Monday, May 31, 2010
Hundreds of Protesters Shouting “Allahu Akbar” Storm Israeli Consulate in Turkey
Gateway Pundit:
Hundreds of Islamic protesters in Istanbul stoned the Israeli consulate and screamed “Allahu Akbar” as they tried to storm the building:
CNN-Turk and NTV televisions show hundreds of angry protesters scuffling with Turkish police guarding the Israeli Consulate building in downtown Istanbul.
Turkish police blocked dozens of stone-throwing protesters who tried to storm the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul over reports of an Israeli attack on at least one aid ship in international waters on Monday, news channels reported.
Hundreds of Islamic protesters in Istanbul stoned the Israeli consulate and screamed “Allahu Akbar” as they tried to storm the building:
CNN-Turk and NTV televisions show hundreds of angry protesters scuffling with Turkish police guarding the Israeli Consulate building in downtown Istanbul.
Turkish police blocked dozens of stone-throwing protesters who tried to storm the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul over reports of an Israeli attack on at least one aid ship in international waters on Monday, news channels reported.
"Peace activists" the Gaza Flotilla (Marmara) tried lynching the soldiers
at Doug Ross:
It is the IDF Spokesman’s firm contention that Israeli troops were premeditatedly attacked as they attempted to intercept the flotilla en route to the Gaza Strip overnight. “It was a lynch,” said spokesman Avi Benayahu. “An ambush.”
he has much much more
It is the IDF Spokesman’s firm contention that Israeli troops were premeditatedly attacked as they attempted to intercept the flotilla en route to the Gaza Strip overnight. “It was a lynch,” said spokesman Avi Benayahu. “An ambush.”
he has much much more
Newsmax:
Obama Administration Concerned About Gaza Incident
Monday, 31 May 2010 09:09 AM
The Obama administration voiced concern on the eve of a scheduled Washington visit by Israeli's leader about the Jewish state's deadly commando attack on ships carrying pro-Palestinian activists on aid mission to the blockaded Gaza Strip.
White House spokesman Bill Burton, speaking a day before President Barack Obama was scheduled to host Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for talks at the White House, said the United States "deeply regrets the loss of life and injuries sustained" in the incident.
Burton also said that administration officials are "currently working to understand the circumstances surrounding this tragedy." The United States, among others, has been trying to restart direct peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians, but progress toward this achievement has lagged severely in recent months. At least 10 people were killed and dozens wounded in the incident Monday.
The raid brought heightened attention to Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, imposed after the Palestinian militant group Hamas seized control of the tiny Mediterranean territory in 2007. The blockade — along with Israel's fierce offensive against Gaza in the winter of 2008-2009 to stop Hamas rocket fire — has fueled anti-Israeli sentiment around the Arab world.
Obama, who has been pushing for a reinvigoration of the peace process, also has a meeting scheduled here June 9 with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
In a statement last week, the White House said that Obama and Abbas planned to discuss the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian proximity talks and ways the U.S. can work with both parties to move into direct talks. They also will discuss U.S. efforts to support the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Obama and fellow Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel discussed the need for a renewed Middle East peace process earlier this month during a private lunch at the White House.
Speaking to reporters afterward, Wiesel said the meeting was a "good kosher lunch" between friends. But he said the conversation did turn serious, as the two Nobel Peace Prize winners discussed the administration's attempts to break the deadlock in the Israel-Palestinian peace talks.
Obama's meeting with Wiesel, a strong supporter of Israel, comes during a period of strained relations between the U.S. and Israel. The author said he believes tensions between the two countries are lessening.
Wiesel survived the Nazi concentration camps at Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Last June, when Obama visited Germany, Wiesel accompanied the president on a tour of Buchenwald.
Relations between the two countries were tested when Israel announced plans for additional settlements in a part of Jerusalem that Palestinians consider as the likely capital of a new Palestinian state. The announcement came as Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, were preparing to have dinner with Netanyahu, in an incident that turned out to be an embarrassment for the Israeli leader.
Obama Administration Concerned About Gaza Incident
Monday, 31 May 2010 09:09 AM
The Obama administration voiced concern on the eve of a scheduled Washington visit by Israeli's leader about the Jewish state's deadly commando attack on ships carrying pro-Palestinian activists on aid mission to the blockaded Gaza Strip.
White House spokesman Bill Burton, speaking a day before President Barack Obama was scheduled to host Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for talks at the White House, said the United States "deeply regrets the loss of life and injuries sustained" in the incident.
Burton also said that administration officials are "currently working to understand the circumstances surrounding this tragedy." The United States, among others, has been trying to restart direct peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians, but progress toward this achievement has lagged severely in recent months. At least 10 people were killed and dozens wounded in the incident Monday.
The raid brought heightened attention to Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, imposed after the Palestinian militant group Hamas seized control of the tiny Mediterranean territory in 2007. The blockade — along with Israel's fierce offensive against Gaza in the winter of 2008-2009 to stop Hamas rocket fire — has fueled anti-Israeli sentiment around the Arab world.
Obama, who has been pushing for a reinvigoration of the peace process, also has a meeting scheduled here June 9 with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
In a statement last week, the White House said that Obama and Abbas planned to discuss the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian proximity talks and ways the U.S. can work with both parties to move into direct talks. They also will discuss U.S. efforts to support the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Obama and fellow Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel discussed the need for a renewed Middle East peace process earlier this month during a private lunch at the White House.
Speaking to reporters afterward, Wiesel said the meeting was a "good kosher lunch" between friends. But he said the conversation did turn serious, as the two Nobel Peace Prize winners discussed the administration's attempts to break the deadlock in the Israel-Palestinian peace talks.
Obama's meeting with Wiesel, a strong supporter of Israel, comes during a period of strained relations between the U.S. and Israel. The author said he believes tensions between the two countries are lessening.
Wiesel survived the Nazi concentration camps at Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Last June, when Obama visited Germany, Wiesel accompanied the president on a tour of Buchenwald.
Relations between the two countries were tested when Israel announced plans for additional settlements in a part of Jerusalem that Palestinians consider as the likely capital of a new Palestinian state. The announcement came as Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, were preparing to have dinner with Netanyahu, in an incident that turned out to be an embarrassment for the Israeli leader.
Newsmax:
Paper: Netanyahu 'Furious' with Obama over Iran Policy
30 May 2010 04:58 PM
JERUSALEM — Washington's unprecedented backing for a UN resolution for a nuclear-free Middle East that singles out Israel has both angered and deeply worried the Jewish state although officials are cagey about openly criticising their biggest ally.
The resolution adopted by the United Nations on Friday calls on Israel to join the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and urges it to open its facilities to inspection.
It also calls for a regional conference in 2012 to advance the goal of a nuclear-free Middle East.
Israel is widely believed to be the only nuclear power in the Middle East, with around 200 warheads, but has maintained a policy of deliberate ambiguity about its capabilities since the mid-1960s.
The document, which singles out Israel but makes no mention of Iran's controversial nuclear programme, drew a furious reaction from the Jewish state who decried it as "deeply flawed and hypocritical."
But it was US backing for the resolution which has caused the most consternation among Israeli officials and commentators, who interpreted the move as "a resounding slap around the face" which has dealt a very public blow to Israel's long-accepted policy of nuclear ambiguity.
Publicly, the Israel government has not criticised the US position but privately, officials expressed deep disappointment over the resolution, which Washington backed despite intensive Israeli efforts to block it.
According to the top-selling Yediot Aharonot daily, the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was "furious with the Obama administration for having failed to prevent the resolution from passing... and for choosing to support it."
"The American support for the resolution, after decades in which it supported Israel on this issue, came as a complete surprise," the paper said.
"In the secret talks that Netanyahu held with Obama's men... Israel was promised that the resolution would not focus on Israel and that if it did, the Americans would vote against."
The left-leaning Haaretz daily said Israel had been "sacrificed by the US on the altar of a successful conference" in what constituted "a diplomatic victory for Egypt" which has campaigned against Israel's nuclear arsenal.
Five years ago, the paper recalled, Obama's predecessor George W. Bush, refused to accept parts of a draft document calling on Israel to join the NPT and dismissed the idea of holding talks to create a nuclear-free Middle East -- even at the cost of the conference's failure.
The controversial resolution was passed just days ahead of a key meeting between Obama and Netanyahu aimed at restoring friendly ties between the two allies which had been soured over a dispute about Jewish settlements.
But the Maariv daily said that Obama's 'last minute' invitation for Netanyahu to visit the White House had clearly been planned with the NPT review conference in mind.
"It is reasonable to assume that the Americans knew they were going to deliver a blow to Israel's policy of nuclear ambiguity and that Obama wanted to try to minimize the damage," the paper said.
The move draws a line under a long-held "agreement" between Israel and Washington dating back to 1969 under which the Jewish state was permitted to keep silent on its country's nuclear potential while holding back from any nuclear test.
In return, Washington agreed not to exert or allow any pressure on Israel over its nuclear capabilities.
"It is an undeniably negative change to US policy" with regards to Israel's nuclear programme, said Eitan Gilboa, an analyst from Bar Ilan University near Tel Aviv.
Pointing to contradiction between Obama both applauding the resolution and criticising it for singling out Israel, Gilboa said Washington was "losing its leadership role because of the naive and unrealistic" outlook of its president.
Paper: Netanyahu 'Furious' with Obama over Iran Policy
30 May 2010 04:58 PM
JERUSALEM — Washington's unprecedented backing for a UN resolution for a nuclear-free Middle East that singles out Israel has both angered and deeply worried the Jewish state although officials are cagey about openly criticising their biggest ally.
The resolution adopted by the United Nations on Friday calls on Israel to join the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and urges it to open its facilities to inspection.
It also calls for a regional conference in 2012 to advance the goal of a nuclear-free Middle East.
Israel is widely believed to be the only nuclear power in the Middle East, with around 200 warheads, but has maintained a policy of deliberate ambiguity about its capabilities since the mid-1960s.
The document, which singles out Israel but makes no mention of Iran's controversial nuclear programme, drew a furious reaction from the Jewish state who decried it as "deeply flawed and hypocritical."
But it was US backing for the resolution which has caused the most consternation among Israeli officials and commentators, who interpreted the move as "a resounding slap around the face" which has dealt a very public blow to Israel's long-accepted policy of nuclear ambiguity.
Publicly, the Israel government has not criticised the US position but privately, officials expressed deep disappointment over the resolution, which Washington backed despite intensive Israeli efforts to block it.
According to the top-selling Yediot Aharonot daily, the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was "furious with the Obama administration for having failed to prevent the resolution from passing... and for choosing to support it."
"The American support for the resolution, after decades in which it supported Israel on this issue, came as a complete surprise," the paper said.
"In the secret talks that Netanyahu held with Obama's men... Israel was promised that the resolution would not focus on Israel and that if it did, the Americans would vote against."
The left-leaning Haaretz daily said Israel had been "sacrificed by the US on the altar of a successful conference" in what constituted "a diplomatic victory for Egypt" which has campaigned against Israel's nuclear arsenal.
Five years ago, the paper recalled, Obama's predecessor George W. Bush, refused to accept parts of a draft document calling on Israel to join the NPT and dismissed the idea of holding talks to create a nuclear-free Middle East -- even at the cost of the conference's failure.
The controversial resolution was passed just days ahead of a key meeting between Obama and Netanyahu aimed at restoring friendly ties between the two allies which had been soured over a dispute about Jewish settlements.
But the Maariv daily said that Obama's 'last minute' invitation for Netanyahu to visit the White House had clearly been planned with the NPT review conference in mind.
"It is reasonable to assume that the Americans knew they were going to deliver a blow to Israel's policy of nuclear ambiguity and that Obama wanted to try to minimize the damage," the paper said.
The move draws a line under a long-held "agreement" between Israel and Washington dating back to 1969 under which the Jewish state was permitted to keep silent on its country's nuclear potential while holding back from any nuclear test.
In return, Washington agreed not to exert or allow any pressure on Israel over its nuclear capabilities.
"It is an undeniably negative change to US policy" with regards to Israel's nuclear programme, said Eitan Gilboa, an analyst from Bar Ilan University near Tel Aviv.
Pointing to contradiction between Obama both applauding the resolution and criticising it for singling out Israel, Gilboa said Washington was "losing its leadership role because of the naive and unrealistic" outlook of its president.
16 Dead as Israeli Commandos Respond to Attacks Aboard Pro-Hamas Flotilla
The pro-"palestinians" have sprung their trap. IDF commandos boarding ships of the pro-Hamas "aid mission" flotilla were attacked and returned fire. At least 10 "activists" and 4 IDF were killed.
Israel: At Least 10 Killed on Gaza Flotilla
Published May 30, 2010
Associated Press
JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israeli commandos on Monday stormed six ships carrying hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists on an aid mission to the blockaded Gaza Strip, killing at least 10 people and wounding dozens after encountering unexpected resistance as the forces boarded the vessels.
The operation in international waters off the Gaza coast was a nightmare scenario for Israel that looked certain to further damage its international standing, strain already tense relations with Turkey -- the unofficial sponsor of the mission -- and draw unwanted attention to Gaza's plight.
The tough Israeli response drew condemnations from Turkey, France and the U.N.'s Mideast envoy, while Greece suspended a military exercise with Israel and postponed a visit by Israel's air force chief.
About 10,000 Turks also marched from Israel's Consulate in Istanbul toward the city's main square, shouting slogans denouncing Israel. The protesters earlier Monday tried storm the Consulate building but were blocked by police.
The Israeli ambassadors in Sweden, Spain, Denmark and Greece were summoned for meetings, and the French foreign minister called for an investigation. Activists from all of those European countries were on board the flotilla. In neighboring Jordan, hundreds demonstrated in the capital Amman to protest the Israeli action and demand that their government breaks diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.
Read the rest at FOX, it's the lead story. 19 European legislators took part in the flotilla and the Israel-hate is hitting the wind turbines.
Israel: At Least 10 Killed on Gaza Flotilla
Published May 30, 2010
Associated Press
JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israeli commandos on Monday stormed six ships carrying hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists on an aid mission to the blockaded Gaza Strip, killing at least 10 people and wounding dozens after encountering unexpected resistance as the forces boarded the vessels.
The operation in international waters off the Gaza coast was a nightmare scenario for Israel that looked certain to further damage its international standing, strain already tense relations with Turkey -- the unofficial sponsor of the mission -- and draw unwanted attention to Gaza's plight.
The tough Israeli response drew condemnations from Turkey, France and the U.N.'s Mideast envoy, while Greece suspended a military exercise with Israel and postponed a visit by Israel's air force chief.
About 10,000 Turks also marched from Israel's Consulate in Istanbul toward the city's main square, shouting slogans denouncing Israel. The protesters earlier Monday tried storm the Consulate building but were blocked by police.
The Israeli ambassadors in Sweden, Spain, Denmark and Greece were summoned for meetings, and the French foreign minister called for an investigation. Activists from all of those European countries were on board the flotilla. In neighboring Jordan, hundreds demonstrated in the capital Amman to protest the Israeli action and demand that their government breaks diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.
Read the rest at FOX, it's the lead story. 19 European legislators took part in the flotilla and the Israel-hate is hitting the wind turbines.
Meditation For Memorial Day
An exquisite essay appeared in the Washington Post for Memorial Day. Please take time to read and meditate upon the words and sentiments below:I stand under an aged oak, and the rows of simple white headstones extend in their heart-stopping sweep across the Virginia hills of Arlington National Cemetery. Each stone sentinel is dressed and at attention, calling to mind both the life and the death of the soldier who lies beneath. Solid, steady and unyielding, the markers stand in counterpoint to the soft green earth and capricious light that dances across their faces.Read the rest at Always On Watch.
One weekend in May, each of these white uniforms is decorated with a small American flag, placed there by a living soldier's hand. These flags are brilliant in the afternoon sun, and it is my privilege to walk among these honored ranks to remember those who died in service to me.
But the men and women who sleep in these rolling hills didn't know it was for me that they fought in the forests of the Ardennes or in the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan. They didn't know it was for me that they left behind wives, husbands and sweethearts, children and parents, friends. I, too, didn't know until life's experience began to teach me how precious my freedom is. Only by examining my life -- taking stock of all the blessings and opportunities that have been mine because of the freedoms I can count on as an American citizen -- could I begin to understand the purpose of their service and the meaning of their sacrifice.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
At Arlington, each soldier has a special lady
MSNBC:
Volunteers honor troops and make sure none is buried alone
By HELEN O'NEILL
The Associated Press
updated 7:45 p.m. ET, Sat., May 29, 2010
ARLINGTON, Va. - Joyce Johnson remembers the drums beating slowly as she walked with her girls from the Old Post Chapel, behind the horse-drawn caisson carrying the flag-draped casket of her husband.
She remembers struggling to maintain her composure as she stared at his freshly dug grave, trying not to dwell on the terrible sight in the distance — the gaping hole in the Pentagon where he had so proudly worked.
The three-volley salute. Taps. The chaplain handing her a perfectly folded flag. The blur of tributes.
And then a lady stepped forward, a stranger, dressed not in uniform but in a simple dark suit. She whispered a few words and pressed two cards into Johnson's hands.
"If there is anything you need ..."
Then she melted back into the crowd.
Later Johnson would think of her as a touchingly, human presence in a sea of starched uniforms and salutes. She would learn that the stranger was an "Arlington lady" — one of a small band of volunteers, mainly spouses of retired military officers, who attend every funeral in Arlington National Cemetery. She would read the notes — a formal one from the Army Chief of Staff and his wife, and a personal handwritten one from the Arlington lady herself.
She would learn of their mission: to ensure no soldier is buried alone.
Johnson wasn't alone. In fact she felt as though an entire nation was grieving with her.
But she never forgot the kindness of her Arlington Lady.
And several years later, as she wrestled with how to best to honor her husband, she dug out the lady's card. This is something I can do, she thought, not just for him, but for every soldier.
"It doesn't matter whether we are burying a four-star general or a private," says Margaret Mensch, head of the Army ladies. "They all deserve to have someone say thank you at their grave."
Mensch is sitting at her desk in the basement of the cemetery's administration building in the cramped office shared by ladies from the Navy, Air Force, Army and Coast Guard. The place bustles with activity — young military escorts in dress uniform arriving to accompany ladies to funerals, chaplains scribbling eulogies in their tiny office across the hall, cemetery representatives ushering mourners into private rooms upstairs.
30 funerals each weekday
There are approximately 30 funerals in Arlington every weekday and the ladies attend every one. All have their own reasons and stories.
There is Mensch, married to a retired Army colonel, who oversees the mammoth task of organizing the schedules for her 66 Army ladies and who says attending the funerals is the greatest honor of her life. And Doreen Huylebroeck, a 63-year-old nurse who remembers how desperately she wanted an Arlington lady beside her when her own husband, a retired Navy officer, died three years ago. Janine Moghaddam, who at 41 is one of the youngest Arlington ladies, and who felt a desperate need serve her country in some small way after Sept. 11, 2001. And Johnson herself.
She treks to the cemetery in spring when cherry blossoms burst over the rows of white stones and everything seems dusted in yellow pollen. And in the swelter of summer when the stones blaze in the heat and mourners sometimes pass out at services. Even in winter, when the wind whips through the marble pillars of the Columbarium, Johnson and the other ladies keep their vigil, clinging to the arms of their escorts as they pick their way through the mud and snow.
Always elegantly dressed, often in hats and gloves. Always standing, hand over heart, a respectful distance from the grave. Always mindful of history.
The ladies know every inch of Arlington's 624 manicured acres, from the stones of freed slaves marked "unknown citizens" to the grave of the first soldier interred here (Private William Christman, a farmer from Pennsylvania who fought in the Civil War) to Section 60, where the men and women who lost their lives in the current wars are buried.
"So many stones, so many stories," says Paula Mckinley, head of the Navy ladies, as she drives through the cemetery one recent spring day, stopping at a section not far from the throngs of tourists at President John F. Kennedy's grave.
Baldwin. Curtis. Sanchez. She walks among their headstones reciting their names.
With her booming voice, red hair tucked under a straw hat, and brisk manner, Mckinley, whose husband is a retired Navy officer, is a striking figure. But she is subdued by the graves, reverential. "They all deserve to be remembered, and to be visited," she says.
McKinley, who has been an Arlington lady for 21 years, drives a little further. She stops by a grove of willow oaks, searching for a specific plot.
"Here you are, sweetheart," she says, gently touching the stone of a young woman Navy officer who died in an accident at the age of 25. The officer's mother called from California one day — on her daughter's birthday — and asked if an Arlington lady could put flowers on the grave. Now McKinley visits regularly. She says it's the least she can do.
Job to honor, not grieve
The first group of Arlington ladies were formed in 1948 after Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg and his wife, Gladys, noticed an airman being buried without any family members present, just a chaplain and honor guard. It seemed so sad, and somehow so wrong. So Gladys Vandenberg enlisted a group of officers' wives to attend all Air Force funerals. The other branches of the armed services followed, with the exception of the Marines, who do not have a group.
The ladies insist they are not mourners. They come to honor, not to grieve. "An Arlington lady doesn't cry," is practically a mantra.
And yet, there are times when that is inevitable.
McKinley remembers choking up as she offered condolences to a 10-year-old girl, who had just lost her parents. The child reached up and hugged her tight. And the time a young widow from Peru clung to her, begging McKinley to sit next to her in the front row. Her husband had died suddenly and there were no family members to comfort her.
Linda Willey, head of the Air Force ladies, describes the pain of burying friends from the Pentagon after September 11, 2001, when shards of debris still littered the cemetery and tears flowed freely behind dark glasses.
And Mensch tells of the heartache the Army ladies felt last year when one of their own escorts was killed in Iraq. The handsome young soldier from the 3rd Infantry Division, who had escorted the ladies to hundreds of funerals, was buried with full military honors, an Arlington lady standing by his grave.
About 145 ladies volunteer in the four branches, which all have slightly different rules. The Army ladies maintain a strict dress code — no slacks, no red, panty hose to be worn at all times. The Navy ladies introduce themselves to the families before the funeral, and follow up with personal notes about six weeks later.
All of the ladies volunteer for one day a month, sometimes attending four or five funerals in a single day. All have memories and stories: the time a family feud erupted and police had to break up the mourners; the young widow who wore a red cocktail dress because it was her husband's favorite; the older widow who refused to get out of the car because she saw the Arlington lady standing near the grave. She assumed this was the other woman.
"You never know what to expect, and you never judge," Willey says as she walks among the headstones and ponders her role. Willey, 63, who is married to a retired Air Force colonel, became a lady almost by accident, as a favor to a friend who kept pressing her. From her first funeral she knew that this was what she was meant to do.
"It just felt right, such an honor," Willey says. "It's such a simple gesture and yet it can be so powerful."
As she talks, strains of "America the Beautiful" seem to float over the stones from a grave site a short distance away. Jan Jackson of Fort Collins, Colo., is burying her parents. Their urns sit next to each other on a table above their joint grave.
Jackson's mother died in 2006 and her father, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, died last year. She had planned this springtime date on what would have been her father's 96th birthday. She wanted to honor her parents, married 67 years, by burying them together in the nation's hallowed ground.
As a member of a military family, Jackson, 59, is familiar with the pomp and precision and patriotism that accompany funerals. But she was utterly unprepared for the flood of emotion that swept over her as a young military escort took her arm and guided her from the chapel to the grave.
It was a small funeral — just Jackson, her son and grandchildren. And her Arlington lady.
Everything about the service was perfect, she said later. And this stranger was there to make it even better — "almost an angelic kind of person who is there for you even though she doesn't know you, even though she is not required, even though it is not her job. It was so special, so comforting."
From around the cemetery drift the sounds of other services, bands and gun salutes and drum rolls, one funeral seeming to blend into the next.
In one section, three daughters in black dresses and pearls, are burying their father, a former Navy officer who served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam, and who meticulously planned his own funeral, even visiting Arlington regularly to view his final resting place. He smiles from a photograph propped next to his urn.
In the Columbarium, decorated veterans, laden with medals, are saluting one of their own — a member of the naval aviation squadron known as the Golden Eagles, and one of the last survivors of the Battle of Midway.
And in Section 60 a widow, young and beautiful and dressed in black, clutches her toddler son. Before her, standing to attention, the honor guard that had processed behind her husband's coffin, pulled in a caisson by six white horses. In the distance, the rifle guard that had fired the salute. In a far corner, the lone bugler who had played taps.
On this steamy spring day, beneath a towering oak, a 27-year-old Army sergeant, killed in an attack in Pakistan a month earlier, is about to be laid to rest.
"Today the country tries to say thank you ... and yet words are inadequate," the chaplain begins.
His widow seems overwhelmed, her eyes locked on the silver casket that holds his remains. His parents softly sob.
And then a lady steps forward, an older woman, dressed in a simple dark suit.
She whispers a few words of condolences and presses two cards into the widow's hands.
"If there is anything you need ..."
Volunteers honor troops and make sure none is buried alone
By HELEN O'NEILL
The Associated Press
updated 7:45 p.m. ET, Sat., May 29, 2010
ARLINGTON, Va. - Joyce Johnson remembers the drums beating slowly as she walked with her girls from the Old Post Chapel, behind the horse-drawn caisson carrying the flag-draped casket of her husband.
She remembers struggling to maintain her composure as she stared at his freshly dug grave, trying not to dwell on the terrible sight in the distance — the gaping hole in the Pentagon where he had so proudly worked.
The three-volley salute. Taps. The chaplain handing her a perfectly folded flag. The blur of tributes.
And then a lady stepped forward, a stranger, dressed not in uniform but in a simple dark suit. She whispered a few words and pressed two cards into Johnson's hands.
"If there is anything you need ..."
Then she melted back into the crowd.
Later Johnson would think of her as a touchingly, human presence in a sea of starched uniforms and salutes. She would learn that the stranger was an "Arlington lady" — one of a small band of volunteers, mainly spouses of retired military officers, who attend every funeral in Arlington National Cemetery. She would read the notes — a formal one from the Army Chief of Staff and his wife, and a personal handwritten one from the Arlington lady herself.
She would learn of their mission: to ensure no soldier is buried alone.
Johnson wasn't alone. In fact she felt as though an entire nation was grieving with her.
But she never forgot the kindness of her Arlington Lady.
And several years later, as she wrestled with how to best to honor her husband, she dug out the lady's card. This is something I can do, she thought, not just for him, but for every soldier.
"It doesn't matter whether we are burying a four-star general or a private," says Margaret Mensch, head of the Army ladies. "They all deserve to have someone say thank you at their grave."
Mensch is sitting at her desk in the basement of the cemetery's administration building in the cramped office shared by ladies from the Navy, Air Force, Army and Coast Guard. The place bustles with activity — young military escorts in dress uniform arriving to accompany ladies to funerals, chaplains scribbling eulogies in their tiny office across the hall, cemetery representatives ushering mourners into private rooms upstairs.
30 funerals each weekday
There are approximately 30 funerals in Arlington every weekday and the ladies attend every one. All have their own reasons and stories.
There is Mensch, married to a retired Army colonel, who oversees the mammoth task of organizing the schedules for her 66 Army ladies and who says attending the funerals is the greatest honor of her life. And Doreen Huylebroeck, a 63-year-old nurse who remembers how desperately she wanted an Arlington lady beside her when her own husband, a retired Navy officer, died three years ago. Janine Moghaddam, who at 41 is one of the youngest Arlington ladies, and who felt a desperate need serve her country in some small way after Sept. 11, 2001. And Johnson herself.
She treks to the cemetery in spring when cherry blossoms burst over the rows of white stones and everything seems dusted in yellow pollen. And in the swelter of summer when the stones blaze in the heat and mourners sometimes pass out at services. Even in winter, when the wind whips through the marble pillars of the Columbarium, Johnson and the other ladies keep their vigil, clinging to the arms of their escorts as they pick their way through the mud and snow.
Always elegantly dressed, often in hats and gloves. Always standing, hand over heart, a respectful distance from the grave. Always mindful of history.
The ladies know every inch of Arlington's 624 manicured acres, from the stones of freed slaves marked "unknown citizens" to the grave of the first soldier interred here (Private William Christman, a farmer from Pennsylvania who fought in the Civil War) to Section 60, where the men and women who lost their lives in the current wars are buried.
"So many stones, so many stories," says Paula Mckinley, head of the Navy ladies, as she drives through the cemetery one recent spring day, stopping at a section not far from the throngs of tourists at President John F. Kennedy's grave.
Baldwin. Curtis. Sanchez. She walks among their headstones reciting their names.
With her booming voice, red hair tucked under a straw hat, and brisk manner, Mckinley, whose husband is a retired Navy officer, is a striking figure. But she is subdued by the graves, reverential. "They all deserve to be remembered, and to be visited," she says.
McKinley, who has been an Arlington lady for 21 years, drives a little further. She stops by a grove of willow oaks, searching for a specific plot.
"Here you are, sweetheart," she says, gently touching the stone of a young woman Navy officer who died in an accident at the age of 25. The officer's mother called from California one day — on her daughter's birthday — and asked if an Arlington lady could put flowers on the grave. Now McKinley visits regularly. She says it's the least she can do.
Job to honor, not grieve
The first group of Arlington ladies were formed in 1948 after Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg and his wife, Gladys, noticed an airman being buried without any family members present, just a chaplain and honor guard. It seemed so sad, and somehow so wrong. So Gladys Vandenberg enlisted a group of officers' wives to attend all Air Force funerals. The other branches of the armed services followed, with the exception of the Marines, who do not have a group.
The ladies insist they are not mourners. They come to honor, not to grieve. "An Arlington lady doesn't cry," is practically a mantra.
And yet, there are times when that is inevitable.
McKinley remembers choking up as she offered condolences to a 10-year-old girl, who had just lost her parents. The child reached up and hugged her tight. And the time a young widow from Peru clung to her, begging McKinley to sit next to her in the front row. Her husband had died suddenly and there were no family members to comfort her.
Linda Willey, head of the Air Force ladies, describes the pain of burying friends from the Pentagon after September 11, 2001, when shards of debris still littered the cemetery and tears flowed freely behind dark glasses.
And Mensch tells of the heartache the Army ladies felt last year when one of their own escorts was killed in Iraq. The handsome young soldier from the 3rd Infantry Division, who had escorted the ladies to hundreds of funerals, was buried with full military honors, an Arlington lady standing by his grave.
About 145 ladies volunteer in the four branches, which all have slightly different rules. The Army ladies maintain a strict dress code — no slacks, no red, panty hose to be worn at all times. The Navy ladies introduce themselves to the families before the funeral, and follow up with personal notes about six weeks later.
All of the ladies volunteer for one day a month, sometimes attending four or five funerals in a single day. All have memories and stories: the time a family feud erupted and police had to break up the mourners; the young widow who wore a red cocktail dress because it was her husband's favorite; the older widow who refused to get out of the car because she saw the Arlington lady standing near the grave. She assumed this was the other woman.
"You never know what to expect, and you never judge," Willey says as she walks among the headstones and ponders her role. Willey, 63, who is married to a retired Air Force colonel, became a lady almost by accident, as a favor to a friend who kept pressing her. From her first funeral she knew that this was what she was meant to do.
"It just felt right, such an honor," Willey says. "It's such a simple gesture and yet it can be so powerful."
As she talks, strains of "America the Beautiful" seem to float over the stones from a grave site a short distance away. Jan Jackson of Fort Collins, Colo., is burying her parents. Their urns sit next to each other on a table above their joint grave.
Jackson's mother died in 2006 and her father, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, died last year. She had planned this springtime date on what would have been her father's 96th birthday. She wanted to honor her parents, married 67 years, by burying them together in the nation's hallowed ground.
As a member of a military family, Jackson, 59, is familiar with the pomp and precision and patriotism that accompany funerals. But she was utterly unprepared for the flood of emotion that swept over her as a young military escort took her arm and guided her from the chapel to the grave.
It was a small funeral — just Jackson, her son and grandchildren. And her Arlington lady.
Everything about the service was perfect, she said later. And this stranger was there to make it even better — "almost an angelic kind of person who is there for you even though she doesn't know you, even though she is not required, even though it is not her job. It was so special, so comforting."
From around the cemetery drift the sounds of other services, bands and gun salutes and drum rolls, one funeral seeming to blend into the next.
In one section, three daughters in black dresses and pearls, are burying their father, a former Navy officer who served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam, and who meticulously planned his own funeral, even visiting Arlington regularly to view his final resting place. He smiles from a photograph propped next to his urn.
In the Columbarium, decorated veterans, laden with medals, are saluting one of their own — a member of the naval aviation squadron known as the Golden Eagles, and one of the last survivors of the Battle of Midway.
And in Section 60 a widow, young and beautiful and dressed in black, clutches her toddler son. Before her, standing to attention, the honor guard that had processed behind her husband's coffin, pulled in a caisson by six white horses. In the distance, the rifle guard that had fired the salute. In a far corner, the lone bugler who had played taps.
On this steamy spring day, beneath a towering oak, a 27-year-old Army sergeant, killed in an attack in Pakistan a month earlier, is about to be laid to rest.
"Today the country tries to say thank you ... and yet words are inadequate," the chaplain begins.
His widow seems overwhelmed, her eyes locked on the silver casket that holds his remains. His parents softly sob.
And then a lady steps forward, an older woman, dressed in a simple dark suit.
She whispers a few words of condolences and presses two cards into the widow's hands.
"If there is anything you need ..."
(bumping this one to the top as well since it ties in with Pastorius')
Washington Examiner (thanks to anonymous commenter):
Covering Obama, press encounters Nation of Islam
By: Byron York
Chief Political Correspondent
05/30/10 8:56 AM EDT
President Obama’s home is in the same Chicago neighborhood as Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. On Saturday night, the overlapping of Obama’s and Farrakhan’s worlds made for a strange, and sometimes testy, encounter between the Secret Service, the press corps covering the president, and the paramilitary security force, the Fruit of Islam, surrounding Farrakhan.
The encounter was written up — for distribution to the press, not necessarily for publication — by the New York Times’ Jackie Calmes. It began a little after 4:00 p.m. when Obama and his family walked to the nearby home of longtime friend Marty Nesbitt for a backyard cookout. It just so happens that Nesbitt lives across the street from Farrakhan.
A few hours after Obama went to Nesbitt’s home, the press pool, including Calmes, was waiting in a bus parked near 49th Street and Woodlawn Avenue, next to Farrakhan’s mansion. The reporters’ Secret Service minder allowed them off the bus to stretch their legs. As they stood on the sidewalk, some of the journalists inadvertently touched the grass next to the sidewalk, and that is when the encounter began. From Calmes’ report:
But it turned out that simply staying off the grass was not enough to satisfy the man in the T-shirt. Calmes continues:
Washington Examiner (thanks to anonymous commenter):
Covering Obama, press encounters Nation of Islam
By: Byron York
Chief Political Correspondent
05/30/10 8:56 AM EDT
President Obama’s home is in the same Chicago neighborhood as Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. On Saturday night, the overlapping of Obama’s and Farrakhan’s worlds made for a strange, and sometimes testy, encounter between the Secret Service, the press corps covering the president, and the paramilitary security force, the Fruit of Islam, surrounding Farrakhan.
The encounter was written up — for distribution to the press, not necessarily for publication — by the New York Times’ Jackie Calmes. It began a little after 4:00 p.m. when Obama and his family walked to the nearby home of longtime friend Marty Nesbitt for a backyard cookout. It just so happens that Nesbitt lives across the street from Farrakhan.
A few hours after Obama went to Nesbitt’s home, the press pool, including Calmes, was waiting in a bus parked near 49th Street and Woodlawn Avenue, next to Farrakhan’s mansion. The reporters’ Secret Service minder allowed them off the bus to stretch their legs. As they stood on the sidewalk, some of the journalists inadvertently touched the grass next to the sidewalk, and that is when the encounter began. From Calmes’ report:
Immediately a polite man in jeans and T-shirt emerged to ask us to stay off the
grass. Though this grass was the curbside city property, we obliged.
But it turned out that simply staying off the grass was not enough to satisfy the man in the T-shirt. Calmes continues:
Soon, however, he was pacing and talking on a cell phone. He went inside theIt might be assumed that an assurance from the Secret Service would be enough to satisfy any security-minded guardian of Louis Farrakhan. But not in this case. Calmes continues:
mansion’s black wrought iron fence, crossed the well-landscaped yard, lifted a
water bucket behind rose bushes and, voila!, a walkie-talkie. He was heard to
refer to “the CIA” once he began speaking into it.
Soon he approached our [Secret Service] agent, asking him to move the van and its occupants, though your pooler could not hear much else he said. But the agent said, “How is this a security breach?” And he asked if the house was a government property.
The man said something else and at that point the agent stuck out his hand to shake hands and introduced himself as a Secret Service agent. He added, “Sir, I can assure you that we will do nothing to interfere with whatever is going on in there.”
The man is back to pacing and talking on his cell, walkie-talkie in hand.More time passed. The men in T-shirts were joined by even more men, from the Fruit of Islam, Farrakhan’s security force. From Calmes:
A co-pooler searched the Internet for the address and found it listed on a Web site called NotForTourists and another called Taxexemptworld.com. Indeed, another pooler found a county Web site that confirmed this property is tax exempt for being a religious institution.
Reinforcements arrived — three men in T-shirts reading “Wide or Die!” One surly man has been staring daggers at us. Asked if this is Minister Farrakhan’s house, he just stared at your pooler. Asked again, he said, “I don’t have no comment.”
At nearly 8 p.m. local time we are still holding while POTUS and family remain at the Nesbitts.
It’s 8:45 and nearly dark; your pool has retreated back inside the van. We’reAt that point, the Secret Service was badly outnumbered by the Fruit of Islam, who apparently believed that some sort of “security breach” had occurred. Were Farrakhan’s men armed? Were there more on the way? The Secret Service agent called for backup. From Calmes:
outnumbered now by roughly a dozen Fruit of Islam agents for the Nation of Islam. As each casually dressed man arrives, he exchanges elaborate andshake/hug/double air-kisses with others. Two walked by your pooler chanting “Islam.”
Several have filmed and photographed your poolers, the van and its license plates with their cell phones.
One came and stood close to a couple poolers and OUR [Secret Service] agent. He asked if he could help. No answer. He asked again. The man said no. The agent said, “Secret Service — Please move away from this group of people.”
He did. Soon the agent asked us to go in the bus. We did.
9:20 local time and our agent got reinforcements from three Secret Service agents. One shook hands with one of the 22 Fruit members we now can count from the van. After a short discussion the three Secret Service agents walked away again.While this was happening, word of the standoff apparently got around as a result of Calmes’ pool reports (they were sent out piecemeal by email). Someone who had read the reports got in touch with Farrakhan to let the Nation of Islam leader know that the people waiting outside were just covering Obama. From Calmes:
No word on when we get to leave. We’re guessing POTUS is watching the Blackhawks game at the Nesbitts’ home.
The power of pool reportage! Standoff ends, apparently with help of intermediaryAnd that was the end of it. Some observers will make light of the whole thing — just a little misunderstanding with those weird Nation of Islam guys — but the fact that Farrakhan’s security force is close to the president’s home is likely a matter of continuing concern to the Secret Service. And on Saturday night, the two forces ran into each other.
in Detroit:
Your pooler got a call at about 10:15 local time from a pool report reader who identified himself as the Rev. Gary Hunter, a Baptist minister in Motown who writes and blogs for the Detroit Times. He said he had called Minister Farrakhan and his son and asked them to have the Fruit stand down.
“I told him you were good people,” Rev. Hunter said. “He said he didn’t know you all were just waiting for the president.”
As it happens, the Fruit of Islam indeed had mostly gone by then. The Rev. Hunter apparently is remembered by [White House social secretary staffer Samantha] Tubman, and he said he knows our frequent press rustler Ben Finkenbinder from past travels with Obama.
Anyway, at 10:33 we pulled away and we are at the Obama residence. Never saw POTUS at all.
NYT Reporter Reveals, President Obama Skips Arlington to Spend Memorial Day with Louis Farrakhan amidst Nation of Islam Thugs
It seem that what Pamela reported as an "Exclusive" turns out to have been a misread report which Byron York also has.
It seems, at this point, that Obama was not with Farrakhan.
Instead, Farrakhan lives across the street. And, that seems to be where he was.
How did the President of the United States spend his Memorial day weekend? Honoring the glorious dead? Not a chance.
He pow-wowed with race baiter, Jew-hater Louis Farrakhan, a frequent visitor to the White House. Back in March, Farrakhan blamed the Jews for O's woes.“The Zionists are in control of Congress,” Farrakhan said as he listed off a slew of Jewish economic advisers, adding that the “bloodsuckers of the poor” were rewarded with a bailout.America is in trouble.
The story is amazing.
Here's just a bit:
We're outnumbered now by roughly a dozen Fruit of Islam agents for the Nation of Islam. As each casually dressed man arrives, he exchanges elaborate handshake/hug/double air-kisses with others. Two walked by your pooler chanting "Islam."
Go read the whole thing at Atlas Shrugs.
ANOTHER REVEALING ANTI-JUDEO/CHRISTIAN PRO-JIHAD DECISION BY OBAMA
From the Astute Bloggers:
The Obama regime reversed a Bush administration ruling and allowed Muslim Brotherhood supporter Tariq Ramadan to enter the country, now they’ve denied asylum and are trying to deport the unbelievably courageous Mosab Yousef, who millions of Islamists would love to kill for both spying for Israel and converting to Christianity….
The Department of Homeland Security is trying to deport the son of a Hamas founder who told of his conversion to Christianity and decade of spying for Israel in a New York Times best-seller.
“Son of Hamas” author Mosab Hassan Yousef revealed on a blog hosted by his publisher he is scheduled to appear June 30 before Immigration Judge Rico J. Bartolomei at the DHS Immigration Court in San Diego.
Yousef said the DHS informed him Feb. 23, 2009, he was barred from asylum in the U.S. because there were reasonable grounds for believing he was “a danger to the security of the United States” and “engaged in terrorist activity.”
An incredulous Yousef said the U.S. government’s belief he is a terrorist is based on a complete misinterpretation of passages of his book in which he describes his work as a counterterrorism agent for the Israeli internal intelligence service Shin Bet.
JEWS WHO SUPPORT OBAMA MIGHT AS WELL SUPPORT HAMAS AND HIZBALLAH AND AHMADINEJAD.
JEWS WHO SUPPORT obama [CORRECTED!]ARE JUDENRAT.
In his fiercest defense yet of the Ground Zero Mosque, Mayor Bloomberg. . .
Bloomberg Defends Ground Zero Mosque
And, according to the Constitution, we have the right to protest their arrogance, and to call on them not to do it.
The fact is, they should not do it. It is despicable behavior on the part of the Muslim community, as represented by Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf.
The Muslim community ought to be ashamed of themselves, and they ought to speak out against this Imam who is representing their religion.
And, until the day when we finally follow Germany's lead in declaring Scientology to be a politcal organization/business/scam, and we similarly declare Islam to be exactly that, we will have to put up with this kind of nonsense from people like the Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, and all of the "moderate Muslims" who won't say shit if they have a mouthful.
(NewsCore) - In his fiercest defense yet of the mosque proposed near Ground Zero, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has declared that it must be allowed to proceed because the government "shouldn't be in the business of picking" one religion…He's right. They do have the right, according to the Constitution.
"I think it's fair to say if somebody was going to try, on that piece of property, to build a church or a synagogue, nobody would be yelling and screaming," the mayor said.
"And the fact of the matter is that Muslims have a right to do it, too."
And, according to the Constitution, we have the right to protest their arrogance, and to call on them not to do it.
The fact is, they should not do it. It is despicable behavior on the part of the Muslim community, as represented by Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf.
The Muslim community ought to be ashamed of themselves, and they ought to speak out against this Imam who is representing their religion.
And, until the day when we finally follow Germany's lead in declaring Scientology to be a politcal organization/business/scam, and we similarly declare Islam to be exactly that, we will have to put up with this kind of nonsense from people like the Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, and all of the "moderate Muslims" who won't say shit if they have a mouthful.
Times Online:
Israel stations nuclear missile subs off Iran
Three German-built Israeli submarines equipped with nuclear cruise missiles are to be deployed in the Gulf near the Iranian coastline.
The first has been sent in response to Israeli fears that ballistic missiles developed by Iran, Syria and Hezbollah, a political and military organisation in Lebanon, could hit sites in Israel, including air bases and missile launchers.
The submarines of Flotilla 7 — Dolphin, Tekuma and Leviathan — have visited the Gulf before. But the decision has now been taken to ensure a permanent presence of at least one of the vessels.
The flotilla’s commander, identified only as “Colonel O”, told an Israeli newspaper: “We are an underwater assault force. We’re operating deep and far, very far, from our borders.”
Each of the submarines has a crew of 35 to 50, commanded by a colonel capable of launching a nuclear cruise missile.
The vessels can remain at sea for about 50 days and stay submerged up to 1,150ft below the surface for at least a week. Some of the cruise missiles are equipped with the most advanced nuclear warheads in the Israeli arsenal.
The deployment is designed to act as a deterrent, gather intelligence and potentially to land Mossad agents. “We’re a solid base for collecting sensitive information, as we can stay for a long time in one place,” said a flotilla officer.
The submarines could be used if Iran continues its programme to produce a nuclear bomb. “The 1,500km range of the submarines’ cruise missiles can reach any target in Iran,” said a navy officer.
Apparently responding to the Israeli activity, an Iranian admiral said: “Anyone who wishes to do an evil act in the Persian Gulf will receive a forceful response from us.”
Israel’s urgent need to deter the Iran-Syria-Hezbollah alliance was demonstrated last month. Ehud Barak, the defence minister, was said to have shown President Barack Obama classified satellite images of a convoy of ballistic missiles leaving Syria on the way to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, will emphasise the danger to Obama in Washington this week.
Tel Aviv, Israel’s business and defence centre, remains the most threatened city in the world, said one expert. “There are more missiles per square foot targeting Tel Aviv than any other city,” he said.
Israel stations nuclear missile subs off Iran
Three German-built Israeli submarines equipped with nuclear cruise missiles are to be deployed in the Gulf near the Iranian coastline.
The first has been sent in response to Israeli fears that ballistic missiles developed by Iran, Syria and Hezbollah, a political and military organisation in Lebanon, could hit sites in Israel, including air bases and missile launchers.
The submarines of Flotilla 7 — Dolphin, Tekuma and Leviathan — have visited the Gulf before. But the decision has now been taken to ensure a permanent presence of at least one of the vessels.
The flotilla’s commander, identified only as “Colonel O”, told an Israeli newspaper: “We are an underwater assault force. We’re operating deep and far, very far, from our borders.”
Each of the submarines has a crew of 35 to 50, commanded by a colonel capable of launching a nuclear cruise missile.
The vessels can remain at sea for about 50 days and stay submerged up to 1,150ft below the surface for at least a week. Some of the cruise missiles are equipped with the most advanced nuclear warheads in the Israeli arsenal.
The deployment is designed to act as a deterrent, gather intelligence and potentially to land Mossad agents. “We’re a solid base for collecting sensitive information, as we can stay for a long time in one place,” said a flotilla officer.
The submarines could be used if Iran continues its programme to produce a nuclear bomb. “The 1,500km range of the submarines’ cruise missiles can reach any target in Iran,” said a navy officer.
Apparently responding to the Israeli activity, an Iranian admiral said: “Anyone who wishes to do an evil act in the Persian Gulf will receive a forceful response from us.”
Israel’s urgent need to deter the Iran-Syria-Hezbollah alliance was demonstrated last month. Ehud Barak, the defence minister, was said to have shown President Barack Obama classified satellite images of a convoy of ballistic missiles leaving Syria on the way to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, will emphasise the danger to Obama in Washington this week.
Tel Aviv, Israel’s business and defence centre, remains the most threatened city in the world, said one expert. “There are more missiles per square foot targeting Tel Aviv than any other city,” he said.
Human Events:
To Be an American
by Gary Bauer
05/30/2010
President Obama plans to spend Memorial Day weekend in Illinois, which means he won’t be participating in the customary wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington.
That’s a pity. Memorial Day has already lost much of its significance for many Americans, and the image of the president commemorating our war dead is always a great reminder—especially at war time—of what this holiday means.
In his Gettysburg address, Lincoln said that the world “can never forget” those who perished in the decisive Battle of Gettysburg. But many Americans have forgotten, or never learned, the meaning not only of Memorial Day but of the country so many of our servicemen and women have died fighting for.
When I was growing up, Memorial Day, or Decoration Day as it was known then, was the day we visited local cemeteries to decorate the graves of the war dead, with flags or flowers. Memorial Day has become little more than a long weekend to mark the beginning of summer and to gather for barbeques, picnics and sporting events.
Polls underscore how ignorant we’ve become of our history and way of life. Surveys by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute underscore American college students’ lack of knowledge of basic American history and institutions. In a 2008 study, 71 percent failed a civics knowledge test. More than half couldn’t name the three branches of government.
Our president personifies a generation that’s de-emphasized America and American values. The spectacle of Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress cheering as a foreign head of state chided a commonsense Arizona immigration law reflected an ideology that sees little to like about America.
On a certain level, I couldn’t help but feel a little admiration for Mexico President Felipe Calderon. It was a disgusting display—but at least Mexico’s president is willing to stand up for his country. That’s much more than our president is willing to do for his.
When elaborating on the country that elected him president, Obama speaks mostly of its sins, real and imagined. When asked if he believes in American exceptionalism, he answers that sure he does—in the same way the coddled Greeks now taking to the streets against their government in Athens believe in Greek exceptionalism. A simple “no” would suffice.
Watching Obama describe the Arizona law reminded me of a school teacher scolding her students for misbehaving. He said the new law is “poorly conceived” and “misdirected,” and he nodded approvingly as Calderon called it “discriminatory.”
Obama has made empathy his governing virtue. But he seems to feel little empathy for fed-up Arizonans, who have endured as nearly half a million illegal immigrants have poured into their state. The Obama of Hyde Park and the White House has never felt the dread of wondering whether drug smugglers were sneaking through his backyard in the middle of the night.
Since America’s beginning, immigrants arrived on American soil yearning to learn our language, history, laws and customs. There was a time in America’s history when new immigrants would rally to ensure their new countrymen that they loved America and were willing to become Americans.
But the metaphor of America as a “melting pot” is no longer apt. A better metaphor is of America as a “salad bowl” of mutually exclusive groups.
Today, hyphenated Americans often put other affiliations first. One poll of Hispanics in America found that 64 percent consider themselves “mostly Hispanic,” while only 15 percent see themselves as “mostly American.” Even worse, 27 percent of the survey sample had lived in America for more than 25 years, while only 15 percent lived here less than six.
The goal of American immigration is to build a citizenry that loves America first. But that hasn’t happened. While liberal elites fret about how to move illegal immigrants “out of the shadows” the immigrants themselves are busy jockeying to get in front of TV cameras while waving foreign flags and anti American signs, and crying for open borders at rallies across the country.
When Hispanics can do all their business in Spanish, vote in Spanish, take a driver’s license exam in Spanish and send their kids to bilingual public schools, what incentive do they have to assimilate?
In his State of the Union address, Obama discussed reforming immigration laws in order to “ensure that everyone who plays by the rules can contribute to our economy and enrich our nation.”
But the Democrat’s amnesty bill would reward those who did not play by the rules, while punishing those who did.
And immigrants are disproportionately low-skilled and poor. Heritage Foundation research has found that such immigrants “receive, on average, three dollars in government benefits and services for each dollar of taxes they pay.”
America has always welcomed immigrants and it should continue to do so. But, as Teddy Roosevelt famously said, immigration should be “predicated upon the man’s becoming an American and nothing but an American. There can be no divided allegiance here.” He continued:
“Any man who says he is an American but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag, and this excludes the red flag which symbolizes all wars against liberty and civilization, just as much as it excludes any flag of a nation to which we are hostile. We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language…and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.”
For immigrants to become Americans, and to embrace America, they must first recognize their new home as a great and good country. They can only do that if they learn our history, including the history of our wars and of the “honored dead” who gave “the last full measure of devotion.” A country that forgets its history will be a country that history soon forgets.
To Be an American
by Gary Bauer
05/30/2010
President Obama plans to spend Memorial Day weekend in Illinois, which means he won’t be participating in the customary wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington.
That’s a pity. Memorial Day has already lost much of its significance for many Americans, and the image of the president commemorating our war dead is always a great reminder—especially at war time—of what this holiday means.
In his Gettysburg address, Lincoln said that the world “can never forget” those who perished in the decisive Battle of Gettysburg. But many Americans have forgotten, or never learned, the meaning not only of Memorial Day but of the country so many of our servicemen and women have died fighting for.
When I was growing up, Memorial Day, or Decoration Day as it was known then, was the day we visited local cemeteries to decorate the graves of the war dead, with flags or flowers. Memorial Day has become little more than a long weekend to mark the beginning of summer and to gather for barbeques, picnics and sporting events.
Polls underscore how ignorant we’ve become of our history and way of life. Surveys by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute underscore American college students’ lack of knowledge of basic American history and institutions. In a 2008 study, 71 percent failed a civics knowledge test. More than half couldn’t name the three branches of government.
Our president personifies a generation that’s de-emphasized America and American values. The spectacle of Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress cheering as a foreign head of state chided a commonsense Arizona immigration law reflected an ideology that sees little to like about America.
On a certain level, I couldn’t help but feel a little admiration for Mexico President Felipe Calderon. It was a disgusting display—but at least Mexico’s president is willing to stand up for his country. That’s much more than our president is willing to do for his.
When elaborating on the country that elected him president, Obama speaks mostly of its sins, real and imagined. When asked if he believes in American exceptionalism, he answers that sure he does—in the same way the coddled Greeks now taking to the streets against their government in Athens believe in Greek exceptionalism. A simple “no” would suffice.
Watching Obama describe the Arizona law reminded me of a school teacher scolding her students for misbehaving. He said the new law is “poorly conceived” and “misdirected,” and he nodded approvingly as Calderon called it “discriminatory.”
Obama has made empathy his governing virtue. But he seems to feel little empathy for fed-up Arizonans, who have endured as nearly half a million illegal immigrants have poured into their state. The Obama of Hyde Park and the White House has never felt the dread of wondering whether drug smugglers were sneaking through his backyard in the middle of the night.
Since America’s beginning, immigrants arrived on American soil yearning to learn our language, history, laws and customs. There was a time in America’s history when new immigrants would rally to ensure their new countrymen that they loved America and were willing to become Americans.
But the metaphor of America as a “melting pot” is no longer apt. A better metaphor is of America as a “salad bowl” of mutually exclusive groups.
Today, hyphenated Americans often put other affiliations first. One poll of Hispanics in America found that 64 percent consider themselves “mostly Hispanic,” while only 15 percent see themselves as “mostly American.” Even worse, 27 percent of the survey sample had lived in America for more than 25 years, while only 15 percent lived here less than six.
The goal of American immigration is to build a citizenry that loves America first. But that hasn’t happened. While liberal elites fret about how to move illegal immigrants “out of the shadows” the immigrants themselves are busy jockeying to get in front of TV cameras while waving foreign flags and anti American signs, and crying for open borders at rallies across the country.
When Hispanics can do all their business in Spanish, vote in Spanish, take a driver’s license exam in Spanish and send their kids to bilingual public schools, what incentive do they have to assimilate?
In his State of the Union address, Obama discussed reforming immigration laws in order to “ensure that everyone who plays by the rules can contribute to our economy and enrich our nation.”
But the Democrat’s amnesty bill would reward those who did not play by the rules, while punishing those who did.
And immigrants are disproportionately low-skilled and poor. Heritage Foundation research has found that such immigrants “receive, on average, three dollars in government benefits and services for each dollar of taxes they pay.”
America has always welcomed immigrants and it should continue to do so. But, as Teddy Roosevelt famously said, immigration should be “predicated upon the man’s becoming an American and nothing but an American. There can be no divided allegiance here.” He continued:
“Any man who says he is an American but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag, and this excludes the red flag which symbolizes all wars against liberty and civilization, just as much as it excludes any flag of a nation to which we are hostile. We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language…and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.”
For immigrants to become Americans, and to embrace America, they must first recognize their new home as a great and good country. They can only do that if they learn our history, including the history of our wars and of the “honored dead” who gave “the last full measure of devotion.” A country that forgets its history will be a country that history soon forgets.
Sonsabitches!
Following on the news of the 1,000 death in Afghanistan can we please drop this goddam Courageous Restraint bullshit and start killing the motherfuckers as only we can???
Gateway Pundit (h/t In Mary's Image):
Breaking: Taliban Using Chemical Weapons Against US Troops? 4-5 Troops Reportedly Fall Ill
Posted by Jim Hoft on Saturday, May 29, 2010, 6:48 PM
Five US troops serving in Afghanistan recently fell ill after a suspected chemical weapons attack. Four or five members fell ill after the attack. One soldier is very sick. They are having trouble breathing.
I am waiting for more information. I should have an update by morning.
In 2009 National Terror Alert reported that Al-Qaeda and the Taliban had developed some expertise in making bio-chemical weapons.
Following on the news of the 1,000 death in Afghanistan can we please drop this goddam Courageous Restraint bullshit and start killing the motherfuckers as only we can???
Gateway Pundit (h/t In Mary's Image):
Breaking: Taliban Using Chemical Weapons Against US Troops? 4-5 Troops Reportedly Fall Ill
Posted by Jim Hoft on Saturday, May 29, 2010, 6:48 PM
Five US troops serving in Afghanistan recently fell ill after a suspected chemical weapons attack. Four or five members fell ill after the attack. One soldier is very sick. They are having trouble breathing.
I am waiting for more information. I should have an update by morning.
In 2009 National Terror Alert reported that Al-Qaeda and the Taliban had developed some expertise in making bio-chemical weapons.
The al-Qaida-Taliban combo plans to use parts of the Middle East as launch padsEarlier this month on May 10, 2010, Stratfor reported on a chemical weapons attack on a girls school in Afghanistan.
for attacks against the west. Not only so, the groups have also developed some
expertise in making bio-chemical weapons, NWFP police chief Malik Navid told a
Pakistan National Assembly’s standing committee.
Navid warned that the Pakistan government needed to urgently focus on containing militancy as it spread from its bases. “Taliban’s philosophy is to create pockets everywhere,” he said, adding that jihadi groups were moving through southern Punjab and eventually aimed to reach the financial hub of Karachi.
Recently, 17 students at a Kabul, Afghanistan, girls high school fell ill and had to be hospitalized, along with several teachers. Doctors at the hospital agreed that it was some kind of poison, but have not been able to identify it yet. All the victims smelled something odd when they got to school, then fell ill, with some of the students losing consciousness. This is the second such incident at this school, and there was a similar attack at a girls high school further north. The Taliban have been known to attack girls schools, including injuring or killing students with gunfire, explosives and, in at least one case, acid thrown into the faces of students. Now it appears that poison gas has been added to the Taliban arsenal.Please keep the families and friends of our brave men and women in your thoughts and prayers.
OK To Clean the Beach for Obama, But Not For the Residents
How Not To Win Friends and Influence Voters
Yahoo:
BP bused in 100s of temp workers for Obama visit, state official says
Fri May 28, 6:46 pm ET
Perhaps you saw news footage of President Obama in Grand Isle, La., on Friday and thought things didn't look all that bad. Well, there may have been a reason for that: The town was evidently swarmed by an army of temp workers to spruce it up for the president and the national news crews following him.
Jefferson Parish Councilman Chris Roberts, whose district encompasses Grand Isle, told Yahoo! News that BP bused in "hundreds" of temporary workers to clean up local beaches. And as soon as the president was en route back to Washington, the workers were clearing out of Grand Isle too, Roberts said.
"The level of cleanup and cooperation we've gotten from BP in the past is in no way consistent to the effort shown on the island today," Roberts said by telephone. "As soon as the president left, they were immediately put back on the buses and sent home."
Roberts says the overnight contingent of workers was there mainly to furnish a Potemkin-style backdrop for the event — while also making it appear that BP was firmly in command of spill cleanup efforts.
New Orleans NBC affiliate WDSU reports that the workers were paid $12 an hour and came mostly from neighboring Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes.
News of 11th-hour spruce-up brigade spread rapidly Friday afternoon and infuriated locals. One popular radio host, WWL's Spud McConnell, suggested that the Coast Guard and the White House may have been involved in setting up the "perfect photo op."
"Who else has the kind of authority to bring a bunch of strangers to Grand Isle when the president is in town for a visit? You think they did background checks on all those people?" wondered McConnell. "I'd be a lot less upset about this if they would have at least stayed to clean the beach."
Yahoo! News could not reach BP for comment.
Yahoo:
BP bused in 100s of temp workers for Obama visit, state official says
Fri May 28, 6:46 pm ET
Perhaps you saw news footage of President Obama in Grand Isle, La., on Friday and thought things didn't look all that bad. Well, there may have been a reason for that: The town was evidently swarmed by an army of temp workers to spruce it up for the president and the national news crews following him.
Jefferson Parish Councilman Chris Roberts, whose district encompasses Grand Isle, told Yahoo! News that BP bused in "hundreds" of temporary workers to clean up local beaches. And as soon as the president was en route back to Washington, the workers were clearing out of Grand Isle too, Roberts said.
"The level of cleanup and cooperation we've gotten from BP in the past is in no way consistent to the effort shown on the island today," Roberts said by telephone. "As soon as the president left, they were immediately put back on the buses and sent home."
Roberts says the overnight contingent of workers was there mainly to furnish a Potemkin-style backdrop for the event — while also making it appear that BP was firmly in command of spill cleanup efforts.
New Orleans NBC affiliate WDSU reports that the workers were paid $12 an hour and came mostly from neighboring Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes.
News of 11th-hour spruce-up brigade spread rapidly Friday afternoon and infuriated locals. One popular radio host, WWL's Spud McConnell, suggested that the Coast Guard and the White House may have been involved in setting up the "perfect photo op."
"Who else has the kind of authority to bring a bunch of strangers to Grand Isle when the president is in town for a visit? You think they did background checks on all those people?" wondered McConnell. "I'd be a lot less upset about this if they would have at least stayed to clean the beach."
Yahoo! News could not reach BP for comment.
Nuge!
Washington Times:
NUGENT: Every day is Memorial Day
We owe America's warriors who gave their lives for freedom
By Ted Nugent
5:38 p.m., Friday, May 28, 2010
I live to remember. I have not forgotten that America is still at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, that our finest citizens have volunteered to put themselves in harm's way in the name of freedom. The media overall have done a grave disservice to our warriors and their families, who have been asked to sacrifice so much. The war is now barely covered by the media.
Maybe so-called journalists have forgotten. The media have moved on.
Not me. I have chosen to dig in and never forget. Not a day goes by that I am not reminded, often painfully, that America is at war. The cards, letters, pictures and e-mails I receive on a daily basis from America's finest and their families embolden me to be a better American, to be even more appreciative of the freedoms, liberties and opportunities provided me and you with the blood of warriors. These brave American warriors and the warriors who have gone before them humble me to my core. There are no words to express my appreciation for their bravery, commitment and sacrifice. The same goes for their families, who are left behind to soldier on while their loved ones go off to war. God bless them all.
We owe it to these brave Americans and their families to win this war with our honor intact, not to telegraph to the enemy when we are packing up and leaving the battlefield. I'm no military tactician, but announcing when we are leaving the battlefield is analogous to putting an ad in your local newspaper to let all local punks and thugs know when you are going on vacation so they can plunder your home.
I stand with most Americans demanding a victory strategy, not an exit strategy.
When we commit our troops to war, we must make a commitment to them and their families that we will achieve total victory through the application of total war.
Of the thousands of brave American warriors I have met since Sept. 11, 2001, not one has expressed a desire to leave the battlefield without victory. They all want to stay and finish the job. The commander in chief should remember how freedom has been achieved throughout history and let these trained warriors do their job. That's how I remember.
As parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, we owe it to America's finest to educate the youth of the United States that many brave Americans have paid the ultimate sacrifice in the name of freedom. Teach them that freedom isn't free. Teach them that the American military has freed more people from the shackles of tyranny and slavery than any other force in the history of the world. Teach them to remember this not just on Memorial Day, but every day.
America is at war. Thousands of Americans have paid the ultimate sacrifice, and thousands more have been wounded. Pause to remember them this Memorial Day. Say a prayer for the warriors and their families. They are the world's true freedom fighters.
Never forget them. Make every day Memorial Day.
NUGENT: Every day is Memorial Day
We owe America's warriors who gave their lives for freedom
By Ted Nugent
5:38 p.m., Friday, May 28, 2010
I live to remember. I have not forgotten that America is still at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, that our finest citizens have volunteered to put themselves in harm's way in the name of freedom. The media overall have done a grave disservice to our warriors and their families, who have been asked to sacrifice so much. The war is now barely covered by the media.
Maybe so-called journalists have forgotten. The media have moved on.
Not me. I have chosen to dig in and never forget. Not a day goes by that I am not reminded, often painfully, that America is at war. The cards, letters, pictures and e-mails I receive on a daily basis from America's finest and their families embolden me to be a better American, to be even more appreciative of the freedoms, liberties and opportunities provided me and you with the blood of warriors. These brave American warriors and the warriors who have gone before them humble me to my core. There are no words to express my appreciation for their bravery, commitment and sacrifice. The same goes for their families, who are left behind to soldier on while their loved ones go off to war. God bless them all.
We owe it to these brave Americans and their families to win this war with our honor intact, not to telegraph to the enemy when we are packing up and leaving the battlefield. I'm no military tactician, but announcing when we are leaving the battlefield is analogous to putting an ad in your local newspaper to let all local punks and thugs know when you are going on vacation so they can plunder your home.
I stand with most Americans demanding a victory strategy, not an exit strategy.
When we commit our troops to war, we must make a commitment to them and their families that we will achieve total victory through the application of total war.
Of the thousands of brave American warriors I have met since Sept. 11, 2001, not one has expressed a desire to leave the battlefield without victory. They all want to stay and finish the job. The commander in chief should remember how freedom has been achieved throughout history and let these trained warriors do their job. That's how I remember.
As parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, we owe it to America's finest to educate the youth of the United States that many brave Americans have paid the ultimate sacrifice in the name of freedom. Teach them that freedom isn't free. Teach them that the American military has freed more people from the shackles of tyranny and slavery than any other force in the history of the world. Teach them to remember this not just on Memorial Day, but every day.
America is at war. Thousands of Americans have paid the ultimate sacrifice, and thousands more have been wounded. Pause to remember them this Memorial Day. Say a prayer for the warriors and their families. They are the world's true freedom fighters.
Never forget them. Make every day Memorial Day.
BHO: The Failed Presidency
Good video summary - brief and effective:
The BHO administration is evincing dereliction of duty.
Even dyed-in-the-wool Democrats have had enough of the multiple failures of this Presidency.
The BHO administration is evincing dereliction of duty.
Even dyed-in-the-wool Democrats have had enough of the multiple failures of this Presidency.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Spanish Town Bans Burqa
Telegraph:
Spanish town bans Burka in public buildings
The Spanish town of Lerida has become the first in the country to ban the Burka in municipal buildings.
The town council voted to prohibit the "use of the veil and other clothes and accessories which cover the face and prevent identification in buildings and installations of the town hall."
The vote, by 23 to one with two abstentions, is the first of its kind in Spain, a country where Islamic veils and the body-covering burqas are little in evidence despite a large Muslim population.
The move is aimed at promoting "respect for the dignity of women and values of equality and tolerance," the town hall said in a statement.
The Islamic veil has sparked intense debate in many European countries, with Belgian deputies last month backing a draft law banning the garment in all public places, including on the streets, in a first for Europe.
France's cabinet has also approved a draft law to ban the full-face veil from public spaces, opening the way for the text to go before parliament in July.
The issue is a relatively new one for Spain, an overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country which has seen the number of immigrants living within its borders soar from around half a million in 1996 to 5.6 million last year, out of a total population of 46 million people.
Moroccans make up one of the largest immigrant
Spanish town bans Burka in public buildings
The Spanish town of Lerida has become the first in the country to ban the Burka in municipal buildings.
The town council voted to prohibit the "use of the veil and other clothes and accessories which cover the face and prevent identification in buildings and installations of the town hall."
The vote, by 23 to one with two abstentions, is the first of its kind in Spain, a country where Islamic veils and the body-covering burqas are little in evidence despite a large Muslim population.
The move is aimed at promoting "respect for the dignity of women and values of equality and tolerance," the town hall said in a statement.
The Islamic veil has sparked intense debate in many European countries, with Belgian deputies last month backing a draft law banning the garment in all public places, including on the streets, in a first for Europe.
France's cabinet has also approved a draft law to ban the full-face veil from public spaces, opening the way for the text to go before parliament in July.
The issue is a relatively new one for Spain, an overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country which has seen the number of immigrants living within its borders soar from around half a million in 1996 to 5.6 million last year, out of a total population of 46 million people.
Moroccans make up one of the largest immigrant
Anathema To All Things American
Dr. Bulldog asks if you noticed anything missing from Obama's press conference?
you all figured it out, right?
Then provides you with some hints:
you all figured it out, right?
UPDATED AND BUMPED - "Audacity" Watch: Tavis Smiley Tells Hirsi Ali, "Christians Blow Up More People ... Every Day ... Than Muslims"
TAVIS SMILEY IS SUCH A DICK I CAN'T HELP IT, I HAD TO ADD ACE'S COMMENT TO THE BOTTOM OF THE POST AND BUMP THIS FOR AWHILE.
And, he claims he is a Christian, which you can tell is true by the way he lies about his Christian brothers and sisters.
You see how that works?
Ace makes a great point:
And, he claims he is a Christian, which you can tell is true by the way he lies about his Christian brothers and sisters.
You see how that works?
Ace makes a great point:
What he means is (well I hope he means this; all other suggestions are lunatic) that the majority of the country is Christian, so whenever a murder occurs, it's a "Christian murder."
Uh-huh.
But see, the thing is, Muslims commit those sorts of "Muslim murders" every day, too, if we're calling any murder (for the typical motives, love, money, etc.) by a member of a religion a Religious Murder.
He kind of forgot that, eh?
What we are talking about is murders committed for the sake of religion -- and no, Tavis, Christians are not killing people every day because Jesus told them they'd get into heaven if they do.
ATLAS EXCLUSIVE: BABU SUSEELAN, PRESERVE OUR FREEDOM, PROTECT OUR DEMOCRACY; SAY NO TO MOSQUE AT “GROUND ZERO”
From Atlas Shrugs:
Babu Suseelan, Hindu leader and human rights activist, is a university professor and psychologist. He is also the Director of Indian American Intellectuals Forum,New York.Go read the whole thing.
He is the author of several published articles on jihadi terrorism and cognitive psychology. He has been an invited speaker at both national and international conferences on jihadi terrorism.
Babu Suseelan will be speaking at the protest against the 911 mega mosque.
PRESERVE OUR FREEDOM, PROTECT OUR DEMOCRACY; SAY NO TO MOSQUE AT “GROUND ZERO”!
Dr. BABU SUSEELAN
It has been revealed that now Muslims in the U.S have planned to construct two Mosques for the area around GROUND ZERO. There were only 10 Mosques inNew York City in 1970. There were over 100 in 2001, including 17 in Manhattan. There is no reason to allow construction of a 15-story Mosque at Ground Zero.
Muslims paid $4.85 million in cash for the property. Islamic leaders have not explained to the public where the cash came from. It is reported that the funding came from Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Iran, the leading promoters of Islam jihad around the world. Muslims plan to inaugurate the Mosque on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
Those officials who have approved construction of the 15-story Mosque at Ground Zero are not in touch with Islamic reality, and are afraid of jihadi terrorists. Out of fear, they made an irrational decision. Citizens should not now sit on the sidelines. They should confront decision makers who make policy decisions that have disastrous consequences. To do that, citizens must learn the past history of Islam and, Muslims’ present terrorist activities, and clear away their false assumptions on Islam. Citizens must make informed choices and ask questions to the political leaders.
TRUTHS ONE MUST KNOW ABOUT ISLAM BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE
Detroit transit sued for nixing 'Leaving Islam?' ad
From the Washington Times:
ASSOCIATED PRESS INFLAMMATORY? This ad, created by Stop Islamization of America, has already been been used on public buses in Miami and New York City. The Detroit-area bus authority has refused to use the ad, but SIOA has filed suit in federal court to force its use.
A bus-ad campaign that seeks to offer resources to those considering leaving Islam already has stirred up controversy in Miami and New York, but its next city may create the most fireworks - Detroit, the U.S. metropolitan area with the heaviest concentration of Middle Easterners.
The Detroit-area bus authority has refused to run the ads from Stop Islamization of America, an organization headed up by conservative activist and anti-jihad blogger Pamela Geller, prompting SIOA to file a federal lawsuit Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Mrs. Geller said the transport authority's refusal to run her ads violates her First Amendment right of free speech, and she will take the lawsuit to the Supreme Court if necessary.
"It is against the law, and I tell you, those ads will go up whether they like it or not," Mrs. Geller said.
SIOA initially encountered a similar refusal in Miami, but Mrs. Geller said a lawsuit prompted the transport-authority there to relent in less than 24 hours.
Several calls to the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation, which operates the bus system serving Detroit and two surrounding counties, were not returned Thursday.
Dawud Walid, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations of Michigan, said he expects that even if the ads do run in Detroit, they will not elicit any response besides puzzlement. The Detroit area, centering on Dearborn, is home to a quarter-million Muslims, whom Mr. Walid does not expect to react favorably to the presence of SIOA's ads in their city.
"If she's planning to put those Islamophobic ads in Detroit, she's wasting her time," Mr. Walid said.
The Detroit area also has a large Arab and Middle Eastern Christian population, centering on suburbs north of the city proper.
Mrs. Geller said SIOA began its national city-by-city ad campaign in response to bus ads in Florida inviting people to convert to Islam.
The SIOA ads read, "Fatwah on your head? Is your family or community threatening you? Leaving Islam? Got Questions? Get answers!" and provides a Web address that links to organizations that serve Muslim apostates. The bus ads are running in Miami through June 15 and began running in New York last week and will run through late June, Mrs. Geller said.
Part of the conflict centers on whether Muslims are free to leave Islam without retribution, and whether their families will punish or kill them for conversion.
One such case that has made national headlines in the U.S. involves 17-year-old Rifqa Bary, who fled her parents' Ohio home to stay with a Florida Christian minister after she converted. In the ensuing custody and foster care disputes, her Muslim parents deny that the girl will be harmed if she returns home.
Abdul Rahman, an Afghan citizen, was arrested in 2006 for converting to Christianity there, and members of his family asked prosecutors to seek the death penalty. But the international outcry over Mr. Rahman's case, and the fact that the Afghan government was installed by the U.S. invasion - plus doubts about the case and Mr. Rahman's sanity - combined to prompt the court to release him.
The consensus view among Muslim jurists worldwide is that apostasy, unless mitigated by such factors as mental illness or duress, is punishable by death. Mrs. Geller cited a fatwa, or ruling point on Islamic law, issued by the authoritative Al-Azhar University in 1978, that said: "This man has committed apostasy; he must be given a chance to repent, and if he does not, then he must be killed, according to Shariah [law]."
Mr. Walid denied Mrs. Geller's claims, though he provided no authoritative citations, and attacked Mrs. Geller's character.
"She's a well-known anti-Muslim bigot," he said. "She makes no distinction between extremist Muslims and mainstream Muslims."
Mr. Walid said that although there have been a few cases of violence against Muslims who convert away from the religion, there is no retribution for those who choose to leave Islam.
"People are free to leave Islam or any religion at any time. This is the United States of America," he said.
But a public educator in Dearborn, speaking on the condition of anonymity owing to fear of retribution, said there is a climate of fear in the Detroit area's Muslim community.
"The fear is palpable. I know there are things I am 'not allowed' to say. A discussion of religion with a Muslim person is often prefaced by the statement, 'Dont say anything about the Prophet [Muhammad].' In free society, open and honest conversation is not usually begun by a prohibition. Threats and intimidation are just part of life here."
How to Stop the Ground Zero Mega-Mosque
by Alyssa A. Lappen
Expose Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf's history, his statements in Arabic, and his organization's appallingly incomplete tax filings. (Click here to watch Walid Shoebat expose the Ground Zero mosque on PJTV.) READ
BUSTED!!! - Sestak Was Not Eligible for Job Clinton Supposedly Offered
From Weasel Zippers:
In a little-noticed passage Friday, the New York Times reported that Rep. Joe Sestak was not eligible for a place on the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, the job he was reportedly offered by former President Bill Clinton. And indeed a look at the Board’s website reveals this restriction:
The Board consists of not more than 16 members appointed by the President from among individuals who are not employed by the Federal Government. Members are distinguished citizens selected from the national security, political, academic, and private sectors.
As a sitting member of Congress, Sestak was not eligible for the job. And since the White House intended for Sestak to remain in his House seat, he would not have been eligible for the board after this November’s elections, provided he was re-elected to the House.
The statement from White House counsel Robert Bauer did not specifically mention the intelligence board, but speaking to reporters Friday, Sestak said of his conversation with Clinton, “At the time, I heard the words ‘presidential board,’ and that’s all I heard…I heard ‘presidential board,’ and I think it was intel.” In addition, the Times reported that “people briefed on the matter said one option was an appointment” to the intelligence board. But the White House could not legally have placed Sestak on the board.
Did the White House not know that? The apparent contradiction is sure to create more questions from Republicans who want an independent investigation of the affair. Why would the White House — normally pretty careful in such matters — offer Sestak a job he couldn’t take.
Dude, Obama is up shit-creek.
He lied in a carefully-crafted "lawyerly" White House statement, and he is BUSTED!
Charles Krauthammer said, of the White House Press Release,
“I found the statement from the White House just unbelievably lawyerly, and I must say, deceptive.”
And now, the proof is here.
Yesterday, Chris Matthews said the BP Oil Leak reminded him of the Iranian Hostage Crisis situation which brought down the Carter Presidency. For "Tingles" Matthews to have said that means that Obama was already shoulder-deep, and sinking.
This is much worse. This is Watergate stuff.
Obama is in trouble; the kind you can't get out of with any charm or parsing-of-words testimony.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Imam At Boston Mosque Called for Muslims to "Grab Onto the Gun and the Sword" and Support Terror Suspects
One of the imams who denounced Massachusetts State Treasurer Tim Cahill as a "bigot" for his charge that Governor Deval Patrick was pandering to Muslims has been unveiled* as a master of the fine art of taqiyya on the evidence of previous remarks he made in March to members of a local mosque.
May 28, 2010 6:08 pm US
Eastern Muslim Leader Raises Eyebrows At Brighton Mosque
Kathy Curran BRIGHTON (WBZ)
Local Muslim leaders are taking gubernatorial challenger Tim Cahill to task over his criticism of a meeting last weekend between Gov. Deval Patrick and hundreds of Muslims. But WBZ's Kathy Curran reports that meeting included a Boston imam whose own words have raised some eyebrows.
Muslim leaders, with Christians and Jews by their side, gathered at the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center in Roxbury on Thursday and lashed out at Cahill for his statement accusing Patrick of playing politics with terrorism by meeting with Muslim Americans at this mosque last weekend.
"His remarks were anti-democratic, anti-American, divisive and wounding," said Bilal Kaleem, a spokesman for the Muslim American Society of Boston.
[...]
Imam Abdullah Faaruuq, leader of the Mosque for the Praising of Allah who was at the meeting with the governor last week and also at Thursday's rally, was bothered by Cahill's statements.
"He wasn't talking about Muslims," Faaruuq said. "We're not terrorists. I'm not one. I was born in Boston city hospital. I have a deep and abiding concern for this country I live in."
Faaruuq said he denounces terrorism, but some people are concerned about comments the imam made at the Yusuf Mosque in Brighton in March.
He called for action and asked the Muslims gathered for his sermon to "grab onto the shovel, grab onto the gun and the sword. Don't be afraid to step out into this world and do your job."
The imam also asked for support of Aafia Siddiqui and Tarek Mehanna.
Siddiqui is the MIT graduate convicted of attempted murder for firing on American law enforcement officials in Afghanistan.
Mehanna of Sudbury was arrested on federal terrorism charges.
In an interview, Curran asked Faaruuq if his sermon sends a message that he is supporting terrorism because he supports Siddiqui and Mehanna.
"No, because I don't think they did anything to harm America," Faaruuq said. "I mean America [is] nothing but good. There are some people who have been radicalized who do crazy things, but they don't represent Muslims."
The leaders gathered at the press conference in Roxbury Thursday said they stand against terrorism and any acts of violence, and denounce politics of fear and exclusion.
They asked for an apology from Cahill.
But Cahill defended his criticism of the governor.
"My statement was not an attack on the Muslim community," Cahill said. "We have to keep our state safe from terrorism and we have to do that inside the Muslim community and outside the Muslim community and I don't think the governor's done that. I'm not a bigot. I'm not racist. But I do think we have to address the real problems we face."
* intentional
May 28, 2010 6:08 pm US
Eastern Muslim Leader Raises Eyebrows At Brighton Mosque
Kathy Curran BRIGHTON (WBZ)
Local Muslim leaders are taking gubernatorial challenger Tim Cahill to task over his criticism of a meeting last weekend between Gov. Deval Patrick and hundreds of Muslims. But WBZ's Kathy Curran reports that meeting included a Boston imam whose own words have raised some eyebrows.
Muslim leaders, with Christians and Jews by their side, gathered at the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center in Roxbury on Thursday and lashed out at Cahill for his statement accusing Patrick of playing politics with terrorism by meeting with Muslim Americans at this mosque last weekend.
"His remarks were anti-democratic, anti-American, divisive and wounding," said Bilal Kaleem, a spokesman for the Muslim American Society of Boston.
[...]
Imam Abdullah Faaruuq, leader of the Mosque for the Praising of Allah who was at the meeting with the governor last week and also at Thursday's rally, was bothered by Cahill's statements.
"He wasn't talking about Muslims," Faaruuq said. "We're not terrorists. I'm not one. I was born in Boston city hospital. I have a deep and abiding concern for this country I live in."
Faaruuq said he denounces terrorism, but some people are concerned about comments the imam made at the Yusuf Mosque in Brighton in March.
He called for action and asked the Muslims gathered for his sermon to "grab onto the shovel, grab onto the gun and the sword. Don't be afraid to step out into this world and do your job."
The imam also asked for support of Aafia Siddiqui and Tarek Mehanna.
Siddiqui is the MIT graduate convicted of attempted murder for firing on American law enforcement officials in Afghanistan.
Mehanna of Sudbury was arrested on federal terrorism charges.
In an interview, Curran asked Faaruuq if his sermon sends a message that he is supporting terrorism because he supports Siddiqui and Mehanna.
"No, because I don't think they did anything to harm America," Faaruuq said. "I mean America [is] nothing but good. There are some people who have been radicalized who do crazy things, but they don't represent Muslims."
The leaders gathered at the press conference in Roxbury Thursday said they stand against terrorism and any acts of violence, and denounce politics of fear and exclusion.
They asked for an apology from Cahill.
But Cahill defended his criticism of the governor.
"My statement was not an attack on the Muslim community," Cahill said. "We have to keep our state safe from terrorism and we have to do that inside the Muslim community and outside the Muslim community and I don't think the governor's done that. I'm not a bigot. I'm not racist. But I do think we have to address the real problems we face."
* intentional
Swedish political party to make demands on the US
From Watcher:
(Stockholm) The Red/Green opposition party in Sweden (an amalgamation of greens, liberals and the far left) have produced a policy document that if they win power at the next election they will demand that America closes down all its foreign bases (worldwide) and decommission all its nuclear weapons.When asked if they would pursue the same policies with their neighbour Russia, spokesman Urban Ahlin opined:
"We don’t write it about Russia, because there we have greater problems with human rights and press freedom than in the US."Anybody else surprised at how the Left only dictate their demands to those who abide by human rights rulings and not those who would have no problem putting them in hospital?
Cochlear Implant Allows Baby To Really Hear For The First Time
Dudes, careful with this one. You don't want to get all weepy in front of yo' bitch.
Sestak Statement
From Ace:
He got the word and keeps it inline with the White House story.Last summer, I received a phone call from President Clinton. During the course of the conversation, he expressed concern over my prospects if I were to enter the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate and the value of having me stay in the House of Representatives because of my military background. He said that White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel had spoken with him about my being on a Presidential Board while remaining in the House of Representatives. I said no. I told President Clinton that my only consideration in getting into the Senate race or not was whether it was the right thing to do for Pennsylvania working families and not any offer. The former President said he knew I'd say that, and the conversation moved on to other subjects. There are many important challenges facing Pennsylvania and the rest of the country. I intend to remain focused on those issues and continue my fight on behalf of working families.Either this is pure crap and/or Sestak was overstating the whole thing from the beginning.
Why get Clinton involved just to offer an advisory board position? Maybe if it was going to be SecNav (which is couldn't have been), then you get a former President involved but for this?
And even if was for this position, who exactly would give up a Senate run for this type of position?
Of course, the MFM will dutifully take their marching orders and declare 'case closed' and move along. Fortunately, we don't need the MFM to follow up on these types of stories and I imagine Congressman Darrell Issa is only going to be more energized.
Added:
Interesting note from FNC...Bill Clinton was at the White House yesterday.
There are also reports that someone from the White House spoke with Sestak's brother (who is also his campaign manager) yesterday.
Getting their ducks in a row...it's the Chicago way.
Issa's statement.
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Limbaugh: Now We Know Why Clinton and Obama Had Lunch on Thursday, To Get Their Stories Straight
From Rush Limbaugh:
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| RUSH: I guess now we know why, ladies and gentlemen, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton had lunch yesterday. They had to get their stories straight. You know who this is, and you know what this is, so let's go. JOHNNY DONOVAN: And now, from sunny south Florida, it's Open Line Friday! RUSH:  Okay, now we know why Clinton and Obama had lunch yesterday. They had to get their stories straight on this Sestak business. It is... (laughing) Folks, this is just too rich. Isn't it great? Here's what happened. Apparently Rahm Emanuel went to Clinton and said, "Look, would you go talk to Sestak informally? See if he's interested in taking a nonpaid -- an unpaid job -- high position job, unpaid here in the administration." And Clinton, of course, said (impression), "Hey, Mr. President, whatever you want. You know, I said, 'You're going to have to kiss my ass' back during the campaign if you wanted my support 'cause of the way you called me racist and so forth, the way you portrayed me and Hillary. Now you gotta come kiss my ass. So fine you're kissing my ass." I got the story right here. Clinton said that. Sit tight. "I'm going to kiss your ass, you kiss my ass, and I will make sure that you are all right. You come groveling to me I'll be happy to help you out here." Now, look at what's happened here. They go to Bill Clinton. He's famous for getting people jobs. Monica Lewinsky offered a job at Revlon. She was offered a job at the United Nations. She didn't take any of them. But they've got Bill Clinton. Isn't it great, folks, that they've found a guy who they know will commit perjury to carry the water here? (chuckling) |
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