FOUSESQUAWK

The Islamophobia Research and Documentation Project at the University of California at Berkeley

2013-05-18T13:12:00.003-07:00

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com

Get a load of this:

http://crg.berkeley.edu/content/islamophobia

This, of course, is the brainchild of professor Hatem Bazian, who not so long ago was an activist student at Berkeley. Just this past week, he was sharing a stage at UC San Diego with Cynthia McKinney as she struggled to put a coherent thought together (see my post).

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com/2013/05/hatem-bazian-cynthia-mckinney-at-ucsd.html

So now Berkeley, which is a boffo institution on its best of days, has this what-ever-you-call- it devoted to documenting any thought or utterance critical of Islam and the Islamist agenda of establishing world-wide supremacy over the rest of us and whatever other religion we may believe in.

Never mind that Muslims enjoy equal rights in America and full freedom to practice their faith-as they do in that other country so vilified by Bazian-Israel.

Never mind that in virtually every Muslim majority nation on earth, religious minorities are being actively persecuted by violent and often legal means.

Never mind that just since 9-11, there have been over 20,000 acts of terror carried out world-wide in the name of Islam.

Never mind the virulent expressions of hate spewing forth from the mouths of imams reading passages from the Koran directed toward Jews and Christians in mosques and madrassas around the world.

Never mind that on almost any day, Muslims in Iraq, Pakistan, or Afghanistan are killing other Muslims (Sunni-Shia) while Sufis and Ahmadiya Muslims are also persecuted in Muslim countries.

None of that matters, you see because all that matters is that little things like the above have given some folks a rather negative perception of Muslims.

Except for the fact that most Americans have done a good job of separating the innocent Muslims from the violent jihadists-and their apologists.

But let's take a look inside the pages of this "project" (link above). The first thing you note is the recent 4th annual study of Islamophobia conference (apparently just concluded). I wonder if Cynthia McKinney spoke at that one.

Also check out the inaugural edition of the Islamophobia Studies Journal and peruse the list of articles. They can be read in full if you are into masochism.

http://crg.berkeley.edu/content/islamophobia/islamophobia-studies-journal

Like this one from Bazian:

http://crg.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/Bazian.pdf

"Since the events of September 11, 2001, the FBI and other security
agencies have resorted to the recruitment of Muslim informants by means of
enticement and, if necessary, threats of deportation or financial ruin. From
the cases that have come to light, it is clear that vast sections of the Muslim
community and its civic and religious institutions are the intended targets of
these FBI operations."

Bazian then goes into a lengthy treatise of the "objectionable" FBI efforts to develop sources of information within the Muslim community and likens it to the COINTEL probes of decades past. Of course, what he doesn't stress is that the objective is to save innocent lives from terrorist attacks. His article, was of course, written before the latest attack in Boston.

Speaking of Boston, there is also this gem by Professor Muhammad Tamdgidi of the University of Massachusetts at Boston, in which he quotes a definition of Islamophobia as adopted by the Runnymede Trust on Islamophobia Report of 1997.

http://crg.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/Tamdgidi.pdf

"The Runnymede report defined Islamophobia and “closed views of
Islam” as follows:

1. Islam [is] seen as a single monolithic bloc, static and unresponsive
to new realities.
2. Islam [is] seen as separate and other—(a) not having any aims or
values in common with other cultures (b) not affected by them (c)
not influencing them.
3. Islam [is] seen as inferior to the West—barbaric, irrational,
primitive, sexist.
4. Islam [is] seen as violent, aggressive, threatening, supportive of
terrorism, engaged in ‘a clash of civilisations’.
5. Islam [is] seen as a political ideology, used for political or military
advantage.
6. Criticisms made by Islam of ‘the West’ [are] rejected out of hand."
7. Hostility towards Islam [is] used to justify discriminatory practices
towards Muslims and exclusion of Muslims from mainstream
society.
8. Anti-Muslim hostility [is] accepted as natural and ‘normal’.4
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

But our friends at the IRDP wish to define Islamophobia as follows:

"Islamophobia is a contrived fear or prejudice fomented by the existing Eurocentric and Orientalist global power structure. It is directed at a perceived or real Muslim threat through the maintenance and extension of existing disparities in economic, political, social and cultural relations, while rationalizing the necessity to deploy violence as a tool to achieve "civilizational rehab" of the target communities (Muslim or otherwise). Islamophobia reintroduces and reaffirms a global racial structure through which resource distribution disparities are maintained and extended."

According to that latter definition, I am can proudly attest that I am not an Islamophobe. Admittedly, the former, at least in certain points, is more problematical for me. I know one thing, however; I don't go around referring to people from other religions as "apes and pigs" and envision the day when I will hunt them down behind the last tree or rock to kill them. I don't know where that fits into anyone's definition of "phobia", but it must fit in somewhere.

Another featured article is by two professors at British universities who compare Islamophobia with European anti-Semitism:

http://crg.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/Meer-Modood.pdf

What is conveniently missing from this piece is the fact that most of the anti-Semitism in Europe today is by young male Muslim immigrants who are making it impossible for Jews to walk the streets of major cities dressed in distinctive Jewish garb lest they be insulted, spat upon, accosted or assaulted by the aforementioned criminals while intimidated Europeans turn a blind eye. Also missing are images like this, which just may contribute to "British Islamophobia".

But here is where it really gets good. Introducing Professor Ramon Grosfoguel of (where else?) UC Berkeley:

Ramon Grosfoguel

http://crg.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/Ramon-Grosfoguel.pdf

" For the sake of economizing space, when we use the term
“world-system” in this essay, we refer to the “modern/colonial Westernized
Christian-centric capitalist/patriarchal world-system” (Ibid). At the risk of
sounding ridiculous, we prefer a long phrase like this to characterize the
present heterarchical structure (multiple power hierarchies entangled to
each other in complex historical ways) of the world-system, than the limited
characterization of a single hierarchy called “capitalist world-system” with
capital accumulation as the single logic of the system (Ibid). The latter leads
to an economic reductionist understanding of the world-system, while the
former leads to a more complex, non-reductive structural-historical analysis.
Islamophobia as a form of racism against Muslim people is not an
epiphenomenon but constitutive of the international division of labor."

(It means capitalism is bad.)

"At a world level, Islamophobia has been the dominant discourse used
in the post-civil rights and post-independence era of dominant cultural racist
discourses against Arabs. The events of 911 escalated anti-Arab racism
through an Islamophobic hysteria all over the world, specifically among the
dominant elites of the United States and Israel. The latter is not surprising
given US and Israeli representation of Palestinians, Arabs and Islamic people
in general as terrorist decades before 911 (Said 1979; 1981). The
responsibility of US foreign policy is never linked to the tragic events of 911."

OK. Enough of that. I think you get the flavor. Essentially, everything about the West is bad, which leads one to wonder why the various authors have chosen to live in the West.

This is no Simon Wiesenthal Center, Folks. Keep in mind that as we speak, the 56-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation is still working hard to get the UN to pass a resolution that all member nations should criminalize any criticism of Islam. So is it fair to ask whether this "research and documentation" project is meant to be a repository of information on all those so-called "Islamophobes", real or imagined? Is there a larger agenda at work here against capitalism, democracy, true freedom and respect for ALL religions, and other institutions we have heretofore held so dear?

How sad it is that this is what passes for scholarship in places like the University of California at Berkeley.

In Egypt, the War on Christians Continues

2013-05-18T10:31:00.001-07:00

Here's one for the files of the UC Berkeley Islamophobia Research and Documentation Project. In Luxor, Egypt, a Coptic Christian female teacher is on trial for blaspheming Islam in her classroom.

http://news.yahoo.com/egyptians-targeted-blasphemy-charges-063917101.html

This, of course, is one of many cases in Egypt and other countries in the Islamic world. Many of these cases are manufactured by people with an ax to grind against the defendant. This is a weapon being used against Egypt's Coptic Christian community.

Heterosexual White Males Need Not Apply

2013-05-17T20:55:00.002-07:00

Hat tip Campus Reform

Steven Piotrkowski

Clearly not qualified

So you want to serve in some university student government position on inclusion and diversity, do you? Here is what happened at Northwestern University.

http://www.campusreform.org/blog/?ID=4759

Do you see how ridiculous this has become? Are we going backwards in our efforts over the decades to put racial differences behind us?

This is the result of the whole "Diversity Industry". Instead of having a young generation of young Americans who otherwise would be free of the prejudices of their fathers' and grandfathers' generations, we have this insanity.

Here's my suggestion: Universities should forget about this whole diversity, inclusion, sexual orientation and gender identification business. It is counter-productive. Get rid of these so-called Cross Cultural Centers on campus that only encourage tribalization and division. All we ever hear about on campus is, "people of color" (but never colored people), "brown people", "white people", "queers" (which used to be an epithet) and some alphabet concoction I can't memorize that covers every sexual persuasion imaginable-whether we care any more or not.

Once upon a time, there was a man who told us we should judge people on the content of their character and not on the color of their skin. We listened. It seems his message has, in a perverse way, been forgotten.

What was his name?

Hatem Bazian-Cynthia McKinney at UCSD

2013-05-17T18:12:00.000-07:00

Yes, Virginia, there's a lid for every pot. Hatem Bazian-Cynthia McKinney

Last Thursday, UC Berkeley Professor Hatem Bazian and Cynthia McKinney spoke before a packed hall of about 40 students.....

..... from the Students for Justice in Palestine and the Muslim Student Association as part of the week-long festival of hate against Israel at UC San Diego. No, I wasn't there, but people I know were, and they took copious notes.

According to my reports, Bazian was his usual complaining and boring self while McKinney gave one for the ages. It will be forever known as the Cynthia McKinney San Diego Address-as opposed to the Abraham Lincoln Gettysburg address. The only similarity was that both consisted of few words, but at least Lincoln's made sense. Already rambling from apples to French fries, about half way through, she completely lost her train of thought and paused repeatedly for painfully long periods at one point trying unsuccessfully to put a film up on the screen as a student had to run up from the audience to help her. I am told it was embarrassing.

But that's nothing new for Cynthia.

Bazian, as usual, whined about the "harassment and discrimination" that pro-Palestinian students face on University of California campuses then went on to complain about US support for Israel.

Here is a summary of McKinney's speech:

"Oh, I'm sorry........"

"What I'm trying to say is that one team shows up on election day. Another team shows up and the other team wins......Uhh....

....."try to talk about the way we organize................." PAUSE

......"What is this? ...Well, where I wanna go is............"(long pause)

"One moment.....Ok, uh.. That's it."

And this woman is a former US Congresswoman and studying for a PhD at Antioch University!!

To be sure, she made references to AIPAC and that pro-Israel lobby that has such an influence on all political aspects of our lives. She referred to an article by (Jewish Daily) Forward that described how the lobby is able to get Jews elected to Congress. She even quoted that great statesman (and Jew-hater) Gus Savage, who spoke about the influence of the pro-Israel lobby on the House floor back in the early 1990s.

Gus Savage: Sexual predator, corrupt Congressman, race baiter, anti-Semite. And this is who McKinney quotes.

I should also note that McKinney quoted Savage in May 2009 at UC Irvine when I asked her a question about how much the Jews had cost her her last election. She was too stupid not to take the bait.

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com/2009/05/cynthia-mckinney-speaks-at-uc-irvine.html

In addition, McKinney told the "audience" that she had just returned from a 17-hour flight from Kuala Lumpur the night before. She also told of being recently in Capetown, South Africa at the -get this- Bertrand Russell Tribunal on Palestine and being told by "many" South Africans that the apartheid of the former South Africa "paled in comparison to the apartheid in Israel."

http://www.russelltribunalonpalestine.com/en/sessions/south-africa/south-africa-session-%E2%80%94-full-findings/cape-town-session-summary-of-findings

I note that among the "luminaries" at the above clambake was the crackpot American-born Israeli professor Jeff Halper, who concocted the "spectral dust" story which he related at UC Irvine. (You gotta read this.)

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com/2011/02/jeff-halper-at-uc-irvine-cont.html

Which begs the question: Who is paying for this dim bulb (McKinney) to travel around the world-or any of them for that matter?

From what I am told, the UCSD week of hate was pretty much like the UCI week of hate. The average turnout was about 30-40 MSA-types, 3-5 pro-Israel types, and 3-5 curious students here and there-probably getting extra credit to attend from their radical professors.

"Ah wunnerful, ah wunnerful, ah."

No wonder they don't want their events videotaped.

Let's Play, "What the Hell Happened Today in Iraq?" (May 17, 2013)

2013-05-17T08:35:00.001-07:00

The choices are:

a A bomb killed 28 people outside a Sunni mosque
b UN inspectors found the weapons of mass destruction
c The Olive Tree Initiative arrived for a two-week visit
d President Obama announced a new surge to "secure the peace"
e Iraqi Christians went on a killing spree in Baghdad

"Can I call a friend?"

"Sure. Who do you want to call?"

"Pastor Ed Bacon in Pasadena."

"Who the Hell is he?"

"He is the pastor of the All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena."

"All Saints Mosque. Marayati."

"Hello, can I speak to Pastor Bacon?"

"Oh, he ain't here no more."

"Well, uh do you know what the Hell happened today in Iraq?"

"Has to be 'e'."

"Gee, thanks." (click) I'll go with 'e', Bob."

"Oh, sorry. The answer is 'a'."

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/05/17/26-dead-in-blast-outside-sunni-mosque-in-iraq/?test=latestnews

Report: ICE Released Hundreds of Illegal Aliens With Criminal Records

2013-05-16T19:16:00.002-07:00

Memo to Obama administration: Slow down. I can't keep up with you.

Janet Napolitano - 2010 Fousesquawk "Jerk of the Year"

That's because the scandals are coming fast and furious (no pun intended). Read below what dim bulb Janet Napolitano's ICE has been doing.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/05/16/ice-admits-hundreds-illegal-immigrants-with-criminal-records-released/

"The department then "re-apprehended" 24 of those, the senators said, after realizing the "seriousness" of their
crimes. "

You call that competence?

IRS Scandal Takes Interesting Turn

2013-05-16T19:02:00.003-07:00

"The IRS official who led the tax-exempt organizations unit when Tea Party groups were targeted is now in charge of the IRS office responsible for ObamaCare, two Capitol Hill sources told Fox News."

So let me see if I got this right; an IRS official who had been overseeing the targeting of Tea Party groups by the IRS is now running the section of the agency that is responsible for enforcing ObamaCare. And President Obama had no knowledge of this policy?

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/05/16/second-irs-official-to-leave-amid-tea-party-scandal/

And according to the Washington Examiner, the official in question has been raking in some big bonuses.

http://washingtonexaminer.com/updated-irs-tax-exemptionobamacare-exec-got-103390-in-bonuses/article/2529899

As I said before, it is inconceivable that career IRS officials decided on their own to target conservative groups. I heard a figure on the radio tonight that 500 Tea Party groups have been affected as opposed to only three liberal groups.

Sorry, folks. This policy came down from above starting in the political realm-just as Operation Fast and Furious had to have been hatched in the corridors of power in Washington DC. No wonder Obama doesn't want to appoint a special prosecutor. He knows that it won't go anywhere in the Senate and with Eric Holder in charge at Justice.....

Hope and change?

So You Want to Send Troops to Syria ? (Ch 2)

2013-05-16T13:41:00.000-07:00

This will probably be one of those recurring threads on Fousesquawk. Fox News has a video (graphic) that purportedly shows Syrian rebels executing captured loyalists to the Assad regime. I am unable to pull up the YouTube video, but perhaps you can. Note: Click the line that says don't show the warning again-then continue.

Think deeply before you decide to send US troops into this hell-hole. In my view, it isn't worth one American life.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/05/16/horrific-video-appears-to-show-syrian-rebel-executing-kneeling-assad-soldiers/

Putting the Lie to the Inter-Faith Charade

2013-05-16T13:27:00.000-07:00

Hat tip Islam vs Europe, Gatestone Institute and Karen

From the Islamic Cultural Center of Boston to to the All-Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, Jewish, Christian and Muslim clerics are involved in inter-faith activities that while seemingly noble on the surface, are frequently facades used by manipulative, so-called moderate Muslim leaders and gullible and/or far-left Jewish and Christian clerics to lull Christians and Jews into believing that there is no threat coming from radical Islam-at least none that the so-called moderate Muslims cannot deal with.

So it is also in Europe. The below two reports come from the UK and France respectively. The first is by Douglas Murray for the Gatestone Institute, and the second comes from Islam vs Europe.

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3716/lord-ahmed-interfaith

http://islamversuseurope.blogspot.ca/2013/05/france-priest-attacked-by-muslim.html

In the case of Boston, this site has long cross-posted news from Charles Jacobs of Americans for Peace and Tolerance detailing the radical connections of the Roxbury mosque. Jacobs, in return, has been excoriated by the Jewish religious leadership in Boston because they were so involved in inter-faith activities with this questionable mosque. Then came the Boston marathon and links between the Brothers Tsarnaev and the mosque's sister mosque in Cambridge owned and run by the same people.

This is not to condemn all such inter-faith ventures. If I could identify one that involved sincere people on all three sides-not just two- I would support it. I am always prepared to support truly peaceful, good-hearted Muslims with no Islamist agenda. Having attended a few of these events in Los Angeles, Pasadena and Orange County, I do not find them deserving of support.

The IRS Scandal: Is Obama Taking a Page From Bill Clinton?

2013-05-16T13:11:00.001-07:00

"It all depends on what your definition of "is' is."

Fox News today has sent a request to the White House to clarify President Obama's remarks about the IRS scandal and when he became aware. They are still awaiting a response.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/05/16/obama-to-meet-with-treasury-officials-over-irs-scandal/

"I can assure you that I certainly did not know anything about the (inspector general) report" beforehand, Obama said Thursday.

The president, though, did not say whether he was previously aware of the IRS' actions, which allegedly started as early as 2010, well before the inspector general's office began to investigate. Republican lawmakers were inquiring about the alleged targeting of Tea Party groups by the IRS more than a year ago. "

Meanwhile, it has been learned today that Acting IRS Commissioner, Steven Miller, was scheduled to leave his post in early January irregardless of the breaking scandal.

LA Times Still Shilling for Obama

2013-05-16T09:53:00.001-07:00

"Damn. Cubs lose again."

Today's LA Times has a disgraceful "Move on" editorial about Benghazi.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-benghazi-20130516,0,4147249.story

Just one problem, LA Times. The just-released e-mails are missing the first 48 hours after the attack.

http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/16/white-houses-benghazi-email-dump-shows-critical-two-day-gap-cia-objection/

Maybe the Times would like to rewrite this editorial for tomorrow's edition.

From 18-Minute Gap to 48-Hour Gap

2013-05-16T09:45:00.003-07:00

Hat tip Daily Caller

Remember back in the early 70s when one of the tapes of the Nixon conversations in the Oval Office had a mysterious 18-minute gap? Well, it seems that those e-mails released this week by the Obama White House are missing the crucial first 48 hours after the Benghazi attack.

http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/16/white-houses-benghazi-email-dump-shows-critical-two-day-gap-cia-objection/

"And my gap was only 18 minutes."

The IRS Scandal and Obama's Statement

2013-05-15T20:24:00.002-07:00

So once again, President Obama gets up before the mic and says the following:

"We will get to the bottom of it."

"We will hold those responsible accountable."

"We will make sure it never happens again."

Heard this song before? Can you say "Benghazi"?

Once again, the administration will find a convenient scapegoat to fall on his or her sword. This time it is acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller. No Treasury Secretary Jack Lew. No ex-Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. No Sir. Attorney General Eric Holder is on the job conducting the appropriate investigation, just as the DOJ Inspector General investigated Operation Fast and Furious and the Accountability Review Board investigated Benghazi for the State Department. Once again, the top dogs are found to be not involved-not aware of the malfeasance.

As for Miller, let me say this; I know nothing about him or what he has said about this scandal in the past. I do note, however, that he is a 25-year IRS veteran. That tells me he is no political hack. He came up though the ranks. Having someone like that in charge-acting or otherwise- has its advantages and disadvantages. One advantage is that they more readily identify with the field agents. The disadvantage is that people like that don't have the clout to resist pressure from above. Is this the situation here? I say this as a retired DEA agent who has seen DEA administrators (directors) come and go, some who came up through the ranks, and some who were people with clout and connections who were appointed.

Can it be that a career IRS agent who has advanced to the top-albeit in an acting position- would decide to abuse the agency for crass political purposes? Possibly, but not likely.

What is more likely is that such a person found himself or herself being pressured from above by the political types. Miller's boss was the Treasury Secretary, first Tim Geithner, later Jack Lew, both political hacks subservient to the President. And this guy (Miller) is supposed to take the fall for this?

These scandals all require an independent special prosecutor.

And on a related note: Yesterday, Julian Bond, the chairman of the NAACP, appeared on (where else?) MSNBC and blasted the Tea Party, one of the principal victims of this outrage. He characterized the Tea Party as "admittedly racist" in actually defending the IRS' actions.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/may/14/naacps-julien-bond-its-ok-irs-target-racist-tea-pa/

What an outrageous lie! The Tea Party is neither "admittedly racist" nor racist at all. This despicable man (Bond) owes millions of decent Americans an apology. He won't give it, of course. That is the type of liar he is. How low has the NAACP sunk from what was once a great organization?

More Benghazi E-Mails Released

2013-05-15T15:40:00.001-07:00

E-mails released today show even more involvement in the State Department's efforts to eliminate language in the intelligence report that referred to terrorists and prior security warnings.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/05/15/white-house-releases-100-pages-e-mails-notes-related-to-benghazi/

Here is the Fox News link to the e-mails:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/interactive/2013/05/15/white-house-benghazi-documents/

So now the question is-just as in Operation Fast and Furious; who in the State Department is going to fall on their sword for Hillary Clinton? The DOS press spokeswoman, Victoria Nuland has her fingerperints all over it. In her own language, she referred to "her superiors" who were not happy with the original report. Who in tarnation could she be referring to.........

Berkeley Professor Hatem Bazian Plays the Victim Card Again Over Boston

2013-05-15T15:02:00.002-07:00

Hat tip The Blaze and Squid

UC Berkeley professor Hatem Bazian, who will be speaking against Israel tomorrow at UC San Diego (no videotaping allowed), is doing his second pony trick by complaining about Islamophobia in the wake of the Boston attack. The Blaze has the report.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/05/15/uc-berkeley-professor-equates-boston-bombings-with-islamophobia/

This guy has two issues-Israel and Islamophobia. That's why I call him a two-trick pony. He is a boring speaker who needs a laptop and power point in front of him to give a talk.

It gets better. Tomorrow, this character is speaking along with noted crackpot Cynthia McKinney at UC San Diego as part of the Muslim Student Association's anti-Israel week of non-events. (No video taping allowed.) Cynthia McKinney!! That should tell you all you need to know.

And he is the director of the "Islamophobia Reseach and Documentation Center" at Berkeley??!! What the Hell is that? Now if he were to open a center devoted to researching and documenting the persecution of Coptic Christians in Egypt, he might have some work to do instead of running around giving his victim speeches at various universities.

UC San Diego's Rules for Campus Events

2013-05-15T11:31:00.000-07:00

The following is what UC San Diego sent a friend of mine in answer to a query as to why the public is not being allowed to video tape anti-Israel events sponsored by the Muslim Student Association. I am inserting my comments in bold.
________________________________________________________________________________

Student organization event guidelines regarding audience conduct and objects present at events where access to the venue can be regulated

Student organizations hosting events on-campus have the right to establish reasonable rules on how audience members conduct themselves and what audience members may bring to their event venue. This right exists whether the event is open to the public or limited to a specific audience.

Nonsense. It is a public event at a public university. Of course, there should be rules for behavior, but the right to videotape should not be interfered with.

Reasonable rules in the event venue may include prohibiting activities such as video recording, taking photographs, distributing flyers and leaflets, carrying signs,using flash photography, using cell phones, and interrupting a speaker with questions or statements during a period of time of an event not scheduled for questions and statements. (Italics mine.) In my view, only the italicized statement is true. That would constitute disruption. In addition, carrying signs into an indoor event would be too cumbersome for all concerned, but not at an outdoor event.)

Event rules are appropriate if the following conditions are observed in their establishment, communication and enforcement by the event organizers:

Include all rules in the event information entered into the Triton Activities Planner (TAP) system in order for Student Affairs staff members and UCSD Police to be informed about them prior to the event.

If an event speaker has specific requirements (e.g., no video recording, flash photography) as a condition for speaking at the event, include these conditions in the speaker’s contract.

Said contract cannot supercede the law.

Ensure that event rules are applied uniformly to all audience members and are completely unrelated to audience members’ viewpoint concerning the topic of the event. The rules must be enforced uniformly.Individuals may not be charged with a violation of these rules based solely on their viewpoint relative to the topic of the event.

That has been violated often at other universities.

The event organizer may engage in activities it prohibits (e.g., video recording, taking photographs,distributing flyers, etc.). Conduct the activity in a manner that makes clear to the audience the event organizer is engaging in it and not audience members. For example, limit the number of event organizers engaged in the activity, station them away from the seating area, and have them wear something that clearly identifies them as part of the sponsoring organization.

Include event rules in all event publicity in order to notify audience members in advance.

Don't see it here.

http://ucsdmsa.org/joomla/index.php/events-and-programs/jip

Post the rules prominently outside all entrances to the venue using sign(s) of sufficient size and location(s) sufficiently prominent that audience members can read them before entering the venue.

Work with your CSI advisor to arrange for a Student Affairs staff member, security staffing, and UCSD Police Officer(s) to be present at the event to assist in the enforcement of the event rules.

In this case, the MSA has brought in its own security. Where are the campus police?

Review the event rules with the security personnel and station them at the venue entrances to make sure audience members do not bring prohibited objects (e.g. video cameras, signs, leaflets) into the venue.

If an individual insists on bringing prohibited objects into the venue, ask security personnel to not let the individual in, ask the individual to wait outside the entrance and contact the Student Affairs staff member assigned to the event to speak with the individual.

Designate an event moderator who should announce at the start of the event the rules and the consequences for violating the event rules. Consult with your CSI Advisor on the exact wording of the announcement several days before your event.

This is what the event moderators (MSU members) tried to announce at UC Irvine last week. I informed them they were wrong and needed to get a campus police officer if they wanted me to stop filming. They backed down.

10.

If a violation of the rules occurs inside the event venue, the event moderator should consult with the organizers of the event and the Student Affairs staff member assigned to the event to determine if the moderator should ask the audience member to cease the behavior. If the answer of the event organizer is“yes,” the moderator should address the audience member, state the behavior that is in the violation ofthe event rules, and request the audience member to cease the behavior.

11.

If an audience member continues to violate the rules despite the request to stop, the event organizers should notify the designated Student Affairs staff member who will notify the UCSD Police Officer(s) at the event. The Student Affairs staff member and the UCSD Police Officer will ask the audience member to cease the behavior.

And the officer would be wrong. (At that point, I would personally follow the directions of the campus police officer and make a complaint after the fact.) Again, the events at UCSD this week are being held under MSA private security. Where are the campus police? It is their duty to be present at any event where emotions can spill over into violence. This issue clearly qualifies. It is the most contentious issue on most university campuses today. It is they who can best determine how to respect the rights of all concerned.

12.

If after more than one request to stop by the Student Affairs staff member and the UCSD Police Officer, the audience member continues with the behavior and it is clear the audience member has willfully disturbed the event, the event organizers may notifythe UCSD Police Officer that they would like to perform a citizen’s arrest on the audience memberfor willfully disturbing the event in violation of section 403 of the California Penal Code.

The UCSD Police Officer will explain the Citizen’s Arrest Form and ask the event organizer to complete it and sign it.

Once the form is signed, the UCSD Police Officer will instruct the audience member to leave the event and if the audience member does not comply with this request the audience member may be arrested for disturbing the event in violation of section 403 of the California Penal Code. Using their professional judgment, UCSD police officers may attempt to obtain compliance with the rule without resorting to a physical arrest of the subject(s).

13.

If the audience member continues the behavior, the UCSD Police Officer will escort the audience member from the event venue and may subject the audience member to arrest for disturbing the event.

14.

If the disruption involves multiple individuals and/or the person(s) cannot be removed in a safe manner, the event may need to be terminated or temporarily cleared. This decision will be made by the UCSD Police in conjunction with the Student Affairs Staff and event sponsors.

On Thursday, Cynthia McKinney is scheduled to speak. What if she brings her New Black Panther P:arty goons to the event as security, a group that the Southern Poverty Law Center has rightly designated as a hate group (Duh)? Will the university cede its control over to this bunch too?

As much as I hate to rely on the ACLU for an opinion, here is a position they took at Central Michigan University. The facts are somewhat different in this instance.

http://www.aclu.org/technology-and-liberty/university%E2%80%99s-absolute-ban-videotaping-without-permission-unconstitutional-say

Somebody needs to bring a lawyer to this fight. The audience right to videotape is being violated. I am hardly surprised given the craven submission of the UCSD administration to the students over the years, but it is time for somebody to give some sound legal advice to this institution.

So You Want to Send US Troops to Syria?

2013-05-14T20:36:00.000-07:00

I am posting the most graphic version of this I can find. Most of the mainstream media outlets are reporting it while claiming that it has not been 100% confirmed. However, they are running with it, so they must feel it is authentic. It purports to show a known Syrian rebel leader cutting out the heart and liver of a dead Syrian soldier and taking a bite out of the heart.

"Takbir" (Victory)

"Allahu Akhbar" (God is great)

And you want to send American soldiers into Syria?
And you want to support these people?
Perhaps, you want to flood the US with Syrians fleeing this war?

I say no. Aside from the innocent civilians, there are no good guys and bad guys anymore.

I say stand back and forget about it. I don't want one American life sacrificed to this madness. We have lost four Americans to this savagery in Libya. That is four too many.

And I say we need to stop importing this barbarism into the US.

Benghazi: Is CNN Getting in on the Fun?

2013-05-14T15:33:00.003-07:00

Hat tip Atlas Shrugs

It appears that CNN has obtained a leaked e-mail from Obama advisor Ben Rhodes dated September 14, 2012 regarding Benghazi.

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2013/05/politics/white-house-benghazi-email/index.html

Below is Jake Tapper's complete report.

http://thelead.blogs.cnn.com/2013/05/14/cnn-exclusive-white-house-email-contradicts-benghazi-leaks/?hpt=po_c2

Update (from Breitbart.com): It appears that this leak has now led other news organizations to call for release of all the emails related to the Benghazi talking points.

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2013/05/15/ABC-CNN-Call-For-White-House-To-Release-Libya-Emails

UC San Diego Preventing Videotaping of MSA Events This Week

2013-05-14T14:02:00.000-07:00

Here is an update on the situation at UC San Diego as the Muslim Student Association began their week of anti-Israel events. Below is my initial report:

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com/2013/05/msa-intimidation-at-uc-san-diego.html

Last night, private security hired by event organizers prevented any video recording or audio recording of the event by outside persons.

This morning, a friend of mine called the UCSD Dean's office to inquire about the policy and to inform them of how the issue had been resolved at UC Irvine the previous week. My friend was told by an unidentified woman that the UCSD had a "different interpretation of the law", had consulted with their own attorneys, and that the "organizers of the event" had requested that no public filming be allowed. She further advised that they would send their policy to my friend in writing.

Stand by.

Meanwhile, here is a video from The United West from May 2011 at UCSD. Watch what happens when Tom Trento and his team arrive to videotape the MSA events. This is good stuff.

I must make one correction to the video. The Muslim Brotherhood is not a designated terrorist organization.

(But it should be.)

One Fine Day in London

2013-05-14T13:49:00.001-07:00

Hat tip Frontpage Magazine

"Don't turn that corner, Bud."

No, it's not the fans of Chelsea and Manchester United going at it in the below video, it's London Shi'ites vs London Sunni. Sit back and enjoy the fun as the two sides go at while the Bobbies maintain their "stiff upper lip". (Yes, this is really London.)

http://frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/islamic-sunni-shiite-holy-war-breaks-out-in-london/

Can a Cabinet Secretary Solicit Donations to Favored Charities From Companies She Regulates? Meet Kathy Sibelius

2013-05-14T13:03:00.003-07:00

It certainly has at least the appearance of impropriety.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/05/14/house-committee-to-probe-sebelius-soliciting-money-for-obamacare-sign-ups/

Kathy Sibelius is one of the nastiest cabinet secretaries Obama has-and that's saying something. This hardball former governor of Kansas has no business asking companies she regulates to give money to anybody.

Eric Holder: "I Wasn't Involved"

2013-05-14T12:33:00.003-07:00

As in recused that is

Hat tip Johnspeedie.com

Once again, slippery Eric Holder claims no involvement with the AP phone matter. He recused himself to avoid the appearance of conflict of interest. (hat tip Jim Healy and Johnspeedie.com)

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/05/14/holder-recuses-himself-from-doj-probe-associated-press-phone-records/

My question is what was the conflict of interest that involved Holder and didn't involve his deputy, James Cole? If the subpoena was justified then stand by it. Sounds like Holder is hiding something again.

"Uhhhhhh.....................yeaaaaah."

Chris Matthews Tries to Spin the Unspinnable

2013-05-14T09:51:00.001-07:00

Watch Chris Matthews here on Hardball trying to explain away the testimony of the 3 whistle blowers. What his analysis comes down to is....

"What difference at this point does it make?" (What harm was done?)

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Some journalist. eh?

"Chris Matthews, you've got a weak show."

Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be Christians

2013-05-13T20:09:00.000-07:00

In Saudi Arabia at least

Is this even news anymore? Yet another example of religious intolerance in the Middle East. And nowhere is it more intolerant than in Saudi Arabia (our trusty ally).

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/05/13/saudi-man-gets-300-lashes-6-years-for-helping-woman-convert-to-christianity/?test=latestnews

Keep in mind folks, this is where we send our money for oil. In return, the Saudis fund the most radical, Wahhabist mosques and schools in the US, as well as fund the creation of Middle East studies departments in our universities, infested with radicals whose main duty is advocating for the destruction of Israel.

Oh yes, they also give money to terrorists.

But we can't stop buying oil from the Saudis because we can't drill for it here at home. The environment, you know.

What? Another DOJ Scandal??

2013-05-13T19:56:00.002-07:00

Obviously, it must involve low-level employees

Looks like Eric Holder has more questions to lie about. Now DOJ has been found to be looking at the telephone records of the Associated Press.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/05/13/justice-department-secretly-obtains-ap-phone-records/

"I used to do that back in the good old days."

Things may have changed since when I was an agent, especially with all the new-fangled gadgets, like I-phones and such. When i was an agent getting phone records from the telephone company was done via administrative subpoena. There was a non-disclosure clause in the subpoena that the suspect was not to be notified for a period of so many days, and that was updated regularly. At a certain point, the telephone company was required to notify the customer that they had turned over toll records to law enforcement.

I never investigated any news agency, and as stated in the article, it apparently requires the attorney general to sign off on such a request due to the protections we afford to the press. Of course, Eric Holder has already testified in Fast and Furious hearings that correspondence that was sent to his desk was never seen by him. (Must have been at the bottom of a big stack of papers).

Let's see what happens in the coming days.

"Let's don't."