http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/americas-bright-fuel-future-faces-a-hostile-white-house?f=puball The International Energy Agency (IEA) made a mistake. Formed in 1974 at the behest of Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and headquartered in Paris, the IEA was designed to be the organization for energy-consuming countries, countering OPEC, the organization representing the producers. It never really had much of a political role, and these days, […]
http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/bruce-bawer/mariah-carey-gives-her-all-to-angolan-dictator/print/ Millions love her music, look up to her, indeed worship her not only as a musical artist but as an exemplary human being. But on December 15, in return for a hefty payout, Mariah Carey held two performances in Angola that were – as the New York-based Human Rights Foundation (HRF) revealed four days […]
http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/mark-tapson/a-new-animal-farm-targets-capitalism/print/ Actor Andy Serkis is set to direct an upcoming movie adaptation of George Orwell’s classic novel Animal Farm. But there will be a slight deviation from the story’s original focus: rather than serve as a cautionary tale about Communist totalitarianism, this updated version will address Hollywood’s predictable, go-to embodiment of evil, the Darth Vader […]
http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/frontpagemag-com/freedom-vs-security-on-the-finch-gang/
2013: Year of the Scandals — on The Finch Gang
This week’s Glazov Gang, hosted by Michael Finch, the Freedom Center’s Chief Operating Officer, was joined by Mark Vafiades, the Chairman of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County, Dr. Karen Siegemund, Founder of Rage Against the Media and Orestes Matacena, a Hollywood filmmaker and actor.
The Gang gathered to discuss 2013: Year of the Scandals. The guests also shed light on Freedom vs. Security, The Hero of the Year, and Predictions for 2014.
Watch both parts of the two-part series below:
Part I:
http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/lynching-free-speech/ The end of free speech will not necessarily come when there are soldiers in the streets, secret police in the alleyways and a mustachioed man screaming at you on a television set that can’t be turned off no matter how hard you turn the knob or click the buttons. Some of these things existed […]
http://www.newsmax.com/newswidget/haley-governor-gun-christmas/2013/12/26/id/543872?promo_code=EB8D-1&utm_source=National_Review&utm_medium=nmwidget&utm_campaign=widgetphase1
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley got just what she wanted for Christmas — a nice, new handgun.
The Republican governor, who is a fierce advocate of the Second Amendment, revealed on her Facebook page that one of the gifts under her tree was a Beretta, according to South Carolina’s The State.
Haley, who has a concealed gun permit, posted a picture of the weapon on the social media site and said, “Our family had a wonderful Christmas together! I must have been good, Santa gave me a Beretta PX4 Storm.” The posting had received 86,000 “likes” by midday on Thursday.
On the official “On the Issues” governor’s website, Haley declared that she’s a strong advocate for the right to bear arms. “Few things are as clearly defined as the right of individual Americans to own and use firearms,” she wrote under the headline, “Make Concealed Weapons Permits Easier.”
She added, “I hold a Concealed Weapons Permit myself, and in this state we have issues that make it difficult for CWP holders to carry. As governor, I will continue to fight against any government infringement on the Second Amendment.”
Just before the holidays, the governor’s husband, National Guard Capt. Michael Haley, returned from a year-long deployment to Afghanistan, where he had narrow escapes in two bomb scares.
The daughter of Indian immigrants, Haley was swept into office on a tide of tea party support in 2010 when she was a junior state legislator. She is standing for re-election next year. Democrat state Senator Vincent Sheheen is expected to be her main challenger.
http://www.americanthinker.com/printpage/?url=http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/../2013/12/environmentalism_as_fundamentalism.html
Read more on this subject: Roosters of the Apocalypse: How the Junk Science of Global Warming is Bankrupting the Western World (New, Revised… by Rael Jean Isaac (Nov 25, 2013)
Most environmentalists I know consider themselves non-religious, even anti-religious. A few subscribe to “new” religious denominations such as Unitarianism, which I have heard described as “church for atheists with children.” None, as far as I know, would take kindly to being described as practitioners of fundamentalist, Bible-thumping, “ol’ time religion”.
The irony, here, is that contemporary environmentalism and fundamentalist religion have so much in common.
Take the most basic assumption of contemporary environmentalist doctrine. Individual environmentalists and environmental organizations, alike hold that the one and only way to solve the problems they address is to “protect” the environment. Who they would protect it from, of course, is us, based on the further assumption that everything that goes wrong with the environment — desertification, species extinction, invasion by non-native plants, etc. — is the result of human misuse or overuse or just plain use of “nature” or the ecosystem, or whatever you choose to call our surroundings.
http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/fostering-a-culture-of-philanthropic-giving-in-israel-part-ii-micro-donations/?utm_source=Wed+Dec+25&utm_campaign=Wed+Dec+25&utm_medium=email
[This is the second segment of an article on fostering a culture of philanthropic giving in Israel. Part one of the article, which focuses on organizations and initiatives that promote organized and strategic giving by Israeli philanthropists, can be found here. These articles are part of a series on Israeli philanthropy.]
by Frayda Leibtag
In 2006, Sammy and Aviva Ofer withdrew a proposed $20 million donation to the Tel Aviv Museum of Art after other donors and many members of the Israeli public vociferously objected to renaming the museum for them. Following the public campaign against renaming the museum, the couple placed advertisements in local Israeli newspapers with the headline, “Excuse us for wanting to make a donation.”
Seven years later, public perceptions and expectations of philanthropy seem to be changing. Part of this transformation may be attributed to efforts to extend the world of giving beyond the purview of Israeli’s affluent elite. Organizations such as Keren Baktana, Takdim, IsraelGives and Igul Letova (“Round-Up Israel”) offer different models of micro-donation that share the common objective of promoting a national culture and ethos of giving and making philanthropy accessible to the Israeli public at large.
On December 31, 2013, IsraelGives will be launching GivingTuesday Israel, a national campaign that aims to set the record for the biggest day of online donations in Israeli history. The campaign is part of a larger effort taking place across Israel to encourage the Israeli public to open up their wallets and give. Initially conceptualized by New York’s 92nd Street Y in 2012, GivingTuesday has evolved into an international campaign to encourage philanthropy on a small scale. Recognizing that the cultures of giving in the United States and Israel are very different, the organizers of GivingTuesday Israel are partnering with companies and philanthropists to create incentives that will encourage Israelis to contribute. They are also promoting awareness about the donation tax-credit in Israel that only 10 percent of Israelis are currently taking advantage of. In 2009, Israelis donated NIS 10.5 billion to nonprofits, but only NIS 1 billion was reported for tax-deduction purposes (about 10 percent of all donations). Nearly 50 percent of the claims came from companies and businesses. According to GivingTuesday Israel, 95 percent of Israelis that make donations to recognized public charitable institutions are not taking advantage of the deduction that they are eligible for, a loss that adds up to billions of shekels every year.
This is a translation from French…..rsk
http://www.dreuz.info/2013/12/bethlehem-24-decembre-une-messe-de-minuit-en-presence-de-tueurs-de-chretiens-et-de-juifs/
I do not know if the images of the Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve will be broadcast from Bethlehem .
It is very likely. I do not know if comments accompany the images. But it is also very likely , and it is very likely therefore that the reviews talk about the “sadness” of the “Palestinians” face a ” peace process” that never led to the creation of a “Palestinian state” . The description of the “Palestinians” as people oppressed by Israel will not need to follow : it will be implied. The idea that Christians are free to practice their faith in the land of Judea governed by the Palestinian Authority does not have to be emphasized: the existence of a church in Bethlehem, the presence of priests and faithful and a midnight mass happen any subsequent explanation. We perceive no doubt Mahmoud Abbas and some of his acolytes in position of prayer and contemplation.
None of those who see any pictures and hear the comments that accompany not discern that this is propaganda and falsification , so that it will act as though this, and nothing else.
The truth is that if the “Palestinians” have reason to be sad , they take what keeps them in the condition that is theirs, and making hostages of an entity that continues to inject in their minds hatred, racism and appetite for destruction and therefore prevents them from living a normal life : the very existence of the Palestinian Authority is a crime against humanity. Not only because the Palestinian Authority continues to incite anti- Jewish genocide , but also because it reduces the “Palestinians” to a lifetime of facing the prospect and desire to genocide. Which, if images are shown, say what the Palestinian Authority and making it a criminal organization ? Person , of course.
The truth is that there is ( do I remember yet) no peace process, but a war against Israel’s existence led by other means, and that this war , we are constantly see, decade after decade, not intended for the creation of a “Palestinian state” alongside Israel , but the destruction of Israel. Who can say that there has never been a peace process and that no “Palestinian” leader wants a “Palestinian state” alongside Israel ? Person , of course .
The truth is that the “Palestinians” are oppressed , yes, but by their own leaders , which squeeze their brains , turning them into assassins and suicide are monsters against which Israel must take defensive measures .
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Leibler-on-settlements-Right-diagnosis-wrong-prescription-336290
To avert disaster, Netanyahu must… seize the moment to develop a coherent and consistent government policy… to commit to intensifying construction in those areas over the Green Line which would unquestionably be retained by Israel. But in isolated settlements primarily located in the disputed territories… a status quo in relation to expansion should be maintained.
– Isi Leibler, Jerusalem Post, December 21
Any territory evacuated by the IDF will become a base for terrorist assault on Israel’s civilian population. Israel’s mistake has always been its willingness to return land acquired in wars of self-defense “for peace,” rather than put forward our national right… to live in the land of Israel.
– Steve of Mevaseret, in a Talkback to Leibler, December 21
Isi Leibler is a columnist of considerable talent. His analyses are perceptive and penetrating, and as a rule I find myself largely in agreement with his assessments of the political events in the Middle East and beyond.
Common misperceptions & misunderstandings
Yet despite my esteem for him and his work – or perhaps, because of it – I feel compelled to take issue with him over his recent column (“It is crucial Netanyahu creates a coherent settlement policy,” December 21).
Let me underscore that I am taking up this matter because the points in dispute are of general relevance for the debate on what Israel’s policy should be with regard to the Palestinian issue, particularly in light of Israel’s tarnished international image.
With all due respect to Leibler, several of the policy prescriptions that he urges Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to adopt reflect misperceptions/misunderstandings prevalent among those who deem themselves “right of center,” i.e. those who reject the Left’s unmitigated concessions but still feel that some durable agreement might be hammered out that will leave certain portions of Judea-Samaria (such as the large settlement blocs) and east Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty.
These misconceptions and misunderstandings are highly detrimental because they perpetuate the illusion that continued efforts will somehow bear fruit and a reasonable pact can be forged to end the conflict with “two states living side-by-side in peace and prosperity.”
Ignoring realities prolongs conflict
