RUTHFULLY YOURS

Statue of Liberty: Remembering Emma Lazarus and Her 14 Iconic Lines
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/239158/20111027/statue-liberty-remembering-emma-lazarus-14-iconic.htm

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…

In 14 lines engraved on a plaque on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, Emma Lazarus (1849-1887) captured the belief in the “American Dream” that has defined the United States’ self-image for more than a century and moved millions of immigrants to seek refuge here.

Fittingly, those lines — a sonnet titled “The New Colossus” — were written by a Jewish-American woman who knew how it was to feel like an outsider.

http://geostrategy-direct-subscribers.com/?p=163 WASHINGTON — Al Qaida’s network in North Africa is expanding its presence to Cuba and Spain, a report said. The Hudson Institute said Al Qaida Organization in the Islamic Maghreb has been deploying agents in Spain as well as Cuba in an effort to expand its presence. The institute said AQIM in cooperation with […]

http://www.jihadwatch.org/ “When asked about the role of Islam in the status of women in Afghanistan, Leno confirmed that “the Quran is more liberal with women than the Bible.” She added that Prophet Mohammad was married to a wealthy and powerful woman, implying that Islam has nothing against empowering women; on the contrary it is a […]

Noah Flood 2011
Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger
“Israel Hayom” Newsletter, October 29, 2011 http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=732

The story of Noah’s Flood – which is featured in this week’s portion of the Torah – highlights the deep historical roots of US-Israel relations, the shared-values which bind the two countries and the opportunity of enhanced US-Israel relations, which is hidden in recent geopolitical and economic deluges.

Both Noah’s Ark and the Columbus expedition arrived at their destinations – 4,400 years apart – during the Holiday of Tabernacles (Sukkot), hence the annual celebration of Columbus Day around Sukkot. In fact, Columbus arrived on the shores of America on October 12, 1492, the last day of Sukkot, the day of divine deliverance, Hosha’ana Raba, according to Judaism.

Moreover, Noah’s Flood ended with the initial Covenant between God and mankind, symbolized by the rainbow. The flood swept away the immoral old world of the Tower of Babel, which represented the threat of absolute power, especially when in the hands of megalomaniac rulers. On the other hand, the new world introduced “unity through diversity” as a challenge – and a prerequisite – to free societies.

The Founding Fathers of the USA, who considered themselves “the modern people of the Covenant,” rebelled against the absolute power of the British monarchy Tower of Babel. They introduced a modern version of political diversity and liberty: checks and balances, separation of powers, federalism and the centrality of – and accountability to – the constituent. Instead of the Tower of Babel-like “divine” autocracy, they laid the foundations for modern day Judeo-Christian liberty: freedom of religion, education, press, expression, association, movement and competition.

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/print/281617 Is our trouble with a religion or an ideology? Islam or Islamist? That is the question. Is the term “Islamist” a politically incorrect fabrication to dodge the inconvenient truth that Islam itself is inherently and inevitably chauvinistic and totalitarian? Or is it a necessary distinction to draw: denominating supremacist Muslims striving to impose on […]

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/281570/adult-babies-mark-steyn Last Thursday was officially “Diaper Need Awareness Day” in the State of Connecticut. Were you aware of it? There are so many awareness-raising days, it’s hard to keep track. Maybe we could have an Awareness-Raising Day Awareness Day. At any rate, the first annual Diaper Need Awareness Day was proclaimed by Dan Malloy, governor […]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203554104577004213250482518.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_AboveLEFTTop

“Ms. Mahfouz’s call to action deserves respect. Less deserving are her views about Israelis—”Let them vanish, why should we care, it is our land!”—and about how the future Egypt should behave toward its neighbor: “When Egypt becomes strong, we will liberate Palestine.” She has also warned, in the context of Egypt’s internal politics, that “if the judiciary doesn’t give us our rights, nobody should be surprised if militant groups appear and conduct a series of assassinations because there is no law and there is no judiciary.””

The late Andrei Sakharov was among the Soviet Union’s most famous dissidents. So it’s fitting that a prestigious award bestowed in his name by the European Parliament should this year recognize the courage and dignity of Arabs who marched, suffered and sometimes died to shake the yoke of despotism. It’s also a pity the award-givers didn’t do a better job distinguishing between genuine human-rights champions and agitators of violent bent.

Take Asmaa Mahfouz, who was among this year’s five prize-winners. In early January she posted a video blog calling for protests against Hosni Mubarak. “If you consider yourself a man,” she said, “come and join me.” Hundreds of thousands of Egyptian men—and women—did, and a few weeks later the Mubarak regime was history.

National Conference on Jewish Affairs

natlconference@gmail.com

New York, October 28, 2011 — The National Conference on Jewish Affairs, a coalition of Jewish leaders and organizations across America, applauds President Lester A. Lefton’s thoughtful remarks regarding Professor Julio Pino’s recent words and actions.

Historically, however, citizens of this country have not called for the death of an entire people or country. We are appalled that such a man should remain in a position of leadership, especially one that molds the minds of young people and our future citizens. Such blood-curdling, inciting rhetoric — calling for the death of an entire people — may be acceptable in certain countries in the Middle East, but is unacceptable here in America.

This evidently is not an isolated incident. Professor Pino in 2007 reportedly was a contributor to a jihadist news service. Journalist Mike Adams has reported the following disturbing assertions in Townhall:

http://rightbias.com/News/adams207.aspx

Julio Pino is a genocidal anti-Semite who uses his university email account to boast of sodomizing the mothers of his political opponents. But he has the protection of tenure. And he also has the protection of a cowardly administration, which fails to sufficiently condemn the behavior of a man who is probably too effeminate to act on his threats of violence and intimidation.

Pino, the unhinged Kent State University history professor, recently shouted “Death to Israel” during a speech by a former Israeli diplomat. The university’s president, Lester Lefton, now says that statementwas “deplorable.” Lefton issued a statement saying Julio Pino had a right to shout “Death to Israel” and disrupt someone else’s speech. That’s good to know because I plan to barge into Julio Pino’s history class next week and shout “Death to Julio Pino!” If the president doesn’t write a letter supporting my right to do so, I plan to barge into his office and shout “Death to President Lefton!”

I can do all this because we all know that shouting other people down and drowning out their protected free speech with threats of violence is also protected free speech. It’s what the Founding Fathers intended. Death to Jefferson! Death to Madison! Kill them all!

President Lefton surprised me when he wrote “We value critical thinking at this university and encourage students to engage with ideas that they find difficult or make them uncomfortable.” Well that’s just great! That must mean that Kent State has no university speech code. And that means we can engage in a little experimentation.

http://news.yahoo.com/us-official-13-americans-killed-afghan-bombing-132131947.html

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A Taliban suicide bomber rammed a van into an armored NATO bus Saturday in Kabul, killing 13 American troops and four Afghans, U.S. and Afghan officials said, in the deadliest attack on coalition forces in more than two months.

The explosion, which occurred as the convoy was passing the American University, sparked a fireball and littered the street with shrapnel. Heavy black smoke poured from burning wreckage at the site.

The armored personnel carrier, known as a Rhino was sandwiched between of a convoy of mine-resistant military vehicles traveling on a four-lane highway frequently used by NATO forces in a southwestern section of the city.

NATO said 13 service members were killed, but a U.S. official confirmed they were all Americans. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.