Australian authorities tolerate wife-beating if it's Muslim husbands who're doing it

Jihad Watch presents a report from the Melbourne Herald Sun that tells about the special instructions police in Victoria are being given for dealing (or rather, not dealing) with spousal abuse cases in which Muslim husbands are the culprits:

POLICE are being advised to treat Muslim domestic violence cases differently out of respect for Islamic traditions and habits.

Officers are also being urged to work with Muslim leaders, who will try to keep the families together.

Women's groups are concerned the politically correct policing could give comfort to wife bashers and keep their victims in a cycle of violence.

The instructions come in a religious diversity handbook given to Victorian police officers that also recommends special treatment for suspects of Aboriginal, Hindu and Buddhist background...

Police are told: "In incidents such as domestic violence, police need to have an understanding of the traditions, ways of life and habits of Muslims."

They are told it would be appreciated in cases of domestic violence if police consult the local Muslim religious leader who will work against "fragmenting the family unit".

Islamic Women's Welfare Council head Joumanah El Matrah called the guidelines appalling and dangerous.

"The implication is one needs to be more tolerant of violence against Muslim women but they should be entitled to the same protection," Ms El Matrah said.

"Police should not be advising other officers to follow those sorts of protocols.

"It can only lead to harm."

Ms El Matrah said Muslim leaders should be brought into domestic violence investigations only if requested by the abused woman.

This certainly is a most appalling case here, since it implies that they're willing to bend over backwards when it comes to serious subjects because the culture is "different from ours."

Keep reading also the topic from Jihad/Dhimmi Watch, which presents some very good discussions from the commenting writers as well.

Also available at bRight and Early, Euphoric Reality, Outside the Beltway, Real Teen, TMH's Bacon Bits.

CAIR exploits memory of Rosa Parks for its own one-sided goals

Last week, Condi Rice hosted a dinner for Iftar at the State Department, and Nihad Awad, director of CAIR, was one of the guests there. But as Western Resistance points out:

...after the speech, Awad informed Secretary Rice of his own plans to exploit the name of Rosa Parks. He said that CAIR would be introducing a "Rosa Parks Scholarship" for students studying in "fields that promote civil rights, social justice, and peaceful resolution of conflicts."

Awad also said:

These types of events represent a growing recognition of the positive role Islamic teachings and American Muslims can play in helping to promote peace and justice in this country and around the world."

Yawn.

Perhaps this was not unexpected, but that CAIR or any other such group of phonies would go and try to exploit Parks' memory for promoting lies is truly disgraceful. As Western Resistance says:

Condoleeza Rice has every reason to applaud the achievements of Rosa Parks. But for CAIR to appropriate her name when she has only just died, in a cheap Islamic promotional ploy, is as disgusting and low as CAIR can get. A Rosa Parks memorial to help show how Islamic teaching can produce a resolution of conflicts?

Nihad Awad, who has been vociferous in his condemnation of US policy in Afghanistan recently, has no shame. Rosa Parks, who now cannot prevent her name being exploited, was not a supporter of "Islamic teachings". She was a Christian.

I do hope that Parks has relatives who can help to prevent her memory from being exploited, and that the Martin Luther King Foundation can also help provide aid in protesting this.

As for Condi, it is very sad that she so ludicrously mixed the discussion of human rights with a dinner with a group that so blatantly/falsely pretends to uphold them. In fact, as this topic on One Jerusalem points out:

On October 25th, Secretary of State Rice called Islam a religion of "peace and love" while she proclaimed that given the history of the United States "America has no cause for false pride and we have every reason for humility."

Why would the United States Secretary of State compare the human rights record of the United States to that of the Islamic world and find the United States comes up short? Why would she do this to a gathering of Muslims which includes the radicals of the Council of American-Islamic Relations?

If you view this speech you will see that when she starts talking about American shortcomings she looks from the text and appears to have recited this indictment many times before.

What is really appalling is the implication she made that Islam's human rights record is better than America's.

See also this topic on Jihad Watch for more.

NY Times continues with moral equations

A Blog for All finds the ultra-establishment New York Times continuing with its disgraceful obsession with moral equivalency, blurring the differences between good and evil. The headline of the article alone shows what's wrong with it: "New Israeli-Palestinian Violence Puts Truce in Doubt"

As Lawhawk says:

What cease fire? Israel has repeatedly been attacked by Palestinian terrorists month after month. Sure, some of them have not resulted in casualties, but why should that be the indication? The terrorists have been trying to kill Israelis at every opportunity. Terrorists have repeatedly fired missiles and rockets into Israeli territory hoping to kill Israelis. Only luck and the poor aim of the terrorists have resulted in limited Israeli casualties.

Israel responds to all the attacks with what must be done - killing the terrorists before they can strike again. That's why they've killed terrorists getting ready to deploy more missiles to strike at Israel or going after the terrorist leaders themselves.

Correct. There is no genuine truce, and that the NY Times should be acting oblivious to the fact that the terrorists' actions are wrong, is simply disgraceful. In fact, they've done something similar when it comes to the Iraq war, partly by describing the terrorists there as "insurgents". Papers like them, and even TV stations like CNN, do not deserve and audience if that's how they've going to cover the news.

Will Prof. Sami Al-Arian be released?

That's the speculation being raised recently since his lawyer rested without presenting any more arguments in the trial that's been conducted against this terror-supporting professor who worked in South Florida, who also happens to have been a guest in Dubya's White House in 2001 (and had his picture taken with both George and Laura during the 2000 presidential campaign). As Debbie Schlussel, one of the first to write about his terror-connected activities, revealed last Friday:

Yesterday, Al-Arian's defense lawyer rested without presenting a case in the ongoing trial against him. Speculation is that he didn't have to. After months and months of testimony, media reports say jurors eyes are glazing over daily. Clearly, prosecutors bored them and didn't stick to the meat of the case against Al-Arian. It will be a travesty of justice if Al-Arian walks. He is responsible for the murder of many civilians, including the bus-bombing murder of American college student Alisa Flatow.

But while it will be a travesty, if Al-Arian walks, it will be no surprise. The Justice Department has a terrible record post-9/11 of prosecuting terrorists, losing most major cases. It's as if they really want to lose and are just putting on a show for the post-9/11 audience who pays their salary, but whom they secretly disdain. The one terrific victory, in which prosecutor Richard Convertino obtained a guilty verdict against terrorists, Justice Department officials and a questionable judge did whatever they could to overturn the verdict and ruin Convertino.

There was a report a couple of months ago in The Washington Post that told that there were very few convictions in 9-11 investigations. If Al-Arian walks, it'll be another betrayal of the American public.

Also available at Adam's Blog, Basil's Blog, Big Dog's Weblog, Cao's Blog, Don Surber, MacStansbury.Org, The Mudville Gazette, My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, Soldiers' Angel, Two Babes and a Brain.

Excusing the actions of Fatah for sake of political correctness

Caroline Glick's latest column discusses how Israel's government reps are trying to excuse Fatah for its own acts of terror, for the sake of political correctness, in sharp contrast to whatever they have to say about the Iranian dictator's own acts of racism. And not only that, it seems that Russian secutiry personnel are training PLO terrorists in Gaza:

As one Palestinian source noted to the Post, the fact that Fatah and Islamic Jihad terrorists are now operating in the same cells raises the prospect that Islamic Jihad operatives will infiltrate the Palestinian security services by claiming to be Fatah terrorists. As members of the security forces, these murderers will receive training at the hands of Russian security personnel who are now operating in Gaza.

And that's another thing. According to recent press reports, as the multitudes of foreign terrorists entered Gaza after the IDF abandoned the Philadelphi Corridor linking Gaza to the Sinai last month, Russian security forces also quietly entered the area. Without any prior coordination with Israel the Russians set up shop in Gaza, where they claim to be training Palestinian security forces which they also wish to arm with armored personnel carriers and other weapons systems.

Given Russia's intent to sell advanced anti-aircraft missiles to Syria and its continued support for Iran's nuclear program, the deployment of an unknown number of Russian security personnel in Gaza is an unwelcome strategic development that is liable to have disastrous and far-reaching consequences. Abbas himself spent a formative period of his terror career as a KGB underling in Moscow while he received his doctorate in Holocaust denial at the Soviet Institute for Oriental Studies in the 1960s.

This also shows that Communism is still rampant in the former Soviet republic.

Glick also discusses the fact that:

Tragically, the Right today is in no position to enunciate policy options based on its clear understanding that terrorists must be defeated, not coddled and negotiated with. After Sharon splintered his Likud party, defeated his political camp and pummeled his support base by adopting the policies of the Left, the Right is in shambles.

Sharon's opponents within the Likud are so confused in the aftermath of their failed attempt to advance the date of Likud primaries that they cannot contend with Sharon, let alone the Palestinians. Knesset members from the National Union and the National Religious Party have been missing in action since the expulsion of the Jews of Gaza and northern Samaria. At the grassroots level, activists are too busy devouring the leaders of the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, whom they blame for failing to prevent the expulsions, and hating the IDF for carrying out the expulsions, to pay attention to what the Palestinians are doing.

As with the delusional Left, so too the Right, in its weakness, is showing that it has no ability to learn from its mistakes and prefers to sink into neurotic self-obsession rather than act responsibly by pointing out a sane path for Israel to embark upon.

There is going to be a demonstration next month in Jerusalem that I should hope will start setting the right path for a change. And leaders, if that's what they're to be called, on the right, are going to have to start acting responsibly if they want to truly make a difference.

The Iranian dictator who was allowed to visit the UN now calls for Israel's destruction

Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, whom Dubya allowed to enter the US to attend the United Nations summit recently, has now taken off his mask and shown himself for what he truly is: a bigot. From Yahoo News, here's the inciteful language he used:

"Anybody who recognizes Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation's fury, any (Islamic leader) who recognizes the Zionist regime means he is acknowledging the surrender and defeat of the Islamic world," Ahmadinejad said.

Now maybe it's possible that, following this sick little hatemongering diatribe of his, he won't be allowed to visit countries like the US ever again. But if you ask me, this is something that everyone should have thought of long beforehand, and he should not have been allowed to enter the US in the first place.

Hat tip: The Jawa Report. Others on the subject include One Jerusalem, Jihad Watch, A Knight's Blog, Sister Toldjah, California Conservative, Captain's Quarters.

Semi-related: The classic establishment shoe-polisher, The New York Times, reports that Sudan's Islamic-led dictatorship has said it'll oppose the UN on its call for war crimes suspects to be prosecuted in world court. But, here's where the UN itself fouled up:

A commission appointed by the United Nations stopped short of calling the violence genocide but said that heinous war crimes had been committed in the region.

And of course, they did nothing all this time to stop these atrocities. And of course, they stultify themselves by refusing to give a full-fledged declaration that what happened in Sudan and Darfur was genocide and mass murder.

If they cannot bring themselves to make it clear that what's been happening in Sudan is vile acts of violence against innocent lives, how do they expect to put a stop to it effectively?

Miers' withdrawal from nomination is probably for the best

Harriet Miers, who was a candidate for chief justice in the Supreme Court, has withdrawn from the nomination following severe criticism by the conservative movement.

Until recently, I had no idea what to think of this whole affair, until I read this column by Barry Freedman of the NY Jewish Star, which notes the following:

What’s my opinion? I am with those that hope she withdraws, forcing President Bush to nominate someone who has a record of originalist opinions that can be relied upon. Another Blackmun, Kennedy or Souter – Republican appointments gone astray – would be bad for America and bad for Israel. Judicial activism that pushes for progressive causes and the looking towards international law and precedent not only dilutes American sovereignty, it is a great encouragement to the Judicial Imperialism of the High Court of Israel which in its post-Zionist drive to become part of a transnationalist and post-democratic EU/new middle east would be greatly encouraged by the subjugation of the American Constitution to those diluting forces. Not only would I hate to see that happen, I am greatly concerned about it.

And I think he's got a point there too, that Miers' being appointed could also have been bad for both the US and Israel alike, and a bad role model/influence even for foreign justice. On the other hand, if a candidate with an inspiring record were to be appointed:

On the other hand, a truly conservative appointment would mean that the Supreme Court’s activism would be reigned in and looking to international law and precedent would end – or be consigned to dissenting opinions. For the Israeli High Court, this could make the difference between having a co-traveler in the legal deconstruction of the nation-state or the opposite – a contrasting and disturbing reminder that the Israeli High Court is choosing a course of its own will, not born of American pressure and example, and a clearer perspective, through contrast, of what just exactly it is doing. That perspective, and an example set in America resisting the swallowing up of sovereign law into the progressive transnationalism of international law, precedent, and tribunals, might even help bring public awareness in Israel to the point where real change to the old-boy network of internal Israeli judicial appointments of leftist elitist judges might become possible through reform of the apparatus of appointments. That change is one that is recognized as needed by a vast majority of Israelis who know that the High Court is completely out of touch with them.

I think there's some interesting points to that part too, given how the High Court acted in a case like this one. So let's all hope that a real candidate for chief justice will be found and appointed, one who can inspire for the better both at home and abroad.

Oblogatory Anecdotes has one of the best summaries of the topic:

What has President Bush learned from this experience? Hopefully the President has learned that he cannot attempt to please the Democrats and keep the loyalty of his base. He has learned that conservatives are not blind followers, that when we see something we disagree with we will speak up no matter who is in the Whitehouse.

Others on the subject include Michelle Malkin, The Black Republican, La Shawn Barber, Patterico, Cao's Blog, Jo's Cafe, Betsy's Page, The Anchoress, Protein Wisdom, Ace of Spades HQ, Mark Tapscott, Real Teen.

Brent Scowcroft's Orwellian peace

James Taranto at Wall Street's Opinion Journal sums it up correctly in response to a laughable interview with former national security adviser Brent Scowcroft published in the New Yorker, quoted in the Wash. Post (Hat tip: Don Surber). As the WaPo notes here:

Scowcroft, in his interview, discussed an argument over Iraq he had two years ago with Condoleezza Rice, then-national security adviser and current secretary of state. "She says we're going to democratize Iraq, and I said, 'Condi, you're not going to democratize Iraq,' and she said, 'You know, you're just stuck in the old days,' and she comes back to this thing that we've tolerated an autocratic Middle East for fifty years and so on and so forth," he said. The article stated that with a "barely perceptible note of satisfaction," Scowcroft added: "But we've had fifty years of peace."

Ahem. Is this what you call fifty years of peace, Mr. Scowcroft?

Or this?

Or this?

Or this?

Or this?

Or even this?

To which we might even add this?

As Taranto says in repsonse:

Now let's see. Between 1953 and 2003, here are the Mideast wars we can think of off the top of our head: the Six Day War, the Yom Kippur War, the Iran-Iraq War, the Gulf War, the two Palestinian intifadas against Israel, the Algerian Civil War, the Yemen Civil War and two Sudanese civil wars. That doesn't even count acts of terror against non-Mideastern countries, from the Iranian invasion of the U.S. Embassy to the attacks of 9/11.

What do you call someone who describes this as "50 years of peace"? A "realist."

Or, a Don Quixote.

Scowcroft is yet another in a seemingly infinite line of people who act as if nothing is happening, or could happen. In this day and age, that kind of act is simply worn out.

The New York Sun's got a good editorial on him today (Hat tip: Intelligence Summit), and at the end, they say:

There are those of us to whom General Scowcroft, the former insider, looks like a tragic figure now operating in league with the Middle East's autocrats. Maybe for business reasons, maybe for other motives, maybe for some failure of analysis. We don't question his honor. But the fact is that for years the House of Saud, the Baathists, and the Hashemites have been telling us that they are the only defense against terrorism. They have tried their best to channel real discontent with their corrupt family-owned regimes on Israel. America bought into this logic for 50 years only to get attacked. The aging general can rattle on for the old approach, but it strikes fewer and fewer as realistic.

Well said.

Also available at Jo's Cafe, The Indepundit, My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, Point Five, The Political Teen, Stop the ACLU, Wizbang.

Thanks to CAIR, Florida's Hillsborough schools ban Christmas, Good Friday, and even Yom Kippur

Because the terrorist-supporting CAIR demanded that Eid al Fitr be recognized by schools as a Moslem holy day, Hillsborough schools in Florida banned Christmas, Good Friday and just about all other religious holidays (via Lost Budgie Blog.).

Here's what the Alliance Defense Fund (via Hyscience) has to say:

(...) "The phrase ‘separation of church and state’ is not in the U.S. Constitution, but because of the fear, intimidation, and disinformation groups like the ACLU (and CAIR) promote, many public officials and educational leaders mistakenly believe it is their duty to silence Christian religious expression," said ADF President Alan Sears.

(...) Christmas has historically been one of the most celebrated holidays of the American people. 96% of all Americans celebrate Christmas. Yet, because of political correctness, the words Merry Christmas have become increasingly absent from our Christmas season traditions. Misconceptions and controversy about the so-called "separation of church and state" has led many public officials to "remove Christ from Christmas."

(...) This was not the intent of the founding fathers. In addition, no court has ever ruled that the Constitution requires government officials to censor Christmas carols, eliminate all references to Christmas, or silence those who celebrate Christ's birth.

Nor those who celebrate Jewish holidays and such. The ADF is quite right that this simply wrong of the school board to cower like that in order to avoid having a gang of anti-libertarians like CAIR - and the ACLU, which was also pushing for this - try to force the schools to recognize their would-be holidays.

Here's some more facts from the ADF's website:

* The U.S. Supreme Court has never ruled that public schools must ban the singing of religious Christmas carols or prohibit the distribution of candy canes or Christmas cards.
* School officials may refer to a school break in December as "Christmas Vacation" or as a holiday without offending the Constitution.

* School officials do not violate the Constitution by closing on religious holidays such as Christmas and Good Friday.

* No court has ever held that celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas as religious holidays requires recognition of all other religious holidays.

* The "Three Reindeer Rule" used by the courts requires a municipality to place a sufficient number of secular objects in close enough proximity to the Christmas item (such as a crèche) to render the overall display sufficiently secular. Although the overall display must not convey a message endorsing a particular religion’s view, Christmas displays are not banned as some people believe. Simply put, the courts ask, "Is the municipality celebrating the holiday or promoting religion?"

Here's a page on the legal rules regarding Christmas, which also apply with equal strength to Jewish holidays as well.

As this article from TheRaphi.Com points out:

Every attempt to appease "Muslim opinion" preserves, promotes, and emboldens our enemies. Every concession to angry Muslim mobs gives hope to the Islamist cause. Every day we allow terrorist regimes to exist gives their minions time to execute the next Sept. 11. America needs honest leadership with the courage to identify and defeat our enemies--"Muslim opinion" be damned.

Absolutely correct, which is we cannot just simply sit around and allow them to dictate how even our schools will be run.

Be sure to also read this topic from Stop the ACLU which talks about CAIR as well, and the alliance they've formed with the ACLU. Plus, here's another interesting article (in PDF format) from Capital Research Center by Daniel Pipes and Sharon Chadha.

Others on the subject include In the Bullpen, The Political Teen, Militant Islam Monitor, Relapsed Catholic.

Recommended op-eds

Michelle Malkin discusses how the anti-war moonbats seem to be enjoying the reports of the body count in Iraq reaching 2000 this week, simply so they can find yet one more umpteenth excuse to protest the war, but not for concern for the troops. Quite the opposite, so that they can do their darndest to support the terrorists trying to take over the country.

Caroline Glick discusses the right strategy in dealing with Syria, and also in dealing with the PLO.

Diana West discusses Dubya's bizarre announcement of the White House's including a Koran in its library. As she says here:

Is it just me, or does the president's gesture of inclusion sock the rest of us in the head? Peaceful Muslims aside, the Koran is indisputably the favorite book to twist for the extremist agendas for Osama bin Laden, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the killers of Daniel Pearl, Hamas bus bombers, London Underground bombers, and anyone who has ever hidden an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) on an Iraqi road to kill or maim an American soldier -- none of which is the best recommendation for White House honors.

But maybe the president meant he would now be reading the Koran. He could start with Chapter 5, Verse 32, which he's taken to quoting as, well, chapter-and-verse evidence of Islam's aversion to bloodshed -- always skipping the fatal exception. Bush will say: Killing an innocent human is like killing all of humanity, and then leave it at that. My translation of the Koran says: "... whosoever kills a human being, except (as punishment) for murder or for spreading corruption in the land, it shall be like killing all humanity." Easy guess that among Bush's Ramadan guests were a few who consider Americans guilty of murder, Israelis innocent of nothing, and both, as non-Muslims, complicit in "spreading corruption in the land" -- and thus deserving death, dismemberment and banishment as outlined in Chapter 5, Verse 33.

See also One Jerusalem's entry on the subject, which I also posted about.

The Washington Times (also via One Jerusalem) writes a very good editorial this week that discusses the fact that the PLO is also guilty of murdering American citizens, including three US citizens during October 15, 2003:

Three of these Americans -- John Branchizio, 37, of Texas, John Linde Jr., 30, of Missouri; and Mark Parsons, 31, of New Jersey -- died in an Oct. 15, 2003 bombing of a U.S. diplomatic convoy travelling in Gaza. The perpetrators used a remote-controlled explosive device which they activated once the Americans were in range. The vehicles, all of which had diplomatic license plates, were traveling on a road that had been closed to Israeli traffic. In other words, this was no case of mistaken identity; the killers knew that they were targeting Americans and they killed them. Moreover, in the weeks leading up to that attack, the Palestinian media intensified anti-American incitement, which included calls for the destruction of the United States and denunciations of this country as Palestinians' "No. 1 enemy."

Here is also an entry on the subject from the blog of Michael Freund, who wrote the column in the Jerusalem Post that that Wash. Times discusses in their own editorial. Plus, here's a discussion on the subject from the Free Republic.

Here's an article from Asharq Alawsat (Hat tip: Sudan Watch) in which Mary Brazier discusses how Sudan is very crucial to the stability of Africa as a whole.

Tom Gross writes a very good article over at Front Page Magazine on how the MSM has no genuine interest whatsoever in Jews who've been victims of terrorist attacks, and in the UK, no mention whatsoever was given by the MSM about Rachel Thaler, a teenager who lived in Britain.

Plus, here's the latest installment of FPM's War Blog.

On FOX News, via the AP wire, it's asked as to who's running Syria. The answer is none other than Bashar Assad, but, as they point out, he's trying to convince the world that he's not mainly in charge when it comes to his own country. And if I'm right, Patrick Seale, a British "expert" on Syria who was really a "toadie" for the previous Assad, may be trying to confuse things here when he says that:

"Is Bashar totally in power? That is a difficult question to answer, but there certainly are centers of power around him, including some within the family," said Patrick Seale, a British expert on Syria who has written extensively about Hafez Assad.

It'd be much more satisfying if these "experts" would just be willing to confront the hard-hitting Q&As seriously, and be willing to admit more clearly that Bashar Assad is the sole one who's truly in charge of the country. Either way, Mr. Seale is just not reliable when it comes to these kind of questions on autocratic countries like Syria.

From the great Front Page Magazine: the mind of Bashar Assad.

It doesn't surprise me in the least that he's no different from his predecessor.

From the Jerusalem Post:

"...the retreat is heating up the political climate within Israel, bringing back the dangerous mood of exaggeration, incivility, hostility and even lawlessness. The prospect of thousands of Israelis evicted from their homes under threat of force is rudely interrupting what had been a trend toward a more healthy atmosphere during the relative calm of 2001-03."

One of the worst things about the Oslo agreement was that it had the effect of encouraging hostility and division amongst Israelis left and right. Sharon's willingness to go ahead with this kind of trash only serves to encourage more of such.

And, from the NY Post, on Syria's claim it'll withdraw its troops from Lebanon:

"The announcement was made in Damascus by U.N. Middle East envoy Terje Roed-Larsen and Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Shara, who insisted the withdrawal would satisfy all the requirements of a Security Council resolution enacted last year.

Not so fast.

For one thing, that resolution also requires the dismantling of independent militias operating inside Lebanon. And as the Israeli foreign ministry notes, "The only militia of any significance in Lebanon today is Hezbollah" — the terrorist organization responsible for scores of anti-Israeli attacks.

And Hezbollah has made it clear — as recently as last week — that it will only disarm when it chooses to disarm, which won't be any time soon.

Moreover, there may be some serious Syrian subterfuge at work.

The Daily Star, a Beirut newspaper, reports: "Syria is setting up a secret intelligence operation outside Beirut and is working through its allies in Lebanon" — i.e., Hezbollah — "to maintain its influence over the country even after it withdraws troops."

The paper finds that "Damascus is bringing in officials who will not be recognized in order to staff its hidden presence in Beirut's suburbs." Israeli intelligence officials reportedly have confirmed that Syria has expanded its civilian intelligence forces.

None of this is surprising. Even with the dramatic spread of the pro-democracy movement in the Middle East (personified by the 500,000-strong Beirut protestors demanding Damascus' withdrawal), the speed with which Syrian President Bashar Assad agreed seemed a tad suspicious.

But if it's true that the withdrawal announced so dramatically over the weekend constitutes a sham, that will constitute a new and more immediate challenge, to both Washington and the United Nations."

True, but personally, I wouldn't count on the UN, what with all their scandals and such, to make any convincing effort to ensure that Syrian announcement of retreat won't just be a sham. Most likely that all they'll really do is produce a lot of hot air talk in place of a demand that they comply.

Earlier item from April this year: On WorldNetDaily, we discover that in Britain, the Association of University Teachers wants to blacklist any Israeli professors and universities who refuse to condemn their country's policies towards Arabs, while at the same time leaving out any whose positions coincide with theirs. And the ones whose positions match theirs are "conscientious Israeli academics and intellectuals opposed to their state's colonial and racist policies."

This pretty shows how Britain, and even much of Europe, are running the gauntlet of throwing away democratic values for the sake of their own blind, childish bigotry.

As Joseph Farah points out here in defense of Israel:

Let me give you my perspective on this action – the perspective of an Arab-American.

Israel is not a colonial state. It is not a racist state. The Arabs who live in Israel are among the freest Arabs in the world.

Every so-called "Palestinian" college has been created and funded by Israel. There were no Palestinian colleges or universities before 1967. And that is with good reason. Before 1967, there was no such thing as a Palestinian national identity. That notion was invented by Yasser Arafat and his allies post-1967 so they could pursue their plan to eradicate the Jewish state and the Jewish people of the Middle East by posing as victims rather than persecutors.

You can see just how well that insidious plan is working among Europe's hateful, anti-Semitic pseudo-intellectuals. It's working to perfection.

The victim is being blamed for the crime.

Blaming the victim is an act very commonly used in the UK, if anywhere, in Europe. And they almost deliberately act oblivious to the fact that the Arab population here, as Farah points out next:

The AUT's indictment of Israel is short on specifics – with good reason. There simply is no case to be made that Israel is oppressing Arabs, that it is making life unbearable for them, that it is the worst place on earth for them.

In Israel, Arabs vote in free elections. They hold office. They protest. They freely publish newspapers attacking the government.

Arabs don't do this in any other state – with the possible exception of newly liberated Iraq.

In Israel, Arabs are even permitted to teach their revisionist history lessons. They are free to teach the most vile kinds of hatred against Jews and Israelis – even receiving subsidies for those lessons from the suicidal, self-loathing, politically correct and intellectually incorrect Israeli government.

Yet, none of this matters in the rarefied atmosphere of Europe's perverted academic culture.

If you ask me, by refusing to pay any attention to the fact that the Arab population here DOES have democratic rights, all that the UK and other parts of Europe are doing is insulting the very community whose side they claim to be on. Speaking of which, they also do so by ignoring how the PLO, by contrast, has been opressing its subjects in all these years that they've been running their little dictatorship in Gaza and Judea, which includes both committing and allowing other terrorist gangs to commit violations human rights, such as what was reported here, in this article written by Daniel Pipes:

Shortly after Yusra Azzami, 20, strolled with her fiance and her sister on the beach in Gaza last week, vigilantes from Hamas formed suspicions that she was engaged in "immoral behavior." They followed her, shot her dead as she sat in her fiance's car, dragged her corpse out and mutilated it savagely with clubs and iron bars.

Does the UK ever care when obscene crimes like that occur?

In this thoughtful op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal, a professor from the Haifa University explains how the boycott of the university by a bunch of British ones is based upon libel.

The University of Haifa--my university--is a different story. This model Jewish-Arab institution, a most unlikely candidate for boycott, was declared to be untouchable by the AUT "until it commits itself to upholding academic freedom, and in particular ceases its victimization of academic staff and students who seek to research and discuss the history of the founding of the state of Israel."

The story embedded here is well worth telling, but not in the way the AUT tells it. "On May 15, 2002," the AUT boycott document declares, "Dr. Ilan Pappe, senior lecturer in Political Science at Haifa University, was sent a letter notifying him that he faced trial and possible dismissal from his position. . . . These accusations related to Dr. Pappe's efforts to defend a 55-year-old graduate student, Teddy Katz, whose Master's thesis was under attack by an Israeli veteran's organization because it documented a massacre of 200 unarmed civilians by the Haganah (the pre-state army of Israel) at a village called Tantura, near Haifa."

This, to put it plainly, is false. Mr. Katz's thesis was based almost solely on transcriptions of oral interviews he conducted with elderly Palestinian former residents of Tantura, who allegedly witnessed a massacre of their kin by Jewish soldiers. When veterans of the Israeli army force that attacked Tantura sued Mr. Katz for libel, a district court ruled that the empirical evidence was grossly manipulated in the course of transliterating the tapes. Mr. Katz had put words in the mouths of his interviewees that were never uttered. He agreed to apologize to the veterans, telling the media that radical activists--including Dr. Pappe--had led him astray.

Frankly, if that's how Britain's education reps are going act, then I'd suggest not attending any of their universities in retaliation for their discriminatory nonsense. In fact, as a prominient Arab-American professor once pointed out when discussing Columbia in NYC, most people he knows usually know to stay away from their own biased campus.

Sucide bomber attacks in Hadera, murders five

Another casualty of Ariel Sharon's appeasement without a single convincing reason. From the AP Wire, via FOX News:

HADERA, Israel — A Palestinian bomber standing in line at a crowded falafel stand blew himself up Wednesday in this central Israeli town, killing five people and injuring 21, police and rescuers said.

The bombing eroded hopes that Israel's Gaza pullout would revive peace talks.

Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the blast, saying it was in retaliation for the killing of a top militant leader by Israeli troops earlier this week.

Oh, I see, that again, is it? I thought these peace talks were already done with. Since when was that what was important anyway?

Israel National News' coverage of this is better.

There is also a notification of another terrorist attack north of Ofra.

While we're on the subject, here's another report in which government sources admit to failure regarding the US's stance on the Hamas. But that's exactly the problem, now isn't it? They should not have to be relying upon the US for everything, now should they? No indeed, they shouldn't.

Also available at The Political Teen, Right on the Right, Jo's Cafe, Euphoric Reality, The Blue State Conservatives, The Mudville Gazette, Outside the Beltway. Others on the subject include Israel Perspectives, Cosmic X, One Jerusalem, HCS's and Gen's Place.

Rosa Lee Parks, 1931-2005

Rosa Parks, one of the pioneers of the civil rights movement for minorities, who's famous for her refusal to vacate her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus at the time they were running discriminatory laws against blacks in the southern states, has passed away at 92.

I fully agree that she did the right thing to make it clear in her own protest that it was wrong to order her to give up her seat based on race. If there was something really appalling about the argument the police officers who arrested her were using, it's that one of them, when asked by Parks why they pushed the blacks around, replied that he didn't know. He just argued that "the law is the law [and you're under arrest]."

I'd have to figure that one of the reasons why there was so much discrimination in the southern states at the times against Blacks - and also Jews and Hispanics - was because the white community didn't have the guts to put morality before money. In other words, they were so afraid of losing jobs, if not businesses, that they'd just go along and enforce the so-called "law" simply because they were afraid they'd get fired? That, it seems, is exactly the problem with a lot of people even today - that they don't have the courage to argue even at the expense of their jobs, no matter how worthless could actually be.

Parks' arrest over nothing in 1955 led to the famous boycott of the bus network in Montgomery, which Martin Luther King, then beginning with the civil rights movement, helped to organize. This and other protests eventually led to the 1964 Federal Civil Rights Act, which banned racial discrimination in public accomodations.

Parks did the right thing to remain in her seat, and should most definately be remembered and honored for her courage to stand up by staying seated.

Here's also a very good column about Parks by Linda Chavez on Town Hall's website.

Others on the subject include La Shawn Barber, Michelle Malkin, Outside the Beltway, Wizbang, Vodkapundit, Mark Tapscott, Down with Absolutes, Infinity Prolonged, Rajan Rishyakaran, Poliblog, Fried Baloney, Legacy Matters, Dustbury, Project Nothing!, Iowa Voice, B Relevant, Right Faith, Right We Are, The Subjective Scribe, Basil's Blog, Don Surber, Severe Writer’s Block, JamulBlog, The Anchoress, Stop the ACLU, Brutally Honest, Sister Toldjah, Obligatory Anecdotes, Secular Blasphemy, Don Singleton, Pardon My English, Mike's Noise, The Indepundit, Politakid, The Kentucky Democrat, The Astute Blogger, T. Longren, The Political Teen, My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, Truckin' Wifi, The Jawa Report, The Mudville Gazette, Publius Pundit, Don Singleton, Agent Tim Online, One Voice, Commonplace, My Right Mind.

Black girl in Britain may have been raped by Pakistani storekeepers; crime triggers riots

Riots have broken out in Birmingham, Britain, as the black community has lashed out in outrage over what may have been the rape of a 14-year old black girl by Pakistani store owners as punishment(!) for shoplifting. Lost Budgie Blog's got the details, but, as noted, nothing is fully clear so far. The best possible reasons why the riots were caused, and why the victim has not come forward, may have been this:

Blacks in Birmingham England clashed with Pakistani Muslims over the alleged gang rape of a 14-year-old black girl by Pakistani Muslim shop keepers. The girl was allegedly raped as punishment for shoplifting in the Pakistani store. The alleged rape victim is said to be reluctant to come forward as she is an illegal immigrant to Britain.

This report from BBC certainly mentions that, but this report does not, and rather, seems more interested in being sympathetic to the owner of the beauty shop* where the crime may have taken place than to ask about the meatier details surrounding all this. There is also the possibility that she's afraid to come forward for fear that she'll be targeted for death by extremists as well.

Here's a report from the UK Times:

"The weekend of violence was triggered by rumours that a 14-year-old Jamaican girl was gang-raped by up to 19 Asian men after shoplifting from a cosmetics shop. Details of the attack were broadcast on a pirate radio station and picked up by a black community website."

"A public meeting was held at a local church on Saturday night which attracted hundreds of Afro-Caribbean women, two police officers and local politicians. It was gatecrashed by a mob of up to 100 hooded youths, who - when barred from entering - turned their anger on police."

"The youths, many wearing bandanas over their faces, scattered through the surrounding streets throwing bricks, bottles and rocks. Cars were burned and shops owned by Pakistanis were looted. The windows of Lozells mosque were smashed."

"...Violence resumed last night with sporadic outbreaks of fighting in the Newtown area of the city, despite a heavy police presence. A gang of up to 100 Asian youths marched down Lozells Road, flanked by riot police, in a display that one protester said was an act to "reclaim our streets"."

"Police remain keen to trace the young girl whose alleged rape proved a catalyst for the weekend's violence. "As it stands, that victim has not come forward," said Supt Tom Coughlan at a news conference yesterday."

This report provides more details:

ABDUL HUSSAIN, 23, stood outside a sari shop on Lozells Road yesterday, spat in the road, and spoke in low, menacing tones about the riot on Saturday in which one man was killed and a policeman was shot. It was prompted by a false allegation of rape, he alleged, that gave the “kalas” — a derogatory term for black people in Punjabi — the perfect excuse to loot Pakistani and Bangladeshi-owned shops in an inner-city corner of Birmingham.

“This riot is about them getting hold of what we sell in our shops,” he said. “Someone has invented a story about a young girl being raped by a Pakistani to justify a smash-and-grab raid. If this rape victim exists, where is she? If she doesn’t exist, why did they attack our property?”

Eighty yards away on the same road, outside the imposing steeple of the New Testament Church of God, Maxwell, a 19-year-old student, said that the rape definitely happened — his cousin knew someone who knew the girl, he alleged — and the riot showed that the Afro-Caribbean community is ready to fight back against predatory Pakistani men

The animosity between Abdul’s Pakistani community and Maxwell’s Afro-Caribbean community has not abated since the violence in which four people were stabbed. A black man in his twenties died from knife injuries. A policeman was shot in the leg. Cars were set on fire, and hundreds of police officers in riot gear were attacked with baseball bats, bricks and bottles.

The spark for the disturbances — an unproven allegation that a Pakistani man, or men, raped a 14-year-old black girl in a hair products shop just off the Lozells Road — is still being hotly debated on the streets.

But, although police said on Saturday that they had arrested three men in connection with an allegation of rape, Assistant Chief Constable David Shaw, from West Midlands Police, said that his officers had not received “a shred of evidence” to support the claims. The girl had not come forward or been identified to the police, he added."

As the AP Wire reports, the riots may still be going on. It shows that many blacks resent the Pakistanis, who they may also believe are exploiting them.

See also this topic from Biased-BBC on how the UK's worst TV network covered the riots.

* That this was a beauty shop the Pakistanis who may have implicated themselves in the crime happened to run, strikes me as rather odd.

Also available at Big Dog's Weblog, The Indepundit, Obligatory Anecdotes.

The importance of homefront security in the US - Front Page Magazine interview

Front Page Magazine publishes a very important interview with Mike Dennin, the chief legislative coordinator of the United American Committee, a group of concerned Americans who're dedicated to helping promote awareness of the dangers that Homeland Security is facing, including Islamic extremism in the US (Hat tip: Cao's Blog). As Dennin points out here:

It is easy for terrorists to enter our country because the federal government has failed to appropriate the resources necessary to effectively secure our borders. It has been over four years since 9/11, and the legislation necessary to address the lack of funding, manpower and detention facilities is just now moving through Congress. This lack of responsiveness isn’t even remotely acceptable. At the rate Washington is moving, it will be years before we get enough boots on the ground to adequately secure our frontiers. This is why you see civil border patrols increasing, not decreasing, the scope of their activities. This is why we hear reports of MS-13 gang members smuggling al-Qaeda jihadis across our nation’s borders.

An equally mystifying situation is the continued presence of organizations in the United States who have reportedly supported jihadist organizations that have the blood of American citizens on their hands. For example, the Muslim World League, a Saudi Arabian “charitable” umbrella organization, has been permitted to maintain offices in the United States despite the fact that it is suspected of providing funds to Osama bin Laden and that several of its affiliates have been shut down in this country for supporting al-Qaeda and HAMAS.

There's also a link here to an earlier article from FPM back in September on how the left undermined security even before 9-11 that's also very interesting to read.

While we're on the subject, here's a topic with a video from The Right Track on the subject as well. This is most definately a most important subject that the MSM sadly is keeping quiet about, and that they should be hiding the potential dangers of Islamic terrorism on the homefront from the public is simply disgraceful.

There is also the problem in that the president and his staff, like their predecessors, aren't making any genuine efforts to curb the problem, as Juan Mann at Michelle Malkin's Immigration Blog points out. (And, as noted in these earlier topics, Dubya is sadly tolerating Hamas' running in the PLO's so-called elections and has even sold out politically to Islam.) Only if proper and responsible laws on both terrorism and illegal immigration are enforced, will we be able to deal with the problem successfully.

Also available at bRight and Early, TMH's Bacon Bits, Big Dog's Weblog.

Jihad declared against Denmark over political cartoons

The Brussels Journal (via Michelle Malkin) reports that a Danish newspaper's been threatened for publishing political cartoons deemed offensive to Islam (I do wonder: what isn't offensive to Islam?):

The Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten is being protected by security guards and several cartoonists have gone into hiding after the newspaper published a series of twelve cartoons about the prophet Muhammad. According to the Islam it is blasphemous to make images of the prophet. Muslim fundamentalists have threatened to bomb the paper’s offices and kill the cartoonists.

The newspaper published the cartoons when a Danish author complained that he could find no-one to illustrate his book about Muhammad. Jyllands-Posten wondered whether there were more cases of self-censorship regarding Islam in Denmark and asked twelve illustrators to draw the prophet for them. Carsten Juste, the paper’s editor, said the cartoons were a test of whether the threat of Islamic terrorism had limited the freedom of expression in Denmark.

Then, the al Qaeda posted threats of its own on a website run by its own sympathisers:

On Thursday the ambassadors of eleven Muslim countries, including Indonesia, a number of Arab states, Pakistan, Iran, and Bosnia-Herzegovina, complained about the cartoons in a letter to Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen. They say the publication of the cartoons is a “provocation” and demand apologies from the newspaper.

Jyllands-Posten was also included on an al-Qaeda website listing possible terrorist targets. An organisation which calls itself “The Glorious Brigades in Northern Europe” is circulating pictures on the internet which show bombs exploding over pictures of the newspaper and blood flowing over the national flag of Denmark. “The Mujahedeen have numerous targets in Denmark – very soon you all will regret this,” the website says.

You can see the rest of the cartoons on this webpage.

The newspapaer, I want to say, has a very good point about the dangers of letting Islamofascism limit the freedom of expression in Denmark, or anywhere else in Europe for that matter, and that any Islamists would dare to threaten their usual violence is simply disgraceful.

Also available at Bright and Early, Cao's Blog, Jo's Cafe, Point Five, The Political Teen, Wizbang. Others on the subject include Right Minded, The Jawa Report, Marked Up, Don Singleton, Stop the ACLU, Angry in the Great White North, National Review's The Corner.

Farewell and good luck to Oregano

Cafe Oregano, one of the best blogs and trackback parties on the web, is closing shop now, due to personal priorities.

Oregano will be missed. He wrote some very good topics and also posted some of the best trackback topics as well. It was one of the first blogs I knew of besides Basil's Blog that presented the concept of creating trackback link festivals (speaking of which, Typepad is having problems with trackback ping submissions to blogs hosted on their servers, and it may take a couple more days until they can be fully repaired), and I enjoyed submitting to them whenever I could. But I understand why, for now, he must retire from the blog scene, and I wish him well.

So for now, farewell and good luck to Oregano and I hope he'll be able to return one day to blogging again.

Hurricane Wilma felt as far as Mexico

The Washington Times/AP Wire reports that hurricane Wilma's already struck hard in Florida, but it also got as far as Cancun, Mexico, as well:

KEY WEST, Fla. -- Heavy rain from Hurricane Wilma's outer bands battered parts of Florida yesterday as residents streamed out of the Keys under a mandatory evacuation order and forecasters announced a hurricane watch for the state's entire southern peninsula.
At the same time, a record 22nd tropical storm of the season formed about 125 miles off the Dominican Republic -- Tropical Storm Alpha.
Five months into the six-month Atlantic hurricane season, the annual list of storm names has been exhausted, and forecasters had to turn to the Greek alphabet for the first time in six decades of naming storms.
Yesterday in Cancun, Mexico, Wilma had ripped away storefronts and forced residents and tourists trapped in hotels and shelters to scramble to higher floors. At least three persons were killed.
Several dozen people looted at least four convenience stores, carrying out bags of canned tuna, pasta and soda, while others dragged tables, chairs and lamps from a destroyed furniture store. Police were guarding only larger stores, including a downtown Wal-Mart and an appliance store.
Yucatan Gov. Patricio Patron told Formato 21 radio that one person was killed by a falling tree, but he offered no details. And in Playa del Carmen, two persons died from injuries they suffered Friday when a gas tank exploded during the storm, Quintana Roo state officials said.
Wilma, which had weakened to a Category 2 hurricane as it inched northward with sustained winds of 100 mph, was expected to pick up speed today, sideswiping Cuba before it slams into Florida.
Last night, it was slowly moving back over the Caribbean Sea, and rains and winds were beginning to lessen in Cancun at nightfall.

That sounds almost like a "boomerang" effect that the hurricane took in this case. Or, you could say that it moved back and forth along the Gulf Coast. Terrible.

Kicking Over My Traces has more on the subject.

News on terrorism investigations

Some very important and disturbing items on terrorist activites being led by the PLO/Hamas. For example:

The wife of a terrorist used a baby to hide a grenade:

Soldiers arrested a terrorist's wife who held her baby to hide a grenade. In the same house, troops found a suitcase of explosives. The IDF also killed four other terrorists who attacked them.

Haruv Battalion soldiers searched a house in a village near Shechem early Saturday after receiving reports that ammunition was hidden there, according to Lt.-Col. Arik Chen. They discovered 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of explosives in a suitcase and arrested five terrorists.

Noticing that Aziza Jawabra, the wife of one of the terrorists, was holding her one-month-old baby in an unusual manner, the troops searched her and found a grenade in a jacket she was wearing.

"To see a woman using her baby to hide a grenade is not typical," Lt.-Col. Chen said. "She didn't have much to say," he added, except to deny knowing that the grenade was in the jacket. After soldiers arrested the terrorists, sappers blew up the explosives, which destroyed the three-story building.

"I can firmly confirm that an attack against soldiers and civilians has been thwarted. Terror activities have not stopped for a minute," Lt.-Col. Chen added.

That is simply sick, using her own infant to conceal an explosive! It just shows how little respect they have, if at all, for human life, even that of the youngest. See also this topic on Friends of Micronesia for more on the subject.

Then, here's another report on attempts by terrorists to use Israeli ambulances for cover in terrorist bombings:

An ambulance bearing Israeli markings has reportedly been sold to elements in the Palestinian Authority. Concerned the vehicle may be used as cover in a terrorist bombing, police are investigating.

The vehicle, belonging to the HaGalil Ambulance company - a private Galilee area ambulance service - was spotted by Samaria District police officers on Wednesday. Subsequently, Afif Zaied, affiliated with HaGalil Ambulance, was picked up by police for questioning in connection with the transfer of the ambulance to Arabs from the PA. Zaied told investigators that the ambulance was sent for service to a garage in the PA-controlled city of Tulkarem, east of Netanya. Zaied was released by police on Friday, while the investigation into the sale continues.

Authorities are concerned that the HaGalil emergency medical services vehicle, previously owned by the national Magen David Adom (Red Star of David), could serve terrorists as cover for a bombing at an Israeli hospital or at the scene of another mass casualty incident. While the former MDA markings were removed from the vehicle prior to its sale to the private Galilee company, the ambulance is still equipped with Israeli license plates and Hebrew markings, which would facilitate bringing it into sensitive areas.

And then, proof that the Arab/Islamic terrorists truly have no respect whatsoever for Ariel Sharon:

A Popular Resistance Committee spokesman threatened "to rip [Sharon’s] heart out and erase the smile off his face and his people's face just as he is erasing the smiles of our people."

Israel Army Radio said that committee spokesman Mahmoud Abed Al-Al made the unprecedented threat against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Saturday and that it was reported by ABC Australia.

"The Palestinians will do everything in their power to hurt Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon," Al-Al warned. "I want to turn Sharon's life into hell on earth since he has turned the lives of the Palestinians into hell."

He confirmed Israeli intelligence reports that Arab terrorists have transferred knowledge and technology on making Kassam rockets from Gaza to Judea and Samaria.

Terrorists, meanwhile, continue civil war throughout Gaza, Judea and Samaria amid calls by Gaza strongman Mohamed Dahlan that armed gangs associated with the ruling Fatah party lay down their weapons. He said they should concentrate on the upcoming Palestinian Authority (PA) legislative elections scheduled for January.

One PA policeman died and another was wounded in a shootout when PA police tried to break up an argument in a Tulkarm coffee shop Friday night. No group has claimed responsibility for the killing, but the Al Aqsa Martyrs Bridge terrorist organization announced it was not involved.

Make no mistake, what that "Al-Al" is saying is simply an Orwellian smear. And, while we're on the subject, let's not forget that a rocket shell was discovered at the Sycamore ranch not too long ago.

And, one more: two Israeli Arabs confessed to being Hamas collaborators:

21:11 Oct 23, '05 / 20 Tishrei 5766

(IsraelNN.com) Two Israeli Arabs from Nazareth and Kafr Manda have confessed to carrying out assignments for Hamas in the 1990’s after being recruited by the terrorist group while learning dentistry in Romania.

The pair allegedly underwent terrorist training in Turkey before returning to Israel, said police and the Shin Bet security service on Sunday, who arrested them last month.

Prosecutors from Haifa district will ask that the suspects be held in custody until the end of their trial on charges of assisting the enemy in wartime and making contact with foreign agents.

This reminds me that even Turkey is starting to become pretty dangerous again today, and may not be a very good place to vacation either.

For Arabs in PLO controlled zones, violence is an internal problem as well as external

In the Saturday issue of The Wall Street Journal, Bret Stephens, the former EIC of the Jerusalem Post, points out how the Arabs in the Gaza strip, for example, have a violent culture that's separate from their hatred of Israel (Hat tip: Betsy's Page):

Consider a statistic: In the first nine months of 2005 more Palestinians were killed by other Palestinians than by Israelis--219 to 218, according to the Palestinian Authority's Ministry of Interior, although the former figure is probably in truth much higher. In the Gaza Strip, the departure of Israeli troops and settlers has brought anarchy, not freedom. Members of Hamas routinely fight gun battles with members of Fatah, Mahmoud Abbas's ruling political party. Just as often, the killing takes place between clans, or hamullas. So-called collaborators are put to the gun by street mobs, their "guilt" sometimes nothing more than being the object of a neighbor's spite. Palestinian social outsiders are also at mortal risk: Honor killings of "loose" women are common, as is the torture and murder of homosexuals.

Atop this culture of violence are the Hamas and Fatah leaders, the hamulla chieftains, the Palestinian Authority's "generals" and "ministers." And standing atop them--theoretically, at least--is the Palestinian president. All were raised in this culture; most have had their uses for violence. For Arafat, those uses were to achieve mastery of his movement, and to harness its energies to his political purpose. Among Palestinians, his popularity owed chiefly to the fact that under his leadership all this violence achieved an astonishing measure of international respectability.

As Stephens correctly points out, even if the so-called palestinians were to get a state of their own, it would not change the fact that violence and poverty would be a forgone conclusion in becoming the norm amongst its Arab/Islamic residents. A most glaring example is their vandalism of the greenhouses left behind by the Israelis in August when IDF forces withdrew. This is a leading problem with Islam and such, in that it's part of their culture, and to call them a state would not change anything, if at all.

Needless to say, neither Yasir Arafat nor any of his cronies since then have ever shown any genuine interest in building a viable economy, and that, plus the fact that they destroyed the greenhouses left behind, is but one of the reasons why, for them, making a "state" is pretty much impossible.

Another problem is that the Bush administration, as this report from Israel National News reveals, considers this kind of culture acceptable, in this case by tolerating the Hamas' running in the PLO's so-called elections:

It's now official: Though the U.S. considers Hamas a terrorist organization, it will take no active steps to prevent Hamas from running in the upcoming Palestinian Authority elections.

State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack, at his official Daily Press Briefing on Thursday, said clearly that Palestinian politics is exclusively up to the "Palestinian people."

At the same time, McCormack emphasized that the American and Quartet position has not changed regarding "terrorist organizations operating outside of the rule of law" - though he did not elaborate. He said that in the view of the U.S., "Hamas is a terrorist organization."

However, McCormack added in a lengthy explanation, "It is also the case that how the Palestinian political process unfolds and evolves is a question for the Palestinian people. And I think that President Abbas is at the forefront, saying that there can only be one rule, one gun and one authority. And you heard he and President Bush speak just a short while ago ... about the fact that President Abbas was elected on a platform of bringing peace and security to the Palestinian people. And we are working with him and other members of the Palestinian Authority to see that the Palestinian Authority is able to live up to its obligations under the roadmap. Those obligations are that they not only have to stop acts of terrorism and violence, but they have to act to dismantle terrorist groups."

McCormack praised a recent Palestinian Authority law that forbids "armed displays in mass demonstrations," indicating that this could soften the damage done by Hamas' participation in the elections.

U.S. President George Bush hosted Abbas in Washington on Thursday. PA sources said afterwards that though Bush raised the matter of disarming Hamas, he did not dwell on it or pressure Abbas on this matter. Neither did he mention the issue during a joint press conference with Abbas after the meeting.

If the US government and even the MSM refuse to view the PLO as the terrorist organization it is, and do not object to a violence-advocating entities like the Hamas taking part in the former's "elections", how can anyone expect the problem of violence in Arab/Islamic communities to be dealt with?

Also, as pointed out on Israel Perspectives and Blog Free, the US government, to put it that way, is simply no friend of Israel's.

Update: One Jerusalem's got more on Bush's legitimization of the Hamas in the PLO's elections, and makes some very good points on how he's undermining even the US's own war on terror by doing so.

Coptic church attacked in Egypt

Reuters (via Jihad/Dhimmi Watch) reports of an attack by Islamists on a Coptic church in Alexandria because of a play they despised:

CAIRO (Reuters) - Three demonstrators were killed when thousands of people protested on Friday near a church in the Egyptian city of Alexandria over the staging of a play they said was offensive to Islam, security sources said.

The demonstrators were killed during clashes between police and the more than 5,000-strong crowd which had gathered near St. George's Coptic church in the Mediterranean port city after Muslim prayers, the sources said.

Police used teargas to try to disperse the crowd, which had pelted police with stones and which regrouped on several occasions after prayer times through the day and evening, the sources said. They said protests continued late into the night.

Police formed a cordon to prevent the crowd approaching St. George's church, prompting some of the demonstrators to try to storm another church nearby, the sources said, adding that dozens of police and protesters were injured in the clashes.

Coptic Bishop Armia denied accusations the play insulted Islam, Egypt's official MENA news agency reported, as monitored by the BBC.

"Copts would never tolerate anyone insulting Islam," Bishop Armia was quoted as saying.

He did not give details about the play or what it was about. Coptic officials could not be independently reached for comment.

I don't know about this particular article, but the one from CNN (Hat tip: The Dread Pundit Bluto) certainly tells what the play was about, and why the monsters attacked:

The riot was sparked by the distribution of a DVD of a play that was performed at the church two years ago. The play, "I Was Blind But Now I Can See," tells the story of a young Christian who converts to Islam and becomes disillusioned.

The Sixth Column and Meryl Yourish also discuss the subject, and the latter gives even more details about what exactly the Islamists objected to. From AFP:

The play, performed by amateur actors, tells the story of a young Christian who converts to Islam and is exhorted by a sheikh to kill priests and destroy churches, according to the independent Al-Dustur paper.

Performances of the play had to be abandoned after it sparked a public outcry.

Church authorities have distanced themselves from the new recordings of the play.

So because the play focuses on Islamic sponsered terrorism, that's why they've got a problem with it. Now I get it.

See also this topic from Jihad/Dhimmi Watch for something the AP Wire didn't bother to report on, but the AFP (and Reuters) did, that being the injuring of a nun at the same church by a knifer, who also stabbed another man trying to help out in the back:

The protests came three days after a man lightly wounded a nun with a knife at the entrance to the same church, and a man who came to her aid was stabbed in the back.

This is something that otherwise cannot be expected to be spoken about seriously in the MSM.

Update: see also these postings from The Free Copts weblog for more.

Hezbolla supporting, border patrol hating congressman running for California governer

For an example of a bad Republican/conservative, we have Darrel Issa, who's now running for office in California. Here's Debbie Schlussel's report on the horrid things he's done:

Jihad Darrell, the multi-millionaire who constantly praised then-Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat (for having nice little hands and a great sense of humor!) at the height of Intifada violence and right after the Passover massacre, is mentioned in an article in The Hill, which focuses on liberal Dem Rep. Jane Harman's possible run for California statewide office.

Jihad Darrell, who is tight with terror host state Syria, got a ticket for speeding at the border. He responded with a "Do you know who I am?" redux, but the brave Border Patrol agent gave him the ticket anyway. Issa then tried to deunionize the Border Patrol (there was no DHS then) and is continuing to try to shut down Border Patrol checkpoints and offices at various points in his district. Jihad Darrell pretends he is for tougher immigration laws and enforcement, but the opposite is true.

No surprise, given that the Jihadist Congressman has lied throughout his career--about his spotty military record, about how he stole his business from its founder in a tricky court maneuver, about his criminal past, mysterious arson at his company's buildings, holding an employee at gunpoint, etc., etc., etc.

I dislike Arnold Schwartzenegger, having once learned that he hasn't tried to truly shed his shoddy background (keeping nazi artifacts in his house), and the choice of Issa as the candidate for California is no improvement. It's simply incredulous how the Republicans keep scuttling their chances at winning big when they don't have to, by choosing representatives with such awful deeds to their records.

ACLU and CAIR: strange bedfellows

Arlene Peck discusses the relationship between two terrible troublemakers in the US, that being the ACLU and CAIR, two of the phoniest self-styled "civil liberties" outfits, who're doing little more than undermining free speech in America.

Also available at Stop the ACLU, My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, Don Surber, The Political Teen, Jo's Cafe, MacStansbury.Org, Cao's Blog.

Germany financed pro-terrorism movie

Newsbusters and Davids Medienkritik report that the German government financed an anti-Semitic movie that "humanizes" Arab suicide bombers. The film is called "Paradise Now" and if there's any problem it's got, it's two-fold: first, that it doesn't make clear whether the Israeli "occupiers" should be dealt with using deadly force or non-violent demostrations. But the most definate problem is that, as Medienkritik points out:

...The only thing certain in the film is the guilt and malice of the Israelis, the “occupiers”. It’s not worth going into detail about the film’s striking polemics against the Israelis. No attempt is undertaken anywhere in the film to explain the Israelis’ position. Almost all of the Israelis appear in the film as soldiers - intimidating, menacing, anonymous, occasionally with sadistic impulses.

I once served in the army myself, and am proud of my service, and while I may not be in the army today, I will say that as someone who once served there, I am simply disgusted by this.

As Newsbusters points out:

The filmmaker, Hany Abu-Assad, told a German website he wouldn’t condemn suicide bombers: "The suicide attacks are a consequence of oppression, which first has to stop...I am against killing people, and I want that to stop. But I do not condemn the suicide attackers. For me, it is a very human reaction to an extreme situation." In their marketing materials, Warner Independent is trying to make "clear that the film is one that carries a message of peace," says spokeswoman Laura Kim. "We are working with many organizations to help get the word out that the film is one to begin a dialogue, to ask questions."

Simply atrocious here is the revolting double-standard being expressed by the filmmaker. As Newsbusters also points out, Hollywood appears to be on the verge of making a ton of pro-terrorist movies, as even Steven Spielberg's next movie appears to be, and defenders of the war on terror (and also the blogosphere) should be ready to deal with this as best as possible.

Many countries in the world are being forced to become more like Israel today, the US included, since the terrorist threat is spreading nearly worldwide, and other countries are forced to adopt measures like those taken by Israel in order to deal with terrorism.

Others on the subject include Democracy Project, Solomonia, Theodore's World, Stupid Random Thoughts.

Dudley council's retreat from pig ban uncertain

The Express and Star (via Lost Budgie Blog), in reporting on the ban on pigs at the Dudley municipal offices in the UK, says that the council is against political correctness, yet at the same time, they haven't recinded the ban either.

This reminds me that even Tony Blair himself may have backed down on his warning that he would deport Islamists who took part in inciting terrorism against the country. It just shows how transparent the country's own leadership is, and how they're either afraid or unwilling to deal with the racism that's been plaguing the UK. The concerned citizenry will certainly have to do something to make it clear to their leadership that they won't accept this kind of ludicrous bias.

Wishing Michelle Malkin a happy birthday

Michelle Malkin has just celebrated her birthday recently. I'd like to join in wishing her a wonderful birthday celebration, and to keep up the excellent work!

Dubya confirms Hughes' positions

Continuing his downward spiral credibility-wise, Dubya met with Diana Buttu, an anti-Israelist who declared Israel "the greatest abuser of human rights". (Hat tip: One Jerusalem.) But that's not all. On October 17, Dubya hosted what he called "Ramadan Mubarak" in the White House (Hat tip: Is it Just Me?). From the press release:

America is fortunate to count such good-hearted men and women among our fellow citizens. We have great respect for the commitment that all Muslims make to faith, family, and education. And Americans of many backgrounds seek to learn more about the rich tradition of Islam. To promote greater understanding between our cultures, I have encouraged American families to travel abroad, to visit with Muslim families. And I have encouraged American families to host exchange students from the Muslim world. I have asked young Americans to study the language and customs of the broader Middle East. And for the first time in our nation's history, we have added a Koran to the White House Library.

Now it may not be a surprise that the even the library of such a prominent place as the White House, in and of itself, should have a Koran. But that they should be making such a big deal out of it most certainly is. And what's appalling, but not surprising here, is how Dubya pretty much doubles back on his argument about a week ago that democratic countries are at war with Islamofascism. In fact, coming so shortly after the case involving Joel Henry Hinrichs III, what the president is saying is actually insulting, because what if said "exchange students" were to turn out to be terrorist moles instead? Check, for example, this press release from the United American Committee, which warns of the dangers of militant Islam.

Somehow, I can't believe the White House never had a Koran in their library before, and if they did, then that makes the press release silly. But it does pretty much indicate that one of the reasons why Hughes is plying her non-trade is simply because the White House approves of it.

Most appalling is that the president, in his above speech, insulted/offended the very public that gave him a mandate to fight terrorism and to guard the American homefront as well. Who would've thought that Dubya was capable of taking advantage of his reelection, perhaps due to the fact that, in the US, a candidate can only run for two back-to-back terms?

Bush also flubbed by offering yet more undeserved praise for Mahmoud Abbas (H/T: Jihad Watch).

On Buttu, when she says that Israel is a human rights abuser, naturally, you can be sure that she doesn't mean this, or even this, does she? Alas, no. What she's saying simply is that Israel is an abuser of Arab human rights, while at the same time ignoring any that Islamist countries like Saudi Arabia commit, or even ones like Sudan, which is governed by an Islamic dictatorship. As told in this article from the Sudan Tribune (also via Jihad/Dhimmi Watch):

Oct 17, 2005 (KHARTOUM)— The Sudanese government has affirmed that it has reservations on some articles of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), particularly those which contradict Islam.

The minister of justice, Mohamed Ali al-Maradi, said in a press statement following his meeting with the special rapporteur on human rights in Sudan, Ms Sima Samar, that Sudan would not accept any article that contradicts the Islamic religion.

He added that women rights are guaranteed in all legislation and the constitution which enable women to assume public work and posts on equal footing with men.

Do cases like the above ever concern people of Buttu's standings? I guess not.