Where is the Best Beer?

It's time to lighten things up a bit and switch to a more pleasant subject.

Beer.

Yes, beer, or more specifically, which countries have the best beer? On that topic, I am a scholar.A few of the choices are obvious. A couple are surprising. In fact, two of the countries I have chosen for making the best beer are Muslim countries.

Let's take the obvious choice for number one.



1 Germany







German beer is really the best in the world. I learned to drink beer while a soldier in Germany in the 1960s and go back every couple of years. No matter where you go, you will find great beer. There is a myth that Munich has the best beer in Germany. I disagree. The city has a lot of breweries and is arguably the best place to drink beer with its beer gardens and beer halls. However, you can find beer anywhere in Germany that is just as good if not better. (I concede that the eastern part may be catching up to the west because in the days of the DDR, you had far fewer breweries to choose from.)

And a real beer fest? Not to be missed. Munich's is the most famous, but for my money, Erlangen has the best during May and June (Whitsuntide).

My preference is a simple pils from the draft as you would order in a restaurant. The beer is as attractive as it tastes as it is served in a stylish beer glass with the logo of the brewery and a creamy head on top. (I have a collection of German beer glasses that dates back to my army days in the 60s.)

As with all beers, you need to drink them in their own country. German imports-at least in the US- don't taste anywhere near what they do in Germany. If you want the authentic taste in the US, visit the Hofbrauhaus in Las Vegas. It is shipped directly from the Munich Hofbrauhaus in kegs with no changes. It is the real deal.

2 Czech Republic


The real deal


Home of Pilsner Urquell and the original Budweis-which is ten times better than that swill we have in the US of similar name.

3 Holland




Holland doesn't boast as many breweries as Germany. It has two or three that are internationally known, such as Heineken. As with German beer, Heineken doesn't taste the same in the US as it does in Holland. The only problem in Holland, at least up until my last visit, is that they served them in small glasses. Very bothersome.

4 Turkey (Surprised?)





The main brewery is Efes Pilzen, an excellent beer that goes great with Turkish food. When I was in Turkey in the 1980s, they also had a Tuborg brewery which produced a better product than Denmark. That is because it was Turkish beer. That's the way those "under license and supervision" deals work. When they were making Loewenbrau in the US, it was American beer. In Italy, they brewed Heineken locally in the 80s when I was there. It stunk. It was Italian beer (ugh).

5 Philippines





San Miguel. Best beer in Asia along with Indonesia. Trying it here in the US was, of course, disappointing. They used to make it in Hong Kong-again with disappointing results. (Maybe it still is.) In Aruba, I found a Filipino restaurant that got San Miguel from the Filipino sailors who brought cases on the ships. It was the real deal.

6 Indonesia





Bintang is an excellent beer. The Indonesians learned the art of brewing from the Dutch. Hmm. Looks like a good place to drink beer.

There it is.  Of course, it is all a matter of opinion and taste. The wave of micro-brews in the US has improved the beer scene dramatically. Yet, the beers I have listed above are superior (to me) than any American beer I have tasted.

My Letter to UC Irvine Newspaper Flops

REJECTED


Several days ago, I posted an article about a letter I wrote to the UC Irvine campus paper, New University advocating the placement of a statue of Raoul Wallenberg on campus.

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com/2012/01/wallenberg.html

Well, I am here to bring you an update. They didn't publish the letter.

That's OK. That is their editorial decision. I am not complaining. Maybe next time, I will suggest they build a statue to Yasser Arafat. That should fly.

Besides, nobody at UCI ever answers my letters. What else is new?

Eric Holder Threatened With Contempt by Issa

This is welcome news in the on-going Fast and Furious scandal. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) is threatening Attorney General Eric Holder with contempt if he continues to withhold documents.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/01/31/issa-threatens-contempt-charge-against-holder-if-justice-fails-to-comply-with/

"The documents produced to date also belie the remarkable notion that this operation was conceived by department leaders, as some have claimed," Holder said. "It is my understanding that department leaders were not informed about the inappropriate tactics employed in this operation until those tactics were made public and, as is customary, turned to those with supervisory responsibility over the operation in an effort to learn the facts." (Holder)

Translation? Holder is attempting to lay the blame on ATF street agents to protect himself, his assistants in DOJ and possibly someone above him. (Guess who.)

It doesn't take a genius to see that the documents that have not been turned over are those that would show that Holder is lying. It's the documents that bear his name and his signature. They would show that he was fully up-to-date on Fast and Furious and involved up to his neck, as were his top assistants. God only knows what White House-Justice documents are there and who they would implicate. That is why they have not been turned over. The claim that they may or may not be in the custody of his inspector general office is not reassuring since they are also suspected of being in on the cover-up.


It is going to take perseverance and nerve to keep the heat on and not make some deal that would let Holder and his co-conspirators off the hook. The deal that should be made is with someone high enough to know what Holder knew and did. They already have a few street level ATF agents who originally blew the whistle and may yet lose their jobs in retaliation. Their testimony will help but probably won't reach Holder. It's a classic conspiracy investigation.


What is at stake here? It is the simple notion that the law applies equally to all.

At Cal State Northridge the Activists Don't Give up

I have recently posted on the effort by some professors and students at California State University at Northridge to stop a program for students to study in Israel. Prof. David Klein has gathered a bunch of activists with time on their hands to sign a new letter to CSU Chancellor Charles Reed after Reed announced the Israel study program will continue.

Below is a letter from Professor Tammi Rossman-Benjamin of UC Santa Cruz and the AMCHA Initiative asking for support to counter the anti-Israel activists' effort to pressure Reed. I have signed the letter and urge my readers to do the same. It is time to stand up to the bullies among university faculty and students.
__________________________________________________________

"Dear Friends,

We need your help.In response to our letter to California State University Chancellor Charles Reed, urging him to remove Professor David Klein's anti-Semitic web pages from the CSU Northridge server, the U.S. Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (USACBI) has initiated their OWN petition to Chancellor Reed, urging him to protect Klein's "academic freedom" to post web pages advocating the boycott of Israel and the termination of the CSU Israel Abroad program. USACBI has put out the following call to their supporters:

"The US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel urges all supporters of Palestinian rights, the BDS movement, and academic freedom not only to sign this petition, but also to build upon David's work, by starting campaigns to educate about the reality of Study Abroad in Israel and holding events and activities on academic and cultural boycott on March 30, 2012 at their own colleges and universities."

The USACBI petition has collected over 900 signatures. Although we have collected about 1,700 signatures, we would like many more before submitting it to Chancellor Reed in the coming week.

We believe the battle over Klein's web pages is an enormously important one, with extremely serious implications. If Klein and USACBI prevail, faculty on all 23 CSU campuses will have the green light to freely use tax-payer funded university resources to promote their campaign to harm Israel and the Jewish people, and nothing can be done to stop them.

Please help us by circulating the following URL on your blog, email list, Facebook page, etc., and encouraging as many people as you can to sign and circulate the AMCHA Initiative petition:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/letter_to_csu_chancellor


Many thanks,

Tammi"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Below is what Discover the Networks has to say about this organization called USACBI.

http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=7710

As you can see, USACBI is a who's who of academic quacks including the recently-retired Sondra Hale of UCLA, of whom I have previously written. (Did you see Bill Ayres' name?)


Mr Klein, of course, is entitled to voice his opposition to Israel from any soapbox he chooses. The question is whether he should be putting up all his propaganda on a university server. When that happens, it appears that the university is putting its imprimatur on whatever the professor says. In checking, I note that this group has the below URL for their petition against Israel

http://www.csun.edu/~vcmth00m/boycott.html


Please note that"csun" stands for California State University Northridge. The above propaganda page is on a CSUN site. Would some infer that this page reflects the official position of CSUN? In contrast, my humble blog is not located on a UC-Irvine server. I use a private server (Blogspot). I do not try to give the impression that my views reflect UC Irvine's position.


Far from it.

 

Another Chris Matthews Laffer

Hat tip to Hot Air





"Chris Matthews, you have a weak show."


Conservative writer and commentator Mary Katharine Ham had an interesting exchange today with Chris Matthews on WMAL (in DC). The point of interest begins at about the 6:09 mark. In this exchange, Chris tries to defend himself against Ham's charge that Chris has trashed the Tea Party as being violent while downplaying the Occupy movement's rhetoric and violence.





Here is the Hot Air report with the video:

http://hotair.com/archives/2012/01/31/chris-matthews-i-never-said-tea-partiers-were-violent-but-i-meant-it-at-the-time/

Fast-talking Matthews, of course, throws out charges off the top of his head, but when confronted with his inaccuracies and misstatements, has a hard time defending them. The record very clearly states that there have been no Tea party incidents of violence and no arrests. Contrast that with the Occupy movement (which his co-anchor Ed Schultz adores) and the facts and the numbers are all there to see. When Matthews refers to "tea-partiers" spitting on congressmen, that is a dubious charge since he is referring to that video-taped incident in Washington in which it is pretty clear that it was a case of accidental spraying of saliva while a protester was shouting. As for his incidences of clear political favoritism, Hot Air forgot that moment in 2006 when the Democrats took over Congress in the midterm elections. When another Democratic victory was announced on MSNBC's "coverage", Chris yelled, "Yea!" (I heard that one because I was watching MSNBC at the time.)

Chris Matthews is a buffoon.

Democrats Throw ATF Agents Under the Bus-Rally Around Holder

"It was those street agents in Arizona and that Bush operation, but we put a halt to it, right boys?"


In yet another shameful development in Operation Fast and Furious, Democrats in Congress are rallying around Eric Holder's Justice Department and laying the blame off on ATF "rogue agents" and a couple of prosecutors from the US Attorney's Office in Phoenix. It is beyond disgusting.


http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/01/31/in-new-report-two-justice-officials-call-fast-and-furious-criticism-absurd/

As I have pointed out several times, the idea that street agents or even supervisory agents of ATF's Phoenix office would have concocted such an insane scheme is preposterous. Even if they had, they would have need approval from the highest levels of the Justice Department.

"It is clear that ATF agents in Phoenix and prosecutors in the Arizona U.S. Attorney's Office embarked on a deliberate strategy not to arrest suspected straw purchasers while they attempted to make larger cases against higher-level targets," the report reads. 

False. That is a shameless attempt to make the ATF street agents and a couple of Arizona-based federal prosecutors the fall guys.




"The report adds that problems arose during investigations even under the Bush administration, as hundreds of weapons were lost in Mexico, but "rather than halting operations after flaws became evident, (ATF agents in Arizona) launched several similarly reckless operations over the course of several years, also with tragic results." 

False
The effort to say this all began with Operation Wide Receiver under the Bush Justice Department is clearly disingenuous. In that operation, agents attached tracking devices to the weapons. When they learned that some weapons were still crossing into Mexico, they suspended the operation. In Fast and Furious, there was no effort to attach tracking devices, nor was there any effort to surveill them into Mexico or interdict them anywhere. In  addition, Mexican authorities were never informed of Fast and Furious. How can one argue that there was an effort to nail high-level cartel figures in possession of the weapons?

"Grindler, who as acting deputy attorney general, was the department's No. 2 at the time of his briefing in March 2010, said he is "extraordinarily confident" the ATF officials who briefed him did not tell him firearms were being allowed to go to Mexico."


That statement  is contradicted in the same article.



"Previously released notes from the briefing show Grindler jotted down the name "Operation Fast and Furious." In addition, he was told that at least two suspects used cash to buy nearly 450 weapons costing tens of thousands of dollars, and he noted many guns bought in the United States were surfacing in Mexico."


Then there is the statement of DOJ official Jason Weinstein:

"In a letter to Holder in October, Issa noted that Weinstein and others approved wiretap applications, which he said "contain rich detail of the reckless operations tactics being employed by your agents in Phoenix."

"Although (Criminal Division head Lanny) Breuer and his top deputies were informed of the operational details and tactics of 'Fast and Furious,' they did nothing to stop the program," Issa wrote.

But in his interview with congressional investigators, Weinstein called that "not a fair criticism," saying his general practice was to read an application's cover memo and only examine the underlying information if the cover letter raised questions or issues, according to the Democrats' new report."

C'mon! In DEA, I participated in enough wiretap cases to know better. When a federal agency is attempting to obtain an order to wiretap, Justice officials are not just going to read the cover letter before signing off. Is this what we have in DOJ, people who just read the cover letters? What kind of dereliction of duty is that? This is the same tactic Holder is using when he claims to have never read all those memos and e-mails addressed to him. It doesn't wash.

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), who sits on the House Oversight Committee, is leading the interference for Holder and his cronies. He should be ashamed-not only at his covering up for them-but even more so for trying to lay this off on street agents.

Here is an updated article by Bob Owens in PJ Media today that points out the flaws-no the misrepresentations in the Democrat report.

http://pjmedia.com/blog/dems-release-false-report-on-fast-and-furious/

Our Justice Department has been thoroughly corrupted by this attorney general and his political hires, and the Democrats in Congress are trying to cover for them. When will an honest and courageous Democrat stand up say this is wrong? 

Janet Napolitano on Fast and Furious: "Mistakes Were Made"

Isn't it amazing how Washington officials, when confronted with screw-ups, use the term, "Mistakes were made", a deliberate use of the passive voice to avoid stating who made the mistakes. Janet Napolitano made use of that tactic again today at the National Press Club when asked an inconvenient question of how Washington can continue to work with Mexico .

http://hotair.com/archives/2012/01/30/dhs-secretary-mistakes-were-made-on-fast-and-furious/

Here is how I would have answered that question as director of the Department of Homeland Security, had I seen two of my agents killed by weapons purchased and allowed to cross into Mexico as part of ATF's (DOJ) Operation Fast and Furious:

"Great question. How can we work with Mexico when our Justice Department screwed up with this Fast and Furious operation that has resulted in the deaths of two of my agents and 2-300 Mexican citizens? I am still waiting for an explanation from Eric Holder, the DOJ and the White House as to how this came about.

Mistakes were made? I'll tell you who made "the mistakes". It was Eric Holder and his political hires inside the Justice Department, that's who. And I am still waiting to know the extent of involvement of the White House in this fiasco."

Instead, this empty suit of a hack says simply, "Mistakes were made." Is that what she told the families of Jaime Zapata and Brian Terry?

Palestinian Media Glorifies Killer of Fogel Family

Hat tip to Commentary Magazine


Hakim Awad: "Hero", "Legend"

Attention all you Western Palestinian supporters, who belong to the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions movement against Israel. Attention all you members of Students for Justice in Palestine. Attention all you human rights groups who demonstrate against Israeli "human rights abuses". Attention all you egghead university professors who use your classrooms to disseminate propaganda against Israel. Attention all you Olive Tree Initiative fools-and those who fund this insane program. The below article in Commentary Magazine describes what the Palestinian media in the West Bank has to say about those who butchered an entire family including an infant asleep in its crib.



http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2012/01/30/palestinian-tv-murder-celebrates-israel/

I ask you: What kind of culture celebrates this kind of atrocity?

Keep in mind these are the "reasonable" Palestinians under Mahmoud Abbas, with whom Israel is supposed to negotiate a peace treaty.

We should also call the attention of the Orange County Jewish Federation and their subsidiary, the Rose Project, which refuse to sign the Fogel Pledge not to contribute to or fund organizations or ventures that are harmful to Israel, such as the Olive Tree Initiative.

The Occupy Movement: It's a Federal Case

Enough is enough


With this weekend's violence in Oakland, it is time to look into the national aspect of this phenomena from a law enforcement point of view. Can anyone seriously say that there is no national coordination going on here with these disruptions? From New York to Oakland to Los Angeles and beyond, it is one case of violence, public disorder, destruction and disruption after another. The question is will our Justice Department under Eric Holder seriously investigate it?

First of all, there is every reason to suspect that there is a link between the activists and the Democratic Party. Nancy Pelosi has publicly stated that she supports the protesters "when they speak truth to power". She also made her infamous, "God bless them" statement. President Obama, no less, said that he "can empathize with the protests". Nowhere do you see posters or chants attacking Obama or the Democratic Party.

In addition, I can name right off the top of my head three national organizations that have jumped into the Occupy Movement; SEIU, CAIR and the National Lawyers Guild, the latter of which was created in the 1930s as a legal arm of the Communist Party USA. Its Los Angeles director, James Lafferty, has not only taken a leading role in the LA protests, but was arrested in New York.

The point of the matter is this; if Occupy leaders are coordinating across state lines to cause disruption and violence, that is where federal law enforcement should step in. Let me note that I do not see a dangerous parallel with the civil rights protests of the 1960s when the FBI was wiretapping Martin Luther King under orders from J. Edgar Hoover. King's protests resulted in local arrests because he was engaging in civil disobedience of unconstitutional laws, but nowhere did King and his followers engage in violence. They did not throw rocks at police. They did not forcibly take over buildings. They never tried to shut down a sea port by forcibly occupying it. They did not assault people or cause property damage.

As for what is happening today, local law enforcement does not have the tools to go beyond making arrests at the local level. When it comes to any form of national coordination of violence , it requires a federal agency to effectively coordinate across state lines to investigate it.

That is why we have federal agencies to begin with. For example, if a local drug dealer is standing on an Oakland street corner selling drugs to addicts, that is a case for the Oakland police. But when that seller is connected to a larger dealer who is obtaining his heroin supplies from another dealer in New York, now you need a federal agency like DEA, which can coordinate together effectively to take down what is a national trafficking organization,.

Can anyone seriously argue that the Occupy movement, which has long ago crossed from peaceful protest to violence and disruption, is a spontaneous, local phenomena with no national coordination?  Hardly.

It is past time that the Department of Justice started to investigate this movement on a national level. The RICO statute may be the appropriate tool. It is possible that the FBI is already looking into it, but if so, are they on a tight leash with this politically-oriented Justice Department under Eric Holder?

Final comment on Oakland: It is time for some serious charges that carry some serious prison time for those who were arrested.

More Reaction to the Convictions in Canada

Phyllis Chesler has added her comment to the verdict in Canada of an Afghan family convicted of 4 murders iu the name of "honor".

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/01/29/will-guilty-verdict-in-canadian-honor-killing-trial-be-turning-point-for/

Now we must wait to see if the New York Times will attack Chesler for going beyond mere reporting of the facts of the case to editorial comment. (I am referring to my recent post on the NYT reaction to the Jihad training film used by the NYPD.) Chesler, of course, is not willing to pass this off as a case of domestic violence, or, as in the case of the Ft Hood shootings, "workplace violence". She knows there is soemthing deeper. She doesn't paint all Muslim immigrants with the same dark brush, nor should she. She merely brings up issues that we all must confront openly.

Another New York Times Flap

Hat tip to Family Security Matters

Today, I came across this article in Family Security Matters by Greg Lee, a retired DEA agent. Greg and I both served in DEA in the Los Angeles office and Office of Training. In this article, Greg describes how the New York Times "broke" a story on a film the NYPD was showing as part of its anti-terrorism training.

http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.11319/pub_detail.asp

As we know, CAIR got all upset about the film and made a big stink. The only problem was the film is factual. It never alleges that all Muslims are up to no good, but that some are. Note to NYT: If you are going to attack something, shouldn't you first demonstrate that it is false? Isn't that what a newspaper is supposed to do? I think it is called "fact-checking."

Alaska Hit by Global Warming and Al Gore Keeps Racking up Awards

Hat tip to News Miner.com and Squid


For all you Global Warmers out there waiting for the world to end, here is the latest weather update from Alaska.

http://newsminer.com/bookmark/17324885


Yes, folks. It is freezing up there. Below freezing, be jeezuz! Nevertheless, your friend and mine, Al Gore, is still forecasting gloom and doom (warm and sunny gloom, no less).

That's what Al Gore and his pal from India got a Nobel prize for using phony data from E. Anglia University.

And don't forget that Oscar.






I remember that boob with the glasses draped all over Big Al when they went on stage to pick up their Booby prizes.

Shades of Orson Welles in "War of the Worlds".

"I don't think that's funny."


Big Al even got an Emmy last year for his Current TV channel that nobody watches or even knows how to find.

Too bad he can't sing, or they would have given him a Grammy by now.

"I don't think that's funny."

But someday, it will all catch up with him, and he will be all alone in that big green mansion in Tennessee, just him and his awards-as I predicted in a posting long ago.........


http://garyfouse.blogspot.com/2010/03/al-gore-in-retirement.html




"Now, that's funny."

Convictions in Canadian Honor-Killing Case

A Canadian court has convicted three members of an Afghan immigrant family for first-degree murder, a case in which four female members of the family were murdered. The below report from CNN tells the story.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/29/world/americas/canada-honor-murder/index.html?section=cnn_latest

This case has aroused wide publicity in Canada. It is a classic case of honor-killing. The husband was infuriated at his three daughters, who were rebellious and embracing a freer Western life style. Mr Shafia's first wife was also killed because it was believed she was facilitating the daughters' rebellious behavior.

The verdict sends an important message to the rest of the country. That is that certain traditions, customs and beliefs are not acceptable in a free country that demands equality for all.

It is also a reason why shariah law must not be allowed to gain any kind of foothold in Western countries. The US and Europe have also experienced "honor-killings". It is one aspect of shariah that has no place in Western society. The point is this: Murder is murder and will be treated as such. There can be no allowances made for any religious beliefs that immigrants may bring with them from their countries of origin. In many of their previous countries, great consideration is given to the idea of honor-killing. This results in lenient sentences for the offenders. That cannot happen here.

If we allow shariah law to gain a foothold in our country, it will only grow. It is unacceptable for us to leave Muslim immigrants to the mercy of shariah within their own families or communities when it is in direct violation of our own laws and constitution. In Great Britain, local shariah courts have been allowed to operate in civil property matters. At the same time, there are loud demands from people like Anjem Choudary and his radical groups that shariah become the law of the land. In Choudary's own words, that means honor-killings, stonings, death to homosexuals, and apostates from Islam. Great Britain has allowed the camel to get his nose under the proverbial tent.

I absolutely do not mean to imply that all or even most Muslim immigrants want to practice these things in America. Many came here to escape that type of oppresion. I am of the opinion that most Muslims realize that these things are not part of American culture, are contrary to American law, and are conducting their lives accordingly. Yet, honor-killings have, indeed, occurred in the US- in Buffalo, St Louis, Phoenix, and other places. They are isolated incidents,and the victims themselves are Muslims, but the justice must be sure. Everyone in this country is guaranteed certain rights to life. That includes rebellious wives and daughters, gays, and people deciding to change religions or just abandon a religion. We cannot turn a blind eye to these practices and allow people to be victimized in the name of multi-culturalism.

Ron Paul Picks up Key Endorsement

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul has picked up a key endorsement on the eve before the Florida primary, which could elevate him into serious contention for the nomination. It comes from one of America's biggest publishers.

Publisher A. E. Newman, CEO of DC Publications, says that Paul is the best equipped to challenge President Obama for the White House.

In an interview with CNN, Newman dismissed concerns about Paul's seemingly pacifist and isolationist foreign policy.

"I'm really not worried about that", says Newman. "In fact, Paul raises the point that the money we spend fighting wars could be better spent at home. Besides, who is going to attack the US?"

When queried as to whether he was concerned about Paul's ideas about government getting out of people's lives, Newman replied, "I am not worried about that at all. Paul is spot on. People need to take care of themselves and not rely on government all the time."

Newman also says he agrees with Paul that government needs to get out of the business of spying on its citizens.

"Everywhere you look now, we are prying into people's lives. We are looking at their e-mail. We have spies spying on our allies overseas. We even have spies spying on our other spies."

As to the other candidates, Newman was critical.

"That guy Romney is too slick for me. Santorum is too serious, and Gingrich has no sense of humor."

When asked if his endorsement was personal or reflected the opinion of his publishing board of directors, Newman stated that it was his personal decision, and did not reflect the opinions of the other board members.

"In fact", stated Newman, "only my editorial vice president, Mr. Donald Martin, is also supporting Paul."

Finally, Newman was asked if he was concerned that Paul's nomination would mean re-election for President Obama, and what Obama's re-election would mean for the future of the country.

"We'll be fine," he concluded.














"What? Me worry?"  

Fast and Furious: Eric Holder's Big Lie

As is the custom in Washington, more documents from the Justice Department's Fast and Furious scandal were dumped late Friday night in order to beat the news cycle. Daily Caller has a report that casts even more doubt on Eric Holder's May 2011 testimony before Congress that he only heard of Fast and Furious "a few weeks prior" (later amended to "a couple of months").

http://dailycaller.com/2012/01/28/latest-friday-night-document-dump-shows-holder-was-informed-of-fast-and-furious-connection-to-brian-terry%E2%80%99s-murder-on-day-border-agent-died/

So the question begs: How long a period is from mid-December to early May; a few weeks, a couple of months, a few months-or several months? Then there is this:

"Wilkinson responded to Burke shortly thereafter and said the incident was “tragic.” “I’ve alerted the AG [Holder], the Acting DAG, Lisa, etc.”


Well, that makes sense. If a Border Patrol agent is killed and the murder weapon is traced to Fast and Furious (within hours), of course, the Attorney General would be notified. And not by a memo or an e-mail. Someone in his department would have marched right into his office, tapped him on the shoulder and told him. If he was out of town, the least that would have happened would have been an immediate phone call.


Then, the same day (December 15),  when DOJ official Monty Wilkinson is notified of the Fast and Furious connection, he answers US Attorney Burke, "I'll call tomorrow."


Of course, as soon as he informs Holder and knows what to tell Burke. 


What the documents clearly indicate is that this was a serious and urgent matter-and appropriate notifications were, indeed, being handled. Where the story breaks down is when Holder disclaims knowledge, not only of the gun connection, but of Fast and Furious itself. It is almost as if President Bush were notified by memo of the 9-11 attacks and never read the memo. It just doesn't pass the smell test.


Update (January 30)  


Here is PJ Media's report by Bob Owens:

http://pjmedia.com/blog/new-emails-suggest-eric-holder-perjured-himself/

Chalk up 300 More Arrests for Occupy

(Hat tip to Political Humor. About.com)


The Democrats' answer to the Tea Party, the Occupy movement, scored another big victory yesterday as 300 of them were arrested in Oakland.



http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/01/28/occupy-oakland-crowd-grows-to-nearly-2000/?test=latestnews

Hopefully, Nancy's Kids will make bail in time for the November elections. President Obama is going to need every one of their votes, you know.

"God bless them."

Malmo in 1945 and 2012

Hat tip to Jihad i Sverige (Jihad in Sweden)

From the Swedish-language site Jihad i  Sverige, I am cross-posting (and translating) an announcement of a feature film that is showing this weekend in Sweden about the arrival in Malmo, Sweden of Jewish survivors of the Holocaust. A 2-minute trailer is also available in English at the below link (Hoppets Hamn) The film is appearing as part of Europe's observation of Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27).

Malmö

Idag antisemitismens huvudstad

i Sverige. Då: Hoppets hamn för tusentals

överlevande...Malmo

Today the capital of anti-Semitism in Sweden

Then: harbor of Hope for thousands of survivors

**

Våren och sommaren 1945 anländer

nästan 30 000 överlevare från de

tyska koncentrationslägren till Sverige.

På kajen i Malmö hamn upplever de

sina första ögonblick av frihet.

Det är där livet börjar igen.

In the spring and summer of 1945, almost 30,000 survivors of German concentration camps arrived in Sweden. On the quais of Malmo's harbor, they experienced their first view of freedom. It was there that life began again.

**

Filmfotograferna är på plats och i en

journalfilm ser vi den leende, tioåriga

flickan Irene, som precis stigit av

färjan. I samma film möter vi nyfödda Ewa

när hon bärs iland av sin utmattade

mamma, stöttad av en Röda Kors-syster.

Film photographers were at the scene, and in a news film we see the smiling, ten-year-old girl, Irene, just when she gets off the ferry. In the same film, we meet the new-born Ewa as she is carried by her exhausted mother, supported by a Red Cross nurse.  

**

I Hoppets hamn lär vi också känna ton-

åringen Joe, som anländer till Sverige

efter att ha förlorat sin familj.

Han blir god vän med den 15-årige Röda

Kors-volontären Stig från Malmö och

deras möte kommer att förändra Joes liv.

In Hope's Harbor, we also meet the teenager, Joe, who arrives in Sweden after losing his family. He becomes good friends with 15-year-old Red Cross volunteer Stig from Malmo, and their meeting will change Joe's life.

**

I Magnus Gerttens nya långfilms-

dokumentär berättar dessa överlevare

om frihetens ögonblick och om frågorna

de burit med sig ända sedan kriget.

Samtidigt är det en film om den hjälpande

hand som Malmö och Sverige räckte fram

till dom som kom levande ur koncen-

trationslägren

Magnus Gertten's new feature film documentary tells us about the survivors at freedom's moment and about questions they carry since the war. At the same time, this is a film about the helping hand that Malmo and Sweden extended to those who came as survivors from concentration camps.

**

Hoppets Hamn visas denna helgen i SvT2

SVT2 fre 27 jan kl 15.50
SVT2 lör 28 jan kl 14.30
SVT2 sön 29 jan kl 00.55

Hope's Harbor will be shown this holiday on SvT2

SVT2 Friday, 27 January. 15:50 

SVT2@ Saturday, 28 January 14:30

SVT2, Sunday, 29 January 00:55

------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Jihad i Sverige points out at the top, Malmo today is no longer hope's harbor, rather it is the capital of Swedish anti-Semitism. The Jewish community is leaving Malmo as fast as it can get out, unable to deal with the harassment, assaults and vandalism it suffers from Malmo's Muslim immigrant population, which makes up some 25% of the city's population, and has turned the Rosengard section into a "no-go zone."

And what support do the Jews get from Malmo's mayor, Ilmar Reepalu? None. His attitude is that the Jews are welcome to leave since he identifies them with Israel, a nation he despises. He is a disgrace.

Mark Your Calendars

Mark your calendars, folks. On Thursday, February 11, UC Irvine law school dean Erwin Chemerinsky will be speaking at the UCI Cross Cultural Center.

http://today.uci.edu/news/2010/02/ma_chemerinskychat_100203.php



Dr Chemerinsky's topic will be free speech in a diverse society.

"Date: Thursday, February 11"

Mark your calendars. Thursday, February 11, 2012!!