RUTHFULLY YOURS

A video, entitled “A Second Message to America,” was released on September 2nd purporting to show the beheading of American journalist Steven Sotloff by an ISIS jihadist. The Obama administration could not immediately verify the authenticity of the video.

Meanwhile, as strange as it may seem, ISIS itself decried the early release of the video “before the official time,” but did not deny responsibility for the barbaric act. Apparently, ISIS not only combines its medieval barbarism with 21st century social media technology, but also wants to time the marketing of its barbarism for maximum prime time effect.

Mr. Sotloff was reportedly executed in the same manner as the journalist James Foley was two weeks ago. The chilling voice in the video, which appeared to be same voice with a British accent that was heard on the video of Mr. Foley’s execution, uttered these taunting words directed at President Obama:

I’m back, Obama, and I’m back because of your arrogant foreign policy towards the Islamic State, because of your insistence on continuing your bombings and … on Mosul Dam, despite our serious warnings. You Obama, have but to gain from your actions but another American citizen. So just as your missiles continue to strike out people, our knife will continue to strike the necks of your people.

We take this opportunity to warn those governments that enter this evil alliance of America against the Islamic State to back off and leave our people alone.

President Obama himself did not have any immediate comment. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest, upon learning about the beheading while speaking to reporters at the daily White House press briefing, said that he was not then in a position to confirm the authenticity of the video, but said: “Our thoughts and prayers, first and foremost, are with Mr. Sotloff and Mr. Sotloff’s family and those who worked with him. The United States, as you know, has dedicated significant time and resources to try and rescue Mr. Sotloff.”

Whether the Obama administration did everything it could to rescue Steven Sotloff and James Foley is in question. The White House is said to have delayed a decision on whether to launch a rescue operation for at least 30 days, according to a report in The Sunday Times of London. That could well have made the difference between success and failure.

http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/frontpagemag-com/hijab-rising-on-santa-monicas-3rd-street-promenade-on-the-glazov-gang/

This week’s Glazov Gang was guest-hosted by Nonie Darwish and joined by Samira Tamer, L.A. ACT Chapter Leader, who joined the show to discuss Hijab Rising on Santa Monica’s 3rd Street Promenade, shedding a disturbing light on Islamic Supremacism’s totalitarian presence on the streets of L.A.:

Hamas would likely resort to violence to thwart any attempts to disarm the group. It is therefore highly unlikely the Europeans would confront Hamas in any meaningful way.

Spanish intelligence agents met secretly with Hezbollah operatives, who agreed to provide “escorts” to protect Spanish UNIFIL patrols. The quid pro quo was that Spanish troops would look the other way while Hezbollah was allowed to rearm for its next war with Israel. Hezbollah’s message to Spain was: mind your own business.

If the European experience with Hezbollah in Lebanon is any indication, not only will Hamas not be disarmed, it will be rearmed as European monitors look on and do nothing.

What is clear is that European leaders have never been committed to honoring either the letter or the spirit of UN Resolutions 1559, 1680 and 1701, all of which were aimed at preventing Hezbollah from rearming.

European leaders are calling for a greater European role in enforcing the cease-fire in the Gaza Strip. They say their focus should be not only on rebuilding Gaza, but also on monitoring the demilitarization of Hamas and helping to secure the border crossings between the Gaza and Egypt to ensure that Hamas cannot be rearmed.

But if the European experience with Hezbollah in Lebanon is any indication, not only will Hamas not be disarmed, it will be rearmed as European monitors look on and do nothing.

French President François Holland, in a major foreign policy speech in Paris on August 28, said Europe should play a greater role in Gaza. “Since 2002, Europe has done a lot to rebuild and develop Palestine […] but it cannot simply be a cashier used to heal the wounds after a recurring conflict,” he said.

Referring to a nascent proposal for creating a Gaza observer mission under the auspices of the European Union, Hollande added: “Gaza can no longer be an army base for Hamas, or an open-air prison for its inhabitants. We have to go towards a progressive lifting of the blockade and the demilitarization of the territory.”

The EU observer mission—which is being promoted by Britain, France and Germany and would be established by a United Nations Security Council resolution—would be based at the Rafah border crossing, the main crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. The mission would be charged with preventing the smuggling of weapons into Gaza and ensuring that building supplies such as cement and metal products are used for civilian reconstruction projects and not for building tunnels and rockets.

I attach below a piece that I previously ran on this list at the time it was published, in case you missed it, and for people who are new to this list. Francesca Borri, an Italian freelance journalist reporting from the frontlines of the war in Syria describes in graphic terms what we knew already: that war is hell – and that the Syrian war is particularly difficult to report on, partly because of some seemingly heartless news editors in the West who have done little to help or protect journalists covering the war.

I also attach a piece by The Guardian’s courageous reporter Martin Chulov, written after James Foley’s murder two weeks ago, in which he writes that Foley and fellow freelancers were “exploited by pared-back media outlets. In this new age of journalism, publishers should not abdicate responsibility by hiding behind low budgets.”

If only the media spent even a fraction of the budget they allocate to Gaza, and offer bodyguards and other protection to journalists trying to report on the absolutely appalling atrocities continuing daily in Syria – the rapes, the beheadings, the crucifixions, the starvation, the continued use of poisoned gasses, the selling of children as sex slaves…

Yesterday, as I am sure you all know by now, ISIS released a video showing the beheading of freelance journalist Steven Sotloff.

Steven Sotloff was the grandson of Holocaust survivors. The fact that he was Jewish was suppressed by media that knew (including myself) while he was alive in order to prevent further torture by his captors. He had also written for the Jerusalem Post about the Holocaust and about the small Jewish community that still exists in Vienna.

The New York Times mentioned his being Jewish online briefly but it was quickly taken off their website after they were asked by the state department to do so. Other major papers were wise enough not to mention it in the first place, in light of the additional torture that beheaded Wall Street Journal journalist Daniel Pearl was subjected to.

Incidentally, as is the case with Foley, and apparently with Sotloff, one of Pearl’s killers also had a British connection and had studied at the London School of Economics.

Those of you who visit the Voltaire Press Facebook site should be advised that I have been permanently blocked from leaving comments on it that contradict the premises, assumptions, and conclusions of the pro-open borders and pro-open immigration narrative, and, indeed, from even visiting the Voltaire Press Facebook site.

Also, the new manager of Voltaire Press remains anonymous, and has refused multiple times to identify himself. It is certainly not Gary Hull, who has vanished, but who would never upbraid me for providing links to news stories that contradict that narrative (I am aware of the particulars of his status, as some of you might be).

Most of the patrons who do leave posts on the Voltaire Press page are what I call rationalizing, picayune “bean counters” and dabblers trying to reconcile Objectivism, a philosophy of reason, with a variety of straw men issues, and who deny the perils of an Obama-staged invasion of illegals, not only from Mexico and Central America, but now, it has been reported by Texas and the FBI, by Islamic jihadists from the Mideast and Africa. This is aside from their erroneous premise that the U.S. it not at war with Islam (contrary to what President Obama said in Cairo and elsewhere, Islam is at war with us), and so immigration restrictions of potentially hostile immigrants are not morally justified. This is tantamount to residents of a burning building discussing the nature of fire, about who might or might not be the arsonist, and having a coffee klatch to discuss shades of meaning, instead of escaping from the conflagration or attempting to put out the flames.

It’s the caliber of intellectual discussion that gives intellectual discussion a bad name.

Anyway, visit Voltaire Press on Facebook and see for yourself the character of the discussion. I’m done with Voltaire Press, and it with me. I’ll continue to fight the battles that need to be fought, and Voltaire Press can go on bean-counting and erecting scarecrows.

Another person’s posts whose arguments against the unrealistic policies of open borders and open immigration were also deleted. I do not know if he has been banned, as well.

Seeds of tyranny also grow where political correctness reign

The Islamic State (usually called ISIS) and the other advocates of Shariah law are growing rapidly, along with their zeal to eradicate or convert all “infidels.” For those who are asleep at the wheel, in the opinion of these fanatics, most of Western civilization — including America — fits into the infidel category.

I normally encourage conversation and compromise where possible, but how does one negotiate or compromise with someone who desires your elimination? Maybe if you meet some of their demands, they will only dismember you or kill you more slowly. Obviously, the expansion of groups like the Islamic State represents an existential threat to our own nation and our way of life. If ever there was a time to work together for self-preservation, the time is now. There really is no time to squabble about who was right and who was wrong in the past regarding our activities in the Middle East. Our enemies will use every opportunity to divide us and distract us, which will make their jobs of destroying us much easier.

In order to prevail in the war on terrorism, we must have an overall strategy, the goal of which is annihilation of the terrorists, as opposed to simply winning battles with them here and there. This means paying much more attention to military preparedness, both offensive and defensive. That means significantly increasing our covert operations, without blabbing to the world about what we will or will not do. It means cultivating strong and trusting relationships with our allies and never leaving them to worry about abandonment for political reasons. It means helping other countries in the region to realize that they, too, will soon be targets of the Islamic State, which will radically alter their comfortable lives.

When it comes to elimination of those trying to destroy us, we have to be smart enough to realize that we must have airtight borders to prevent easy access for terrorists. Some say this is too difficult. I guarantee that it is easier than trying to rebuild a nation that has been destroyed because we thought logical defense was too difficult. There is no question that unpleasantries brought about by our own forces will be necessary to accomplish our goals and defeat terrorism, but you cannot win a politically correct war.

Our enemies’ desire to establish a caliphate is no joke. Their convert-or-die doctrine parallels some of the social philosophies enforced by the political correctness police in this country. Either you must accept their interpretation of what is moral and correct or the name-calling starts, and they attempt to destroy your business or your reputation. We despise the Islamic State, but do not see the same ugliness in our own tactics. The truth hurts, and it is much easier to ignore it or try to demonize its bearer. Unless integrity, courage and common sense result in the ability to honestly examine our own hypocrisy, we will lose the war of ideas and identity, and the land of the free will become a distant memory.

I’ve been privileged to get to know some incredibly smart and talented military leaders, as well as covert operators and innovative engineers. I am confident that with our talent and faith, we cannot only win this war, we can show the world a better way.

There’s chatter, and there’s chatter, and only a trained intelligence ear can tell the difference. The trained ears are trying now to determine what to make of the chatter about a new attack on the United States, here or abroad and perhaps coordinated by the Islamic State (usually called ISIS).

If there’s anything to the chatter (and sometimes there is), we may soon be treated to what happens when Barack Obama employs his famous tactic of “leading from behind.” We have to call it a tactic and not a strategy, since the president says he doesn’t have a strategy.

He might one day get one, but he says he “doesn’t want to put the cart before the horse. We don’t have a strategy yet.” He might not have the cart yet, either, and there’s certainly no sign of a horse. Such hope is based on the works of Alfred E. Neuman, the famous comic-book philosopher, celebrated for how he deals with disaster: “What, me worry?”

Certain national-security officers, who have heard the chatter and measured it against what they think they can expect, based on painful experience, do worry. They are not so carefree and cheerful as Mr. Neuman might be. “We’ve noticed a significant increase in chatter among Islamic terrorist organizations both on the Internet and telephone lines,” a U.S. government security officer tells the Blaze, an Internet news site.

Intelligence officers won’t say whether they think an attack is imminent, the officer says, but “agencies did see this kind of increase in chatter before the September 11 attacks.” The anniversary is upon us.

If such an attack occurs, it may surprise the White House but it won’t surprise governments elsewhere. There are hints across the world that would be starkly revealed as having been portents, not mere hints.

Britain has unique reasons to worry about terrorism, with its thousands of new Muslim immigrants flocking from the British Commonwealth. It’s the price Old Blighty is paying for centuries of colonialism, and the government has raised its warning level from “substantial” to “severe,” the second-highest indicator of concern. “Severe” means a terrorist attack of some kind is “highly likely.”

SNAPSHOT SPENDING
SALARIES * PENSIONS * VENDOR SPENDING
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At OpenTheBooks.com, today, we released our SNAPSHOT™ Spending Report for 928 IL school districts. Each report covers pensions, salaries, and vendor spending. Each individual school district is bench marked on spending vs. consumer price index (CPI) inflation.

There are few weapons as deadly as the Israeli house. When its brick and mortar are combined together, the house, whether it is one of those modest one story hilltop affairs or a five floor apartment building complete with hot and cold running water, becomes far more dangerous than anything green and glowing that comes out of the Iranian centrifuges.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UkDgfB5IZEI/UL7ScIe5jPI/AAAAAAAAKTs/uQ6-9M-LI1k/s1600/article-construction2-1130.jpgForget the cluster bomb and the mine, the poison gas shell and even tailored viruses. Iran can keep its nuclear bombs. They don’t impress anyone in Europe or in Washington. Genocide is a minor matter when in the presence of the fearsome weapon of terror that is an Israeli family of four moving into a new apartment.

Sudan may have built a small mountain of African corpses, but it can’t expect to command the full and undivided attention of the world until it does something truly outrageous like building a house and filling it with Jews. Since the Sudanese Jews are as gone as the Jews of Egypt, Iraq, Syria and good old Afghanistan, the chances of Bashir the Butcher pulling off that trick are rather slim.

Due to the Muslim world’s shortsightedness in driving out its Jews from Cairo, Aleppo and Baghdad to Jerusalem, the ultimate weapon in international affairs is entirely controlled by the Jewish State. The Jewish State’s stockpile of Jews should worry the international community far more than its hypothetical stockpiles of nuclear weapons. No one besides Israel, and possibly Saudi Arabia, cares much about the Iranian bomb. But when Israel builds a house, then the international community tears its clothes, wails, threatens to recall its ambassadors and boycott Israeli peaches.

Angry British men in red Keffiyahs hold up signs about the Holocaust in front of Jewish cosmetics stores in London. Marginalized French youth, by way of Algeria and Tunisia, hurl stones at synagogues. John Kerry interrupts a speech on the dangers of Global Warming as an aide notifies him of an even bigger threat to the world. David just made a down payment on a two bedroom in Gvaot.

You can spit on the White House carpets and steal all the gold in Greece. You can blow up anything you like and threaten anyone you will, but you had better not lift a drill near the hills from which Balaam tried and failed to curse the Jewish people. Where the old Mesopotamian warlock failed, his successors in the United Nations follow in his footsteps by cursing Israel every day of the week.

Some may think that nuclear weapons are the ultimate weapons, but as we see, time and time again, the ultimate weapon is a hammer and a fistful of nails in a Jewish hand.

Despite its reputation as the month known for its “dog” days, August historically has been anything but somnambulant. After all, it was the “guns of August” 100 years ago that marked the end of the Victorian and Edwardian ages, which had done so much to bring scientific, commercial and artistic advancements to the civilized world – along with murderous weapons of war and some of the more odious consequences of colonialism. August was also the month, in 1664, when the British fleet appeared off New Amsterdam, causing the city to change its name to New York. One hundred and fifty years later the British were back, this time burning the White House in 1814. And, of course even if we weren’t there, many of us remember the summer 45 years ago when what was termed an “Aquarian exposition” was held on Max Yasgur’s farm. The festival took the name “Woodstock,” a town 40 miles to the northeast.

This August has brought the despicable and public beheading of an American by the Islamic fundamentalist terrorist group, ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant). Despite the remarkable admission by Mr. Obama that he has “no strategy toward ISIS in Syria,” there have already been airstrikes in Iraq, followed by a nominal number of “boots on the ground,” and it seems increasingly likely that a similar strategy will have to be pursued in Syria, if the dragon is to be slain in its lair.

While we may wish it no longer existed, evil remains very much with us. All of the politically correct euphemisms and denials – “workplace violence” for the Fort Hood shootings; “man-made disasters” for terrorism; “it was the video,” for Benghazi; “red lines” in Syria; “Outliers” for rogue states; “overseas contingency operations” and “kinetic military action” for whatever it was Mr. Obama was trying to obfuscate; “Osama bin Laden is dead and al Qaeda is in decline” to help win the 2012 Presidential election; and ISIS as the “junior varsity” last January – are being shown as not only wrong, but deceptive. While we will never hear President Obama express it, what we are seeing is the reality that President Bush acknowledged over a decade ago – that Islamic terrorism is not limited to one organization and that the war against Islamic extremism will likely last generations.