http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/ Cyprus is Europe’s original failure. It was the first part of modern Europe to be invaded and colonized by Muslims, while its native Christian population was ethnically cleansed. Cyprus is to Islam what Czechoslovakia was to Nazism; the canary in the coal mine warning of worse things to come. Now Cyprus has wound up […]
http://pjmedia.com/andrewmccarthy/2013/03/19/erdogan-i-am-a-servant-of-sharia/
Spring is about to begin and my book, Spring Fever: The Illusion of Islamic Democracy, has just been published in paperback — originally, it was available only as an eBook. To mark these occasions, and more importantly, to elaborate on why the “Arab Spring” is really the ascendancy of Islamic supremacism (as Spring Fever foretold and as each day’s news confirms), Ordered Liberty will be running some excerpts in the coming days. Here is the first:
“Thank God almighty, I am a servant of sharia.” It was 1994, and Recep Tayyip Erdogan was proud to proclaim his Islamist roots in his native Istanbul, where he served as the mayor – or, as he customarily described himself, the city’s “imam.”
Erdogan’s star was rising in Turkey’s political firmament, thanks to his mentor, Necmettin Erbakan, trailblazer of the country’s modern Islamist politics. In fact, it was as president of the Istanbul Youth Movement, the shock troops of Erbakan’s “National Salvation” party, that Erdogan first made his mark. The main vehicle for his renown was a 1974 theatrical production called Maskomya. It was both virulently anti-Semitic and, this being Turkey, sadly popular. The prodigy, then twenty years old, not only wrote and directed the play but performed the lead role, as well. As Andrew Bostom recounts, “Mas-Kom-Ya was a compound acronym for ‘Masons-Communists-Yahudi’ – the latter meaning ‘Jews.’” In Erdogan’s telling, the common denominator of these evil, conspiratorial groups was Judaism.
Where Islam Meets the West
Turkey is a plenary Muslim country of 74 million. Yet, it does not have a plenary Islamic history. It lies on the fault line between East and West. With a rich, unique history, and one foot planted in Europe, the Turks are not an easy fit in the global ummah that Erdogan, now in his third term as Turkey’s prime minister, is undertaking to lead. Indeed, the relative success of Turkish society and its growing stature among Muslims, though publicly celebrated by Arabs, is, privately, a bitter pill for them. Historically, Saudis, Egyptians and other Arabs, Islam’s primus inter pares and notoriously arrogant about their Muslim authenticity, have been wont to look down their noses at the Turks.
The Ottoman legacy to which modern Turkey is heir was, by the empire’s demise in World War I, substantially Eurocentric and largely detached from the everyday affairs of the Arab Middle East. Yes, the population has always featured a strong Islamist plurality, traditionally concentrated in the rural areas. Most urban centers, however, have been secular, Euro-minded strongholds – including much of Eastern Thrace, where the Western half of Istanbul is located. And then there are Turkey’s ethnic minorities, most notably the contentious, largely unassimilated Kurds.
This is not to say that Arab countries are strangers to ethnic and sectarian diversity. As we’ve seen, they feature varying Islamic sects and non-Muslim minorities. They tend, though, to be much more attitudinally homogenous, especially in their animus toward the West. Kemalist Turkey, by contrast, saw itself as part of Europe and its future inclined toward the West. The majority of Kemalists continued to identify themselves as Muslims, but Kemalist cultural secularism bred an indifference to Islamic doctrine’s supremacist injunctions and an outright hostility to its sharia framework for society. We should pause, then, to consider how remarkable is the advance of Islamic supremacism in Turkey under Erdogan’s cunning stewardship. Comparatively speaking, the Islamist march through the Middle East is sure to be much smoother.
http://pjmedia.com/blog/francois-hollande-praises-anti-semitic-writer/?print=1 On March 17 of this year, François Hollande — the socialist president of France — attended the ceremonies held in Toulouse marking the first anniversary of what is now commonly referred to as “the Mohamed Merah affair.” On March 11, 2012, this French citizen of Algerian descent, who had joined an Islamist network and […]
http://pjmedia.com/spengler/2013/03/19/the-russians-think-were-wrecking-the-world-on-purpose/?print=1 “In Russia, most analysts, politicians and ordinary citizens believe in the unlimited might of America, and thus reject the notion that the US has made, and continues to make, mistakes in the [Middle East]. Instead, they assume it’s all a part of a complex plan to restructure the world and to spread global domination,” […]
http://www.nationalreview.com/blogs/print/343384
“Senator Paul amassed a lot of political capital with his filibuster, even among people who don’t fully agree with him on the drone issue, or foreign policy in general. But I’m afraid he’s just dissipated a lot of that good will with this embarrassing, amateurish foray into a policy area he knows nothing about.”
Rand Paul’s amnesty speech before the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce was a pastiche of establishment cliches. Permit me to select some and respond:
Growing up in Texas I never met a Latino who wasn’t working.
While this kind of flattery is expected when politicians pander to any kind of group, in this case it’s not true. The latest data show that 65.4 percent of U.S.-born Hispanics over age 16 have a job, and 68.4 percent of Hispanic immigrants (legal and illegal) do, compared with 69.3 percent for the country as a whole. That’s not a difference worth getting excited about one way or the other, but it does show that Hispanics are regular people, not toiling supermen.
Republicans have been losing both the respect and votes of a group of people who already identify with our belief in family, faith, and conservative values. Hispanics should be a natural and sizable part of the Republican base.
Oy vey. Hispanics are more negative about capitalism, and more positive about socialism, than even supporters of Occupy Wall Street. By almost four-to-one, Hispanics prefer bigger government over smaller government. Sixty-two percent of Hispanics support Obamacare. The majority support gay marriage. Among the U.S.-born (who make up the large majority of Hispanic voters), 40 percent use welfare and 45 percent have no federal income-tax liability. Outreach is important, but can we finally retire the notion that there’s a conservative Republican inside every Hispanic voter just waiting to come out if only the GOP backs amnesty?
About his ancestors, Senator Paul said:
In their home and their church they spoke German. Republicans who criticize the use of two languages make a great mistake.
The problem is not use of two languages. It’s the official use of two languages, and the utter lack of diversity in the immigration flow, creating the unprecedented situation where a majority of immigrants speak a single language, increasingly making Spanish a co-official language with English. That way lies Quebec, or worse.
http://www.nationalreview.com/blogs/print/343242 Last Friday’s headlines focused on President Obama’s address at Argonne National Laboratory, where he proposed to spend $2 billion on an energy-security trust fund for renewable fuel research. Obama boldly pledged “to shift our cars entirely . . . off oil.” How exactly is he planning to do that? Research will have an effect […]
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2013/03/its_interesting_what_survives_sequestration.html
Isn’t it interesting what has survived the budget cuts of sequestration? Here are but two (of many) programs that have survived: food stamps and foreign education. While two does not make a pattern, one has to wonder what the objectives are here. Could the objectives be “vote-buying” and “Muslim influence”? Judge for yourself.
First, there is the fact that food stamps for illegal immigrants from Mexico are still plentiful; they have not been cut. It appears that Dear Leader Barack Hussein Obama “… continues to pursue a ‘partnership’ with the Mexican government to ‘raise awareness’ about food stamps among immigrants from that country.” Democrats on the Senate Budget Committee protected the program despite a Republican who proposed ending funding for it.
Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL), a very vocal critic of the program, said that he believes that the public will eventually demand an end to the program. But the Democrat-controlled Senate Budget Committee allowed it to continue in the vote last week.
Second, the Obama administration is currently funding education aid to Pakistan while cutting tuition assistance for U.S. soldiers. Representative Ted Poe (R-TX) is asking why the funding continues.
On Monday, March 18, 2013, Poe said:
Why are we funding education programs for our Benedict Arnold ally when we can’t fund – or don’t fund – the education for our military? And to Pakistan of all places, where hatred for America is at its highest. Washington should watch its spending and prioritize. It’s time, Mr. Speaker, to sequester Pakistan.
And that’s not all. Since the sequester, the administration has approved $37 million in foreign aid to Pakistan.
According to Poe, the cost of the military education program is 0.1 percent of the Defense Department budget, yet it has helped 50,000 military soldiers graduate.
This goes on while White House tours are suspended and USDA food inspectors are furloughed. Sequestration? What sequestration?
Dr. Warren Beatty (not the liberal actor) earned a Ph.D. in quantitative management and statistics from Florida State University. He was a (very conservative) professor of quantitative management specializing in using statistics to assist/support decision-making. He has been a consultant to many small businesses and is now retired. Dr. Beatty is a veteran who served in the U.S. Army for 22 years. He blogs at rwno.limewebs.com.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323869604578366770324716616.html?mod=opinion_newsreel
SO CALLED “DEFENSIVE MEDICINE” ALSO LEADS TO EARLIER DIAGNOSES AND TREATMENT AND ACCESS TO ADVANCED MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY…THIS COLUMN OFFERS A BAND AID FOR A GAPING WOUND…..MEDICARE IS A WELFARE LIKE ENTITLEMENT THAT NEEDS TO BE REFORMED AND MADE MEANS TESTED WITH HIGHER DEDUCTIBLES FOR WEALTHY SENIORS..NOT ONE SIZE FITS ALL….RSK
End ‘defensive medicine’ by going to a system like workers’ compensation.
March 23 marks the third anniversary of the passage of the most controversial legislation in a generation, the Affordable Care Act, better known as ObamaCare. As the federal law moves toward a more thorough implementation next year, states are grappling with the costs and obligations imposed on them, such as the need to establish health-insurance “exchanges” where low-income workers can obtain coverage.
Some states are also searching for ways, outside the scope of ObamaCare, to improve health care and lower costs. A promising idea that is gaining traction is to completely overhaul medical malpractice by kicking it out of courtrooms. Two states leading the way are Georgia and Florida, where lawmakers are considering repealing their medical tort system and replacing it with a medical-compensation board similar to those used for workers’ compensation. Bills for the Patients’ Compensation System have been introduced in both states.
Getting rid of the entrenched malpractice system could have a major impact on health-care spending because one of the biggest cost drivers is “defensive medicine.” Doctors tend to prescribe more tests and medicines and specialist referrals than necessary, all in an effort to protect themselves against malpractice accusations in the event that something goes wrong.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323393304578358691247678454.html?mod=opinion_newsreel
MANY OF US WHO SUPPORTER THE WAR IN IRAQ WERE OUTRAGED WHEN A WAR THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN WON WITH A “SHOCKING AND AWING” VICTORY TURNED INTO A CIRCUS OF SENSITIVITY TO OUR ENEMIES KNOWN AS “THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT” AND A REFUSAL TO EVEN WHISPER THE WORD JIHAD….RSK
It was 1998, and Iraq and the U.S. were edging toward war.The Iraqi dictator, President Clinton warned that February, “threatens the safety of his people, the stability of his region, and the security of all the rest of us. Some day, some way, I guarantee you, he’ll use the arsenal.” In October, the Iraq Liberation Act, which made regime change in Iraq official U.S. policy, passed 360-38 in the House and by unanimous consent in the Senate. In December, Mr. Clinton ordered Operation Desert Fox, a four-day bombardment of Iraq with the declared purpose of degrading Saddam’s WMD capability.
“Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process,” said Rep. Nancy Pelosi, justifying the case for military action on the eve of Mr. Clinton’s impeachment.”
***Whatever else might be said about the U.S. invasion of Iraq, which began 10 years ago, its origins, motives and justifications did not lie in the Administration of George W. Bush. On the contrary, when Mr. Bush came to office in January 2001 he inherited an Iraq that amounted to a simmering and endless crisis for the U.S.—one that Saddam appeared to be winning.
American and British warplanes enforced a no-fly zone over northern and southern Iraq at a cost of $1 billion a year. The U.N.’s Oil for Food sanctions designed to “contain” Saddam were crumbling amid international opposition to its effects on the Iraqi people, even as the regime used the sanctions as a propaganda tool and as a vehicle to bribe foreign officials. Iraqi Kurds were in perpetual jeopardy, as Saddam demonstrated in 1996 when his Republican Guard took the city of Irbil and shot 700 Kurdish partisans.
Most seriously, after 1998 Iraq rid itself of weapons inspectors, meaning there wasn’t even a small check on Saddam’s ambitions to rebuild a WMD capability he had already proved willing to use. When the weapons inspectors finally returned to Iraq in the run-up to the invasion, they found Saddam playing the same cat-and-mouse games that had defeated them in the 1990s.
“No confidence can arise that proscribed programs or items have been eliminated,” chief U.N. weapons inspector (and avowed war opponent) Hans Blix reported to the Security Council in January 2003, adding that “the Iraqi regime had allegedly misplaced 1,000 tons of VX nerve agent—one of the most toxic ever developed.”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323415304578368031095955670.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEFTTopBucket
A Paris suburb sends a message of ‘peace’ to the Mideast.
Last month the local council of a Paris suburb decided to send a symbolic message of peace to the Middle East—via a convicted Palestinian terrorist. Specifically, the leaders of Bezon voted unanimously to grant “honorary citizenship” to Majdi al Rimawi, who’s currently in prison for his role in the 2001 assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi.
The suburb’s official statement on the matter, written last week by Left Front Mayor Dominique Lesparre, makes no mention of the late Zeevi. The statement explains only that Bezon conferred the honor on Rimawi as part of its “strong tradition of peace, cooperation and solidarity with the Palestinian people” and its efforts in the “global movement for recognition of the Palestinian state.”
Mr. Lesparre’s statement describes Rimawi as a “resistant to the occupation of his country,” which is one way of putting it. Another way is that Rimawi, an operative of the old leftist-revolutionary Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, was the mastermind of Zeevi’s assassination.
According to the Jerusalem District Court judges who convicted him in 2008, Rimawi supplied the gunmen with cash, weapons, fake identity papers, information about the minister’s whereabouts and an escape route after the deed was done. The ruling, by the way, was based mostly on the accounts of Rimawi’s co-conspirators. The court gave Rimawi life in prison plus another 80 years for Zeevi’s murder and several other attacks and attempts on Israeli civilians.
Perhaps it’s not surprising that Mr. Lesparre seems oblivious to Rimawi’s crimes. The mayor’s statement last week laments that “to date more than 4,500 Palestinians, including women, children and the elderly, languish, mostly without trial in Israeli jails, because, like [Rimawi], they resist the occupation and colonization of their country.”
If he believes that, it’s worth wondering why the town doesn’t go ahead and offer them all honorary citizenship and permanent residency. Not all 4,500 can be serving life sentences, surely, and a few might well enjoy a home outside Paris once they’re released.
