THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

MON DIEU: LA RELIGION DE LA PAIX!?!?

PARIS: 77 COPS HURTS AND A LIBRARY BURNT TO THE GROUND.

(MORE HERE: "More than 70 vehicles and buildings, including the municipal library, two schools and several shops, were set on fire." )

BECAUSE A COUPLE OF PUNKS GOT THEMSELVES INTO A DEADLY CAR ACCIDENT.

WAS IT THE ACCIDENT, OR THEIR CREED?

IT'S THEIR CREED (ISLAM) - ONE THAT GOES UNMENTIONED IN THE MSM.
THE MSM MERELY CALLS THEM "YOUTHS."
THAT'S A SLUR AGAINST YOUTH.
IT'S A DELIBERATE COVER-UP.

WHY ARE THEY HIDING IT?

TO KEEP THE HEAT OFF THE POLITICIANS AND THE COPS, SO YOU WON'T PRESSURE THEM DO WHAT THEY MUST (JAIL AND/OR DEPORT THE JIHADIST THUGS), AND THEN TAKE THE LAW INTO YOUR OWN HANDS WHEN THEY FAIL.

Monday, November 26, 2007

WHAT SHALL THE DESECRATERS OF JOSEPH'S TOMB, AND BETHLEHEM'S CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY DO TO JERUSALEM?

HERE'S WHAT THEY DID TO JOSEPH'S TOMB (PUNDITARIAN):

First, a photograph (taken about 100 years ago) of the tomb of the Patriarch Joseph.

It was a forlorn and solitary stone structure in the middle of a desert. No life, no activity, no development. Just like most of the Land of Israel at that time.

But then the Jews, the descendants of Joseph and his brothers, the descendants of the former slaves who fled Egypt with their ancestor Joseph's mummified body in its Egyptian sarcophagus,descendants of the former slaves who had carried it in the desert for 40 years so that they could bury him near his beloved birthplace, came to return to their Land.

The Tomb of Joseph was cleaned up, and the area came back to life. For the Land and the People are One.

The Tomb of Joseph became a center of life and learning.

But the Government of Israel abandoned the Tomb of Joseph in October, 2000, to appease the Arabs in the midst of their genocidal intifada.

The Arabs responded by burning and sacking the Tomb.

They desecrated the holy place.

They painted it green to turn it into a mosque.

That is what they want to do to the entire Land of Israel; drive out the Jews, destroy all of the life and development that the Jews have created in what was a forlorn desert, and return the land to the savage brutality they have brought about in Gaza. They no longer deny it. Abbas says he wants ALL of Jerusalem, including Herod the Great's Western Wall.

And that would only whet their appetite for Al-Andalus and the rest of the West.

ANTHROPOGENIC GLOBAL WARMING IS MADNESS

TELEGRAPH:

We are set on a course of 'planet saving' madness

The scare over global warming, and our politicians' response to it, is becoming ever more bizarre. On the one hand we have the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change coming up with yet another of its notoriously politicised reports, hyping up the scare by claiming that world surface temperatures have been higher in 11 of the past 12 years (1995-2006) than ever previously recorded.

This carefully ignores the latest US satellite figures showing temperatures having fallen since 1998, declining in 2007 to a 1983 level - not to mention the newly revised figures for US surface temperatures showing that the 1930s had four of the 10 warmest years of the past century, with the hottest year of all being not 1998, as was previously claimed, but 1934.

THE LEFT IS IN-FREAKIN-SANE:

THEY STILL THINK GORE WON FLORIDA IN 2000.
THEY STILL THINK THE TURKEY WAS PLASTIC.
AND THEY STILL THINK THAT MAN-MADE GREENHOUSE GASES ARE CAUSING THE ENTIRE PLANET TO GET WARM.

THEY'RE FREAKIN' IDIOTS.

(OKAY: NOT EVERY ONE IS AN IDIOT; A LOT OF IT IS DUE TO THEIR WILLFUL SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF - BECAUSE THE DELUSION REINFORCES THEIR POLITICAL IDEOLOGY.)

STILL: DON'T FALL FOR ANY OF THEIR CRAP.

A German view of the greenback

Don't you like the image above? It is about the recent but long overdue changes to the exchange-rate of the greenback -- changes that have American producers and manufacturers rubbing their hands with glee. The changes are just about the best news possible for their "buy American" campaign.

But even if you don't read German, I think you can see that Spiegel magazine is treating it as something catastrophic. Like American Leftists, Germans don't want to believe anything good about America. Sad.

David's Medienkritik has the details.

And the fact that the exchange-rate change has just about sunk the European Airbus does have its amusing side: Schadenfreude, even. The silly old socialist plane-makers were so dumb that they did not even hedge their currency bets! Bureaucrats don't make good businessmen. Boeing must be laughing.

It's amazing how complicated these currency matters get. The European governments will be inclined to pour more money into Airbus to keep it afloat. That's actually against EU rules on subsidies but they will probably do it anyway. They have SUCH generous taxpayers in Germany and France!

But the ones who will be laughing about THAT will be the Swiss. The EU is presently heavying Switzerland with the claim that Swiss low taxes are an illegal "subsidy". It's total nonsense but henceforth the Swiss will simply have to say one word: "Airbus"

(For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here.)

A SIMPLE TAX WHICH CAN MOOT MUCH OF THE ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION DEBATE

Here's an idea:

(1) Let's put a 30% withholding tax all foreign money transfers.

(2) Let's require a taxpayer ID# on all transfers.

(3) Then let's give a refund of the tax to all legal tax-filers. The tax-filer simply lists the amount withheld with receipts, and they get a refund.

Only those not filing a tax return would pay.

Therefore, the tax would only be paid by ILLEGALS not otherwise paying income taxes.

This would off-set some of the governmental costs they generate, and discourage some from working here ILLEGALLY, (as it would put a pretty big crimp on what they send home - a major reason/benefit many come to work here).

REPEAT: This would not effect the taxes of anyone here legally and filing a return.

This would moot one of the key complaints about illegal immigration: that they don't pay taxes.

THE SUCCESSFUL SURGE DEFEATED AL QAEDA, AND EXPOSED THE DEFEATOCRATS

GLENN:

MCCAIN POUNDS CLINTON ON IRAQ: And actually some others:
“Is that the same Sen. Clinton that said she had to suspend disbelief in order to acknowledge to that the strategy of the surge was succeeding?” McCain said in reference to Clinton’s statement that the United States should stop trying to intervene in a “civil war” in Iraq. “Clearly, it’s succeeding. You would have to suspend disbelief to believe that it’s not.”

McCain later said Clinton’s support for a phased withdrawal from Iraq “would have been a catastrophe for the United States of America.”

“Look, now the same people who were saying seven or eight months were saying you can’t succeed militarily, we’ve succeeded military. Sen. Edwards used to call it the ‘McCain strategy.’ He doesn’t call it that anymore,” McCain claimed. “Their record is wrong on this. My record is right.”
He's giving them both barrels.

IT'S MORE THAN THAT, THOUGH: IT PROVES THAT NOT ONE SINGLE DEMOCRAT RUNNING FOR THE PRESIDENCY IS QUALIFIED; NOT ONE HAS NATIONAL SECURITY JUDGMENT WHICH CAN BE TRUSTED.

ALL OF THE DEMOCRATS RUNNING EITHER VOTED AGAINST PETRAEUS AND THE SURGE, (OR GAVE PETRAEUS HELL UPON HIS RETURN TO TESTIFY).

ALL OF THE DEMOCRATS WOULD HAVE RETREATED/WITHDRAWN/RE-DEPLOYED INSTEAD, AND THIS WOULD HAVE EFFECTIVELY CEDED IRAQ TO AL QAEDA AND SECTARIAN WAR - AN OUTCOME THE SURGE AVOIDED.

THOSE WHO EVEN MERELY ENTERTAIN THE REMOTEST POSSIBILITY OF VOTING FOR ANY DEMOCRAT IS EITHER A DEFEATIST APPEASER OR DELUDING THEMSELVES.

THAT MEANS MICHAEL TOTTEN - (WHO HAS WRITTEN THAT HE MIGHT VOTE DEMOCRAT DEPENDING ON WHO GETS THE NOMINATION OF EACH PARTY), AMONG OTHERS - LIKE ROGER SIMON, MUST NOW GET OFF THE FENCE.

NO REASONABLE PERSON WHO CLAIMS TO BE A HAWK CAN VOTE DEMOCRAT.

ONLY DOVES, APPEASERS AND DEFEATISTS.

THE DE-WESTERNIZATION OF LONDONISTAN: FOR 40% OF ALL STUDENTS, ENGLISH IS A SECOND LANGUAGE

HOW LONG CAN LONDON REMAIN ENGLISH IF THIS CONTINUES???

DAILY MAIL:

Forty per cent of primary age children in London now speak a language other than English at home and some schools take several new arrivals a week as pupils "appear from nowhere", heads have said.

... Latest government figures show that the capital's primary schools alone took in more than 197,000 children for whom English is not their first language this year, up from just over 190,000 last year.

Secondary schools' proportion of non-native English speakers rose from 33.5 per cent to 35.3 per cent.

Most are concentrated in inner London - in Tower Hamlets, three quarters of children in primary schools are now not native English speakers.

THESE NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING KIDS ALSO COST MORE TO TEACH, DRAGGING THE OTHER KIDS DOWN AS GENERAL BUDGETS ARE CUT TO PAY FOR REMEDIAL CLASSES FOR THESE NON-ENGLISH SPEAKERS.

SARKOZY IS MAKING FRENCH-SPEAKING A REQUIREMENT FOR LEGAL IMMIGRATION. WE SHOULD DO THE SAME. AND SO SHOULD GREAT BRITAIN.

I WENT TO A RALLY AT JERUSALEM'S FRANCE SQUARE

It's also called the Paris Square. Here's the report about this:

"I'm very sorry to say we have a weak and very dangerous prime minister, possibly the most dangerous Israel has ever had," MK Zvi Hendel (NU/NRP) said Monday evening at a demonstration protesting the Annapolis peace conference organized by the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria, and the Gaza Strip (Yesha).

Thousands of right-wing activists took part in the rally in Jerusalem's Paris Square and police closed streets in the surrounding area, including main thoroughfares such as Rehov Keren Hayesod, Rehov King George, and Sderot Ben Maimon.

Earlier, 15,000 people participated at prayer rally at the Western Wall for the failure of the Annapolis parley.

At Monday afternoon's demonstration, speakers denounced the Annapolis conference and asked whether the government officials taking part in the talks really represented the Jewish people.

Speakers also said that Israel was run under a "constitutional dictatorship."

Here's also a video of Congressman Eric Cantor from One Jerusalem's special rally that took place yesterday:

PUTIN SAYS U.S. BEHIND POLL BOYCOTT

The European NGO called the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe intended to observe and monitor the upcoming Russian elections. Putin's government refused to cooperate, so the OSCE decided it was in their best interest to leave.

Now, Putin is blaming the United States. Doesn't that sound familiar? After all, we are the Great Satan, source of all evil, right?

From the BBC:

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the United States of pushing Western observers into boycotting Russian elections. Mr Putin said the goal was to discredit the parliamentary election to be held on 2 December.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has categorically rejected the allegations.

Meanwhile, the European Commission has expressed concern at the treatment of the opposition in Russia.

'Nonsense'

The OSCE's election monitoring unit announced earlier this month that it would not attend Russia's election, saying Moscow had refused to provide visas to its staff.

The OSCE later said it would send a delegation of European MPs - rather than a full OSCE team - to monitor the vote.

Mr Putin said the boycott decision "was taken on the recommendation of
the American state department".

"The aim is to discredit the elections, but they won't achieve their goal," he said.

"We will certainly take this into account with our bilateral ties with this state," he added, referring to the US.

But a spokeswoman for the OSCE in Warsaw, Urdur Gunnarsdottir, called Mr Putin's allegations "nonsense".

"The decision was not made in consultation with any government. It was made on operational, not political grounds," Ms Gunnarsdottir told the BBC.

"Our decision did not have the aim to influence the election."

Meanwhile:

The head of the European Union's executive arm, European Commission President
Jose Manuel Barroso, has expressed worries about a weekend crackdown by Russian
police on protests by opponents of President Vladimir Putin.

"I was very concerned to see reports of police harassment and arrests of politicians and peaceful demonstrators in Russia in the last two days," Mr Barroso said in a
statement.

"The right to free speech and assembly are basic fundamental human rights and I very much regret that the authorities found it necessary to take such heavy-handed action."

Police broke up an opposition rally on Sunday, arresting 150 people in St Petersburg, including opposition leader Boris Nemtsov - who was later freed.

Another opposition figure, former chess champion Garry Kasparov, was arrested at a rally in Moscow on Saturday.

*******RELIAPUNDIT ADDS:

Putin needn't worry about OSCE's withdrawal: JIMMY CARTER WILL GLADLY DO FOR PUTIN'S TYRANNY WHAT HE DID FOR HUGO CHAVEZ'S TYRANNY.

IT'S SEEMINGLY ONE OF JIMMY CARTER'S FAVORITE THINGS: CERTIFYING THE ELECTIONS OF AN ANTI-DEMOCRACY/ANTI-AMERICAN TYRANTS!

Must not Tell the Truth about Islam

We read:

"A recent example of hate speech and ignorance occurred on Oct. 29 through the airing of a radio show on KCMO 710 AM. On the syndicated "Michael Savage Show," Savage said, "I'm not gonna put my wife in a hijab. And I'm not gonna put my daughter in a burqa. And I'm not getting on my all fours and praying to Mecca. And you could drop dead if you don't like it.. I don't wanna hear any more about Islam. I don't wanna hear one more word about Islam. "

Savage continued, "I'm sick of you. What kind of religion is this? What kind of world are you living in when you let them in here with that throwback document in their hand, which is a book of hate. Don't tell me I need re-education. They need deportation."

These words of rabid bigotry and hate reflect the same venom that Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels spewed out against the Jews in Nazi Germany.

Source

Silly me! I though it was the oppression of "kuffars" (unbelievers) preached in the Koran which were "words of rabid bigotry and hate that reflect the same venom that Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels spewed out against the Jews in Nazi Germany."

Savage doesn't want to convert them or oppress them or attack them. He just does not want to have anything to do with them. If only Muslims had similar attitudes towards the West!

(For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here.)

Traditional Catholicism reviving strongly in France

They give the traitorous "modernizers" who believe in nothing their answer. I don't believe in any of it either but nor do I pretend to be a Catholic. Those who do believe, however, have the very best of my best wishes. Excerpt:

If the photographs in Les communautes traditionnelles en France are anything to go by, then just across the Channel there lies a whole rich seam of Catholic religious life that is young, vibrant and growing. In addition to youthfulness and success, there are two other common features that unite the communities featured in this book. One is that they all have the extraordinary form of the Roman liturgy - the "traditional" rites liberated by Pope Benedict XVI's recent Motu Proprio - as the heart and foundation of their spirituality. The other is that many of them long enjoyed the steadfast, if unofficial support, of a certain well-placed cardinal in Rome. His name was Joseph Ratzinger.

Looking at these particular images it is not difficult to understand just why the Pope and his right-hand cardinal have invested so much hope in these communities. Whether it is Solemn Vespers in a great baroque abbey, or low Mass celebrated on a rock in a clearing for scouts, the liturgical celebrations depicted in this book are all beautiful and dignified. The average age of the monks, nuns, friars and priests and seminarians is also remarkably young. According to Cardinal Castrillon, this should not surprise us. The message that these communities pursue is the message of Jesus Christ. This message is eternal, and therefore forever young.

These intriguing photographs invite us to enter into another world. Despite the obvious challenges implicit in a daily life circumscribed by rules and traditions, the subjects of these communities look remarkably happy. The text often talks of sacrifice and self-surrender, but the pictures show young faces that are smiling and laughing.

There is certainly no hint of any crisis of clerical identity. These young clerics do not rely on jeans or Che Guevara T-shirts to make them feel connected to the youth; rather, it is the authenticity of their life that seems to make that connection. We see seminarians effortlessly skiing through the alps in long black soutanes, while nuns in crisply starched wimples gather hay in the fields outside Marseilles. At the high point of the traditionalist calendar - the annual Pentecost pilgrimage to Chartres - thousands of young pilgrims walk behind priests, monks and friars on the three-day march from Paris. Carrying crosses and banners, they all look very glad, and proud, to be Catholic.

Neither is there any evidence of a decline in vocations. The story of the Benedictine convent of Jouques is typical. Since its foundation near Aix en Provence in 1967 this community has attracted so many vocations to its novitiate that it has been necessary to open daughter houses elsewhere in France and in Africa to house the overspill.

The monks of Le Barroux, north of Avignon, still wear the corona - the full monastic tonsure depicted in medieval woodcuts and books of hours. After humble beginnings in a caravan in 1970 this community now worships in a mighty abbey church which the monks built themselves in the form of a Romanesque basilica. In the early hours of the morning, this building hums like a holy beehive as the many priest-monks celebrate their private Mass at side altars, served by novices and lay brothers. The extensive choirstalls here are now so full that this monastery has been able to spare a detachment of young monks to found a daughter house not far from Toulouse.

All of the institutes featured in the book are run on strictly traditional principles. But this does not make them old-fashioned. Rather, it gives them a timelessness that many young people are finding increasingly attractive. Some of the communities are contemplative, but many are active. A good example is the Institute of Christ the King. From its picturesque Renaissance villa outside Florence "The Institute" has gradually grown into a global conglomerate. In addition to serving parishes in France and America, it also runs several missionary stations in Africa.

The recent Motu Proprio confirms what these communities have known all along: that the traditional Mass never was, and never really could be, abrogated. In his explanatory letter accompanying this decree the Holy Father stated that the extraordinary form of the liturgy is not just for an older generation that found innovation difficult to cope with. He wrote: "It has been clearly demonstrated that young persons, too, have discovered this liturgical form, felt its attraction and found in it a form of encounter with the Mysteries of the Most Holy Eucharist particularly suited to them."

More here

(For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here.)

OUTSOURCING FAMILY LIFE

According to this November 25, 2007 article in the Washington Post, some families are becoming too busy to take care of all sorts of tasks which make a family a cohesive unit:

Initially, the busy McLean couple hired Ezra Glass for a few mundane chores, like waiting for the cable guy. But over time, they began giving him more intimate tasks -- planning their last-minute vacations and picking up their kids from time to time.

Now Glass takes their cars to be serviced, is a house- and dogsitter and advises them on their home audio-visual system. He planned the funeral reception for a relative, taking the death certificate and the suit for burial to the funeral home.

"We've come to rely on him more and more," said Ken Nunnenkamp, 46, a lawyer. "He'll essentially do anything we can't get around to. . . . You definitely get spoiled by it."

Forget the dog walker and errand runner. Today, some busy two-career families are turning over virtually every aspect of their existence to lifestyle managers. These hired hands, who charge a monthly membership fee or up to $100 an hour, become like an extra member of the family.
Lifestyle managers have searched for a reliable used car for a client's 16-year-old or taken over their scrapbooking project. One wrote an online dating profile for a client. Others have negotiated overseas adoptions or bailed their clients out of jail. Another was handed a brown paper bag full of insurance documents from a client's recent surgery with the command to sort it out.

"People are ceding more and more of their lives to others," said Glass, a Potomac native. "It's going to be a huge trend around here. Our clients are mostly suburban families because they have a whole range of problems to deal with -- kids, carpools, dogs, houses."

[...]

Such personal helpers are often hired by mothers who want to appear as if they're doing it all and don't want their neighbors -- or husbands -- to know otherwise....

What is happening to the family unit? Are parents becoming too busy with their careers and social climbing? I noted in the article the following:

[One mother] has held onto certain rituals with her children, such as driving them to school -- even if she's on her way to catch the New York shuttle -- or packing their favorite lunch of Mediterranean rice and yogurt.

Since when is rearing children a ritual?

In my view, something very detrimental is happening to family units wherein parents are too busy to make a house a home. These parents are kidding themselves if they believe that they are doing their children a favor by outsourcing family life.

ANNAPOLIS DISASTER: MUGS FOR SMASHING, NOT DRINKING

A day before the Annapolis surrender summit, al-Reuters reports that an Arab shopkeeper is selling mugs that he invites customers to smash if things don't go their way (via Michelle Malkin):

In a symbol of fragile hopes for this week’s Middle East peace conference at Annapolis, one Palestinian shopkeeper is selling souvenir mugs for the event - complete with instructions to smash them if talks break down.

Under a dove and olive branch motif, the mugs carry the message in English: “Please keep this souvenir, but in case of the conference’s failure; you are only asked to break the mug”.

Tareq Abu Dayya, who runs a gift shop in the Gaza Strip, said he meant the mugs to symbolize hope the conference could lead to a Palestinian state but also his low expectations for success:

“If the conference doesn’t succeed, then the poor citizen can do nothing but break this mug. End of story,” said Abu Dayya, who reported brisk sales of mugs at a hefty $2.50 apiece.

If only their rage were just at that level of those mugs, but they're not.

On the eve of the Annapolis folly, Amos Harel looks at Israel's defense dilemma:

Here, in a nutshell, is the Israel Defense Forces’ dilemma ahead of the Annapolis conference: To what extent should proactive measures in the West Bank (and to a lesser extent in the Gaza Strip) be rolled back in the coming days?

On the one hand, an excess of arrest operations could obviously lead to an unnecessary entanglement that would cloud the atmosphere at the conference, whose chances for success are already limited. If civilians are killed - or even wanted gunmen - on the day before the summit, the Palestinians will be able to accuse Israel of sabotaging the peace process. On the other hand, reducing the IDF’s activity could let Palestinian terrorist groups achieve their goal of disrupting the conference by a showy attack.

As of last night, the central and southern army commands had not received any new directives. In an arrest sweep yesterday in the heart of Tul Karm, a relatively senior wanted militant from Fatah was killed and his accomplice badly wounded; in the Gaza Strip, three gunmen were killed when they approached the Erez crossing. Before past conferences of this sort, orders were issued to maintain a lower profile; to make do for a few days with pursuing only “ticking bombs.” Yesterday there was one specific alert about a plan to dispatch a suicide bomber (that was the reason for the temporary high alert in Jerusalem).

Several lesser alerts exist, but the main fear is of “sleeper” cells hitting Israel without any warning.

It should also be noted that the shadow of Iran is looming, and "expectations are lower than the Dead Sea."

Update: no joint Israel-PA statement was reached. Instead, they're trying to focus on "the day after."

Here for everyone is an annoucement of protest rallies scheduled to take place:

Monday, Nov. 26:
* Annapolis, 11 AM to 2 P.M., Gate 1, King George and Randall, organized by Shalom International and Coalition to Defend Jerusalem. The Knesset Israel congregation is providing kosher food from 2- 3 PM at 1125 Spa St.
* New York City, Noon to 2 P.M. at Israeli Consulate, 43rd St and 2nd Ave..
* Washington, D.C. 5 P.M., At U.S. State Dept., 23rd and "C" St.
* Jerusalem, 3 PM - Massive prayer service at the Western Wall, with the participation of the Rishon LeTzion, Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu
* Jerusalem, 6:30 PM - Large rally at Paris Square near Kings Hotel, organized by Yesha Council, Mateh Maamatz and Cities of Israel.
* Chicago, 7P.M., massive prayer service at Congregation K.I.N.S. of West Rogers Park, 2800 W. North Shore, organized by Chicago Rabbinical Council

Tuesday, Nov. 27
* NYC/Washington - 7 AM, AFSI (Americans for a Safe Israel) group departing NYC by bus - 31st Street between 7th and 8th Ave. Noon - Protest rally at Gate #1 of the Naval Academy. Return to NYC by approximately 8 PM. email to afsi@rcn.com
* Annapolis, 11 AM to 2 P.M., Gate 1, King George and Randall, co-organized by Shalom International and Coalition to Defend Jerusalem. The Knesset Israel congregation is providing kosher food from 2- 3 PM at 1125 Spa St.
* Philadelphia, 12 Noon at Holocaust Memorial between 16-17 St.

Wednesday, Nov. 28
* Washington, D.C. 11 AM to 2 P.M., 23rd St. and "C" St., U.S. State Dept.

In addition, on Monday, Ari Abramowitz of the International Center of Biblical Zionism will be speaking against Annapolis and in favor of the Jewish People's right to the entire Land of Israel at Columbia University in NYC at 7 AM, and at Stern College at 8:30 AM. On Tuesday, at 7 AM, he will address the Mayim Hayim Ministries at 1412 Southwest 8th St. in Amarillo, Texas.

Make sure to be there!

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Clinton's Bundlers: 'Protection money', 'fear of retribution' and 'pressure to give'

Yesterday's Washington Post exposed another odd donation bundler utilized by the Clinton Machine. Matthew Mosk -- with help from Alice Crites and Sarah Cohen -- examined the contributions of a Texas real-estate developer named Alonzo Cantu.

Operating out of the town of McAllen, Texas, Cantu has raised more than $640,000 for the Clinton campaign. In contrast, Barack Obama has raised less than $2,100. In this relatively poor border town, the Post was interested in how Cantu had raised the money -- and from whom it had been raised.

Because of his financial interests, Cantu's influence over potential donors is substantial. He has raised money from doctors who work at the hospital where he holds an ownership interest, from bankers who work at the bank he co-owns and from the scores of tradesmen who contract with his primary business, Cantu Construction and Development Co., one of the town's dominant residential and commercial builders. The Clinton donors included dozens who had never registered to vote, several who were Republicans and 10 who had previously made contributions to President Bush and former House majority leader Tom DeLay (R).

Even when Hillary ran for her New York Senate seat, Cantu was actively raising donations for her.

What does Cantu want? The Post states that Cantu has been lobbying his contacts for help in bringing an interstate highway to McAllen and described a significant "local opposition" to the construction of the U.S.-Mexico border fence that was authorized last year.

Some donors appear less than ecstatic with Cantu's methods of fundraising:

A longtime local surgeon who left the hospital said Cantu and the other hospital board members referred to the political contributions as "protection money."

"They said, 'We've got to give this money to Hillary so we can be exempt from the bill,' " said the surgeon, who asked that his name not be used...

The concept of "protection money" is not new for Clinton's donation bundlers. The Norman Hsu fundraising affair, for example, has some peculiar similarities.

When the Hsit hit the fan

In a previous post ("Hsit hits the fan"), a Human Events' summary of the Hsu debacle has some eerie parallels to the Cantu scenario.

GOP Bloggers' Matt Margolis and Mark Noonan posted their FEC complaint against the Hillary Clinton for President Committee in response to the reports of donors who felt pressure to give money for fear for retribution and a number of poor donors who donated thousands of dollars each to her campaign.

Townhall.com's Patrick Ruffini reports:
On the heels of the Norman Hsu scandal, the Clinton campaign was rocked by questions of even more Hsu-like shakedowns in connection with a $380,000 fundraiser in New York which saw contributions ranging from $1,000 to $2,500 from cooks and dishwashers. At least one donor admitted to being an illegal immigrant. Another said she was illegally reimbursed for her contributions. Others said they felt pressured to give.

Unlike the Hsu cash, Hillary's campaign has yet to return the bulk of this tainted money.

This complaint brings these charges into a formal FEC process. The Clinton campaign will have 15 days to respond and publicly defend itself from charges of illegal campaign fundraising.

'Protection money', 'fear of retribution' and a 'pressure to give'

The pattern is disturbing at best. Outsized donations are raised by some powerful, well-connected patrons of the Clintons and, when some of the money is tracked back, the actual parties who contributed are none-too-pleased. Or they are actually illegal aliens, prohibited from voting.

Either way, the Clinton Machine doesn't seem very good at scrubbing their donor lists, despite their bizarre ties to database marketer InfoUSA.

Hat tip: Mike and Patti. Cross-posted at Doug Ross @ Journal.

IS ANNAPOLIS LITERALLY DOOMED?

One blogger has cataloged a nearly irrefuatble list of USA natural disasters (a.k.a. "acts of God") which have immediately followed ballyhooed efforts by the USA to aid the Arabs in their diplomatic efforts to get Israel to give them parts of the Biblical Eretz Yisroel.

EXPLANTION: God said (GENESIS 12:3) that He will treat the nations as they treat Israel. When the USA's efforts have the effect of diminishing Israel and its defenses, then the USA pays a high price, "measure for measure."

IMPLICATION: If Bush pressures Israel to return Golan and to cede Judea and Samaria the USA will get some Divine retribution.

Sound incredible? Read the list.

(Hat tip Punditarian in the comment thread here.)

(Oddly, the list includes no USA disaster around the time of the Camp David Accord between Israel and Egypt.)

NYTIMES PUTS NEGATIVE SPIN ON CHRISTMAS RETAIL SALES

FROM DAY ONE, THEY PUT A NEGATIVE SPIN ON IRAQ.

SO WE SHOULDN'T BE SURPRISED THAT THEY COMPLAIN THAT THE CURRENT CHRISTMAS RETAIL CLIMATE IS BAD, TOO. THEY'LL DO ANYTHING THEY CAN TO HURT BUSH. LIKE TODAY; NYTIMES/REUTERS:

Retail Traffic Up With Spending

Deep discounts and extended hours drew more than 147 million shoppers to U.S. stores over the four-day Thanksgiving holiday shopping period, but average consumer spending fell, a retailers' group said on Sunday.

The results from the National Retail Federation's 2007 Black Friday Weekend Survey were attributed to the economic uncertainty facing consumers and tough comparisons with last year.

Black Friday is the day retailers try to lure consumers to start their holiday shopping with eye-popping discounts and early-bird specials. It once marked the day retailers turned a profit, or went into the black, for the year.

The survey, which included data from Thursday to Saturday and projections for Sunday, showed customers spent an average of $347.44, down 3.5 percent from $360.15 last year.

But the decline was offset by a 4.8 percent increase in the number of shoppers, making the weekend's total spending results "extremely similar" with last year, said federation spokeswoman Ellen Davis.

The federation did not give a figure for total spending.

While fears about lower home values, a shaky stock market and higher costs for food and fuel could have played some role, Davis said the decline was more due to the focus this year on mid-priced items like laptop computers and digital photo frames, versus last year's emphasis on expensive high-definition televisions.

"It takes a lot of $400 laptops to reach the same level as the $1,300 high-definition TV," Davis said.

THEIR NEGATIVE SPIN - THE NEGATIVE HEADLINE WHICH IS INTENDED TO PRECONFIGURE THE VALUE OF THE STORY - IS ALL BS.

HERE'S BREITBART/AP - WITH LESS NEGATIVE SPIN:

The nation's shoppers set aside worries about higher gas prices and a slumping housing market and proved their resilience over the Thanksgiving weekend, giving what the nation's merchants wished for—a strong start to the holiday shopping season.

Stores and malls opened the season as early as midnight, drawing bigger-than-expected crowds Friday for discounted flat-panel TVs, digital cameras and toys such as all things related to Disney Channel's "Hannah Montana." Strong sales continued through Saturday, according to one research group that tracks total sales at retail outlets across the country.

Clearly, the biggest draw was electronics, benefiting consumer electronics chains like Best Buy Co. and discounters such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp. Popular-priced department stores including J.C. Penney Co. and Kohl's Corp. drew in crowds with good deals. Toy stores like Toys "R" Us Inc. fared well too. Still, apparel sales appeared to be mixed at mall-based clothing stores, though a cold weather snap helped spur sales of outerwear and other winter- related items.

"This was a really good start. ... There seemed to be a lot of pent-up demand," said Bill Martin, co-founder of ShopperTrak RCT Corp., which tracks total sales at more than 50,000 retail outlets. ShopperTrak reported late Sunday that sales on Friday and Saturday combined rose 7.2 percent to $16.4 billion from the same two-day period a year ago.

Total sales on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, rose to $10.3 billion, up 8.3 percent from the same day a year ago. Martin had expected increases no greater than 5 percent.

THE NYTIMES MOTTO SHOULD BE: "ALL THE NEWS THAT CAN BE NEGATIVELY SPUN TO ADVANCE OUR AGENDA."

SCUM. LEFTIST, BDS-AFFLICTED SCUM.

WILL PAKISTAN BECOME ANOTHER IRAN (CIRCA 1979) OR MORE LIKE POST-WAR IRAQ OR POST-HAMAS GAZA?

DUNNO. BUT THERE ARE FIVE OR SIX SCARY OUTCOMES AND ONLY ONE GOOD ONE - SO THE ODDS ARE AGAINST US.

BHUTTO, SHARIF AND AL QAEDA AND THE TALIBAN ARE ALL MAKING TROUBLE. BHUTTO AND SHARIF ARE ALLIES OF THE TALIBAN AND AL QAEDA.

AND MUSHARRAF SEEMS MORE ISOLATED THAN EVER.

BUSH AND CONDI SHOULD BE CONCENTRATING THEIR EFFORTS ON PAKISTAN AND ON THE MALIKI GOVERNMENT IN BAGHDAD, AND NOT IN ANNAPOLIS - AND NOT ON EFFORTS TO GIVE THE PALESTINIANS A STATE.

IN GENERAL, BUSH'S RECENT EFFORTS (EXCEPT FOR THE SURGE) MAKE ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE.
FOCUSING ON PALESTINE AND IGNORING PAKISTAN AND BAGHDAD IS STUPID. AND RISKY.

Is Israel about to be Sold Down the River?

Of all the states who have stood by the United States through thick and thin, none has been more steadfast than has Israel. What other country would have allowed scud missiles to rain down on its cities without lifting a finger, simply because the United States wanted them not to aggravate a fragile Gulf War alliance of Arab states? If missiles were raining down on our citizens, would we want our government to not defend itself because, say, England or China asked us not to? Hell, no.

Which is why I find this news to be particularly disturbing; it appears that the Baker-Hamilton Realpolitik forces are winning the day in the battle for the President's ear. And if Gateway Pundit's report is accurate, the big loser appears to be Israel:

This was sent to me from Israeli sources this morning:
According to the leading correspondent covering the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, Shimon Shiffer of Yediot Ahronot (Israel's largest newspaper), President Bush's address at Annapolis "will not be easy for Israeli ears." In Friday's magazine, he argues, in an article co-authored by his colleague Nahum Barnea, that Bush will call for "the establsihment of a Palestinian state, the end of 'occupation,' and a return of Israel to the 1967 borders, leaving an opening for land swaps."

The authors explain that Olmert knows that "this text cannot be changed."

If the report is true, and both of these reporters have direct access to Olmert, then Bush is close to abandoning the April 2004 gurantees on settlement blocs and "defensible borders" that he gave in writing to former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. That letter was all Israel received for pulling 9,000 Israelis out of their homes in the Gaza Strip. That was the quid pro quo. Back in 1967, President Lyndon Johnson insisted that Israel was not expected to fully withdraw from the territories it captured in the Six Day War (in a war of self-defense) and this US position was enshrined forty years ago in the language of UN Security Council Resolution 242.

It is difficult to believe that Bush, who is known for his consistancy and loyalty, would make this change and demand full withdrawal. In Sunday's Maariv newspaper, Ben Caspit, its chief foreign affairs correspondent, is reporting that there is a struggle in Washington today over the contents of the Bush Annapolis address, with the Saudis, Rice, and Israel all pulling in different directions. Today, Bush's old friend Sharon is in a comma in an Israeli hospital and cannot comment on such a change should it occur.

But it is also difficult to explain the sudden decision of the Saudis to attend Annapolis at the level of foreign minister, unless someone in the administration gave them some guarantees.
Now, check this out...
This morning Syria announced that it is planning on attending the talks this week, after the issue of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights was added to the agenda.
It looks like this tip was accurate.
It could be a devastating week for Israel.

Brit Hume is suggesting on Fox News Sunday that the President's thinking may be that a Palestinian state is a necessary step towards solidifying an alliance of the "moderate" Arab states against Iran. But Syria--reportedly a party to these "talks"--is a close ally of Iran, and Hezbollah operates without impunity in Lebanon because of Syrian support. So: we are backing away from our support of Israel on Jerusalem and the West Bank for... what exactly? Assurances of Syrian support against Iran? Has the President and Olmert not been paying attention to what happened when the Israelis abandoned Gaza? The Palestinians propmtly marched in, elected terrorists to lead the country, and started lobbing missiles into Israel. Yes the Dome of the Rock is important to Muslims; but it is also important to Judaism. To simply hand Jerusalem to the Palestinians would be the height of folly.

Many people think that Israel may one day have to be the country that "pulls the trigger" to keep Iran from going nuclear. I do not necessarily agree, but it may be the case. So one wonders how Olmert could possibly be a party to the abdication Jerusalem--is it just because Syria or Saudi Arabia might say that they won't interfere if Israel attacks Iran? If so, it is a fool's errand, because Syria will interfere: you can bank on it.

Yes, I can understand that a Palestinian state would be a good thing for peace--at least on paper, according to the thinking of the UN Realpolitik crowd. But what they seem not to grasp is that there is a Palestinian state today, which has held elections; yet the only thing they seem to be interested in is to kill Jews for more land.

At the very least, any discussion about Jerusalem ought to include a possibility of an "international" peacekeeping presence a la postwar Berlin. I could possibly get my arms around that. But to simply hand over Jerusalem and the West Bank to the Palestinians in exchange for lame assurances from well-known backstabbers--when much blood has already been shed for these territories in 1967 and 1973--is not something that a President of the United States should be advocating--especially a Republican President, and just as Republicans are beginning to make inroads into the Jewish-American voting demographic.

It is probably too late to suggest that President Bush back off of this ridiculous proposal, if indeed he is about to make a case for it in Annapolis; but it will never work: the sad truth is that it will never be "enough" for the "Palestinian cause" (or more accurately the Western Elites' 'cause celebre') until every last Israeli is killed or deported to other points of the globe. Meanwhile, a President who is walking a precarious tightrope in this Long War is going to lose a lot of credibility with both his conservative base and with Jewish Americans.

From where I sit, the best that can be hoped for it that this ends in a stalemate--as all the other Presidents' attempts to reconcile the irreconcilable have ended. But it is hard to fathom why President Bush would advocate this level of appeasement in the first place. What has Condi been smoking?

MUSHARRAF COUNTER-OFFENSIVE BEGINS IN SWAT

BBC:

Pakistani troops have begun a major ground offensive against pro-Taleban militants in a former tourist resort in the North West Frontier province.

Military officials say more than 200 militants have been killed in the past week, but there is no independent confirmation of those figures.

A curfew has been imposed in the area around the Swat Valley, about 160km (100 miles) from Islamabad.

Thousands of civilians are reported to have fled from the fighting.

Food supplies cut

This is the first time that Pakistani ground troops have been in action against militants in the Swat Valley.

For several days helicopter gunships and artillery have been used against pro-Taleban forces who have seized a series of small towns and villages.

Now ground troops are involved, trying to take back territory from militants who have infiltrated the valley from tribal areas along the Afghan border.

A military spokesman says the army has already taken control of a number of mountain peaks.

Food supplies to militant-held villages have also been cut.

Tent villages

The fighting in Swat is highly significant because it is the first major pro-Taleban threat in Pakistan in what is known as a settled area.

Authorities say they have set up a number of tent villages to look after the displaced civilians who have fled from the fighting.

The Pakistani President, Gen Pervez Musharraf, cited the strength of Islamist militancy as one of the main reasons he imposed emergency rule more than three weeks ago.

THIS IS MORE PROOF THAT MUSHARRAF HAS BEEN A GOOD ALLY IN WW4 - BETTER THAN CHIRAC'S FRANCE WAS, AND BETTER THAN TURKEY IS.

I HOPE HE SMASHES AL QAEDA AND THE TALIBAN.

A Nasty Fight Is Looming

Many of us are aware that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear a second amendment case involving the overturning of a Washington, DC gun law that prohibited law-abiding citizens from owning and keeping a handgun for personal protection in their own homes. This case is of critical importance.

A recent New York Times editorial on the subject shows just what fair-minded people are going to be up against in this continuing battle, and that we have to be prepared for a fight that promises to become just as dirty and in the gutter as any recent abortion or anti-war dispute. Notice the language of the editorial and also what it does not say.

It uses the scare language of - “violent consequences of denying government broad room to regulate guns” – as if allowing law-abiding citizens the right to have protection in their homes has violent consequences .

In another place the editorial says, “A decision that upends needed gun controls currently in place around the country would imperil the lives of Americans.”

Nowhere does this article make reference to the significant reductions in violent crimes that have followed state decisions to grant concealed carry licenses to qualified, peaceful citizens. This has been the *experience in every one of the 36 states that have put in place concealed-carry laws since 1986. What does concealed carry have to do with laws that prevent the private ownership of any guns? Clearly, if the Washington, DC law is upheld, and the constitutional right to bear arms is overthrown, it will eventually affect everyone’s rights, and all concealed-carry licenses may become null and void.

The New York Times editorial also does not mention the fact that Washington, DC, with its prohibition of gun ownership, and where only criminals can own guns, is considered the murder capital of the world.

It is up to every citizen to fight against this development and up to every gun owner to speak out and to contribute generously to fight a fight that cannot be fought on the facts and the data alone. Since when have liberals been interested in facts and history? They will employ the same smears and the same character assassinations and distortions that they have used against President Bush, VP Cheney, and Justices Roberts and Alito. They will lie and distort and pretend not to understand when the facts are laid out. Excerpt; See Rest at From Sea to Shining Sea

The Ruddslide

I thought I might expand a little my comments on the implications of the recent Australian Federal election: As I see it, one centre-right government has been replaced by another. As Andrew Bolt has pointed out, there are even some ways in which Rudd is to the Right of John Howard. And the policies of the two major parties on social issues such as illegal immigration, abortion and homosexual marriage seem to differ only in the smallest of details.

There are some causes for concern, of course, but nothing major is likely to change much. The Australian Labor party is arguably the world's most conservative Leftist party and they strongly reinforced that in the recent election campaign by their constant "me-toos" to the policies of the Howard government. They NEEDED to do that. Any hint of traditional Leftist policies would have sent them to oblivion again -- as it did in the previous election under the leadership of Mark Latham. In other words, they won by promising that there would be only micro-changes. That is pretty conservative in at least one sense.

There will certainly be a lot of rabid Leftists in the new Labor cabinet (government) but Rudd has immense authority for having led them out of the wilderness and he is also an obsessive bureaucrat who will not let much past him and he knows full well what his victory depended on. So any Bolshevik tendencies in the cabinet will undoubtedly be stared down.

If Rudd WERE to depart from his election promises to any substantial degree that would be a strong confirmation of what his electoral opponents constantly harped on during the campaign: Can he be trusted? And that would almost certainly lead to his defeat in the next Federal election in 3 year's time. And I know without looking that Rudd has far greater ambitions than being a one-term Prime Minister. So, ultimately, it is the electorate that is the watchdog watching him. And his recent success shows that he is too good a politician to be unaware of that gaze.

The biggest danger that I see is in his High Court appointments. Judges generally seem pretty power-mad and Rudd appointments could take the brakes off that. Australia has had a lot less legislating from the bench than the USA has had so it would be a great pity to lose that restraint.

The Rudd stance on the Iraq involvement is certainly weaker than that of John Howard but I again think Rudd will be cautious. His habit of caution and avoiding controversy should see any moves being slow and well-considered rather than hasty. He is certainly a lot less frantic about it than the U.S. Democrats are. Britain is already in the process of pulling out of Iraq, however, so that makes whatever Rudd does fairly inconsequential by comparison.

(For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here.)

Sometimes you can't win