her. She is visually impaired with coloboma, a birth defect that affects one in 10,000 people globally.

Wearing an OrCam device clipped to her glasses, Negrin — who works for the company — can now do the smallest things that sighted people take for granted.

Are We Losing The War For The Soul Of Islam?

DOUGLAS MURRAY

November 2013

 

I have been studying and thinking about Islam for almost half my life. I got a slight head start on much of the rest of the world thanks to a Sufi Muslim friend. From her I learned, in those pre-9/11 days, about the horrors of the Wahhabis and the Salafis, the Deobandis and the Khomeinists. And I heard about one thing in particular which I have since observed: how moderate movements in Islam have repeatedly lost out to the hardliners and how some of the most enlightened people you might meet can be trampled over by the most barbaric. It was a timely lesson. In the struggle for an enlightened form of Islam one can find many Muslim allies. But their organised history is one of repeated failure.

 

Confronting hatred: The author (grey suit, left) and Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary (centre) clash outside a debate in 2009

If the discussion about the future of Islam once used to be confined to an exotic theology, it no longer is. The future of Islam and the future of the West are now inextricably linked. If disentangling them was ever possible it is almost certainly not now. What happens to Islam will affect what happens to Europe.

China: 2 dead, 38 injured after Muslim suicide car attack in Tiananmen Square

October 30, 2013 by creeping 



via Police focus on Muslim separatists after Tiananmen car attack – CBS News.

Chinese police were seeking information Tuesday on two ethnic Uighur suspects believed linked to an apparent suicide car attack near Tiananmen Square in the country’s capital that killed five people and injured 38.

Police released no word about a possible motive for Monday’s incident at Beijing’s Forbidden City, one of China’s most politically sensitive and heavily guarded public spaces. But investigators sent a notice to hotels in the city aimed at tracing the movements of two suspects, and possibly at uncovering any other conspirators.

It was unclear whether the two Uighurs were believed to have perished in the car or were still at large, and whether they may have been linked to militant groups in the western region of Xinjiang, where radicals have been fighting a low-intensity insurgency against Chinese rule for years.

If Monday’s incident was such an attack, it would be the first in recent history outside of Xinjiang, and the boldest and most ambitious given the high-profile target.

Toward Peace and Prosperity in Middle East

Michael Armanious

"Societies based upon democracy and openness and the dignity of the individual will ultimately be more stable, more prosperous, and more peaceful." — U.S. President Barack Obama, September 24, 2013.
In a region where poverty and illiteracy are almost 50%, democracy is not a priority. The priorities are having a job, something to eat every night, medicine and education.

For decades, the West has been trying to bring democracy to the Middle East.
U.S. President Barack Obama, in his Sept. 24, 2013 speech to United Nations, stated that it is in America's "interest to see a Middle East and North Africa that is peaceful and prosperous." He stated that the U.S. "will continue to promote democracy, human rights, and open markets, because we believe these practices achieve peace and prosperity." His reasoning, he said, was that "societies based upon democracy and openness and the dignity of the individual will ultimately be more stable, more prosperous, and more peaceful."

France: Anti-Semitism Now Mainstream

Guy Millière

"You show that it is possible to be of the Jewish faith without being completely disgusting." — Standup comedian Sebastian Thoen introducing Elie Semoun on Canal Plus TV.
When a leading Jewish organization complained about "a dangerous trivialization of anti-Semitism," the President of the TV channel responded by saying that the Jewish community had "no sense of humor."

A few weeks ago, when French Jewish actor Elie Semoun was a prime-time guest on one of the main French television channels, Canal Plus, the words of Sebastian Thoen, a standup comedian who introduced him may have been meant to be to be laudatory, but took quite a different turn: "You never plunged into communitarianism [Jewish activism] ... You could have posted yourself in the street selling jeans and diamonds from the back of a minivan, saying 'Israel is always right, f*** Palestine, wallala.' You show that it is possible to be of the Jewish faith without being completely disgusting."

Anti-Egypt Forces Turning to Terrorism for Assistance

Night Watch | Oct 30, 2013

 

Pakistan: Pakistan is backing Saudi Arabia's rejection of its non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council and supports Riyadh's calls for UN reforms, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said on 26 October. Pakistan fully understands the imperatives and compulsions that led to the Saudi decision, according to a foreign ministry statement.
Comment: The Pakistani statement appears to be unsolicited. That suggests its timing serves two important purposes. One is to curry favor with the Saudis with whom Pakistan has a longstanding security relationship.
The second is to identify Pakistan's troubles with US foreign policy with those of Saudi Arabia. Despite the recent release of more than $1 billion in US aid to Pakistan, Prime Minister Sharif's visit to Washington, D.C., last week did not go well. Sharif has now let the US know.
Iran: An Iranian prosecutor announced that 16 "terrorists" were executed on 26 October in retaliation for the deaths of 14 Iranian border guards in clashes on the 25^th.
Fourteen border guards were killed and three were kidnapped in clashes with "bandits" in Sistan Baluchistan Province in southeastern Iran which borders Pakistan's Baluchistan Province.
Comment: Baluchi tribes straddle the Iran-Pakistan border. They are Sunnis and they are restive in both countries. In Pakistan, for example, Baluchi nationalists want to secede. The group which claimed responsibility for the clash with the border guards is new or is using a new name. It apparently uses Pakistan as a base, as have many similar groups in the past.

Liberal Greed is Good

Sultan Knish

Oliver Stone made Gordon Gekko and his famous quote “Greed is Good” into everything that was wrong with capitalism. A quarter of a century later, liberal politicians like Obama and Bill de Blasio are still running against Gordon Gekko while pocketing his contributions and doing special favors for him.

Their class warfare is as nakedly greedy as Gordon Gekko shouting into a brick of a cell phone.Class warfare is the greed of the con artist playing on the stupid greed of his mark who wants to steal from someone else, but lacks the skill and daring to do anything but sign on to someone else’s scheme.

The only way to get conned is to get greedy. The con artist plays on his mark’s desire to get something for nothing in a socially acceptable (or sometimes not socially acceptable) way. That’s why every piece of advice about not getting conned begins with “If it’s too good to be too true…”

When Obama promised Americans that if they liked their health plan, they could keep their health plan, that everyone would somehow get more while paying less, it should have triggered all those “If it’s too good to be true” alarms.

You can’t get something for nothing. Insurance companies are not about to go out of business or even take a serious hit to their profits. So where was all that extra free stuff going to come from?

Assad said to be hiring N. Korean pilots

http://syriahr.com/en/index.php?option=com_news&nid=1041&Itemid=2&task=displaynews#.UnDbOiQmxU5

 

Reports have claimed that the Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad has brought in 15 helicopter pilots from North Korea, in fear that his own pilots may default.

The reports come from the Al Durar news website, a source that works closely with the rebels.  It claims that 15 North Korean helicopter pilots were brought into the country out of the fear that regime pilots may default to neighboring countries.

In the past, news also spread of Syrian fighter jet pilots defaulting to Jordan with their planes, but these reports were never confirmed.
worldbulletin

Comment: I have it on good authority these are not rumours-it is so.  Very interesting development given the nature of the discourse and actions currently going on inside Syria. Will stay up to date with this story.

Academic Freedom Against Itself: Boycotting Israeli Universities

STANLEY FISH 

I hate it when I have a book in press and people keep writing about the subject anyway. You would think that they would have the courtesy to hold their fire until I have had my say. I raise the issue because my book on academic freedom (“Versions of Academic Freedom: From Professionalism to Revolution”) will be out in about a year and the online Journal of Academic Freedom (published by the American Association of University Professors) has just posted its fourth volume consisting of essays on a topic that figures prominently in my analysis — the boycott of Israeli universities by academic institutions and scholars housed in other countries.

Iranian envoy prompts removal of Finnish university report highly critical of Tehran

BENJAMIN WEINTHAL

Study highlights Islamic Republic’s anti-Israel, anti-women, anti-minority policies.

Tehran. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

BERLIN – Iran’s ambassador to Finland, Seyed Rasoul Mousavi, intervened at the Finnish National Defense University to compel the removal of a research paper from the university’s website, because the document critically examined Iran’s nuclear program and its treatment of Israel, women and minorities.

The research paper was removed on Saturday.

The Iran expert and researcher Alan Salehzadeh wrote in his 42- page study, entitled “Iran’s Domestic and Foreign Policies,” that “ Iran does not approve of the existence of Israel and wishes to see it destroyed.”

He told the Finnish public broadcasting news outlet Yle: “If this is a question of censorship in Finland, that’s a real pity.”

Observers: “Desperate” Hamas Trying to Stage Spectacular Terror Attack

by TheTower.org Staff

Hamas’s admission this week that it was responsible for the construction of a tunnel built between the Gaza Strip and Israel – and that the tunnel was to be used in attacks – has sharpened concerns that the group is trying to launch a spectacular terror attack in order to halt what has become an undeniable slide in its domestic power and international stature.

The admission came within a few days of Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh calling on Palestinians to wage another war against Israel. The terror group leader also criticized neighboring Egypt, though he struck a more conciliatory tone. It’s not impossible that the growing seriousness of Egyptian military threats was a consideration.

“As Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood Retreats, Members Come Under Extreme Pressure”

gmbwatch
Reuters has published an articled titled “As Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood Retreats, Members Come Under Extreme Pressure” that looks at the dismantling of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood  infrastructure by the current government. The article begins:

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt, Oct 28 (Reuters) – In Egypt’s second city, medical student Ahmed Nabil lives in fear that the police may come and arrest him any day. As a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, he is part of a movement facing an onslaught by the security forces which toppled Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July.
‘These days we can be picked up at any time,’ said Nabil, whose parents are also members of the organization, Egypt’s oldest Islamist movement and a supporter of Morsi.

A Pax Sinica in the Middle East?

David P. Goldman
Asia Times

http://www.meforum.org/3653/china-middle-east

English-language media completely ignored a noteworthy statement that led Der Spiegel's German-language website October 12, a call for China to "take on responsibility as a world power" in the Middle East. Penned by Bernhard Zand, the German news organization's Beijing correspondent, it is terse and to the point: now that China imports more oil from the Middle East than any other country in the world, it must answer for the region's security. "America's interest in the Middle East diminishes day by day" as it heads towards energy self-sufficiency, wrote Zand, adding:

China's interest in a peaceful Middle East is enormous, by contrast. Beijing is not only the biggest customer of precisely those oil powers who presently are fanning the flames of conflict in Syria; as a VIP customer, Beijing has growing political influence, which it should use openly. The word of the Chinese foreign minister has just as much weight in Tehran and Riyadh as that of his American counterpart.

Iraq Wants Jewish Archive to Prove Ownership of the Tower of Babel

Daniel Greenfield

YOU DIDN’T BUILD THAT

The Jewish Iraqi Archive, a collection of bibles and other religious books, as well as personal material like schoolbooks from the former Jews of Iraq, confiscated by the Iraqi security services and then transported to the United States after the fall of Saddam, has been in the news lately.

Some senators and congressmen would like the Jewish archive returned to the Jewish community. Iraq meanwhile firmly wants the archive.

Harold Rhode, who discovered the trove while working as a Defense Department policy analyst assigned to Iraq’s transitional government, said he is “horrified” to think the material would be returned when it had been “stolen by the government of Iraq from the Jewish community.”
“It would be comparable to the U.S. returning to the German government Jewish property that had been looted by the Nazis,” he told The Jewish Week.

Some people are wondering why Iraq wants the Jewish archive… and the answer may be very bizarre indeed. Here’s an explanation from Al Arabiya, the Saudi answer to Al Jazeera, last year.

Palestinian prisoner release Israel frees 26 Palestinians in second round of prisoner releases

By JPOST.COM

Thousands in Ramallah celebrate arrival of 21 released West Bank inmates; five free prisoners reach Gaza Strip after earlier release from Ofer Prison; PA official: No peace deal until all Palestinian prisoners freed.

PA President Mahmoud Abbas (C) welcomes Palestinian prisoners released in Ramallah. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad 

 

Israel in the early hours of Wednesday completed the release of 26 long-serving Palestinian prisoners in the second part of a four stage deal with the Palestinian Authority brokered at the start of the current round of peace talks.

Twenty-one inmates convicted of killing Israelis before the 1993 Oslo accords were released from Ofer Prison and returned to Ramallah in the West Bank via the Beitunia checkpoint.

Five prisoners were freed to the Gaza Strip after they set out from the prison earlier in the day to await their release at the Erez border crossing.
Some two-thousand Palestinians gathered late Tuesday at Mukata, the PLO presidential compound, in Ramallah to celebrate the release of the 21 prisoners to the West Bank, Israel Radio reported.

COP: Rude Awakening: Californians 'Shocked' by Premium Increases, Dropped Coverage

Guy Benson

Barack Obama waltzed to victory in California last year, trampling Mitt Romney by 21 percentage points. For many middle class families in the Golden State, Obamacare's chicken are coming home to roost. A few weeks back, we highlighted some priceless quotes from Bay Area residents who are reassessing their views on the president's signature law. One man said he'd been "laughing" at Republicans...until his saw his new premiums. Another offered this pitch-perfect distillation of the tension between feel-good liberalism and economic reality: "Of course, I want people to have health care. I just didn't realize I would be the one who was going to pay for it personally." The law's price and access tremors continue to be felt up and down America's most populous state. The Los Angeles Times describes the "sticker shock" middle class Californians are grappling with:

Astounding inept analysis:Jay Carney Berates Insurance Companies For Complying With Obamacare

Katie Pavlich

Speaking to reporters Tuesday White House Press Secretary Jay Carney blamed loss of healthcare coverage for millions of Americans on insurance companies complying with the Affordable Care Act.

"Insurers pulled those plans away from them," Carney said. "The law [Obamacare] could not order insurers not to cancel that plan."

The Unbearable Lightness of Obama

The president didn't know the NSA was spying on world leaders, but he's found time for at least 146 rounds of golf.

 

By

Bret Stephens

 

Is there a method to President Obama's style of leadership, his methods of decision-making, his habits of attention, oversight and follow-through? In recent months I've been keeping a file of stories that might suggest an answer. See what you think.

***

"President Barack Obama went nearly five years without knowing his own spies were bugging the phones of world leaders. Officials said the NSA has so many eavesdropping operations under way that it wouldn't have been practical to brief him on all of them.
"They added that the president was briefed on and approved of broader intelligence-collection 'priorities,' but that those below him make decisions about specific targets." —The Wall Street Journal, Oct. 28, 2013

Egypt's Sinai Offensive Unaffected by US Hold on Aid, Officials Say

 

By PAUL McLEARY

Egyptian security forces on Oct. 7 inspect the site of a car bomb explosion that killed three policemen at the police headquarters in al-Tur, in the southern part of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. (Agence France-Presse)

WASHINGTON — Egyptian military operations against militant Islamist groups in the Sinai Peninsula have not been affected by the Obama administration’s decision to withhold shipments of attack helicopters, tanks and missiles to the Cairo government, administration officials told Congress on Tuesday.
In an occasionally volatile hearing on Capitol Hill, representatives from both parties slammed the White House’s response to the June 30 military overthrow of the democratically elected government of President Mohammed Morsi.
Hundreds of Egyptians were killed during protests after the military takeover, prompting the Obama administration to put a lock on further shipments of military equipment in early October.

Livni's political strategy

CAROLINE B. GLICK

Livni promised that she will never quit politics again. Let’s hope her word on that score is as solid as her national security credentials.

For Justice Minister Tzipi Livi, all politics are personal.

She can be trusted, because she is good. Her opponents must be rejected, because they are evil.

In her speech at The Jerusalem Post’s Diplomatic Conference in Herzliya last Thursday, Livni insisted that the only “legitimate” basis for opposing a Palestinian state is ideological. Livni stridently rejected the notion that one can oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state – in the two-state solution framework – for security reasons.

As she sees it, everyone cares equally about security. And since she cares about security just as much as her political opponents do, the question of whose policy will better protect the country is illegitimate.

Palestinian Terms Leave Little to Talk About

 Jonathan S. Tobin

The silence couldn’t last forever. The one thing that was conspicuously successful about the peace negotiations initiated by Secretary of State John Kerry was the way the Israelis and the Palestinians managed to keep their mouths shut about what’s been discussed since they agreed to start meeting again in July. While some reports have surfaced indicating that there has been no progress, today’s scoop by Israel’s Channel 2 gives us a lot more insight as to where the parties stand. And what we’ve learned makes it obvious that the meetings are every bit the fool’s errand that most observers thought they would be all along. According to the Israeli TV station, a “disgruntled Palestinian official” has leaked the Palestinian proposals offered for peace. As the Times of Israel reports:

According to the report, the Palestinians are also insisting that they gain control over water, and control at their sides of the Dead Sea and border crossings; that a Palestinian state be able to sign agreements with other states without Israeli intervention; that Israel release all Palestinian prisoners it holds; and that all Palestinian refugees and their descendants be granted the right to choose to live in Israel or the Palestinian territories as part of a final agreement.

Hamas' plan for next war: Frequent attacks on Tel Aviv area

Islamist group building its strength in preparation for next conflict, producing medium-range M-75 rockets at fast pace; Israel still prefers Hamas over extremist Salafist regime in Gaza 
 
Elior Levy


The Shalit prisoner exchange deal and last year's war against Israel led to a spike in the popularity of Hamas, which also enjoyed the support of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. But the overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi by the Egyptian army plunged Hamas into one of its most difficult periods in recent years, while the Palestinian Authority is credited with the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. However, it is too soon to count Hamas out.

The Islamist group is building its strength in preparation for future conflicts with Israel. Its goal is to keep these wars as short as possible. Hamas' military build-up includes amassing M-75 rockets, which have a range of 70 kilometers (43 miles) and can reach the Tel Aviv Metropolitan area. It is safe to assume that as opposed to last year's conflict with Israel, during the next war the firing of medium-range rockets from Gaza will not be sporadic.

The new face of terror

The West thought it was winning the battle against jihadist terrorism. It should think again

Sep 28th 2013 From the print edition of the Economist

A FEW months ago Barack Obama declared that al-Qaeda was "on the path to defeat". Its surviving members, he said, were more concerned for their own safety than with plotting attacks on the West. Terrorist attacks of the future, he claimed, would resemble those of the 1990s-local rather than transnational and focused on "soft targets". His overall message was that it was time to start winding down George Bush's war against global terrorism.

Mr Obama might argue that the assault on the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi by al-Qaeda's Somali affiliate, the Shabab, was just the kind of thing he was talking about: lethal, shocking, but a long way from the United States. Yet the inconvenient truth is that, in the past 18 months, despite the relentless pummelling it has received and the defeats it has suffered, al-Qaeda and its jihadist allies have staged an extraordinary comeback. The terrorist network now holds sway over more territory and is recruiting more fighters than at any time in its 25-year history (see article). Mr Obama must reconsider.

Islam vs. Islamism

HERBERT LONDON 

It has become fashionable among the cognoscenti to distinguish between Islam and Islamism. In fact, the Quilliam Foundation, focused on religious freedom, has promoted the distinction along with many quite reputable analysts of Islamic behavior. Presumably the latter believes in the imposition of faith over society by violence or law; while the former rejects violence conducting itself as any other religion might. This distinction has a hopeful ring to it since one may embrace the faith and abandon the ideology, thereby stabilizing presently unstable societies.
But suppose this is a distinction without a difference. After all, the Islamist is willing to die in order to spread the faith, his death a testament of his religious devotion. Most people would say this is fanatical, but from the Islamists' perspective this is a tactic that intimidates religious rivals driving them to appease or convert. Without having to utter a threat, Jews and Christians know that any criticism of Islam, even mild criticism, could lead to retributive violence. This is what gives Islamism its advantage.

CBS Finally Reports: Benghazi a Planned Attack

Joseph Klein 

The Obama White House said last July that it considers the controversy over the September 11, 2012 Benghazi attack to be one of the “phony scandals” that President Obama had accused his adversaries of exploiting to distract the American people from more important issues. But there is nothing phony or distracting about insisting on the unvarnished truth regarding the death of four American public servants at the hands of al Qaeda on the anniversary of 9/11.

“We’re here to kill Americans,” were the chilling words the al Qaeda jihadists used as they undertook their attack that claimed the lives of the four brave Americans, including the U.S. Ambassador to Libya, John Christopher Stevens. The victims’ families deserve to know the truth. The American people deserve the truth. More than a year later, however, the Obama administration has continued its stonewalling, preferring instead to cast stones at those who insist on accountability for what happened.

COP: White House admits Obamacare kills policies

WND

NBC-Whitehouse knew 3 years ago

Is it possible that things really still can get worse for supporters of Obamacare, the president’s signature accomplishment, the law that was voted through by only Democrats during a lame-duck session of Congress?
Decide for yourself.

On Monday, White House spokesman Jay Carney admitted the law is killing off health insurance policies that Americans currently hold, and NBC reported that the administration knew that was what would happen as long as three years ago.
At least two different investigations are being launched by Congress, a commentary showed that even the paper signup process for Obamacare doesn’t work, and Alaska simply gave up – canceling signups because virtually no one was participating.

Malaysia: The Word "Allah" Only For Muslims

Mohshin Habib

"It is our judgement that there is no infringement of any constitutional rights." — Chief Judge Mohammed Apandi Ali
"It is a retrograde step in the development of law in relation to the fundamental liberty of religious minorities." — Reverend Lawrence Andrews Editor, The Herald

In possibly the first time ever in the world's history of religion, members of a monotheist institution objected to another monotheist groups' using the same name for God that they use, as Malaysia's appellate court ruled on October 14^th that Malay-speaking non-Muslims, especially the Roman Catholic community of the country, may not use the word "Allah."

"The term 'Allah' must be exclusive to Islam or it could cause public disorder," the high court said.

Egypt's Challenge: Writing a New Constitution

Ashraf Ramelah

"Egypt is now a real civil state. It is not theocratic, it is not military. It is democratic, free, constitutional, lawful and modern." — Former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, after his election.
Democracy is unfathomable because it allows the doctrine of Islam, and its followers, to co-exist equally with other religions and doctrines -- a societal demotion. That outcome cannot possibly be the one desired by those now drafting Egypt's constitution.

As Egyptians wait for the constituent assembly to produce the country's new foundational document, the world can only speculate as to how well the new draft will distinguish Egypt's future from its past. Article 2 of Sadat's 1971 constitution is the controversial point today. If its wording is written into the draft of Egypt's new constitution, all hope is lost for a modern renaissance sought by the uprising of January 2011. Article 2 spells out two critical foundational points which clash with the formation of democracy. Even if these Islamic measures are accompanied by words promoting liberty, equality and human rights elsewhere in the same writing, the use of Article 2 will present a huge problem for the liberal, secular, pro-democracy freedom movement.

"Our civilisation is disappearing"

Cheradenine Zakalwe

I've written before about Camp of the Saints, the 1970s novel by Jean Raspail that eerily prefigured our current predicament. In it, hordes of third-world savages hop into boats, come to Europe as uninvited guests, and simply invade and occupy our continent.

The current issue of the French magazine Valeurs Actuelles has an interview with Jean Raspail.

What do you feel about the current situation?

You know, I've no wish to join the big group of intellectuals who spend their time debating immigration… I have the impression that these talks serve no purpose. The people already know it all, intuitively: that France, as our ancestors fashioned it centuries ago, is disappearing. And that we keep the gallery amused by talking ceaselessly of immigration without ever saying the final truth. A truth that is moreover unsayable, as my friend Jean Cau noted, because whoever says it is immediately hounded, condemned then rejected. Richard Millet came close to it, look what happened to him! [See here for more on this].

Is the seriousness of the problem being kept from the French people?

Yes. Starting with the politicians in charge first of all! Publicly "everything's going well, Madame Marquessa". But behind closed doors, they acknowledge that "yes, you're right: there is a real problem". I have several edifying letters on this subject from prominent leftist politicians, from those on the right too, to whom I sent the Camp of the Saints. "But you understand: we can't say it ..." These people have a double language, a double conscience. I don't know how they do it! I think the distress comes from there: the people know that things are being hidden from them. Today, tens of millions of people don't buy into the official discourse on immigration. Not one of them believes that it is an opportunity for France "une chance pour la France". Because reality imposes itself on them, every day. All of these ideas boil in their heads and don't come out.

Turkey’s Erdogan - an Autocratic Islamist Bigot

Isi Leibler 
http://wordfromjerusalem.com/?p=4868

After over 50 years of Israeli-Turkish intelligence co-operation and sharing, the Turkish disclosure to Iran of the identities of Mossad operatives – apparently subsequently executed, illustrates the depths to which Israel-Turkey relations have descended under Islamist autocrat, Prime Minister Recep Tayip Erdogan.

Erdogan seeks to conceal his true intentions and convey the illusion that he is himself a role model for an enlightened Islam which blends with democracy.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Erdogan is a fanatical Islamist and a vile bigot who lavishes praise on the Moslem Brotherhood, Hamas and Hezbollah and whose behavior is more reminiscent of an Ottoman Sultan than a democratically elected leader.

Saudis Way Ahead of Israel

Ariel Ben Solomon

Saudi Arabia is testing its 70 year US dependence.

Saudi Arabia has reacted with unusual bluntness to US moves at rapprochement with the kingdom's enemies in Tehran and Damascus, forcing President Barack Obama to either alter his stance or risk a breakdown in relations.

The Saudis are testing Obama, as they have seen how he tends to waver under pressure while trying to keep both sides happy.

And quietly, America's traditional allies in the region - such as Egypt , Israel, Jordan and the Gulf states - are rooting for the Saudis.

The Saudis observed how Obama was willing to compromise and settle for a deal with Syria after he had called for President Bashar Assad's removal from power two years ago. On Iran, Obama is warming to the country despite its involvement in terrorism, the fighting in Syria and its history of deception as it strives towards nuclear weapons.

The Saudis are starting to push back hard...

Let's discuss the justification of using "it's our culture thus we ..." for harming human beings

Londoners Sign Muslim Petition to Mutilate Girls Because “It’s Their Culture”

Front Page Magazine

Political correctness has won. Civilization has lost.

A Londoner who suffered female genital mutilation has warned that political correctness is hampering the fight to stamp it out after asking people to sign a fake petition in its favour.

Leyla Hussein, 32, said many were scared to speak out against FGM because they were worried about criticising another culture.

She decided to conduct an experiment to see “how crazy political correctness has become” but was left in tears by the end.

Approaching shoppers with the petition supporting FGM, she told them she wanted to protect her  “culture, traditions and rights”.

Well some of us indicated...

Pro-ObamaCare Congressional Staffer Shocked as It Triples her Premium

Daniel Greenfield

Welcome to ObamaCare. If you like your plan, you’ll probably lose it. If you hate your plan, you’ll probably learn to miss it because what you end up with will be much worse.

Sue Klinkhamer has a problem. It’s called Obamacare.
And the irony of her situation is not lost on her. In a recent email addressed to her former boss, Illinois Congressman Bill Foster, and other Democratic colleagues, she wrote:

“I spent two years defending Obamacare. I had constituents scream at me, spit at me and call me names that I can’t put in print. The congressman was not re-elected in 2010 mainly because of the anti-Obamacare anger. When the congressman was not re-elected, I also (along with the rest of our staff) lost my job. I was upset that because of the health care issue, I didn’t have a job anymore but still defended Obamacare because it would make health care available to everyone at, what I assumed, would be an affordable price. I have now learned that I was wrong. Very wrong.”