Tel-Chai Nation

More discoveries of madness in Britain, as the Washington Post (via Hot Air Headlines) reports that few rape crimes reported in the UK lead to the defendant being convicted:

LONDON -- After Linda Davies reported to police that her 15-year-old daughter had been raped, it took three months -- plus two dozen phone calls and a threat of legal action -- before police questioned the suspect, a 28-year-old neighbor.

"I gave police his name, address, mobile phone number, car registration -- everything but his passport," said Davies, 44, a strong-minded mother of two daughters. "I was basically begging them. He lived five minutes away from us."

The suspect was finally arrested but acquitted at a trial in which the judge told the jury that he was "in a way a man of good character" because his previous criminal convictions, for possession of stolen goods and marijuana, did not involve violence.

Davies was furious at the judge, who also instructed the jurors to ignore the victim's young age, and at police, who lost cellphone records that contradicted the defendant's account.

"This has shattered us," Davies said. "We felt like the whole system was against us."

Davies said she was stunned to learn that her daughter's case was the rule, not the exception. According to government statistics, only 5.7 percent of rapes officially recorded by police in England and Wales end in a conviction.

In Britain, a nation whose justice system has been used as a model around the globe, government officials and women's rights activists agree that rape goes largely unpunished.

Solicitor General Vera Baird, who oversees criminal prosecutions in England, estimated that 10 to 20 percent of rapes are brought to authorities' attention. According to government figures, 14,000 cases a year are reported and 19 out of 20 defendants walk free.

I think this should be an important call to everyone with common sense about why Britain's justice system can no longer serve as a model for other countries, unless perhaps we're talking about totalitarians like the House of Saud. Read the rest of the article to see just how badly off base Britain is, and may have been for many years.

Labels: londonistan, misogyny, Moonbattery

As luck would have it, my computer's hard drive crashed, and it'll need to go for repairs for a few days. Until it's ready again, I can use a computer I have at work, but I won't be able to update as well as I'd like to. The home computer should certainly be ready again by Monday.

I think the UN must surely have a case of harboring illegal immigrants themselves, and wouldn't be surprised if they tried to provide amnesty for some who're running rampant in the US. In this atrocious report on the BBC:

Children as young as six are being sexually abused by peacekeepers and aid workers, says a leading UK charity.

Children in post-conflict areas are being abused by the very people drafted into such zones to help look after them, says Save the Children. After research in Ivory Coast, southern Sudan and Haiti, the charity proposed an international watchdog be set up.

Save the Children said it had sacked three workers for breaching its codes, and called on others to do the same. The three men were all dismissed in the past year for having had sex with girls aged 17 - which the charity said was a sackable offence even though not illegal.

The UN has said it welcomes the charity’s report, which it will study closely.

Save the Children says the most shocking aspect of child sex abuse is that most of it goes unreported and unpunished, with children too scared to speak out.

A 13-year-old girl, “Elizabeth” described to the BBC how 10 UN peacekeepers gang-raped her in a field near her Ivory Coast home.

“They grabbed me and threw me to the ground and they forced themselves on me... I tried to escape but there were 10 of them and I could do nothing,” she said. “I was terrified. Then they just left me there bleeding.”

No action has been taken against the soldiers.

The United Nazis are clearly a sanctuary for rapists. Their members, from the most high-ranking to the lowest, should be shunned and ostracized by sensible society for the crimes they've committed and made themselves accomplices to.

Labels: misogyny, political corruption, racism, UN corruption

Morris Talansky, the leading witness in the case against Olmert, has now given his testimony. And yes, it's triggered quite a bit of reaction from all sides of the political arena. And Ehud Barak has told him to either suspend himself or he'll leave the government.

Well, Barak is certainly going to have to make good on what he tells, considering that Ephraim Sneh has left the party, and I'm sure he doesn't want anyone else following him to the exit. That's probably why he had to say what he has.

Labels: Israel, political corruption

From Israel National News:

(IsraelNN.com) Just days after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced dramatically that he had initiated unofficial talks with Syria, it is becoming clear that his own party colleagues in the government are withholding support for the bid to give Syria the strategic Golan Heights.

Three Cabinet ministers from Olmert's Kadima party - Ze'ev Boim, ex-Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz and Meir Sheetrit - say they are against giving away the Golan for at least the next 25-30 years. It will take this long to see if Syria has truly changed its terrorism-supporting spots, they told the NRG-Maariv Hebrew news site.

This still doesn't explain why they're remaining as members of a party whose own future is uncertain.

Labels: Israel

But really, what else can you expect with the appeasing way Britain deal with them? From the Observer:

Prison officers at one of Britain's maximum security jails are losing control to Muslim gangs, according to a confidential report obtained by The Observer. An internal review of Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire warns that staff believe a 'serious incident is imminent' as several wings become dominated by Muslim prisoners.

The report, written by the Prison Service’s Directorate of High Security, says there is an ‘ongoing theme of fear and instability’ among staff at Whitemoor, where just under a third of the 500 prisoners are Muslim.

It claims: ‘There was much talk around the establishment about “the Muslims”. Some staff perceived the situation at Whitemoor had resulted in Muslim prisoners becoming more of a gang than a religious group. The sheer numbers, coupled with a lack of awareness among staff, appeared to be engendering fear and handing control to the prisoners.’ The situation has become so acute that white prisoners are routinely warned about the Muslim gangs by staff on arrival.

The report says that apprehension about Muslim prisoners has potentially damaging consequences and is in danger of ‘leading to hostility and Islamophobia’. It serves to highlight the growing concern about extremist activity in the UK’s jails. The Home Office is concerned that young male prisoners are being radicalised by Muslim gangs and that the prison system is becoming a recruiting ground for al-Qaeda sympathisers. Similar problems have been experienced at Belmarsh prison in London and Frankland in Durham. A number of high-profile al-Qaeda sympathisers at Frankland have been moved as a result of increased tensions within the jail.

[...]

The tense stand-off between staff and prisoners is causing problems, the report warns. ‘Staff appeared reluctant to challenge inappropriate behaviour, in particular among BME [black and ethnic minority] prisoners for fear of doing the wrong thing,’ the report states. ‘This was leading to a general feeling of a lack of control and shifting the power dynamic towards prisoners.’ It adds: ‘A wing itself felt particularly unstable with a general lack of confidence among staff.’

[...]

In recent months the Prison Service has unveiled a series of initiatives to combat extremism in the UK’s jails through the supervision and monitoring of imams and better training for staff. ‘It is vital that prison staff are equipped with the knowledge and skills to ensure they have the confidence to identify and challenge behaviour that is of concern,’ said a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Justice. ‘A programme of work is planned at Whitemoor to increase mutual understanding between staff and prisoners, including a development day for staff on the Muslim faith, focus groups in which staff and ethnic minority prisoners will discuss prison community issues, and diversity events.

Next thing you know, they'll consider releasing some of those prisoners too, all in the name of diversity and multi-cultism. They simply have no guts needed to maintain law and order there. What cowards.

Labels: islam, jihad, londonistan

Michael Burleigh tells what's wrong now in Britain: they're not really combatting the threat of Islamic terrorism at all:

After spending time recently with senior Pentagon officials and other Americans involved in counter-terror-ism, I was struck by the global scope of their concerns. Above all I was reminded how different their attitudes are from those of their British counterparts, still obsessed with “community cohesion” and the “radicalisation” of young Muslims.

In Britain the views of the nonMuslim majority are largely ignored - or lead to them being branded as potential “Islamophobes”. In the United States the unthinkable and unsayable are debated openly.

Last month, for example, the Senate committee on homeland security heard evidence about the likely effects of a terrorist nuclear attack on Washington. It started with a chilling scenario: a 10-kiloton bomb in a truck beside the White House. First, the committee was told, it would kill about 100,000 people and erase a two-mile radius of mainly federal buildings. Most of the casualties would be burn victims, the majority of them African Americans who worked for the government.

About 95% of them would die in agony, because capacity to treat such cases is limited to about 1,500. Since the winds blow west to east, the ensuing radioactive plume would drift towards the poor black neighbourhoods of the capital’s southeast, where there is only one hospital. Joe Lieberman, chairman of the committee, concluded: “Now is the time to ask the tough questions and then to get answers as best we can.”

I can’t help wondering what preparations for such a nightmare scenario are being made here in Britain. Does anyone know if our parliamentarians are asking similar questions?

Read the rest of it, but I've got a sad feeling the answer is easy to guess.

Via Hot Air Headlines.

Labels: Europe, londonistan, war on terror

The longtime Labor party member here is going to be quitting:

Labor MK Ephraim Sneh met with Labor Secretary-General Eitan Cabel Saturday, and announced his intention to leave the Labor party. He also informed Cabel of his intention to create a new political faction.

In response, Minister Ami Ayalon, also from Labor, called for Sneh not to leave the party, saying that the MK is of the most important personalities in the faction. He said that the loss of Sneh would be a strong blow to the party.

On Sunday, Sneh will address a press conference on the topic of his new faction.

Army Radio reported that Sneh is not satisfied with the state of the party, and that he had stated over a month ago that the party is going through hard times.

Earlier Saturday, Sneh denied that he intends to join Arkadi Gaydamak's new Social Justice Party.

Wow, that sure does hinder the left-wing Labor party considerably, doesn't it?

Labels: Israel

While no one seems to have been hurt, another terrorist attack appears to have taken place in England again:

A city centre was evacuated today after two bombs were found - at least one of which exploded - at a busy lunchtime cafe.

A man, who is believed to have set off the explosive device, was injured and has been taken into custody. At least one of the devices was believed to be a nail bomb.

The Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall, Stephen Otter, said tonight: “We can now confirm there were two explosive devices found at the scene.” He said they were both in the same area of the Giraffe restaurant at the Princesshay shopping centre, in Exeter, although he would not give exact details of where. He said they had both been made safe. He could not say what kind of devices they were.

The 22-year-old man was taken to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital and the area was sealed off by police. Officers said he suffered lacerations to his eye and some facial burning.

They are trying to find out what sort of device caused the explosion and whether there are any others still live.

Forensic experts have been called to the scene and a Royal Navy bomb disposal team from Plymouth are on stand by. At least one device is thought to be a home made nail or letter bomb which may have exploded while being assembled or primed in the toilets of the restaurant.

Eyewitness Peter Lacey, who was in the restaurant with his wife, said: "There were three explosions. They sounded more like gunshots than a bomb, like a lightbulb exploding. They came from a locked toilet."

And from the following news on the Daily Mail, it appears that the perpetrator was a Muslim convert. But look at how they may be trying to downplay the real connections:

Anti-terrorist police are today examining the home of a Muslim convert who allegedly detonated a nail bomb in a family restaurant.

Nicky Reilly, 22, who has a history of mental illness, suffered serious facial injuries after one of two devices exploded in the lavatories of the Giraffe eaterie in Exeter. He is currently under armed guard in hospital.

Why of all the cheap nerve! There could have been a real disaster, and they're trying to avoid the hard questions by saying that the convert himself was just someone who'd been exploited? How dishonest.

Labels: islam, londonistan, terrorism

A day before he goes for another interrogative round, here's what's now told:

The National Fraud Unit believes Prime Minister Ehud Olmert made "personal use" of the funds he received from New York financier Morris Talansky, a senior law enforcement official confirmed on Wednesday evening, as a media-ban on the criminal investigation was lifted.

"Talansky transferred money to Olmert for personal use, and not just for campaign expenses," the official said.

Olmert has claimed that the stream of cash envelopes he received from Talansky over several years was used to fund election campaigns and to cover campaign deficits, but his assertion is now being openly challenged by police.

The assertion of "personal use of funds" was tantamount to an allegation of bribery, a second source said, suggesting that police were softening their terminology to maintain a cautious approach.

Shula Zaken, Olmert's former bureau chief and secretary of many years "knowingly handled the funds," the law enforcement official added, making her, too, liable to criminal charges.

"Since Olmert became prime minister, and up until this day, he has failed to register or declare the funds he received from Talansky," the official said.

A team of National Fraud Unit detectives will fly to the United States soon to continue the investigation, the official added.

On Tuesday, a former senior police official said police had found Olmert's account of the cash's destinations to be "unconvincing."

"Olmert said the money went to cover [campaign] deficits, but he has shown no proof for that. Some fictitious accounts may also be involved," the source said.

The National Fraud Unit will question Olmert for a second time in Jerusalem on Friday morning, the Israel Police announced on Tuesday.

In a separate development Wednesday, the Knesset approved in a preliminary reading a bill calling on any prime minister under criminal investigation to resign.

The bill, submitted by Labor MK Ophir Paz-Pines, comes at a particularly inconvenient time for Olmert, who is currently the subject of five different investigations.

On Friday, the Jerusalem District Court is due to consider a request by the attorneys representing Olmert and Zaken to postpone Talansky's pre-trial testimony for two weeks.

The court has scheduled the testimony for this coming Sunday, but the lawyers maintained in a brief filed last Thursday that they would not have enough time to prepare to cross-examine Talansky.

"We ask the distinguished court to postpone by two weeks the date of the Talansky's early testimony hearing, scheduled for May 25, so that it will begin on Sunday, June 8," attorneys Eli Zohar, Nevot Tel-Tzur and Micha Fetman wrote.

The state did not respond in writing to the attorneys' request. In their brief, the attorneys quoted the prosecution as telling them in a telephone conversation, "We request an urgent meeting on the matter this week in the presence of both sides and the witness, Talansky."

The Justice Ministry spokesman indicated Tuesday that the prosecution would countenance a delay of a day or two in the date of the hearing, but did not want to speculate on what it would do if the lawyers asked for more time than that.

The prosecution also has a problem in that Talansky has agreed to remain in Israel until Monday, May 26, but insists on returning home that night because his wife is ailing and he has business affairs to tend to at home.

The lawyers indicated that the state could allow Talansky to leave now, since he has promised to return for his grandson's wedding on June 11. During a High Court hearing on Monday, Talansky's lawyer, Jacques Chen, made a similar suggestion and said his client was ready to leave behind a substantial financial guarantee that he would return.

However, the state has refused to let Talansky leave Israel for fear that he will not return to testify against Olmert, his friend for the past 15 years. Indeed, during Monday's hearing, State Attorney Moshe Lador flatly rejected Chen's suggestion.

According to the lawyers, the investigation material compiled by the police, which they will have to study before the pre-trial testimony, fills 20 large files. They received three of them on Tuesday night.

The prosecution informed them on Wednesday that it was photocopying another 15. They will be able to pick up the last two following Olmert's questioning by police, which is scheduled for Friday at 10 a.m.

Of course, this is still a long way from having a serious indictment confirmed. Is A-G Manny Mazuz going to authorize one or not?

Labels: Israel, political corruption

Finally, some justice has been found in this most notorious blood libel. As Richard Landes now reports at the Augean Stables, Phillipe Karsenty has won the case. If you can read French, here's something about this from Nouvel Observateur.

We now need to hope that France 2 television will fire Charles Enderlin, and have nothing more to do with the libelous fauxtographer who filmed the propaganda in the first place. They should and must do so if they're to hang onto their credibility as a TV network.

Not only that, but the law in France that allows "high-ranking" people like Enderlin to sue for alleged slander should be changed, just like Canada's alleged Human Right Commission should be discarded. Some calls should be start being made for the abolition of such foolish laws.

Until then, it's relieving to finally see the blood libel of the al Durah hoax discredited.

Update: here's Israel Insider's report.

Others on the subject include Emet m'Tsiyon, The American Thinker, Israel Matzav, Contentions, Breath of the Beast, Little Green Footballs, Instapundit.

Labels: anti-semitism, communications, Europe, France, islam, Israel, political corruption, terrorism

Here's some of the latest on Ehud Olmert's shady business:

While serving as minister of industry, trade and labor, and not just during election campaigns, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert received, in person, cash envelopes from American business Morris Talansky, State Attorney Moshe Lador told the Supreme Court monday, adding that new details of Olmert's alleged corruption would be revealed in the coming day.

Ehud Olmert allegedly received the cash both in Israel through his office manager at the Ministry, Shula Zaken, and in the United States," Lador said, as judges deliberated on the appeal by the prime ministers' lawyers against the decision to allow the state to take a "preliminary testimony" from Talanksy, described by Zaken in her appointment diary as "The Laundry Man."

The state attorney confirmed that there were two suspects in the case -- he did not state that the second suspect was Zaken, but that is believed to be the case. He said that the suspicions also pertained to the period in which Olmert served as mayor of Jerusalem.

Olmert tried to appeal against Talansky's giving testimony today. It's been rejected, and tomorrow, I think Talansky will be testifying in the case.

Labels: Israel, political corruption

In Minnesota, a TV crew for KSTP going to Tarik ibn Zayad Academy to report about a state probe were attacked by two workers (via Michelle Malkin).

And so we see what can happen when taxpayer money is allowed to be given to these creeps. The two men who did that should be charged, and it should be demanded that they be fired from any job there.

Update: did you know that ibn Zayad was the first Muslim leader to invade Spain, which was in the year 710?

Others on the subject include Lake Minnetonka Liberty, The Daley Gator, Little Green Footballs, Theodore's World, Hot Air, Free Mark Steyn, Bear Creek Ledger.

Labels: islam, racism, United States

Labels: londonistan

Guess who the new employee is at London's main airport? (via Dhimmi Watch.)

An Afghan hijacker who forced an airliner to fly to Britain is now working at Heathrow, it has been disclosed.

Nazamuddin Mohammidy, 34, was one of a gang of nine that threatened to blow up an internal flight in Afghanistan, along with 173 passengers and crew, unless they were granted political asylum.

The Afghan hijackers forced the Boeing 727 to divert to Britain where they surrendered to police and the SAS after a 70-hour stand-off at Stansted Airport, Essex in February 2000.

Mohammidy, of Hounslow, Middlesex, is now working as an office cleaner for British Airways.

The discovery came after he was stopped and searched by officers from the Metropolitan Police under the Terrorism Act near Heathrow’s Terminal 5 on Tuesday where he gave his surname as Mohamed.

Mohammidy appeared in custody before Uxbridge magistrates the following day under the name Mohammady accused of being in breach of bail after being charged with assault and criminal damage in December last year. He does not face any charges under the Terrorism Act.

And while he may be appearing before a magistrates court today, I wouldn't be surprised if they do nothing to change that. Geez, they really did give him asylum.

Labels: jihad, londonistan, terrorism

Barry Rubin talks about how the wishes of those who'd wish for Israel to perish are greatly exaggerated, and how they only end up hurting the Arabs they supposedly support too.

Labels: Israel

I figured that the violence against Jews in England would eventually seep over to Christians as well, and indeed it did last March. Now, it's happened again, only this time the victim is foolishly trying to downplay the religious aspectss involved which'll only make it harder to deal with these type of crimes (also via Jihad/Dhimmi Watch):

A SECOND priest has been beaten up in his own churchyard in the space of just eight weeks in London’s East End — this time over an argument about a football.

The Rector of St Matthew’s in Bethnal Green, The Rev Kevin Scully, was attacked on Tuesday afternoon by three drunken youths who had returned to take their revenge for a row three days before.

I think this may be another way the British media themselves are trying to cover up what really took place, though it may be the victim's claim as well?

He had taken their ball last Saturday after he saw them using a cross on the church as a basketball hoop.

He has been taunted with religious and racist abuse in the past, but believes the beating was more alcohol-fuelled than anything more sinister.

Ah, now I see, the argument stems primarily from the victim, another sign of how badly damaged people's minds are in the UK.

The attack follows the vicious assault on Canon Michael Ainsworth at St George-in-the-East church in Shadwell in March.

But although that attack was treated as a ‘faith hate’ crime, police consider the latest incident as simple assault.

Fr Scully, 45, who was left with two black eyes, cuts and bruises, told the Advertiser: “I’m still a bit shaken up.

“It came out of an incident where some teenagers were using the front of the church as a basketball hoop.

“I took their ball and told them to leave—but they came back on Tuesday, drunk, to demand their ball back and attacked me.”

He recalled: “One of them was instigating the violence.

“I thought the other two were going to stop it, but in the end they joined in.

“Even a passer-by who saw what was going on and tried to intervene got a kicking too.

“I was punched twice in the face, hard, hit again, and kicked from behind.

“I crouched down to ward off the blows before running to the Rectory and calling police.”

Fr Scully added: “My biggest concern was getting the door locked as I thought they might follow me inside.

“But they ran off and I’ve not seen them round here since.”

He branded them “drunken yobs” and said the area suffered anti-social and criminal behaviour.

Mr Scully, however, insists it was not a ‘policing’ problem, but a ‘community’ problem.

“These are someone’s sons, someone’s brothers,” he said. “These people are known in the community.”

“There is a certain racial and religious element to this,” adds.

“I have been and was taunted religiously — and that is a worrying aspect of it.

“But I would not make that a ‘flag of convenience.’

“These are drunken yobs and that is the shame of it.

“They could probably have a very bright future ahead of them if they only did something about it.”...

If he's downplaying the religious aspects, less is likely to be done about it. Yet this isn't surprisingly coming from England.

Labels: Christianity, islam, londonistan

For Israel's 60th anniversary, the 12Tribe Films site and blog is wishing a happy birthday for the state with the following video:

Here's also a press release they've got:

LEARNING TORAH ON SHAVUOT NIGHT FOR SDEROT

Introducing the Shavuot Mishnathon for Sderot

With the holiday of Shavuot approaching, and people preparing to stay up to learn Torah on Shavuot evening, 12Tribe Films Foundation (www.12tribefilms.org) and the Sderot Hesder Yeshiva (www.sderot.org) are introducing the "Shavuot Mishnathon" - where people can learn Torah to support the people of Sderot.

This year young and old, schools and communities can all join together and pledge to learn a number of mishnayot on Shavuot night while seeking sponsorships from family and friends. The Shavout Mishnathon allows all to learn together and help an institution that is helping the people of Sderot. All proceeds go directly to the Sderot Hesder Yeshiva.

See the video on the Yeshiva here - http://12tribefilms.org/mishnathonforsderot

The situation in Sderot remains unsettling with rockets falling on the community on a daily basis. Despite the situation, the Sderot Hesder Yeshiva has continued to flourish with over 500 students and has become a pillar in the community, reaching out to those in need, from all walks of life, during these difficult times.

Now the Yeshiva is embarking on a major campaign to construct new "kassam proof" dormitories on campus. These units are in immediate need, as the students were forced off campus and into temporary housing since their dormitories were deemed unsafe from rocket attacks.

The Shavuot Mishnathon allows all to learn together and help an institution that is helping the people of Sderot.

Students or community members can all take part in the Shavuot Mishnathon.

All individuals or institutions interested in joining should send an email to avi@12tribefilms.org to request the Mishnathon program packet with all the materials needed to run and take part in the Mishnathon.

This year Jews worldwide can all connect on the Shavuot holiday by learning Torah and supporting our fellow Jews in Sderot.

All questions or inquiries can be sent to avi@12tribefilms.org
--
Avi Abelow
Founder and CEO
12Tribe Films Foundation
www.12tribefilms.org
US (W) 718-577-1390
Fax - 718-303-9957
Israel 972-524-519-609
Skype: 12Tribe Films

12Tribe Films Foundation is a program provider specializing in movies and cultural events that show a side of the Jewish and Israeli narrative that receives little attention in the public discourse today. Our aim is to provide programs that allow people to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the Jewish people and the Land of Israel today.
See our premier production: http://www.12tribefilms.org/homegame

Yes, this is also a showing of solidarity with Sderot.

Labels: Israel, showbiz

A most disturbing thing happened in Brooklyn, according to a writer for the Canadian Free Press who was held captive by enforcment goons for a Mosque in a Muslim neighborhood (via Michelle Malkin).

Now, if this did happen, then the NYPD are going to have to be frowned upon for letting these sort of things go on without taking action against the offenders. I'd suggest that NY citizens who shocked at this turn to the police to inquire about it and demand that it be investigated and dealt with properly.

Labels: islam, United States

Her sister didn't get any either. Just fines of $750. It seems as though the trick being used by offenders like these is to simply plead guilty. Nada Prouty, the agent who spied for Hezbollah, has gotten off thanks to a judge who was apparently appointed by Jimmy Carter, which shows how his disastrous steps as president are still having serious ramifications and repercussions. And all she has to do is pay a fine that's less than what the mortgage could cost.

People who are as rightfully outraged as me and various other folks at Hot Air and Michelle Malkin's blog should contact the Justice Department to appeal this case. This shouldn't be allowed to just pass by without public comment.

Labels: anti-americanism, Moonbattery, terrorism, United States

As I said there, that's what happened:

JERUSALEM - A rocket fired from Gaza exploded in a shopping center in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon on Wednesday, wounding at least 14 people, rescue officials said.

At least two women and one girl were seriously wounded and several other people were slightly hurt, said Leah Malul, an official at Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon.

The Magen David Adom rescue service said 14 people were wounded — three seriously — and all the casualties had been evacuated from the site of the attack.

Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement on its Web site.

Witnesses told Israeli radio stations that the rocket caused considerable damage and rescue service director Eli Bean said at least two people had been trapped under the rubble. The two were rescued and taken to hospital, Army Radio reported.

Army Radio said the rocket hit the third floor of the Hutzot mall. The report said a clinic takes up part of the floor.

The rocket attack came as President Bush wrapped up talks in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. The Israeli leader said at the end of the talks that Israel would not tolerate attacks from Gaza militants.

Two people have been killed in recent days in attacks by Palestinian militants on Israeli communities outside Gaza.

The homemade rockets militants usually fire at Israel do not have enough range to reach Ashkelon. Militants use longer-range rockets to hit the city of 100,000, 9 miles from the Gaza-Israel border.

Doesn't this signal that they've been able to smuggle in more advanced rockets in the past year? There is every chance they have worse weapons now.

Note also the predictable use of the word "militants" instead of terrorists by the AP, which is atrocious as usual.

Labels: anti-semitism, islam, Israel, jihad, terrorism

Just today, the police paid a visit to Jerusalem's municipality:

Detectives from the National Fraud Unit raided the Jerusalem City Hall with a search warrant on Monday afternoon, seeking documents dating back to Olmert's two terms as mayor of the capital from 1993 to 2003, during which he is suspected of illegally receiving funds from New York financer Morris Talansky.

"The search is linked to the time that Olmert worked in the municipality, and to suspicions of receiving the funds," Israel Police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld confirmed.

A City Hall representative said he saw two police officers enter the building, but could not confirm seeing them leave with any documents or computers.

Meanwhile, Talansky was interrogated again at the National Fraud Unit's Bat Yam headquarters on Monday evening.

Talansky emerged from the backdoor of the police station after a long questioning session, saying "here we go" as he encountered several photographers and journalists.
He refused to comment on the investigation, occasionally flashing a smile as he entered a car, and was driven away from the police station.

In an interview aired on Sunday night on channel 10, he denied bribing the prime minister, saying the hundreds of thousands of dollars he provided Olmert were meant as campaign contribution funds.

"I never thought in any way that the money that I gave him - it was for the purpose of his becoming mayor or electioneering - was in any way illegal or wrong. He was not the only one who came to America to ask for money for the election campaign, and so I thought it was legal," Talansky said.

Earlier on Monday, the former chief investigator into corruption at the State Comptroller's office, Cmdr. (ret.) Yaakov Borovsky, said he thought the ongoing criminal investigation into Olmert will conclude with an indictment.

Olmert has committed himself to resigning should he be served with an indictment during a televised address to the nation last week.

Borovsky dismissed the idea that the investigation into Olmert was based only on illegal receipt of money, saying the far more serious charge of bribery was the focus of National Fraud Unit investigators.

He added that between 2003 and 2005, when police suspect that Olmert continued to receive money from Talansky, no elections were held, and suggested that the funds could not be solely meant to finance elections campaigns.

I wouldn't be surprised if Olmert had more than a few other shady dealings and rackets he was conducting behind the scenes.

Labels: Israel, political corruption

Barry Rubin talks about why the Hezbollah's conquest of Beirut in Lebanon should be serving as a wake-up call for the West.

Labels: jihad, Lebanon, terrorism

The Weekly Standard writes about a newsmagazine that Jeremiah Wright published, that shows that Obama knew more than a bit about what Wright was up to:

To the question of the moment—What did Barack Obama know and when did he know it?—I answer, Obama knew everything, and he’s known it for ages. Far from succumbing to surprise and shock after Jeremiah Wright’s disastrous performance at the National Press Club, Barack Obama must have long been aware of his pastor’s political radicalism. A careful reading of nearly a year’s worth of Trumpet Newsmagazine, Wright’s glossy national “lifestyle magazine for the socially conscious,” makes it next to impossible to conclude otherwise.

On a side note, I'd figure that even a tuba would be more appealing than the nasty newspaper Wright was publishing.

Labels: anti-americanism, anti-semitism, racism, United States

The Observer (via Hot Air Headlines) conducted an interview with the filthy Muslim father who murdered his daughter in Iraq for falling in love with a British soldier. If you read the first paragraph after the article's author credits, you'll see that he is one repugnant monster, and the worst part is that he had police backing his actions.

Update: and while we're on the subject, another Islamic family murder has taken place in Jordan, and I don't think I should have to tell you just how abominable this is too.

Labels: islam, misogyny

This most famous rebel and writer has passed away at 93:

Shmuel Katz, one of the last remaining links to the Zionist Revisionist icon, Ze'ev Jabotinsky, and himself a towering figure and forceful voice of the Zionist Right, died in the early hours of Friday morning, soon after Yom Ha'atzma'ut, at Tel Aviv's Ichilov Hospital. He was 93.

His funeral will take place at 1 p.m. today at the Hayarkon Cemetery, Geula Gate, in Tel Aviv.

Katz was born in South Africa in 1914 and first came to Israel in 1936, joining the Irgun.

Jabotinsky sent him to London in 1939 to represent the Revisionist Zionist position. Katz soon found himself virtually stranded after Jabotinsky died suddenly in upstate New York in 1940. Katz subsequently made a living as a journalist working for a number of London newspapers while also founding a Zionist Revisionist weekly.

In 1946 he managed to return to Palestine and joined the Irgun High Command. He was the movement's de facto foreign minister and its last Jerusalem-area commander prior to statehood.

Katz was elected to the First Knesset on the Herut list. Highly principled and often uncompromising, he quit politics and established a publishing house.

After the Six Day War he became a leader of the Land of Israel movement. When the Likud Party won the 1977 elections and broke Labor's stranglehold on Israeli politics, Menachem Begin asked Katz to serve as his adviser on information, tasked with explaining the new government's position to a hostile media and an unfriendly Carter administration.

But Katz soon came to feel that Begin was too accommodating in the face of US pressure and in January 1978 left the premier over his peace negotiations with Egypt.

Katz opposed the notion of land for peace, championing the formula of peace for peace.

A prolific writer, essayist and historian, Katz had a regular column in The Jerusalem Post for many years and continued to publish occasional op-eds until very recently. Among his most important books are Lone Wolf: A Biography of Vladimir Jabotinsky; Battleground: Fact and Fantasy in Palestine; and The Aaronsohn Saga about the Nili spy ring, whose English edition was published late last year by Gefen.

Though a fierce ideologue, Katz was soft spoken, with a twinkle in his eye and a winning self-deprecating humor. As recently as several weeks ago, he was planning a new series of short op-eds for the Post in opposition to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's policies.

Katz is survived by his son Yuval and nephew Dr. Leonard Bliden, both of Tel Aviv.

He should be honored for the good he did in his time. Another book of his not mentioned in the article but recommended is Days of Fire, which was first published in 1968.

Labels: Israel

Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama's former pastor (and even that's still debatable), is being replaced at the Trinity Church, but the new one, Otis Moss, is just as disturbing:

Barack Obama has finally distanced himself from Rev. Jeremiah Wright after a 20-year relationship, but the pastor who is replacing Wright at Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ is likely to be just as controversial.

New Trinity pastor Otis Moss has called Biblical patriarch Abraham a “pimp” and made other statements many would consider offensive.

After Obama called Wright’s comments “divisive and destructive,” a questioner noted that Rev. Moss has defended Wright and asked if Obama would continue attending the church.

“Well, the new pastor, the young pastor, Reverend Otis Moss, is a wonderful young pastor,” Obama responded. “And as I said, I still very much value the Trinity community.”

[...]

In an interview last month with National Public Radio, Moss refused to distance himself from claims by Wright that the U.S. government was involved in distributing illegal drugs to minorities.

[...]

Moss has also referred to blacks as “lepers” with a “skin disease.”

African Americans should pay careful attention to Moss's bizarre double-standard there: on the one hand, it would seem as though he's accusing whites of being unfair to blacks, but on the other hand, it sounds like he's turning against even the community he claims to speak for. This is truly disgusting, and noone with common sense should have to attend the Trinity Church. Let them be empty of visitors.

And Obama certainly isn't doing much good by failing to condemn Moss for the damage he's doing.

Labels: anti-americanism, anti-semitism, Christianity, racism, United States

Here's a horrific story about a 10-year old who experienced a crime almost like what Ayesha suffered at the hands of Mohammed in the 7th century (via Hot Air). There's more on this at Breitbart TV. Too depressing and creepy to have to quote here.

Labels: immigration, misogyny, United States

I think this should serve as a lesson why questionable countries like Yemen, where Islam is dominant, really don't need money from tourists. From The Japan Times:

SAN'A (Kyodo) Two female Japanese tourists kidnapped in Yemen have been safely freed, officials at the Japanese Embassy in Yemen said Thursday morning.

The women, who local tribesmen kidnapped at the historic site of Marib in western Yemen, arrived unhurt at their Marib hotel, the officials said.

Their release followed negotiations between the four kidnappers and tribal leaders who surrounded the house where the women were being held.

There was no word on whether prisoners or money were exchanged to win the hostages' release.

The women, who had been part of a larger group of tourists, were kidnapped Wednesday afternoon on their way to the ancient Marib Dam.

[...]

Local news Web site Marib Press quoted sources close to the situation as saying the kidnappers demanded that a man being held in San'a over the alleged murder of a Yemeni soldier be freed. The man in custody is reportedly a relative of the kidnappers.

If they really want to see this relative of theirs again, maybe they should join him in prison! And even if the tribal leaders led to the release of the hostages, Yemen is still not a safe place to visit, as this should tell.

Labels: islam, Japan, jihad, terrorism, yemen

Here's another report on Ehud Olmert's rapidly growing scandal:

Uri Messer's testimony will cause difficulties for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in the investigation of suspicions that the prime minister accepted large sums of money from US businessman Morris Talansky, legal officials were quoted as saying Friday.

Yediot Aharonot and Ma'ariv reported that Messer, Olmert's close associate and lawyer, had cooperated with the inquiry against the prime minister.

The officials told the newspapers that Messer was interrogated without turning state witness and that his testimony would also cause problems for Olmert's former bureau chief Shula Zaken in the case.

During the past 10 days, Zaken has been questioned four times by police on the same affair. She has refused to answer questions on each occasion and has been placed under house detention, which was due to expire on Friday.

Zaken and Messer have both been implicated in a number of other allegations against the prime minister. Their alleged involvement in the new affair has not been fully explained.

On Thursday night, minutes after a court decision lifted the gag order that had been preventing any publication of the details of the case, Olmert said he has never taken a bribe or "a single agora" for himself, but that he would resign if the attorney-general decides to indict him as a result of the new police investigation.

"I hope and believe that we will not get to this stage," he said in a dramatic statement at his Jerusalem residence.

A police source said the funds in question were "very large," and were allegedly received over an extensive period of time, "both directly and indirectly." Hundreds of thousands of dollars are believed to be involved.

Okay, will he finally resign if it comes to that, or will he continue to be disrespectful of the law? On the other hand, I see that Ehud Barak is still stalling and biding for time, because as head of the Labor party, he's still slow to leaving:

Following Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's speech as details of an ongoing investigation against him were finally publicized, opposition and coalition MKs were quick to call for his head.

While Labor officials were quoted by Israel Radio as saying that the party would remain in the coalition until a final decision is made on whether to serve an indictment against the prime minister, Labor Secretary-General Eitan Cabel said Labor needed to reconsider its position in the coalition in light of the revelations.

"I do not see how Olmert can continue to lead the government in the current situation," Cabel told Israel Radio Friday.

Cabel also said Kadima was "obligated to do something" to stabilize the political establishment.

In addition, Shelly Yacimovich, one of Olmert's sharpest critics in Labor, announced that "the coalition partnership with Olmert has ended, as staying in a coalition headed by Olmert issued a stamp of approval for his corrupt actions. If Olmert has even a grain of Zionism and responsibility, he must resign immediately in view of the harsh allegations. While himself being suspected of criminal activity, Olmert is running a war against the rule of law."

I think I'm going to have to take a moment to note how dismaying it is to see Yachimovich abusing the word "Zionist", which does mean nationalist, but if she's as much in favor of giving away Israel to a terrorist organization, then she's not being very Zionist herself, is she?

Now as for Barak, it says that:

Labor's Young Guard demanded that Labor chairman and Defense Minister Ehud Barak promptly resign from the coalition. Representatives of the group warned that "if Labor does not withdraw from the coalition immediately, they will lose the public's trust in future elections."

However, Barak associates said the party would maintain a steady relationship with Olmert and that Labor would remain in the government until things become clearer, Army Radio reported.

All he's doing is stalling out of his apparently being more interested in a government seat than in true responsibility. I suggest he start to rethink his position, because his colleagues are getting very restless.

Here's also YnetNews' report on the case.

Labels: Israel, political corruption

Michelle Malkin presents a new feature on her blog - listing things that Muslims don't like. For example, we have the subject of bikinis, one of the things they dislike, and look at what's happened recently in Birmingham in England:

Matalan posters outrage Muslims
Apr 30 2008 By Paul Suart

A COUNCILLOR today called for more control over advertising posters in “culturally sensitive” areas of Birmingham.

Coun Talib Hussain made his plea after a billboard on the corner of Sydenham Road and Golden Hillock Road, in predominantly Muslim Sparkbrook, was defaced.

The hoarding, close to mosques in Anderton Road and Golden Hillock Road and visible to parents and children walking to Montgomery Primary School, promotes Matalan’s new swimwear range and features three scantily-clad models.

The models have been covered in thick white paint to conceal bare flesh.

Coun Talib Hussain (Ind, Sparkbrook) criticised the vandalism but said it was a result of the lack of action from city council bosses. He said: “I condemn the people that did this but at the same time it’s wrong for companies to put that kind of advert in sensitive wards.

“I have received complaints on a number of occasions not to put adverts like that in Sparkbrook. “The city council should not give permission to advertising like that in these wards. "Having families seeing naked pictures does not bring the community together, it provokes things."

The vandalism is similar to a spate of attacks in 2005 and 2006 by a group called Muslims Against Advertising.

If one feels that gratuitous porn-like ads are a problem, that's okay to criticize. But these are very decent, tasteful bikinis made a family-clothing company called Matalan. And these Islamists have the gall to attack that? Geez. And why does it "provoke"? Because no proper steps are taken to teach why it's wrong to disrespect others' right to freedom of speech, stuff like that.

Another thing Islamofascists don't like is divorce that isn't managed according to their beliefs, and fortunately, the Supreme Court of Maryland wouldn't recognize one Muslim's attempt to do things this way:

Saying "I divorce thee" three times, as men in Muslim countries have been able to do for centuries when leaving their wives, is not enough if you're a resident of Maryland, the state's highest court ruled yesterday.

Yesterday, the Court of Appeals rejected a Pakistani man's argument that his invocation of the Islamic talaq, under which a marriage is dissolved simply by the husband's say-so, allowed him to part with his wife of more than 20 years and deny her a share of his $2 million estate.

The justices affirmed a lower court's decision overturning a divorce decree obtained in Pakistan by Irfan Aleem, a World Bank economist who moved from London to Maryland with his wife, Farah Aleem, in 1985.

Both of their children were born in the United States.

In 2003, Aleem's wife filed for divorce in Montgomery County Circuit Court.

When he filed a counterclaim, he did not object to the court's jurisdiction over the case, according to the ruling. But before the legal process could be completed - and without telling his wife - Aleem went to the Pakistani Embassy in Washington and invoked the talaq, in effect attempting to turn jurisdiction of the case over to a Pakistani court that later granted him a divorce.

When they were married in Karachi in 1980, Farah Aleem was 18 and had just graduated from high school. Irfan Aleem was 29, a doctoral candidate at Oxford University in England. As is customary, the couple signed a marriage contract. It obligated Aleem to give his wife the equivalent of $2,500 in the event of their divorce. When they split, he did so, and claimed he owed her nothing more.

Maryland's highest court disagreed.

"If we were to affirm the use of talaq, controlled as it is by the husband, a wife, a resident of this state, would never be able to consummate a divorce action filed by her in which she seeks a division of marital property," the judges wrote in their decision.

They said the talaq "directly deprives the wife of the due process she is entitled to when she initiates divorce litigation."

Should something like talaq be recognized by any sane legal system and in any sane country? Absolutely not.

Others on the subject include Snapped Shot, Ivy League Conservatives, Ed Driscoll, Free Mark Steyn, Right Voices, The Hot Joints, The Thomas Chronicles, The Jawa Report, Pirates' Cove.

Labels: islam, londonistan, misogyny

A new report being released by the US government warns of the hazards teenagers can face:

WASHINGTON - Depression, teens and marijuana are a dangerous mix that can lead to dependency, mental illness or suicidal thoughts, according to a White House report being released Friday.

A teen who has been depressed at some point in the past year is more than twice as likely to have used marijuana as teens who have not reported being depressed — 25 percent compared with 12 percent, said the report by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

"Marijuana is a more consequential substance of abuse than our culture has treated it in the last 20 years," said John Walters, director of the office. "This is not just youthful experimentation that they'll get over as we used to think in the past."

Smoking marijuana can lead to more serious problems, Walters said in an interview.

For example, using marijuana increases the risk of developing mental disorders by 40 percent, the report said. And teens who smoke pot at least once a month over a yearlong period are three times more likely to have suicidal thoughts than nonusers, it said.

The report also cited research that showed that teens who smoke marijuana when feeling depressed were more than twice as likely as their peers to abuse or become addicted to pot — 8 percent compared with 3 percent.

Experts who have worked with children say there's nothing harmless about marijuana.

"I've seen many, many kids' lives negatively impacted and taken off track because of marijuana," said Elizabeth Stanley-Salazar, director of adolescent services for Phoenix House treatment centers in California. "It's somewhat Russian roulette. There are so many factors, emotional, psychological, biological. You can't predict the experimentation and how it will impact a kid."

The drug control policy office analyzed about a dozen studies looking at marijuana use, including research by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Overall, marijuana use among teens has decreased 25 percent since 2001, down to about 2.3 million kids who used pot at least once a month, the drug control office said.

While the drop is encouraging, Walters appealed to parents to recognize signs of possible drug use and depression.

"It's not something you look the other way about when your teen starts appearing careless about their grooming, withdrawing from the family, losing interest in daily activities," Walters said. "Find out what's wrong."

Years ago, I knew an extremely racist 19-year old on a message board, supposedly from Perth, Australia, who said that he smoked weed "on occasion", and indicated that he hung out with some pretty shady characters, not unlike himself. You could wonder if his abuse of the substance led him in part to be racist, but who knows? What I certainly do know, is that he was one filthy little left-wing bigot, and I'm not even sure if he really was from Australia, because his last name, "Erceg" which he gave at one point, sounded more Hungarian.

Oh, and while we're on the subject, I also was once yelled at on another topic I once wrote by a blabbermouth named "Steve" who certainly did come from Canada, who wrote the following comment:

Your claim that marijuana destroys creativity is blatantly and totally false. Some people would claim that it enhances creativity, which I don't believe -- except to the extent that feeling relaxed might help.

You can't even count the number of people who used marijuana and were creative, however -- and it only takes one to prove you wrong. In addition to Carl Sagan, I present for your consideration Pierre Berton. Berton was the most famous and important Canadian non-fiction writer of all time. He wrote 50 books, and won the Governor-General's award three times, the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal AND Golden Jubilee Medal, the Nellie Award for the best public affairs broadcaster in Canadian radio, and the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour. He was a Companion of the Order of Canada. While doing all this, he also enjoyed using marijuana for 40 years.

Before you say anything about marijuana and creativity, read Sagan's The Demon-Haunted World, and Berton's The Last Spike and The Arctic Grail. Then face facts.

Heh heh heh. Carl Sagan? That daydreamer? As Debbie Schlussel says:

Uh, wasn't that the same Carl Sagan who told us that Reagan's nukes would soon result in nuclear winter? Sagan died, nuclear winter never happened, and Ronald Reagan's steadfastness on our nuke build-up helped bring down the Communist Soviet Union. Sorry, but pot use does not equal genius, just fantasy.

That poor little putz from Canada who blabbered about Sagan and Berton sure does fantasize himself as well. He should pay attention to Debbie, who certainly knows a lot better than he does. "Steve" then went on to say, after I'd pointed out that people like him, from what I could tell, were ultra-leftists:

You obviously did not check the facts about Pierre Berton. If you had, you would know that my statements are true.

America's position on drugs is in fact ridiculous, and the majority of Americans know it, including such ultra-leftists as William F. Buckley, Jr.:

http://www.nationalreview.com/12feb96/drug.html

Whoops, that's where you know that something's wrong, when he doesn't properly acknowledge the fact that Buckley was an ultra-rightist (but a phony at that!). And when he starts insulting Americans by implying that they're stupid. In other words, this kook whose comments I display here was - what else? - an addict himself. Poor man. He must be out of his mind, and he's certainly an embarrassment unto Canada. And attempting to govern someone else's right to free speech, he dares? Dear dear dear.

And Berton, while he may not have deteriorated over the short term, certainly could have over the long term, and it's possible that he didn't even first chug cannabis when he wrote all his books. So message to "Steve": take your crud about Berton and Sagan and stick it down your bottom.

Lastly, why do I use the actual name of this drug instead of the slang "marijuana"? I gave the answer to that earlier. Yes, I think it's insulting, so I'm not using that particular slang again, period.

Update: The Washington Post has an interesting related article that tells how teenage girls are especially at risk if they gobble cannabis.

Labels: Moonbattery, United States

This is really startling, considering that Malaysia is a very problematic country (Hat tip: Hot Air Headlines):

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia --A Malaysian Islamic court allowed a Muslim convert Thursday to return to her original faith of Buddhism, setting a precedent that could ease religious minorities' worries about their legal rights.

Lawyers said the Shariah High Court's verdict in the northern state of Penang was the first time in recent memory that a convert has been permitted to legally renounce Islam in this Muslim-majority nation.

A rising number of disputes about religious conversions has sparked anxiety among minorities -- predominantly Buddhist, Christian and Hindu -- because in the past courts virtually always ruled against people seeking to leave Islam.

Penang's Shariah court, however, granted Siti Fatimah Tan Abdullah's request to be declared a non-Muslim. She embraced Islam in 1998 because she wanted to marry an Iranian, but claimed she never truly practiced the religion.

"I am very happy," Siti, a 39-year-old ethnic Chinese cake seller, told The Associated Press by telephone. "I want to go to the temple to pray and give thanks."

The Shariah court, which governs Muslims' personal conduct and religious lives, ruled that Siti's husband and Islamic authorities failed to give her proper religious advice.

"So you can't blame her for her ignorance of the teachings and wanting to convert out," said Ahmad Munawir Abdul Aziz, a lawyer for the Islamic Affairs Council in Penang.

Siti must still ask the government registration department to have her name and religion changed back on her identification papers. She was not expected to face any problems, because the court ruled in her favor.

"It's a landmark decision," said Siti's lawyer, Ahmad Jailani Abdul Ghani. "This is the first time in Malaysia" in recent memory that someone has been allowed to convert back, he said.

Siti filed her request in 2006 after her husband left her. She was subsequently ordered to undergo counseling to ensure she truly understood Islam.

Malaysia's most high-profile conversion case was that of Lina Joy, a woman who was born to Muslim parents and failed to get the Federal Court, Malaysia's top civil court, to recognize her conversion to Christianity last year.

Malaysia has a dual court system with civil courts for non-Muslims and Shariah courts for Muslims. In interfaith disputes involving Islam, the Shariah courts typically get the last word, which has upset non-Muslims who fear they cannot get justice in such courts.

Court disputes that ended in favor of Muslims have caused minorities to worry that their rights have become subordinate to those of ethnic Malay Muslims, who make up nearly 60 percent of Malaysia's 27 million people.

Political observers say religious grievances contributed to the governing coalition's poor performance in March elections, in which the coalition lost its two-thirds majority in Parliament.

Speaking of Lina Joy, I sure hope she's alright. I wish I could've written about her at least a year ago, as she too is someone who needs all the help she can get to save her from persecution.

Labels: Asia, islam, misogyny

Ephraim Karsh writes in Commentary magazine (Hat tip: IRIS Blog) some very important info that shows how it was the Arabs who left Israel and were not driven out by Israelis as the lie long told claimed:

Sixty years after its establishment by an internationally recognized act of self-determination, Israel remains the only state in the world that is subjected to a constant outpouring of the most outlandish conspiracy theories and blood libels; whose policies and actions are obsessively condemned by the international community; and whose right to exist is constantly debated and challenged not only by its Arab enemies but by segments of advanced opinion in the West.

During the past decade or so, the actual elimination of the Jewish state has become a cause célèbre among many of these educated Westerners. The “one-state solution,” as it is called, is a euphemistic formula proposing the replacement of Israel by a state, theoretically comprising the whole of historic Palestine, in which Jews will be reduced to the status of a permanent minority. Only this, it is said, can expiate the “original sin” of Israel’s founding, an act built (in the words of one critic) “on the ruins of Arab Palestine” and achieved through the deliberate and aggressive dispossession of its native population.

This claim of premeditated dispossession and the consequent creation of the longstanding Palestinian “refugee problem” forms, indeed, the central plank in the bill of particulars pressed by Israel’s alleged victims and their Western supporters. It is a charge that has hardly gone undisputed. As early as the mid-1950’s, the eminent American historian J.C. Hurewitz undertook a systematic refutation, and his findings were abundantly confirmed by later generations of scholars and writers. Even Benny Morris, the most influential of Israel’s revisionist “new historians,” and one who went out of his way to establish the case for Israel’s “original sin,” grudgingly stipulated that there was no “design” to displace the Palestinian Arabs.

The recent declassification of millions of documents from the period of the British Mandate (1920-1948) and Israel’s early days, documents untapped by earlier generations of writers and ignored or distorted by the “new historians,” paint a much more definitive picture of the historical record. They reveal that the claim of dispossession is not only completely unfounded but the inverse of the truth. What follows is based on fresh research into these documents, which contain many facts and data hitherto unreported.

Read the whole article. It's time to put an end to the Nakba lies once and for all, and Karsh has certainly provided what's needed for that.

Labels: anti-semitism, Israel

This should receive careful attention, as she is, you can be sure, quite an opportunist:

(IsraelNN.com) Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is making preparations for replacing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert if and when the latest bribery scandal forces him to resign, political analysts reported.

"The main scenario discussed yesterday in the political corridors, assuming Olmert does indeed leave or is made to leave, is that the Foreign Minister will replace him, in her capacity as Acting Prime Minister," right-of-center website Makor Rishon wrote Wednesday. While the Kadima party's regulations determine that a new party chairman must be chosen in primaries, Livni may circumvent the regulation by arguing time is pressing and stability is of cardinal importance.

Livni has offered no public backing for the Prime Minister in his time of trouble. According to the report, she is already making "careful and delicate" contact with the Kadima party's Knesset faction members in an attempt to secure their backing.

It should be remembered that last year, when the first Winograd report was released, she did not resign her position in the government, which does discredit her. She may claim to be turning "right-wing", but I wouldn't be so quick to trust her at all. The sooner the government dissolves, the better. No doubt she's had these opportunistic views of hers planned for a while now.

Labels: Israel, political corruption

The awful would-be pastor, who may or may not still be friends with Barack Obama, has had his degree revoked by the president of his university (Hat tip: Ironic Surrealism):

Northwestern University President Henry Bienen has rescinded the university's offer to bestow an honorary doctorate of sacred theology on Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., whose fiery comments on race and America have caused trouble for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

In a letter to Wright, the senator's longtime pastor, Bienen wrote in March that he decided to withdraw the degree because the controversy about Wright could disrupt graduation ceremonies.

"In light of the controversy surrounding statements made by you that have recently been publicized, the celebratory character of Northwestern's commencement would be affected by our conferring of this honorary degree," Bienen wrote.

It appears to be the first time Northwestern has rescinded an honorary degree offer, though the school keeps no such records, spokesman Alan Cubbage said. Withdrawing such an offer would be rare for any university. Wright was not scheduled to speak at the June ceremony, and Cubbage declined to name the other intended honorary degree recipients.

They've done the right thing, and I'm glad for that. But whatever they say here, Obama is still a very bad candidate for president, and should not be voted for.

Labels: anti-americanism, anti-semitism, racism, United States

Let this serve as an important lesson that what happens in Europe can also happen in the United States. From the SanDiego Union Tribune (via Dhimmi Watch):

MURRIETA – A man starved the 19 children under his roof, beat some of them and their mothers and made the youngsters and two of his three so-called wives virtual prisoners in their own home, a prosecutor told jurors Monday as the defendant's long-delayed trial got under way.

Mansa Musa Muhummed, who was arrested in 1999, faces eight counts of torture – each of which carries a potential life sentence – 11 counts of willful injury to a child, five counts of inflicting corporal injury on a spouse and two counts of false imprisonment.

Marva Boddie, the woman who was legally married to Muhummed under state law – the other two were not – was arrested along with him nine years ago and pleaded guilty in 2000 to one count of willful injury to a child.

[...]

Muhummed allegedly kept two of his three so-called wives and 19 children – his and theirs – prisoner in their home, torturing seven of them, prosecutor Julie Baldwin told jurors in her opening statement.

“He would beat their feet ... to the point where they could hardly stand or walk,” she said.

When authorities went into the home in the 49000 block of Sweepstakes Lane on April 6, 1999 – they were alerted by someone who managed to escape and go for help – some of the children were underweight, undernourished and stunted because of lack of food, the prosecutor said.

[...]

One of Muhummed's so-called wives, Laura Cowan, testified that in 1995, Muhummed and his 13 children and Boddie moved into the San Bernardino condominium where she lived with her infant daughter and toddler son. Her husband had just recently gone to prison.

She tried, but failed to keep her family's restaurant and bookstore businesses going, and everyone moved to a house in Perris, Cowan said.

“In the beginning, it was still good,” she said.

But soon, she said, she saw a different side of the defendant.

“His temperament, the way he treated the children, his demeanor started to change,” Cowan testified.

Boddie, the defendant's legal wife, was already on welfare and Cowan said she had to go on public assistance, as well. The defendant did not work or contribute to the combined family's finances, she said.

He convinced Cowan that they could wed, under Islamic law, because her own husband was away, she said. The moment she married the defendant, he forced her to close all her bank accounts and credit cards and assumed control of her finances and her life, she testified.

“He said I no longer had outside affairs,” Cowan said. “I was told that nothing else I would do alone.”

The defendant also forbade Cowan to work outside the home or go to school, she said, and refused her money for the children's clothing, personal items such as toothbrushes and hair products. He bought everything for the household himself, ruling the home with an iron hand, Cowan said.

[...]

“I wanted to take my children and move,” said Cowan, who said she was Muslim when she became involved with the defendant but had never heard of some of the rules he imposed on her, in the name of Islam and Sharia. Cowan said she became an object of his physical abuse.

People should be on the alert for if something like could happen near where they live, even if it's an all but isolated location. And that monster - and the wife who assisted him in abusing the other two plus their kids, should rot in hell. The two wives should consider abandoning Islam altogether if they're to really find freedom.

Labels: california, islam, misogyny, sexual violence, United States

And tells about a millionaire in the midst of it (via My Right Word and NFC):

A Long Island mogul is at the center of a sensational bribery scandal that could bring down embattled Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, The Post has learned.

Millionaire financier Morris Talansky - who runs an investment firm out of his tony home in Woodmere - allegedly passed money to Olmert while the politician was mayor of Jerusalem in the '90s, sources said.

In a highly unusual move, Israeli authorities have barred the country's media from publishing Talansky's name - revealed now in The Post - saying it could hamper their investigation. Israeli media has referred only to the involvement of an "American businessman."

Talansky is apparently set to sing to Israeli authorities about his alleged role in the scheme, sources said.

Talansky was a member of the Shaare Tzedek board committee. I don't know if he still is though.

Open trackbacks (really need to try and do this more often again): Cao's Blog, A Newt One, Pirates' Cove, Right Voices, The World According to Carl.

Labels: Israel, political corruption, United States

A most awful crime has taken place in Philadelphia's Port Richmond neighborhood, committed by bank robbers wearing niqabs (H/T: Michelle Malkin):

The mastermind of the Port Richmond bank robbery was Howard Cain, who was fatally shot by police Saturday while fleeing in a minivan minutes after he fired a once-banned high-powered Chinese assault rifle, killing Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski, police say.

As investigators pieced together how a trio of killers met and plotted the deadly bank robbery, scores of police and FBI agents searched from Philadelphia to Lancaster County for the last suspect, Eric DeShawn Floyd, 34, an escapee from a drug-treatment facility called Adappt, in Reading.

Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey described Floyd as "armed and dangerous" and urged him to turn himself in.

Yesterday, Lavon Warner, 38, a onetime sparring partner of former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, was held without bail on murder, robbery and related charges after his arrest Saturday.

Cain dreamed up the bank robbery, but his prison buddie, Floyd, had the expertise, police said.

[...]

Cain apparently realized he couldn't hold up a bank where he was known, so he and Floyd donned Muslim women's clothes - a hijab covering their heads; long dresses, called an abaya; and face veils, called nik-ab - to prevent detection, the source said.

Warner, of Westminster Street near 54th, wore a dreadlock wig and dust mask, the source added. Then, the trio marched into the bank, and Sgt. Liczbinski responded to the bank robbery alarm at 11:26 a.m.

The trio hopped in a blue Jeep Liberty. Hearing flash information about the Jeep, Liczbinski chased the vehicle, which stopped twice before hitting a pole. Cain jumped out and fired the high-powered SKS assault rifle five times at the officer, hitting his left trunk and leaving him in a pool of blood, at Schiller and Almond streets, police said.

Liczbinski's car had one bullet hole on the driver's side door.

[...]

At a news conference yesterday, Deputy Police Commissioner William Blackburn said that outside the minivan, police found the 7.62 mm SKS assault rifle, loaded with 25 rounds, which had been used in Liczbinski's slaying. Five rounds found at the murder scene at Schiller and Almond streetswere consistent with the SKS rifle.

Inside the minivan was a .44-caliber revolver, fully loaded with five live rounds, two sets of Muslim clothing, $38,000 and two GPS tracking systems.

The Muslim representatives of Philadelphia are ostensibly condemning this:

Many Muslims expressed anger yesterday that criminals would jeopardize Muslim women by wearing their garb.

"It puts sisters in danger," said one Muslim. Islamic researcher Fareed NuMan said, "They couldn't be practicing Muslims, no way. The Quran forbids a man to imitate a woman."

Really? I wouldn't be too sure about that, recalling this incident that took place in Britain, and where the authorities acted far less responsibly. Islamists who condone such evil would probably have no problem with doing that if that's what it takes to evade the authorities.

The patrolman's last words to people who tried to help him were to tell his wife he'd miss her:

An older man nearby had taken the fallen officer’s radio and was saying, “A police officer is down. He’s shot multiple times. Get an ambulance,” Braun said.

Braun yelled at another neighbor for towels to try to stop the gushing blood. She grabbed four kitchen towels and gave them to those trying to stop the bleeding, she said.

A neighbor tying to help Liczbinski looked up at Braun and said, “His arm is just dangling off.”

Petaccio said he had stayed with Liczbinski talking to him as he tried to save his life. He said Liczbinski had looked at him and said, “I want you to tell my wife I’ll miss her.”

Liczbinski's memorial page is here.

Open trackbacks: Cao's Blog, A Newt One, Rosemary's Thoughts, The Yankee Sailor. Others on the subject include The Hot Joints, IRIS Blog.

Labels: islam, Pennsylvania, United States

The former finance minister is now getting a little comeuppance for his crimes:

Former finance minister Avraham Hirchson will be indicted on charges including
embezzlement, theft, falsifying corporation documents, fraud and money laundering, Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz announced Sunday.

Mazuz informed a Hirchson representative and Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik of the indictment, which is set to be served in 30 days in the Tel Aviv District Court.

Within this time, the former finance minister is permitted to submit a request for immunity.

The Kadima MK is suspected of pocketing funds from the National Workers' Union during the time that he served as its head. Hirchson left his cabinet post in July 2007 - but not his Knesset seat - after a protracted deliberation in which he first suspended himself.

Following the announcement of the indictment, MK Ophir Paz-Pines (Labor) said that it was "frightening and shocking for a man who served as finance minister as well as in a number of senior roles to be charged with such serious crimes."

Paz-Pines said the allegations first and foremost soiled the Kadima Party and the government, but were also a fatal blow to the Knesset.

"I therefore call on him to quit the Knesset, despite the fact that he doesn't have a legal obligation to do so, and to fight for his innocence in court not as an MK," said the Labor MK.

Hirchson and 10 others are suspected of involvement in the alleged embezzlement of millions of shekels from the National Workers Federation and its subsidiary, Nili.

According to the draft indictment prepared by the state prosecution last October, during 1998 Hirchson allegedly conspired, together with Ovadia Cohen, head of the National Workers Federation's finance department, and chief accountant Gideon Ben-Tzur to embezzle large sums of money from the federation and from Nili, which operated a network of kindergartens and informal courses and was owned by the federation.

During 2000 or thereabouts, another suspect, National Workers Federation then-director-general Yitzhak Ruso, allegedly joined the conspiracy and Cohen supposedly informed Nili accountant Amazia Boner that some of the money was to go to Hirchson. Hirchson allegedly received money primarily between 2000 and 2003 and then from April 2004 until 2005.

Between 2000 and 2003, Cohen, Ben-Tzur and Boner allegedly signed hundreds of checks worth millions of shekels from the bank accounts of the National Workers Federation and Nili. They are suspected of giving the checks to two emissaries, identified as David Cohen and Shlomo Aruas, who then allegedly cashed the checks. During those years, Aruas withdrew NIS 5.1 million from the banks, while Cohen withdrew NIS 860,000, according to the charges.

In 2000, Hirchson and Cohen allegedly agreed that Hirchson would receive NIS 25,000 a month for 'expenses.' Until 2003, the money was delivered each month in envelopes and given to a woman who worked in Hirchson's home, or handed directly to Hirchson, according to the draft.

Hirchson is also suspected of receiving grants of NIS 10,000 to NIS 30,000 twice a year during holiday seasons, and was also given NIS 2,000-3,000 for each trip he took abroad, at a time when he made more than 50 trips a year.

After Cohen left the federation, Hirchson continued to receive NIS 25,000 each month from Nili, and when Ben-Tzur's health deteriorated, another employee, Ronit Garti, continued to transfer the money, according to the proposed charges.

Beginning in April 2004, Ruso allegedly transferred between NIS 15,000 and NIS 35,000 to Hirchson. After Hirchson was appointed to the cabinet, Ruso decreased the payments to NIS 5,000 and these were finally stopped in April 2005, the document continues.

Hirchson allegedly received expenses from the National Workers Federation while he was an MK and sometimes while he was a minister, despite the restrictions on lawmakers receiving outside income. For example, between 1999 and 2004, he was paid back for more than 100 meals that he ate at the most expensive restaurants, according to the document. He chalked up the highest bill at a restaurant called Well Done. It came to NIS 7,547 for one meal.

Hirchson was also accused of money-laundering almost half of the NIS 2.5m. he is suspecting of embezzling.

This is very disturbing news and revelations. He should never be allowed to work as a politician again.

Labels: Israel, political corruption

It looks like the government coalition is deteriorating some more now. 3 members of the Gil Pensioners party have bolted:

(IsraelNN.com) Knesset Members Moshe Sharoni, Sarah Marom-Shalev and Elchanan Glazer of the Pensioners' Party announced that they would be leaving the party and the coalition led by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Glazer said Saturday that "in view of Prime Minister Olmert's investigations, the government's days are numbered, and an alternative approach to the coalition needs to be presented." He said people in other factions are of a similar opinion.

[...]

While the defection of three MKs does not endanger Olmert's Knesset majority in and of itself, it is a crack in the coalition that some observers think may widen.

This breakup was well-deserved for the Pensioners, given that they went with Olmert's government.

Labels: Israel, Knesset

He's made an interesting statement recently featured on ABC News (via Hot Air):

At the end of his Friday town hall meeting in Denver, Colorado, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., seemed to imply that an energy policy less dependent on Middle Eastern oil might have prevented fighting in the region.

“My friends, I will have an energy policy that we will be talking about, which will eliminate our dependence on oil from the Middle East,” McCain told a crowd of 300 at a Jewish Community Center in Denver.

“That will prevent us from having ever to send our young men and women into conflict again in the Middle East.”

McCain’s comments came as he was discussing his Democratic rivals’ plans to remove troops from Iraq immediately, which he opposes.

Another way they could keep from having to send soldiers into conflict again is to eliminate Islamofascism, and to get Iraq to change their ways so that problems like the one where an Iraqi girl was murdered by her father for falling in love with a non-Muslim don't crop up again. As for oil, that's right, the time has come to stop depending on oil, specifically from Saudi Arabia and possibly even the UAE.

Labels: United States