Christie Hefner and Joe Scarborough-Two Dopes on MSNBC

As the old saying goes, you could go to the Playboy mansion on any Saturday night, collect all of the inhabitants' brains, put them in a peanut shell, and they would rattle like bee-bees in a boxcar.

Introducing Christie Hefner of Playboy and daughter of Hugh Hefner, who gave MSNBC's Joe Scarborough a lesson on the causes of all the gun violence in Chicago during the Morning Joe show. You see, it is all because of Climate Change, which leads to rising temperatures and more gun violence.

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/matt-vespa/2013/01/30/msnbcs-morning-joe-allows-ex-playboy-ceo-peddle-climate-change-link-gun-

I recall back in the 1960s, when we talked about "long hot summers", but this is absurd. Keep in mind that the temperature currently in Chicago is in the 20s and 30s, yet the city is still suffering from shooting deaths in the dead of winter-in spite of its strict gun laws. The past week has been deadly, and a 16-year-old girl has been shot to death, but certainly not due to global warming.

But forget about dunderhead Christie. Scarborough followed up that comment by ridiculing the conservative bloggers, who, like me, would pounce on that dopey statement-"from their mothers' basement no less".

Sorry Joe. This conservative blogger resides in his own home, which doesn't even have a basement. While I concede that hot temperatures can contribute to violence, I don't see how you can discuss last week's violence in Chicago during winter and attribute it to Climate Change. That is a dopey statement, and you don't have to live in your mom's basement to recognize it as such.

And to think that Scarborough is one of MSNBC's window-dressing "conservatives".

Thank God For DHS

More buffoonery from DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano-this time a video telling us what to do when the bad guys come shooting up the place.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/oI5EoWBRYmo


Scissors.

Can't make this stuff up, Folks.

So if you can't run, you can't hide, and you can't find a pair of scissors, I guess you could always shoot the son of a bitch.

Whare's the Apology MSNBC?

Look for the the Peacock label


"A father's grief interrupted by heckling" is how MSNBC's Martin Bashir termed it when he showed that edited and misleading video of Neil Heslin testifying in Hartford about the loss of his son in the Sandy Hook shooting.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/01/31/despite-criticism-from-left-and-right-msnbc-silence-is-deafening-about-doctored/

Whether Bashir knew the video was edited and misleading or someone else is to blame, NBC has a duty to step up to the plate and disclose what happened and take appropriate action. Three days have passed and NBC has yet to even admit that "mistakes were made".

But what should we have expected?

Did Robert Menendez Do it "for the Children"?

Hat tip Daily Caller



"Thank heaven for little girls"


Maybe it's the Dominican Republic that needs some immigration reform-in other words keep out tourists who are coming to prey on underage girls. For months, Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) has been the center of a controversy over whether he was having sex with underage prostitutes in the DR (which he denies). Then, just in the past few days, Menendez came out with 7 other senators in favor of a plan to legalize the status of some 11 million illegal aliens in the US. Almost before you can say "Gigi", the FBI was raiding the office of the man  whose private plane Menendez was using to fly to the DR and whose house there was reportedly the scene of wild sex parties.  Suddenly, this story is threatening to grow to the point that not even the mainstream news media can keep the lid on it. In the first link, an unidentified Dominican prostitute describes Menendez.


http://dailycaller.com/2013/01/31/dominican-prostitute-senator-bob-menendez-likes-the-youngest-and-newest-girls/

In the second link, Menendez acknowledges using his friend and donor's plane and reimburses him over $58,000.

http://dailycaller.com/2013/01/31/menendez-admits-frequent-dominican-travel-reimburses-fbi-raided-donor-58500-for-private-jet-flights/

"Menendez’s chief of staff, Dan O’Brien, told NBC that it took the senator three years to pay his private airfare because of an office mistake.

“This was sloppy,” O’Brien conceded about two 2010 flights. “I’m chalking it up to an oversight.”

A real bureaucratic snafu as they like to say in Washington.

Of course the allegations remain to be proven, but something sure stinks here.

"Thank heaven for little girls"

PS: In the interest of non-partisanship and to head off Siarlys' sure-fire comment, I have not forgotten about another senator named David Vitter (R-LA). I just saw him today questioning Chuck Hagel in the confirmation hearings.

Omar "the Ingrate" Barghouti is coming to UC Irvine

"One person's hate speech is another person's education."

If you want to see a true hypocrite and ingrate, come to UC Irvine on February 4 and listen to Qatari national Omar Barghouti, who has received his higher education in Israel, come and tell us why we should support the Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions movement against Israel. He will be speaking on the invitation of the UCI Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), an organization basically made up of members of the Muslim Student Union and some other assorted useful idiots.

http://sjpatuci.com/archives/4351

Barghouti has been featured in Frontpage Magazine (which is probably his greatest achievement). The below article tells you all you need to know about him.

http://frontpagemag.com/2012/dgreenfield/the-chutzpah-of-omar-barghouti/

And of course, Barghouti has the requisite hang-ups about "white people".

http://www.deliberation.info/omar-barghouti-on-white-people/

(Ho hum. What else is new?)

Even the SJP flyer can only describe him as a Palestinian human rights activist. Not much of a resume.

More Selective Editing by Liberal Media

Hat tip Hot Air

"A father's grief is interrupted by hecklers."

-MSNBC's Martin Bashir as he showed an edited version of a film clip

Once again, our liberal mainstream media has been caught editing videos to twist a news story. I picked up on this last night watching that horse's ass, Piers Morgan, still on his crusade against guns in America as he interviewed the father of one of the Sandy Hook victims, Neil Heslin. Mr Heslin is in the news this week over his testimony before a public meeting in Hartford in which some gun advocates are accused of heckling him. In  his conversation with Morgan, Mr Heslin said he didn't take it that way and also stated that he has no problem with the Second Amendment; he just doesn't feel that people need assault weapons to protect themselves.

Nevertheless, the usual suspects at outlets like Huffington Post and MSNBC have resorted to clipping the video of Mr Heslin's remarks in Hartford to make it appear he was interrupted by hecklers when such was not the case. In the below Hot Air post, you can access the reports by Huffpo and MSNBC. Then view the below video, which comes from Twitchy via Hot Air. The relevant portion begins at the 15-minute mark. Apparently, NBC News is the original culprit here.


http://hotair.com/archives/2013/01/29/video-no-the-father-of-a-sandy-hook-victim-wasnt-heckled-by-gun-rights-supporters/




No wonder Mr Heslin didn't take it as heckling. He was addressing the audience challenging them to give reasons why anyone needed assault weapons. When nobody responded, initially, he commented that no one could give him an answer. It was at that point that a few people responded, but it was not heckling.

This is in no way a rebuke of Mr Heslin, but it is a rebuke of dishonest media who choose to edit clips to distort their reporting of news. With NBC, it is one of their specialties.

Or have we forgotten the notorious George Zimmerman 911 call tape?

Shaykh Jamaal Diwan at UC Irvine

Shaykh Jamaal Diwan


Last Friday, the Muslim Student Union wrapped up their Islam Awareness Week at UC Irvine with an open house in which folks could come and observe the Friday Jumah prayers and a sermon from Shaykh Jamaal Diwan. I stopped in the see what was going on though I had no interest in filming students at prayer or participating in their religious service. From what I could see, there were only a few non-Muslims present though some of the women (sitting on the other side of the room) may have been donning hijabs to show proper respect. I actually remained outside during the prayers and only entered to listen to part of the sermon. Diwan, who is a young convert to Islam, had recently completed his study at Cairo's Al Azhar University in Sharia Law. He is active at the Islamic Center of Irvine and has an online advice site with the Center called Shaykh's Corner.

After listening to part of Diwan's sermon on the Prophet Mohammad, I left early since I had a class to prepare for and frankly didn't feel I was missing much. (I had been invited to stay for refreshments afterward by one of the MSU members.)

At any rate, I have taken the liberty of checking out some of Diwan's writings and am linking a couple I thought were interesting. The first is his advice to a Muslim who wanted to know if it was permissible for a Muslim to wish a Christian "Merry Christmas". I don't consider this an earth-shaking issue though there has been a lot of chatter about it on the internet recently. Diwan gives a rather tortured answer, but I did note that he has a tendency to quote Yusuf al Qaradawi (as he also does in the second link).

http://sc.icoi.net/2012/12/19/saying-merry-christmas/

In the second link, Diwan also references Muslim Brotherhood founder, Hasan al Banna, as he provides a list of recommended readings which include works by al Banna, Sayyid  Qutb, Muhammad Ghazali, (Abou Ala) Mawdudi, and Qaradawi. Aside from Qaradawi, Mawdudi, Qutb, Ghazali, and al Banna, I am unfamiliar with the other authors listed.

http://sc.icoi.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Reading-List-for-Islamic-Workers.pdf

(Source: Shaykh's Corner, website of Islamic Center of Irvine)

Immigration Reform

President Obama lost  no time reacting to the announcement by the latest Gang of 8 that it is time for "immigration reform". Presumptuously, he has announced that it must also include a pathway to citizenship assuming that all 11 million illegals desire to become US citizens. He wants them to because 10.9 million of them will be instant Democrats, thus administering the coup de grace to the Republican Parry. Meanwhile, Sen Marco Rubio is saying, "Not so fast. What about securing the border first?"

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/01/29/obama-presses-immigration-agenda-as-senators-draft-new-overhaul/

Well, Jay Carney has an answer for that too. We already have (hat tip Weasel Zippers).



http://weaselzippers.us/2013/01/29/carney-our-borders-now-are-more-secure-than-they-have-ever-been-in-history/

Given Carney's pronouncement, it looks like full steam ahead with amnesty with nothing more than cosmetic change on the border operations. Maybe they will send more beanbags to the Border Patrol agents to defend themselves with.

Personally, I have no objection to finding a practical and humane solution to dealing with the vast majority of the illegals who came here out of true desperation to work and who are otherwise honest people. We can't round up and deport all of them. As  far as applying for citizenship, they need to go to the back of the line behind the legal applicants. I still agree with Rubio, however, that this should come after our border is truly secured and we are effectively rounding up the criminal element for deportation. Once we regain control of the situation, then we can address the ones who are here. Besides, what is it we need to reform-our laws about how to enter the country legally? We aren't even enforcing those-courtesy of Obama and Janet Napolitano..

I have a feeling Obama and his gang are going to snooker the Republicans just like they did with the Reagan amnesty in 1986.  We didn't get the border secured and the numbers kept swelling.

The Plight of German Children in Berlin-Neu Koelln

The Berlin section of Neu-Koelln has for several years been heavily populated by immigrants, chiefly Arab, Turk and Kurds. That can make things hard for German children who make up 4% of one school's population as reported by Vlad Tepes, MRC-TV, and Gates of Vienna in the below  German news report.

http://www.mrctv.org/embed/119679

Could Neu-Koelln become deutschenrein? (free of Germans)?

AMCHA Letter to UC Davis Chancellor

UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi trying to "explain" use of pepper spray to students

In response to last November's incident in which Jewish students were bullied by pro-Palestinian students at UC Davis, the AMCHA Initiative has sent a letter to UCD's chancellor, Linda Ketehi, asking her to take action to deal with this recurring problem. There is a link below where you can also send a letter to Katehi.


Katehi trying to explain her pay raise to students

Enough is enough. It takes public pressure to get these universities to act.

http://amchainitiative.org/2013/01/29/amcha-writes-to-uc-davis-chancellor-katehi-about-a-november-19-2012-incident-where-jewish-students-were-subjected-to-discrimination-and-harassment-on-campus/

Don't let this hate take over our universities.

("Zionists not wanted here")

A Liberal Democrat Calls Out the White House and the Media

Kirsten Powers, a contributor to Fox News, is no conservative Republican. She is a liberal Democrat. However, unlike most of her liberal brethren, she is intellectually honest. In this piece (for Fox News), she is highly critical of the Obama administration's efforts to attack Fox. She also calls out Media Matters for their hypocrisy in going after Fox.

 http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/01/29/obama-vs-fox-news-behind-white-house-strategy-to-delegitimize-news-organization/

Those of us old enough recall how President Nixon fought wars against the liberal media his whole life (at least until he left the presidency). The media hated him, treated him accordingly, and he hated them right back. It is a part of his legacy. When the shoe is on the other foot, however, Obama gets a pass from the mainstream media, which lionizes him.

Media Matters for America, which is a creation of David Brock, is nothing more than a political arm of the Democratic party even though they enjoy non-partisan, tax-exempt status. Go figure.

It should not matter which side of the political fence you are. Imagine a country in which all media outlets have the same political bent, which we almost have now. Imagine no Fox News, no talk radio, and no conservative blogosphere. Imagine no Republican party-only one party, the Democrats. You may say that I'm a "dreamer", but we are not that far away. The Republican party is in serious trouble, and many Democrats, like Obama, Harry Reid, and Nancy Pelosi would love to finish them off.

But what would that do for the country? Do you really want one-party rule and no dissent? I don't even if my side had the advantage.

Kudos to Powers for her honesty.

The Latest Quackery From Egypt

When I was a kid, my Dad had a joke that Hitler was alive and well-working at Lockheed. He was joking. The man described below isn't. Egypt: the Arab nation with the long history of civilization and education, the most populous and important nation in the Arab world. And this is what their leaders believe-or at least preach. Those 6 million Jews that died in the Holocaust? Not true, says an aide to Mohammed Morsi, the president. According to Fathi Shihab Eddim, they just immigrated to the US.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/01/29/aide-to-egyptian-president-morsi-claims-holocaust-us-hoax/

I guess this quack never heard of the good ship St Louis, which carried Jewish German refugees from Germany to Cuba and off the coast of the US before World War II only to be turned back to Europe, where most of them were captured and killed by the German in occupied lands during the war. I guess he never heard of Hajj Amin Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, who lived in Berlin during WW II,  where he met with Hitler, made radio broadcasts back to the Arab world urging his listeners to drive out the Jews, and from where he organized a Bosnian SS division. And guess where the Mufti would up after the war instead of in Nuremberg- in Egypt, safe and sound.

I also assume the wise sage in Cairo working with Morsi has been reading Hitler's book, Mein Kampf (Jihad), still a best-seller in the Middle East as is that famous history, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

These are the fanatics with whom the Israelis are supposed to deal with. Under Sadat and Mubarak, they could. This is the Muslim Brotherhood in power now. And just think; our CIA director-designate, John Brennan, thinks these guys are a bunch of secular folks baking boy scout cookies. And don't forget those  F-16s on their way to Egypt from the US. Here is a copy of the letter State Department sent o Senator James Imhofe in reponse to his concerns (hat tip Weasel Zippers).

http://weaselzippers.us/2013/01/29/obama-admin-praises-morsi-while-defending-decision-to-gift-muslim-brotherhood-regime-f-16s/


As for Mr Shihab-Eddim, I predict his future is bright. He'll probably wind up teaching Middle East Studies at UC Berkeley with Hatem Bazian.

And who is Hatem Bazian, you ask?

You don't wanna know.

A Musical Tribute to Hillary From Bill

Ah yes, it's a joyous occasion. Hillary Clinton is finally back home into the loving arms of her husband, Bill, after 4 years saving the world as the greatest secretary of state in the history of said world. And to celebrate the occasion, Bill (with a little help from the Duprees) has written a song in her honor. It's called, "You belong to me."


See the pyramids along the Nile 




Watch the sun rise on a tropic isle



Just remember, darling, all the while
You belong to me.

See the marketplace in old Algiers


Send me photographs and souvenirs

But remember when a dream appears

You belong to me.

I'll be so alone without you


Maybe you'll be lonesome too---and blue'

Fly the ocean in a silver plane

Watch the jungle when its wet with rain


Just remember till you're home again





You belong to me

"Ah wunnerful, ah wunnerful, ah."


"Welcome home, Sweetheart."

Let's Play, "What the Hell Happened Today in Pakistan? (January 26, 2012)

"Here is the million dollar question: What the Hell happened (Saturday) in Pakistan?"

a Cops seized 100 kilos of heroin
b 200 new doctors graduated from medical school
c Karachi was awarded the 2212 World Cup
d Two Islamist groups clashed and 24 fighters were killed.

The answer is 'D".





http://news.yahoo.com/militant-groups-clash-pakistan-24-killed-145642636.html

Brownshirts in Action at UC Davis

"From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free"


Another shameful episode has occurred on a University of California campus-this time at UC Davis last November, when the usual pro-Palestinian thugs  engaged in thuggery against Jewish students. The below letter is from Tammi Benjamin, a teacher at UC Santa Cruz and co-founder of the AMCHA Initiative, which is attempting to combat anti-Semitism on California college campuses. The letter is to UC Davis President Linda Katehi.

From: Tammi Benjamin 

Date: January 28, 2013 8:45:53 AM PST

To: chancellor@ucdavis.edu

Cc: President <president@ucop.edu>, regentsoffice@ucop.edu, chancellor@conet.ucla.edu,chancellor@berkeley.edu, chancellor@uci.edu, chancellor@ucmerced.edu, chancellor@ucr.edu, chancellor@ucsd.edu,henry.yang@chancellor.ucsb.edu, chancellor@ucsc.edu, sue.hellmann@ucsf.edu, provost@ucop.edu, Charles Robinson <Charles.Robinson@ucop.edu>, "Jesse M. Bernal" <Jesse.Bernal@ucop.edu>, sadrown@ucdavis.edu, Speaker.Perez@assembly.ca.gov,ttorlakson@cde.ca.gov, senator.wolk@senate.ca.gov, assemblymember.yamada@assembly.ca.gov, John.Garamendi@mail.house.gov

Subject: Jewish students threatened at UC Davis event

Dear Chancellor Katehi,

As you know, we are faculty members at the University of California, who have been investigating and documenting anti-Jewish bigotry on California public university campuses for the last several years.  

We are writing to you now to express our serious concern regarding an incident that occurred during a student protest on November 19, 2012, during which UCD students “occupied” an administration building on campus. We believe that numerous violations of state and federal law and university policy may have occurred at the event.  To our knowledge, your administration has neither acknowledged nor addressed these violations.

In addition, it appears that at least 5 university administrators, including the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, were present and witnessed much of this behavior, yet they did not take action to ensure the safety of the students who were targets of possible assault and hate crimes. Please see below for an account of the events as well as the federal and state laws and university policies which were potentially violated as a result of them.

Detailed Account of Events

Takeover of Dutton Hall

We have learned the following from newspaper articles, on-line videos, and conversations with Jewish students who attended the rally on the East Quad and the subsequent "occupation" of Dutton Hall.

 At 12:30pm on November 19, a rally entitled "March in Solidarity with Gaza," sponsored by the Graduate Student Association, began on the East Quad. (See HERE for an announcement of the rally).

 At approximately 2pm, about 40 of the protesters marched from the East Quad to Dutton Hall, where they hung a larger banner that read "DAVIS+GAZA ARE ONE FIST" from the building's entryway and "occupied" the building's entrance hall. Several protesters held anti-Israel and anti-Zionist signs and large banners, two of which read "DEATH TO ZIONISM" and "LONG LIVE THE INTIFADA!" 

 The occupation leaders refused entry to Jewish students who were known to identify with the Jewish state, and at least one Jewish student associated with a pro-Israel group on campus reported that when he tried to enter Dutton Hall at the beginning of the "occupation," a rally organizer physically blocked his entry through the front doors and refused to let him pass, because he was a "Zionist."

 At about 2:15pm, three Jewish students managed to slip into Dutton Hall, and one of them proceeded to film the discussion taking place inside the "occupied" entrance hall. Although a chief complaint of the "occupiers" was that pro-Palestinian students were being stifled on campus and not afforded their constitutionally-guaranteed right to freedom of speech, nevertheless, several times in the 20 minutes of the rally captured  the "occupiers" themselves expressed the sentiment that "Zionists," including pro-Israel students at UCD, should not be given freedom of speech. For example, when a Jewish student wanted to know whether free speech could involve a civil discussion between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian perspectives, the leader answered, "I would say absolutely not. I would never discuss anything with Hitler.  He is our enemy...there's no question of free speech when it comes to the Nazis. And the KKK, when they march in Sacramento and the cops defend them...you should not talk to these white supremacist, racist, mother-fuckers." 

 Escalation of the Protest

 At about 2:30pm the rally leader said, "I just want everyone to know that there are Zionists filming everything we’re saying, and I think we should ask them to leave." Several protesters demanded that the Jewish students leave the public building, loudly chanting “Leave our space” and “Shame on you” repeatedly, and accusing the Jewish students of “hate speech” because of their support for Israel.

After the Jewish student stopped filming, most of the 40 protesters surrounded the Jewish students, who were standing up against a wall of windows, and screamed "Death to Israel," "Fuck Israel," and other curses. For about 10 minutes the protesters, many of whom stood 1 to 2 feet away from the Jewish students, continued to scream at the Jewish students to leave Dutton Hall and pounded their fists into their hands in a threatening way. Although the Jewish students were not physically harmed, they reported feeling physically and emotionally harassed and threatened until they finally managed to leave the building.

 When an Aggie photographer who had photographed the confrontation inside the hall followed the Jewish students outside for comments and contact information, protesters at the rally turned on him and demanded to see his photos of the physical confrontation and that he delete them.  Aggie staff members were also told by protesters that unless they were on the side of the "occupiers," they would also have to leave the administration building.

 See article written by an Aggie staff member (below)  In the article, the staff member asserts, “We witnessed many students…[end] up leaving, disgusted, as soon as the bullying began. Free speech is crucial. Ideally, our campus would be rife with protests, counter-protests and open dialogue regularly. But if students are scared to speak — scared of other students who resort to intimidation tactics — we have a serious problem.”

http://www.theaggie.org/2012/11/27/editorial-let-students-speak/

At approximately 2:45pm, after a student in Dutton Hall expressed disagreement with one of the protest signs, a protester grabbed his collar, raised his fist and forced the student to leave the building.

 UCD and Staff Member Witnesses of Event

According to a student outside of Dutton Hall at the time of the "occupation," 3 UCD administrators (the Vice Chancellor and 2 Associate Vice Chancellors of Student Affairs) and 2 staff members associated with the Center for Student Involvement were right outside the building during the "occupation." According to one of the 3 Jewish students surrounded by protesters inside Dutton Hall, since she and her friends were standing against a bank of windows which were in full view of those standing outside, she believed the 5 administrators and staff members could see them being harassed and intimidated by the mob of protesters.

 The administrators and staff standing outside did nothing to help the 3 Jewish students, but when they exited the building, one of the administrators asked one of the students if she was OK, which suggests that the administrator had witnessed the violent behavior of the protestors but did not take action. The Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, who it appears also witnessed the protestors’ behavior toward the Jewish students, spoke earlier that afternoon at the rally on the East Quad, where she was quoted as saying: “I will not permit violence to occur in the context of free speech.” There were no other administrators, staff or faculty present at the rally inside Dutton Hall, and at no time did any campus police appear in or near the hall.

http://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/ucd/gathering-to-mark-nov-18-protesters-turn-focus-to-gaza/

Violations of Federal, State, and University Policy

We would like to bring to your attention the following aspects of this deeply troubling series of events:

1) We believe that incidents of this sort have the potential to create liability under the following legal authority:

• Civil assault (Restatement 2d, Torts §21) - "An actor is subject to liability to another for assault if (a) he acts intending to cause a harmful or offensive contact with a person, or an imminent apprehension of such a contact, and (b) the other is thereby put in such imminent apprehension."

• Civil battery (Restatement 2d, Torts §13,18) - "An actor is subject to liability to another for battery if (a) he acts intending to cause a harmful or offensive contact with a person, and (b) harmful or offensive contact with the person directly results."

• Criminal assault (CA Penal Code 240) - Assault is "an unlawful attempt, coupled with a present ability, to commit a violent injury on the person of another." To be charged with criminal assault, physical contact is not required.  A person must simply place another in reasonable fear of immediate bodily harm.

• Criminal battery (CA Penal Code 242) - Battery is "any willful and unlawful use of force or violence upon the person of another."

• Disturbing the peace (CA Penal Code 415(3) - It is illegal to “…maliciously and willfully disturb another person by loud and unreasonable noise…[and to] use offensive words in a public place which are inherently likely to provoke an immediate violent reaction.” In other words, it is illegal to use “offensive words” that “necessarily invite a breach of the peace.”

• CA Civil Code 51.7 “The Ralph Civil Rights Act” - "All persons within the jurisdiction of this state have the right to be free from any violence, or intimidation by threat of violence, committed against their persons or property because of their race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, political affiliation, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, or position in a labor dispute, or because another person perceives them to have one or more of those characteristics."
• CA Civil Code 52.1 “The Bane Civil Rights Act” -  "If a person or persons, whether or not acting under color of law, interferes by threats, intimidation, or coercion, or attempts to interfere by threats, intimidation, or coercion, with the exercise or enjoyment by any individual or individuals of rights secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or of the rights secured by the Constitution or laws of this state, the Attorney General, or any district attorney or city attorney may bring a civil action for injunctive and other appropriate equitable relief in the name of the people of the State of California, in order to protect the peaceable exercise or enjoyment of the right or rights secured."
• CA Penal Code 422.6 - "No person, whether or not acting under color of law, shall by force or threat of force, willfully injure, intimidate, interfere with, oppress, or threaten any other person in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him or her by the Constitution or laws of this state or by the Constitution or laws of the United States in whole or in part because of one or more of the actual or perceived characteristics of the victim."
• Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act – Prohibits discrimination on the grounds of race, color, or national origin in programs or activities receiving Federal financial assistance.

2) We believe the protesters' behavior may have violated the following UC Davis policies and principles:

• UC Standards of Conduct for Students 102.06 -  prohibiting the “unauthorized possession…of any University properties.”
• UC Standards of Conduct for Students 102.08 -  prohibiting  “physical assault, including threats of violence, or other conduct that threatens the health or safety of a person.” 
•  UC Standards of Conduct for Students 102.09 - prohibiting racial and other forms of harassment, defined as “conduct that is so severe…objectively offensive, and so substantially impairs a person’s access to University programs or activities, that the person is effectively denied equal access to the University’s resources and opportunities on the basis of his or her race…national or ethnic origin, alienage, religion…or perceived membership in any of these classifications.”
• UC Policies Applying to Campus Activities, Organizations and Students (PACAOS) Section 30 - “The University is committed to assuring that all persons may exercise the constitutionally protected rights of free expression, speech, assembly, and worship…It is the responsibility of the Chancellor to assure an ongoing opportunity for the expression of a variety of viewpoints.”
•  UC Davis Policies and Procedures Manual Ch. 270 Section 05(C) -  “The University prohibits illegal, arbitrary, or unreasonable discriminatory practices. Campus organizations receiving University privileges, assistance, or supervision must abide by the University’s policy on nondiscrimination to qualify for any University privileges or assistance.”
• UC Davis Policies and Procedures Manual Ch. 270 Section 20 - Public expression in the form of freedom of speech and advocacy may be exercised on University properties at such times and places and in such a manner as is compatible with the use of the property and as follows: 1) Assures orderly conduct; 2) Avoids disruption or interference with University operations; 3) Allows for the free flow of persons and traffic; 4) Avoids disruption or interference with the ability of the University to carry out its responsibilities as an educational institution; 5) Protects the rights of all individuals who use University properties; 6) Protects persons against practices that would make them involuntary audiences; 7) Assures the safety of all members of the University community; 8)  Does not interfere with property entrances or exits.
• UC Davis Student Judicial Affairs Statement on Free Expression - “Efforts to quell unpopular opinions (e.g., by shouting down a speaker) stifle discourse and cut off dialogue…Even legal acts of intolerance and incivility erode our capacity to trust, and to work, live, and learn together...We can uphold both the need for respect and understanding and the right of free speech by responding appropriately to each incident. Crimes must be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent, and infringement of civil rights must be addressed by campus administrative processes and/or state or federal agencies. Discriminatory acts or violations of campus conduct standards, including disruption, are subject to disciplinary sanctions or grievances.”
•  UC Davis Principles of Community - “strives to maintain a climate of justice marked by respect for each other….affirms the right of freedom of expression…and commitment to the highest standards of civility and decency towards all…recognizing the right of every individual to think and speak as dictated by personal belief, to express any idea, and to disagree with or counter another's point of view… promoting open expression of our individuality and our diversity within the bounds of courtesy, sensitivity and respect.” In addition UC Davis vows to “confront and reject all manifestations of discrimination, including those based on race, ethnicity…religious or political beliefs, status…or any of the other differences among people which have been excuses for misunderstanding, dissension or hatred…striving to build a true community based on mutual respect and caring."

3) We believe the UCD administrators and staff members who witnessed the illegal and unethical behavior of the protestors but did not take action may have been negligent in carrying out their administrative responsibilities:

• The Vice Chancellor and 2 Associate Vice Chancellors of Student Affairs who witnessed the "occupation" are responsible for Student Judicial Affairs, whose role is to enforce community standards and campus codes of conduct. As noted above, the protestors were in blatant violation of several UC policies which have the primary goal of ensuring student safety.  Evidence points to the fact that the administrators were aware of most, if not all, of these violations, and that student safety was being threatened as a result of their inaction.
• Two staff members from the UCD Center for Student Involvement witnessed the "occupation." CSI avows that it promotes the UC Davis Principles of Community, which affirm the right of freedom of expression within the Davis community and its commitment to the highest standards of civility and respect, by helping students learn from each other in a safe and constructive environment.  However, during the solidarity rally, the protestors were in blatant violation of the Principles of Community in addition to violating 7 UCD students’ rights of free expression.  Protestors also failed to treat these students with civility and respect. The staff members from this department did not ensure a safe and constructive environment for students when they failed to intervene during a student group’s assault, harassment and violation of fellow students’ rights.

Outcome of the Events

Jewish UCD students, within sight of UCD administrators and on public university property, were harassed, intimidated, and physically threatened. This is an abrogation of university policy and unlawful. 

We are deeply concerned about the virulent and hate-filled actions taking place on the UCD campus as a result of students’ religion and beliefs. And we are also concerned for the safety and well-being of Jewish students who want to feel free to express their beliefs and attend public university events without fear of harm or intimidation.

As the Chancellor of UC Davis, we know that you too have these same concerns.

As a result, the following are important actions that we urge you to take now in order to protect the physical and emotional safety and civil rights of Jewish (and all) students on your campus:

• University policy must spell out actions that campus police, administrators, and staff are responsible for taking to ensure the safety and civil rights of all students, and we urge that this policy be published widely to the campus community.
• Police, administrators, and staff must be immediately informed about actions they should take and protocols they can access to afford all members of the campus community — including Jewish students — the protections that are afforded to them under University policy and state and federal law.
• Perpetrators of disruptive and threatening behavior must be identified and appropriately disciplined.
• The University Chancellor should use her First Amendment rights to consistently and publicly condemn behavior which targets other students for harassment and intimidation.
• The official status and funding of student groups that engage in behavior which targets other students for harassment and intimidation should be subject to suspension and revocation.

We look forward to hearing from you whether these steps can be taken to ensure that Jewish UCD students – and all UCD students – can enjoy a campus where they feel safe, protected, and able to enjoy their civil rights no matter their identity or beliefs.

You will be receiving a copy of this letter by U.S. mail.

Sincerely,

Leila Beckwith

Professor Emeritus, University of California at Los Angeles

Co-founder the AMCHA Initiative

Tammi Rossman-Benjamin

Lecturer, University of California at Santa Cruz

Co-founder the AMCHA Initiative

Cc:   UC President Mark Yudof

        UC Regents

        UC Chancellors

        UC General Counsel Charles Robinson

        UC Advisory Council on Campus Climate, Culture, and Inclusion (c/o Jesse Bernal)

        UC Davis Counsel Steven Drown 

        California Speaker of the Assembly John A. Perez

        California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson

        California State Senator Lois Wolk  (Davis)

        California State Assembly Member Mariko Yamada  (Davis)

        Congressman John Garamendi (3^rd District) 

        

Bcc:    Members and supporters of the Jewish community
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If you are wondering where the campus police were, probably hiding under their desks on the orders of Chancellor Katehi. This incident occurred on the one-year anniversary of the protest in which UCD police pepper-sprayed unruly students who refused to get up off their sorry duffs and disperse only to be condemned by the university. Is it any wonder they were afraid to intervene?

This is the kind of outrageous nonsense that UC President Mark Yudof (and his predecessors) have presided over for years. Instead of brown shirts, black and white checkered kaffiyah-clad thugs and nitwits swagger around campuses bullying any Jewish student who dares stand up for Israel while university officials stand by silently and passively. Talk about the inmates running the institution.

Let's not forget the professors here. These dopey kids are merely acting out the indoctrination they are getting from UC professors just as their counterparts at Harvard, Columbia, Yale and countless other universities.


Until the university gets a bold and competent president as well as bold and competent administrators, this shameful behavior will continue. Unfortunately, it will take a drastic change in the university's culture before that happens.

Holocaust Remembrance Day

January 27 has been designated by the UN as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. As the report indicates, it was marked by commemorations around the world. It is right that this day be marked. Jews around the world are once again under attack.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/01/27/holocaust-victims-remembered-by-survivors-others-with-prayers/?test=latestnews

Looks like Sylvio Berlusconi added to his checkered career with a dopey comment about Mussolini. No comments heard from Mohammed Morsi, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad  or Yusuf al Qaradawi. Thank God.

More History of Mohammed Morsi's Anti-Semitic Statements

Hat tip to Investigative Project on Terrorism, MEMRI and Squid

There has been much recent controversy lately (though not much in the mainstream media) about Egyptian leader Mohammed Morsi's anti-Semitic statements. Now we learn through MEMRI and IPT that Morsi's statements go back even further than we thought. I urge you to read this report and also read the links. They are disturbing.

http://www.investigativeproject.org/3897/additional-morsi-muslim-brotherhood-anti-semitic

Disturbing, but we should not really be shocked. Mohammed Morsi is not unique. He is not the reincarnation of Adolf Hitler. Morsi is of the Muslim Brotherhood, founded in Egypt in 1928. In spite of our government's reassurances about the Brotherhood, it takes little research to see they are fundamentalists when it comes to implementing Islam. Mohammed Morsi did not coin these references to Jews being "apes" and pigs". Neither did the Brotherhood. These and other hateful references come from the Koran, the Sunna, and the Hadith, the holy Islamic texts.

Sura 5.60

"Say (to them): "Shall I point out something to you something much worse than this (judging) by the treatment it received from Allah? Those who received the curse from Allah and His anger, those (are the people) of whom some He transferred into apes and swine, those who worshiped Evil and false gods-These are much worse in rank, and far more astray from the even Path."

-As translated into English by Dr Syed Vickar Ahamed
Book of Signs Foundation, 3rd printing 2007.
(A version given out to visitors including me free by the Islamic Center of Orange County during last year's Open Mosque Day)

http://www.islam-watch.org/Misr/Bahrain-king-trashes-the-Koran-and-Sunnah-Jewish-envoy.htm

But the above link  is anti-Jihadist. Let's go to a Muslim site called Alminbar.com for their views.

http://www.alminbar.com/khutbaheng/9022.htm

(I don't know anything about that site; perhaps, one of our Muslim readers can provide more information. For all I know, Alminbar.com is considered a lunatic site by mainstream Muslims.)

It is a historical fact that the Prophet Mohammed waged wars against Jews. Muslims do not dispute that. There may be disagreements on who were the aggressors and all that, but history is history.

This is the dilemma that Muslims living in the West must deal with. We have a Jewish population here, and we demand (or should be demanding) that anti-Semitism has no place in our society. To be fair, most Muslim leaders in America-even ones I have criticized on this blog- are not engaging in anti-Semitic rhetoric. ("Zionists" is the magic word.) In the Middle East, however, there is little disincentive for people like Yusuf al Qaradawi and Morsi to engage in inflammatory rhetoric.

This is important to remember when we come to the Israeli-Palestinian issue. It is not really about land and who individually it belongs to. It is about religion. To Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, the entire Holy Land belongs to Muslims. The Palestinians are convenient pawns, and you will note that surrounding Arab nations have shown scant regard for assisting and assimilating these Palestinian refugees over the decades. In addition, not all Palestinians are Muslims; some are Christians, and some of them side with the other Palestinians against Israel-witness George S Rishmawi, a Christian Palestinian in the West Bank who co-founded the International Solidarity Movement. If Israel should fall, the Rishmawis of "Palestine", who are useful now, will see the same fate as their co-religionists in Egypt and elsewhere. The sad fact is that under these fundamentalist leaders like Morsi, Israel is unacceptable because it is Jewish.

The goal is clear; the entire Holy Land and any other land that can be conquered must be Islamic. Again, Morsi and his ilk are not following some mad vision of "Lebensraum" like Hitler.

It is in the texts.

But let's be fair; there are passages in Christian texts and Jewish texts that can be considered bad. When I read the entire First Testament a decade ago and read about Mose's trek across the desert and how God destroyed thousands of his enemies to clear the way for Moses and his people, I interpreted that to mean that there was a big battle and Moses won. I also reject that passage about how a father should stone a disobedient son to death. Similarly, my life is not influenced by the Crusades and what happened 700 years ago in a faraway land, who the good guys were and who the bad guys were.

Last year, I heard MPAC official Maher Hathout, a man now in his eighties, who devotes much of his writings to these issues, say at an event I attended that many (troubling) things in the Koran were appropriate to the time and situation  in which they were stated. If so, could we say that they are not appropriate to this time? If we can look at the wars of Mohammed vs non-Muslims, the time of Moses, and the Crusades and say, "It was all ancient history and should not apply to our relations today", are we not all better off?

I guess it depends on how much we want to follow the texts and apply them to our present lives.

Random Shots in the Dark (39)

No popular demand, but back anyway

Since Hillary Clinton is our newly crowned Jerk of the Year for 2012, it is only fitting that we begin with Her Nibs. Never mind that she coined the phrase that should be inscribed on her tombstone ("What difference, at this point, does it make?") She has walked away from her long-delayed congressional testimony on Benghazi with rave reviews from her legions of sycophants in the media and academia.  Witness Princeton's Anne-Marie Slaughter this week on CNN calling her "one of the greatest secretaries of state in history with her diplomatic triumphs with Russia, China and Libya....."

That's what she said. "She can do anything in the world," gushed Ms Slaughter. It was just as bad as all those Democrats on the Hill who prefaced their softball questions with tributes to Her greatness as She basked in the glow looking like Pavarotti singing the final note of "Nessun Dorma".


"Vincero, vincero, vinceroooooooo"

And vincere (win) she did since more than half of Congress, the American people, and 95% of the media are not interested in affixing accountability on the top dog at State who never received any cables from her close friend, "Chris" (Stevens) pleading for help.

"What difference at this point does it make?"

So I guess we should move on.

That brings us to John Heinz Kerry, who is about to fill Hillary's golden slippers as SecState after breezing through hearings with his current colleagues.  Why who would make a finer secretary of state than the guy who, over the years, has compared his Vietnam comrades and today's troops to "Jenjiz" Khan, college dropouts, and terrorizers of Iraqi women and children in the dead of night respectively?

(That's Congress on the right)

Kerry is clearly the right choice because we need a French speaker to coordinate with the French, who are now the leaders of the free world.  It will be Kerry who will be leading our diplomatic efforts from behind and doing what we can to help them out in places like Timbuktu, Mali. He will also be responsible for keeping Hillary's promise to track down whomever is responsible for the Benghazi attacks (if he can get past the Egyptians, Tunisians, Libyans, Turks, and all the other governments who are not cooperating.) He also needs to find proper jobs to fit the abilities of the 4 State Department officials who were sent on leave in the wake of Benghazi. Maybe they can coordinate DEA's International Training program-something I used to work in, and which State funds. Or better yet, put them in charge of cocktail parties.

"Why didn't I think of that?"

Of all the agency and department heads who are not bailing out, I note that Janet Napolitano (2010 Jerk of the Year) is staying at her post. That's because she doesn't have a high-paying job offer. That's because she has demonstrated her gross incompetence. I mean would you give a job to this dolt?

Or maybe it is because she views her job as not yet finished in protecting the homeland. After all, her main project, getting the Dream Act passed, has not yet been realized, and we will not be safe until it is.

All of this, of course, is fading from the news because the big question across the country today is whether Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o was knowingly involved in some on-line love affair hoax in which he supposedly fell in love on-line with a woman he never met, never saw, never went to see in the hospital even though she was dying of leukemia etc. What's even more amazing is that Notre Dame itself fell for this fairy tale hook, line and sinker, as they relived the old legend of George Gipp all over again. It is as if Gipp was found living in Tahiti after the team had gone out and won one for the Gipper. Maybe they should exhume Gipp's grave. They might find out it was empty.

Speaking of dead people, Dianne Feinstein is back in the news.

She is introducing legislation to ban all assault weapons and magazines with dirty pictures, er more than ten rounds. Just this week she held a press conference with the requisite backdrop of compliant cops, children, concerned citizens, and organ grinders.

  

Go ahead, Dianne and pass it. Then a year from now count all the shooting deaths in Chicago, New Orleans, Detroit, Oakland, etc and tell me if you see a reduction.

And one other thing about Dianne. She is urging Hillary to run for president in 2016.

Piece of cake.

Speaking of crime, Eric Holder (2011 Jerk of the Year) is staying as attorney general. I guess he also has some unfinished business like closing down Fousesquawk and other unfriendly blogs as he escapes justice himself over Fast and Furious and his various lies and  cover ups.

(Hat tip Clean up ATF.org)

So bend over, America. We now have 4 more years of Obama to be followed by 8 years of Hillary Clinton. Former football coach, Lou Holtz, said it best the other day:

"The country's done for." 

I agree. I just hope and pray that there will be a "Random Shots in the Dark" 40th edition.

But we should always end on a positive note, n'est pas?

"Good news, mein Fuehrer. You don't have to go on those Sunday talk shows. We're sending Eva to do it."