An Open Letter to Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, UC Berkeley School of Law

A couple of weeks ago, I posted an article on a controversy at the UC Berkeley School of Law. Certain ethnic identity student groups within the law school had announced that they opposed inviting speakers to campus who were pro-Israel.

In the interest of defending free speech, Law School Dean Erwin Chemerinsky expressed disappointment in the action of these groups. My own reaction is that while I applaud his statements, in my view, he should not be surprised. Chemerinsky, a liberal, was previously dean of the UC Irvine Law School at the time I was a part-time teacher at the UC Irvine Extension. In my opinion, both law schools under Chemerinsky's leadership are little more than left-wing activist training grounds. Thus, it is a natural consequence that many within these law schools are marching arm in arm with pro-Palestinian agitators on campus, a nationwide phenomenon that has led to so much anti-Semitism on our campuses.

In that spirit, I have sent an email to Dean Chemerinsky expressing my views in the form of an open letter and inviting his response. It can be read below.

To Dean Erwin Chemerinsky

UC Berkeley School of Law

UC Berkeley 

Dear Dean Chemerinsky,

My name is Gary Fouse, and I am a former part-time teacher of English as a Second Language at UC Irvine Extension (1998-2016). Thus, I was working at UCI during your previous tenure at the UCI Law School. I should note at the outset that I am writing this in the form of an open letter since I intend to post the contents on my blog (https://garyfouse.blogspot.com). You are welcome to respond in any manner you choose, either on my blog or otherwise. 

I am writing to you concerning the recent controversy over the decision of certain law school student groups at UCB to exclude inviting speakers who are deemed Zionists. I have been following this story with interest since, as a gentile, I was active in fighting anti-Semitism on the UCI campus. It is my firm opinion from my own experiences and observations that the resurgence of anti-Semitism in the US in recent years is mostly due to the pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel movement on our college campuses. This has now metastasized to society in general, and it is my opinion that it is largely traceable to this controversy on campuses centered around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I recognize the fact that historically, as well as today, Jews are attacked from all directions, and I condemn anti-Semitism on the right as much as from any other direction.

I also realize that not all criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic, but much of it is if you follow the IHRA's (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) definition of anti-Semitism. I also recognize that there is the issue of free speech involved. I have no wish to silence the voices of the pro-Palestinian students and faculty, but rather to counter them.

I also believe that much of the discourse against Israel has crossed the line from legitimate criticism of Israel's policies to out-and-out Jew-hatred. I have seen it at UCI and heard it as well.  

I am aware that you have spoken out against this latest action by certain student groups within your law school. I commend you for it. But I have to frankly ask-what did you expect?

When you took on the job of heading the UCI Law School, you told a mostly Jewish audience in Orange Country that you would not have taken the job and moved your family there if you thought there was a problem of anti-Semitism on campus. I am paraphrasing your words, but I was present. I disagreed with you on that point then, and I disagree today. I have personally seen the images, the intimidation of Jewish students, the disruption of their events, and the out-and-out Jew hatred expressed by many of the invited speakers of the Muslim Student Union and Students for Justice in Palestine.

I was also troubled by the fact that the National Lawyer's Guild (NLG) had a student chapter at the UCI Law School. In May 2017, I personally spoke with a young lady during the annual week of attacking Israel at UCI. She told me she was a law student at UCI and was wearing the distinctive lime green cap of the NLG, which identified her as a "legal observer". Later that same week, I observed her accompanying a group of pro-Palestinian students as they disrupted a pro-Israel event. In fact, I videotaped the incident.

I also note from the NLG website that the UC Berkeley Law School has a similar NLG student chapter. The NLG was established in the 1930s as a legal arm of the Communist Party USA. Why any law school would want to have any association with them at all is beyond me. However, it only reinforced my view that the UCI Law School had a distinct leftist bent. That is all perfectly legal, of course, and protected by our Constitution, which you know as a noted Constitutional expert.

It appears that the philosophy of the UC Berkeley Law School is also to the left, which again, is your right. But that brings me to my point. There is an obvious alliance today between the pro-Palestinian forces and the left in the US. That is clearly manifested on our college campuses. Again, I appreciate your concern for the free speech rights of Jewish students who are being impacted by this latest action by student activists, but you should not be surprised at what is happening within your own law school. Frankly, I find it troubling that so many law students have such a view of equal rights under the law. It makes me wonder what they are being taught in class.

In closing, I return to my original points. It is not about whether these student groups have the right of free speech. They do. It is not about whether you or your law school support the Palestinian cause, Israel, or are divided on the issue. It is not about the UCB School of Law's philosophical positions. Ultimately, it is about what Jewish students are having to go through on the UCB campus as well as other campuses as a result of this highly organized pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel movement on campus, a movement that has led to a resurgence in anti-Semitism in this country. It has also led to bullying and intimidation of Jewish students and constant disruption of their events by people I can only describe as latter-day Brown Shirts. This is intolerable and university administrators are to be condemned for allowing it to get out of control and for not protecting their Jewish students. And make no mistake: I condemn the current and recent administrations of UC Irvine and UC Berkeley in this regard.

And with all due respect, Sir, if you want a leftist law school, that is your prerogative. But given the current alliance between the left and the pro-Palestinian movement and the resultant anti-Semitism that has followed, what did you expect? At the end of the day, it's your law school.

Sincerely,

Gary Fouse

France Must Justify Refusal of Repatriation Requests to European Court of Human Rights

Syrian prisoner camp

France, like many other Western countries, is grappling with the question of repatriating women of children who left the country to join their jihadist husbands/fathers who had gone to Syria to join and fight with ISIS. Now the European Court of Human Rights has condemned France in the case of two families who had unsuccessfully petitioned to have their women and children brought back to France.

The below article from the French daily, Le Monde, is translated by Fousesquawk.

 https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2022/09/14/rapatriements-de-familles-de-djihadistes-les-motifs-de-la-condamnation-de-la-france-par-la-cedh_6141628_3224.html

Repatriation of families of jihadists: The grounds for the condemnation of France by  European Court of Human Rights

Paris will now have to justify any refusals to repatriate the wives and children of jihadists detained in Syria. Their next-of-kin will be able to lodge appeals before an independent organization or a court.

By Christophe Ayad

Posted yesterday at 18:35, updated at 06:03

Wives and children waiting to be registered during an anti-terrorist operation at the Al Hol camp (Syria) on 12 September 2022.

The European Court of Human Rights on Wednesday, September 14, condemned France for not having justified the non-repatriation of two wives of jihadists and their children, whose next-of-kin had lodged two requests before the European court based in Strasbourg, on May 6,  2019 and October 7, 2020. 

This is a setback for the French state, which up to now, has repatriated families of jihadists on "a case-by-case basis" at its discretion without any transparency. However, the decision of the ECHR, adopted by a 14-3 vote, does not guarantee a "general right to repatriation" for the wives and children held in the NE Syrian camps.

The two applications had been submitted in the name of H. F. and M.F. as well as J.D. and A.D., two families who had requested in vain to Paris for the repatriation of their relatives, before resolving to turn to the European court, considering that their girls and small children were exposed to "inhuman and degrading" treatment in the Syrian camps.

Mexico: Update on House Arrest for Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo

Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo

We have previously reported on the pending release of Mexican drug cartel boss Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo from prison. A judge has determined that he should serve the remainder of his 40-year sentence under house arrest due to his age (76) and state of health. The Office of the Federal Prosecutor (FGR)  has objected.

Not being overly familiar with the Mexican system of justice, there seems to be a bit of confusion as to what is going to happen. For the moment, Felix Gallardo is still in prison. What apparently needs to be clarified is whether this decision to grant him house arrest only applies to his 40-year-sentence for offenses to (public) health, arms stockpiling, and bribery. He is also serving a 37-year sentence for his involvement in the 1985 kidnapping, torture, and murder of DEA agent Enrique Camarena and Mexican pilot Alfredo Zavala Avelar. Hopefully, the murder conviction will keep him behind bars.

The below article from today's Excelsior is translated by Fousesquawk.

 https://www.excelsior.com.mx/nacional/excarcelacion-de-felix-gallardo-trae-disputas-fgr-impugna-su-prision-domiciliaria/1539195?utm_source=portada&utm_medium=mostread&utm_campaign=main

Freeing of Felix Gallardo brings disputes. FRG* challenges his house arrest

*Fiscalia General de la Republica (Federal Prosecutor's Office)

A judge granted the benefit to the "Boss of Bosses" due to his advanced age and delicate state of health

Caption: Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, alias The Boss of Bosses, 76, is held in the Cereso de Puente Grande (prison).

The authorization by a judge for the narcotrafficker Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, the Boss of Bosses, age 76, to complete his prison sentence under house arrest has brought disputes with it.

It all began when the judge of the 7th District of Federal Criminal Trials, based in Mexico City, granted the benefit of house arrest to Felix Gallardo, ex-leader of the Guadalajara Cartel, only for the trial in which he was sentenced to 40 in prison for his responsibility in crimes against (public) health, stockpiling of arms, and bribery.

The measure was ordered in a ruling issued on September 7, nevertheless, the cartel boss remains in custody in the Puente Grande penitentiary in Jalisco. 

The above is due to (the fact that) it has not been clarified if the custodial sentence of 37 years in jail that Felix Gallardo faces for the homicide of DEA agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena Salazar and Mexican pilot Alfredo Zavala Avelar, in a trial based in Jalisco, was also changed. 

In his ruling, the judge in the 7th District of Federal Criminal Trials considered the deteriorated state of health that the cartel boss's defense succeeded in demonstrating.

To comply with the measure, once it goes into effect, Felix Gallardo must submit to the placement of a geolocator to confirm that he will not (leave) the residence provided to the judge.

Tweet by Ciro Gomez Leyva (Mexican news anchor)

Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, founder of the Guadalajara Cartel, will leave prison and will complete his sentence under house arrest. Authorities determined that his life expectancy is no more than three years. He will complete the rest of his 40-year sentence with an electronic bracelet.

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The objection presented by the FGR would prevent the execution of the order by the federal judge to grant conditional liberty to the ex-leader of the Guadalajara Cartel.

The Decentralized Administrative Body for Prevention and Social Readaptation, in charge of federal prison, has already been noticed of the legal appeal, despite the fact that it cannot intervene in a direct manner in the case of the (cartel) boss, (who is) originally from Sinaloa.

Meanwhile, the director general of Prevention and Social Reinsertion of Jalisco, Jose Antonio Perez, stated that they are waiting for the delivery of the electronic bracelet from the defense or the family of Felix Gallardo in order to comply with the decision by the federal judge who granted him house arrest. 

He added that the challenge by the FGR against the decision issued by the judge does not stop the release process of the (cartel) boss so that the process of a change of residence will be initiated in order that the sentence remaining will continue to be served. 

France: Man Arrested for Celebrating Terror Attack in Nice

Nice, France July 14, 2016

On July 14, 2016, Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, a 31-year-old Tunisian deliberately drove his truck into a crowd of people celebrating France's national day in Nice. A total of 86 people were killed. The attacker was killed by police. At this time, a trial is ongoing in Paris against 8 persons charged with aiding the terrorist.

Today, police in the French town of Auxerre in the Yonne Department arrested a 20-year-old man for disseminating hateful messages on social media against the victims of that attack and supporting the attack itself.

The below article from today's local French paper, L'Yonne, le Republicaine, is translated by Fousesquawk. 

 https://www.lyonne.fr/auxerre-89000/actualites/un-auxerrois-de-21-ans-interpelle-apres-un-tweet-haineux-a-l-egard-des-victimes-de-l-attentat-de-nice_14184496/

A resident of Auxerre, age 20, arrested after a  hateful message regarding the victims of the attack in Nice

Caption: The resident of Auxerre will be tried Wednesday, 14 September by the criminal court of Auxerre.

On the morning of Tuesday, September 13, The Auxerre police arrested a resident of Yonne* (Department in France) age 20, suspected of being the writer of a hateful message regarding the victims of the attack in Nice on social media. He will be tried  Wednesday, September 14 in an immediate appearance**, by the criminal court of Auxerre. The defendant had already been convicted for expressing support for terrorism in 2020.

A young resident of Auxerre was arrested Tuesday morning, September 13, 2022 for having written a hateful message on social media on August 28, 2022, regarding the victims of the attack at Nice. He is suspected of having disseminated images of the truck that killed 86 people on the Promenade des Anglais (street) on social media, accompanied by the phrase, "Nissa Sh--, 80 fascists disappeared".***

As indicated by our colleagues with Nice Matin (newspaper), the national prosecutor in Nice had ordered the "opening of an investigation for support of terrorism. In light of the "place of residence" of the alleged writer of the message, the prosecutor's office of Nice "withdrew (from the case) in favor of that of Auxerre," the national prosecutor of Auxerre, Hugues de Phily confirmed. The case was assigned to the Judiciary Police of Auxerre, who carried out the arrest of the defendant Tuesday morning in the city center of Auxerre. 

(Tweet by Christian Estrosi-Mayor of Nice)

"A few days from the start of the trial, some ignoble messages making reference to the attack on Nice are spread on social media. We are turning it over to the prosecutor. I call on the responsibility of those who disseminate (information).

I am thinking of the victims and their loved ones"

Insert above:  "Nissa Sh--, 80 fascists disappeared".

The defendant, already known to police, is facing 10 years imprisonment since he is legally a recidivist. In 2020, a tribunal condemned him for the same (offense).

Immediate appearance Wednesday**

The resident of Auxerre, age 20, was brought before the magistrates during the day and placed in pre-trial custody, in accordance with the motion of the representative of the public prosecutor. He is charged, precisely, "with having publicly expressed support for an act of terrorism". He will answer to these (charges) Wednesday afternoon within the framework of an immediate appearance.

A hearing before the criminal tribunal of Auxerre, which comes as the July 14 attack trial, expected to last three months, enters its second week in Paris.

Translator's notes:

* Note: The word, "Icaunais" refers to a resident of  Yonne Department. The old Latin word for Yonne is Icau.

** Immediate appearance refers to a legal provision in France whereby the case goes immediately to trial if the prosecutor's case is prepared. There are, of course, other conditions.

***Nissa is a reference to Nice's soccer team and its supporters.

Dept. of Education Opens Anti-Semitism Investigation at University of Vermont

University of Vermont

"On April 5, the TA wrote: “is it unethical for me, a TA, to not give zionists credit for participation???i feel like its good and funny, -5 points for going on birthright in 2018, -10 for posting a pic with a tank in the Golan heights, -2 points just cuz I hate ur vibe in general.” On April 15, she tweeted, “i’m trying to be lowkey on social media for ramadan and it’s going okay so far but [name redacted] keeps sending me Instagram posts from UVM Zionist Instagram accounts and I get the indelible surge to cyber bully and religion goes out the window. i never learn.” On May 11, she tweeted, “serotonin rush of bullying Zionists on the public domain.” In a May 11 post, the TA confirmed that her “next step is to make zionism . . . worthy of public condemnation.” According to her post, participating in a free [Birthright] trip to Israel, recognizing “both sides” of the Arab Israeli conflict, or merely stating that “my family lives in tel aviv” renders an individual “worthy of private and public condemnation.” 

"Later that fall, the UVM Hillel building was also targeted. A group of UVM students harassed Hillel residents by pelting students’ windows with small stones and then vandalizing the building with a sticky substance. When one student whose window had been pelted called out asking the perpetrators to stop, one of the students responsible for the rock throwing shouted, “Are you Jewish?”

-Louis D Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law

The Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights has announced it is opening an investigation into claims of anti-Semitism at the University of Vermont. The investigation involves claims by Jewish students that they were discriminated against in joining campus student clubs if they were supporters of Israel and that a teaching assistant openly suggested she would give lower grades to students she believed were Zionists. 

You can read the announcement of the investigation by the Louis D Brandeis Center for  Human Rights Under Law here. It is dated today (September 13). The Brandeis Center, along with Jewish on Campus, submitted the complaint to DOE.

The investigation by DOE/OCR was opened Tuesday (September 12). Today (September 13), the campus newspaper, the Vermont Cynic, in its final issue of the current school term, published an article about the perceived drop in campus inclusivity (a favorite academic term), but no there was no mention of anti-Semitism in the article. Nor was there any mention in the entire issue about the DOE investigation. Whether the editors were aware of this news involving DOE before they went to press, I do not know. The university administration most certainly was aware. It issued a statement on September 12.

This is not just a problem unique to the University of Vermont. It is a pervasive problem on campuses all over the nation, brought on by the despicable tactics of pro-Palestinian students and other agitators. The result has been not just demonization of Israel, but bullying and intimidation of Jewish students as well.

I included the part about the campus paper to bring out another aspect of the problem. I am trying to be fair to the young student writers and editors. It may very well be that they were not aware of this investigation being opened when they went to press. Yet, it is ironic that one day after the investigation was announced, the paper ran an article featuring complaints by certain students who felt a lack of "inclusivity" on campus. Yet, no mention was made of Jewish students' concerns, which must have been known even if the DOE action was not. It is instructive that so much attention is paid to certain groups' concerns about discrimination while the issue of campus anti-Semitism-the biggest problem in my view- gets little or no attention.

Katie Porter and UC Irvine

Let me state at the outset that I am not a fan of Katie Porter. A former professor in the UC Irvine Law School (which I have often criticized), Porter is making her mark as a US Congresswoman in Washington as a sort of liberal activist, a mini AOC if you will.

There is a story out of Los Angeles reported by KTLA (normally very politically-correct) that Porter may be improperly holding on to her home in University Hills, a UCI-operated housing area overlooking the UCI campus. I am cross-posting their article which came out just a few days ago.

As a former part-time teacher at UC Irvine from 1998-2016, I was not qualified to purchase a home in this area. ( I'm not griping. I have my own, with which I am very happy.) As the article explains, that is reserved for full-time educators at UCI. The article goes on to explain the rules of ownership, especially when one leaves the employment of UCI (other than retirement).

I know three former colleagues who are retired UCI teachers and who live in University Hills. I have had the occasion to visit the home of one of them. The neighborhood is in many ways typical of Southern California upper-middle-class neighborhoods.  They are sufficiently spacious and comfortable, but I have not seen any that I would call ostentatious or a mansion. Definitely upper-middle-class. Of course, it is hard to qualify homes in Southern California in comparison to those around the country-especially as to cost.

So given the fact that Katie Porter is now serving her second two-year term in Washington, there is question over whether she is violating the conditions for owning a home in University Hills. It appears to be a complicated question given the complexities of a Washington-based politician who is representing a district back home, in this case, California. I won't try to be the judge here, but I do want to make one point. Porter, like so many of her colleagues on both sides of the aisle, has presented herself as a crusader taking on this or that special interest. I recall the time in April 2019 when she was grilling a bank president called to testify before Congress. Porter was telling the bank executive (Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan) about one of her constituents, a single mom named "Patricia", who worked for the bank, lived in Irvine, California, and was having a hard time making ends meet on her paltry salary.  The liberal media had a field day reporting how Dimon squirmed and struggled for answers as Porter rattled off a list of possible remedies that Dimon could suggest for "Patricia".

It was only the next day while being questioned on CNN about the exchange and asked some specific questions about "Patricia's " situation, that Porter revealed that there was no Patricia, She was a "representative of a number of constituents.....". "....there are many thousands and thousands, and tens of thousands of Patricias out there," said Porter.

"When asked by CNN’s Brooke Baldwin whether the bank teller she described would want to communicate with Dimon, Porter replied, “Patricia is a representative of a number of constituents that we’d heard from.”

“So there is no Patricia out there,” Porter said, adding, “but in the other way, there are thousands and thousands, and tens of thousands of Patricias out there.”

Was that a trick she learned at UC Irvine's Law School? (Porter is a bankruptcy lawyer by trade.)

By the way, the planned city of Irvine, only incorporated in 1971 with land from the old Irvine Ranch, is a quite prosperous community. It's not Newport Beach, which is next door, but there are no poor neighborhoods.

Katie Porter may be able to satisfactorily explain her right to maintain her house in University Hills. But I view her with extreme skepticism when it comes to her image as a crusader for the common person.

PS: I know this young lady, a single mom named Patricia. She is just gotten her PhD in education and has landed a teaching gig at UCI. She would like to buy a home in University Hills but has been told there are none available. I wonder what Katie Porter would advise her.

Just kidding. There is no Patricia. There's just Katie Porter.

Mexico: Judge Grants House Arrest to Cartel Leader/Murderer, Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo

Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo

As Rafael Caro Quintero is fighting extradition to the US for the 1985 kidnap, torture, and murder of DEA agent Enrique Camarena and Mexican pilot Alfredo Zavalar Avelar, another major participant in that hideous crime, Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, is being released from prison by order of a Mexican judge, and he will be confined under house arrest after being in prison for more than three decades.

The below article from today's Excelsior is translated by Fousesquawk. 

 https://www.excelsior.com.mx/nacional/miguel-angel-felix-gallardo-dan-prision-domiciliaria-al-jefe-de-jefes/1539046

Judge grants house arrest for Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo

Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, ex-leader of the Guadalajara Cartel, will leave Puente Grande prison in Jalisco.

Caption: Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo was in prison since April 1989

Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, the "boss of bosses" and ex-leader of the Guadalajara Cartel, will leave the prison of Puente Grande, Jalisco because a judge granted him house arrest.

Given his advanced age and state of health, the judge decided to change the (level of custody) for Felix Gallardo, who has been in custody since April 1989 for his participation in the 1985 kidnapping and murder of Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, DEA agent and Mexican pilot, Alfredo Zavalar Avelar.

In August 2021, Felix Gallardo gave his first interview in prison, in which he appeared in a wheelchair, blind in one eye and deaf. The so-called "boss of bosses" confessed that his health "was terrible" and that he had no (prospects) for life.  

Felix Gallardo, who has been in custody more than 30 years, had already previously petitioned for house arrest given the deterioration of his health, nevertheless, until now, the petition had been denied.

In February 2019, a federal tribunal denied him (judicial relief) in order to complete the rest of his 37-year-old sentence at home.

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Fousesquawk comment: 

This is a gut punch to the entire DEA family, both active and retired. An impartial reader might say, based on the information in the above article, that this action is, for lack of better words, the reasonable and human thing to do. I entirely disagree.

As a retired DEA agent who never had the privilege to meet Enrique Camarena and who was never stationed in Mexico (My wife is Mexican), I still feel outrage over what happened to him and Mr Zavalar in 1985. Over the course of days, they were subjected to torture so horrific that it defies any human understanding. The men responsible for these two murders should never see the light of day, no matter how old (Felix Gallardo is 76), how sick, how many years they have served, or how close they may be to death. 

Mexico has no death penalty, and frankly, their entire judicial and penal system has long been rife with corruption. This entire, decades-long saga has been a blot on the government of Mexico. I don't mean to sound like I am preaching because, in the past several years, I have been shocked and appalled at the political corruption that has exploded in our own country. Nonetheless, we can only hope and pray that Mexico will apply proper justice to the perpetrators of those unspeakable murders of Enrique Camarena and Alfredo Zavalar Avelar. Our own government should never stop seeking the extradition of these vicious criminals as another avenue of bringing justice. Nobody who was involved in this atrocity should ever be allowed to walk free again.

Spain: Police Foil Terror Plot

Empuriabrava, Spain

Spanish police in Catalunya have arrested a Moroccan man they say was preparing to carry out a terrorist attack. The below article is not exactly clear as to the sequence of events, but checking other Spanish sources, I found that last May, police had searched an apartment the suspect was connected to and found a grenade from the Spanish Civil War. The man was put under investigation and surveillance which indicated that he had become self-radicalized and his increasingly aggressive behavior led them to believe he was prepared to carry out a terrorist attack on Spanish soil. He was arrested on September 2.

The below article from the Spanish daily, El Periodico, is translated by Fousesquawk.

 https://www.elperiodico.com/es/sociedad/20220905/detenido-cometer-atentado-terrorista-catalunya-girona-14425259

Arrested in Empuriabrava a man ready to commit a jihadist attack in Catalunya.

The man, who was found in possession of a Civil War grenade last May, will be expelled to Morocco.

The Catalunyan police arrested a Moroccan resident of Empuriabrava (Girona) ready to commit an attack in Spain. This is a man who had already completed his process of jihadist radicalization, which, stressed an inspector of the General Commissariat of Investigation of the Catalan police in statements to El Periodico, that he had integrated the arguments defending the use of violence against those he considers enemies and had the intent to carry out a violent act.

"The threat of violent actions has changed a great deal," notes the same police source alluding to the ease that the digital environment has given to the propagandists of violent ideologies, such as jihadism and white nationalism. Now it is no longer necessary for the existence of a cell in permanent contact with a central organization, like what happened in the case of Al Qaeda.  And the cases of self-radicalized individuals, like the person arrested in Empuriabrava, are frequent. Without any contact with the Islamic State, he had come to his positions and himself had the same intent to travel to countries in conflict.  

A (grenade) from the Civil War

In a (raid)  carried out on an occupied residence in Empuriabrava, Catalan police found an explosive from the (Spanish) Civil War. The owner of this grenade, a man aged 30, also had various knives. His identifying data came into the hands of investigators, who put the magnifying glass on him.

When it could be verified that this involved a radicalized individual, who had changed his appearance and adopted more aggressive behavior, the National Court was advised. And police surveillance was activated to avoid that he would commit an attack before being arrested. In a statement this Monday, the Catalan Police stressed that, "at no time was there a risk to the public".

Last September 2, he was arrested and by order of the National Court, interned in an Internment Center for Foreigners (Cie) pending a process of expulsion for national security. The decision, which fits within that provided by law, is surprising because it also implies the loss of (visual) control of a suspect the Catalan police consider to be sufficiently radicalized to carry out an attack. 

The arrestee defended jihadist ideological ideas-that are a distortion of Islam- and as well as giving the impression of wanting to carry out an attack, also carried out, " an intense process of massive dissemination of content" to other persons to motivate them to take the same step. 

The (Catalunya) Minister of Interior, Joan Ignasi Elena, warned that "the terrorist threat continues all over Europe," assured that all the resources necessary to protect the public will be utilized and congratulated the Catalan police for their work.

The Catalan police remind the citizens that if there are indications or suspicions related to terrorism, they should communicate them through 937285220 or email mossos.terrorismo@gencat.cat

Abbott and Costello Discussing Joe Biden

 

"Hey, Bud, they say Joe Biden has lost his fastball."

"That's  right, Lou, but even when he had his fastball, he could never find the plate."

UC Berkeley Law School Controversy: "Protecting the Welfare and Safety of Palestinian Students on Campus"

Sather Gate, UC Berkeley

Up in Berkeleyland, it's not just the UC Berkeley Law School. There are at least 9 identity-politics groups within the law school including the Berkeley Law Students for Justice in Palestine, a bunch of future lawyers who don't believe in our constitutional right of free speech.

At any rate, 9 such groups, including the above, have decided they will not invite any speakers to campus who support Zionism (or, in other words, the right of Israel to exist). It is their legal opinion that they need to "protect the welfare and safety of Palestinian students on campus."

Protect them from what-ideas that they don't like?

The College Fix has the story:

 https://www.thecollegefix.com/uc-berkeley-school-of-law-groups-ban-zionist-speakers/

I am frankly surprised that UCB Law School Dean Erwin Chemerinsky is so out of sorts on the issue. I mean, what did he expect?

Chemerinsky, a liberal guy who is considered (at least by liberals) to be one of the outstanding constitutional experts in the land, was previously dean of the law school at UC Irvine until a few years ago. (He was the first dean of UCI's newly-created law school.) Under Chemerinksy's reign, his school  was basically a training ground for future activist lawyers. They even had a chapter of the radical left National Lawyers Guild (NLG) affiliated with the law school. Their LA chapter director, James Lafferty, appeared at UCI to speak against the Jewish state of Israel.  While I was a part-time teacher at UCI and afterward, student members wearing those distinctive lime green NLG baseball caps would act as "legal observers" for the campus SJP/Muslim Student Union rascals as they disrupted pro-Israel events on campus including in my presence. Chemerinsky, however,  has been in denial. Just prior to taking over his duties at UCI, he told a largely Jewish audience (I was also present) in Orange County that he never would have moved from Duke University to UCI if he thought there was a problem of anti-Semitism at the campus.

But there was.

That leads me to wonder why some people think it is Palestinian students who need protection on campus rather than Jewish students. We have seen on campuses all over the nation how Jewish students are subjected to bullying, disruption, and intimidation by the forces of the Palestinian movement. A few years ago, just across the bay at San Francisco State University, students from the General Union of Palestinian Students (GUPS) were openly expressing their fantasies of killing or stabbing Israeli soldiers. I have still yet to hear of Jewish students who support Israel engaging in that kind of violence and intimidation of pro-Palestinian students. "Protecting the welfare and safety of Palestinian students"? Give me a break.

Hillary Wow's 'em in Venice and Morocco

                                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                                

"Le Matin is raving!"

Hillary Clinton is back in the headlines-at least in Morocco, where she was given rave reviews for showing up at the Venice Film Festival wearing a Moroccan caftan, which I guess is an  Arabic word meaning tent. According to the below report, Hillary was given some award named after Diane von Furstenberg to "reward and support extraordinary women".

And who is Diane von Furstenberg? You don't wanna know.

Hillary's erstwhile hubby, Bill, was even there, probably the first time they've been together all year.

The below article from today's French-language Moroccan daily, Le Matin, is translated by Fousesquawk.

 https://lematin.ma/express/2022/mostra-venise-larrivee-remarquee-hillary-clinton-caftan/380389.html

Venice Film Festival: The remarkable arrival of Hillary Clinton in a caftan

Le Matin, September 2, 2022, 19:04

The Moroccan touch in the middle of the Venice Film Festival. Exhibited by the former American first lady, who made a remarkable appearance during the opening ceremony of the 79th edition of the festival with a Moroccan caftan.

Hillary Clinton opted for a hazy sky-blue caftan robe to walk the red carpet at the Venice Film Festival. She was acclaimed by the public present at the scene. The former American secretary of State participated in the event as part of the Dvf awards, created by Diane von Furstenberg in 2010, which rewards and supports extraordinary women.

The Inflation Reduction Act-Romanian Style

 A Fousesquawk creation

A spoof on the last public appearance of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaucescu and his wife, Elena.