That Big Anti-Trump Rally in NY in November

It was organized by Russian trolls!

What a proud day it was for Americans who were not happy with the election of Donald Trump. They turned out by the thousands on November 12, 2016 in front of Trump Tower in New York. Michael Moore, the dim-witted movie maker, was there charging that Trump was  a puppet of the Russians. The only thing missing was Borat himself.

Turns out, however, that the protest was organized by Russian trolls in St Petersburg. This is the same bunch, 13 of whom were indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller  just in the past few days.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/02/20/michael-moore-participated-in-anti-trump-rally-allegedly-organized-by-russians.html

Here is the deal. The nefarious Russians, who were holed up in some troll cellar in St Petersburg, were spreading bad stuff about Hillary before the election and bad stuff about Trump after the election. In reality, the conspiracy began back in 2014 according to the indictment. In fact, these trolls were infesting Facebook and Twitter playing Americans off against each other in a range of issues. The Obama Justice Department knew it was happening and did nothing about it.

"Some Defendants, posing as U.S. persons and without revealing their Russian association, communicated with unwitting individuals associated with the Trump Campaign and with other political activists to seek to coordinate political activities." (page 4)

That's interesting, especially in light of the fact that Dep. Atty General Rod Rosenstein, when announcing the indictments, stated that there was no allegation in the indictments that any US persons were involved.

How the Russians must be laughing at us.

Now It's Halal Tacos

Part of the strategy of US-based Islamists* is to establish links with other ethnic minorities under the narrative that they are all oppressed minorities. We have seen how Islamists in Southern California have forged relationships with Japanese-American organizations like the highly-respected Japanese American Citizens League which jointly organize annual tours to places like Manzanar in the California desert, where Japanese-Americans were interned during World War II. To me this is nothing more than  cynical exploitation of a true injustice in American history by raising the specter that Muslim Americans might someday be interned as well, something that no serious person has ever discussed.

Similarly, organizations like CAIR have been quick to link up with Black Lives Matter and other black groups and enroll them in the anti-Israel campaign portraying Palestinians as similar victims of oppression.

Now it's halal tacos. Below is an article for NPR by Gustavo Arellano, a leftie writer for the Orange County Weekly.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/02/08/584057034/building-a-latino-muslim-coalition-with-tacotrucksateverymosque?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social

"Dismissed people are longing for a space in these divisive times," says Hamida, a staffer for Los Angeles-area Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, a Democrat. "And they're doing it in a delicious way."

Cristina Garcia??? She is currently in the headlines for something other than tacos.

And yes. Garcia was one of those "silence-breakers" featured in Time Magazine in December for fighting back against sexual harassment.

But the issue of Islamists reaching out to forge ties with Hispanics is not new. Here is an article from the OC Weekly about this from 2016. Note the cynical use of Andalus(ia) to ingratiate themselves with Hispanics.

https://www.ocweekly.com/mark-gonzales-bridges-muslim-and-latino-worlds-at-valley-hs-in-santa-ana-7011219/

There is nothing wrong with various minorities getting know each other and forge friendships. Yet, I sense that there is something cynical going on here. In both articles the commonality of being oppressed or "dismissed" peoples is acknowledged.

*Islamists  I use this term deliberately to distinguish those who wish to advance the cause of Islamic domination, even by peaceful means, as opposed to everyday Muslims. The distinction is an important one.

Shakeel Syed Wants Tariq Ramadan Freed

Tariq Ramadan is a Swiss-born Islamic activist whose grandfather, Hassan al Banna, was a founder of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. Ramadan, who is now on leave from his teaching duties at Oxford University, is in jail in France charged with rape.

Naturally, Southern California-based Muslim activist, Shakeel Syed, who formerly championed the lost legal cause of the so-called Irvine 11, thinks that Ramadan should be released. Syed's Twitter account is carrying a petition to demand that the French release Ramadan.

Syed has been  involved with the Southern California Shura Council and various other activist pursuits including agitating against Israel. I find it interesting that the first screenshot indicates he is a death penalty activist. If he is against the death penalty why was he one of the sponsors of a sharia law workshop at Loyola Marymount University in 2012 (in which Ramadan appeared as a speaker)? Sharia law has the death penalty for such heinous crimes as adultery, apostasy, blasphemy and homosexuality.

I don't know if Ramadan is guilty of rape or not. I don't think Syed knows either. The  difference is I am not demanding that Ramadan be kept behind bars. Syed has no credibility.

Swede Convicted of Comparing Somalis to Gypsies on Facebook

Hat tip to Fria Tider and Svenne

"Opinion crime"

As you will read from a translation I did from Fria Tider (with help from my colleague, Svenne), a man in Sweden has been convicted for an "opinion crime" after he posted two Facebook messages in May and July of last year comparing Somalis with Roma gypsies.

The word, "åsiktsbrottet" in Swedish literally means opinion crime. Though Swedish law is not quite that harsh yet, a more apt description of the offense would be a hateful expression directed against a particular group of people. Svenne suspects that the author of the piece was using the term sarcastically. Fria Tider is a conservative, alternative news source.

http://www.friatider.se/j-mf-rde-somalier-med-romer-d-ms

Compared Somalis with Roma - Convicted

Published February 18, 2018 at 14.22

 A 61-year-old man in Gothenburg has been convicted of an opinion crime after criticizing Somalis on Facebook.

#@*%^ Somalis!!!!

The two posts  the man was convicted of were published as comments on links on Facebook in May and July 2017 respectively.

In both posts, he compared the African people to Somalis with Roma.
"Somalis are comparable to Europe's Roma: Criminals..dishonest..Lazy..disrespectful..no IQ, Damn slimebags !!!", Posted in  May.
"Seriously speaking .... Somalis are Europe's response to the Roma ... dishonest,  (have no) empathy, lazy, no IQ,  damn slimebags! They have no damn business being here at all!" wrote the man in July.
The prosecutor felt that the 61-year-old in the posts was guilty of attacking  a people's group by "expressing derogatory (statements) about Somalis in view of national origin."
The man acknowledged that he wrote the comments and was convicted on Friday for 60 daily fines of 200 kronor for the actual opinion crime.

Where Not to Go in Paris-Trappes

If you are planning that big vacation in Paris this coming summer, be sure to see the Eifel Tower, the Louvre, Montmartre, the Arc of Triumph, have dinner at Maxime's, and stay at the Ritz.

One thing you don't want to do, however, is visit the Paris suburb of Trappes. Here's why.

(Hat tip Vlad Tepes)

Italy's Elderly Go Wanting While the Migrants Want More

Hat tip Marion Didier and Vlad Tepes


When Italy suffered a series terrible earthquakes in 2016-17 that left many without a roof over their heads, Lega Nord leader Matteo Salvini (who hopefully, will be Italy's next prime minister) commented that these unfortunates were left without shelter while the government was putting entire hotels at the disposal of illegally-arrived migrants and refugees.

Here is another sample of the mess that Italy finds itself in.

Mueller's Latest Indictments

This article first appeared in New English Review.

With the indictments of 13 Russians, special prosecutor Robert Mueller confirms what we already knew: The Russians were meddling in our election. What remains at question is the central issue of Mr Mueller's task: Was Trump and/or his campaign colluding with the Russians to influence the election. These charges do nothing to advance that theory.

In addition, the individuals charged are sitting comfortably (presumably in front of their keyboards) in St Petersburg (Russia, not Florida), so they won''t be sitting in any US courtroom. None of them is going to flip-that is cooperate with the prosecutors in the hopes of getting a lesser sentence. Mueller might just as well have indicted Vladimir Putin.

Which raises the question of why didn't he charge Mr Putin? After all, any meddling coming from Russia surely was done with his approval if not outright order.

But Putin is not at issue here. Sadly, after all the years of detente, the collapse of the Soviet Union, reset buttons, and what have you, Russia is still an adversarial nation. This is not to say that the efforts to improve relations, establish business ties, and drink vodka together have been treasonous. (I plead guilty to the last item.) Nor is this to say that crimes have not been committed. Paul Manafort's business affairs with the Russians may have crossed some line. Michael Flynn many have said something to the FBI that was not true though this week's revelations even put that into question.

But the central question remains: Did Trump and/or his campaign collude with the Russians to influence the election? The mainstream media can crow that the latest charges prove the Russians were culpable. They do not show us anything as to Trump and/or his campaign.

The questions still remain as to Mueller's actions, his obvious conflict of interest, especially as relates to his connections with James Comey, a central figure in this whole mess. Questions remain as to Mueller's choice of surrogates to work with him on this investigation, people with clear political biases and people whose own conduct has been called into question. Is this a search for truth or a concentrated effort to bring down Trump and remove him from office? The indictments this week do not alleviate those concerns.

Once again: The central question remains whether Trump and/or his campaign colluded with the Russians to influence the election. We still see nothing to show that was the case.

Other than that, job well done, Mr Mueller.

For Illegal Alien Students at Berkeley, the $$$ Just Keeps Pouring in

Hat tip Campus Reform

All's well that ends well at UC Berkeley as they say. Luis Mora, the UCB student and visa overstay from Colombia has been released from ICE custody thanks to the efforts of Chancellor Carol Christ, activists students and who knows who else. He is back in the friendly confines of Berkeley and has met with the chancellor. Not only that, hundreds of thousands of dollars more are being poured into resources available for our precious Dreamers.

https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=10528

We could appeal to the UC president, Janet Napolitano to rein in this irresponsible use of tax-payer funds, but that would be like asking Bill Clinton to rein in Monica Lewinsky.



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

After Parkland, What Now?

So here we are again. A disturbed youth with a gun has attacked a school in Parkland, Florida and left 17 dead. Once again, we are asking, "What can we do?" Once again we engage in the argument over guns and the Second Amendment. There are those who think the answer is to get rid of guns. Then these things won't happen. We can become like Sweden. (Or perhaps, I should say Sweden in the 20th century. They have their own problems now.)

It is easy to question why a 19-year-old with a history of trouble behind him is able to purchase an AR-15 as apparently is the case with the accused Florida shooter, Nikolas Cruz. It is a reasonable question. I am all for any means of screening out people who should not be able to buy or own guns due to their criminal history or mental state. This applies to gun licenses, registration, concealed carry permits, what have you. But not even that will solve the problem.

Let's take the issue to its extreme. Let's say Congress does away with the Second Amendment. Let's say all firearms are banned from sale or possession. Just like heroin, guns are declared illegal. Let's say that all registered firearms owners in the country are directed to turn in their weapons within 30 days. Let's assume for the sake of argument that every one of them complies. Problem solved? Hardly.

The biggest problem is the tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or more criminals who are running around with guns, mostly illegally owned. They are not going to turn them in. They will keep them and will be emboldened by the prospect of all those defenseless potential victims out there. We will be at their mercy. In short, we will live in an even more dangerous country. How do I know this? Where is the academic study to support me? What is my source for this idea?

Common Sense.com.

We are what we are- a country with a long frontier past and use of guns. There are an estimated 300,000,000 firearms of varying sorts in our country. We have a large criminal population. There are  no simple answers.

We could start by enforcing the laws we have. We could drastically increase the penalties for using a gun in the commission of a crime instead of using it as a plea bargaining chip. Sentences for using a gun in commission of a crime should become draconian.

We also need to realize this is largely a mental health issue. We could consider increasing the powers of the state to intervene and commit mentally unstable people. We could consider increasing the power of the state to intervene when disturbing social media messages indicate someone is at risk of exploding. I say this as one who is against increasing governmental powers. Yet, there is a difference between an oppressive government that gives itself unlimited powers for purposes of simply maintaining its power and powers used to save innocent lives.

These are just thoughts not concrete proposals because, like you, I don't have the answer.

A Swedish Cop Speaks the Truth and Takes the Flak

We have previously written about Swedish police officer Peter Springare who has spoken out publicly about the immigrant crime problem in his country. In this video from Vlad Tepes, he discusses gang rape and just who is doing most of it. You can also see how other Swedish officials disapprove of Springare's words.



Kudos to Springare.

The Obama Portraits

This article first appeared in New English Review.

Back in 1970, when I was a newly-hired US Customs agent, I had to have my photo taken for my credentials. I never wore my hair long like many of my generation, but often I waited a little too long before getting a haircut. Such was the case when I had my photo taken. A day or two later the asst. agent in charge, an unfriendly sort to begin with,  came to my desk with the photo telling me to go out and get a haircut and have a new photo taken that looked like a federal special agent.

That brings me to the present, and I was reminded of that incident when I saw the newly unveiled portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama that will be exhibited in the National Portrait Gallery along with all the previous presidents. One is tempted to tell the Obamas to go back and have them done over and come back with portraits that look like a president and first lady. To be specific, Obama looks like he is sitting in the outfield in Wrigley Field. As for the portrait of Michelle, let's just say I think I could have painted that. And that dress! These two pictures will stand out like a couple of Picassos mixed in with the Dutch Masters.

Then we learn that the artist who painted Mr Obama, Kehinde Wiley, has a curious penchant for painting black women holding severed heads of white people.

What kind of message is this? Do we really need a racial angle to this news story? Of course, the Obama story and his presidency have racial overtones. I'm not saying he was another Robert Mugabe-far from it. But he wasn't exactly another Nelson Mandela.

Most white Americans who voted against Obama and were his critics did so not because he was black, rather because they opposed his policies. Many of us who voted for John McCain in 2008 were still proud to see a black man rise to the presidency of the US. Then we saw Eric Holder become attorney general. Holder, who is also black, had a racial agenda which he showed time and time again from the day he said that Americans were afraid to have an honest discussion about race. The entire Justice Department became corrupted by Holder and his surrogates.

Obama for his part, just didn't do anything to improve race relations. He just watched them simmer over the entire issue of black men being shot by white cops. We looked to him to establish a legacy of building bridges. He utterly failed.

Now this.

This comes at a time when it is fashionable to bash white people as being privileged and inherently racist. The fever is especially hot on our university campuses where not only leftist blacks, but leftist whites as well are making the issue of "whiteness" the hot button issue on campus. The message is that white people are the enemy of  people of color and need to disappear. They should not be hired as teachers, and they should not be heard on campus. Indeed, certain campus events regarding race are excluding whites from entering.

It is incredible that in our most prestigious universities (and those not so prestigious) people with PhDs and students of all races are wishing for the white race to disappear. We know where that kind of thinking leads, don't we?

I am no white nationalist. In my mind, 99% of whites in this country are not the enemy of non-whites. Yet universities are allowing a dangerous movement to sprout, one that can only lead to violence and tragedy.

And now we have the portrait of President Barack Obama being done by this Wiley character, who not only has no clue as to what kind of presidential portrait should go on display in Washington DC, but paints such disturbing and racially charged material on the side. Can you imagine the uproar if say, George W Bush's portrait  were done by some white artist who painted pictures of white men holding severed black heads?

A Look at Sweden From the Inside

Hat tip Gates of Vienna


Gates of Vienna has posted a report from a Swedish correspondent, Svenne Tvaerskaegg, on the situation in Sweden. It is worth reading. I am cross-posting it since I have already put so much up on the country. It is truly scary.

http://gatesofvienna.net/2018/02/immigrant-gang-attacks-in-sweden-escalate/