NORWEGIAN RESEARCH COUNCIL: OOPS: GLOBAL WARMING IS OVERBLOWN!

POWER LINE: 

Yesterday the Research Council of Norway—that would be one of those national research bodies that the climateers relentlessly tell us we should pay attention to—issued the conclusion that global warming is likely to be much less severe than the “consensus” estimate of 2 – 4.5 degrees C.  The Norwegian body thinks it will top out at 1.9 degrees:

Professor Berntsen explains the changed predictions: “The Earth’s mean temperature rose sharply during the 1990s. This may have caused us to overestimate climate sensitivity. 

“We are most likely witnessing natural fluctuations in the climate system – changes that can occur over several decades – and which are coming on top of a long-term warming. The natural changes resulted in a rapid global temperature rise in the 1990s, whereas the natural variations between 2000 and 2010 may have resulted in the levelling off we are observing now.”

IOW: AGW = BS.

FRENCH MILITARY IN MALI KEEPS UP THE BATTLE AGAINST THE ISLAMISTS

And this FOX News report on the issue even calls them "Islamists", amazingly enough:

French forces took control of the airport and a key bridge in the radical Islamist stronghold of Gao under cover of darkness early Saturday, making a significant inroad into territory held by the Al Qaeda-linked extremists.

The move comes just two weeks after France launched its military offensive to rout the Islamists from power in northern Mali. It isn't clear what kind of resistance they will face in coming days

French and Malian forces came under fire in the morning and continued to face sporadic "acts of harassment," in the afternoon, said Col. Thierry Burkhard, a French military spokesman in Paris. He had no immediate estimate on casualties.

The Islamists first seized control of Gao and two other northern provincial capitals—Timbuktu and Kidal—last April during the chaotic aftermath of a coup in the distant capital.

French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian announced in a statement from his ministry Saturday that jihadist fighters who encountered the advancing French and Malian troops "saw their means of transport and their logistics sites.

Before the joint air-land operations overnight, French forces carried out "an important phase of airstrikes" around Gao and Timbuktu, with nearly 30 bombs fired from fighter jets over the previous two days, the military said.

[...] Since France began its military operation two weeks ago with a barrage of airstrikes followed by a land assault, the Islamists have retreated from three cities in central Mali: Diabaly, Konna and Douentza. The Islamists, though, have maintained control of the majority of the territory in Mali's north, most importantly the cities of Gao, Kidal and Timbuktu.

I'm glad to find one article on FOX that's bold enough to call a spade a spade, and acknowledge that these are jihadists the French army in Mali is dealing with.

SOCCER VIOLENCE OUTBURST IN EGYPT

What's the next thing to cause a whole flurry of violent riots in Egypt? The verdict in an earlier case involving soccer:

Angry relatives and residents rampaged through an Egyptian port city Saturday in rioting that killed at least 27 people after a judge sentenced nearly two dozen soccer fans to death for involvement in deadly violence after a game last year.

The unrest was the latest in a bout of violence that has left a total of 38 people dead in two days, including 11 killed in clashes between police and protesters marking Friday's second anniversary of the uprising that overthrew longtime leader Hosni Mubarak. [...]

The violence in Port Said erupted after a judge sentenced 21 people to death in connection with the Feb. 1 soccer melee that killed 74 fans of the Cairo-based Al-Ahly team. Executions in Egypt are usually carried out by hanging.

[...] Die-hard soccer fans from both teams, known as Ultras, hold the police at least partially responsible for February's violence, which was the world's worst soccer violence in 15 years, saying officers at the game did nothing to stop the bloodshed. They also criticize Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi for doing little to reform the police force or the judiciary since he took office in July.

The opposition says Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected and civilian president, and his Muslim Brotherhood allies in government have failed to restore stability amid continued political turmoil and crime, and point to a worsening economy.

In a statement Saturday, the main opposition National Salvation Front said it holds Morsi responsible for "the excessive use of force by the security forces against protesters." They threatened to boycott upcoming parliamentary elections if Morsi does not meet their demands that include amending articles in the new constitution.

Well the elections in that decaying country are bound to be fixed by the Islamofascists anyway, so it doesn't make much difference. But there we have it, yet more chaos coming as the result of Islamism, and we can only expect yet more and more riots of this kind coming down the pike in the next several years.

But "freely" elected president? My foot. Morsi is nothing more than another revolting Islamofascist dictator.

MOHAMMED MORSI'S HISTORY OF BIGOTRY

The Investigative Project researched the Egyptian dictator's past record of hostilities to Israel, and found the following dating back to 2004:

Morsi's comments reflect the Muslim Brotherhood's intrinsic anti-Semitism that is easily obtainable dating back to its founding in 1928.

The MEMRI videos cited by the New York Times earlier this month show Morsi referring to Jews as "the descendants of apes and pigs" and saying that Muslims should "nurse our children and our grandchildren on hatred for them: for Zionists, for Jews…"

The IPT found additional comments by Morsi on the Muslim Brotherhood's website from November 2004 in which he described the Jews as "descendants of apes and pigs."

Morsi also invoked the Quran during the same speech, calling the Zionists "traitors to every covenant and convention" and saying that "the Jews are the most hostile enemies of the Muslims."

References to Jews as "apes" and "pigs" also are repeatedly found in the speeches of the man many liberal Egyptians regard as the real power behind Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohammed Badie. According to Germany's Der Spiegel, Morsi regularly meets with Badie and has shown that he expresses obedience to the supreme guide.

This is most definitely not a man who any sane person would want to speak with, and is definitely disturbing.

DETROIT: AMERICA'S THIRD WORLD CITY

The welfare state in all its "glory":

DEMONS AND DEMOCRATS

The left still idolizes Martin Luther King Junior.

Despite the fact that King was pro-life.

But today, no matter how much you may agree with a Leftie, if you are pro-life and pro-traditional marriage, they consider you a neanderthal - and they demonize you.

What happened to make the Left less tolerant?

PC.

Political Correctness is nothing more than a stalinistic tool used to purge the party ranks.

There are way some politicians can avoid demonization by the Left. When Obama ran and won election in 2008 he was pro-traditional marriage. HOW DID HE MANAGE THAT? He "winked" to the Left and they understood he'd "adapt"as soon as he could. AND HE DID JUST THAT. And now he's their idol. They trusted him in large part because as a State Senator he was a staunch supporter of abortion, even to the point of supporting infanticide.

Obama, Reid, and Pelosi are corrupt utopianists, and corrupt utopianist politicians are almost all on the left. The reason is simple: since they believe they CAN create a utopia on Earth, they believe that doing whatever is necessary to whomever gets in the way is perfectly justified - and they are willing to do it.

Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Bin Laden all believed that their evil acts were justified because they all believed that they were necessary in order to create a utopia on Earth.

When politicians - like Feinstein and Cuomo and Obama - advocate diminishing our G-d-given right to bear arms in our self-defense, then they are behaving in a way consistent with the REAL demons in human history - like Stalin and Hitler and Mao. Hence they are behaving demonically.

These utopianists are often corrupt because they are also willing to make dirty political deals and payoffs to achieve their version of "Heaven on Earth".

Democrat utopianists are especially corruptible because the Democrat Party is -and has been since FDR - a coalition of factions each seeking government largesse, rather than a party based on moral and political principles as the GOP is and has been since its inception.

There are fewer corrupt utopianists on the Right for another fundamental reason: fundamentally and essentially Conservatives don't believe that humans can create a utopianistic society - and that the best we can hope for is a society that allows the people to each enjoy their utmost personal G-d-given rights and their liberties and can pursue Happiness in their own way, and achieve as much Happiness as they can. Some will do spectacularly well, and some will fail - (but perhaps enjoy trying!). Since Conservatives don't believe guaranteeing outcomes is possible without tyranny; Conservatives accept the fact that "your results may differ".

This is realism. And realism hasn't perpetrated any genocide in human history; whereas utopianism has perpetrated the genocide of a billion people  - (when you add socialist genocide to islamic genocide).

The only demonic people in the political sphere are the ones who advocate any and all means to achieve their utopia. Whether they advocate terror or just taking away our G-d-given rights - like the right to self  defense.

BOTTOM-LINE:  a person who wants a baby in the womb to go full term and be born - to LIVE - is not, and cannot ever be, a demon, while those who deny the fetus is a human being are - in their own terms - acting demonically.

Think about it.

Abortion will no longer be an issue that divides America when  boys and girls who were once fetuses who were "permitted" to go to term and "permitted" to be born want the same sons and daughters and their grandchildren and their grandchildren's grandchildren.

And, when they accept that the best society is one in which people retain their G-d-given rights and pursue Happiness with as little government interference as possible.

AMEN.

It's truly sickening how libs'n lefties are trying to exploit the horrific Newtown attack

And it's truly sickening how libs'n lefties are trying to exploit any and all horrific attacks like Newtown:

IT’S LIKE THE WHOLE THING IS ONE BIG PRETEXT: Feinstein Falsely Politicizes Virginia Tech Massacre.  

“Given that she cited Virginia Tech, it’s worth asking whether or not Feinstein’s proposed legislation could’ve changed the outcome of the event. . . . So what did Seung-Hui Cho, the Virginia Tech gunman, use to kill 32 of his fellow classmates? He used two sidearms, a .22 caliber Walther P22 and a 9mm Glock 19. You’ll notice that neither of these semi-automatic weapons are on the list above. Cho also used a number of 10 and 15 round magazines. Theoretically, Feinstein’s bill may have limited Cho to smaller magazines (8 or 9 rounds each). Would this have made a difference?”  

Posted at 9:31 pm by Glenn Reynolds 

Actually, the proposals the libs'n lefties are making would have zero positive effect and many negative effects.

It's bread and circuses.

THE SLAVES OF DUBAI

(hat tip to Mark Alexander of A New Dark Age Is Dawning)

Most people know Dubai for its massive skyscrapers and luxurious hotels, but few know that the city was built by modern-day slaves.

Video:


Ugliness hides behind the outward beauty of Dubai:

Dubai skyline from Zabeel park:

The Burj Khalifa is currently the tallest structure in the world:

Luxury hotel Burj al Arab, "the world's only seven star hotel":

Dubai skyline at night:

NO JEWISH FATALITIES IN JUDEA/SAMARIA IN 2012

A 55 percent decrease in jihad attacks:

No Israeli was killed in a terror attack in the West Bank or Jerusalem in 2012 – for the first time in 39 years, according to the Shin Bet.

Data complied by the Israeli secret service indicate 1,221 Israelis were killed and 8,519 were injured in terror attacks since 2000.

The data further showed that the Shin Bet thwarted some 100 major terror attacks in the course of 2012. The past year has seen 2,300 terror suspects being nabbed and 2,170 indictments filed in their cases. In addition, some NIS 10 million and 3,000 tons of iron used for terror purposes were seized by the security forces.

According to the data, 2012 saw a 55% decrease in the number of fatalities compared to 2011, with only 10 Israelis killed in terror attacks: six civilians and four members of the security forces.

Nine of the 10 found their deaths in attacks originating in Gaza or the Sinai Peninsula. Six were killed by Gaza rocket fire. One person, George Saado from Ramla, was murdered by an Arab teen for nationalistic motives.

However, while the number of fatalities dropped, the number of people wounded in terror attacks rose. A total of 309 people including nine foreigners were injured in 2012 compared to 159 in 2011.

So the good news here is that vigilance and diligence by the authorities has proven effective in deterring terrorist attacks. The bad news is that there's still jihadist violence lurking out there, and it could pose danger like before. That's why educational measures are needed to put an end to Islamist/jihadist mindsets.

ISLAMIC MURDER OF GIRLS IS NOT HONORABLE

Catholic.Org's written about the so-called honor killings that are rampant in the Muslim world:

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - It's estimated that between 2007 and 2010, 29 women in the West Bank were officially reported murdered in the name of honor. The actual number of slain women there is believed to be far higher, as the Palestinian Interior Ministry refuses to divulge exact statistics on honor killings.

The West Bank has a population of about four million, and Gaza about 1.5 million.

"Thirteen Palestinian women were (known) murdered in the Palestinian Territories in 2012 in so-called 'honor killings'," Soraida Hussein from the Palestinian Women's Affairs Technical Committee says. The committee is an advisory group to the Palestinian Legislative Council.

"The majority of these murders had nothing to do with protecting the honor of families. They were carried out for various criminal reasons. Often women are killed during family or financial disputes, and then the men claim the honor killing defense to get reduced sentences," Hussein says.

Palestinian law in the West Bank is based on Articles 97 to 100 of the Jordanian Penal Code, which reduces sentences for any act of battery or murder committed in a "state of rage." Sentences for men found guilty of killing female relatives in crimes of passion in Gaza also reduces sentences relating to declared sexual indiscretion and family honor.

According to the Women's Center for Legal Aid and Counseling in Ramallah, only a small minority of men who carry out these murders are ever convicted. When they are the sentences are generally a few months.

While some these killings hide behind the skirts of religion, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas says that this is utter nonsense.

"Nowhere in the Quran is the murder of anybody justified on the basis of sexual indiscretion or rage. Our organization is supported by religious leaders from various backgrounds who condemn these murders and in fact call for stronger penalties against the perpetrators."

Classic taqqiya in motion. See this page for some of the research on how the Koran does justify honor killings, including acts of violence like stoning to death.

There is no honor in any of these abominations. There's only obscenity and contempt for God's belief in the value of human life.

FINAL COUNT IN ELECTION GIVES RIGHT 61, LEFT 59

Depending on how we view it anyway, because it's hard say if Yesh Atid fully qualifies as "left". Here's the latest report:

The count of the "double envelope" votes came to a close on Thursday afternoon, with Bayit Yehudi finishing at 12 seats, Kadima crossing the threshold with two seats and the Raam-Taal party dropping from five to four seats, officials said.

The votes of 200,000 soldiers, plus those of prisoners and people in hospitals, were counted a day later than the regular vote.

These ballots are called “double envelope votes,” because many of the voters are listed in their army base or hospital, as well as in their home town, and it takes longer to count them, because the Central Elections Committee must check to make sure they did not vote twice.

In the final count, Likud won 31 Knesset seats, Yesh Atid 19, Labor 15, Bayit Yehudi 12, Shas 11, United Torah Judaism seven, Meretz and The Tzipi Livni Party six each, the three Arab parties a total of 11, and Kadima two. This gives the Right bloc 61 seats and the Center-Left bloc 59 in the next Knesset.

So the Jewish Home got a dozen seats after all, and Shas deservedly didn't. In any upcoming coalition negotiations, I honestly would rather they remain out of the government, and Aryeh Deri not be a minister. In fact, while I don't agree with everything that Yesh Atid member rabbi Shai Piron says, this is well worth considering:

Yesh Atid’s second-placed candidate, Rabbi Shai Piron, had tough words for Shas, and promised that his party would not agree to sit in government with the haredi faction if it meant compromising on its core principles.

“We won’t be part of a government of which Shas is the defining identity, in which Shas has a large influence on its character, on its tone, on the discourse, and on its priorities,” Piron said on Army Radio.

“If Shas repents for its former behavior and understands that the type of extortion it has employed in the past is over, and that equality in the burden of national service will be a fact of life, then we can sit with them,” he continued. “But Yesh Atid will categorically not be part of a government in which Shas behaves as it has in the past. The Israeli public has said no to its campaign of hatred and racism, is fed up with sectoral politics and doesn’t want this kind of discourse. It wants to talk about Israeli society as a whole.”

As someone with relatives of Russian descent - namely, my grandparents - I can say that it's offensive to me how Shas and Deri basically denigrated their background, and the party's failure to acknowledge they were wrong to act that way only weighs against them. That's why I would rather they not be in the government, and they should not be allowed to exploit the public's tax money solely for their yeshivas that don't even give convincing education anyway, all the while refusing to serve in the army even when Torah studies are available there. Shas has to be told clearly that their time is up.

Update: Bloomberg says that this might get Haredis to enter the workforce. So even if they don't join the army, it'll be just as positive a step if they actually get employment. Here's an extra op-ed on Israel Hayom.

OBAMA AND THE RISE OF ISLAMISM: IT MATTERS NOT WHETHER THIS IS A BUG OR A FEATURE; IT IS A FACT.

BBC: 

At least 23 people have been killed by a suicide bomber at a Shia mosque in the Iraqi village of Tuz Khurmato, with scores more wounded, police say. The blast targeted worshippers attending a funeral at the mosque.

MUSLIMS KILL MORE MUSLIMS THAN NON-MUSLIMS KILL MUSLIMS.

KILLING PEOPLE: IT'S WHAT THEY DO.

AND IN IRAQ - THANKS TO OBAMA - IT'S GETTING WORSE:

The frequent bombings and the political crisis have stoked fears among Iraqis of a return to civil war.

SINCE OBAMA WAS ELECTED IN 2008, ISLAMISM HAS BEEN STEADILY ON THE RISE, AND MODERATE ISLAM DECLINING.

IT MATTERS NOT WHETHER THIS IS A BUG OR A FEATURE.

IT IS A FACT.

RETREATING IS NOT A RECIPE FOR VICTORY.




AND OBAMA HAS THE WEST RETREATING.

GOOD NEWS: PRIVATE SECTORS UNIONS STILL VANISHING!

The long, slow decline in the number of American workers belonging to labor unions accelerated sharply last year, according to data reported on Wednesday, sending the unionization rate to its lowest level in a century. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said the total number of union members fell by 400,000 last year even though the nation’s overall employment rose by 2.4 million nationwide last year. The percentage of workers in unions fell to 11.3 percent, down from 11.8 percent in 2011, the bureau found in its annual report on union membership. That brought unionization to its lowest level since 1912, when it was 11.1 percent, according to a study by two Rutgers economists, Leo Troy and Neil Sheflin. 

There were several reasons for the steep one-year decline in union membership, according to labor experts. Most prominent were new laws that capped the power of unions in Wisconsin, Indiana and other states. But the continued expansion by manufacturers like Caterpillar and Boeing in non-union states, and the growth of sectors like retail and restaurants, where unions have little presence, also contributed. 

“These numbers are very discouraging for labor unions,” said Gary Chaison, a professor of industrial relations at Clark University. “It’s a time for unions to stop being clever about excuses for why membership is declining, and it’s time to figure out how to devise appeals to the workers out there.” 

Labor unions have boasted of their political successes in helping to re-elect President Obama and helping Democrats to pick up seats in the House and the Senate. 

But the figures announced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics point to grave problems for the future of organized labor. The portion of private-sector workers in unions fell to just 6.6 percent last year, from 6.9 percent in 2011, causing some labor experts to question whether unions are sinking toward irrelevance in the private sector.

THE ONLY REASON THERE ARE GOVERNMENT WORKERS UNIONS IS THAT THE UNIONS PAYOFF POLITICIANS.

IF WE WANT CLEANER, LEANER GOVERNMENT - AT EVERY LEVEL - THEN WE NEED TO DEMOLISH THE POLITICIAN-GOVERNMENT UNION COMPLEX.

OF COURSE; THE GOVERNMENT WORKER'S UNIONS GIVER MUCH MORE TIO THE DEMOCRAT PARTY, SO DEMOLISHING THEM WILL BE DIFFICULT.

BUT IT IS ESSENTIAL IF WE'RE GOING TO MAKE OUR GOVERNMENT MORE HONEST AND MORE AFFORDABLE.

TO DO THIS WE NEED TO FOLLOW SCOTT WALKER'S LEAD AND ROLLBACK GOVERNMENT UNION POWER AND ALSO MAKE EVERY STATE A RIGHT-TO-WORK STATE.

YAIR LAPID IS READY TO FORM A COALITION WITH NETANYAHU

He's given a speech announcing his thoughts on the elections, and that he won't oppose Netanyahu in forming a government. And, not only that, he even said:

"We will not team with (Balad MK) Zoabi to form an obstructive bloc – that is just not going to happen. The results of the election are clear and we have to work accordingly."

Wow. He brought up an interesting topic there, hinting that he too finds that crooked MK who associated herself with the Gaza flotilla a bad lot. Very impressive.

So, we'll see how things go from here, and if a new coalition can be formed successfully with Lapid as a leading member.

LONDON NOT WORTH VISITING

From Caroline Glick's personal experiences, it's pretty clear why neither that city nor much of the rest of England is worth bothering about. She and Danny Dayan debated one of the founders of the corrupt J-Street, and in the end, it wasn't so much a debate as pretend he was willing to debate them:

A couple of impressions I took away from the experience: First, I can say without hesitation that I hope never to return to Britain. I actually don't see any point. Jews are targeted by massive anti-Semitism of both the social and physical varieties. Why would anyone Jewish want to live there?

As to visiting as an Israeli, again, I just don't see the point. The discourse is owned by anti-Israel voices. They don't make arguments to spur thought, but to end it, by appealing to people's passions.

For instance, in one particularly ugly segment, Levy made the scurrilous accusation that Israel systematically steals land from the Palestinians. Both Dayan and I demanded that he provide just one example of his charge. And the audience raged against us for our temerity at insisting that he provide substantiation for his baseless allegation. In the event, he failed to substantiate his allegation.

And they lost because the audience along with Levy had already made up their minds - it made no difference whether they lacked facts, Israel was illegitimate in their minds, and that was it. They had shut out any true debate.

Hence, Britain is just not a place where Jews should be wasting their time.

ROMNEY AS CASSANDRA

CASSANDRA-ESQUE ROMNEY WAS RIGHT AND OBAMA AND HIS MINIONS IN THE MEDIA WERE WRONG.

SATMAR'S NECHEMYA WEBERMAN GETS JAILED FOR A CENTURY PLUS THREE YEARS

The sentencing of convicted child molestor Nechemya Weberman of the Satmar sect in NYC has taken place, and while not quite the 117 years he was said to be looking at, he still got a very severe sentence: 103 years in prison:

Chasidic counselor Nechemya Weberman was sentenced to 103 years in prison for sexual abuse of a teenage female patient over several years.

Weberman, 54, a member of the Satmar Chasidic community in Brooklyn, did not speak during the Jan. 22 sentencing in New York State Supreme Court. He had been sent to Rikers Island prison without bail immediately after his conviction in December.

Here's more from the New York Daily News:

A prominent Satmar Hasidic counselor was sentenced to 103 years in prison Tuesday for his repeated sexual abuse of a teen victim, who was left weeping over the loss of her childhood.

An expressionless Nechemya Weberman, 54, said nothing as the stunning jail term was handed down once his victim finished her heart-wrenching statement inside a Brooklyn courtroom.

“I remember how I would look in the mirror,” the victim recounted as her tormentor sat with his eyes closed. “I saw a girl who didn’t want to live in her own skin. A girl whose innocence was shattered at age 12.

“A sad girl who wanted to live a normal life, but instead was being victimized by a 50-year-old man who forced her to perform sickening acts again and again.”

The sentence is a virtual life term for Weberman, who would be 157 years old before coming up for parole.

Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes said Weberman’s conviction was only possible with “the courage of a young woman.”

Yes, we should all be proud of her for gathering the bravery to testify. She's practically a godsend. The Satmar sect should be ashamed of themselves for harboring Weberman, not to mention their oppressive ways that extended to the mindset Weberman is a product of. This might give him something to think about while he's turning to rot, but little chance the rest of the Satmar community whose brains are demented will. More likely they'll continue to desecrate Judaism with their horrid MO.

Justice has been done, and a vile monster hiding behind a respectable image has been punished for his abominations.

HOW TO DEPROGRAM A LIBERAL: ASK THEM ABOUT PRESIDENT PALIN

When liberals tell you they support another expansion of federal power at the expense of personal liberty you should ask them how'd they feel if President Palin and Majority Leader Cruz and Speaker Ryan had that power.

Do they really want Palin and Cruz and Ryan to control their healthcare or pensions?

Then, while their stammering at the prospect of Palin signing 23 PRO-GUN executive orders or 23 PRO-LIFE executive orders, ask them why they think that giving career politicians and bureaucrats more money and more influence over the lives of ordinary people will improve things for the ordinary people.

Wouldn't it be better for ordinary people lives to simply get a pay increase of 10% rather than a tax increase of ... any percentage? And since it it would be, then doesn't it make more sense to cut taxes - since that amounts to an instant pay increase?

And ask them how disarming 150 million innocent law-abiding citizens who own guns can stop criminals from using their illegally gotten guns.

They don't have answers to these questions; they only have simplistic slogans, stupid straw men, logical fallacies and magical thinking - (as when they think that trading CO2 credits will save the planet from an impending climate catastrophe).

Only by asking them to think critically about their received "wisdom", by getting them to test the party line and by continually forcing them to confront the idiocy of their accepted beliefs can we open their eyes.

ISRAELI ELECTIONS RESULTS: NETANYAHU WILL GET NEW TERM, BUT RESULTS NOT AS MUCH AS COULD BE

I went over to my neighbodhood's voting station and cast my vote already, for the Likud. The news reports in various outlets do pretty much agree that Netanyahu will be reelected. So, we'll see by the end of the day what's to be.

Update: well, according to results posted, it's not as high for Likud as could've been (31 seats is what they're said to have gained), although these aren't final results. But anyway, the surprise is that Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid party got 18-19 seats, and certainly higher than Labor. He's said he's willing to form a coalition with Likud, and we'll see how well it goes. The Jewish Home party got 12 so far.

Update 2: Netanyahu has thanked the electorate for choosing him again as PM.

WHY GERMANS DON'T TRUST ISLAM

Deutsche Welle writes about what makes the German population concerned about encroaching Islam. For example:

The cashier at the supermarket wears a headscarf, copies of the Koran are handed out on the streets, and mosques have become part of some cities' landscapes. Islam appears to be encroaching on life in Germany and that bothers a lot of people.

"For decades, woman fought for equal rights, and we have attained something. And now, women are choosing to wear headscarves. I don't want that and it scares me," a unversity-educated woman from Cologne says.

Her attitude is not uncommon. In the long debate over the new Cologne Central Mosque, which will be one of Europe's largest, fear and distrust of Islam have come to light and are widespread.

Well there's one legitimate concern. Whether they liked it or not, even German women didn't have fully equal rights during WW2, and in many Islamic countries, they don't have them even now.

But, here's where the bias of the editors seeps in:

Christian Democrat (CDU) politician Wolfgang Bosbach sees no general fear of Islam within the society, however, but rather a justifiable fear of Islamists who are ready to commit acts of violence. An estimated 40,000 Islamists live in Germany. A small, but significant, number of them are prone to violence.

"Those [who are ready to be violent] out of religious motivation, out of religious extremism, are a real threat to security in Germany," Bosbach said.

Eight foiled and failed terrorist attacks have made it clear that the threat is real in Germany, Bosbach says. Security agents say these people represent a very small group of people - less than one percent of Muslims are Islamists. But they shape the obviously negative image of Islam and Muslims, which leads to widespread prejudice and fear that can lead to Islamophobia.

Umm, as far as I know, 4 million Muslims live in Germany today, much more than the mere 40,000 they're claiming, and I don't understand why they're minimizing the numbers so much. And they invoke the tired modern cliche of unjustly accusing anybody rightly concerned of "Islamophobia". And it doesn't get much better with this interviewee's comments:

The overwhelming majority of Muslims who live in Germany are peaceful. Some major events have played a role in shaping the overwhelmingly negative image of Islam. After the September 11 attacks, certain stereotypes, opinions about the attitudes of Muslims, became deeply rooted in society, says [Andreas] Zick.

"Even so many years after the terrorist attacks (...), many people still associate Islam or Muslims with terrorism, with Sharia law, with a foreign religion, which doesn't fit in Germany," he adds, noting that that is a problem.

And the most violent verses in the Koran aren't? It's precisely the most repellant sections of the Koran that far exceed even the most questionable content of the Judeo-Christian writings that serve as the reason why anyone would have a problem with the Religion of Rape. So what stereotypes are we talking about here exactly? Any community that would adhere to such abhorrent belief systems is not doing anything to help alleviate legitimate concerns. And sharia is part of Islam, so why is he acting as though it weren't?

The worst part is at the end:

The imminent opening of the mosque in Cologne, early this year, could to some degree contribute to reducing fear if it takes place in an environment of openness and trust.

No, more likely it'll be in an atmosphere of taqqiya, and the mosque will only serve to make people more worried for the right reasons.

OBAMA VERSUS GOD

OBAMA DUMPS GOD.

MORE PROOF THE CARBON TRADING MARKET IS A WORTHLESS RIGGED RACKET

BBC:

The price of carbon hit a record low in Europe on Monday as the over-supply of emissions permits during the global economic downturn continued to undermine the carbon market. 

The price fell below 4.8 euros in early trading, before recovering to above 5 euros by late afternoon. 

Carbon permits are a mechanism designed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, as companies have to pay to emit C02. 

A sharp drop in demand for energy has led to a massive oversupply of permits. 

Critics of the EU's Emissions Trading System also argue that the European Union issued too many permits in the first place. 

The EU has proposed freezing up to 900 million permits to tackle this oversupply.

THS CARBON-TRADING MARKET IS A PHONY TRUMPED UP MARKET BASED ON A LIE AND CRONYISM.

IT WILL FAIL AS SURELY AS RED CHINA AND THE USSR DID.

THE BENGHAZI COVER-UP IS REALLY ALL ABOUT THIS:

OBAMA ARMING AL QAEDA.

AND HE'S ALSO SELLING OUR LATEST WEAPONRY TO THE MUSLIM MOTHERHOOD.

GREAT.

DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. WAS PRO-LIFE AND AGAINST GAY MARRIAGE

JUST SAYING...

HAREDIS ATTACK NAFTALI BENNETT AT WESTERN WALL

I may not be voting for Bennett's Jewish Home party, but I can't approve of this horrendous display of contempt against him that took place at the Western Wall today either, nor of the way Shas and their spiritual leader have treated him:

Jewish Home Party leader Naftali Bennett was attacked by a large group of hareidi Jews on a visit to the Western Wall Monday. As he attempted to say prayers at the Kotel, Hareidim began pushing him and yelling at him. A riot nearly broke out between many people at the Kotel who support Bennett and the hareidi groups who were attacking him.

The background to the hareidi attack is apparently the Jewish Home Party's stance that all Israelis, including hareidi, must serve in the IDF in some capacity,except for those who are in the yeshiva studying Torah all day. Among the catcalls hurled at Bennett were “take off your kippa, you are not Jewish,” “garbage,” and similar insults – some unprintable.

Are these really men of God? If they're going to commit such violence in the name of the Lord, how can they possibly be? They disgrace the Torah's teachings with their language, which is in violation of the belief that "life and death are in the power of the tongue" (Mishlei "החיים והמוות ביד הלשון מישלי יח כא").

And then, there's that matter involving what rabbi Ovadia Yosef's been saying about them:

On Saturday night, Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef slammed Bennett and the Jewish Home Party, calling them “non-religious. They come to uproot the Torah. Those who elect them deny the Torah, this is the Jewish Home? This is the Jewish Home of the gentiles.They come to promote civil marriage, to promote public transportation on Shabbat, these are religious people? You cannot call them religious, you must not vote for them,” he said. [...]

Former MK Rabbi Chaim Druckman, venerable head of the Bnei Akiva yeshiva network and Or Etzion hesder yeshiva, accused the three leaders of Shas of misleading their 92 year old Torah sage and giving him false information. He said that he knew the Bayit Yehudi candidates personally and that they were Torah observant Jews and included seriousTorah scholars and rabbis.

Even Ayelet Shaked, the first woman and so-called secular candidate on the list, is not really secular and observes much Jewish tradition, although she is not normatively religious.

And if they study Torah too and honor traditions, how can any of their rivals in Shas say such horrible things about them? This too is in violation of the Mishlei verses, and makes me very sad how Shas has been teetering on near selfish attitudes in their campaign. They are not fit to be politicians.

Update: one Haredi youth was detained by the police for harrassing Bennett.

Update 2: and speaking of Shas, Aryeh Deri's called for cutting the defense budget despite the threats from Iran. This is an absolute disgrace. Our lives could be in serious danger and all he's concerned about is Torah study? How can anyone study properly if there's danger looming?

Update 3: Rabbi Dov Lior is saddened by Yosef's attack on the Jewish Home.

OBAMA'S 2ND INAUGURAL GETS LESS THAN HALF THE CROWD OF HIS FIRST ...

... JUST LIKE ALL THE CROWDS DURING THE WHOLE CAMPAIGN.

IOW: IT'S MORE PROOF HE STOLE THE ELECTION.

WOULD SAUDI ARREST OF WOMEN LEAD TO "ARAB SPRING" FOR THE RIGHT REASONS?

According to this item:

A group of protesting Saudi Arabian women were arrested earlier this month, prompting a groundswell of outrage that may ultimately result in a sequel to the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings.

In what is seen as a new phenomenon in the kingdom, a ripple of outrage has begun following the arrests that came in response to demonstrations protesting the detention of male family members.

The incident, which took place in the town of Buraida, was reported by CNN, which quoted Saudi activists who said the kingdom has been trying to silence the women. Buraida is the provincial capital of Qassim Province, a conservative area of the country in which the detention of women is seen as a red line not to be crossed.

Mothers, daughters, sisters and wives had gathered to demand rights denied to their male relatives by the Board of Grievances.

A female Saudi journalist covering the story, Iman Al Qahtani, told CNN that she was stopped by Saudi secret police – the Mubahith – when she tried to gain access to those who had been arrested, and was warned to leave town.

The Amnesty International human rights organization documented the incident, calling in a statement for the release of the 18 women and 10 children who were arrested and detained. “There is no way the Saudi Arabian authorities can justify detaining people if they have simply peacefully exercised their rights to freedom of expression and assembly,” said Phillip Luther, Middle East and North Africa AI program director.

Thus far, just seven women have been released. But the incident may have finally brought a new ‘Arab Spring’ to the kingdom, having also inspired a groundswell of demonstrations in support for the women from protesters as far away as Riyadh, the capital, and even in Mecca, the religious center of the country.

Such protesters have included men, many of whom are related to thousands of inmates being held with no access to lawyers and without trials in connection with ‘counter terrorism’ sweeps throughout the kingdom. They are beginning to chant a new slogan around the country: “The people call for the liberation of the prisons.”

As much as we'd like to hope this will lead to a revolt against the Islamofascist machine for the right reasons, we can't count on it happening so easily. But who knows? It might happen, and if the House of Saud is freed from the type of oppressiveness women suffer from the most, that will be a good thing.

JERUSALEM'S MAYOR PRAISES NETANYAHU FOR KEEPING CITY UNITED

Nir Barkat, Jerusalem's mayor, has endorsed Benjamin Netanyahu and congratulated him for keeping the city united:

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat on Monday endorsed Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for reelection. On a tour of the city with Netanyahu, Barkat told the Prime Minister that “you and your government have strengthened Jerusalem in an unprecedented manner, and you have brought Jerusalem to growth and prosperity. I support you and I know you will continue to intelligently protect a united Jerusalem from all international pressures.”

Netanyahu thanked Barkat for his support, saying that “we are committed to protecting Jerusalem. This is my city, this is our city. We are standing up to international pressures and repelling them, and we will never allow it to be divided. We are building in Jerusalem, and we will continue to build there and throughout the entire State of Israel.”

Very well said. The government's standing firm on Jerusalem is what'll help strengthen its safety too.

FOX NEWS IS WAY WAY TO THE RIGHT OF THE OTHER NETWORKS....

.... YES, BECAUSE IT OCCUPIES THE CENTER!

JUST SAYING.

THE MEDIA IS SO FAR TO THE LEFT, THAT WHEN IT LOOKS TO THE RIGHT IT'S STILL LOOKING LEFT.

• AMERICANS ARE SLAUGHTERED BY AL QAEDA IN ALGERIA AND THE MEDIA DOESN'T BAT AN EYE. 

• AL QAEDA ATTACKS DAILY IN IRAQ - SLAUGHTERING NEARLY TWO DOZEN A DAY, AND THE MEDIA DOESN'T BAT AN EYE.

• THE SENATE HASN'T PASSED A BUDGET IN THREE YEARS, AND THE MEDIA DOESN'T BAT AN EYE.

• OBAMA HAS ADDED $6 TRILLION TO OUR DEBT WITH DEFICITS TWICE AS LARGE AS ANY ADDED IN ALL HISTORY - WITH NOTHING TO SHOW FOR IT, (AS UNEMPLOYMENT IS NO BETTER THAN WHEN HE FIRST TOOK OFFICE), AND THE MEDIA DOESN'T BAT AN EYE.

• OBAMA DOLES OUT BILLIONS TO CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTORS - LIKE THE UAW AND THE FINANCIERS OF THE SO-CALLED "GREEN ECONOMY" AND THE MEDIA DOESN'T BAT AN EYE.

AS LONG AS OBAMA IS IN THE WHITE HOUSE, THE LEFT-WING DOMINATED MEDIA LIES, MISLEADS, PROPAGANDIZES, AND CHEERLEADS - EVERYTHING BUT REPORTS.

• FAST & FURIOUS KILLED MORE PEOPLE THAN WERE KILLED IN NEWTOWN.
• THERE ARE 2 NEWTOWNS A WEEK IN CHICAGO - WHICH HAS THE STRICTEST GUN LAWS IN THE USA, BUT THE MEDIA TELLS US WE NEED MORE GUN LAWS.
• JEEP DOES OPEN UP A PLANT IN CHINA.
• THE BENGHAZI COVER-UP CONTINUES.
• NORTH KOREA AND CHINA AND RUSSIA OPERATE WITH IMPUNITY.
• NORTH AFRICA IS A ISLAMIST STRONGHOLD FROM EGYPT TO NORTH MALI.

AND SO ON.

YET, FROM TODAY'S NEWS, YOU' THINK OBAMA'S RE-INAUGURATION WAS A CORONATION OF THE SECOND COMING.

WHY DO SO MANY AMERICANS PUT UP WITH THIS CRAP?

• FIRST, THEY ARE PARTISANS WHO DON'T WANT TO BUCK THE PARTY-LINE ANYMORE THAN THE AVERAGE PERSON WANTS TO CONVERT FROM HIS PARENT'S FAITH TO ANOTHER ONE.

• SECOND, THEY ARE UNPLUGGED FROM NON-LEFT-WING DOMINATED NEWS & COMMENTARY. LIKE FLATWORMS LIVING IN 2D, THEY HAVE NO IDEA A THIRD DIMENSION EXISTS.

• THIRD, THE IDEOLOGY THEY SUBSCRIBE TO MAKES THEM FEEL GOOD AND MAKES THEM FEEL LIKE THEY ARE "GOOD PEOPLE" - (WHEREAS RIGHT-WINGERS ARE EVIL, STUPID, AND ANTI-SOCIAL) - AND WHEN THEY PARROT THE PARTY LINE THIS IS REINFORCED WITH THE NODS AND PATS ON THE BACK OF THEIR FELLOW PARTY MEMBERS.

HOW DO WE BREAK THE STRANGLEHOLD THE LEFT HAS ON THESE PEOPLE?

BY DEMOLISHING THE MSM AND THE ACADEMY.

THIS IS HAPPENING AND THEY CANNOT STOP IT.

THE INTERNET IS DEMOLISHING THE MSM AND THE SO-CALLED "EDUCATION BUBBLE", ON-LINE COLLEGES, AND UNAFFORDABLE TEACHERS' PENSIONS ARE DEMOLISHING THE LEFT'S HOLD ON THE ACADEMY.

SO, WE JUST HAVE TO HANG IN THERE.

OUR TIME WILL COME.

SOONER THAN THEY THINK.

MEMO TO LIBS: ISLAM IS WORSE THAN SCIENTOLOGY

I AM NO FAN OF SCIENTOLOGY - WHICH I REGARD AS A BOGUS RELIGION COOKED UP BY A WEIRD SCIENCE FICTION WRITER  - L. RON HUBBARD:

L. RON HUBBARD FOUNDER OF SCIENTOLOGY

WHOSE ARE WORKS OF FICTION ARE MOSTLY IGNORED.

BUT, LAST TIME I CHECKED, IT IS SCIENTOLOGY WHICH IS CONSTANTLY ATTACKED AND RIDICULED AS A WEIRD AND SOMEHOW DANGEROUS CULT - AND NOT ISLAM, EVEN THOUGH PEOPLE IN THE NAME OF ISLAM HAVE KILLED MANY MANY MANY MILLIONS OF PEOPLE, AND IS SLAUGHTERING THEM DAILY ---

MOHAMMED AS DEPICTED HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO BY MUSLIMS

NOT TO MENTION HOW MEN IN THE NAME OF ISLAM ROUTINELY ABUSE WOMEN TO THE POINT OF DEATH ---- EVEN THEIR OWN SISTERS AND DAUGHTERS.

 I REGARD BOTH L. RON HUBBARD AND MOHAMMED AS FALSE PROPHETS.

AND THE "RELIGIONS" THEY INVENTED AS CULTS OF THEIR PERSONALITIES.

BUT HUBBARD'S IDEOLOGY HASN'T YET COMMITTED GENOCIDE OR SYSTEMATIC RIGHTS ABUSES.

IT'S TIME THE ANTI-SCIENTOLOGY FOLKS FOCUSED THEIR ANIMOSITY AND RAGE AND RIGHTEOUSNESS ON THE REAL ENEMY OF OUR CIVILIZATION.

SPEAKING OF FALSE PROPHETS AND CULTS OF PERSONALITY:

MORE VICTIMS OF NECHEMYA WEBERMAN DISCOVERED

Speaking of Satmar, an investigation by the New York Daily News found that their unlicensed pseudo-therapist Nechemya Weberman had more victims:

She wasn't the only one.

Nechemya Weberman, the unlicensed Hasidic counselor slated to be sentenced Tuesday for sexually abusing a Brooklyn girl, violated at least 10 others — including teens and married women he counseled, a Daily News investigation revealed.

The self-proclaimed religious adviser even invoked Kabbalah — a form of Jewish mysticism — to convince his victims that having sex with him was kosher.

“He’s a monster,” said a man whose daughter was repeatedly brutalized by Weberman a couple of years before the victim at trial came forward. [...]

Other women who were sexually abused by Weberman refused to speak publicly for fear of retribution. But those close to them described a pattern of nurturing and grooming where he would shower outcast teens with attention, take them on road trips — and even buy them lingerie.

He told one young victim, “That ‘I learned Kabbalah and we were a couple in another incarnation,’ ” said a friend of the woman.

Rabbi Yakov Horowitz, who runs a Jewish youth program, said he was told by victims Weberman used the Kabbalah line on them too.

“The intimate acts he was performing were intended as a form of repentance for sins committed in their previous lifetimes,” said Horowitz.

He would tell teens who had been deemed troublemakers for being immodest, “No one will ever believe messed-up kids like them,” said Horowitz.

“A master manipulator,” said Rhonnie Jaus, chief of the sex crimes division at the Brooklyn district attorney’s office.

A most disgusting deceiver too. Abusing Kabbalah, acting like he was a god, and he even broke the law by not training for his "profession" and getting a license. Interesting how he had no problem with the female lawyer/attorney's aide sitting at the defendant's court desk wearing a sleeveless dress either. That actually gives away what a hypocrite he is on "modesty".

The News found five additional people who said they were aware of Weberman’s misconduct years before he was arrested. [...]

Prosecutors have stated in court they are aware of four married women and two underaged girls who were bedded by Weberman. The News has since found four more.

I hope they can persuade those other victims to leave the Satmar community, get them a witness protection program and help them find new lives, living quarters and learn how to work so they can find better lives away from that awful community. Indeed, that's exactly what they need to do in order to encourage the victims to help with their investigations.

SATMAR SECT TRYING TO INTERFERE IN ELECTIONS

With only 2 days to go before the Israeli elections, the awful Satmar sect is trying to influence the Haredi vote:

The anti-Zionist Satmar Chassidic sect is firmly in the 'no voting' camp. The group’s leader will be in Israel this week for a granddaughter’s wedding, and while in the country plans to speak out against participation in Israel’s elections.

He will speak at a rally organized by the Eida Hareidit, a major representative group in the Ashkenazi hareidi world that is known for its strong anti-Zionist views.

In recent days posters were put up around Jerusalem calling on the hareidi community not to vote. “The hareidi community is in its most difficult period yet,” the posters argued, “The government is trying to undermine the essence of hareidi Judaism.” [...]

In the other camp, Rabbi Gershon Edelstein of the Ponevezh Yeshiva has declared that those who choose not to vote “have no share in the World to Come.”

Rabbi Edelstein said that whoever does not vote is considered to have separated himself from the community, an action that commentator Rabbeinu Yona once declared causes a person to lose their share in the world to come.

The only thing preventing the government from enlisting yeshiva students to the IDF is hareidi-religious MKs, Rabbi Edelstein argued. “We must take action to bring as many hareidi representatives as possible [into Knesset] so they can act against the decree of enlistment,” he said.

One thing both the pro- and anti-voting camps agree on is their desire to prevent the government from requiring full-time yeshiva students to enlist in the IDF. The question of hareidi-religious IDF enlistment has been a major one in the campaign, following the cancellation several months ago of the Tal Law, which granted an automatic deferral to yeshiva students.

This is the most bothersome part - what they have a problem with as it turns out, is the army service. Good grief. It's not the threat of Iran's nuclears or the PLO's terrorism, it's just sharing the burden of contributing to the development of this country. On the one hand, as much as I really disapprove of both the leading Haredi parties based on these positions they have, it's really not good that Satmar is trying to pull this insult to the intellect. On the other hand, it's sad that Edelstein is the kind of rabbi who advocates voting for the parties based on opposition to army service. I guess this serves as an example of how and why the Haredi world just isn't presenting a good role model.

POLICE ARREST 9 MUSLIMS WHO THREW SNOWBALLS AT HAREDIS BY OLD CITY

Some arrests were made in the assault that occurred almost 2 weeks ago during the snowfall:

Police have arrested six Arab youth suspected of attacking two young hareidi-religious Jewish men in Jerusalem. The six are believed to have been part of a mob assault that took place a week and a half ago during snowfall in the city.

Police had already arrested three other Arab youth in connection with the attack, bringing the total to nine.

In the attack a large group of young Arab men hurled snow at two young Hassidic men while kicking and humiliating them. The attack took place a short distance from the Old City.

The incident was filmed and uploaded on YouTube and subsequently shown in a news piece by Arutz Sheva on Saturday evening last week. Tens of thousands of people viewed the video clip, forwarding the article and the video clip among friends and posting it on to the Facebook and Twitter social networking sites to ensure that others became aware of what had happened in the Israeli capital.

The two young men who were attacked later spoke to Arutz Sheva and described the assault. The two said the mob was shouting “Death to the Jews!” in Arabic and said that they feared for their lives. They also described feeling violated and humiliated by the attack.

MK Rabbi Yisrael Eichler of the hareidi-religious Yehadut HaTorah (United Torah Judaism) party contacted Public Security Minister Yitzchak Aharonovitch last week to ask him to ensure that the attackers would be prosecuted.

They most certainly better be! The death threats the mob yelled out clearly tell that this was no mere prank, it was an act of hate. They should be ordered to undergo a rehab education program as well.

Update: Eichler thanks police for the arrest.

PROTEST SIGNS OF THE WEEK:

"The Only Criminals That Care About the Gun Laws Are the Ones in Office"

AND THIS:

"You don't get a 1st Amendment without a 2nd!"

BOTH SEEN AT ANN ALTHOUSE'S PLACE.