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August 2019

ISRAEL Comments turned off

Omar and Tlaib must be sure to investigate ‘Auschwitz in Palestine’ Moshe Phillips

By on August 6th, 2019

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/24263

The idea that there is “an Auschwitz in every city in Palestine” may puzzle some people, because every major Palestinian Arab city (and most minor ones, too) are under the exclusive rule of the PA, not Israel.

A senior Palestinian Authority official is claiming that there is “an Auschwitz in every city in Palestine.” The revelation is shocking—and it’s also timely, since Congresswomen Rashid Tlaib and Ilhan Omar will be able to investigate the situation during their upcoming visit to the Palestinian Authority territories.

When Tlaib and Omar recently announced that they wanted to visit Israel and the PA, it seemed as if their purpose was just to do some old-fashioned Israel-bashing. But now their trip will take on a much more urgent mission: to see all of the Auschwitzes there, and then share their eyewitness testimony with the outside world.

The Auschwitz allegation was leveled by Palestinian official Jibril Rajoub in a July 8 interview with the Kuwaiti television station Sawt Al-Arab. He said that as a result of Israel’s “barbaric and racist” policies, “Auschwitz is here in every city in Palestine.” (Thanks to Palestinian Media Watch for the translation.)

Lest you think Rajoub is some just some run-of-the-mill lunatic, note that he holds a number of senior positions within both the PA and the PLO. To begin with, he is secretary-general of the Central Committee of Fatah, which is the PA’s ruling party (chaired by PA head Mahmoud Abbas). 

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NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

What’s Really Behind the ‘White Supremacy’ Terrorism Scare By Julie Kelly

By on August 6th, 2019

https://amgreatness.com/2019/08/05/whats-

The anti-Trump forces, now stripped of their Russian collusion ammunition, have invented another imaginary threat they hope to weaponize against the president: The public menace posed by “white supremacist” terrorism.

Much like the collusion conspiracy theory—which relied on random incidents, fictional villains, unconvincing evidence, and the Bad Orange Man in the White House—there is little substance to this purported danger.

Unironically, the whole ruse is being pushed by the same people who foisted the Russian collusion hoax on the American people for three years in the hopes of prompting President Trump’s impeachment and removal. The political agenda behind this manufactured white supremacy crisis is equally sinister because its specific purpose is to influence and undermine the 2020 elections.

The “white supremacy” canard is intended to further demonize Trump; falsely defame his supporters as white supremacists; and pressure nervous voters into defeating Trump and Republican candidates next year. The strategy is as cynical as it is pernicious.

Let’s clear one thing up before I get into the details: There is no systemic threat posed by white supremacy. Domestic white terrorists are not the same as, let alone worse than ISIS Jihadis. There has been no massive “surge” in white supremacy activity, as I wrote in November. These groups remain fringe, disorganized, and unrespected.

In his Senate testimony last month, FBI Director Christopher Wray was intentionally vague when questioned by Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) about the supposed rise of white supremacy.

“In terms of number of arrests, we have, through the third quarter of this fiscal year, had about, give or take, a hundred arrests in the international terrorism side, which includes the homegrown violent extremists,” Wray explained. “But we’ve also had about the same number, again, don’t quote me to the exact digit, on the domestic terrorism side. And I will say that a majority of the domestic terrorism cases that we’ve investigated are motivated by some version of what you might call white supremacist violence but it includes other things as well.”

Some version of what you might call white supremacist violence? Even giving Wray the benefit of the doubt, that means the FBI investigated roughly 50 or so cases of some version of white supremacy. Not exactly solid evidence to justify a law enforcement, political and media war against white supremacy.

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ENVIRONMENT AND JUNK SCIENCE Comments turned off

A Cold, Dark Winter: Sweden Learns The Cost Of Trusting Climate Alarmists

By on August 6th, 2019

https://issuesinsights.com/2019/08/06/a-cold-dark-

The Democrats’ Green New Deal legislation was hailed as a smart, forward-looking effort to rid the world of this meddlesome carbon dioxide that is overheating the planet. But it is simply a costly and overburdening fantasy, as Sweden is learning with its own attempt to “curb global warming.”

The Sierra Club called Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s GND “a big, bold transformation of the economy to tackle the twin crises of inequality and climate change.” (Give the gang credit for obliquely admitting the “fight” against global warming is driven by a desire to take over the economy.)

Sen. Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat and ancient gladiator, has compared the GND to defeating the Nazis and putting men on the moon.

Both Democratic Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Amy Klobuchar found it to be “aspirational.”

Al Gore, famous for being a vice president and climate Paul Revere, who should be infamous for lying about global warming, has said he is “strongly in favor of” the GND.

More reasonable thinkers less concerned about appearing hip than getting to the truth have determined the GND would cost up to $93 trillion over its first decade. That’s quite a bit of money for a problem that might not exist.

And, as Sweden is learning, there are not only excessive costs incurred by “going green,” there are practical problems, as well, in particular energy shortages.

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WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Hamas, Islamic Jihad: “The Circle of Fire is Expanding” by Khaled Abu Toameh

By on August 6th, 2019

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14666/hamas-islamic-jihad-missiles

It seems, then, that for Islamic Jihad and Hamas, the ceasefire understandings, reached under the auspices of Egypt and the UN, are meant to give the Gaza-based groups a chance to continue building their military capabilities without having to worry about Israeli retaliatory measures.

Iranian media quoted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as expressing satisfaction over the “progress” the Palestinians have made in the past few years. The “progress” Khamenei is talking about is not related to the building of a new hospital or school or a medical breakthrough in the Gaza Strip. Instead, the “progress” the Palestinians have achieved — according to Iran’s Supreme Leader — is that “while the Palestinians used to fight [Israel] with rocks, today they possess precise rockets.”

The Egyptian and UN mediators, in failing to call out the leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad for their deception and conflicting messages, are permitting the two groups to deploy the ceasefire with Israel as a cover to prepare for the next war.

The leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad and their patrons in Tehran… are dead-set on inflicting as much damage on Israel as possible. As per standard operating procedure, the biggest losers of all in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip will be the Palestinians.

As Egypt, the United Nations and other parties are pursuing their efforts to prevent an all-out military confrontation in the Gaza Strip, Hamas and its allies are forging ahead in their development of various types of weapons with which to attack Israel.

The Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad, the second largest armed group in the Gaza Strip after Hamas, recently revealed how it has managed to upgrade the rocket launchers that are being used to attack Israel.

According to the Islamic Jihad’s military wing, Al-Quds Brigades, it began developing its rocket launchers in 2007, when Hamas violently seized control of the Gaza Strip after overthrowing the regime of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

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WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

India: Caste Discrimination Remains, Despite Liberal Laws by Jagdish N. Singh

By on August 6th, 2019

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14630/india-caste-discrimination

In spite of these laws, the more than 160 million so-called “ex-untouchables” continue to be subjected to discrimination, oppression and violence.

“…this history of religious freedom has come under attack in recent years with the growth of exclusionary extremist narratives—including, at times, the government’s allowing and encouraging mob violence against religious minorities. Those have facilitated a pervasive and ongoing campaign of violence, intimidation, and harassment against non-Hindu and lower-caste Hindu minorities.” — United States Commission on International Religious Freedom: Annual Report, 2019

Prime Minister Narendra Modi must take effective steps to eliminate the discriminatory caste system not only in word, but in deed. He also needs to provide proper education and empowerment programs for the many impoverished and illiterate “untouchables.” Otherwise, India’s affirmative action policies, geared towards reserving slots for lower castes in government jobs, are of little practical significance.

To combat the evils of an age-old caste system — a form of hierarchical oppression enabling people born to upper-caste groups to discriminate against members of lower castes, particularly “untouchables” (Dalits) — the founding fathers of the democratic Republic of India, established in 1950, adopted a Constitution that guarantees all citizens equality before the law.

Articles 15 and 16 of the Indian Constitution forbid discrimination “against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them… No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them, be subject to any disability, liability, restriction or condition…”

Article 17 is even more specific:

“‘Untouchability’ is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden. The enforcement of any disability arising out of ‘Untouchability’ shall be an offense punishable in accordance with law.”

India’s Constitution also directs the state to promote the educational and economic interests of weaker sectors, and protect them from all forms of exploitation (Article 46). As a result, New Delhi has instituted a policy resembling American “affirmative action,” reserving 15% of government jobs for members of scheduled castes.

In spite of these laws, the more than 160 million so-called “ex-untouchables” continue to be subjected to discrimination, oppression and violence.

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NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Judges Cave to CAIR Federal judge who sentenced Hamid Hayat now vacates his sentence and conviction. Lloyd Billingsley

By on August 6th, 2019

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/274523/judges-cave-cair-lloyd-billingsley

In 2006, federal judge Garland E. Burrell sentenced Hamid Hayat of Lodi, California, to 24 years in prison for, as the U.S. Department of Justice explained, “a series of terrorism charges related to his 2003/2004 attendance at a jihadi training camp in Pakistan and his 2005 return to the United States with the intent to wage violent jihad.”

As prosecutors charged, the man with “a jihadi heart and a jihadi mind” intended to target hospitals, banks and grocery stores. Hayat boasted about giving money to Sipah-e-Sahaba, a group that Pakistan declared a terrorist organization. The case was one the first major prosecutions of terrorism in the wake of 9/11.

Nearly 14 years later, judge Burrell, an appointee of  George H.W. Bush, has vacated the sentence and conviction of Hamid Hayat, now 36.  This  action was based not on new exculpatory evidence but what amounted to a post-facto performance review of Hayat’s trial attorney by magistrate judge Deborah Barnes.

In May of 2006, Hamid’s father, Umer Hayat, pleaded guilty to making a false statement to the FBI and United States Customs and Border Protection. He was tried by a separate federal jury but the proceeding ended in a mistrial and Umer Hayat gained release in August of 2006. Hamid Hayat’s attorney Wahzma Mojaddidi, a former CAIR president in Sacramento, contended there was no evidence that Hamid attended a terrorist training camp and pushed for a new trial.

In 2007, federal authorities argued against a new trial, and as their legal brief noted, Hayat claimed that jihad was the duty of all Muslims. In recorded interviews, Hayat gleefully stated he was “so pleased” that jihadis had cut Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl “into pieces.” Hayat said Pearl “was Jewish” and that as a result of this “good job,” now “they can’t send one Jewish person to Pakistan.”

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WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Trinidad’s Darkest Hour The forgotten failed Islamic coup. Stephen Brown

By on August 6th, 2019

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/274516/trinidads-darkest-hour-stephen-brown

Last month saw the 29th anniversary of an Islamic coup attempt to take over the government of the Caribbean island nation of Trinidad and Tobago.

It was the first and only such Islamic terrorist attack in the Western Hemisphere attempting to overthrow an elected government. At the time, the coup was much underreported by the media due to the First Gulf War in Kuwait, occurring simultaneously.

On Friday, June 27, 1990, 114 members of a Trinidadian Islamic group, Jamaat al Muslimeen, stormed the Trinidadian parliament, also called the Red House, and Trinidad’s television and radio station.

By the time it was over six days later on August 1, 24 people were dead, including one Member of Parliament, a policeman and security guards. Much of the country’s capital, Port-of-Spain, was left a burnt-out ruin. This tragic event has been called Trinidad’s “darkest hour,” shaking the country “to its foundations.”

“The coup staggered the Caribbean country’s sense of itself as an easygoing land of calypso, cricket and British-style democracy,” stated an Associated Press report, sounding like Trinidad’s 9/11 moment.

Forty-two rebels took over the parliament building, taking 50 people hostages including the prime minister, ANR Robinson, while another 72 seized the Trinidad and Tobago television and radio station. The television station was the only one in the country.

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NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Basketball Player Uses Girlfriend’s Urine to Fake Drug Test, Finds Out He’s Pregnant By Stephen Kruiser ?!?!?

By on August 6th, 2019

https://pjmedia.com/trending/basketball-player-uses-girlfriends-urine-to-fake-drug-test-finds-out-hes-pregnant/

Well, this is both awkward and a solid entry for a Darwin Award. A basketball player attempting to return to the game after a hiatus found a way to spectacularly fail his drug test and get some family news at the same time.

The New York Post:

D.J. Cooper, a former Ohio University star who’s played professionally in Europe, is currently suspended by FIBA after using someone else’s urine for a doping test — a sample which showed Cooper was pregnant,  according to Eurohoops.net.

Cooper, 28, was interested in joining Bosnia as a naturalized player. Specifically, Cooper tested positive for human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), which is produced during pregnancy by the placenta. The urine allegedly belonged to Cooper’s girlfriend, according to RTV Slovenia.

It’s unclear what Cooper might have been trying to hide, but it stands to reason he wouldn’t have used his girlfriend’s urine had they known she was pregnant.

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NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Anti-Gun Agitators Harass Sen. McConnell at His Home: ‘Just Stab the Motherf*cker in the Heart!’ By Debra Heine

By on August 6th, 2019

https://pjmedia.com/trending/anti-gun-agitators-harass-sen-mcconnell-at-his-home-just-stab-the-motherfcker-in-the-heart/

Twenty to thirty left-wing agitators gathered outside of Senator Mitch McConnell’s house in Louisville, Kentucky, Monday night and made a ruckus to agitate for gun control in the wake of two mass shootings that roiled the nation over the weekend.

In addition to gun reform, one activist told WHAS11 News that the protesters also wanted to address immigration and LGBTQ rights.

The protesters told the local media they had been trying to reach the Senate Majority Leader but he hadn’t answered his phone. McConnell has been convalescing at his home since he fractured his shoulder in a fall on Sunday.

One of the agitators, a local Black Lives Matter leader ostensibly upset about gun violence, said on Facebook Live that she hoped someone would “just stabs the mother f*cker in the heart, please.”

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EDUCATION Comments turned off

‘Bias Teams’ Welcome the Class of 1984 A chilling look inside colleges’ systems for reporting and policing offensive speech. By Christian Schneider

By on August 6th, 2019

https://www.wsj.com/articles/bias-teams-welcome-the-class-of-1984-11565045215

Hundreds of American colleges have “bias-response teams” or similar mechanism for students or faculty to report bias incidents. These systems enforce political correctness and turn campuses into miniature surveillance states.

Through the Freedom of Information Act, I recently obtained and reviewed nearly 300 alleged bias incidents at 11 major public universities. The reports, which we asked to be scrubbed of identifying information for both the accusers and accused, reveal students who are perpetually offended and on the lookout for ideological heresy. Actual crimes such as vandalism or threats of physical violence are typically handled by campus police. In most bias reports, campus community members simply heard or saw something that made them mildly uncomfortable.

 

At the University of Utah, a male student was joking around with his friends in the library and complained that his computer battery was dying. His friend gave him a power cord, and, when it turned out to be incompatible with his computer, told the student to jam the cord into the power socket anyway. “That’s rape,” the accused student whispered loudly. “I’m not raping my computer.” A female student overheard and filed a complaint.

Supporters of bias-response teams argue they are harmless, since they typically cannot formally discipline anyone. “They do not shut down free speech or charge into classrooms to stop offensive statements from faculty members or students,” two professors, two administrators and a doctoral candidate argued in a June article for Inside Higher Education.

Yet schools often investigate the complaints, and the teams themselves can call the accused in to demand an explanation in front an administrator or a panel of “diversity” specialists. At the University of Illinois, law-enforcement officers sit on the bias-response board—making the body a literal speech police. Complaints go down in permanent, often public, records, which can effect future employment prospects. Most bias-response systems don’t offer any process by which the accused can clear their names.

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