"The statue on the right is of what famous female?" (Attention, feminists: More choices) a Catherine the Great b Lady Godiva c Zena-Warrior Princess d Joan of Arc e Annie Oakley f Hillary Clinton-45th president of the United States g Dale Evans Answer: What difference, at this point, does it make?
"What difference at this point does it make?"
Saeed Abedini, an American pastor originally from Iran, has been in Iranian custody living under a possible death sentence, essentially for practicing his Christian faith.. He has now been sentenced to 8 years. His family is asking why the State Department has not been more forceful in trying to secure his release from these trumped-up charges.
"Earlier this month, State Department officials referred questions about Abedini from FoxNews.com to the U.S. National Security Council." What??!! When an American is being held in a foreign country, the first agency involved is the State Department. What does the National Security Council have to do with this?
Since Iran and the US broke off diplomatic relations during the hostage crisis, US diplomatic interests have been conducted by the Swiss.
One might ask how much religious freedom non-Muslims have in Iran. Tricky question. "People of the Book" (Christians and Jews) are recognized as "legitimate" religions under the law while the Baha'i are not and are badly persecuted in Iran. In light of Abedini's (and others') treatment it seems obvious that the reality is something else.
According to that nutty Iranian apologist, Neturei Karta rabbi Ysroel Dovid Weiss, Jews are protected and treated well in Iran. I don't buy that. Weiss is buddy buddy with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and defends him because he is fervently anti-Israel, as is Weiss and his Neturei Karta sect. I wonder what Rabbi Weiss has to say about all this.
But once again, the question of the day is, "Where is the secretary of state?"
Arab Lesbians Against Hate is an interesting site, which I have linked here at Fousesquawk. I missed it originally, but here is a posting in November regarding Shaima Alawadi, the woman from Iraq who was murdered in El Cajon, California. Her husband is now charged with her murder.
Take my word for it as one who has been to Prague. Czech beer is right up there with German beer. The report that it is cheaper than water makes my mouth, well, water.
Now comes some government hack who wants to change all that. What is this guy, a Democrat?
Hat tip Discover the Networks, Jihad Watch, and Islamic Counter Terrorism
I am cross-posting an article from Discover the Networks that traces the history of the Muslim Student Association in North America. The article itself does not bear a date, but links to other articles indicate this one was posted no earlier than 2011.
This past week, the Muslim Student Union at UC Irvine held a "Muslim Awareness Week-Meet the Muslim Next Door". On Tuesday, the featured speaker was none other than Hussam Ayloush, head of CAIR's Southern California chapter. I did not attend, so I cannot speak as to what he said. However, according to Jihad Watch, Ayloush was involved in a demonstration in front of the Israeli consulate in Los Angeles on October 22, 2000 in which some pretty disturbing things were said about Jews.
"On August 27, 1999, MSA UCLA collaborated with such groups as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and theMuslim Public Affairs Council to sponsor a "Protest Against the Use of Secret Evidence" in federal terrorism investigations. Among the speakers at this Los Angeles event were Abdul-Alim Musa, who wishes to see Islam "dominate" all other faiths, and Hussam Ayloush of CAIR-Southern California." As stated above, another speaker at this protest was none other than the vile anti-American, anti-Semitic, pro-Iranian Imam Abdul Alim Musa-formerly Clarence Reams, convicted narcotics trafficker. This lovely fellow publicly stated at UC Irvine in my presence a few years back that Islam was going to take over the US. "We want it all," he said. He has also been quoted as saying that "if we don't get what we want, we'll burn America down." http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=2087 Not the kind of guy you would want living next door. Why would Ayloush lower himself to appear at the same event as co-speaker with Abdul Alim Musa? CAIR is supposed to be a moderate organization, right? Yet, the UCI MSU drags in this guy (Ayloush) to paint a positive image of Islam to the university community.
This past week of events was intended to convince non-Muslims at UCI that they have nothing to fear from the "Muslim next door". In most cases, that is certainly true as I can attest myself. The problem is that MSU keeps bringing in speakers who can't pass the smell test because of their history of questionable statements and questionable associations. Anyone who associates with Abdul Alim Musa is nobody I would want living next door.
"Ladies and gentlemen; here is today's million dollar question:"
"What the Hell happened today in Afghanistan?"
a The Afghani parliament passed a bill of rights
b A more effective treatment for HIV was discovered.
c A new beltway around Kabul was opened.
d A suicide bomber blew himself up killing 10 police officers.
In case you have not noticed, France, the leader of the free world, is now following up its great victory in Libya with military actions against jihadist fighters in the former French African colony of Mali. That doesn't sit too well with folks in Egypt who see it as another attack against Islam. Below, from MEMRI-TV via Atlas Shrugs, is a video of a protest a week ago in Cairo. Note that at one point, the protesters are chanting that traditional favorite, "Khaybar, Khaybar- oh, Jew. The armies of Mohammed are here."
So as you can plainly see, behind it all is the eternal Jew who is responsible for all the ills that plague the Islamic world. Even if there are no Jews there.
This week, Sohail Daulatzai was one of the featured speakers at UC Irvine, hosted by the Muslim Student Union as part of their annual Muslim Awareness Week. The theme of the week's events was, "Meet the Muslim next door". Daulatzai, who teaches African-American Studies at UCI, spoke on "Return of the Mecca: Muslims, Multi-Culturalism and the Enduring Legacy of Malcolm X".
Due to family illness, I was unable to attend the event. However, I was able to learn a few details about Dr Daulatzai. He was born somewhere on the Pakistan, Afghanistan border (not further specified) came to the US with his parents and grew up somewhere on the US-Mexican border (not further specified).
"For to be black in America is enough to be deemed un-American, but to be black and Muslim is to be anti-American" "In Cairo, Malcolm implored the heads of state not to be fooled by the "imperialist wolf" of the US or the State Department's attempts to use propaganda to convince African nations that the United States was making serious progress toward racial equality through Brown v Board and the passage of Civil Rights legislation." "In highlighting the use of propaganda and the managing of America's image abroad, Malcolm anticipated not only how after 9/11 the State Department would place Muslims in high profile positions in the arts and political realms to influence Muslim public opinion abroad, but also how the election of Obama and the rhetoric of "diversity" would be used to redefine America as inclusive, "post-racial" and progressive in order to mask the entrenchment of white power domestically and globally". "While Obama went to Egypt to co-opt this sacred city and put a benevolent face on American power, Malcolm had been there to strip away the veneer of benevolence and reveal the naked truth about US racial injustice and imperial ambition. This is why the legacy of Malcolm X is so important, as it sheds light on the racial dynamics that shape the global landscape today under US power." "Just as "anti-communism" was a proxy for race during the Cold War, "anti-terrorism" has become the new proxy for race and the re-entrenching of white supremacy by justifying US intervention abroad while also containing dissent domestically, as the logic of "terrorism" is used to determine who is a citizen and who is an enemy, who is human and who is not, and who is to be killed and who is allowed to live". "It's the recognition that the logic of mass incarceration in the US that has destroyed black political possibility and contained dissent through local policing and counter-insurgency is also what drives the US military and its imperial imprisonment in Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, Bagram and other places. It's the recognition that the plight of migrants across the heavily militarised US-Mexico border resembles the conditions that contain and destroy Palestinian lives and livelihood. And it's the recognition that the neoliberal economic policies that have destroyed the social wage and witnessed the emergence of the warfare state in the US is deeply rooted in the exploitation of the third world through global finance capital and war." "To ignore this falls into the worst forms of liberal internationalism that presume the US to be a force for good in the world, and it replicates the very problem that Malcolm X heroically struggled against, and was ultimately killed for." (emphasis mine)
I'll stop there. I think you get the point. It appears obvious that Dr Daulatzai doesn't have a very high opinion of his adopted country. He also seems to think that nothing has changed (racially) in America since the time of Malcolm X. Of course, I doubt seriously that Daulatzai was here at the time.
It is bad enough that Daulatzai is teaching college kids that America is such an evil nation, but when he suggests that Malcolm X was killed because of his criticism of the US and its policies, that is a flat-out falsehood.
Sorry, Doctor. You have been watching too many Spike Lee movies and buying into too many conspiracy theories. Malcolm X was murdered by the Nation of Islam on the orders of Elijah Mohammed (never charged) because he become a Sunni Muslim, had broken with the organization, was publicly critical of it, and was exposing Elijah's corruption and illicit sexual relations. Malcolm's widow, Betty Shabazz, spent the remainder of her life believing that the current leader of the Nation of Islam, Louis Farrakhan, was involved in the conspiracy to kill Malcolm.
This is the problem, folks. This is what our children are being taught in American universities-that their country is inherently evil and has not changed racially since the 1950s and 1960s. Daulatzai refers to the fear of communism driving the US's international policies. Let's put it another way since I also grew up during the Cold War. After World War 2, we were locked in a struggle with the USSR for our freedoms and the freedom of the world. From Korea to Vietnam to Nicaragua, you can criticize the policies in retrospect, but it has to be done within the context of the Cold War. Had the USSR prevailed in that struggle, who would be living in freedom today? In fact, were it not for the US and our military, who would be living in freedom today?
Personally, it makes me sick that we have professors like Daulatzai in our universities. At the risk of sounding jingoistic, I will even say that if Daulatzai has so little regard for his adopted country, as reflected in the above article, why doesn't he go back to that place on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border from which he came? Surely, he would have little problem in finding like-minded friends.
And how ironic that the MSU's theme for the week was, "Meet the Muslim next door." I feel sorry for whomever is unfortunate to be living next door to Sohail Daulatzai.
This week, Zahra Billoo, the executive director of CAIR in San Francisco, came to speak at UC Irvine (see post) as part of the Muslim Student Union's "Islamic Awareness Week". Coincidentally, Billoo is featured in the below video explaining the meaning of Jihad, which, in her words, means "struggle" to be a better person and better Muslim as opposed to engaging in Islamic holy war.
On Wednesday this week, Imam Muzammil Siddiqi also spoke at UCI. His topic was "Jihad-The struggle for peace". Unfortunately, I could not be present. I would have loved to hear that one. As reported on this site many times, Siddiqi, arguably the most important Islamic religious leader in the US and enjoys a reputation as a "bridge builder." In reality, he has a long history of questionable statements and questionable associations. He has also refused to sign the Freedom Pledge from Former Muslims United (FMU) asking Islamic leaders in America to sign a simple statement that apostates in the US should not be harmed. (Only two out of some 200 have signed.)
According to Islamic texts, the Prophet Mohammed is reported to have said upon returning from battle, "The lesser jihad is done. Now it is time for the greater jihad." That would mean that war is the lesser jihad while the struggle to be a better Muslim is the greater jihad.
Today's headline in the Orange County Register announces that the so-called "Irvine 11', the arrogant students who were convicted of disrupting a speech by the Israeli ambassador to the US at the University of California at Irvine, have filed an appeal.
Never mind that they were not sentenced to any jail time for their outrageous conduct. These characters want total vindication.
Last year, four of these young men returned to UCI to participate in a panel as part of the Muslim Student Union's anti-Israel week of events. They expressed no remorse when confronted with the fact that they could not extend the same right of free speech to the Israeli ambassador that they enjoyed at UCI as they spoke.
As their point of justification, they responded that Michael Oren (the Israeli ambassador) was a "war criminal" even though they had no solid grounds to back up that charge.
Make no mistake: These young men gave a black eye to UCI (one of them was a UC Riverside student.) They also gave a black eye to the Muslim community as a whole. They showed that they could not tolerate speech from someone with whom they do not agree. They showed that they could not listen and participate in a courteous question and answer session. Instead, they tried to shut down the words of the Israeli ambassador. Videotapes showed that they thought they had succeeded in doing exactly that in the moments after the disruption. They lied to the university about their intentions and tried to cover up their plans to disrupt the speech.
Keep in mind, most of these former students were either born in America or are American citizens. Yet, they have no concept of the principles of freedom of speech.
I try to respect the line between one who teaches at UCI and the students. As such, I hold back a lot of fire when it comes to students. These young men are now departed from UCI, so I feel no such compunction.
This week, the Muslim Student Union at UC Irvine is hosting their annual Muslim Awareness Week with a series of presentations. The theme of this week's events is, "Meet the Muslim Next Door". On Tuesday and Wednesday, the speakers were Hussam Ayloush, the director of CAIR in Southern California, UC Irvine professor Sohail Daulatzai, Sheikh Osman Umarji, and Imam Muzammil Siddiqi. I was not able to attend the above events. On Thursday, I attended a presentation by the Executive Director of CAIR in San Francisco, Zahra Billoo, who spoke on the topic of women's rights in Islam. Billoo is an outspoken activist most noted for the time when her office issued a poster urging Muslims not to talk to the FBI.
The speech was attended by about 50 people, almost all Muslim students, mostly female. The women and men sat on separate sides of the room. In addition, there were a few non-Muslim students in attendance who seemed to be accompanied by a female professor who was having them write reports. The event was also in conjunction with "wear a hijab" day, in which non-Muslim females would sign up to wear a hijab during the day and report their experiences that evening at another event headed by Ms. Billoo ( I did not attend this event.) The MSU was video-taping the speech, and I noted another female student intermittently taking pictures or recording video shots.
Nevertheless, a couple of minutes after Ms Billoo began her talk (I was videotaping), a male MSU student came up to me and told me politely that no video-taping was allowed. I responded politely but firmly that this issue at UCI had been decided a few years previous (when state legislator Chuck DeVore came to an MSU event and was told not to videotape), and that it was very clear that this was a public event at a public university, and that I had every legal right to videotape. At this point, the young man backed down and politely asked me to change seats (from the front to the rear, where I would not be a distraction). I agreed, changed my seat to the rear, and kept filming (see first segment, first minute).
In her talk, Billoo spoke of the "spiritual equality" of women under Islam. She described how in pre-Islamic times in the Arabian peninsula, women had very few rights. This changed under Mohammed and Islam, according to Billoo.
Billoo spoke of how men and women, indeed, have different makeups, physically and in terms of their responsibilities. She told us that the Prophet Mohammed had said that women should be educated.
As to marital rights, Billoo conceded that men could have up to four wives (before Islam, it was much higher). She said that while a wife could not stop her husband from having other wives, she could leave the marriage if she wished. A Muslim woman also had the right to agree to a marital partner.
As to intermarriage, she said that Muslim men could marry women from the "religions of the book" (Christian or Jewish). Women did not have the same rights except under certain circumstances where no Muslim men were available.
During her talk, she made note of the fact that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta had this week announced that women could now serve in combat in the US armed forces. Billoo had mixed feelings about this since on the one hand, in Mohammed's time, women had fought in combat, but on the other hand, she had negative feelings about recent US military action conducted, "not in our name".
In the question and answer session, I was called on first. I referred to the theme of the week's events, "(Meet the Muslim next door"), and stated that I had a Muslim family as neighbors a couple of doors down. I said that I was sure that if the FBI came knocking on their door asking for information, they would happily provide them with any information they had since, like most American Muslims, they didn't want any more 9-11s or any other acts of terrorism. Yet, here was CAIR in San Francisco coming up with a flyer (which I drew from my pocket and showed her and the audience) in which CAIR was advising the Muslim community not to talk to the FBI. I added that in my view, this only increased the level of suspicion toward the Muslim community when the largest Muslim organization in America was advising the community not to talk to the FBI. In the second part of the question, I asked if she could tell us the punishment for adultery under (hudud) sharia law. (Hudud is the section which provides criminal penalties.)
Billoo replied that the flyer in question had been created decades ago and had been used by many activist organizations. She advised that CAIR (national) had not endorsed that the flyer since it "did not represent appropriate legal advice". Yet, she added that the US Constitution insured that every citizen had the right to remain silent and have legal representation when questioned by law enforcement (see second segment).
As to the second question, Billoo said that the laws against adultery in Islam applied to both men and women, and an accusation of adultery required 4 eye-witnesses, which she added was, in practical terms, almost an impossibility. In the end, she stated that for both men and women, the penalty for adultery was death by stoning (see second segment).
Last November, a young American student of Chinese origin was attacked on a Copenhagen city bus by a group of youths "of other ethnic origin". Note that the local news has no problem identifying the ethnic origin of the victim, but when it comes to the perps, well that is a different story. Here is the video.
There must be an explanation for this.
I got it. The young men of "other ethnic origin" had just read Hans Christian Andersen's, "The Ugly Duckling" as part of their assimilation training and they were merely attempting to become better Danes.
Born 1945 in Los Angeles. Worked from 1998-2016 as adjunct teacher at University of California at Irvine Ext. teaching English as a second language.
Served three years in US Army Military Police at Erlangen, Germany 1966-68.
1970-1973- Criminal Investigator with US Customs
1973-1995 Criminal investigator with Drug Enforcement Administration. Stationed in Los Angeles, Bangkok, Milan, Italy, Pittsburgh and Office of Training, FBI Academy, Quantico, Va. until retirement.
Author of Erlangen-An American's History of a German Town-University Press of America 2005,
The Story of Papiamentu- A Study in Slavery and Language, University Press of America, 2002, and
The Languages of the Former Soviet Republics-Their History and Development, University Press of America, 2000.