RUTHFULLY YOURS

This week, a gigantic, 3,300-year-old religious complex was discovered in central Israel. It’s not clear whom the complex was aimed at, god-wise; possibly “Ba’al,” a Levantine pagan deity whose cult waned as Judaism grew.

Last month, a gigantic, 5,000-year-old stone crescent was uncovered in the Galilee, in northern Israel. It’s 150 yards long, 32 yards wide, and seven yards tall. It’s older than Stonehenge. According to an archaeologist at the Hebrew University, it’s probably an ancient shrine to the moon or a moon god.

It’s been a good autumn for human artifacts in the civilized world. It’s been a very bad autumn for human artifacts in the uncivilized world. (Oh what a fall was there . . .) As the New York Times reports, the Islamic State, and friends, “are deliberately wrecking shrines, statues, mosques, tombs and churches — anything they regard as idolatry.” Shrines, etc., which range in age from very old to ancient.

In the Near East, ancient history is thick on the ground. But wanton destruction of ancient history hasn’t been confined to Iraq or Syria. In 2001, two 2,500-year-old monumental Buddhas in Afghanistan were blown to bits by the Taliban. Last year, a 3,000-year-old Philistine harbor was bulldozed by Hamas to expand a training ground for its al-Qassam terror brigade. As of last year, according to the U.K. Independent, “Islam’s most holy relics are being demolished in Mecca,” in order to transform the “dusty desert pilgrimage town into a gleaming metropolis of skyscrapers.” This a theme in the wild wild east, and not a new one.

A good magician hones his craft by spending countless hours mastering sleight-of-hand techniques. The audience is distracted by one hand while the other hand is executing the illusion.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) pulled off an amazing sleight-of-hand trick this month by erasing Jewish ties to the Land of Israel.

Last week, the PA, with the backing of six Arab countries, successfully shepherded a resolution through the U.N. Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) listing the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron and Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem as Muslim sites, and condemning Israel for archeological excavations near the Temple Mount.

The resolution followed weeks of violent encounters, which started as a series of riots at the al-Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount, where Palestinians had stockpiled rocks, firebombs, and other weaponry. After the riots, Palestinians alleged that the status quo over the Temple Mount, where Jews are allowed to visit but not pray, was being threatened by Israel. These allegations were repeated, and exacerbated, by PA President Mahmoud Abbas, who accused Jews of contaminating Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem with their “filthy feet.”

The Kansas University student senate has voted to banish gender-specific pronouns such as “his/her” from its Rules and Regulations document because they’re “microaggressions” against the students who don’t use them.

To, you know, work toward stamping out oppression or something, the group will replace all of those hurtful “him/his”-es and “his/hers”-es with the much more sensitive and modern “they/them/their,” according to an article in the Lawrence Journal-World.

In case anyone might think (know) that “they/them/their” are often considered (are) plural and not singular pronouns, the group will add a disclaimer at the bottom explaining that they’re using them this way “to increase the inclusivity of Student Senate and prevent microaggressions gender pronouns pose to individuals who don’t use them.”

(So, basically, they’re doing it for social justice — a motive that, once declared, automatically makes the necessity of any initiative indisputable.)

Just imagine the dismay reform-minded Muslims must feel, not to mention oppressed women, homosexuals and minorities, when representatives of modern Christianity endorse a medieval warlord’s un-revised handbook for bloody intolerance.
I missed the significance of Pope John Paul II (the Polish Pope) kissing the Koran. At the time, I was among the sedated ones (see below). My level of alertness subsequently rose. I am now broadly aware of archbishops of Canterbury doing double somersaults with twists to show how flexible they are when it comes to dealing with Islam. For example, at one point then-Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams (Civil and Religious Law in England: a Religious Perspective, 7 February 2008) envisaged the introduction of sharia law in the UK before smartly back-flipping in case anyone noticed. Pope Francis has also shown a particular keenness for inter-faith dialogue.

Imagine the reaction of the mad mullahs, the radical muftis, the firebrand imams, and the sheiks of Arabique to the Pope kissing the Koran. Mixed emotions, I would think. Defilement of their sacred book might have entered their minds. Uppermost, however, would probably have been extreme satisfaction that the Pope was behaving as befitting the leader of future dhimmis.

According to John O’Sullivan’s insightful and entertaining book, The President, the Pope and the Prime Minister, Pope John Paul became disappointed that his respectful gesture was not appropriately reciprocated in one way or another. After fourteen centuries of bloody and bloody-minded conflict that is surely the best-ever example of the triumph of hope over experience.

Recall, Islam in its fundamental scripture specifically takes on and mangles the central tenets of Christianity. No other religion does that. It specifically denies the divinity and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. In the Koran, verse 61:6, it has Christ (conveniently for Mohammed) foreshadowing the coming of a Messenger (read Mohammed), despite Christ clearly ruling out future prophets before his own return and warning that false prophets will arise in the interim. (Matthew Ch. 24, Mark Ch. 13)

Apocalypticism used to be packaged as the forever-looming punishment for man’s sins against God. These days it is Gaia who has been sinned against, according to her legion of environmental Jeremiahs. Unlike the Old Testament prophet, these retailers of the woe to come richly deserve to be scorned
https://quadrant.org.au/opinion/doomed-planet/2015/10/scared-silly-road-green-salvation/

Once again, the Australian people are about to be sold out, offered up as human sacrifices on the altar of the new religion of Gaia. Having successfully staged a coup to dislodge climate change moderate Tony Abbott as Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, along with Greg Hunt and Julie Bishop, can now make their pilgrimage to the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris, the objective of which is to establish a legally binding and universal agreement on draconian climate change action from all the nations of the world.

In this fashion they will deliver us all into the gaping, insatiable maw of the global warming racket, with hundreds of billions of dollars to be expropriated annually from the middle-classes of the West and funneled into financial institutions, giant rent-seeking corporations, UN bureaucracies, and Third World kleptocracies.

The mendacity, gullibility, and self-interest of these politicians and their accomplices (especially in academia and the media) is breathtaking, but ultimately they are building upon a carefully choreographed campaign of eco-apocalyptic agitation and propaganda that has been underway for decades. While the machinations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and similar agencies are notorious, the longer-term history of the campaign to enchain the people of the world under the pretense of preventing a climate catastrophe is extremely illuminating as it discloses the true nature of the crusade presently being waged.

Ryan Bellerose is a Métis from Northern Alberta. His father, Mervin Bellerose, co-authored the Métis Settlements Act of 1989, which was passed by the Alberta legislature in 1990 and cemented his land rights. Ryan founded Canadians For Accountability, a Native rights advocacy group, and he is an Idle No More movement organizer. He is also a founding member in the Calgary United with Israel (CUWI) organization. Ryan is a self-proclaimed Zionist.

Dear Palestinians,

Let’s get a few things straight. You do not get to claim a genocide when your population has exploded. As someone whose family has gone through one, I am telling you to cut that s*** out, it’s offensive and it’s annoying.

You did not “go through what Native Americans went through.” Nobody forced you to speak an alien language, worship God in an alien manner and steal your sacred places. As a matter of fact THAT’S WHAT YOU DID. You stole sacred places, forced indigenous people to speak Arabic and worship god as Muslims. So seriously cut that out too.

You did not in fact have a civil rights struggle like black people in America. Black people in America didn’t blow up school buses or pizzerias filled with school kids in order to achieve equal rights, and they damn sure didn’t talk endlessly about pushing white people into the sea.

You are not persecuted like gay people, for something that is beyond your control. Nobody throws you off buildings because you love someone you shouldn’t. So again, cut that out, it’s getting old, especially when some of us are well aware that your society not only hates gay people but actively persecutes them. You are the guys throwing them from buildings.

You do not get to keep stealing stories. You stole the identity of what was known as ‘Palestinian’. Before World War II the term meant Jews. But that’s OK, it’s a colonialist term, and I am sure that my Jewish friends don’t want it. They prefer to be called Jews, Hebrews, Israelites or Israelis, so you can take your colonialist garbage and get lost.

To All: The Holocaust is an essential part of Jewish history, but the current kerfluffle over the relative awfulness of the Mufti and Hitler is a distraction from Israel’s real problems that the pro-Israel community cannot afford. Israel’s enemies hope we’ll stay fixed on our past instead of our present and future. Best always, Shoshana

Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, set off a firestorm on October 21 by saying that the Mufti of Jerusalem had actually planted the idea of exterminating the Jews in Hitler’s mind; that Hitler would have simply ousted them from Europe.

Scholars, academicians, politicians, friends and enemies of Jews, Israel, and Netanyahu leapt to the barricades. The Washington Post had the story on the front page. Twitter and blogs have overflowed with it. The Chancellor of Germany found it oddly necessary to say, “Germany is responsible for the Holocaust.”

But enough about who, between two long-dead anti-Semites, was the worst. It is a distraction and provides cover for today’s racists and those who would destroy Israel.

Palestinian agitator Saeb Erekat used the tumult to weigh in. In the latest Palestinian effort to rewrite history, he said, “Palestine’s efforts against Nazis, are deep-rooted part of our history.”

What Are Your Pronouns?
By Jay Nordlinger —

Friends, I have a piece in the current National Review on the curious and contentious matter of pronouns. I thought I would “blow it out” here in Impromptus — expand it. Let’s get going.

In 2003, I was moderating a “dinner panel” at the annual conference in Davos. I said that I would ask each participant “to say a few words about himself.” It crossed my mind to add “or herself” — but then I thought, “No, we’re all adults here. This is not Oberlin College. People know about English, and language generally.” I was wrong.

The first person I called on was an anthropology professor, a woman, who said, “To begin with, I am not a ‘himself,’ I am a person.” The woman next to her — her companion — burst into applause. It was vigorous, angry applause, and it was lone applause. The lady clapped for about two seconds. Then the professor continued.

This was a terribly awkward moment, and it taught me something, or confirmed something: Standard English — once-standard English? — is risky business.

“To each his own,” we used to say. We did not mean anything sexual by it. We were not referring to people with male genitalia. We were referring to people. So it was with the word “man.” “What is man, that thou art mindful of him?” “What a piece of work is a man!”

http://jamieglazov.com/2015/10/27/stealth-jihad-vs-america-on-the-glazov-gang/

This special edition of The Glazov Gang was joined by David Kupelian, the author of the new book, The Snapping of the American Mind and vice-president and managing editor of the online news giant WND.

David discussed Stealth Jihad vs. America, unveiling the Left’s enabling of the Muslim Brotherhood’s offensive. He also outlined the numerous ways the progressive agenda has spawned The Snapping of the American Mind.

The author wishes to remain anonymous …..rsk

Subject: these times.

Hi all,

I feel the need to send out an update about our lives in this situation, but I honestly feel speechless. People’s ability to adapt is uncanny, and so, you just keep going..Today as I packed my bag for work in Jerusalem, I grabbed my water bottle, computer, and…swiss army knife.

When I drive into Jerusalem on the 443 road, I veer to the middle lane to avoid any potential stone throwing. I pass by the petrol station on my route and recall 2 recent terror attacks that took place there..

Earlier this week, I advertised in the community group list, offering a lift to anyone needing a ride to Jerusalem, as I was frightened to drive alone. What would happen if I was stoned, attacked, stuck? A lovely, elderly lady from the kibbutz responded that she would be grateful for a ride. Together we rode and with her beside me, I felt safer. Yes, people were being targeted on the streets but… she had a dentist appointment in talpiot!

Originally from chutz la’aretz, though having lived through many a conflict, war, and intifada, she continued to explain to me, that there was absolutely no where else she would ever imagine being. Uneasily, I dropped her off at a bus stop on French Hill, as I continued onto the campus to teach my class, a course on Trauma & Resilience. In the middle of class, a student apologized and blurted out that she just received word of the wave of terrorist attacks that took place that morning. “I can’t concentrate, I’m freaking out…” The duration of class, became much more practical than theoretical as we discussed what to do, how to cope, and how to move forward.