Important documents filed in Rifqa Bary case

The Jawa Report finds that the lawyer for Rifqa Bary has filed some very eye-opening documents (in PDF format) with the court revealing that the Noor Islamic Center in Ohio has ties to the Holy Land Foundation, another one of the unindicted co-conspirators in terror defendants, just like CAIR. Some points given here include:

1) The founder and CEO of the mosque was identified in government exhibits in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism finance trial as one of the top leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood in North America. The Muslim Brotherhood is the leading purveyor of extremist Islamic ideology in the world. (as Cruz notes in the comments, Bob Baer has said in his book, See No Evil, "The Muslim Brotherhood is the Granddaddy of all terrorist organizations.")

2) The mosque's former resident scholar, Salah Sultan, has been videotaped and photographer with designated terrorists, in addition to appearances he's made on Middle East TV networks inciting violence and calling for the destruction of the US (something we noted here at Jawa two weeks ago). Sultan is a protege of Hamas spiritual leader Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, who has issued fatwas endorsing the execution of apostates from Islam.

3) The center has recently hosted a laundry list of the top Islamic extremist speakers in the US, including Siraj Wahhaj, an unindicted coconspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing trial.

4) The mosque and one of its youth workers is tied to the ongoing nationwide investigation into Al-Shabaab recruiting in the US Somali community.

Here's also an important affadavit by Rifqa. Again, here's the contact info for the Florida governor, whom the lawyer asks supporters to contact to urge him to ask the court to keep Rifqa in state custody:

Governor Charlie Crist's office:
Phone: (850) 488-4441, (850) 488-7146
Fax: (850) 487-0801
Email: Charlie.Crist@MyFlorida.com

Florida Department of Children and Family:
George H. Sheldon, Secretary
1317 Winewood Blvd.
Building 1, Room 202
Tallahassee, Florida
Phone: (850) 487-1111
Fax: (850) 922-2993

FOX News has made this a subject of their reports now, amazingly enough. Here's their online report.

Olmert now indicted

Ehud Olmert has become surely the first prime minister in Israeli history to face an indictment over criminal charges:

The State Prosecutor's Office filed official corruption charges against former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Sunday. This is the first time in Israel's history that a former PM will face a criminal indictment.

The indictment includes charges of fraud, breach of trust, falsifying corporate records and tax evasion, as well as a charge of fraudulently obtaining benefits to which the State attributes aggravated circumstances.

The indictment spans three of the scandals the former prime minister was entangled in: The Talansky case, the Rishontours double billing case and the Investment Center case. The indictment does not include bribery charges, despite police recommendations in the matter.

The State Prosecutor's Office has also filed charges against Shula Zaken, Olmert's former bureau chief, for her involvement in the Talansky and Rishontours cases.

Zaken will face charges of falsifying corporate records, fraudulently obtaining benefits, fraud and breach of trust, as well as illegal wiretapping.

I guess Olmert has found himself a place in history, hasn't he?

AFSI comes to Rifqa Bary's defense

I am pleased to learn that Americans for a Safe Israel has added itself to the list of those speaking Rifqa Bary's defense. Atlas Shrugs has the following by Ruth King of the organization:

Putting children first is a bipartisan national policy that mandates legal protection and shelter for minors in harm’s way. It is the way of all civilized nations.

Why do we not apply this policy to the treatment of Arab and Moslem children who are routinely used as shields and props on battle fields; routinely brainwashed to hate; offered as martyrs for suicide missions; killed in the name of a barbaric code of “honor” by relatives including siblings and parents?

Rifqa Bary is a seventeen year old girl who faces danger, abuse and possibly death if she is forced to return to her parents. Her crime under American standards of law? None. Her disrespect for American law? None. Anti-social behavior as dictated by the mores of our society? None.

Why then does Rifqa Bary fear her parents so that on Thursday September 3rd, a Florida Circuit Judge will decide whether to send her home to her family or be given a haven and freedom?

What do her parents and her mosque and Islam see as her crime and violation of law and social behavior and honor? Her conversion to Christianity four years ago. While her conversion remained secret her parents thrived economically in Columbus, Ohio where they worshipped in a local mosque where sermons offered the strictest interpretation of the Koran.

When the mosque, which has been under suspicion for abetting terrrism deliberately “outed” Rifqa's conversion to her family she was subjected to bruises and death threats and fled from her home. In Florida, an Evangelical church gave her shelter and guidance in filing for restraint.

Initially, the muted media interest in her story deliberately ignored the Islamic faith driven death punishment for apostasy. They chose instead, to smear and defame the church as a “cult” and accused them of brainwashing Rifqa.

Americans for A Safe Israel joins a distinguished list of individuals and organizations and journalists who have come forward in support of the right of Rifqa Bary to seek shelter and protection to practice her faith and enjoy all basic freedoms guaranteed by our constitution.

Here's also an article by Faith McDonnell of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, which notes something important: the MSM, such as the Columbus Dispatch, did not quote the local police correctly in the case:

Just as the secular media did, Beaty throws suspicion on Pastors Blake and Beverly Lorenz of Global Revolution Church. Inadverently, she uses several of the same key talking points that the Council on American Islamic Relations (C.A.I.R.) has put forth in their efforts to discredit Rifqa. She quotes the Bary family attorney who claimed that Bary was not afraid until she met Pastor Lorenz. Beaty adds signficantly that Lorenz “holds Bary tightly throughout the video.” Beaty also notes that the famous scholar of Islam Sgt. Jerry Cupp of the Columbus missing person’s bureau “disputes Bary’s claims, telling The Columbus Dispatch that Mohamed Bary has known about his daughter's conversion for months and appears to be caring.” Guess what, Sgt. Cupp and Ms. Beaty. Appearing to be caring is called taqiya. And Beaty does not mention, that other sources say that the police talked to friends and teachers of Rifqa who informed them that Rifqa was in fear for her life and had been the victim of abuse already. Beaty does cite author and founder of Jihad Watch, Robert Spencer, who calls Rifqa’s situation a “slow-motion honor killing,” but then exclaims that The Christian Post “audaciously lists Bary’s story in its ‘persecution’ news file.” I wonder where she would suggest they list it.

I don't know about Sgt. Cupp, but any other police officials who spoke to her other acquaintences certainly did do better on their part.

Meanwhile, I hope those who understand the situation will continue to write to those in charge of the case in Florida and continue to urge them to stand by Rifqa Bary. Those who do are to be warmly congratulated.

Update: there is also a new Jewish activist group called Z-Street, most likely a reaction to the left-wing J-Street, which may be funded by George Soros, that's come to Rifqa Bary's defense too. This is very pleasing news, and it shows that besides standing up to a bunch of phonies who claim to be helping Israel, they also stand in defense of persecuted women.

One of the murderers in the Newsom/Christian case gets life in prison without parole

The trial of the black thugs who raped and murdered Channon Christian and Chris Newsom, a white couple in Knoxville, Tennessee has been going on for some time now. Now, one of the cold-blooded monsters, whose name is Cobbins, has been sentenced to life in prison without parole (Hat tip: Michelle Malkin).

While it's good to see him shut away from the world, it's a shame that he didn't get the chair for his violent crime.

Free speech fades away in Britain

Robert Spencer writes on Human Events about how Britain is shutting out free speech in discussing Islam and jihad (Hat tip: The Hot Joints):

The current state of Britain came most clearly into focus, however, not when we visited the mosques, but when we tried to have dinner. I had an illuminating dinner with a group including the notable British author and freedom fighter Douglas Murray that turned out to offer a bracing introduction to British dhimmitude: the dinner had to be moved at the last minute since the proprietors of the George Restaurant in the aptly-named Isle of Dogs district of London didn’t like us discussing jihad and Islamization on the premises. This was despite the fact that the dinner had been planned to be on-camera and had been cleared with the George in advance.

In fact, when I returned to the George the next night with the producers of the film, we were not allowed entry because the previous night we had been discussing jihad and Islamic supremacism.

Were the proprietors of the George Restaurant hard-line Leftists who viewed jihadists as their allies in the struggle against American imperialism? Or were they frightened by the prospect of the local Muslims, who live in that area in considerable numbers, exacting revenge against the place for daring to host a meeting of the Resistance?

Most likely they were afraid of their own government, which frowns upon those who question the wisdom or viability of the multicultural paradise they are intent upon creating. For when we finally tried to assemble in another place a roundtable of concerned British citizens to discuss the problem of the Islamization of Britain, one by one the British participants dropped out. If they appeared on camera, we were told, the government could and probably would threaten their livelihood.

On a related note, some may accuse Scotland's local government body of freeing the horrific terrorist Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, of the masterminds in the Lockerbie bombing, but if they're under control of the government in England, then one has to wonder if the decision to release the vile creature came from the main government, though I fully agree that Scotland's own local government must still shoulder considerable blame for their willingness to release a monster who was also responsible for the murders of many Scots back in 1988. Read this topic at Hot Air, which focuses on the questions of whether al-Megrahi was released as part of a trade for oil contracts. And read also Debbie Schlussel's topics on the Dearbornistan connection to the tragedy at the time.

Guess who paid a visit to Venezuela recently?

Noam Chomsky, from whom the term Chomskyism derives, met with the disgusting Hugo Chavez in Venezuela just recently. You can read about his visit at Venezuela News and Views. Simply awful that one of the worst espousers of anti-Americanism is allowed to meet with and provide backup for one of the worst dictators still prevailing in south America today.

Gilad Shalit Day

Ron Mossad remembers Gilad, still held captive by the Hamas, and has a whole conversation from Twitter on the subject.

Hat tip: The Jawa Report.

Most important point: the Hamas is violating international law by not even allowing the Red Cross to visit Shalit and to see his conditions of captivity.

Parents of Rifqa Bary conducting anti-Christian incitement with help from CAIR

The Jawa Report has a post about how the Muslim parents of Rifqa Bary are resorting to anti-Christian incitement following the Florida court's grant of safety to their daughter to stay in the state. And as reported here, CAIR has been urging its supporters to circulate rumors inciting against Rifqa as well, and to present the parents as victims of anti-Muslim hysteria.

I do think that the custodians of Rifqa, the Lorenzes, should sue for slander, and certainly speak out against the parents and CAIR for their anti-Christian incitement.

On further related notes, Atlas Shrugs found that it's possible the father was planning to flee the country, with or without his daughter, since he closed a jewelry business he owned, primarily in New York (so he may not have been operating with a proper license in Ohio). Interesting, but in any case, no one with common sense need buy their jewelry at any store under his management now. The parents may have even committed perjury, which shouldn't be too surprising to anyone who knows what taqqiya is.

And here we have some info on another of the shills at the Orlando Sentinel, a misogynist named Mike Thomas. People like him are an absolute disgrace and should be shunned by common sense society. Here's more at the American Thinker (also via Atlas Shrugs).

Fortunately, Brigitte Gabriel has taken up the case on FOX News, as seen in the following video:

Also, Nidra Poller has provided a response to the case, pointing out how in France by contrast, they usually make sure to provide safety for girls fleeing abusive Muslim families. Here in Israel, they usually do too.

Read more here about how the Daily KOS is siding with these ogres and monsters.

Update: Front Page Magazine is interviewing Geller about the case.

Terror attack foiled in Hebron

This is one of the many situations the MSM will ignore:

Soldiers shot and seriously wounded an Arab terrorist who tried to stab a soldier in Hevron shortly before noon Wednesday. The terrorist’s target was not wounded. IDF medics treated the terrorist, who was rushed to Shaarei Tzedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.

The clash occurred at “Soldier’s Square” near the Jewish community in the city, where Arabs frequently are caught at the Patriarchs’s Cave with knives.

[...]

The PA, as a rule, does not denounce terrorist attacks, and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas did not comment on Wednesday’s attempted murder.

That's right, it's been a long-standing "tradition" of Abbas and his gang.

French kidnapee escapes from terrorist captors in Somalia

A miracle too. He got away while they were asleep:

MOGADISHU, Somalia – A French security agent kidnapped by insurgents in Somalia last month said he escaped Wednesday while his captors slept, then walked five hours through one of the most dangerous cities in the world to safety at the country's presidential palace.

Marc Aubriere, who was seized along with another agent in July 14, denied reports that he killed any of his captors during his escape.

"The militants who were holding me treated me well, they were giving me nice food," he told The Associated Press before boarding a plane to leave Mogadishu. "I was not harmed. There is no one I have killed or injured while I was escaping."

He said he escaped at midnight when his guards "were tired and sleepy."

He told France's RFI radio that he was "using the starlight to guide me ... Mogadishu at night is deserted and all the men that you cross paths with are armed. I was fired upon, I ran and hid and luckily they missed me."

Aubriere and another agent were kidnapped from a hotel in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, then split up between the rebel groups al-Shabab and its ally Hizbul-Islam. The second hostage was still being held.

"I am very happy but I am worried about my friend who is still held by militants," Aubriere told AP, looking tired and being led by the shoulders by Somali security agents.

The French agents were in the country to train Somali government forces, which are fighting Islamist militiamen. Militants had said the two would be tried under Islamic law for alleged spying and conspiracy against Islam.

There's just one little thing: isn't Somalia's government largely run by Shari'a already? That's why they too cannot be overlooked.

Participated in bloggers conference with Dore Gold

I just took part in another bloggers conference at One Jerusalem with Israeli ambassador Dore Gold, who discussed the subject of Iran's nuclear warfare and how dangerous it'll be if it isn't stopped. He's also published a new book on the subject, The Rise of a Nuclear Iran, also a leading subject of the conference, which is highly recommended for reading to learn about how Iran has been able to get so far.

The other participants include Mere Rhetoric, Gateway Pundit, New English Review, and The New Ledger's Bruce Henderson.

Now for several briefings

Something I do on occasion, and thought to do yet again.

Yoram Ettinger explains on Front Page Magazine the dangers a palestinian state could have even for America.

There's still no US-Israel agreement on "settlements", and frankly, that's good. The German government's stated opposition to them, however, is most definitely not.

A new Ma'agar Mochot poll has found that a majority percentage of Israelis are against a "settlement freeze", and feel that Peace Now has only served to damage Israel.

Find out here just what happened in the Minnesota recount for the election between Norm Coleman and Al Franken.

Obama's approval rating on Gallup plunges to a new low (H/T: Ace of Spades HQ).

Seems that just last month, NBC rebroadcast an episode one of the Law & Order spinoffs that featured Israel-bashing. I remember saying this a few years ago, I'll say it again now: isn't it high time they canceled that pile of dung along with its spinoff series?

Japan's birthrate has slowly improved over the last few years, but, as the Japan Times argues, if the government wants to help it improve more, they've got to improve employment situations for the younger crowd.

Bostom on Rifqa Bary's case

Andrew Bostom writes an article on the American Thinker (via Jihad Watch) about how the MSM has been almost consistently hostile to Fathima Rifqa Bary, including, sadly enough, FOX News.

Aftonbladet's editor admits there's no evidence in Jewish blood libel story

The editor of the Swedish paper Aftonbladet has admitted they have no evidence (Hat tip: Jihad Watch):

The Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet, which caused a media stir in recent days with an article claiming IDF soldiers were harvesting organs from Palestinians, published an editorial on Monday denying Israeli claims.

"I'm not a Nazi," Aftonbladet editor Jan Helin wrote. "I'm not anti-Semitic."

Ho, I'll bet! He certainly is a stupid, poorly educated dummy, that's for sure.

Instead, he described himself as "a responsible editor who gave the green light to an article because it raises a few questions." He did note, however, that the paper had no evidence that such horrific practices were being carried out.

On Sunday, Aftonbladet published a follow-up article, defending the offending report written by freelance journalist Donald Bostrom. The second article maintained that the organ-harvesting matter "should be investigated, either to stop the relentless Palestinian rumors, or, if the rumors prove to be true, stop the trade in body parts."

Questions, he says? I'm sorry, it raises none. If they're going to continue to defend their lies even as they admit there's no evidence, then they've thrown all sincerity out the window.

Update: read this important post at Emet m'Tsiyon, which features info on how Sweden's government subsidized the publication of Bostrom's sick books.

What about the building?

The Jerusalem Post writes about Netanyahu's scheduled meeting with US/European officials:

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will make it clear in his discussions with US and European officials abroad that Israel will not accept any limitations on its sovereignty in Jerusalem, sources at the Prime Minister's Office said, immediately before his plane took off from Tel Aviv on Monday afternoon.

The PMO sources said Netanyahu also stressed that normal life in the settlements will need to be assured.

Netanyahu was leaving Israel for a visit in London and Berlin, where he is scheduled to meet with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US special Mideast envoy George Mitchell.

In his meetings with Brown and Merkel, Netanyahu will raise the need to apply maximum pressure on Iran "in order to stop their nuclear march," the sources said, adding that the prime minister discussed the matter with French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Sunday night.

In addition to the Iranian nuclear threat, Netanyahu will discuss bilateral security issues with his European counterparts.

Regarding Netanyahu's meeting with Mitchell, which will be held in London early on Wednesday morning, the sources said that while there has been a certain degree of progress in the discussions leading up to the meeting, a "breakthrough" is not expected.

The sources reiterated remarks made by Netanyahu on Sunday, noting that the Israeli-Palestinian peace process was expected to resume in the end of September.

I'm not going to turn a blind eye to the hard questions here now, but what about allowing construction in Jerusalem and the "settlements"? As Caroline Glick said in the article in the prior topic, if he's going to bar building, then he's not conducting a strong policy or doing well on his assurances. Don't take his statements here at face value. I realize that wouldn't be a good idea.

Shas collaborating in capitulation?

Caroline Glick tells on the Jewish World Review that Netanyahu is now signaling his betrayal, something that I'm sure many expected would be possible:

This week we discovered that we have been deceived. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's principled rejection of US President Barack Obama's bigoted demand that Israel bar Jews from building new homes and expanding existing ones in Judea and Samaria does not reflect his actual policy.

Housing and Construction Minister Ariel Attias let the cat out of the bag. Attias said that the government has been barring Jews from building in the areas since it took office four months ago in the hopes that by preemptively capitulating to US demands, the US will treat Israel better.

And that's not all. Today Netanyahu is reportedly working in earnest to reach a deal with the Obama administration that would formalize the government's effective construction ban through 2010. Netanyahu is set to finalize such a deal at his meeting with Obama's Middle East envoy George Mitchell in London next Wednesday.

[...]

Furthermore, even if Netanyahu is right to seek an agreement with Mitchell next week, he showed poor negotiating skill by preemptively freezing Jewish construction. Domestically, Netanyahu has lost credibility now that the public knows that he misled it. And by preemptively capitulating, Netanyahu showed Obama that he is not a serious opponent. Why should Obama take Netanyahu's positions seriously if Netanyahu abandons before them before Obama even begins to seriously challenge him?

[...]

Netanyahu had hoped that his conditional support for Palestinian statehood, and his current willingness to bar Jews from building homes in Judea and Samaria would neutralize US pressure on Israel and facilitate his efforts to convince Obama to recognize and deal rationally with the issue of Iran's nuclear weapons program. But as Ambassador Michael Oren made clear on Sunday, the opposite has occurred.

In an interview with CNN, Oren said that Israel is "far from even contemplating" a military strike against Iran's nuclear installations." He also said, "The government of Israel has supported President Obama in his approach to Iran, initially the engagement, the outreach to Iran."

From this it appears that Israel has not only made no headway in convincing the administration to take Iran seriously. It appears that Jerusalem has joined the administration in accepting a nuclear armed Iran.

It's fortunate that as of now, there's a mobilizing opposition within the coalition itself. However: is Shas making itself partner to any suppression of Israeli building? I realize that even today, they cannot be trusted 100 percent, and that's why they too will have to be taken to task. There's supposed to be a meeting convened by coalition members in another 2 weeks about this case, and I hope it signals that pro-Israeli activists are going to take proper action in making sure that this time, Netanyahu does not betray his voters. Come to think of it, the same goes for Shas.

One more thing Glick argues:

Some critics of Netanyahu from the Right like Ariel Mayor Ron Nachman claim that it may well be time to begin bringing down Netanyahu's government. They are wrong. We have been down this road before. In 1992 the Right brought down Yitzhak Shamir's government and brought the Rabin-Peres government to power and Yassir Arafat to the gates of Jerusalem. In 1999 the Right brought down the first Netanyahu government and gave Israel Camp David and the Palestinian terror war.

There is another way. It is being forged by the likes of Vice Premier Moshe Ya'alon on the one hand and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee on the other.

Ya'alon argues that not capitulating to American pressure is a viable policy option forIsrael. There is no reason to reach an agreement with Mitchell on the administration's bigoted demand that Jews not build in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem. If the US wants to have a fight with Israel, a fight against American anti-Jewish discrimination is not a bad one for Israel to have.

Ya'alon's argument was borne out by Huckabee's visit this week to Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. Huckabee's trip showed that the administration is not operating in a policy vacuum. There is plenty of strong American support for an Israeli government that would stand up to the administration on the Palestinian issue and Iran alike.

Netanyahu's policies have taken a wrong turn. But Netanyahu is not Tzipi Livni or Ehud Olmert. He is neither an ideologue nor an opportunist. He understands why what he is doing is wrong. He just needs to be convinced that he has another option.

I agree with her there. There are ways to get him to cut out any negative approach he's using without having to topple the government. Netanyahu once spoke of a national referendum. That may be an ideal option to make him agree to.

Update: then again, if Huckabee is going to downplay the dangers of Muslim honor murders, as the videos here suggest, I think we'll have to give pause to the notion that he'll be really helpful.

Obama planning attack on Israel at UN Assembly

One Jerusalem reports that some of their sources have informed them that Barack Obama plans to increase his pressure on Israel to comply with his defeatist demands at the UN general assembly in September, which could doubtless include concessions to the PLO.

Do what you can to voice your protests to this by making yourself heard. And, you can also sign the One Jerusalem petition.

Rifqa Bary spared, and will remain in Florida for now

Good news on the Fathima Rifqa Bary case. Atlas Shrugs reports that the court in Orlando has ruled in her favor:

Staying in Florida, her legal team argues, would keep her safe.

Judge Dawson said he has had no contact with Ohio courts, so he doesn't know if Ohio wants jurisdiction in this case.

"Rifqa wants to be here," said one of her lawyers.

He told the court the teen's safety would be compromised back in Ohio, referring to some 'terrorist activity' in the region where she lived. He did not elaborate.

Judge Dawson says "at first blush" it appears his court has jurisdiction in this custody matter, since no Ohio court has taken up the matter.

They're likely to start a motion in Ohio, so there's likely to be another battle.

I wouldn't be surprised if the dhimmis at the Orlando Sentinel have no interest or intention of interviewing Bary to get her side of the story. To them, she is a non-entity. I won't be surprised if they won't interview any potential witnesses for her either.

Bary made this statement to the court:

Update: Rafqa is making her statement to the court. "I've been a Christian for 4 years of my life. I love my parents but I am in fear of my life because of the past abuse. I assure your honor Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. I am a Christian, a believer."

The House majority leader for Ohio has made the following statement:

House Majority Leader Adam Hasner issued the following statement on today’s court ruling regarding Rifqa Bary, a young Christian convert who fled her parents’ home in Columbus, Ohio. She is currently in Orlando, Florida.

“I appreciate the efforts of Secretary Sheldon and the Department of Children and Families, Attorney General Bill McCollum, and the countless advocates who have worked tirelessly to put the safety of Rifqa Bary first. The court’s decision and the forthcoming involvement of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement – facilitated by the Attorney General – to investigate this young girl’s safety if she is forced to return to Ohio may save her from an unthinkable fate.”

“No one, child or adult, should have to fear for their lives because of their religious choices, and I am hopeful that Rifqa’s best interests will be safeguarded as this process moves forward. I will continue my communications with General McCollum and Secretary Sheldon, and will be closely monitoring the ongoing investigation and developments in this matter until there is a final resolution that guarantees the permanent safety of this young girl.”

And in Florida, Marco Rubio, who's running for Senate in the autumn, had something to say as well:

Miami, FL–U.S. Senate candidate and former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio today issued the following statement regarding Rifqa Bary's court case:

"America has a rich tradition of religious freedom that is enshrined in our First Amendment. Today in Florida, this freedom could be at stake as a court considers the case of 17 year-old Rifqa Bary.

"This young woman fled from Ohio to Florida, fearing she would be killed for converting from Islam to Christianity. As the court weighs the facts of this case, I hope it will take her expressed fears seriously and not rush to an irreversible decision that may ultimately endanger her.

"It is imperative that state officials use every legal tool at their disposal to properly evaluate Rifqa's best interests. Florida has a responsibility not only to protect her innocent life, but also to defend her sacred right to worship freely."

If you live in Florida and can vote for Rubio in the coming election, please do so.

Another good thing: Florida governor Charlie Crist also came in support of Bary:

Thank you for contacting Governor Charlie Crist. The Governor asked that I respond on his behalf.

Governor Crist today expressed his gratefulness to Circuit Judge Daniel Dawson for his decision to grant Fathima Rifqa Bary the right to remain in Florida. In this case, the first and only priority of Governor Crist's administration is the safety and wellbeing of this child. The Governor also expressed gratitude for the good work of Department of Children and Families Secretary George Sheldon and his General Counsel, Rob Wheeler, for personally advocating the administration's position by attending today's hearing.

Please be assured Governor Crist will continue to fight to protect Ms. Rifqa Bary's safety and wellbeing as this case moves forward.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact Governor Crist.

Sincerely,

Warren Davis
Office of Citizen Services

I'm glad they all understood, and will be even gladder still if they continue to make sure she remains safe in the forseeable future too.

Update: read this eyebrow-raising topic from the Jawa Report, on how the Columbus Dispatch reporter who wrote about this story appears to be a hijab-lover, and may have even taken a few things out of context.

Others on the subject include Jihad Watch, The Jawa Report, Creeping Sharia, Phyllis Chesler, WDBO blog.

Let's not forget about Somali piracy

International Institute for Counter-terrorism has posted an article first published in the Harvard Africa Policy Journal about the threat of contemporary piracy from Somalia, which is still at large and needs to be dealt with convincingly.

Rifqa Bary was abused at home

A source for Pamela Geller has revealed that Rifqa Bary had been abused already (Hat tip: Jihad Watch):

On several occasions friends of Rifqa would bring her down to the school counselor because of bruises on her legs and her arms, beatings suffered at the hands of her father and brother (sounds like Islam Said). The middle school, in a serious dereliction of duty, did not report these beatings to child welfare services. Beatings were random, violent, unprovoked. Take, for example, when Rifqa and her father Mohammad were driving in the car. He would force her to wear the hijab, which she hated. In her discomfort she would slouch down, embarrassed, and her father would haul off and sock her in the face so that she never forgot to sit up straight in her costume. The beatings were regular and so much a part of the landscape of Rifqa's life, she became inured to them, just like Amina and Sarah and Aqsa and every "honor" victim.

I should hope that her friends will be willing to testify in her defense too. Patrick Poole also tells that the Noor Islamic Cultural Center that ratted on her has extremist ties of its own, and Salah Sultan of that mosque has been preaching Jew-hatred on Egypt's al-Nas television station.

Pamela urges people to contact the following sources:

People can also call George Sheldon, Secretary of DCF. Contact information:

Contact Governor Charlie Crist today:
Phone Calls to (850) 488-7146
Fax letters to (850) 487-0801
or Email him at Charlie.Crist@MyFlorida.com

The Florida Department of Children and Families

George H. Sheldon, Secretary
1317 Winewood Blvd.
Building 1, Room 202
Tallahassee, Florida

Fax: (850) 922-2993

I too urge everyone to make a call to these officials and urge them to help out.

Update: here's a comment on the subject from Nonie Darwish, and another one from Wafa Sultan.

Update 2: read more from Atlas Shrugs on how Amy Edwards, an alleged reporter for the Orlando Sentinel, has been conducting more lies and smears against the kindly pastor who took Rifqa in when she turned to him. If that's how Edwards is going to behave, and shill for evil entities, neither she nor the paper she works for, in fact, deserve any audience. The pastor should sue them for slander and incitement.

Others on the subject include R.E.A.L, Christian Anti-Defamation Commission, American Power, The New American, Solsticewitch13, Tundra Tabloids, Jewish Odysseus, The Recliner Commentaries, The Jawa Report.

Peace Now should be dismantled

There's some rising controversy over if Netanyahu himself is failing to make good on enabling Jewish towns in Judea/Samaria to build properly, and even in Jerusalem. It's good that the subject is beginning to gather steam. Until that can be addressed further, Likud MK Danny Danon has come out against the anti-Israeli Peace Now "organization", by saying what ought to be done with this very reprehensible movement:

(IsraelNN.com) MK Danny Danon of the Likud has called on the Registrar of Non-Profit Organizations to drop Peace Now from its list and to officially dismantle the group. Danon accused Peace Now of breaking the law by failing to publicize its funding from foreign governments.

According to Israeli law, a non-profit organization that receives funding from foreign bodies must publicize that fact on its website.

[...]

Among the foreign contributors to Peace Now were the Norwegian government, which gave 800,000 shekels, the European Union, which gave 451,600 shekels, and the government of Finland. In addition, the British government gave the group more than 540,000 shekels for the express purpose of tracking and publicizing Jewish growth in Judea and Samaria under its “Settlement Watch” project.

"The 'Peace Now' movement allows itself, as an extension of its activities undermining the state, to violate laws and regulations,” Danon said. “Peace Now is acting as an agent on behalf of foreign governments, which blatantly interfere in internal Israeli affairs.”

And on a related note, Moshe Yaalon, deputy prime minister extraordinaire, called Peace Now's views/approach a "virus" (more on that here, via Israpundit). He says though that he was quoted out of context in the video he appeared in. That said, it should be noted that he was speaking at a meeting with the irrational Moshe Feiglin. I understand that it could all be a strategic move on Yaalon's part, but still, there are some good questions to be raised if he should be associating himself with someone like Feiglin.

Swedish newspaper concocts sick blood libel

A case of anti-semitism in Aftonbladet:

JERUSALEM — Israel and the Swedish Embassy responded furiously Wednesday to a Swedish newspaper article that suggested Israeli troops killed Palestinians and harvested their organs.

So now, they're accusing Israel's army of exploiting the dead? This is simply revolting, and knowing what Scandanavia is like for many years now, it almost figures they'd pull a filthy stunt like this. Hence, I cannot bring myself to buy any Volvos, Saabs, or Scanias.

Update: Barry Rubin at the Gloria Center writes about this and gives some more details:

On August 18, Aftonbladet published an article by a man named Donald Boström. The editor responsible is named Åsa Linderborg. She is the newspaper’s cultural affairs’ editor.

This was no random decision for her. When asked once: “What do you wish for most in life right now?” She answered: “What a simple question. What I want is a free Palestine.”

And what did this article say? That Israel’s army deliberately kidnaps Palestinian civilians and then murders them so it can cut out and sell their organs to sick people needing transplants.

The story is based on the arrest of a Jewish man in Brooklyn for selling organs but the news coverage has no hint of any Israeli connection.

The Swedish story is based on Palestinian sources (though the author also claims he has UN sources for it)--like so many slanders of Israel which are widely purveyed. It is easy to forget that the false claim of a Jenin massacre--which received massive coverage in the Western media--was based on an interview with a single Palestinian who nobody even knew.

Palestinians simply told him that the bodies of terrorists or others killed came back with organs missing. Any photos, medical records, documented complaints? Of course not.

[Ironically, the Beirut Daily Star has a very responsible article, with no claim of Israeli involvement, on the issue of organ sales.]

At this point you are no doubt thinking: This is some kind of sick joke.

Yes, it is. But the newspaper published it any way.

Apparently, the author is a left-wing activist for Palestinian causes, though the newspaper calls him a journalist.

And this "author" also clearly has no interest in getting info from Jewish sources on anything, because in the minds of such moonbats, Jewish sources are illegitimate on everything.

Mike Huckabee supports Yesha

Republican Mike Huckabee, who was a presidential candidate last year, has paid a visit to Israel to show solidarity with the residents of Judea/Samaria:

(IsraelNN.com) Past and likely-future U.S. presidential candidate Mike Huckabee spent his second day on a private trip to Israel visiting Maaleh Adumim, Beit El and other Shomron (Samaria) towns. He began the day by visiting with Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat.

Expressing strong support for Israelis’ right to live where they want without having to receive American permission, Huckabee expressed incredulity that either the Arabs or the Americans would expect the tens of thousands of Jews of Maaleh Adumim to leave. “Where would they go?” he asked.

Maaleh Adumim is a city just to the east of Jerusalem with nearly 40,000 residents. Huckabee visited the city this morning, and met briefly with Mayor Benny Kashriel. The two, accompanied by a delegation of supporters of the U.S.-based Jerusalem Reclamation Foundation and a group of reporters, stood atop a Maaleh Adumim mountain top and looked out at the barren Judean Mountains below – the site of the controversial and not-yet started E-1 housing project.

Here's also a video interview with Huckabee. He also nixes the idea of a palestinian state within Israel.

Guess who the designer of the Obama-as-Joker poster is?

I don't think I'd written about this earlier (alas, I just can't get to everything), but some time ago, there was a photoshopped poster that arose featuring what looked like Obama as the Joker from the Dark Knight version of Batman, with "socialism" as a caption, and the leftist MSM took to decrying it as racist and such.

Well now, guess who came up with it to begin with? It's not the right-wing nutjob they were hoping it'd be. Rather, it's an Arab of palestinian background living in Chicago who favors leftist politics:

Bored during his winter school break, Firas Alkhateeb, a senior history major at the University of Illinois, crafted the picture of Obama with the recognizable clown makeup using Adobe’s Photoshop software...

“After Obama was elected, you had all of these people who basically saw him as the second coming of Christ,” Alkhateeb said. “From my perspective, there wasn’t much substance to him.”

“I abstained from voting in November,” he wrote in an e-mail. “Living in Illinois, my vote means close to nothing as there was no chance Obama would not win the state.” If he had to choose a politician to support, Alkhateeb said, it would be Ohio Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich…

Regardless, Alkhateeb does agree with the Obama “Hope” artist about “socialism” being the wrong caption for the Joker image. “It really doesn’t make any sense to me at all,” he said. “To accuse him of being a socialist is really ... immature. First of all, who said being a socialist is evil?”

What does the leftist MSM think of him now? And are they going to go after him like they would do if a rightist had come up with things like this? But this should give a clue just how much the "palestinians" really support Obama.

On a side note, Hot Air's Allahpundit made one slightly inaccurate statement: he says that Alkhateeb isn't white. Wrong, he is. Plenty of Arabs are white, though some can have darker skin than others. But for the most part, they are white.

British swimming pools demand women wear burkinis

In the UK's latest step to impose Shari'a law, municipal swimming pools are adding only more misery and depression (Hat tip: Hot Air Headlines):

Under the rules, swimmers – including non-Muslims – are barred from entering the pool in normal swimming attire.

Instead they are told that they must comply with the "modest" code of dress required by Islamic custom, with women covered from the neck to the ankles and men, who swim separately, covered from the navel to the knees.

The phenomenon runs counter to developments in France, where last week a woman was evicted from a public pool for wearing a burkini – the headscarf, tunic and trouser outfit which allows Muslim women to preserve their modesty in the water.

The 35-year-old, named only as Carole, is threatening legal action after she was told by pool officials in Emerainville, east of Paris, that she could not wear the outfit on hygiene grounds.

But across the UK municipal pools are holding swimming sessions specifically aimed at Muslims, in some case imposing strict dress codes.

Croydon council in south London runs separate one-and-a half-hour swimming sessions for Muslim men and women every Saturday and Sunday at Thornton Heath Leisure Centre.

Swimmers were told last week on the centre's website that "during special Muslim sessions male costumes must cover the body from the navel to the knee and females must be covered from the neck to the ankles and wrists".

There are similar rules at Scunthorpe Leisure Centre, in North Lincolnshire, where "users must follow the required dress code for this session (T-shirts and shorts/leggings that cover below the knee)".

In Glasgow, a men-only swimming session is organised by a local mosque group at North Woodside Leisure Centre, at which swimmers must be covered from navel to knee.

At a women-only class organised by a Muslim teacher at Blackbird Leys Swimming Pool, Oxford, to encourage Muslim women to learn to swim, most participants wear "modest" outfits although normal costumes are permitted.

The dress codes have provoked an angry reaction among critics who say they encourage division and resentment between Muslims and non-Muslims, putting strain on social cohesion.

Ian Cawsey, the Labour MP for the North Lincolnshire constituency of Brigg and Goole, said: "Of course swimming pools have basic codes of dress but it should not go beyond that.

"I don't think that in a local authority pool I should have to wear a particular type of clothes for the benefit of someone else. That's not integration or cohesion."

Labour MP Anne Cryer, whose Keighley, West Yorkshire constituency has a large number of Muslims, said: "Unfortunately this kind of thing has a negative impact on community relations.

"It's seen as yet another demand for special treatment. I can't see why special clothing is needed for what is a single-sex session."

But it does tell that they want males to wear something like a burkini too? Actually, now that I think of it, even males may not be safe under Shari'a from the kind of horrors a woman faces if they go around barechested.

Anyway, there you have it - your tax pounds at work in the UK.

An Islamic smear campaign against Rifqa Bary

Atlas Shrugs (via Jihad Watch) reports that the MSM and the parents of Rifqa Bary, as well as the Islamic Society of Central Florida, are conducting a libel campaign against Rifqa Bary, the teenage girl from a Muslim family who converted to Christianity, claiming that she was "brainwashed/kidnapped by a cult". In other words, this father who claims he respects her conversion is insulting the kindly pastor and wife who took her in by demonizing them, instead of thanking them.

Pamela has some screenshots of Bary's Facebook page that help back up her side of the story. And there's also this letter sent to Counter Jihad by a friend of hers:

I know that her dad is a threat to her, because I am friends with her and have heard her talk about it. In addition, when she took off and ran, I was one of the last people to talk to her via cell phone and as a result her dad started obsessively calling me and being very harsh and threatening towards me, while demanding that i tell him where she went to.

I hope her friend will also help testify in her defense. She will need it. Can a complaint be filed against the father as well for phone harrassment?

Update: see this related article at Doc's Talk.

Update 2: here's more from Phyllis Chesler, and she says:

Someone has got to explain the technique of taqiyya (the high Islamic Art of disinformation) to the Ohio police, to the judiciary in both Ohio and Florida, and to the mainstream media.

Exactly. That's one of the most important points to make in this whole affair, about how Islamists can take on a wolf in sheep's clothing personality.

Do authorities take this act at face value?

The Orlando Sentinel (via Jihad Watch) has published a report on the case of Rifqa Bary, who ran away from her Muslim home in Ohio for fear she would be murdered for converting to Christianity. It's really just more of the same, and appears that the paper favors the parents.

I hope that some good defense can be found for the girl, because she's going to need it!

Edit: I may have gotten things slightly inaccurate regarding the court-appointed lawyer, or the paper itself did: the lawyer is representing the parents, according to Phyllis Chesler. And he is definitely a disgrace.

Ronald Lauder speaks in defense of Israel

World Jewish Congress leader Ronald S. Lauder has written in defense of Israel in the Wall Street Journal (Hat tip: One Jerusalem):

Rule No. 1: Respect the sovereignty of democratic allies. When free people in a democracy express their preferences, the United States should respect their opinions. The current administration should not try to impose ideas on allies like Israel.

The administration would also do well to take heed of the Palestinian Authority’s continued refusal to recognize Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people. This is not a trivial matter. A long-term settlement can only be forged on the basis of mutual recognition and respect. To deny the essence of the Zionist project—to rebuild the Jewish people’s ancient homeland—is to call into question the seriousness of one’s commitment to peace.

It is a sad statement of the Palestinians’ approach to peace-making that denial of the Jewish homeland is not simply contained in the openly anti-Semitic leadership of Hamas. It is a widespread belief across the spectrum of Palestinian opinion. This reality must be confronted.

Today’s leadership must never forget that the core historic reason for the conflict is the Arab world’s longstanding rejection of Israel’s existence. The two-state solution was accepted by Israel’s pre-state leadership led by David Ben-Gurion in 1947 when it agreed to the partition plan contained in United Nation’s General Assembly Resolution 181. The Arabs flatly rejected it. As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton knows all too well, President Bill Clinton’s peace plans in 2000 foundered due to Palestinian rejection of the Jewish state, even as Israel, once again, accepted their right to statehood.

More recent experience in Europe also offers lessons about the dangers of negotiating with terrorists. Over the past year, officials from Britain, France and the European Union all held talks with officials from the “political wing” of Hezbollah in a bid to get the terrorist group to moderate its behavior. Hezbollah is undoubtedly grateful for the legitimacy that these meetings have conferred, but it is not laying down its arms. Indeed, according to a recent report from the Times of London, the group has now stockpiled 40,000 rockets close to the Israeli border.

Europe too would do well to consider that siding with Israel's enemies will not help their own troubles. That's why they too have to realize that it does not pay to impose bad ideas upon Israel.

Britons not helping themselves by defending their wretched healthcare system

Wow, following the controversy over Obama's attempt to mimic Britain's healthcare system, which in turn has led to criticism of the UK's own NHS, the Brits are mad and going to extremes to defend their socialist approach, and the MSM itself is only too happy to back them up:

LONDON (AP) - Britons reacted with outrage Friday at American criticism of the country's health care system and defended their cradle-to-grave medical coverage on Twitter, television and in the tabloids.

Right-wing attacks on President Barack Obama's health reform plans have struck a nerve in Britain, where residents broadly take for granted their universal coverage under the state-funded National Health Service - and look askance at the millions of Americans without insurance.

"Land of the Fee," declared the Daily Mirror in reference to the United States' high-charging health model. The London newspaper called the "lies and distortions" being circulated in the United States about the National Health Service "truly sickening."

"Jaw droppingly untruthful," said the British Medical Association's chairman, Hamish Meldrum.

"NHS often makes the difference between pain and comfort, despair and hope, life and death," Prime Minister Gordon Brown tweeted. "Thanks for always being there."

Even British health campaigner Kate Spall - who criticizes NHS failings in U.S. television ads produced by Conservatives for Patients' Rights, a lobby group that opposes Obama's plans - declared that the group had misled her and was distorting her true views. Spall's mother died of kidney cancer while waiting for treatment.

"There are failings in the system but I'm not anti-NHS at all," Spall told the British Broadcasting Corp.

"I help the vulnerable patients in our country that come to me for help, those that have been denied treatment," she said. "So the irony is, the people that are falling through the net in the U.S. are patients that I would support anyway."

Britain's opposition Conservative Party is distancing itself from its maverick member of European Parliament, Daniel Hannan, who has criticized the NHS on U.S. news programs.

Conservative leader David Cameron dismissed Hannan as having "eccentric views."

In an e-mail to Conservative Party workers published on his blog, Cameron said millions, including his own family, were grateful for NHS-provided care.

"Just look at all the support which the NHS has received on Twitter over the last couple of days," he wrote. "It is a reminder - if one were needed - of how proud we in Britain are of the NHS."

Gee, do they really think they're helping themselves this way? Because looking at the rest of this:

The NHS, founded in 1948, is the cornerstone of the United Kingdom's welfare state.

About 12 percent of the UK's 61 million residents have private insurance, but the vast majority rely on state-funded emergency care, surgery and access to family doctors. Even those who complain about the system say they want it improved, not dismantled.

British officials acknowledge that their system has been struggling to cope and faces a 15 billion pound ($24 billion) deficit. Hospitals are often overcrowded, dirty and understaffed, which means some patients do not get the care they are promised.

Doesn't that tell why the very idea Obama is proposing is bad for the US? Sometimes private health care businesses can pay, even when you have to pay!

While we're on the subject, Rudy Giuliani has told Politico (via Hot Air) that Obama has only himself to blame for the whole debacle.

Giuliani, in an exclusive interview with POLITICO prior to delivering the keynote address to the second annual GOPAC conference in Chicago, said the president has allowed fears of so-called “death panels” to persist because the White House has not taken a strong enough hand in crafting health care legislation.

“They never really studied the legislation that has been proposed,” Giuliani said. “The reason for the concern about the death panels is the legislation and the claim by the president that he will cover thirty to fifty million people without cost, and any time you say it’s without costs you raise a number of concerns.”

“It has to be with cost, because it costs money with every single person that is covered. That cost has to come from somewhere, which means something has to be cut,” the former Republican presidential candidate explained. “So where are you going to decrease services? There is a great fear that it will be by cutting off care for the elderly.”

Like former Alaska GOP Gov. Sarah Palin, Giuliani insisted that some of the president’s “closest advisors” have advocated for the creation of “death panels” to determine the course of treatment for some elderly and infirm Americans.

“If they’re concerned that they’ve created this massive groundswell that is worried about death panels, the only ones they have to blame are themselves,” Giuliani said of the Obama administration. “If they would like to end it, they should change the legislation, remove all these end of life panels, remove these czars and come clean with the American people that it is going to cost them a lot of money.”

Palin and Giuliani are both right on this subject.

A Dem's become a daddy, and the mother isn't even his own wife!

John Edwards, a former presidential candidate himself, had an affair with one of his campaign employees, Rielle Hunter, and has sired a daughter with her. Only now is this becoming official (Hat tip: Hot Air):

Sources have told WRAL News that they expect former U.S. Sen. John Edwards to admit that he is the father of his former mistress’ 18-month-old daughter.

Edwards, a two-time Democratic presidential candidate, confessed last August to having an affair with Rielle Hunter, who served as a videographer on Edwards’ 2008 campaign. He has denied fathering her daughter, saying his relationship with Hunter ended before the child was conceived. [..]

A federal grand jury is investigating whether Edwards’ campaign funds were illegally paid to Hunter to keep quiet about the affair. [...]

Sources said Edwards’ public admission could come before the end of the criminal investigation.

Oh dear. But I think it'll be a bad idea to let Edwards officially parent the child himself in the forseeable future. If a dad is needed, Ms. Hunter would be advised to look elsewhere, yet make sure that Edwards pays the child support checks.

Leftists who demonize women

Some time ago, Don Surber (Hat tip: Michelle Malkin) wrote about why some leftists have a hatred of conservative women, to the point that they'd even make vile remarks about wanting to rape them, following a very repugnant article published on Playboy's website by a leftist pervert.

Well, I just remembered something I'd seen on a website I once was stupid enough to traverse years before, where something like that occurred. It's something I might usually be inclined to discuss on my comics blog, but for now will discuss here.

The leftist site in question is the Captain Comics website, which is run by a leftist working for Scripps-Howard News Service. The people on the site's forum were discussing a misogynist comic book miniseries called "Identity Crisis" written by a pretentious writer named Brad Meltzer, where the story involved the murder, and rape in flashback, of a superhero's wife (if you think this sounds disgusting, you don't even know the half of it), and the main problem was that the story had no female viewpoint, and one of the message board posters said:

I'm more that satisfied. I don't know what everyone was expecting, but I found it to be one hell of a series.

The culprit turned out to be a reasonable choice, given her history. I'm glad that it wasn't a hero, I'm glad that it wasn't a villain, and I'm glad that he didn't pull an obscure murderer out of thin air.

This series will cast a long shadow on the DCU, at least until they revive Sue and Mr. Drake, or retcon the mindwipes out of continuity. This will have a huge impact on the character of Robin. Hopefully it will result in a better, more interesting Tim Drake.

Most of us had Jean on our shortlist of culprits and I for one am not unhappy to see her in Arkham. Seriously, her infidelity in Sword of the Atom #1 took place right after my girlfriend asked if, "maybe we should date other people" (of course meaning that she was dating other people). I've had a severe dislike for Ms. Loring ever since.

I don't know if it's been mentioned in this thread, but I know that I've brought it up in others: Jean has an extremely long history of mental illness. I'm not talking a two-part story, I mean month after month of Ray and his friends trying to bring her back to sanity.

All in all, this was the best "big event" that I've read since Crisis. I can't wait for Meltzer's next assignment.

First, I want to tell anyone not familiar with the DC Universe that what the man who wrote this is saying about Jean Loring having a "long history of mental illness" is not true, and is definitely exaggerated. But what really makes it offensive, IMHO, is when you contemplate this in the light of the following description:

Identity Crisis shows us a tabloid headline: "Atom's Wife Tortured by Inmates." [...] Is the headline meant to be true? If so, does anyone – like the Atom or other superheroes – try to stop the torture? It appears not.

[...]

Identity Crisis has been accused of misogyny. In my past reviews of the series, I've been willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. But now it's clear that, intentionally or not, "Identity Crisis" is indeed disturbingly misogynistic.

When you consider what happens at the end of that shitty miniseries, it sounds like the disgusting creep who made the statement on the Captain Comics website wanted to assault/molest his own girlfriend. And if he's a leftard...well that oughta tell something about how such a grotesque, alleged member of the human race must think.

Next, perhaps just as disturbing, if not more so, is this comment made by the man the site is named for:

I haven't read IC #7 yet, but I do want to make two comments:

1) I'm long out of my dating years, but I was pretty active when I was there. And I'd like to buttress Dr. Chaos's remarks: There are women (and men) in the world who do the damnedest things that only make sense to THEM. For example, one girl I dated, and dumped, made an incredible effort to re-attach to me, going out of her way to address the complaints that made me break up with her in the first place, being the model girlfriend ... just long enough to start making my life miserable. Subtly. Calculatedly. Things started going wrong in my life, stuff disappearing, lies to my boss, bad sex, everything. Oh, and my friendships started evaporating. Because, of course, it turned out later that she was cheating with every male acquaintance I had as quickly as she could. And lying to every female acquaintance that I had that I beat her, treated her shabbily, cheated on her, and so forth. Idiot that I was, I had no idea why people had begun avoiding me.

OK, I can understand being angry at being dumped. Wanting revenge. But this woman spent six months of her life not being happy herself just to make ME unhappy. She spent months in an elaborate revenge scheme that involved acting like the sweetest li'l ol' thing around me, and then an entirely different person when my back was turned -- a different act for everyone. A constant effort, a disciplined effort, where she could never be "herself" for a second. I finally twigged to what was going on and got the hell out. And when confronted, she laughed in a very, very Jean Loring way. Weird, but true. Calculate the "rules" of insanity all you like, there aren't any.

And I won't tell you about the girl whose idea of post-coital snuggling involved wanting to kill me and herself with a butcher knife, or the girl who broke into my apartment and threw away all my red shirts because they were "evil," or ... well, you get the idea. I imagine many of us have these kinds of stories.

2) Enough with the use of *&%$#@ "loosing"! There ain't no such word! It's LOSING. Lose, losing, lost. The most intelligent post in the world is submarined when you use a nonsense word like LOOSING. It doesn't exist! Wrong, wrong, wrong! *&%$#@!! Kree-gah, bundolo!

(Captain takes a deep breath. Man, I gotta switch to decaffeinated!)

Make what you will of the above, but that too is one of the most obnoxious things I've ever read, and is utterly demeaning to women. More precisely though, it seems he was using this supposed experience of his as justification for the miniseries' very existence. Excuse me? How does having a rotten experience in real life legitimize books like Identity Crisis that aren't exactly based on such and that could be or are extremely bigoted, and how does that legitimize using already established characters who were far from being as bad what these scumbags are claiming, and that, most importantly, are fictional creations not harming anyone in reality? This too could serve as an important example of how the leftist mindset works.

And it also tells, IMO, what some leftist males must think of women, independent or otherwise. That's why I want this to serve as an example of how, as Surber has argued, there are some very vile leftists out there who have very evil thoughts about women on the mind, and clearly view them as nothing but property.

Meet Rifqa Bary, an apostate who could use some help from people who care about freedom

Jihad Watch points to the emerging story of Rifqa Bary, a girl from a Muslim family in Ohio who converted to Christianity and later fled to Florida fearing that her parents would murder her for doing so. Here's more at Front Page Magazine.

As usual, the MSM, but even the authorities themselves, would rather look the other way and not consider the parents' preferring to resort to taqqiya. After reading some of this (also via Jihad Watch and Atlas Shrugs), I have to wonder: is the police sergeant mentioned here qualified to judge? Perhaps what he needs to do is consult some of the following Q&As on penalties for apostasy (also via Jihad Watch and The Jawa Report).

Even ABC News has been serving as apologists for the parents, who deny that they threatened her. I do think that stupid network is way past its prime already. Ever since Disney bought into them, that's how low they go.

Here is the latest on the story from Newsmax (also via Jihad Watch):

Rifqa Bary is alive. She ran to Florida and escaped the fate her father had in mind for her — unlike Amina and Sarah Said, two Muslim teens in Texas who ran away but returned home at the insistence of their mother, Tissie Said, only to be brutally murdered by their father, Yaser Said, on New Year’s Day 2008. Rifqa got away, unlike Aqsa Parvez, a Muslim teen in Canada who stayed with friends only to return home and get murdered by her father for refusing to wear the Islamic headscarf.

But now Rifqa Bary is in court, in a custody battle that could send her to her death. “They want me back home,” she says. “I can’t go back to Ohio, you guys don’t understand. That community, they’re like — I will die within a week. My life is at stake.”

“You guys don’t understand,” Rifqa said. “Islam is very different than you guys think. They have to kill me. My blood is now halal, which means that because I am now a Christian, I’m from a Muslim background, it’s an honor. If they love God more than me, they have to do this. And I’m fighting for my life, you guys don’t understand. You don’t understand.”

Americans don’t understand because the “experts” aren’t telling them. I pray that Rifqa’s defenders bring to the court experts who know about honor killings. Family members who have lost their relatives to honor killings (for less) should be giving testimony. Amina and Sarah Said’s aunt, Gail Gartrell, should speak; Ibn Warraq, Wafa Sultan (who is forced to live in hiding in the United States because of Islamic death threats), and Robert Spencer should speak; Phyllis Chesler and friends of Aqsa Parvez should speak.

This is the front line — right in Florida. While our finest young Americans engage in hard-fought battles on the front lines of the global jihad in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Israel is on the front lines of the global jihad in the Middle East, Muslim women all over the world are on the front lines in the war against Islamic jihad. The battlefield is their homes. They live their lives in abject terror in homemade concentration camps.

The control of women is central to the battle between free men and slaves. The horror of the Islamic subjugation, abuse, and murder of women has made its way to our shores. Our ignorance or worse, silence, is complicity in their deaths. Invariably, the terrible sociological result is a reduction in the status of women in Western society.

Are we in the free world going to stand by silently while Muslims in the West brutalize women and converts from Islam, and treat them as worthless trash? We failed Amina and Sarah Said, Aqsa Parvez, and thousands of other women held captive by the “devout.”

No one who cares about an innocent girl's safety should be sitting silent while this goes on. I think that it's high time that some real experts go to testify in the girl's defense.

Speaking of Parvez, a memorial has finally been built for victims of honor murders in Pelham and Jerusalem.

Others on the subject include Always on Watch, Infidel Bloggers Alliance, What's Wrong With the World, Not a Sheep, Counter Jihad, The Tedland Diary, 2 Worlds Collide, The Palination, Islamization Watch, Answering Muslims, Blue Collar Philosophy, Exposing Liberal Lies, Conservatarian, Jeune Normandie-FNJ 27, SOLO, Infidels Are Cool.

Burquini wearer banned from French swimming pool

Here's a sign of anti-dhimmitude in Paris at the poolside:

PARIS – A Muslim woman who tried to go swimming in a head-to-toe "burquini" has been banned from her local pool in the latest tussle between religious practices and secular authority in France.

Officials on Wednesday insisted they banned the woman's use of the Islam-friendly swimsuit because of France's unusually strict hygiene standards in pools — not because of official hostility to wearing overtly Muslim garb.

Under the policy, swimmers are prevented from wearing any street-compatible or baggy clothing, such as Bermuda shorts, in favor of figure-hugging suits.

The woman, a 35-year-old convert to Islam identified only as Carole, complained of religious discrimination after trying to go swimming in her burquini in the Paris suburb of Emerainville.

She was quoted as telling the daily Le Parisien newspaper that she had bought the burquini after deciding "it would allow me the pleasure of bathing without showing too much of myself, as Islam recommends."

"For me this is nothing but segregation," she added.

Look who's talking! Someone who not only has the disgrace to convert to a religion that would see her as inferior, but who, if it were up to people like her, would ban non-Muslims from the pool, and even segregate the two sexes.

The issue of religious attire is a hot topic in France, where head-to-toe burqas or other full-body coverings worn by Muslim fundamentalists are in official disfavor.

French lawmakers recently proposed a ban on the burqa and other voluminous Muslim attire. President Nicolas Sarkozy backs the move, saying such clothing makes women prisoners.

But Daniel Guillaume, a regional official in charge of swimming pools, said Carole's poolside rebuff had nothing to do with religion and everything to do with public health standards.

He said swimmers throughout France must wear special clothes to the pool, whereas a burquini could be worn all day long, collecting everything from food spills to sweat along the way.

"These clothes are used in public, so they can contain molecules, viruses, et cetera, which will go in the water and could be transmitted to other bathers," Guillaume said in a telephone interview.

"We reminded this woman that one should not bathe all dressed, just as we would tell someone who is a nudist not to bathe all naked," he said.

Guillaume said France's public health standards require all pool-goers to don appropriate attire — swimsuits for women and tight, swim-specific briefs for men — and caps to cover their hair. Bathers also must shower before entering the water.

Guillaume said Carole had tried to file a complaint at a local police station, but her request was turned down as groundless.

Carole told the daily Le Parisien she would protest with the help of anti-discrimination groups.

The Associated Press could not reach the woman for comment Wednesday.

I must say, their health concerns are impressive, and to be sure, make a lot of sense. Kudos for standing by them. However, they're going to have to be prepared for any "anti-discrimination" groups that might now rear their ugly heads. A good way to counter that would be a solidarity show with the pool business by locals who care about freedom.

Father of handicapped child recieved threats after protesting Obamacare

Joshuapundit presents a video of a father who asked his local Congressman in Michigan why his son, who's got cerebral palsy, would not be covered under Obama's socialist healthcare program, and then later received threats at home, possibly from ACORN and SEIU thugs.

Yes, this is what it's come down to when Obama is now president. Whoever those creepy people are who made those threats, I hope the police are searching for them now.

Update: and while we're on the subject, a citizen journalist was attacked by a group of decidedly un-American thugs at another of these townhall meetings.

Update 2: public support for Obamacare has plunged to new lows (also via Hot Air).

Others on the subject include Michelle Malkin, Frugal Cafe Blog Zone, NeoAvatara.

Mary Robinson is as anti-American as she is anti-Semitic

Jonathan Rosenthal at Pajamas Media writes about the disgusting former UN commissioner for Human Rights named Mary Robinson, whom president Obama awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom when she doesn't deserve it. Her offenses even include opposition to the war in Iraq:

In that same year, Robinson would take up a professorship at Columbia University in New York. Discussing the Iraq war in a November 2005 interview with Reuters, she remarked cheerfully that “what I find living now in the United States is an encouraging, wide sense of some of the checks and balances kicking in. … In Congress you have, at last, a sense, of ‘we were misled, we should have been more attentive.’” “It was not a legitimate war,” Robinson told Reuters flatly, “and I am glad that more and more people … are coming out to say so.” “The poor, beleaguered people of Iraq are not better off,” she added.

Yes, Robinson is one of the most disgusting so-called politicians around, and people who care need to call for her award to be revoked.

US-Russia relations on the brink

Well look what's happening: Seems that US diplomatic relations with Russia are falling apart. What's also eyebrow-raising here is that Russkie war-subs were detected off the east coast (note: there appear to be a few typos in the text):

The detection of the Russian subs, believed to be nuclear powered attack submarines, of the U.S. East Coast raised eyebrows in the Washington because it is the first time in 15 years Moscow has been caught with having subs so close to the U.S. coast. Such concern, according to Russian officials, is unfounded.

"I don't know if it's news to anyone," Anatoly Nogovitsyn, Russia's deputy chief of general staff, told a news conference. "The navy should not stay idle at its moorings."

Mr. Nogovitsyn downplayed the subs and argued Russian subs in international waters off the U.S. East Coast is no different than detecting U.S. subs performing the same maneuvers off Russia’s coast.

“We can also talk about them (U.S. submarines), where they occur from time to time. So this (Russian patrols) is a normal process, and those making such statements understand this pretty well,” Mr. Nogovitsyn said. The Russian official, however, failed to provide specific instances where the U.S. performed similar operations off the Russian coast.

The Russian official stressed his nation had a right to perform such basic military maneuvers and shrugged off claims Russia is adopting a more aggressive global stance.

“It's a normal thing,” Nogovitsyn said.

But how normal are such operations during peace time and are the maneuvers a signal Moscow decided to pass on Mr. Obama’s offer to reset relations between the two nations?

Excellent questions. I'd say that such operations are NOT normal; Russia could test those subs right around their own coastal regions if they had to. What they're doing now is very fishy and downright disturbing, and that Russkie official is a disgrace if he's going to whitewash what's happening. Read the whole article, because it tells that relations with Russia may be falling apart, and it's unlikely to improve.

There will be no peace without Mevaseret Adumim

This is the name of the area in which a new neighborhood is planned as an extension between Jerusalem and Maaleh Adumim. Knesset speaker Ruvy Rivlin took a tour there to support the project:

Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin toured the E-1 area connecting Jerusalem and Ma'aleh Adumim on Monday and had a fierce message for US opposition to construction there.

Israel plans to build 4,000 apartments in E-1, also known as Mevaseret Adumim, while 450 units in northeast Ma'aleh Adumim were frozen by the Olmert government, although all the infrastructure for those units is already in place.

"Without Ma'aleh Adumim and without the construction in E-1 and a continuous Jerusalem territory, there will not be peace, but rather a division of Jerusalem, which will intensify the conflict."

"We had arguments with the US, but [former US president George W.] Bush gave an explicit and valid letter saying that Ma'aleh Adumim, with other parts of Israel, will be areas where Israel can continue to be based."

"We must make it clear to the Americans that any harm to the continuous territory between Jerusalem and Ma'aleh Adumim will bring about a situation in which Ma'aleh Adumim will be swallowed like Mount Scopus was in 1948-1967," he said. "Israeli concessions over construction in Ma'aleh Adumim will be like giving up on the 'Bush Document,' which recognizes Israel's right to build in settlement blocs."

In a meeting at the Jerusalem Municipality prior to the tour, Rivlin said that the US policy of opposing construction in E-1 "is a danger to Jerusalem and its future, and we need to present an uncompromising counter-stance."

During the tour, Yishai said that Israel would continue to build in the E-1 area, and even if the Americans don't agree at first, they will eventually get the message.

"We can continue to try and convince them, but if we don't succeed, and this has happened in the past, Israel must continue to do what it believes in," he said. "There will be no other way, the Americans will in the end understand that it is based on the commitment of the previous administration and cannot be ignored. It's existential for us, it's a national security issue, it's right, correct and necessary."

Rivlin told Army Radio later Monday that the US demands for a freeze in E-1 construction were "weakening" Israel.

Quite right. But then let's not forget that even Dubya didn't do many favors for Israel in his time when he condoned concessions like the withdrawal from Gaza that led to disaster for Sderot.

Mevaseret Adumim is an important project for the purpose of strengthening Jerusalem. And segregation is not a productive idea.