Protestors for rent: the US illegal alien crisis

In the past week or two, we saw as many as 500,000 illegal aliens and their sympathisers leading demonstrations in Chicago and even Los Angeles. But where did they come from? Neal Boortz finds the answers:

So just where did those thousands and thousands of protesters that showed up around the country to protest an immigration bill in Congress come from? Were they angry immigrants sitting in their government housing watching C-SPAN...only to become upset at a bill that was just out of committee? Not hardly.

The truth is starting to come out about just where these folks came from. They were protesting in the street because.....because they were told to. It turns out the Spanish media was stoking the fire. In fact, they went a step further...even telling them when and where to protest...what to wear and how to do it. It was an all-out propaganda war.

And just where will you hear this reported? Not in the mainstream media. They will report that the protests took place, then say nothing about how they got there. As it turns out, these were essentially rent-a-mobs..carefully coordinated over a period of weeks to show up and do their thing.

If the media really wanted to do their job, they would have sent a reporter into the crowd with a microphone to ask the protesters just which bill they were protesting and what the language of the legislation was. Good luck on that one.

I'd have to think that the Spanish language MSM exploited quite a few people, and is now probably laughing in their faces. As it so happens, this could actually end up harming the illegals more than it helps them.

To make matters worse, a few weeks ago, some Minutement in Indiana were assaulted by illegals at a bank supplying to them, and US flags were burned at one of the rallies, as Michelle Malkin notes here.

It seems that in all their arrogance, the pro-illegal immigration supporters have only ended up fanning the flames of incitement against the American continent, which is very grave and not helpful for them at all.

"Anti-Bibi" hatred must be stopped, and apologies are in order

One of the reasons why the right lost the Israeli election was due to a startling display of hatemongering against Benjamin Netanyahu, even within his own party, which also caused defeat. David Bedein probably has one of the best explanations for the election fallout:

The Likud and Israel's National Union-National Religious Party lost because they gave the impression to the Israeli public that they cared only about themselves.

The disastrous results for the Likud and Israel's national-religious camp in the Israeli elections conveyed a clear message to the people who are associated with those two sectors: you are arrogant and you have isolated yourselves from the people of Israel.

The outreach campaign of the National Union and the national-religious camp articulately addressed the suffering of Israelis who were evicted from their homes in Gush Katif and Samaria; yet, they were without a word as to the suffering endured by economically depressed Israeli development towns that border Gaza in the Negev, which now live under daily artillery bombardment as a direct result of Israel's hasty retreat from Gaza six months ago. Pleas with the leadership of the Likud and the National Union-National Religious Party to hold public meetings with the victims of artillery attacks in the S'derot area fell on deaf ears.

Instead, the stated policy of the National Union-National Religious Party was to reach out only to the "right-wing" of Israeli politics and not to the people of Israel, not to reach out to people with integrity on the Israeli Left who became frustrated with the fallacies of Israel's so-called peace process.

There you have it in example. Because the National Union-NRP was acting so incredibly self-concerned, yet at the same time implying that they only cared about their own Knesset seats, they were damaged. But that said, even the Likud, it's true, failed to act properly by not holding any public meetings with the residents of towns and cities like Sderot and Ashkelon. And they wasted precious advertising time by refusing to address the solid issues behind what the Oslo agreement led to.

But I think it may also be because Likud members like Silvan Shalom, who's said to have some support there (maybe not much now), did not make any serious efforts to campaign among the residents of those places.

And while Netanyahu's financial cutbacks may have helped the country to some extent, and he did have a point that people should go out to work, the way he did it was apparently clumsy, and also a problem that led to undermining him, if not as much as the National Union did. Bedein says:

As far as the Likud is concerned, its fate was sealed in the spring of 2003, when Binyamin Netanyahu, as the minister of finance, slashed special public fund allocations for pensioners, for handicapped people and for children. When Netanyahu's director general was confronted with how the cut in child allowance would cause working families to lose vital income that they need for basic sustenance, his answer was that "they should go out to work." When confronted with the fact that the cutback of the child allowance affects people who are at work, his answer, once again, was that "they should go out to work."

A few weeks after the finance ministry's economic plan was announced, I forwarded a professional proposal to Netanyahu's chief social affairs advisor that for every program Netanyahu would cut in health, education and social service, he would ask corporations and philanthropists from Israel and from abroad to sponsor new health, education and social services. The precedent for such an idea occurred during the tenure of Israel's former finance minister, Avrhaham Shochat, who had arranged with United Jewish Communities philanthropists in the USA to sponsor security guard services in all of Israel's public schools, since Shochat was cutting this vital service. To this day, UJC plaques are posted at the guard house of schools throughout the country, to remind everyone that this vital security service, which the Israeli government could not afford, had been secured with private philanthropic funds.

Yet, while Netanyahu's social affairs advisor liked the idea of seeking private sponsors for every service that Netanyahu would slash, Netanyahu would not hear of any such idea. He simply fired his social affairs advisor.

So, there you have it. The Likud and the National Union-National Religious Party presented a clear, strong security program to the Israeli voter; yet, both parties neglected to address the vital health, economic and social disaster of the indigent sector of Israeli society.

Correction there, only the Likud actually did, with the National Union, it was simply dreadful, and didn't offer anything satisfying. That aside, I understand Bedein's argument on the financial issues.

Moreover, the problem with the NU was that they were stoking what was basically hatemongering against Netanyahu, and one advertisement they gave out, showing a teen girl sitting on the rubble of a wrecked house came close to exploitation. That's something for which they must apologize, and Benny Elon, plus anyone else who was taking part in their "anti-Bibi" campaign must step down.

Anshel Pfeffer in the Jerusalem Post says that we shouldn't write Netanyahu off just yet:

Netanyahu has three main factors working for him. First, his rivals are just as discredited as he is. Ex-ministers Limor Livnat, Dan Naveh, Yisrael Katz and, especially, Silvan Shalom don't enjoy sufficient support in the party right now to oust Netanyahu and are being accused today of not pulling their weight during the campaign.

Second, after the electoral humiliation, many on the right will begin to see him once again as a martyr who didn't give up on his ideals and was crucified in return by the media and the left-wing elite. His loyalists hope that, from the underdog position, he will be able to redeem himself in the eyes of the settlers and more resolute right-wingers, still angry at him for initially supporting disengagement.

There's just one thing: he didn't. He may have voted "in favor" of one of these "bills" in the Knesset two years ago because he was afraid he'd be fired from the cabinet by Ariel Sharon, and he wanted to keep the treasury out of Sharon's reach for good reason, but other than that, he did not support disengagement, most certainly not literally.

The third factor is Netanyahu himself. He is in the worst situation of his political career, since the aftermath of Yitzhak Rabin's murder, when he was treated like Yigal Amir's partner in crime. His steadfast determination enabled him to achieve an unbelievable comeback and win the elections six months later.

He believes he can do it again, and I would bet on his lasting as Likud leader until the next elections.

Which may come sooner than we think. And Netanyahu most certainly should not have to resign. While not without his own faults, it was not because of him that the Likud was damaged, certainly not by a longshot. No, it was because of the damage inflicted by those you'd think to be his "friends", and that includes even Yisrael Beitenu and Shas, who were also leading some very appalling campaigns in which they attacked him one-dimensionally too. In fact, people who care would do well to lobby Shas and their spiritual leader, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, not to join a coalition with Olmert. Six years ago, people wanted them to resign from the government with Ehud Barak, which they eventually did.

And the Likud will also have to take some steps to rebuild confidence by meeting with places that need their support, like Ashkelon and Sderot.

What was I saying? I shouldn't just quit, that would be foolish

My fellow bloggers are right - aside from the fact that the election results were not as bad as I and some others might've thought, I shouldn't have to just quit blogging. No, that would be foolish.

So if I'm smart, I'd better recant what I said before. Good heavens. Sorry I said that.

Now to continue blogging properly and not trying to just back out because I'm depressed.

I can't blog anymore. I'm just too depressed

Simply devastating. The poll results so far? The Likud takes a downfall, to probably little more than 12 seats, and Yisrael Beitenu got more - 14. What does Kadima get? Something like 29 seats, and Labor 22.

And if this is what's to be, then as I told Allen Roth on One Jerusalem...I just can't blog anymore.

I have a little nephew whose life I fear for now, ditto his future, mine, and my family's.

Do I have a future? Does anyone else? I don't know. For now however, I just can't do it anymore.

I'm sorry.

I'm going to be spending my time now on books and visiting my nephew. But as far as blogging is concerned, I think that for now...it's over.

Again, I'm sorry.

I'd like to thank all visitors to this blog for their reading, and maybe someday, I'll come back to it. If there is a someday in the future.

For now...

Goodbye.

Well, today's the day

I'll just be adding one post for now.

Today is election day in Israel. I've already cast my vote. Yes, I voted for Likud, and the voting card for them is "Mahal" (in Hebrew, it reads like this: מחל)

There's no way of telling how this will turn out. I realize that. Will it be the right or the left that gets elected? Will Olmert get any votes? I don't know, and you can be sure that no one else can be sure of that either.

The large parties are rightfully worried about low voter turnout. Benjamin Netanyahu is going to be visiting twelve polling stations and Likud branches across the country today.

I'm hoping for the best, and I'm sure plenty of other people reading this are too. By ten o'clock this morning, ten percent had come out to vote. Despite what the Israeli MSM is trying to say, that is a lot of people, considering the time period of day.

So here goes, and tonight, we'll see what the results are to be.

Vote for Likud to save Jerusalem

Visiting the Western Wall today, Benjamin Netanyahu had the following to say:

(IsraelNN.com) In a last minute plea to the public, Likud leader MK Binyamin Netanyau said at a visit to the Western Wall: “Whoever wants to preserve Jerusalem will vote Likud.”

That's what I'm doing. Mainly because, if there's to be a strong right-wing coalition, that's why we need to vote for the Likud party.

See also this column by Caroline Glick about Harvard's recent anti-Israelist scandal, in which she too recommends voting for Netanyahu as the most ideal candidate for rebuilding Israel's foreign relations.

Look out for possible election fraud in Arab sectors

In this article, the reporter talks about how volunteers will safeguard the purity of Arab polling station ballots:

The request for volunteers, posted as announcements in specified areas around the country, states,
"Did you know that 11% of the votes for the Knesset come from the Arab and Bedouin sectors? The Bedouins have already promised their votes to Kadima, as Olmert has promised to 'launder' their illegal construction in the Negev. In many voting stations in the Arab and Bedouin sectors, only Kadima and Arab party members will be present to monitor. In these voting stations, it is very common to find that the numbers of votes are 'supplemented' by great percentages of votes of those who didn't actually vote. At least one Arab party is on the verge of not making it into the Knesset; distortions could make the difference between that party receiving 2-3 seats or nothing at all!"

One volunteer for the post of observer at these polling stations told Arutz-7, "The main value in our being there is that no one will be able to stuff the ballot boxes with fraudulent ballots of people who did not vote. Regarding false identities and the like, we will have less of a say; women, for instance, can vote without removing their face-covering." It has been learned, however, that as Moslem modesty laws allow women to uncover their faces in front of other women, a woman observer can check if the would-be voter matches the photograph on her identity card."

The volunteer said that the organization responsible for coordinating the volunteers had decided to send him to Nazareth in the Galilee:
"I was told that there are many polling stations in the Israeli-Arab city of Nazareth, and that I and several of my friends would be sent there. After speaking with the Central Elections Committee, I have learned that in each voting station, there are at least five officials. There is a three-member poll committee, made up of members of various parties, as well as a polling station secretary, who is a non-political representative of the Central Elections Committee. A policeman is also present. As observers, we have no official status, other than to be able to request that the secretary write in the protocol any events that we consider suspicious. But we can certainly prevent the submission of a couple of hundred of false votes."

The volunteers must be army veterans.

Good to know that there are people trying to make sure that no fraud is committed around the Arabic voting stations. It's also possible that Kadima might try to find ways to commit election fraud, and if so, make sure to be on the lookout for any dirty tricks that Olmert and his cronies might be up to as well.

Why I love the Jerusalem marketplace

I owe many thanks to the folks who work at the Shuk, the Jerusalem open-air marketplace, for letting me know that they understand the danger that Kadima poses. Tzipi Livni, the "foreign minister", attempted to visit the Shuk today, and was shunned by the crowd, both political activists and store managers. From YNetnews:

Livni planned a campaign tour of the open-air market, famously a right-wing stronghold, but angry anti-Kadima activists surrounded her and blocked her passage. The minister only managed to cover a few meters of ground before she was forced to leave the market. Police had to use force to scatter the crowd of activists.

Livni arrived at the market around 2:00 p.m. and was met with angry faces and loud jeers. Right-wing activists from the “Moving Right” movement along with merchants from the market said earlier in the afternoon that they would not let the visit pass quietly.

Meir, who sells fruit at the market, said if Livni “was coming to go shopping, no problem, but she might have a hard time getting in without the Shin Bet. Mahane Yehuda merchants don’t want Kadima. She can come to the entrance, but no further.”

Even before this, Gideon Ezra, the "internal security minister" got a very cold reception:

Two weeks ago Internal Security Minister Gideon Ezra toured the market to shouts of “Traitor!” and “Only Likud!”, although unlike Livni he managed to complete the tour as planned.

[...]

Meir, who owns a fresh juice kiosk, told Ynet, “Tzipi got a bad reception because Kadima is a party established by refugees from Labor and Likud that took an illegal mandate. The Likud platform isn’t great either, but for her to come here, where she stole the mandates from, is chutzpah.”

Another salesman added: “We don’t like her here. We are Likud. We are on the Right and not the Left. We are for the Greater Land of Israel.”

Thanks to everybody in the Shuk. If only we'd known about Ezra's visit earlier. But it certainly shows that Kadima simply isn't welcome around these parts, certainly not if they're going to steal someone else's mandates.

One Jerusalem also notes that Ehud Olmert's been avoiding serious screen time again. I also noticed that on Channel Two TV, which is one of the most fawning, favoritist-towards-Kadima members of the MSM in Israel, something that I'd also noticed last month: in a podium room where they were seemingly having a conference, they did not show the whole auditorium, keeping the camera focused almost entirely on the podium where the "party" members were sitting. Which tells us that Kadima didn't get much of an audience to attend, if at all. If they had, you can be sure that Channel Two would've done everything to exploit that for propaganda purposes.

And another interesting thing about the above is that, this time, Olmert did not speak within the auditorium itself, choosing instead to call by phone from another location. Not very tour-de-force for a political conference, eh?

A most silly lie from the NY Times/International Herald Tribune

From the March 25-26 issue of the Herald Tribune:

Ariel Sharon is lying "in a hospital on a hill high above Jerusalem".

Ahem. The hospital where he's been lying for almost three months happens to be low down in a valley, in the Jerusalem suburb of Ein Kerem, which is far below what the newspaper was saying.

Just goes to show that you can't trust the New York Times, nor their subsidiaries.

Mordecai Nissan: Kadima's treachery must be punished at the polls

Hebrew University lecturer Dr. Mordecai Nissan gave the following speech recently:

"The Kadima Party is by far the most corrupt of all the parties running in the elections... There has never been as extreme an example of the crushing of democratic norms and governmental correctness as in the case of Kadima, via the actions of Ariel Sharon and his partners in that political crime... I am not referring to a particular action by a given Knesset Member. Rather, with Kadima, a blanket treachery occurred against the voters of the Likud via the mass desertion of those they elected, and with a total distortion of the national desire and the conventional rules guiding the relationship between citizens and their elected representatives.

"... Kadima, a party that did not run in the elections of 2003, has been occupying the government chairs for many months, without having ever been elected. in 2003, the voters overwhelmingly chose the Likud Party, out of a clear ideological solidarity with it. But these votes were later transferred, unjustly, to the Kadima Party. How is possible that this public rape occurred without a protest from the media or from the political arena?

"...Those who abandoned the Likud, such as Ehud Olmert, Tzippy Livny, Meir Sheetrit, Avraham Hirshson, Ze'ev Boim, Roni Bar-On, Ruhama Avraham and others, abused those who sent them with a disgraceful act, with total conceit and with no shame. This is a breach of the unwritten charter between voter and representative... The members of Kadima veered from the customary Likud policy, which supported the settlement enterprise and not withdrawing for nothing in return.

"...On March 28, the citizens of Israel will be able to settle accounts with the people of Kadima. This issue must stand at the center of the electoral campaign, in which the voter is asked to express his opinion on what this band of strong-armed politicians did to our cultural fabric and the political establishment. These vote-stealers, norm-destroyers and public liars deserve nothing less than total political exile."

Absolutely correct. They must be sent a clear message that we do not approve of the gross violations of law and democracy that they've committed in past months. Which is exactly why it is strongly advised to go and vote to make sure that the Kadima "party" is sent home.

In other news, MK Uzi Landau has accused Channel Two TV of a blatant bias against Netanyahu. The judge Dorit Beinish has already agreed with him on that, and reprimanded the TV station for their shamelessness.

The Hamas is promoting violence and hatred among children.

And, here's something good said by a Labor party member, of all people - that Kadima is panicking, for good reason:

(IsraelNN.com) MK Ofir Pines-Paz (Labor-Meimad) told a Labor Party campaign meeting Sunday night in Beit Shemesh that the Kadima Party has become hysterical due to its sudden falling in the polls.

"Have you noticed that Kadima is in hysteria? That they are panicking? That they are losing their heads? They have good reason to," Pines-Paz said, to a loud response from the crowd: "They are afraid!"

"I am embarrassed for Shimon Peres, who decided to attack the Labor Party. Shimon, I am embarrassed for you," Pines-Paz said, referring to the former Labor chairman who quit the party after losing to Amir Peretz despite polls predicting an opposite outcome.

Yes, they are panicking and embarrassed alright. Because by now, as they probably realize, the polls just aren't reliable, and it's apparent that Kadima just won't get the results they wish they would. But to make sure that they don't, that's why it's strongly advised to go to vote, to make sure that Kadima's members get the punishment they deserve.

Abdul Rahman to be freed, but is still in danger

Michelle Malkin brings good news that Abdul Rahman is to be freed. However, he'll have to leave Afghanistan ASAP, since his life can still be in danger.

I hope that he'll be able to retrieve his two daughters, who also deserve freedom. There should be a case made for getting them out of Afghanistan as well.

Kassam rockets strike Ashkelon

Yet another rocket attack by the Hamas on Israeli communities. The IDF's chief of staff, however, made a very appalling statement:

Two Kassam rockets fired from formerly Jewish areas of Gaza struck Ashkelon Saturday night. IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz says Israel must remain "civilized" in its response to the rockets.

One of the rockets hit a building in the southern Ashkelon industrial area, damaging the building, but failing to injure anybody.

"The phenomenon of Kassam rocket fire has significantly expanded since the unilateral withdrawal," said Likud MK Gilad Erdan, in response to the attack. "Anyone who is considering supporting Olmert's unilateral surrender policy this Tuesday - to withdraw from most of Judea and Samaria - needs to take into consideration that what is happening in Ashkelon now will occur at Ben Gurion Airport and in additional cities along the coastal plain."

[...]

Friday night, IDF artillery forces shelled launching areas in northern Gaza – usually open fields. That shelling was in response to two rockets fired on Friday, in which no damage or injuries were reported.

Speaking at Bar Ilan University on Friday, IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz said that continued launching of Kassam rockets on Israel's civilian population would not cause him to recommend that fire be returned toward populated PA-controlled Arab areas. "We will find a full answer to the Kassams," Halutz assured the students present, "without crossing lines."

Asked why the IDF has not put an end of the rocket fire up to now, Halutz answered: "Life is about choosing between alternatives. There are those who will say 'let us conquer the Gaza Strip anew,' because that is one of the ways to combat the threat. I always remind them that we were in the Strip until eight months ago, and even when we were there we did not succeed in fully addressing every Kassam. This is because we behave as a civilized country and don't rush to cross lines in our operational activities."

What Halutz said there was a real cop-out. Let's be clear here: whether or not the rockets killed anyone today doesn't mean it won't happen tomorrow. Gilad Erdan is quite right when he, on the other hand, points out the dangers that the retreat ended up causing.

Tuesday's Israeli election is about stopping Hamas Armageddon

The Hamas has said that it will not arrest terrorists who attack Israelis:

Incoming Palestinian interior minister Saeed Seyam, chosen by Hamas to oversee three security services, said on Thursday he will not order the arrest of militants carrying out attacks against Israel. "The day will never come when any Palestinian would be arrested because of his political affiliation or because of resisting the occupation," Seyam said.

As the IRIS Blog says:

Tuesday's election is the last moment in history where this can logically be stopped. Afterwards, only God can prevent Armageddon.

To everyone in Israel, please make sure to vote to stop the Hamas fiends. The party I endorse in this election is the Likud.

Abdul Rahman must be freed!

Still more on Abdul Rahman, on trial in Afghanistan for converting to Christianity. The Political Pitt Bull has a video of Dubya finally giving a speech but unfortunately delivering it very weakly. Denmark is showing much better strength on the subject, and Robert Spencer's got an article focusing on how in Afghanistan, it is still not the democracy many thought the raid on the country would bring.

Here's some more entries from Michelle Malkin covering the report, including a rally in his defense. It seems that even CAIR is calling for Rahman's release. But don't be fooled by them. Opportunism comes in many forms, including CAIR.

See also this report from WorldNetDaily, plus Joseph Farah's op-ed. Plus, here's Michelle's own op-ed from the Jewish World Review, and an editorial from National Review.

Others on the subject include California Conservative, Below the Beltway, Independent Conservative, Big Dog's Weblog, A Blog for All, Okie on the Lam in LA, A Lady's Ruminations, Wizbang, Small Town Veteran, Ordinary Everyday Christian, four topics from Rhymes With Right, Darleen's Place, Church and State, Freedom for Some, Hyscience, Ground State, SingleMind.Net, Pollywog Creek Porch, Sweet Spirits of Ammonia, Coalition of the Swilling, UrbanRepublican, NeoPhyte Pundit, The Hedgehog Blog, Right Minded, My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, JunkYardBlog, Verum Serum, The Dread Pundit Bluto, Myopic Zeal, Virtual Fret Noise, Magic Statistics.

Netanyahu explains the history of Islamic conquest and terrorism

I was at the Jerusalem Conference held at one of the city's hotels, and got to hear Benjamin Netanyahu's discussion about the importance of stopping Hamas. And during the conference, he also brought up the history of Muslim conquest:

Netanyahu said that Islam tried, upon its founding, to conquer Christian Europe, but failed and was pushed back to Northern Africa. Another attempt hundreds of years later was similarly repelled. "For the last few centuries," Netanyahu continued, "we thought that religious wars were over - but suddenly, now, we see a third attempt by Islam. In 1979, two seminal events occurred, both of which continue to have a strong effect even now. One is the victory by Islamic mujaheedin in Afghanistan over Soviet forces, leading to the formation of Al-Qaeda, and then, shortly afterwards, the formation of the terrorist Islamic Republic of Iran. Some thought then that the Ayatollahs of Iran would become more moderate, but of course this did not happen, and now Iran's nuclear program and missiles threaten the entire world.

"Since then, more recently, two more important events have happened. One is the formation of another fundamentalist Islamic republic, in Afghanistan, with the Taliban, leading to 9/11; if they had had nuclear weapons, New York and Washington would not be around any more. The other event that occurred was with Israel's help: the formation of a Hamas regime in the Palestinian Authority. The Hamas entity is a daughter state of Iran, with the same policies, and talks openly of its goal of destroying Israel, using its code words of 'Right of Return' and 'continued resistance' - namely, terrorism. Israel is their first stop on the road to world conquest.

"We therefore face a danger of worldwide proportions - and yet there are those who feel that Hamas is not a strategic danger. [The reference is to Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of the Kadima party, running against Netanyahu and Amir Peretz of Labor for Prime Minister - ed.] All the experts say the opposite... yet there are those who think that the solution to this malignant growth is to do nothing, or else to give them more land.

"What was the result of the recent Disengagement? Shimon Peres once told me that the Arabs would build day camps for peace in Gaza - and he believed this. Yet this is not quite what happened. Over 400 Kassams have been fired from Gaza, and soldiers in nearby Zikim go to sleep in fear of the rain of rockets they face. One would expect a normal government to learn the lessons and not repeat the same mistakes - but no, this leadership wants to give even more land away - 95% of Yesha (Judea and Samaria)! Right here in this building [the Regency Hotel in eastern Jerusalem] would become Hamas-land according to them. But it's obvious that this will not satisfy the lion; instead, as Israel Zangwill once said, 'bad things have to be cut off and nipped in the bud.'

"It's still possible to stop Hamas - by standing firm in all of the Jordan Valley and the Judean Desert, and by moving the wall in the west to the east, away from Ben Gurion Airport and away from Route 433. We also need to constantly and unceasingly pressure the international community not to support Hamas in any way or form. If humanitarian assistance must be given, then it must be done through channels other than the official Hamas regime. We must concentrate mostly on the United States and on public opinion there - Jews, Christians, Congressmen and other leaders - and ensure that no funding reaches Hamas. And of course - we have to make sure that we here in Israel do not fund Hamas! No one will defend us or make our claims for us if we do not do so ourselves!"

Quite right, our being able to defend ourselves is a most important fact.

Here's also a video page of the conference you can view.

The UN smears LEGO as racist. The toy company should sue

The United Nazis continue to sink to new lows. Not content to just misuse the image of the Smurfs, as they did several months ago, they now turn to smearing Denmark's LEGO, one of my favorite toys from childhood, as racist, and certainly make an attempt to exploit it for the purpose of attacking Denmark even further. And to prove just how grimy they are, they even published an obscene advertisement in Arabic.

I can see now just how Denmark is becoming another Israel in its own way. If you ask me, they should pull out of the UN, just as America should be by now. Here's an article translated from Jyllands Posten:

LEGO on Racism Poster

UN's International Racism Day uses Lego block as focal point. Toy giant is extremely surprised.

The UN is now linking the Danish toy giant LEGO together with racism. It happened today- on the international day on racism- that the UN's High Commission for Human Rights used as a focal point for a wide global arrangement has launched a poster with the with slogan "Racism can take may forms". Right under the slogan, which is also produced in Arabic, is a picture of a LEGO block.

(Danish) Institute for Human Rights chairman professor Claus Haagen Jensen is shaken. "This is tactless and a stupidity. It's directed at when the cartoons were published, as the Jyllands-Posten pointed out. The UN human rights commission should therefore not misuse its mandate." He believes that there is reason to investigate this issue. "Is this supposed to be a little unfriendly greeting to Denmark? It is really extremely unfortunate", he said.

LEGO goes to the UN

LEGO is very surprised about the company's very recognizable product is being used in connection with racism. LEGO's communications chief Charlotte Simonsen explains that they will now get in touch with the UN. "This is problematic, to know that this poster should include LEGO connected with racism or as racists. We really have to wonder that the UN didn't let us know in advance when LEGO has previously worked together with the UN's Refugee Commisson on a campaign" said Ms Simonsen.

Danish Peoples Party leader, Pia Kjærsgaard, finds the UN poster unacceptable. "One would have to be more than usually naive to not see that this is an outrageous insult. It is my assumption that they have tried to symbolize the Mohammed-cartoon crisis as something very Danish". She feels that this is the latest example of how the UN has over time lost its founding values.

I should hope that the LEGO company will sue. What the UN did was violation of copyright, and without even asking permission to begin with, and worst of all, what they did was abuse a toy that's delighted many children everywhere. The UN then took the ad off their own website following complaints that were lodged, but it's too late; they should be told to pay the toy company billions in compensation.

Make sure you buy as much LEGO as possible for your children. Another Danish product that can certainly be bought.

Also available at bRight and Early, Is it Just Me, Point Five. Others rightfully angry at the UN for their latest attempt at obscenity include Agora, The American Thinker, Ace of Spades, Jesse Richardson, Rantings of a Sandmonkey, Euphoric Reality, Slapstick Politics, GZ Expat, Solomonia, Right Voices, Blogmeister USA, In the Bullpen, Secular Blasphemy, Vital Perspective, DPGI, Liberty Just in Case, Hashmonean.Com, Rhymes With Right, JunkYardBlog, Berkanalia, The Tech in Black, The Scratching Post, The Median Sib, Maggie's Farm.

Save Abdul Rahman

There's a lot more attention being given now to Abdul Rahman, who'd converted to Christianity almost two decades ago, and is now being tried in Afghanistan for daring to do so. Michelle Malkin has more news on the case, which the White House continues to either make very weak statements about, or is ignoring altogether. It's very scary what's happening, and shows, if anything, that the alleged lawmakers conducting this trial are as insane as can be.

If Afghanistan is to really be a democracy free from the tyranny the Taliban imposed upon it, that's exactly why Islam and Shari'a cannot be imposed upon anyone living there.

Others concerned for Rahman include Debbie Schlussel, Super Fun Power Hour, Mark Tapscott, Below the Beltway, Myopic Zeal, Mark My Words, A Lady's Ruminations, A Newer World, Everyday Thoughts Collected.

Attempted suicide bomber caught on highway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv

It was a close call. The police captured ten terror suspects, one of whom was carrying an explosive belt.

A suicide bomber carrying 13.5 pounds of explosives was arrested Tuesday afternoon near the town of Sha’alvim along the Jerusalem Tel Aviv highway, narrowly averting a major terrorist strike.

Earlier in the day, police put Jerusalem and its vicinity on high alert when intelligence warned of an impending terrorist strike. All traffic on the Tel Aviv – Jerusalem highway (Route 1) was stopped (pictured above) until police at a highway roadblock halted a GMC van that was transporting ten Arabs, including the bomber.

Shortly afterwards, the suspect was arrested and his bomb was neutralized. Police suspect the bomber was on his way to carry out a major terrorist attack in the center of the country.

[...]

Heightened security remains in effect at roadblocks leading into the capital, as incoming vehicles are more thoroughly checked. The added security is expected to exacerbate traffic congestion into Jerusalem.

Israel’s security services currently have information relating to 70 potential terrorist threats. Thirteen of those threats are “specific,” meaning they relate to a specific place or time.

Authorities are worried that Arab terrorists will attempt to strike on or before Israel’s March 28 general election. The police will operate on an emergency footing on the day of the election.

One of the biggest problems Olmert's "policies" have caused is that there are many traffic jams as a result of police having to be on high alert for these kind of scum. That's not the kind of thing anyone wants to have to live in.

See also this report on terrorists who fired at Hawara checkpoint near Shechem, and a brief report on a firebomb attack.

Others on the subject include Israel Matzav, One Jerusalem.

Ex-president Carter continues to lose credibility

Jimmy Carter, America's most dreadful president, continues to soil himself in print in this awful "op-ed" published in the UK Guardian (Hat tip: Joshuapundit), showing exactly why he's not worth listening to anymore:

"For more than a quarter of a century, Israeli policy has been in conflict with that of the US and the international community. Israel's occupation of Palestine has obstructed a comprehensive peace agreement in the Holy Land - regardless of whether Palestinians had no formal government, one headed by Yasser Arafat, or one with Mahmoud Abbas as president and Hamas controlling the parliament and the cabinet."

Okay, let's see what we have here. Carter continues to go by the lie of there ever having been a "palestinian people", ignores the fact that those he describes as palestinians are as Arab and Islamic as just about any of the other 22 countries where Arabs and Muslims live, and also makes no attempt to credit Israel for their part in helping to defeat the Soviet Union back in the 80s, is that it? Unfortunately, that is the case we have here.

Read more of Joshua's dissection of the "op-ed" at his blog, where he does a good job in showing just what a phony Carter really is.

Israel's Channel Two TV and their bias against Netanyahu

Channel Two TV in Israel, if you ask me, has one of the worst left-wing news stations in the country's MSM. They've led a constant bias in favor of left-wing parties, now including Kadima, and have also been quite hostile to Benjamin Netanyahu. Now, the Likud is protesting this bias. Here's the latest report:

MK Michael Eitan (Likud) has complained to the Public Elections Committee about alleged discrimination by Channel Two's news division against Binyamin Netanyahu and in favor of the Kadima Party.

MK Eitan asked the Committee head, Supreme Court Justice Dorit Beinish, to issue a restraining order banning Channel Two from broadcasting forbidden election propaganda.

The Likud petition quotes findings of the "Israel Media Watch" organization, which indicate a clear preference for Kadima on Channel Two broadcasts. Channel Ten, on the other hand, was found to be balanced in its election coverage of the various parties.

As an example, Eitan's complaint states that at the end of last week - a critical juncture in the election campaign - Channel Two broadcast two forbidden election propaganda clips. The first was what Eitan called a "one-sided and malicious character assassination of Binyamin Netanyahu." The clip contained "over 50 insulting, abusing, lying and subjective remarks about Netanyahu," the complaint charges, "which reflect only the personal positions of the news company."

[...]

This is not the first time that the Likud has complained against Channel Two. MK Gilad Erdan said that the station's political commentator Amnon Rabinovitch consistently airs his anti-Likud positions. Erdan's request that Channel Two balance its coverage was not fulfilled.

Channel Two is decidedly a station worth boycotting. No need to watch their news broadcasts, nor a lot of their "talk shows". It's unlikely that this very sleazy TV station will modify their positions or tone down their biases, and thus, they're not worth watching.

As for Channel Ten, while they may be more balanced to a certain extent, if you ask me, not entirely. They've given more interview time for Kadima representatives than for Likud's, and as a result, they're really not that much better than Channel Two.

In other election news, the National Union has continued to show why it's a bad party, as I've come to realize by now, and is also - yes, you guessed it - opportunistic. Much as I would like to respect Benny Elon, this interview with him shows just how dreadful he really is:

Asked if most of his efforts during this campaign are on behalf of his party, or for the sake of the right-wing bloc, MK Elon said, "It's a good question, because in fact we have two goals: to be the largest party within this bloc, and to make sure that it is strong and powerful so that it can be a real alternative. At the start of this electoral campaign, our parties attacked each other a lot, such as the Likud against Yisrael Beiteinu, and the like. I felt that this was very damaging, and I tried to change this, and I feel that these efforts have borne fruit, and we are realizing that we have to work in a more united way. After all, our common enemy is the feeling of despair among many of our voters, and the feeling that they are fed up with politics. The margins between the parties do not encourage people to come and vote - but when we present it as a race between the party blocs, and when they see that the gaps are narrowing, this wakes up people and they will realize that they have to get out and vote. We are trying to drum it in: Every vote makes a difference."

Yes, every vote makes a difference, but the way he's putting this across, I'm afraid to say, is very dishonest. First of all, he's lying if he's saying that he tried to change their approach. Today, I still found some ads in which they're still attacking even the Likud, without explaining exactly why. Second, he's really exaggerating if he thinks they're going to become the largest party overnight. That's wishful thinking, and it's not what should be the main concern just now either.

The National Union has also lied about Netanyahu supposedly supporting the pullout from Gaza. What really happened was that Netanyahu voted against the original retreat proposal, and after it had passed, he successfully got the cabinet to agree to separate the retreats from each distinct locality or settlement, by mandating a separate cabinet vote before retreating from each village, which would have delayed the process and would have allowed for it to be reversed. Unfortunately, by the time Sharon implemented the plan, the composition of the cabinet had changed, and the smaller cabinet ignored the previous decision proposed by Netanyahu. That is, those who became Kadima had the majority, and so, Netanyahu's efforts to help stop the retreat failed.

What a shame that Elon cannot be the powerhouse he could've been. He failed to do the most important thing for this campaign, which was to educate the public about the dangers of terrorism and international diplomacy that now threaten the country more than ever. As a result, all that he and the National Union have done is strengthen my decision to vote for the Likud.

A Christian on trial in Afghanistan

VOA News (via Michelle Malkin and Below the Beltway) reports on an Afghani who faces death for converting to Christianity:

An Afghan man who recently admitted he converted to Christianity faces the death penalty under the country's strict Islamic legal system. The trial is a critical test of Afghanistan's new constitution and democratic government.

The case is attracting widespread attention in Afghanistan, where local media are closely monitoring the landmark proceedings.

Abdul Rahman, 40, was arrested last month, accused of converting to Christianity. Under Afghanistan's new constitution, minority religious rights are protected but Muslims are still subject to strict Islamic laws. And so, officially, Muslim-born Rahman is charged with rejecting Islam and not for practicing Christianity.

Appearing in court earlier this week Rahman insisted he should not be considered an infidel, but admitted he is a Christian. He says he still believes in the almighty Allah, but cannot say for sure who God really is. "I am," he says, "a Christian and I believe in Jesus Christ."

Rahman reportedly converted more than 16 years ago after spending time working in Germany. Officials say his family, who remain observant Muslims, turned him over to the authorities. On Thursday the prosecution told the court Rahman has rejected numerous offers to embrace Islam. Prosecuting attorney Abdul Wasi told the judge that the punishment should fit the crime.

He says Rahman is a traitor to Islam and is like a cancer inside Afghanistan. Under Islamic law and under the Afghan constitution, he says, the defendant should be executed. The court has ordered a delay in the proceedings to give Rahman time to hire an attorney. Under Afghan law, once a verdict is given, the case can be appealed twice to higher courts.

This is the first case in which the defendant has admitted to converting and is refusing to back down, even while facing the death penalty.

Rahman is very brave in his standings, and it'll be horrible if he ends up murdered. And what's really bad about this is that neither Dubya nor the Afghan "president" Hamid Karzai have spoken out against this discrimination. If this is what Dubya considers liberating a country from the grip of evil, he's failing now to convince.

New report on Olmert's corruption should be published before the elections

Israel National News just translated NFC webmaster Yoav Yitzhak's latest report on Ehud Olmert's corruption into English (Hebrew version is here), and a good point is made here that the latest findings should be published before, not after, the elections:

An offical report, allegedly implicating Olmert in corruption as Minister of Industry and Trade will be issued after the election. Independent journalist Yoav Yitzhak says delay is political.

The State Comptroller, charged with investigating allegations of inefficiency and corruption in the government, is investigating charges that Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (Kadima) used his position as Minister of Industry and Trade to make illegal appointments of cronies to top government jobs.

The report, which highlights Olmert’s involvement in the illegal appointments, is expected to be published by the comptroller’s office after the March 28 general election.

Yoav Yitzhak, an independent journalist whose frequent revelations of wrongdoings among Israel’s politically powerful have often rocked the establishment, contends that that the delay in publishing the comptroller’s report is politically motivated.

Yitzhak claims that State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrausse’s report shows that Olmert abused his privilege to make appointments by handing out jobs based on political or personal considerations. The appointments allegedly were put into place by the ministry’s director general, Ra’anan Dinur, himself an Olmert political appointee.

As the Likud says, the full report should be published prior to the elections:

The Likud party, one of the Kadima party’s chief rivals in the upcoming election, has demanded that the Comptroller publish his report before the election.

A Likud spokesman said that when the issue is the conduct of a candidate for prime minister, “the public has a right to know the facts” regarding that candidate before the election. “The public must know who Olmert is before the March 28 election,” said the spokesman.

Exactly.

Previous posts:
Ehud Olmert's connections with pre-liquidation scam
Another of Olmert's shady dealings has been discovered
Omri Sharon's calender reveals corruption in Kadima

Wafa Sultan on Women at war with the mullahs

The UK Times (via USS Neverdock) interviews Wafa Sultan, who's been making very impressive efforts to speak out against the abuse of women under Islam:

Sitting in the airy living room of the spacious modern home where Sultan and her husband live, it is hard to believe this small, neatly dressed woman could be at the centre of an international firestorm. Just as improbable is that the most important and controversial critics of Islamic fundamentalism, violence and intolerance are, like Sultan, women, mostly from Islamic countries.

They include Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the Somali-born Dutch politician, who has strongly criticised Islamic attitudes towards women and the widespread practice of female circumcision in Muslim north Africa; Irshad Manji, a Canadian lesbian of Pakistani descent, whose book The Trouble with Islam Today chastises Islam for its aggression towards women and for its anti-semitism; Amina Wadud, an African-American convert to Islam and Muslim academic and author, who has infuriated traditional Muslims by leading Friday prayer for Muslims in New York, a role traditionally taken only by male imams.

Other Muslim women in the front lines of the clash with Islamic governments are as diverse as Mukhtar Mai, the Pakistani village woman who was brutally gang-raped in 2002 as reprisal for an alleged transgression by her 14-year-old brother, and Shirin Ebadi, the Iranian lawyer who was awarded the Nobel peace prize in 2003 for her defence of the rights of women and children in fundamentalist Muslim Iran.

“This was the turning point of my life,” says Sultan. She began to reread the Koran closely, gradually coming to the conclusion that the violence and oppression of most Muslim governments and some of those fighting against them stemmed directly from the teachings of Islam.

“I began to question every single teaching,” she says. She noticed that “there are too many verses in the Koran which say you must kill those who are non-Muslim; you must kill those who don’t believe in Allah and his messenger. I started to ask: is this right? Is this human? All our problems in the Islamic world, I strongly believe, are the natural outcome of these teachings. Go open any book in any class in any school in any Islamic country and read it. You will see what kind of teachings we have: Islam tells its followers that every non-Muslim is your enemy.”

Sultan, who worked as a family practitioner in Syria after qualifying as a doctor, also speaks about the virulent anti-semitism that was inculcated in her and all Syrian children. This made her so terrified of Jews that she refused to act the part of the Israeli prime minister Golda Meir in a school play.

“Until I came to United States I used to believe that Jewish people are not human creatures,” she says. “Unfortunately this is the way I was brought up, to believe that Jews don’t have our human features, they don’t have our human voices.”

Reading this shows that it is possible for someone raised under Islamic influence to see the light, and also to stand up and speak out against the indoctrination that goes on in Islamic countries. It's a real shame that the leftists and would-be western women's movements cannot do the same. I fully agree with Marc at the Neverdock that we need more people like Sultan who can help show us what it's like in Islamic countries, and figure out what to do about it.

Upcoming Israeli elections are a referendum on the future of the country

Benjamin Netanyahu has said very accurately that the upcoming elections in Israel are a referendum (Hat tip: Menorah):

"The coming elections are a national referendum on the Olmert-Kadima plan to give away land to Hamas for nothing in return," Binyamin Netanyahu said last night [on Channel Two's Meet the Press program].

Dr. Aaron Lerner also agrees with this:

...Yes, Acting PM Ehud Olmert only said explicitly that he intended to tear down the Jewish communities located beyond an as yet to be finalized security fence -- and two of the Kadima party's senior security personalities, Avi Dichter and MK Gideon Ezra, have asserted that the IDF will not retreat from the rubble, but Olmert has carefully maintained his option to embrace DM Mofaz's position that once the homes are bulldozed that the IDF should high-tail it back behind the fence.

And since the retreat is just that -- a retreat, this "package" does not include any clear picture regarding what will transpire in the evacuated areas beyond the traditional secular messianic view that the IDF will be eternally able to prevail, at an acceptable cost, regardless of the opening conditions on the ground.

[...]

After the retreat the situation will be completely different. A nightmare in the very center of the country. A war of attrition that saps the country and a fighting force that in time of invasion can provide both a bridgehead for the invaders and divert vital Israeli forces needed at the fronts.

I wanted to send a simple message to my fellow countrymen who oppose the retreat but out of disgust for the politicians do not plan to vote: These elections are not about Netanyahu, or Silvan "Steve" Shalom, or various other politicians in the other parties in the national camp. These elections are a national referendum on retreat.

Staying at home is a vote for retreat. I have no illusions. There is no guarantee that the politicians will ultimately even honor the outcome of the "referendum". But it is our only shot. And sometimes in life you make an effort because an issue is so important even if you can't be certain that the effort will pay off.

What's we are voting for here is the platform, not the politician. And that's exactly why it's important to go and vote. For our future.

Could Shimon Peres hijack leadership of Kadima?

Some people I know have speculated, perhaps with justification, that if Kadima is elected to government in Israel, and if the state prosecutor were to bring charges against Ehud Olmert due to his illegal activities, and he had to resign, then Shimon Peres would use this as an opportunity to hijack the position he no doubt covets even now: to be prime minister of Israel.

This is only speculation of course, but even so, with the continuing discoveries of more illegal actions by Olmert (the latest news, on illegal steps he took to give political jobs to close associates of his, just came out, but is currently only available in Hebrew on NFC), who knows, maybe there's something to it. (Update: now it's available in English as well.)

Either way, considering that Shimon Peres is one of the worst, most opportunistic politicians in Israeli history, that's one more reason why Kadima is simply not worth voting for.

While we're on the subject, here's what the mayor of Ma'aleh Adumim recently had to say about Olmert's questionable committment to build the neighborhood connecting between Ma'aleh and Jerusalem (Hat tip: Menorah):

The mayor of Ma'aleh Adumim, Benny Kashriel, on Sunday cast doubt on a commitment Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert made in newspaper interviews last week to construct a controversial building project between Jerusalem and Ma'aleh Adumim within the next four years.

"Out of experience, I am wary of believing pre-elections declarations," Kashriel said in a telephone interview with The Jerusalem Post.

[...]

"If he is really serious about building the area, then he should let us get started on the first step," he said, noting that Olmert had told him that he would only make a decision on the matter after the March 28 elections.

Olmert's pledges to build E1 within the next four years came six months after he became the first senior Israeli official to publicly confirm that Israel had frozen the controversial building plans in the wake of American pressure.

At the time, Olmert told the Post that Israel made the commitment to the Americans last year when final approval of the plan, known as E1, seemed imminent.

If Olmert is going to do everything according to what the US government says, well, I'm sorry to say, but, that's not the way to do business. And if he could bow to pressure as he did then, he could do so again.

Betsy's Page was erased, then the URL was stolen

I've visited the excellent Betsy's Page many times, and was shocked to discover that on Tuesday, it appeared to have been deleted. Then, Michelle Malkin explained what had happened: as Betsy Newmark explained to her in an e-mail, it was lost, and the next thing she knew, someone else had hijacked the URL.

I have no idea what went on the wake of the theft of the URL, but hopefully, enough controversy was caused that, as a result, Blogger seems to have responded by taking the URL offline until it can all be repaired. (when I try to access it just now, all I find is a "403 forbidden" message.)

Until everything's back in order, and I certainly hope it'll all be repaired, Duane at The Forest for the Trees has retrieved some of the data from Google's cache and put it on an alternate URL.

Others concerned about Betsy's misfortune include Flagrant Harbor, Musing Minds, AaronsCC, Sensible Mom, The Florida Masochist, Ed Driscoll, AbuseBlog.Org, A Certain Slant of Light, A Tic in the Mind's Eye, Tech Land of Ozz, Political Humor.

Update: it looks like Betsy's found some good luck: her blog is back! And now, I'm gonna do something I hadn't thought of before: I'm gonna add her URL to my own side list!

It's great to have you back, Betsy. Keep up the good blog.

Dubai is announcing sale of port interests in US

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer (via IRIS Blog) reports that Dubai is announcing their sale of the ports in the US within 4-6 months, but that they intend to keep running them "independently" in the interim.

From this, it's possible that they're hoping that the controversy will blow over by then, and that they won't have to sell, and are trying to use a stall tactic. One more reason why the public and Congress must keep paying attention to this case. As IRIS says:

Arab regimes have used this strategy many times. Recent examples include Iran bragging about dodging and stalling its way to nuclear capability and Syria's Assad stalling its way out of the pressure to step down after being caught red-handed assassinating Lebanon's Prime Minister. Abbas had been making renewed promises to dismantle Hamas before Hamas' landslide victory caused them to be forgotten.

So let's not be off our guard. The MSM is also at fault, because they usually tend to act oblivious to cases like these after awhile too, one more reason why we can't rely on them anymore.

Also available at Adam's Blog, Basil's Blog, Blue Star Chronicles, bRight & Early, Cao's Blog, Jo's Cafe, The Real Ugly American, Samantha Burns, TMH's Bacon Bits, Wizbang.

American Neurology Academy on Sharon's health situation

The American Academy of Neurology recently published some discussions on Ariel Sharon's health situation. From leftist Haaretz (via IRIS Blog):

American doctors, among them senior neurologists, have joined the chorus of criticism of the medical care given to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon by physicians at Hadassah University Hospital, Ein Karem, and his personal physicians at the Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer.

The negative assessment appeared in an article in the latest issue of Neurology Today, the official journal of the American Academy of Neurology, in interviews with four leading experts in stroke care and prevention.

The experts said they were not personally familiar with Sharon's case. However, on the issues raised in the article with regard to Sharon's treatment, the experts said treatment other than that given the prime minister would have been preferable.

Sharon's physicians said he had suffered a minor stroke and his general health was good. However, according to the article in Neurology Today, "Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had all the telltale risk factors for a massive stroke. He was 77 years old, severly obese, and he had had a minor stroke less than 30 days ago."

Haaretz learned following Sharon's second stroke on January 4 that his medical condition was much more complex than that presented by his doctors and advisers in two press conferences on the matter. Sharon suffered from various risk factors, including a blood vessel disorder, cerebral amyloid angiopathy. The morning after Sharon's massive stroke, senior physicians, even at Hadassah itself, raised serious questions about his treatment and the fact that he spent the night at his ranch in the south the night before his scheduled catheterization.

Now, senior U.S. medical figures are weighing in on the matter. "One striking part of Mr. Sharon's saga is that he was taken in an ambulance for a trip to an emergency room more than one hour away," said Dr. Stephan A. Mayer, associate professor of clinical neurology and neurosurgery and director of the neuro-intensive care Unit at Columbia University Medical Center. Mayer added that he hoped Sharon's tragedy would would help inculcate that "if you have signs of a stroke, call 911 and go to the closest ER."

Mayer said Sharon's treatment was "something we call the 'VIP Syndrome' where you do things with famous people that you wouldn't do with ordinary people."

What Mayer is saying is that people like prominent politicians seem to undergo special coverups about their health just as much as they can get better treatment. And while good medical treatment is a good thing, stonewalling and covering up what exactly has been going on, which is typical of what happens with a lot of VIPs, just simply isn't.

IRIS also notes that Kadima's corruption could also have had something to do with the coverup, but because of all the stonewalling, there's no real way to tell for sure.

Spain's Muslim population may now be bigger than France's

The Age of Melbourne (Hat tip: Pedestrian Infidel) has a scary article about how illegal immigration under socialist premier Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has shot up at a frightening rate in Spain, and while it doesn't actually say Muslims in it, there are quite a few there now, and the number of illegals in Spain may now stand at as many 10 percent of the population, or worse, at 15 percent:

LOW-key ceremonies are being held today across Madrid to mark the second anniversary of the 2004 train bombings in which 191 people were killed. But two years after the worst terrorist attack on European soil, immigration is revolutionising Spanish society far more than the terrorist bombings ever could.

In 2000, there were 900,000 foreigners living in Spain. That figure has now risen to 3.7 million (8.5 per cent of the population), an increase of more than 400 per cent. By one estimate, Spain has received more immigrants in the past five years than France received in the previous four decades. Last year, Spain received 560,000 immigrants, one-third of Europe's total.

This massive demographic shift is starting to take its toll. A survey published in January found that 60 per cent of Spaniards believe that there are too many immigrants in Spain. In 1996, the figure was just 8 per cent.

The poll also found that almost twice as many Spaniards see immigration as a more important problem facing Spain than terrorism and there is a widespread perception that the riots that rocked France late last year may offer a vision of the country's future.

Low-scale riots in June in an outer Madrid suburb, prompted by the murder of a local youth by a South American gang, were described by one leading centrist newspaper at the time as the "neighbourhood rebellion against the immigrants". High-profile turf wars between the so-called bandas latinas (Latin gangs) on the streets of Madrid have also helped to make immigration the dominant topic of conversation in bars and restaurants across the city.

While Spain may have a lot of immigrants coming in from South America, they also have quite a few Muslims coming in from Morroco, now under the shield of the government itself.

In a related story, the UK Telegraph reports on how censorship has befallen a festival in Valencia (Hat tip: Drinking from Home):

An annual festival of satire in Valencia has fallen foul of censorship after more than four centuries following the furore over Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed... But self-censorship has seen Muslim and Arab figures modified to avoid offence.

[...]

At least one well known local Fallas artist admitted to removing elements from his display of comic sculptures... The artist asked not to be named, partly for fear of reprisals, partly because he did not feel proud of such "self-censorship". But this year was "different", he said. Radical Muslim leaders appeared to be looking for excuses to cause trouble.

Indeed they are. And it does not bode well for Spain.

Anti-Israeli propaganda funded by European "human rights" organizations, which are in turn funded by European governments and the EU

Translated from the March 10, 2006 issue of Makor Rishon:

In 2001, just a few days before the September 11 terrorist attacks, hundreds of diplomats gathered in the company of thousands of members of non-governmental organizations in Durban in South Africa, for the United Nations conference against racism. The agenda and draft declarations had already been prepared - in a meeting in Iran. The goal was clear: to determine that Israel was an "apartheid nation", to prevent Israel from combatting terrorism - through exploiting international law, and imposing sanctions and boycotts on Israel.

A network of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) which work under European government funding and under the camouflage of defending human rights, has become the flagship of the attack. The Israeli government did not recognize the danger of this political assault then - and is still having difficulty doing so.

The problem is that, with a would-be government like Ehud Olmert's in control, who knows if they even want to?

Nadia Matar: We don't have the luxury of not voting

In the following op-ed by the Women in Green movement's Nadia Matar, she talks about why we have to vote in the upcoming elections:

The elections are in two weeks, and I want to specially address those among us who declare that they don't intend to vote. I, too, feel only contempt and revulsion for the election campaign.

"Look," you say - and rightly so - "the last elections brought a presumably 'rightist' government to power, and it betrayed us, it deported thousands of Jews from their homes, and it handed over portions of the homeland to the Arab enemy, who turned the area into Hamastan." This is correct. Undoubtedly, with the exception of two, or perhaps three, members of Knesset, all the MKs disappointed, deceived, lied, betrayed, did nothing or did not do enough. The spontaneous response to this is: "If so, then why should I bother to go and vote? I'll stay at home, and I won't continue to take any part in this farce."

But after thinking for a while, we must understand that we don't have the luxury of staying home and not voting. What can we do? The upcoming election is really a referendum on the future of the settlement enterprise in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. It also raises the question of whether Israel is a Jewish state or a state of all its citizens. Accordingly, without discussing the question of whom to vote for, we must get out of our easy chairs and take part in the activity to persuade the majority of the people for whom not to vote. All our efforts must be directed to prevent Ehud Olmert and Kadima from winning the election. This cannot be achieved by staying home and not voting.

Quite right. That aside, there's a most interesting point to be made about why Israel didn't get the government it really deserved - Ariel Sharon prevented that. Back in late 2000, he had been manipulating things almost behind the scenes to prevent Netanyahu from being able to run again for premiership the way he'd wanted to, by seeing to it that the Knesset would not vote in favor of full dispersion. And, in the end, of course, Sharon violated the mandate he himself had gotten from the voters and exploited it for his own interests. It's not as if Netanyahu was at fault there. And when Netanyahu was prime minister, not only did he not have an honest and devoted coalition to back him, he was also betrayed by his would-be defense minister, Yits'haq Mordecai.

Another point that could convince all sectors of the population that it is essential that Olmert not be elected is to be reminded that Shimon Peres, who is despised by the people, is number 2 in Kadima. The same Shimon Peres who brought upon us the Oslo disaster, who brought the arch-murderer Yasser Arafat and his murderous gang here, who gave them weapons, ammunition and cities of refuge, and who is responsible for the thousands of victims of Oslo, is Olmert's right hand. Conspiracy theories are already current among the public that if, Heaven forbid, Olmert will be elected, the left will arrange to have Olmert removed from power somehow, either by putting him on trial for corruption or by any other way that the left knows. Shimon Peres, who is ready to make even more concessions to the Arabs than Olmert, has a distinct possibility to become prime minister.

If such nightmare scenarios are on the horizon, how can we stay home and not vote? At the very least, we should try and ensure that the Olmert-Peres party won't take power.

Yep, because with the corruption charges cropping up against Olmert, it's possible for Peres to exploit that by taking over the leadership, if Olmert has to step down, and then more or less grasp the power he's hoping for by being a prime minister.

So I hope everybody in Israel who understands the danger we're facing will be ready to vote to prevent this dastardly duo from coming into power.

Attempted knifing attack thwarted in Ramat Gan

From the leftist Jerusalem Post:

A female resident of east Jerusalem was arrested Wednesday under suspicion that she planned on carrying out a stabbing attack against Israelis in Ramat Gan.

A local police officer patrolling in the city noticed a suspicious private vehicle, which was located on Rehov Krinitzi. In the car were three Palestinians - two from east Jerusalem and the third from the Gaza Strip.

Police officer approached the car and told the three to exit the vehicle to be searched. The female in the vehicle then pulled out a large knife and tried to approach the policeman closest to her. A municipal worker who was nearby noticed the woman, and warned the policemen, who wrested the knife from her hand.

Following the incident, the three were detained for questioning by the Dan District Police. In the questioning, police discovered that one of the three was in Israel illegally, without an entrance permit.

Courtesy of Ehud Olmert's fumbling, of course. Another reason why we shouldn't let the raid on Jericho's "prison" fool us.

Auto-terrorist acknowledges the Koran's influence

In a letter to Raleigh's ABC-TV affiliate (Hat tip: Michelle Malkin), the car-driving terrorist Mohammed Taheri-azar says the following:

The suspect in this month's attack on the UNC-CH campus has written a letter to ABC11 Eyewitness News. Eyewitness News received the letter Monday, in response to our request for an interview. It was sent from Central Prison in Raleigh and dated Friday, March 10. Addressed to ABC11 Eyewitness News anchor Amber Rupinta, the two-page letter includes Taheri-azar's explanation of what he was trying to accomplish in the attack.

"Allah gives permission in the Koran for the followers of Allah to attack those who have raged war against them, with the expectation of eternal paradise in case of martyrdom and/or living one's life in obedience of all of Allah's commandments found throughout the Koran's 114 chapters..."

"The U.S. government is responsible for the deaths of and the torture of countless followers of Allah, my brothers and sisters. My attack on Americans at UNC-CH on March 3rd was in retaliation for similar attacks orchestrated by the U.S. government on my fellow followers of Allah in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, and other Islamic territories. I did not act out of hatred for Americans, but out of love for Allah instead."

I think this pretty much says everything we need to know about the influence of Islam, now doesn't it? As Ranting Profs says - case closed.

See also Daniel Pipes' article about sudden jihad syndrome (also via Michelle). And, while the head of the Chapel Hill U. still isn't calling Taheri-azar what he is, experts on terrorism are, as the Raleigh News and Observer reports (also via Michelle), and an expert on terrorism from Israel is giving a lecture on the subject.

Others on the subject include Small Town Veteran, Owner's Manual, Slapstick Politics, John in Carolina, Publius Rendezvous, Ed Driscoll, The Nose on Your Face, A Blog for All, IMAO, Demonrats, Little Blue Alien.

IDF raids Jericho prison to capture murderers of Rechavam Zeevi

Yesterday, the IDF made a successful raid on the Jericho prison holding the murderers of the late tourism minister Rechavam Zeevi to capture the them, lest they be released, as the PLO was planning to do:

The six murderers of former Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze’evi surrendered Tuesday evening to IDF forces after a day-long siege on the Jericho prison where they were being held.

A special anti-terror police unit and the IDF Nahal Brigade charged the prison Tuesday morning after U.S. and Britain withdrew their observers “out of concern for the monitors’ safety.”

Ze’evi’s killers surrendered along with 202 other prisoners after nine hours of shelling with heavy artillery and machine gunfire. The six will be taken to a prison in Israel.

[...]

IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Dan Halutz made a personal call to Ze’evi’s family to inform them of the capture. “This is a great day for Israelis,” said Palmach Ze’evi, the son of the murdered Tourism Minister. He also said, however, that Israel should have “settled the score right then and there” on the day his father was assassinated.

Quite right, it should've been done at least five years ago, when the crime first occurred.

Not too surprisingly, the Islamofascists in Gaza ran riot:

Arabs protested the action with riots and kidnappings throughout Palestinian Authority-controlled areas. During the day, 17 foreign nationals were kidnapped. Two Australians, an American lecturer and a Red Cross official were released shortly after they were abducted.

According to Israel Radio, armed terrorists were hunting for foreigners in local hotels. The Gaza police chief ordered his officers to fire on anyone who attempted to kidnap foreigners.

[...]

Some 15,000 Arabs protested in Gaza City against the Jericho operation, the British Cultural Center was torched and approximately 300 rioting Arabs broke into the European Union compound. In addition, gunmen burst into the German television network (ARD) offices, the same building that houses the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) studios. The office of AMIDEAST, a private nonprofit organization that provides educational support services, was also a target for armed Arab attackers. “We don’t want to see any Americans here,” one shouted at police who arrived on the scene.

The UN and the Red Cross both announced they were pulling their representatives out of Palestinian Authority-controlled areas temporarily in the wake of the kidnappings and other violence. Red Cross officials in Geneva later denied they had told their staff to leave.

European Union monitors also fled their posts at the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings with Gaza Tuesday afternoon at the instruction of their governments. Both crossings were closed as armed Arabs gathered at the sites. In addition, the Karni crossing was closed due to specific warnings of impending terror attacks.

Meanwhile, PA security forces did nothing to prevent the disorders taking place at the crossings. There was also concern that Arabs might try to break through the fence separating Egypt and Gaza. Egyptian and Israeli officials were continuing to exchange information on the situation.

Israeli officials exchanging info with a regime that's anti-Israel? How sad. That aside, this shows that the PLO is just unworthy of recognition as the Hamas is. And Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) blatantly condemned the raid:

Abu Mazen called the Israeli operation, which involved besieging the prison compound and gun battles with terrorists from various militias, "an extremely serious crime".

Look at yourself in the mirror, Mahmoud. Because the only extremely serious crime here is what your gang committed over the past 12 years.

A good question though, is if the raid would've actually been carried out if the Likud for one hadn't worked on pointing out how Kadima's been slow to actually approve these operations. One Jerusalem says:

We applaud Israel's action. We also believe that if Likud's campaign that has pointed out the government's weakness in dealing with Hamas was not successful it is likely this aggressive action would not have been taken. In recent days, Olmert has talked about saving settlements and defending Jerusalem. After the election we still believe Olmert will follow a path of appeasement, as he has for the last three years.

That's a good point, we can't let Olmert and the other would-be politicians he's leading fool us on this. They'd taken their time in responding to a lot of these attacks in past months, not doing anything serious until later on, enabling a lot of damage that could've been prevented to occur, including the rocket attacks that have taken place against Sderot, Ashkelon and a couple of other areas. And the murderers of Zeevi are not the only ones who need to be brought to justice, there's also murderers who took the lives of many other Israelis in past years. And lest we forget, that the PLO, just like the Hamas, is also a terrorist organization, and does not deserve to be in a position of power.

Others on the subject include Israpundit (plus, here's another one), IRIS Blog, Westbankblog, The Dry Bones Blog, Israellycool, Soccerdad (plus, another one), Wizbang, Power Line.

Dubai's withdrawal from port ownership a fraud

The IRIS Blog points to an AP article on Breitbart that reports about an e-mail obtained from a senoir DPW executive confirming the earlier analysis that Dubai's pullout from the port ownership is really just a fraud, certainly in Miami:

DP World: No Plan to Sell Miami Port Ops

The Dubai-owned company that promised to surrender its U.S. port operations has no immediate plans to sell its U.S. subsidiary's interests at Miami's seaport, a senior executive wrote Monday in a private e-mail to business associates.

Even if DP World were to sell its Miami operations to quell the congressional furor over an Arab-owned company managing major U.S. ports, "that would probably take a while," wrote Robert Scavone, a vice president for DP World's U.S. subsidiary....

Last week, DP World backed away from the deal further. It pledged to "transfer fully" its U.S. operations to an unspecified American company and said DP World will not suffer economic loss.

The company has steadfastly declined to clarify its statement or the timing of any possible sale....

Scavone told AP in an interview that his e-mail was intended to reassure officials at the Port of Miami Terminal Operating Co. which manages operations there and is half-owned by a DP World subsidiary that uncertainty surrounding the Dubai ports deal would not affect its work in Miami....

Scavone told the AP that under U.S. corporate laws, P&O's ownership in the Miami port company would not change even under DP World's planned divestiture.

"Just because a shareholder owns the top company of an elaborate network of corporations worldwide, it does not mean that what those corporations own changes hands," Scavone said.

And while Scavone may have denied so far that he sent the e-mail, the following should help tell that it's legitimate:

[Scavone] contacted a reporter less than one hour after AP's inquiry to explain the message's meaning. Another P&O executive, Frank Fogarty, said he received Scavone's e-mail and did not doubt Scavone sent it.

This is something that Congress would be advised to pay attention to, since we can't let them trick us or pull the wool over our eyes.