Displaying posts published in

2013

DAVID SOLWAY: LIVING IN A BACKWARDS WORLD

http://frontpagemag.com/2013/david-solway/living-in-a-backwards-world-2/

A new meme or figure of speech has begun to circulate among conservative writers and thinkers with increasing frequency and appositeness—namely, that we are living in a world turned upside down, to cite the title of a major book by Melanie Philips, itself derived from Christopher Hill’s study of revolutionary 17th century in England. (The term “world” is used by these writers to refer primarily to the Western sociopolitical domain or provinces thereof.) Almost everywhere we look we see this trope corroborated by extensive empirical testimony, of which I will flag only a few significant instances.

It is a world, as we have just seen, in which respectable and knowledgeable anti-jihadist freedom fighters Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller are forbidden entry to the U.K. as disturbers of public order and social peace while avowed terrorists are welcomed into the country and allowed to live handsomely on the public dole. It is in this same benighted nation that anti-Sharia activists Tommy Robinson and Kevin Carroll of the English Defence League are arrested for entering a Sharia-controlled zone in Tower Hamlets, a borough of London, on their way to Woolwich to honor Drummer Lee Rigby, slaughtered by Islamic terrorists. As reported on The Gates of Vienna website, “the Metropolitan police have now taken on the responsibility of enforcing the borders of these shariah-controlled zones, applying the rules laid down by the Islamic inhabitants.”

It is a world in which courageous media analyst Philippe Karsenty, who has shown beyond doubt that the infamous al-Dura event implicating Israel is an out-and-out hoax perpetrated by France 2 TV, finds himself convicted by the French courts for defamation—the Dreyfus affair redux. The Court of Cassation’s decision to remand the case to the Court of Appeals, which had originally acquitted Karsenty and then overturned its prior verdict, is not only “outrageous,” as Karsenty justifiably claimed, but legally problematic. As the JTA news source reported, “In returning the case to the appeals court, the high court said the appeals court had overstepped its bounds in ordering France 2 to send it the rushes of the report.” In other words, from the perspective of the High Court, soliciting evidence is impermissible. Shades of Canada’s Human Rights Tribunals and Supreme Court decision, which regard truth as unacceptable in their proceedings if it offends a member of a designated minority group. The same travesty exists in many European nations.

DANIEL GREENFIELD: THE UNITED STATES OF GUILT

http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/ There was once an America that built its shining cities on a hill in the name of virtue. That nation has been replaced by another nation that builds housing projects in the name of guilt. We used to elect the best men for the job, or at least we believed we did. Now we […]

NRO: STOP AND FRISK WORKS

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/352533/stop-and-frisk-works-editors

We have our complaints about Michael Bloomberg, the prissy little autocrat who on occasion treats governing New York City as though it were very little more than a large-scale psychotherapy session for his own neuroses. But as the kerfuffle over the city’s stop-and-frisk program reminds us: We are going to miss him when he is gone.

If a mayor of New York can prevent the city’s backsliding into its pre-Giuliani state of criminal chaos, he can call himself successful. After crime prevention, everything else is a distant second for any big-city mayor, as Rahm Emanuel is learning the hard way in Chicago. There are many factors supporting New York’s success in tamping down crime, and stop-and-frisk is one of them.

The program is controversial because most of those who are stopped and frisked are black or Latino. That is less surprising than it may sound: Most New Yorkers are black or Latino. Critics of stop-and-frisk allege that the program is racially biased because blacks and Latinos are stopped and frisked at rates disproportionate to their share of the population. In fact, they constitute 87 percent of the stop-and-frisk targets. It is not surprising that blacks and Latinos are stopped and frisked at rates higher than would be expected if the program were being randomly administered across the entire population — because the program is not random. It is applied most robustly in high-crime areas, which tend to be disproportionately black and Latino. It is applied in response to specific information, such as witness testimony. Noting that, Mayor Bloomberg argued that the stop-and-frisk program might be stopping blacks and Latinos too infrequently: More than 90 percent of those being sought in New York City murder cases are described as being black or Latino.
Which is to say, stop-and-frisk is used to help prevent crime in largely black and Latino neighborhoods, where largely black and Latino witnesses describe largely black and Latino suspects perpetrating crimes against largely black and Latino victims in a largely black and Latino city. For acknowledging this reality and defending an essential tool in the city’s anticrime toolbox, Bloomberg has been ritually denounced — mostly by Democrats hoping to replace him. Public advocate Bill de Blasio called the remarks “outrageous,” while Bill Thompson called them “incredibly insulting.” Christine Quinn, a city councilwoman and one of the leading candidates to become the next mayor, said that the program must be gutted “precisely because young men of color are disproportionately stopped in New York.”

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: LIBERAL APARTHEID ****

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/352499/liberal-apartheid-victor-davis-hanson

The elite mostly lead a reactionary existence of talking one way and living another.

One of the strangest things about the modern progression in liberal thought is its increasing comfort with elitism and high style. Over the last 30 years, the enjoyment of refined tastes, both material and psychological, has become a hallmark of liberalism — hand in glove with the art of professional altruism, so necessary to the guilt-free enjoyment of the good life. Take most any contemporary issue, and the theme of elite progressivism predominates.

Higher education? A visitor from Mars would note that the current system of universities and colleges is designed to promote the interests of an elite at the expense of the middle and lower-middle classes. UCLA, Yale, and even CSU Stanislaus run on premises far more reactionary and class-based than does Wal-Mart. The teaching loads and course responsibilities of tenured full professors have declined over the last half-century, while the percentage of units taught by graduate students and part-time faculty, with few benefits and low pay, has soared.

DAVID’SPENGLER’GOLDMAN: EGYPT FALLS BACK ON THE MILITARY

http://pjmedia.com/spengler/

Two years after the collapse of Egypt’s sixty years of military rule, the largest Arab country has come full circle. Today’s army ultimatum to the Muslim Brotherhood government to work out terms with the protesting opposition puts a military veto on any political solution to emerge from the present crisis, and raises the prospect of a return to actual military rule. The population has had enough. Beans (not to mention animal protein) have been priced out of the budget of the poorer half of Egypt’s citizens for weeks, and the country is nearly out of fuel — which means, in the middle of the wheat harvest, nearly out of bread. There isn’t much to hope for here, but there are best and worst case scenarios.

The worst case scenario is the status quo: chaos in politics, violence in the streets, complete cessation of tourism, and economic breakdown. This is not an economy with a lot of buffer. Nearly a fifth of Egyptians were suffering from malnutrition when the World Health Organization surveyed the country in 2011. WFP estimates that two of five Egyptian adults are mentally and physically “stunted” by inadequate diet. The slow starvation of Egyptians under successive military regimes is gradually turning into actual hunger.

Sadly military government is probably the best scenario.

VIN IENCO’S NOTES

http://unitedpatriotsworldwide.com/vinienco/
No Women Allowed at Saudi Conference on Women

No Women Allowed at Saudi Conference on Women:

The image above show attendees at a conference in Saudi Arabia on the topic ‘women in society’ – and not a single one is female.

The conference, reportedly held at the University of Qassim, was attended by representatives from 15 nations, apparently all men.

The seats in the hall are filled with men in traditional Arab dress apart from one wearing a blue chequered shirt.

The photograph was published in a Saudi newspaper last year, and has since been making the rounds on social networks.

Twitter users have branded the image ‘absurd’, ‘the height of misogyny’ and …

Read more
Under the Spotlight: The Australian Defense League

Under the Spotlight: The Australian Defense League:

The killing of a British soldier in London last month prompted fiery demonstrations from anti-Islamic groups.

In late May, 25 year old Lee Rigby was stabbed to death outside a London army barracks, allegedly by two people believed to be Muslim converts.

At the centre of the demonstrations that followed was a group called the English Defence League, believed to have grown out of the so-called football hooligan firms of the 1970s.

In Australia now, the anti-Islamic Australian Defence League is trying to expand its support base, particularly through social media.

“A group against Islam and Islamic immigration. …

Read more

Saudi Jails Seven for ‘Anti-Government’ Posts on Facebook

Saudi Jails Seven for ‘Anti-Government’ Posts on Facebook:

Saudi Arabia has sent seven people to jail for up to ten years for posting status messages calling for anti-government protests, Human Rights Watch (HRW) says.

According to a statement issued Sunday by the New York-based human rights organization, the seven activists were all from the country’s Eastern Province and were convicted and sentenced to prison for terms ranging from five to ten years.

The eastern sector has seen a number of demonstrations by minority Shi’ites over alleged government discrimination and negligence since the region-wide Arab Spring uprisings two years ago.

“Sending people off to years in prison for peaceful Facebook posts …

Read more

Over 2,500 People Killed in Iraq in 3 Months!

Over 2,500 People Killed in Iraq in 3 Months!:

More than 2,500 people were killed in Iraq in the past three months, U.N. figures showed on Monday, a surge of violence that has fanned fears the politically-deadlocked country is slipping back into all-out bloodshed.

The toll comes as the country grapples with months of protests by the Sunni Arab minority, tensions along a swathe of disputed territory in north Iraq and a protracted political standoff that has left key pieces of legislation unresolved.

The violence showed no signs of letting up on Monday as a new attack left eight former anti-Qaeda fighters dead.

The …

Read more

Dhimmis Down-Under: First Muslim Frontbencher Sworn In, Hand on Koran

Dhimmis Down-Under: First Muslim Frontbencher Sworn In, Hand on Koran:

The dumping of Australia’s first woman prime minister Julia Gillard has paved the way for another milestone for the nation’s parliament – its first frontbencher of the Muslim faith, sworn in on Monday.

Ed Husic, whose mother and father are Bosnian migrants, was sworn in as parliamentary secretary to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd who retook the leadership last week. “This is a wonderful day for multiculturalism, and everything it stands for in our country,” Governor-General Quentin Bryce told Husic during the swearing-in ceremony in Canberra.

“I wish you all the best as you …

Read more

Muslims Teen Sisters Murdered, for Dancing in the Rain

Muslims Teen Sisters Murdered, for Dancing in the Rain:

Two teenage sisters have been murdered in Pakistan after they were accused of tarnishing their family’s name by making a video of themselves dancing in the rain.

The girls, aged 15 and 16, are seen running around in traditional dress with two other younger children outside their bungalow in the town of Chilas, in the northern region of Gilgit.

The sisters, named as Noor Basra and Noor Sheza, appear to break into dance and one even flashes a smile at the camera.

However, when the footage was circulated via mobile phones, it caused outrage in the …

Read more

Millions Protest in Egypt, Muslim Brotherhood HQ in Cairo is Stormed, Firebombed

Millions Protest in Egypt, Muslim Brotherhood HQ in Cairo is Stormed, Firebombed:

A sea of bobbing heads hoisting Egyptian flags high spilled out of Tahrir Square as drivers pulled their cars over on the October 6 Bridge to watch the scene below. A long procession of others walked down Ramses Street in the direction of the presidential palace.

We’ve covered a lot of protests in Egypt since the fall of President Hosni Mubarak, but the last time we’d seen anything on this massive scale was in the days following Jan. 25, 2011, when the revolution started against him.

As night fell today, it …

Read more

Are Islam and Islamists Taking Over Britain? Jerry Philipson

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2013/07/are_islam_and_islamists_taking_over_britain.html

I THINK THE PAST TENSE WOULD BE MORE ACCURATE…THEY ALREADY HAVE TAKEN OVER BRITAIN….RSK

June 29 was Armed Forces Day in Britain.

Lee Rigby was a British soldier who was attacked, murdered, butchered and beheaded in broad daylight on a busy street near his barracks in London last month. He was attacked, murdered, butchered and beheaded by Islamists acting in the name of Islam.

Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller are great heroes of our time. Both are tireless, passionate defenders of human rights, freedom of speech, freedom of expression and freedom in general and fierce critics of Islam and Islamists because Islam and Islamists destroy human rights, freedom of speech, freedom of expression and freedom in general wherever they are found and do it in cruel, hideous ways. Spencer and Geller do not advocate violence and never have and do not speak out against Muslims as such. They speak out against Islam and Islamists and spend their time exposing both in the hope of preserving human rights and freedom and turning back the Islamic tide.

Islamists hate them both and demonize them both because they cannot stand exposure, cannot stand the light that Spencer and Geller shine on them.

Spencer and Geller were scheduled to lay a wreath for Rigby at a memorial service on Armed Forces Day but were banned from entering Britain by the British government because their presence was deemed “not conducive to the public good.” Neither was going to speak at the service…all they were going to do was lay a wreath. They were banned because Islamists threatened violence and civil unrest if they were allowed in and the government capitulated to their demand to refuse them admission as a result.

This from a government and a country that is infested and overrun with Islamists that are destroying the fabric of the nation and rapidly turning Britain into an Islamic land governed by Sharia, Islamic law.

Washington’s $279 Billion Fraud Elizabeth Warren and Harry Reid Fight Obama and the GOP on Student Loans.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323393804578555143257421504.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop If you think the federal student-loan program looks like a bad deal for taxpayers, imagine how it would look with honest accounting. And now you don’t need to imagine thanks to a new report that’s receiving far too little attention. Turns out that the official “savings” for taxpayers of $184 billion over the next […]

DAVID SINGER: THE BI-NATIONAL STATE THAT CAN WORK

http://www.jpost.com/Experts/Palestine-The-bi-national-state-that-can-work-318186?prmusr=DJm0TrMfi4eM69vaVubcHqsrXziMS0Xt4UAtjXslH1EdI%2bnCDU0wuqXrtWa7YUuq Surely it would be better to examine alternatives to the failed two-state solution – which cannot possibly happen because of the entrenched positions of the protagonists to the 130 years old long running Jewish-Arab conflict. It is a pity that US Secretary for State John Kerry still believes that a two-state solution is possible […]

ANDREW McCARTHY; AND ONE MORE THING ON ZIMMERMAN’S “DEPRAVED MIND” MURDER

http://pjmedia.com/andrewmccarthy/2013/07/01/one-more-on-zimmerman-depraved-mind-murder/ I am a fan of Bill Jacobson’s Legal Insurrection (legalinsurrection.com) and as such I am not surprised at the stellar job LI’s Andrew Branca has done covering the George Zimmerman trial in Florida. (Mr. Branca’s most recent update is here.) I am only surprised to find myself in a disagreement with Mr. Branca — […]