Bring them here to Canada then (our west coast is perfect)
Israel-bound submarines banned from testing in Norway’s waters
From the Unbelievable to the Passé
by Victor Davis Hanson:
From time to time I stop and wonder how the unbelievable can become the accepted. Let me list four arbitrary, but still representative, examples of what I mean.
1) Embracing unworkable statism.
Everywhere one looks statism is a failure. Contrast resource-rich Venezuela with Chile. Juxtapose Cuba to Colombia. Of course, compare Dark Age North Korea with the 21st-century South. Look at the UK in 1954 and 1990.
They are rioting in Europe not to embrace socialism, but in petulant fashion to find someone somehow to pay for it — as if “they” and “them” are partying in some remote Aegean island, with vaults of stashed euros.
Whether hard communism or soft socialism, statism does not work. We all know why — it goes against human nature, rewarding mediocrity and punishing merit, professing egalitarianism for the masses, while the operators of the system, whether the old Soviet apparatchiks or the new crony EU Brussels bureaucrats, satisfy their appetites like capitalists.
[...]
J Street aided Hill visits for U.N. report author
The Washington Times:
J Street — the self-described pro-Israel, pro-peace lobbying group — facilitated meetings between members of Congress and South African Judge Richard Goldstone, author of a U.N. report that accused the Jewish state of systematic war crimes in its three-week military campaign against Hamas in Gaza.
Colette Avital — a former member of Israel’s parliament, from the center-left Labor Party and until recently J Street’s liaison in Israel — told The Washington Times that her decision to resign her post with J Street earlier this year was a result in part of the group’s “connection to Judge Goldstone.”
[...]
Terror Suspect Was White House Guest and Recipient of $500k in Taxpayer Funds
by Jim Hoft:
Last Friday FBI agents raided the homes of far left activists in Chicago and Minneapolis who are linked to the Marxist FARC terrorists and Islamic radicals as part of a terrorism investigation.
The home of radical Hatem Abudayyeh in Chicago was raided in the terror sweep.
Hatem Abudayyeh is the executive director of the Arab American Action Network (AAAN). Hatem Abudayyeh has been with the Arab American Action Network (AAAN) since 1999, and was appointed Executive Director in 2003. The Arab American Action Network was founded by former PLO operative and close Obama family friend Rashid Khalidi. Obama was a director of the Woods Fund from 1994 through 2001, when the board approved a $40,000 grant to the Arab American Action Network.
[...]
Obama’s Repudiation of Promises to Israel Comes Back to Haunt Him
Evelyn Gordon:
The Israeli media ran a mind-boggling story today: in exchange for a two-month extension of the freeze on settlement construction, Barack Obama has offered Israel various mouth-watering goodies, as Jen noted in an earlier post. Yet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is leaning toward refusing.
[...]
Israel, after all, received its last presidential promise just six years ago, in exchange for leaving Gaza. In writing, George W. Bush said the Palestinian Authority must end incitement and terror, voiced support for Israel “as a Jewish state,” vowed to “strengthen Israel’s capability” to defend itself, and said any Israeli-Palestinian deal should leave Israel with the settlement blocs and “defensible borders” and resettle Palestinian refugees in the Palestinian state rather than Israel. He also promised orally that Israel could continue building in the settlement blocs.
But when Obama took office, he denied the oral pledge’s very existence, infuriating even Israeli leftists. As Haaretz’s Aluf Benn wrote, it was possible to argue the policy should change, “but not to lie.”
And while Obama hasn’t denied the written document’s existence, he’s nullified it de facto through his every word and action:
[...]
In Muslim Neighborhoods, Firemen and Emergency Workers Refuse to Enter Without Police Protection
by Soeren Kern:
Highlighting the increasing assertiveness of Sweden’s Muslim community, the Muslim Council of Sweden recently dispatched letters to each of the major political parties in Sweden demanding special legislation for Muslims in Sweden. The demands included: the right to specific Islamic holidays; special public financing for the building of mosques; a demand that all divorces between Muslim couples be approved by an Imam; and that Imams should be allowed to teach Islam to Muslim children in public schools.
[...]
Trumka’s Leftism
IBD:
Trumka is just one man. He’s not a public official and does not directly vote on government policy. But he does have influence.
The AFL-CIO has more than 11 million members belonging to 56 unions. Millions will accept his Leninist creed as legitimate.
Trumka speaks for a political bloc. What he said publicly is what most Democrats, modern liberals and self-identified progressives privately believe but won’t say in public.
The political left wants to appear to be moderate, middle of the road. But its goals conflict with the founding principles of this country, principles that have brought freedom and prosperity never seen in human history. The political left wants to destroy this.
For all its rhetoric about defending the working class, fairness and justice, the political left is about power. In Friday’s rant, Trumka condemned the political climate stirred up by the Tea Party and Fox News as a “dead-end choice between the failed agenda of greed and the voices of hate and division and violence.”
He conveniently left out organized labor’s record of deadly violence and shameful corruption — and the left’s promotion of both.
[...]
Let Jews build homes
Moshe Dann:
Conventional wisdom says that “Israel promised (the US) to destroy all ‘unauthorized outposts,’ and, therefore, must fulfill its obligations.” If the government is looking for an excuse, this is a poor one.
The “promise” made in a letter in April, 2004 from Dov Weissglass, then chief of the Prime Minister’s Bureau to National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, was submitted “on behalf of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon;” the letter was not signed by Sharon, nor was it affirmed by the cabinet. It was, simply, “diplomatic correspondence.”
Moreover, the letter contains conditions. “The Israeli government believes that further steps by it, even if consistent with the Roadmap, cannot be taken absent the emergence of a Palestinian partner committed to peace, democratic reform, and the fight against terror.”
Using this letter to justify destruction of Jewish “unauthorized outposts” raises serious questions:
Does Weissglass’ letter obligate Israel to carry out its provisions while ignoring its conditions? Does this letter obligate future Israeli governments? Was the letter approved by the cabinet (since it mentions only the PM)? Why didn’t Prime Minister Sharon sign it? Other than Weissglass’ letter, there is no binding agreement to destroy Jewish “unauthorized outposts,” destroy settlements, or prevent Jews from building anywhere in the Land of Israel.
[...]
The Persecution & Prayer Alert
The Persecution & Prayer Alert
The Voice of the Martyrs, Canada
http://www.persecution.net
Thursday, September 30, 2010
A weekly news and prayer digest on the Persecuted Church.
Follow The Voice of the Martyrs on Twitter at
http://www.twitter.com/vomc
.
***********************************
In this week’s edition: reports from Pakistan, China and Syria.
***********************************
1. Muslim mob attacks Christians in Punjab province, Pakistan
Dozens of Christians were attacked by a mob of Muslims militants in
Gujarat district, Punjab province, Pakistan on September 23.
Approximately 40 Muslims — some armed with guns and others with axes
and clubs — rampaged through the streets. They fired shots at homes
and individuals in the streets and beat some Christians so severely
that they were left for dead. Among the believers targeted in the
violence was Tariq Gill, a man exonerated of charges of blaspheming
the Qur’an in September 2009. Tariq’s parents were also assaulted –
his mother was stripped naked and dragged through the streets. At last
report, several critically injured Christians were receiving hospital
care. (Source: Compass Direct)
Pray for healing for the victims of this brutal violence. Pray that
authorities will act justly and with integrity in this case. Pray that
suffering Christians in Pakistan will take comfort in the promise of
the Lord that those who suffer with Christ will also be glorified with
Him (Romans 8:17-18).
For more on the persecuted Church in Pakistan, go to
http://www.persecution.net/pakistan.htm
. To watch a new video report on the struggles Christians face in
Pakistan, please visit VOMC’s multimedia site at
http://www.tinyurl.com/pakistan-ri
.
***********************************
2. Church demolished, Bible study raided in China
Nearly 200 police officers demolished the prayer room of Taishan
Christian Church in Taizhou, Zhejiang province, China on September 21
on the grounds of a “building code violation.” After the demolition,
dozens of church members arrived on site and worshipped the Lord,
reciting the Bible and singing hymns while the police officers tried
to disperse them. A member of the church said a line of police
prevented them from removing their belongings from the prayer room.
The attack was the second such incident in less than a month, as
authorities previously destroyed prayer rooms on August 30. Commenting
on the incidents, Pastor Zhu said, “The last time they came here, they
tore down six of the eight rooms…. , about 200
people came again and surrounded the entire place. Then, they totally
leveled the buildings, stating that the structures violated the
building code.”
On September 22, several believers were gathered for a Bible study and
training session at Chen Pengyi Church in Wancheng District, Henan
province when police raided the meeting. An American pastor, a Russian
pastor and over 30 attendees, including local Christians, were
detained. One believer’s car was also confiscated. (Source: ChinaAid)
Pray that God will continue to give these believers a steadfast spirit
of courage and faithfulness amid challenges for their faith. Pray that
their witness will move their oppressors to be awakened to the saving
knowledge of Christ. Pray that those detained will be released.
For more information on Christians persecuted in China, go to
http://www.persecution.net/china.htm
.
***********************************
3. Eight house churches closed in Syria
At least eight evangelical churches in northern Syria have reportedly
been closed by the Syrian government. The government ordered the
closure of numerous house churches, claiming that they were meeting in
places deemed inappropriate for worship. Many Syrian Christians,
however, believe that the government’s “legal” excuse for closing
churches is merely a cover-up for a wider government crackdown against
evangelical Christian activity in Syria. The closures are a
devastating blow to Christian church communities in Syria, as many
congregations cannot afford to buy a plot of land and build a church
and so instead purchase apartment buildings to use as places of
worship. (Source: International Christian Concern)
Pray for the members of these churches — that they will continue to
entrust the life and mission of their church communities to the Lord
amid these challenges. Pray that God will give endurance,
encouragement and a spirit of unity to all those following Christ in
Syria (Romans 15:5).
Go to http://www.persecution.net/syria.htm
to learn more about persecution in Syria.
***********************************
4. Join in the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church
“In prayer, something like an echo takes place. When you strike a note
on the piano, corresponding strings in all the other pianos in the
room start to vibrate. It is just the same when we express a pure wish
in our ardent prayers: all around us we mobilize angels who are
inspired by the same wish.” These are the words of VOM founder Pastor
Richard Wurmbrand, who experienced the power of prayer many times
during the years of torture and imprisonment at the hands of Communist
officials opposed to his faith. They speak to a spirit of unity and
dedication that lives on today, drawing believers around the world
together to remember in prayer their persecuted family.
Every November, Christians worldwide set apart a special time to pray
for thousands of our Christian brothers and sisters suffering for
their faith by participating in the International Day of Prayer for
the Persecuted Church. You can learn more about this special prayer
initiative at http://www.idop.org
, where you can also download special resources designed to equip you,
your family or your church to pray for your persecuted family.
***********************************
The Persecution & Prayer Alert is a ministry of The Voice of the
Martyrs, Canada. (Mailing address: P.O. Box 608, Streetsville,
Ontario, L5M 2C1)
Tel. (905) 670.9721. Website: http://www.persecution.net
Americans Still Cling To Ignorance
By Victor Davis Hanson:
The bookish, twice-unsuccessful Democratic presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson once sighed that if most thinking people supported him, it still wouldn’t be enough in America because “I need a majority.”
For some reason, Democrats have chosen to follow the disastrous model of Stevenson and not that of feisty man-of-the-people Missourian Harry Truman — though the former nearly wrecked the party and the latter got elected.
Former President Jimmy Carter likewise seems to feel that he’s still too smart for us. Carter, who turns 86 on Friday, is hitting the news shows to explain why he remains America’s “superior” ex-president — and why more than 30 years ago he was so successful yet so underappreciated as our chief executive.
Most Americans instead remember a very different President Carter who finished his single term with 18 percent inflation, 18 percent interest rates, 11 percent unemployment, long gas lines, and a world in chaos from hostage-taking in Teheran and Soviet communist aggression in Afghanistan and Central America.
Now, John Kerry — who failed to win the presidency in 2004 and recently tried to avoid state sales taxes on his new $7 million yacht — is voicing similar frustrations about Americans’ inability to fathom what their betters are trying to do for them.
[...]
Fleecing gold investors
By THOMAS SOWELL:
One of the many slick tricks of the Obama administration was to insert a provision in the massive Obamacare legislation regulating people who sell gold. This had nothing to do with medical care but everything to do with sneaking in an extension of the government’s power over gold, in a bill too big for most people to read.
Gold has long been a source of frustration for politicians who want to extend their power over the economy. First of all, the gold standard cramped their style because there is only so much money you can print when every dollar bill can be turned in to the government, to be exchanged for the equivalent amount of gold.
When the amount of money the government can print is limited by how much gold the government has, politicians cannot pay off a massive national debt by just printing more money and repaying the owners of government bonds with dollars that are cheaper than the dollars with which the bonds were bought. In other words, politicians cannot cheat people as easily.
That was just one of the ways that the gold standard cramped politicians’ style – and just one of the reasons they got rid of it. One of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first acts as president was to take the United States off the gold standard in 1933.
But, even with the gold standard gone, the ability of private individuals to buy gold reduces the ability of the government to steal the value of their money by printing more money.
[...]
Discovery Institute, the All-Purpose Boogey Man
ENV:
It always amazes me how if you want to bash intelligent design, Discovery Institute, or Darwin doubters generally, you can pretty much say anything you want, however ridiculous, and everyone in the Darwin choir will sing hallelujah and never bother to fact check what you say. At the Huffington Post, science writer John Farrell debuts with an awkwardly written blog trying to pick a fight with John West on Darwinism’s sinister race-war theme (“Bad Faith (in Science): Darwin as All-Purpose Boogey Man?”). The post struck a nerve, garnering 1,266 comments as of this writing.
[...]
The Mullahs’ Murder of Americans
by Jamie Glazov, FrontPage:
Frontpage Interview’s guest today is Michael A. Ledeen, a noted political analyst and a Freedom Scholar at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. He is the author of The Iranian Time Bomb, Machiavelli on Modern Leadership and Tocqueville on American Character, and he is a contributor to The Wall Street Journal. His latest book is Accomplice to Evil: Iran and the War Against the West.
FP: Michael A. Ledeen, welcome back to Frontpage Interview.
I would like to talk to you today about how Iran is killing our troops and why nobody is really doing anything about it.
Share with us what is going on.
Ledeen: They have been killing Americans for 30 years. That’s what the chants of “Death to America!” are all about. From the Hezbollah suicide attacks on the US Embassy and Marine barracks in Beirut in the early 1980s, to the use of Iranian-made roadside bombs and mines in Iraq and Afghanistan by terrorists trained in Iran, to armed assaults against American troops by members of the Quds force, Iran is at war with us.
Every so often a military leader calls attention to this fact, but no publication, and no political leader, makes it a central theme of our national debate. Why? Because if you accept the fact that the Iranian regime is killing Americans almost every day, you are compelled to do something about it.
[...]
Robotic legs designed to help people walk again
BBC:
A robot that can help people who are paralysed walk again is on trial in Japan.
The ‘walking-aid robot’ works by using six electric motors at the ankles, knees and hips.
Developers say the biggest challenge was getting the device to balance properly so people could use it without stumbling.
Let’s Not Turn Immigration Into ‘Us vs Them,’ Says President Who is Suing a US State Over Immigration Law
by Bryan Preston:
This is audacity on steroids. It is not the so-called, and now obviously dead as a Monty Python sketch parrot, “audacity of hope.”
“Let’s provide a pathway to citizenship for those who are already here, understanding that they broke the law, so they’re going to have to pay a fine and pay back taxes and, I think, learn English, make sure that they don’t have a criminal record,” said Obama. “There are some hoops that they’re going to have to jump through, but giving them a pathway is the right thing to do.
“Now, unfortunately, right now this is getting demagogued,” Obama said. “A lot of folks think it’s an easy way to score political points is by trying to act as if there’s a ‘them’ and an ‘us,’ instead of just an ‘us.’ And I’m always suspicious of politics that is dividing people instead of bringing them together. I think now is the time for us to come together.”
I’ll confess here to being a bad Baptist. My initial reaction to this was unprintable.
This is coming from the same president whose own attorney general is at this moment suing Arizona for crafting an immigration law that mirrors a federal law that’s been on the books for 70 years. And all while Mexico is playing more than a sideline role in keeping the border as porous as possible. “Us vs Them” or “Us vs Us”?
[...]
More J Street Revelations (that have nothing to do with Soros)
Ed Lasky:
Scrolling through the Form 990 listing the major contributors to J Street, an anti-Israel group with close ties to the Obama administration, that described itself as Obama’s blocking back in dealing with Israel supporters in America, I came across the name of S. Daniel Abraham, the founder of Slim Fast.
[...]
But one factor is worthy of attention: he created a well-paying sinecure for former Congressman Robert Wexler who faced re-election problems due to scandals (he lied about his residency for political and financial reasons). Wexler is the President of the S. Daniel Abraham Center and became so right after he left Congress.
[...]
An Inoffensive Mosque and an Offensive Kindergarten
By Daniel Greenfield:
If you believe the newspapers, a kindergarten in a town built by Jewish refugees from Yemen is about to doom all hopes for peace in the Middle East. Forget the fact that there was never any peace long before a few dozen Jews who fled Yemen built themselves a small town where they could raise their families, without being murdered for their faith or driven into ghettos—as is the fate of the last remaining Jews of Yemen.
[...]
A Warning from Thomas Sowell
Anthony Kang:
Frankly, there aren’t enough words or superlatives in the English dictionary to describe the great Thomas Sowell. With an unparalleled gift to explain even the most complicated subjects in simple and easily understandable terms, few can match the pedigree and contributions of the Hoover Institute senior fellow. Author of the new book, “Dismantling America,” Sowell recently sat down for an interview with Investors Business Daily’s David Hogberg. And along with a few priceless jabs at Michelle Obama, sociology, Newsweek, and the public education system, Dr. Sowell discussed why he (like Niall Ferguson) believes America may be entering a prolonged period of decline.
“The only analogy I can think of from history is when the Norman conquerors of England published their laws in French for an English-speaking nation,” Sowell says about the Obama administration’s governing style, a style he characterizes as unconstitutional.
[...]
Tea Party Vs. SEIU
IBD:
The price of liberty is indeed eternal vigilance, especially at the ballot box. A group of Texans who decided to get involved in local elections uncovers massive vote fraud connected to a powerful union.
Being an election judge or poll watcher is often a thankless task and one of those things that many voters have no particular interest in doing. The job is often left to party hacks and other foxes willing to guard the henhouse. Yet they are the ones who rock the cradle of democracy.
Perhaps concerned about the election shenanigans of recent years involving Acorn and bogus registrations, Black Panthers intimidating voters with nightsticks and suspicious recounts that go on and on until a desired result is achieved, as in Minnesota, Catherine Engelbrecht and 50 other Houston neighbors decided to get involved.
They volunteered to work at Houston polling places in the 2008 election cycle. “What we saw shocked us,” Engelbrecht said. “There was no one checking IDs, judges would vote for people that asked for help. It was fraud, and we watched like deer in the headlights.”
[...]
Muslim Extremists Suspected in Death of Christian Worker in India
CDN:
Family members of a Christian worker who was found dead in a Muslim area in Jharkhand state a day after the Islamic Eid festival said they suspect he may have been murdered by local residents.
The body of Shravan Kumar, who had worked with the Gospel Echoing Missionary Society, was found lying in a well near the Idgah Mosque in Garhwa town in the wee hours of Sept. 13, a close relative of the deceased told Compass by phone.
[...]
The 5 Biggest Lies about Liberalism
By Daniel Greenfield:
If you haven’t seen the billboards yet, liberals love multiculturalism, they embrace all races and religions because they believe in diversity. True? Nope.
Liberals follow the left’s paradigm of waging class warfare. Their interest in minorities extends only to enlisting some disenfranchised groups in their class warfare. Contrary to all the multicultural billboards, liberals are primarily interested in unsuccessful minorities, because they can frighten them, exploit them and farm them as voting blocks. Successful minorities such as Asians, Indians and Jews are wanted only as window dressing. And get the short end of the stick when a real issue comes up.
Multiculturalism is really only class warfare disguised as opposition to bigotry. Take away all the historical revisionism about the Democratic party’s ugly civil rights history and the empty slogans about diversity, and what you have left is naked political opportunism
[...]
Obama appeasement may rekindle genocide
By John R. Bolton:
”Ticking time bomb” is the entirely accurate way Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton recently described Sudan. There is every indication the country is nearing a breakup, almost certainly into its northern and southern halves, and perhaps additional fragments. The central question is not if dissolution will occur, but whether it will proceed relatively peacefully or whether renewed military conflict inside Sudan is inevitable, possibly spilling into neighboring countries.
Unfortunately, President Obama is increasing the risk this time bomb will explode. His efforts to appease President Omar Hassan al-Bashir’s government in Khartoum have increased Mr. Bashir’s perception of U.S. weakness and reinforced his inclination and willingness to use military force to suppress Sudanese opposition in the South, Darfur and elsewhere.
[...]
Candidates Associated with J Street Come Under Fire
BY Daniel Halper:
At Commentary’s blog, Jennifer Rubin has been chronicling the fall-out from lobbying group J Street’s lying about it’s funding from George Soros.
In Pennsylvania, Republican Pat Toomey’s spokesperson had this to say to Rubin about Democrat Joe Sestak’s money from J Street and similar organizations: “Congressman Sestak shows a very consistent and disturbing pattern of aligning himself with political organizations that attack Israel and the Jewish community, or are funded by individuals who are hostile to Israel. … Sestak says he’s pro-Israel, but at some point, his consistent alignment with the likes of George Soros, MoveOn.Org, CAIR, and J Street makes that claim just flat-out not believable.”
[...]
Travesty Of The Justice Department
IBD:
Those who thought hope and change meant equal enforcement of the law were wrong. A top DOJ official testifies about a deliberate policy of not prosecuting minorities or protecting the rights of anybody else.
So much for post-racial justice. First, documents were unearthed showing the Department of Justice lied when it insisted that dropping the New Black Panther Party voter-intimidation case was a decision made by career attorneys, not by political appointees trying to avoid offending a key administration constituency.
Now we have the explosive testimony last Friday of Christopher Coates, former voting chief of the Civil Rights Division, before the U.S. Civil Rights Commission.
[...]
Demonising the victims
Melanie Phillips:
Yesterday’s Observer described Israel as the obstacle to peace because of the settlements, its
insular militarism
and
a rise in xenophobic and religious nationalism, with any discussion of Palestinians’ civil rights confined to a dissident margin.
A few days earlier, Roger Cohen in the New York Times described Israel as the obstacle to peace because of its refusal to extend the freeze on building in the disputed territories which would be
a body blow to the latest peace effort
whereas Mahmoud Abbas and his prime minister Salaam Fayed were
very serious
about peace.
It is hard to credit that people can ignore reality quite so brazenly and display such an egregious absence of elementary logic.
[...]
A Tea Party Tribute: The Age of Reagan and the Tyranny of the Elite
By Fred Dardick:
Sometimes there comes a time when a free people of a free nation must stand together and choose their fate. Sometimes it comes through war, sometimes famine, sometimes from of a fleet of planes marked by the rising sun crossing the horizon.
For our generation, in this great nation, it will come with a vote this November.
The enemy never changes, for it is always the tyranny of the elite, those few whose arrogance and thirst for power necessitate revolt by the masses so that the many may retake control of their lives to build a better future for themselves and their families, free from government interference.
It is no different this time than it has been for many others before us, and the choice we face could not be clearer.
We will choose to stand by our forefathers and put our trust in the American individual, we whose rights are guaranteed not by man, but by our creator?
[...]
Palestinian Peacemakers?
By Gabriel Latner:
With Israeli-Palestinian peace talks set to resume, the Palestinian delegation is center-stage. But who are these men who hold the fate of Middle-Eastern peace in their hands?
Saeb Erekat, the white-haired don of Palestinian diplomacy, is a fixture on Al-Jazeera and other Arabic television stations. Erekat has a proven record of saying one thing in English for international consumption and quite another in Arabic. Mr. Erekat is hardly alone in this, as Mr. Abbas calls himself a partner for peace, while telling Palestinians that “Israel does not want peace” and that the Palestine Liberation Organization will not make “even one concession” to it.
[...]
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