Patriot's Corner

Netanyahu’s Speech and the Noise Outside

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Fouse) — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 07:35:00 +0000

Yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu spoke before the US Congress and gave one of the best speeches you will ever see a politician give. He introduced a few of his heroic Israeli soldiers to the audience, young men who had particularly distinguished themselves in combat against the butchers of Hamas.

Generally, Netanyahu received enthusiastic applause from his audience, mostly from Republicans. While many Democrats applauded, some sat on their hands while some 30 refused to attend. Then there was Rashida Tlaib, the Democrat from Michigan who did attend but wore her Palestinian keffiyah and held a sign accusing Netanyahu and Israel of committing genocide. As for Kamala Harris, instead of presiding over the event in her role as president of the Senate, she opted to skip the event in order to speak at some sorority event in Indiana.

But the most disgusting side show was the pro-Hamas protest outside the Capitol in front of Union Station. Not only did they engage in vandalism and violence, some fighting police, they even took down American flags and replaced them with Palestinian flags. At least one American flag was burned.

In addition, one punk spray painted the words, “Hamas is coming” on a monument to Christopher Columbus. It was just one of several messages spray painted on the monument. Just the latest outrage committed by the Hamas supporters. And they are definitely Hamas supporters as evidenced by the words described above on the monument.

I think most Americans are fed up with the violence by these thugs and thugettes with their asinine keffiyahs and Palestinian flags. They are a collection of Islamists and radical American leftist anarchists. They hate Israel, they hate Jews, and they hate America. And don’t be fooled by the fact that there are some misguided American Jews, for example Jewish Voice for Peace, among their ranks.

British journalist and activist Douglas Murray, an unapologetic critic of Islam, has poignantly declared that he doesn’t want to share his country with jihadists and Jew haters, of which Britain also has more than its share. I share his feeling even though I know full well that many of the agitators here are US-born and deportation is not an option. In that regard, I wish law enforcement and the courts would crack down on these violent protesters who are supporting a terrorist organization. Under the current administration, I doubt that will happen

At any rate, it’s high time we send a message to these dopes that if they don’t like America or the fact that this country supports Israel, they are free to leave. If they call someplace else home, it’s time to return because they have worn out their welcome here. And they can take their American stooges with them.

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Islamic Slavery (Never Forget!)

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Wed, 24 Jul 2024 00:06:00 +0000

It is a little-known historical fact that for the best part of three hundred years, corsairs sailing from ports on the Barbary Coast preyed upon civilians living along the Mediterranean coastline, attacked cargo boats from non-Islamic nations, carrying their crews off into slavery, and as we shall see, carried out devastating attacks on towns as far away as Baltimore in Ireland and Grindavik, Lón and Djúpivogur in Iceland.

One of the earliest records of English sailors being captured by privateers from the Barbary Coast can be found in the calendar of state papers for 1567, which records that on 13th July of that year, Bishop Edmund Grindall, then the Bishop of London, wrote to William Cecil, the chief advisor to Queen Elizabeth I, asking him to “further the suit of the bearer for a licence to make a collection for ransom of certain Englishmen, captives in Algiers.”

According to the National Maritime Museum in Cornwall, ships from the Barbary Coast were seen off the south-west coast of England as early as 1623. The privateers soon began to attack seagoing vessels anywhere they found them. The crews of these English boats were abducted and taken back to North Africa, where they were enslaved.

On 18th April 1625, Sir James Bagg, the Vice-Admiral of South Cornwall, wrote to George Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham, to inform him that three Cornish fishing boats and another ship bound for Newfoundland had been attacked by North African privateers. In August 1625, the slavers had even come ashore at Mount's Bay in Cornwall. The people in the village had run to their local church and shut themselves inside. This was all to no avail, for the corsairs cared nothing for the sanctity of a church. They entered the building without a qualm and dragged some sixty people outside, then forced them aboard their rowing boats. These unfortunate Cornish men and woman were taken aboard the waiting ships, whereupon they were transported back to the Barbary Coast, where the slave markets awaited. That same month, the Mayor of Plymouth wrote to the Privy Council and told them that in just ten days, twenty seven ships had been taken by the privateers, and the crews who were aboard had all been enslaved.

As the years passed, the raids continued. In 1634, two ships sailing from Somerset to Ireland were attacked and had their crews taken. In September 1635, six privateers acting together as a “wolf-pack” attacked a ship sailing west of Cornwall. In May 1636, three fishing boats were attacked by the corsairs, and twenty-seven fishermen were taken away as slaves. In June 1636, fishermen who had been sailing between England and Ireland reported that “five of their company were taken by the Turk, and their men, being six or seven in each boat, were carried away.” Seven more boats were attacked by the privateers while fishing between St. Keverne and the Lizard that same month. According to Richard Plummer, the skipper of a barge that was berthed at St. Keverne, “There was no news heard of either men or boats, so that it goes for an absolute truth thereabouts, that they were all surprised by the Turks and carried away.” The situation on the south-west coast of England was so bad that the Justices of The Peace for Cornwall wrote to King Charles I on 14th July 1636:

Beg his Majesty to receive advertisement of complaints lately received from the sea coast of Cornwall, and particularly from East Looe and West Looe. About two months since, three barks of the said towns, on a fishing voyage upon the coasts, were taken by the Turks, and 27 persons carried away into miserable slavery, which loss falls the more heavy upon the said towns, by reason of their former losses in two preceding years, wherein they lost four barks and 42 persons, whereby the said towns are not only impoverished, but by means of the wives and children of these poor captives (being above 100 persons) are so surcharged, as they are likely to fall into great decay, and through the terror of that misery whereunto these persons are carried by these cruel infidels, the owners and seamen rather give over their trade than put their estates and persons into so great peril, there being now 60 vessels and about 200 seamen without employment. In other parts the Turks have taken other vessels, and chased others so that they have run on the rocks, choosing rather to lose their boats than their liberty. These Turks daily show themselves at St. Keverne, Mount's Bay, and other places, that the poor fishermen are fearful not only to go to the sea, but likewise lest these Turks should come on shore and take them out of their houses. Such being the condition of these parts, the justices beseech his Majesty to take the same into his consideration.

On 20th June 1631, a fleet of ships led by a Dutchman who had “turned Turk,” with crews augmented with over two hundred janissaries, sacked the village of Baltimore in Ireland. The man leading the raid had been born in the Dutch city of Haarlem as Jan Jansen round about 1575. He had been a privateer working for the Dutch, and had been captured by Barbary corsairs some time between 1613 and 1618. Taken as a slave, Jansen had adopted the religious faith of his captors and thereby obtained his freedom. Jansen, who was now going under the name Murat Reis, ended up in Algiers where he served as first mate aboard an Algerian privateer before moving to Salé and embarking upon his own career as skipper of his own boat. Reis was so successful that he became Admiral of the fleet of privateers at Salé.

En route to the southern coast of Ireland, Reis had attacked several other boats and taken their crews as slaves. The skipper of one of these boats, Edward Fawlett, had decided to assist Reis, probably in order to avoid both an immediate bout of torture and a long-term future as a slave in North Africa. Another of these skippers, John Hackett, did likewise. As the slavers anchored off Baltimore and rowed closer to the shore in small boats to reconnoitre the town, Fawlett is known to have accompanied Reis, and to have used his local knowledge to explain the layout of the town, and to point out the houses of anyone who might resist the slavers. The slavers landed and attacked the houses in the part of the town known as “The Cove.” They lit torches and thrust them into the thatched roofs, then accosted the residents as they ran from their houses. Two of the locals, Tim Curlew and John Davys, tried to resist, but were cut down by the waiting janissaries.

After the slavers had captured approximately one hundred people from this part of the town, they moved to the main part of the town and started breaking into the houses there. However, only around ten people from this part of the town were captured, because some of the residents realised what was happening and had managed to escape. From beyond sight of the slavers, one of the townsfolk, a man named William Harris, started firing his rifle, and someone else started to beat on a drum, which led Reis to believe that a military detachment could be in the area. The slavers quickly gathered their newest captives (all of whom were white) and made for the sea.

As bad as the raid on Baltimore was, it could have been worse. Some four years earlier, Murat Reis had participated in a raid on Iceland. The Dutch renegado was the skipper of a ship that landed at Grindavik on the south-west coast on 20th June of 1627, where he and his crew captured around thirty Icelanders and Danes. On July 5th, three slave ships from Algiers had carried out a series of raids on the south-west coast, taking eighteen Danes and over a hundred of the local Icelanders captive, before heading for the Westman Islands, just off the southern coast. On this occasion, with no fear of interruption by military forces (real or imagined), the corsairs had embarked on a violent rampage not unlike the terrorist attack on southern Israel that took place on 7th October 2023.

According to one account, the slavers invaded the island and drove everyone towards the shore. Anyone who did not move quickly enough was beaten to death on the spot - pour encourager les autres. The corsairs set fire to the islanders’ homes, and in one particularly gruesome incident, they threw a mother and her two year old child into one of the newly lit fires, laughing as they forced their victims deeper into the flames with their spears. One of the locals, a man named Bjarni Valdason, was beaten by the corsairs until he died. When his wife fell down beside him, she was dragged away from her husband, and had to watch as the body was cut into pieces before her. Another man, Erlendur Runólfsson, was stripped naked and made to stand at the edge of a cliff, where he was shot at until he fell to the rocks below. The bodies of people who had been murdered lay on the ground everywhere. Many of the female bodies lay in a state of nakedness that spoke to the depravity of the perpetrators. As a final declaration of hostility towards the islanders' religion, the local church was deliberately set aflame. The captured men, women and children (all of whom were white) were then forced aboard the slavers' ships. When the corsairs began the journey back south to North Africa, they had approximately 380 new slaves on board. In addition, it is estimated that between thirty and forty people had been murdered by the corsairs.

Another notable incident in the history of the Barbary Coast is the capture in 1716 of a young man named Thomas Pellow, who was taken by privateers whilst sailing on the return leg of a trip to Genoa aboard the Francis, a boat skippered by his uncle, John Pellow. After Pellow finally managed to escape (after some twenty three years) and make his way back to Britain, he wrote an account of his life as a white slave in North Africa, so the story of Pellow's capture became quite well known. After the Francis had completed the trip to Genoa and they were heading home again, Pellow wrote:

And now, indeed, the unhappy part of my life draws near. For having made our voyage, our cargoes out and in, and by God's providence bound home, we were off Cape Finisterre very unhappily surprised by two Sallee rovers, and, together with Captain Foster, of Topsham (after such small resistance as we could both make), taken and carried prisoners on board of the infidels, as was also the next day Captain Ferris of London, in a ship of much greater strength, having twenty men, eight swivel and eight carriage guns, though they behaved in the bravest manner, fighting ten hours, and with a noble resolution, putting the Moors off, after boarding them three times, and killing many of them; but being overpowered by a superior force they were also obliged to submit, and to become our comrades.

The corsairs did not limit their attacks to boats from countries that lay east of the Atlantic. American boats fell victim to these privateers from the Barbary states too. In July 1785, the Dauphin was sailing off the coast of Portugal when she was approached by another vessel. The unsuspecting American skipper, Richard O'Brien, allowed the foreign vessel to get too close to his own, and before the crew knew what was happening, an armed raiding party was coming aboard. The attackers of the Dauphin turned out to be privateers, sailing on behalf of the Barbary state of Algiers. O'Brien and his crew were taken back to North Africa and thrown in a slave pen. Together with the crew of another American ship, the Maria, they were forced to break rocks, then drag massive sleds containing the pieces down to the harbour where the rocks and rubble were used to construct a new breakwater. Many of these Americans would die as slaves - worked to death under the heat of the North African sun.

In March 1876, the two men who would become the second and third Presidents of the United States, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, met together in London. Adams was at that time serving his government as the first American ambassador to Great Britain, and Jefferson was acting as minister to the government in France. Adams had visited the home of Sidi Haji Abdrahaman, the ambassador from the Barbary state of Tripoli, a few weeks earlier. The meeting had gone well, with the two men smoking pipes together. Adams thought that another meeting with Abdrahaman could be helpful, as the American politicians wondered what to do about the enslaved sailors.

Adams and Jefferson duly met with Abdrahaman at the home of the Tripolitan ambassador, and the conversation soon turned to the American slaves currently being held in North Africa. Abdrahaman informed the two Americans that it would take the exorbitant sum of 30,000 English guineas, the equivalent at that time of approximately 120,000 dollars, for Tripolitan privateers to no longer attack American shipping. The United States would also have to reach separate agreements with the other Barbary states of Tunis, Algiers and Morocco. To all intents and purposes, these Islamic states were running a protection racket that would today be recognised as a criminal enterprise, with one hand wielding a sharpened scimitar, and the other outstretched in the expectation of payment.

According to a letter sent later that month to John Jay, who was at that time the American Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Adams and Jefferson thereupon “took the liberty to make some enquiries concerning the Grounds of their pretentions to make war upon Nations who had done them no Injury.” The response the two men received is noteworthy:

The Ambassador answered us that it was founded on the Laws of their Prophet, that it was written in their Koran, that all nations who should not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as Prisoners, and that every Musselman [Muslim] who should be slain in battle was sure to go to Paradise.

The conditions that Christian slaves had to endure at the hands of their Muslim owners were well known to Joseph Pitts, an Englishman who was captured by Barbary privateers in 1678, when he was sailing aboard the Speedwell off the coast of Spain. Pitts wrote a book after his eventual escape, one of several such literary efforts in the genre of the “captive narrative.” Taken by their captors to Algiers, the dey (ruler) of the city took one in eight of the slaves for himself, and the rest were taken along to the badistan (slave market) where, as Pitts describes it:

There we stand from eight of the Clock in the Morning, until two in the Afternoon (which is the limited time for the Sale of Christians) and have not the least bit of Bread allow'd us during out Stay there. Many Persons are curious to come and take a view of us, while we stand exposed to sale; and others, who intend to buy, to see whether we be sound and healthy, and fit for Service.

The life of a slave in North Africa could be precarious, to say the least, with thousands dying of the plague, or being sent to row aboard the Algerian galleys, where they were permanently chained in position below decks and given the poorest food imaginable. Thousands of white Christian slaves from all over Europe were sentenced to lives of hard labour, either on the construction of the harbour's defences or other buildings. Beatings were commonplace, as described by Pitt:

Within eight and forty Hours after I was sold, I tasted of their Barbarity; for I had my tender Feet tied up, and beaten twenty, or thirty Blows for a beginning; And thus was I beat for a considerable time, every two or three Days, besides Blows now and then, forty, fifty, sixty at a time. My Executioner would fill his Pipe, and then give me ten, or twenty Blows, then stop, and smoak his Pipe for a while, and then he would at me again, and when weary stop again; and thus cruelly would he handle me till his Pipe was out.

In Thomas Pellow's account of his years as a slave, we read of his treatment at the hands of his owners. Pellow had been “given by the Emperor to Muley Spha, one of his favourite sons,” and was tortured so that he would become a Muslim.

My business now, for some time, was to run from morning to night after his horse's heels; during which he often prompted me to turn Moor, and told me, if I would, I should have a very fine horse to ride on, and I should live like one of his best esteemed friends. To which I used to reply, that as that was the only command wherein I could not readily gratify him, I humbly hoped that he would be pleased, of his great goodness, to suspend all future thoughts that way, for that I was thoroughly resolved not to renounce my Christian faith, be the consequence what it would. Then said he, in a most furious and haughty manner, “Prepare yourself for such torture as shall be inflicted on you, and the nature of your obstinacy deserves.”

Pellow then gives an account of being held prisoner by the emperor's son and being bastinadoed. This is the form of torture that is described by Pitt in his account of being held as a slave. In Pellow's case, this was not inflicted upon him purely out of sadism. Muley Spha kept asking Pellow (as he was beating the soles of Pellow's feet) to renounce his faith and become a Muslim. Pellow refused to do so, and somehow managed to endure the bastinado, which did not please his torturer. Pellow wrote later that “now is my accursed master still more and more enraged, and my tortures daily increasing; insomuch, that had not my uncle, and some other good Christians [. . .] privately conveyed me some refreshments, I must have inevitably perished, my prison allowance being nothing but bread and water; so that I was, through my severe scourging, and such hard fare, every day in expectation of its being my last.”

Muley Spha was driven to such extremes that the young Pellow eventually succumbed, in order to live. “My tortures were now exceedingly increased, burning my flesh off my bones by fire; which the tyrant did, by frequent repetitions, after a most cruel manner; insomuch, that through my so very acute pains, I was at last constrained to submit, calling upon God to forgive me, who knows that I never gave the consent of the heart though I seemingly yielded, by holding up my finger; and that I always abominated them, and their accursed principle of Mahometism.”

If any of the slaves decided to “raise the finger” as Pellow did, then they may have avoided a terrible fate in the short term, but their home countries would no longer pay a ransom to set these unfortunate slaves (for slaves they remained) free. As Pitt explains,

’Tis an Error among some too (I find) that as soon as ever a Christian turns Turk, he is emancipated, or becomes free (and so some think of Turks who become Christians, that they also are Freemen;) but as for those Christians who turn Turks, it is not so; for it lies wholly in the Patroon’s Breast to dispose of them as he pleaseth. I have known those who have continued Slaves many Years after they have turn’d Turks; nay, some even to their Dying-day. And many, I am sure, have been as little respected by their Patroons after the changing of their Religion, as (or less than) before. For my part, I remain’d several Years a Slave after my Defection, suffered a great deal of cruel Usage, and then was sold again.

The capturing of slaves by privateers from the Barbary states was neither an opportunistic nor a short-lived phenomenon. The ransoms that were sometimes paid for enslaved passengers and crew, the cargoes taken from the captured boats and the “tributes” that were paid to the Barbary states (Morocco, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli) by the leaders of different European nations as they tried to persuade the terroristic privateers to not attack their citizens formed a significant part of the revenue that was generated by these Islamic states. The practice of enslaving white people was not only a way to make money, it was part of the culture in the Barbary states.

Hayreddin Barbarossa is known to have used white slaves to build a breakwater at Algiers after he took over the city in 1529, and white sailors were still being abducted and enslaved in North Africa almost three centuries later, long after the British government had passed the Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade in 1807.

The story of hundreds of thousands of white Christian slaves being abducted and enslaved in North Africa may not be well known today, but these events are significant because they directly refute the assertion that only people with white skin engaged in slavery.

The historical fact that hundreds of thousands of white Christians were abducted and enslaved by Muslims from the Barbary States; the actions of men like William Wilberforce, John Newton, Granville Sharp and Thomas Clarkson, all of whom strove to put an end to slavery; the signing of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act on 16th March 1807 and the subsequent formation of the Royal Navy's West Africa Squadron, which was in action for almost sixty years, are being erased from history.

The enemies of free speech who have infiltrated our society are attempting to access the hard drive of human history and delete these folders. They would like nothing better than to overwrite those memory locations with ones and zeroes, so that the files can never be retrieved. Before they are able to do this, each of us needs to remember that as an individual human being (who has the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers), we have the ability to open up the recycle bin of history, click on the folders about white British men doing everything they could to end slavery, and the folder containing all of the information that has been recorded about the Barbary States, and restore them all.

Sittason, Andrew. Living In A Salt Land (pp. 106-107). Andrew Sittason. Kindle Edition.

Reading Material/Sources Calendar of State Papers, 1567, p. 295, https://archive.org/details/statepapersmary01greauoft/page/294/mode/2up?view=theater

Dr. Jo Esra, Heer will be noe fishing: 17th Century Barbary Piracy and the West Country Fisheries, Troze, The Online Journal of the National Maritime Museum Cornwall, https://nmmc.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Barbary_piracy_and_SW_fishing.pdf

Calendar of State Papers, Preserved in the State Paper Department of Her Majesty's Public Record Office. 1636 - 1637 · Volume 10, Justices of the Peace for Cornwall to the King, 14th July 1636, https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Calendar_of_State_Papers/UYM9AAAAcAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=justices+of+the+peace+for+Cornwall+1636+John+Bruce&pg=PA60&printsec=frontcover

Giles Milton, White Gold: The Extraordinary Story of Thomas Pellow and North Africa's One Million European Slaves

Thomas Pellow, The Adventures of Thomas Pellow, Penryn, Mariner: Three and twenty years in captivity among the Moors

Des Eskin, The Stolen Village: Baltimore and the Barbary Pirates

The Travels of Reverend Ólafur Egilsson: The Story of the Barbary Corsair Raid on Iceland in 1627

Simon Webb, The Forgotten Slave Trade: The White European Slaves of Islam

Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger, Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates: The Forgotten War That Changed American History

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, American Commissioners to John Jay, 28th March 1786, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-09-02-0315

Paul Achterlonie, Encountering Islam: Joseph Pitts: An English Slave in 17th-century Algiers and Mecca; A critical edition of Joseph Pitts of Exeter’s A Faithful Account of the Religion and Manners of the Mahometans, 1731

Stephen Clissold, The Barbary Slaves

Sittason, Andrew. Living In A Salt Land (pp. 87-106). Andrew Sittason. Kindle Edition.

Living In A Salt Land

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Fri, 19 Jul 2024 22:43:00 +0000

We have to acknowledge that the world we used to live in is no more. The society we grew up in had a certain moral equilibrium built into it, so even when people disagreed about how our society should be organised, stability and sanity prevailed. The social environment we live in now is very different. It is no longer possible for anyone from the working class to have any trust or confidence in any agents of the state, and if anyone questions the role of the state or expresses a dissenting view about what should (or should not) be seen as important in our society, then no matter how well argued their views may be, their views are ignored and the individual is personally attacked.

Freedom of thought and expression is important because it allows individual citizens to question the policies of any powerful entities that are operating within our society. This can be seen as a form of societal risk assessment, because it allows us to consider both the likelihood and the impact (or consequences) of something happening that could harm members of our society. If a policy or practice is found to be high risk, then control measures can be implemented to reduce the risk, or it can be abandoned altogether, thereby ensuring our society's long-term stability and survival.

The “journalists” employed by the legacy media who launch ad hominem attacks at anyone who challenges their worldview by labelling them as “racist” or “far-right” are not only sabotaging one of the most effective ways we have of carrying out such a risk assessment. They are actually increasing the likelihood of someone being physically attacked by a perpetrator who does not understand that the legacy media’s ad hominem assertions are false. Whenever an employee of the legacy media lies about someone, knowing all the while that they are increasing the risk of that person being hurt or worse (after July 13th 2024, this cannot be denied) then we would do well to remember the following passage from the book of Proverbs:

Do not enter the path of wicked men

And do not step into the way of evil men.

Avoid it, do not pass by it;

Stray from it and pass on.

For they do not sleep unless they do evil;

And they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble.

For they eat the bread of wickedness

And drink the wine of violence. (Proverbs 4:14-17 LSB)

A description of the inveterate liars in the legacy media who abuse their position in our society and want to “cancel” anyone who exposes their lies can be found in the thirty-sixth psalm:

An oracle within my heart

concerning the transgression of the wicked person:

Dread of God has no effect on him.

For with his flattering opinion of himself,

he does not discover and hate his iniquity.

The words from his mouth are malicious and deceptive;

he has stopped acting wisely and doing good.

Even on his bed he makes malicious plans.

He sets himself on a path that is not good,

and he does not reject evil. (Psalm 36:1-4 CSB)

Sittason, Andrew. Living In A Salt Land (p. 119). Andrew Sittason. Kindle Edition.

Biden in Maui: A Total Disgrace

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Fouse) — Fri, 25 Aug 2023 23:04:00 +0000

Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

https://garyfouse.blogspot.com

I have been watching videos of President Biden's arrival in Maui and his remarks. I am completely dumbfounded at what I have watched and heard. Flanked by Hawaiian officials, he starts by making inane remarks designed to produce chuckles but totally out of place with the event. Then he later compares a minor house fire he had several years ago that was caused by lightning to what has happened in Maui. A simple kitchen fire that was extinguished in 20 minutes. When talking about the Lahaina fire, the destruction, the dead, and the missing, he had to read from a sheet of paper.

And it appears he's already gone. According to Sean Hannity on his Fox News show tonight, Biden has flown back to Lake Tahoe to resume his vacation. Of course, he just finished his vacation in Rehobeth Beach, Delaware.

It just staggers the imagination.

This man, whose corruption in the Ukrainian Burisma scandal has just worsened today with the disclosure of State Department documents that strongly indicate that his demand to fire the Ukrainian prosecutor who was investigating Burisma and his son, Hunter, was not based on US policy, but his own personal interest. The documents revealed by investigative reporter John Solomon on Hannity's show tonight indicate that State and other agencies had urged the administration to go ahead with the billion-dollar aid package to Ukraine because it was their opinion that the government was making progress on corruption. This story will surely be expanded in the coming days.

Joe Biden has neither the cognitive ability nor the integrity to serve as president. Everybody knows it whether they will admit it or not. And to make matters worse, his resignation (or impeachment) would only make Kamala Harris our president, another scary thought.

God help this country in such a troubled time.

US Loses to Sweden in Women's World Cup (Soccer)

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Fouse) — Fri, 11 Aug 2023 03:25:00 +0000

Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

https://garyfouse.blogspot.com

I hardly follow the sport of soccer at all, let alone, women's soccer, but I have to make a short reference to the elimination of the US women's soccer team by Sweden on Sunday.

As one who considers himself a patriotic American, I confess that I am pleased.

In my mind, this group of young ladies-with a handful of exceptions- has done nothing to merit the support of the American public. For several years now, we have put up with Megan Rapinoe's refusal to stand for our National Anthem before matches, coupled with her condemnation of her own country even before international forums. Then I saw a video clip of their recent match where most of the players stood around looking uninterested as the Anthem was played. A couple of the ladies placed their hands over their hearts, and a couple appeared to be singing, but for the most part, they appeared bored and uninterested.

So I say to myself, "why should I support this team?" If that is the attitude that the majority of this team appears to have about their own country, the country they are representing on the world stage, I have no interest in supporting them. So I am happy they lost.

Now I can go back to ignoring the whole event.

Are the Walls Closing in on Joe Biden?

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Fouse) — Sat, 22 Jul 2023 19:09:00 +0000

Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

https://garyfouse.blogspot.com

This article first appeared in New English Review.

(L-R) IRS agents Gary Shapely and Joseph Ziegler

History may record that the Republicans taking back the House of Representatives in 2022 was a landmark event in bringing about the downfall of Joe Biden. At the risk of getting ahead of myself here, the House hearings into the Biden family misdeeds seem to be bearing fruit. At appears about half a dozen FBI and IRS whistle-blowers have come forward to tell House Republicans how their investigation into Hunter Biden’s business dealings with China, Ukraine, and other questionable entities, coupled with his tax problems, was thwarted by the Justice Department under Attorney General Merrick Garland.

IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapely and Joseph Ziegler have now publicly testified under oath that their investigation into Hunter Biden was obstructed by DOJ. They claim that the US Attorney for Delaware, David Weiss, told them that he was not given permission by DOJ to fully investigate Hunter Biden’s business dealings. Garland has denied this allegation to Congress. In a letter to the House, Weiss basically supported Garland’s claim. This is a matter that needs to be clarified fully and in detail because somebody is lying to Congress here. As everyone knows, Hunter Biden has been allowed to plead to a sweetheart deal that fails to serve the cause of justice given the huge amounts of money he has reportedly failed to pay taxes on.

In addition, after much wrangling, Congress has finally obtained a copy of an official FBI report (FD-1023) that outlined allegations made by a confidential informant, whom they have described as highly trustworthy, one who has had a long association with the Bureau as a source of information. This informant told agents that he or she had met with Mykola Zlochevsky, the head of the Ukrainian energy company, Burisma, in Kiev and was told by him that he had 17 tape-recorded conversations with Joe (2) and Hunter Biden (15), as well as text exchanges discussing payments to the Biden family in exchange with then-Vice President Biden’s (successful) efforts to get the Ukrainian prosecutor fired who was investigating Burisma. This occurred while Hunter Biden was serving on Burisma’s Board of Directors. According to what the source heard from Zlochevsky, ten million dollars was paid to Joe and Hunter Biden, evenly divided. Others were reportedly at this meeting including Oleksandr Ostapenko, who reportedly traveled to Ukraine with the informant. If true, it would mean that Joe Biden had another reason to get the prosecutor fired aside from protecting his son-cold hard cash.

At this point, I should point out that this is an allegation made by the confidential informant. It may be argued that it could all turn out to be another Steele Dossier, which contained unverified and false allegations against then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. What is needed here is corroboration by Zlochevsky (and any others present) backed up by his producing and authenticating the recorded telephone conversations and texts. In addition, the payments need to be documented as well. I would assume that the appropriate travel documents for the source and Ostapenko are readily available for purposes of partial corroboration.

I have no idea whether Zlochevsky or the others present would be inclined to furnish this evidence and testimony, and given the huge military support we are giving Ukraine, I would not discount the possibility of international big-power politics getting involved here.

The task at hand for the House Republicans (because DOJ and the FBI cannot be trusted to follow this trail) is to corroborate what is alleged by the FBI informant through direct evidence-both testimony and documents- and to reconcile the contradiction between what the whistleblowers are telling Congress vs what Congress is being told by Garland and Weiss regarding alleged obstruction. If all that can be accomplished, the House Republicans can at least send a very strong referral for indictment to DOJ, not to mention a move toward impeachment. Of course, the difficulty of charging a sitting president also comes into play, added to the fact that DOJ has allowed the statute of limitations to pass on many of these alleged crimes, seemingly by slow-walking the whole investigative process.

Compared to the treatment of former President Donald Trump, it does not speak well for what was once the fairest system of justice in the world.

A Look at BDS on College Campuses-With a Special Look at UC Riverside

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Fouse) — Wed, 03 May 2023 00:14:00 +0000

Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

https://garyfouse.blogspot.com

Hat tip Legal Insurrection

David Lloyd

UC Riverside

I am cross-posting an article in Legal Insurrection, which in turn, cross-posts a report by the National Association of Scholars (NAS) on the BDS campaign on college campuses (Boycott, Divest and Sanctions) against Israel and its effect on free speech and academic freedom. The author of the report is Dr. Ian Oxnevad. It can be accessed here.

In the part of the report that deals specifically with UC Riverside, the name of English Professor David Lloyd is mentioned prominently since he is one of the campus leaders when it comes to BDS. In January 2014, per his invitation, Omar Barghouti, a co-founder of BDS, spoke at UCR. I attended and asked a question during the q and a. In describing Barghouti's presentation as one-sided, I asked the school if and when they might invite a pro-Israel speaker to campus to give students an opposing view. (Barghouti's appearance was officially sponsored by the school.) Lloyd personally responded and called my question "preposterous". Lloyd also referenced the 2010 appearance at UC Irvine by then-Israeli ambassador Michael Oren (I was also present for that event) and noted that Oren was never asked to debate pro-Palestinian voices. What Lllyd neglected to mention was that Oren was repeatedly disrupted by members of the Muslim Student Union, eight of whom were UC Irvine students and three of whom were UC Riverside students. All in all, 11 students had to be removed by campus police and were subsequently prosecuted and convicted.

But imagine that: Asking for some degree of balance of opposing opinions for university students is "preposterous".

Omar Barghouti

I also videotaped the entire 2014 event at UCR which can be viewed here.

Katie, We Hardly Knew Ye

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Fouse) — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 21:45:00 +0000

Gary Fouse

Fousesquawk

https://garyfouse.blogspot.com

Katie Porter (D-CA)

Doing the math for a non-existant bank employee

This morning, while driving to the gym, I was listening to the John Phillips Show on KABC (Los Angeles). Phillips, a conservative talk show host, was going off on Katie Porter (D-CA), our local House of Representatives congresswoman in Orange Country. Katie is a former law professor at The UC Irvine School of Law, which is little more than a legal training ground for leftwing activists. She is now running for the Senate seat being vacated by Diane Feinstein. (Porter announced her candidacy even before Feinstein announced that she was retiring. Porter will be opposed by Adam Schiff and Barbara Lee, both Democratic Congress persons. Between the three of them, they are all awful.

It seems that the Daily Mail, a noted UK tabloid, had gotten ahold of divorce papers from when Katie and her former husband, Matthew Hoffman, split up a few years back. In the court documents, Hoffman alleged that Katie had a ferocious temper and would scream, drop f-bombs, and physically abuse him. (Porter denies all this).

Below is the Daily Mail article about Porter. The article is based on court documents. To my knowledge, DM has not interviewed either Porter or Hoffman.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11934223/Allegations-Democrat-Katie-Porters-abusive-marriage-resurface.html

To be clear, Porter and her ex-husband are giving diverging accounts, and I cannot say who is telling the truth. As the DM article describes, others have come forward to complain about how Katie treats people. The only thing the DM left out is when Katie was grilling the JP Morgan bank president in Congress in 2019 and made up a fictitious woman named "Patricia", who was supposedly a struggling single mom working as a teller in the JP Morgan branch in Irvine and making a very low salary. Only later, did Katie admit in an interview that she had made Patricia up.

Will this latest flap hurt Katie's political career? Who knows? After all, she is a Democrat. But if it does, the UC Irvine School of Law can keep that seat warm for Katie.

The SOTU-Why Bother?

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Fouse) — Wed, 08 Feb 2023 23:27:00 +0000

Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

http://https://garyfouse.blogspot.com

Watching the overly-long State of the Union Last Night, I thought back to last week's NFL Pro Bowl, an absurd flag football affair preceded by various skills competitions-everything but a swimsuit competition. The obvious question is why do they continue having the Pro Bowl-as well as the State of the Union? You see one State of the Union, you've seen them all. It's the same old script.

Much has already been said by the talking heads about the SOTU, and there's little I can add. I could ask how many times President Biden said, "Folks....", but I don't know the answer without having to sit through a replay. What I would like to do is simply point out that there were two elephants in the room last night in the nation's Capitol, and it took Biden about an hour to even mention them in passing. Those were China and their Beautiful Balloon and our broken border with Mexico.

Finally, when Biden started talking briefly about China, his only reference to the balloon that had just crossed our country from sea to shining sea, was that the US had been tested and had reacted strongly (I am paraphrasing). Had he reacted strongly, he would have ordered that balloon to be shot down as soon as it was detected somewhere out West. Nor would he have allowed his military advisors-as he claims they did- to say they would wait until it had reached the Atlantic coast. Even then, instead of having strong words for CHinca in his SOTU, he was conciliatory. There must be a reason Biden won't get tough with China. Could it be that he knows China has him and his wayward son, Hunter, in their pocket? They have bought the Biden family. Enough said about that.

When it came to the border, Biden started giving talking points as to how many apprehensions had been made, blah blah, blah. He said nothing about how many illegals had entered the US during his presidency. Nothing about how an over-taxed Border Patrol had been taken from their normal duties of securing the border to simply processing illegals and sending them on their way.

It is true that Biden talked about the fentanyl epidemic. He wants to "crack down" on fentanyl, but he doesn't want to secure our border with Mexico, over which fentanyl enters the US in the first place after the precursors are sent to Mexico from China. Fentanyl alone is more than sufficient reason to secure our border-something Biden and his feckless DHS chief Alejandro Mayorkas refuse to do. Then Biden added insult to injury by insisting on "comprehensive immigration reform" and a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers etc.

In short, it was disgusting. Sarah Sanders, the Governor of Arkansas, said it best in her excellent response when she said that this man was unfit to serve as president.

Euthanasia in the Third Reich

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Fouse) — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 21:25:00 +0000

Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com

This article first appeared in New English Review.

Heil und Pflegeanstalt, Erlangen in 1890

Amid all the horrors of the Third Reich, including World War 2 and the Holocaust, one atrocity that is often overlooked (at least outside of Germany) was the program of euthanasia of mentally and physically handicapped people instituted by Hitler in 1939 when the war broke out. In Hitler's own terminology, these people were classified as "useless eaters". This program was referred to as "T4", named after the address of the office set up to oversee the program nationally (Tiergartenstrasse 4 in Berlin).

Under this program, patients in nursing care facilities around the country (Heil und Pflegenanstalten) were identified and their cases reviewed by doctors indoctrinated in Nazi philosophy. Once approved, these unfortunates (regardless of age) were transported to centers set up for the purpose of killing them by gas. It was sort of a dress rehearsal for the eventual gassing centers such as Auschwitz. This program also included children.

This went on without consultation with relatives of the patients, and these families were eventually notified by mail that their loved one had died in the nursing care facility of various natural causes or illnesses. The remains were generally cremated.

Yet, the public gradually became aware, and curiously enough, as complaints mounted, the Nazi government discontinued the program in 1941, but then reduced the patients' diets to the point that they gradually died of malnutrition.

While researching my book on the history of the German town of Erlangen (Erlangen: An American's History of a German Town), I became aware of the tragic history of their own Heil und Pflegeanstalt This information was included in the chapter on the years 1933-1945.

With all that as a background, I happened to find a 2019 German YouTube documentary on the topic of the Heil und Pflegenanstalten of Ansbach and Neuendettelsau, two towns near Erlangen in Middle Franconia (Bavaria). In watching the video, I learned that many, if not most of the doomed patients in these two clinics were transferred to the facility at Erlangen before being shipped on to the infamous Hartheim Castle in Austria, which had been transformed into a euthanasia center. It is estimated that over 900 patients from Erlangen were euthanized in killing centers such as Hartheim and another 1,500 were allowed to starve to death.

Hartheim Castle in Austria

In the video, Als hätte es sie nie gegeben (As if they had never existed), there were clips of an interview with medical historian, Hans-Ludwig Siemen, as well as clips from his presentation on the topic, which took place in Erlangen. Siemen and Christine-Ruth Müller are co-authors of a book entitled, "Warum sie sterben mussten: Leidensweg und Vernichtung von Behinderten aus den Neuendettelsauer Pflegeanstalten im "Dritten Reich" (Why they had to die: Suffering and extermination of the disabled in the Neuendettelsau nursing homes in the Third Reich), published in 1991.

While watching the video, I happened to see a good friend of mine in Erlangen in the audience attending Siemen's presentation. I contacted him by email this week, and he quickly replied that indeed, it was him in the audience. With his permission, I am reposting what he emailed me:

Yes, that's me in the audience, Gary! Amazing coincidence! An act of providence really. I was there when Dr. Siemen spoke about the matter in the Volkshochschule Erlangen some years ago (before Corona). The reason is that in my mother's family, there were two physically (deaf and mute by birth) and finally probably mentally handicapped elderly women who died in the Bezirksklinikum Ansbach in the 1940s after they had been transferred from Neuendettelsau (Lutheran homes for the handicapped) to Ansbach where the Nazi physicians had total control. One of them died presumably due to the scanty "Hungerkost" diet, and the other one died in 1946, i.e. after the Nazi regime.

I have been researching about their case in archives for years and will definitely write something about them because I feel they belong to our family although they have been more or less forgotten over the decades. Thank God both my grandmother and my mother told me frankly about them during their lifetime. I'll watch the video tomorrow in quiet. I'll touch base again with you afterward. Thanks a lot, Gary! Again I needed you to show me this. Wonderful connection!

All the best,

Helmut

The site of the Erlangen Heil und Pflegeanstalt is now part of the University of Erlangen Psychiatric Clinic. Recently, the city of Erlangen tore down some of the old buildings, but some of it has been left standing as part of a memorial to the victims. It is one of many examples of sites related to the Nazi years that have become the subject of debate. Should they be torn down, erased, or preserved in an appropriate context so as to remind future generations of a time that must never be repeated. Just a few miles south of Erlangen, the city of Nuremberg is wrestling with what to do with the surviving (but crumbling) relics of the Nazi Party Rally grounds.

As a side note, when Erlangen fell to the US Army in 1945, a World War 1 memorial to Germany's fallen was partially torn down by the Americans. While they left standing concrete blocks with the names of Erlangen's war dead, a huge statue of a seated soldier, shirtless, with a helmet, was removed as being overly militaristic.

My personal opinion is that in the case of Germany, these sites should be preserved in some manner as a memorial to the victims. In the US, we are having a somewhat similar debate over the preservation of Civil War memorials. History, good or bad, cannot be erased. It is there. All we can try to do is put it in an appropriate context and learn from it.

What Will Biden Say to Border Patrol Agents Sunday?

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Fouse) — Fri, 06 Jan 2023 18:19:00 +0000

Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

https://garyfouse.blogspot.com

So President Biden has announced that at long last, he will visit the border on Sunday, specifically El Paso, which is swarming with illegal migrants. He will meet with Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Biden says he wants to assess the situation. At the same time, he is announcing new measures to try and get a handle on the crisis. I assume he will be accompanied by his feckless vice president (Kamala Harris-the supposed "border czar") and his feckless director of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas. My question is whether he will meet with rank-and-file Border Patrol agents and look them in the eye. If so, what will he say to them?

Will he tell them that illegal migrants are comparable to "Jews fleeing the Holocaust", echoing a statement he made this week?

Will he tell them they "they are going to pay" for the so-called whipping that agents on horseback supposedly administered to Haitian migrants coming across the Rio Grande in 2021? That was a statement he made at the time and a charge that was proven to be false. Or will apologize for his past statement?

As he is talking to Border Patrol agents (if he talks to them at all) will Mayorkas be lurking over his shoulder ready to jot down the names of any agents who dare to speak frankly to Biden about the situation?

Frankly, I am getting ahead of myself because I frankly don't know how Biden can look those agents in the face.

Biden and Simple Possession of Marijuana

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Fouse) — Sun, 09 Oct 2022 21:55:00 +0000

Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com

President Biden has made his pitch for the pot-smoking vote this week by announcing that he is issuing pardons for anybody who has been convicted on the federal level for simple possession of marijuana. This raises a lot of interesting points.

As a retired DEA agent, I did have occasions to work marijuana cases. Actually, most all of those cases were when I was a US Customs agent prior to joining the newly-created DEA in July 1973. With Customs, I was assigned to a group exclusively investigating the smuggling of large, commercial quantities of marijuana by aircraft, something that was quite prevalent at the time in the Southwest area bordering Mexico.

As my career continued in DEA from 1973-1995 when I retired, marijuana understandably became a lesser priority compared to heroin, cocaine, and later drugs like methamphetamine. The biggest priority now for DEA is fentanyl, of course.

At this point, I would like to introduce the federal drug law dealing with simple possession of controlled substances (drugs requiring a prescription or simply drugs that are illegal on their face, like heroin). The federal laws regarding drugs are under Title 21 of the US Code. These were the laws I enforced as a Customs and DEA agent. The statutes we were most concerned with and most often charged were smuggling, possession with intent to distribute, and conspiracy to do the same. There is a statute for simple possession. It is 21 USC 844.

It is important to note that no federal prosecutor would accept a case that involved someone arrested for simple possession of a personal quantity of drugs, especially marijuana. I cannot speak for every state and local jurisdiction, but at a federal level, we only cared about commercial quantities. That means that we didn't care about some guy smoking a joint in his home. But if his home contained 500 kilos of marijuana, that was not for his personal use. That was clearly what we called a commercial quantity. He was trafficking.

So now you might ask why is this 21 USC 844 on the books? In practice, it is used for plea bargaining purposes. Pleading to a lesser charge. It is especially handy when a defendant has cooperated with law enforcement to a great degree and deserves a big break. Let me give you an example. Let's say DEA arrests a guy transporting a load of cocaine in his vehicle, let's say 20 kilos. It turns out that he is just a "mule" who is being paid to carry the drugs from one place or one person to another person or place. The driver agrees to cooperate. He names the person who gave him the drugs and the name of the person he is supposed to deliver the drugs to. He also agrees to go through with the delivery to the intended recipient, which he does under the control of the agents. To make a long story short, everybody is arrested on both ends, and the driver testifies in court. In return, he is allowed to plead to a lesser offense (21 USC 844 in many cases).

That's what we are talking about. Nobody at the federal level is chasing pot smokers and throwing them in federal prison for having a personal supply of marijuana or any other drug. The US Attorney's office would never accept such a case. So this is no great act of mercy by President Biden.

Biden also wants the government to review whether marijuana is properly classified as a Schedule One drug, like heroin. On its face, it seems ludicrous that marijuana and heroin would be in the same classification or schedule. The reasoning is-you can agree or disagree- that like heroin, marijuana is judged to have a high potential for abuse and has no medically recognized use. You can read the list of schedules under the Controlled Substance Act of 1970 here. Interestingly, cocaine and fentanyl are listed under Schedule Two because they do have certain legal medical uses.

The bottom line is that virtually all the beneficiaries of this pardon are people who actually committed more serious offenses, but were allowed to plead to the lesser charge of 21 USC 844-simple possession either because they cooperated with law enforcement and/or simply agreed to plead to the lesser charge.

You are not going to see Cheech and Chong walk out of federal prison where they have been serving time because DEA agents found them smoking marijuana on a street corner.

Austrian President Wants All Austrian Women to Wear Headscarves

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Fouse) — Sat, 01 Oct 2022 18:32:00 +0000

Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com

-"Mommy, why are we fleeing Austria?"

-"So I don't have to wear a fricking scarf"!

Notwithstanding recent events in Iran, the president of Austria, Alexander Van der Bellen, thinks that it is about time to ask all Austrian women to wear headscarves out of solidarity with Muslims. Fortunately, the position of president in Austria is largely ceremonial, and most political power rests with the chancellor.

How about defending the right of Muslim women in Austria not to wear a head scarf if they so choose? How about solidarity with Mahsa Amini, the young Iranian woman who recently died in police custody after being arrested for not "properly" wearing a head scarf? How about solidarity with the people in Iran who are protesting Amini's death and being killed by Iran police and Revolutionary Guards?

From an American perspective, I would defend the right of Muslim women in the US to wear a headscarf if they feel it is their religious duty. I would also defend their right not to wear it if they don't want to. But the bottom line is that this foolish Austrian president is misdirecting his "solidarity".

Mahsa Amimi

The below article from Unzensuriert (Austria) is translated by Fousesquawk.

https://www.unzensuriert.at/content/156135-vdb-wir-werden-alle-frauen-bitten-muessen-ein-kopftuch-zu-tragen-aus-solidaritaet/

Caption: Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen asks Austrian women to wear headscarves out of solidarity with Muslims

Federal presidential election 29 September 2022 16:24

Van der Bellen: "Will have to ask all women to wear a head scarf-out of solidarity".

"Beloved Austria", "Austria with all my heart" is written on the ad posters of Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen, with which he campaigns nationwide for his reelection. But how much credibility are his messages? Can we trust a federal president and really elect him as head of state if he asks women to wear a head scarf out of solidarity with Muslims.

"Not just Muslims, every woman can wear a head scarf"

Many, perhaps, have already forgotten, but when Alexander Van der Bellen was hardly in office, he said verbatim on the ORF-Broadcast, "Report":

"It is the right of a woman to dress however she wishes, that is my opinion on this. Incidentally, not just Muslim women, every woman can wear a head scarf. And if it continues with this Islamophobia actually spreading, the day will come when we will have to ask all women to wear a head scarf. All in solidarity with those who do it for religious reasons."

Why doesn't Van der Bellen wear a head scarf?

When the federal president made this statement, he had been in office almost one hundred days. In social media, there was a lot going around because of the call for solidarity. Die Presse pointed out a few critics.

"Does anyone know if (Van der Bellen wanted to make a joke?" Peter Bussjaeger, Professor of Federalism at the University of Innsbruck, subsequently asked. Manfred Juraczka, former club chairman of the Austrian Peoples' Party in Vienna, likewise used the statement for critique via Kurznachrictendienst (Headline Service). "So much for the election claim that hashtag vdB (Van der Bellen) is a man of the middle." Another user also immediately made another suggestion to the head of state: "Mr Van der Bellen, why don't you set a good example and wear a head scarf?"

Rocky Mountain High Middle East Studies

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Fouse) — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 18:18:00 +0000

Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com

Nader Hashemi

Nader Hashemi is the head of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Denver. In the wake of the recent stabbing attack of Salman Rushdie by a Muslim man trying to cash in on the fatwa issued decades ago by the Ayatollah Khomeini, Hashemi has a hare-brained theory as to who is really behind the attempted murder.

It's the Mossad, Israel's intelligence service.

The Jewish News Syndicate has the details.

https://www.jns.org/university-of-denver-professor-says-mossad-likely-behind-rushdies-stabbing/

To the uninitiated, one might think this guy is smoking his socks or whatever it is they smoke in Colorado. But in reality, this is precisely what I have come to expect from Middle East Studies departments in universities across the nation. This is typical of Middle East Studies scholarship.

These departments are about as academically valid as gender studies, and LGBTQ studies departments. In truth, they are pan-Arab, anti-West, anti-Israel, anti-Semitic hotbeds dedicated to teachings of people like Edward Said and his post-colonial Orientalism, which teaches that anything connected to the West is racist, colonialist, imperialistic, and whatever other negative label you can attach.

Just as "academics" like Hashemi are loathe to admit that any country outside of Israel in that part of the world could be involved in terrorism, any problems in the region are the fault of Israel, the US, and the West. Oh, they'll condemn any dictators in the region who have been friendly to the West, but the real underlying reason they want to see these particular dictators fall is so that they can be replaced by an Islamist regime. But it's never the fault of Arab/Middle Eastern society or Islam. The only reason they hate the West and Israel (according to them) is because of Zionism, injustices to the Palestinians, and colonialism in general.

But it's always somebody else's fault.

It is also worthy of note that in the cash-crazed atmosphere of academia, much of Middle East studies in the US owes its existence to oil money from countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, who want to see their brand of history, politics, and Islam promoted to gullible US students. Thus, they contribute money to establish these departments and make sure they are staffed with the "right" kind of professors. Pro-Israel professors need not apply. Why would they want to work in that type of hostile environment?

Final point: Call me naive, but which country do you think is more likely to order the assassination of an innocent man like Rushdie, Israel or the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world? I am not saying that Iran was involved, but the original fatwa came out of that country, and they never rescinded it after Khomeini's death. They are a despicable regime, so Hashemi can defend them all he wants at the cost to his own reputation.

USC: Dept. of Education -Office for Civil Rights to Investigate Anti-Semitism at Campus

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Fouse) — Wed, 27 Jul 2022 17:39:00 +0000

Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com

We have been following the ongoing story of Rose Ritch, a Jewish student at the University of Southern California who has been the target of the pro-Palestinian mob on campus because she supports the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state. Therefore, she is considered a Zionist, which to the pro-Palestinian mob is a dirty word. Ritch was driven from her position in student government due to the attacks against her, many of which were flat-out anti-Semitic.

When USC President Carol Folt issued a statement expressing sympathy for Ritch over her ordeal and condemning anti-Semitism in general, the Middle East Studies Association jumped in to criticize Folt. You can read the background of the Ritch story here.

Now the Office for Civil Rights within the US Department of Education has decided to investigate the matter as to possible violation of Title 6 of the Civil Rights Act. I am cross-posting an announcement by the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, which filed a complaint to the DOE/OCR.

This is a positive step although I have been critical of DOE/OCR's resolution of the UC Irvine investigation several years ago as to complaints of anti-Semitism at that university. Hopefully, the investigators will realize that this goes far beyond the free speech right to criticize Israel. All too often, criticism of Israel, which is legitimate in itself, has crossed the line into insults directed at Jewish students and Jewish people in general on US university campuses. I know that from my own personal observations. I have seen it and heard it.

Are We Watching Trump Impeachment 3?

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Fouse) — Sun, 03 Jul 2022 02:25:00 +0000

Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

https://garyfouse.blogspot.com

Let me rephrase the title of this piece: Are you watching Trump Impeachment 3? I am not.

Oh, I am following the progress of the proceedings, but after the two impeachment trials against Donald Trump, the second of which was after he left office, I am really skeptical as to the objectivity of this proceeding. Not that I defend what happened on January 6, I don't, but given the make-up of this panel, seven Democrats (including the ubiquitous Adam Schiff) and two Trump-hating RINOS, it's hard to put much faith in this show trial. (House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy originally chose Jim Jordan of Ohio and Jim Banks of Indiana, both of whom were rejected by Nancy Pelosi, at which point the Republicans declined to participate, and Pelosi named Lynn Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Delaware, both Trump-haters.)

Nor am I swayed by this latest appearance of a lady named Cassidy Hutchinson, who has testified to hearsay statements made about Trump while riding in the presidential limousine, the so-called "beast" on January 6 when video shows he was riding in an SUV on January 6. In addition, Miss Hutchinson's hearsay statements are contested by the Secret Service agent who reportedly made them. There is also the question of a handwritten note that Hutchinson claims was written by her but may have been written by someone else. At least she didn't testify to Russian hookers peeing on Trump's bed.

Of course, the mainstream media, from the New York Times to the LA Times, thinks that this is the bombshell witness who will finally bring down old Trump-just as they called Michael Avenatti, "Trump's worst nightmare" not to mention a serious possible presidential candidate in 2020. Well, Trump's worst nightmare (Avenatti) is now in jail though I'm not sure it's a NY jail or an LA jail, but no matter.

As we recall, Trump Impeachment Trial Number One centered around his alleged collusion with foreign powers in the 2016 election. It centered largely around his phone call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It came in the backdrop of all the charges of Trump having colluded with the Russians to sway the 2016 election in Trump's favor. Remember all that? The Steele Dossier about those Russian hookers with loose bladders, the Carter Page wiretaps under a FISA court order, based largely on the Steele Dossier, which the FBI brass knew was questionable and unverified-not to mention paid for by the Clinton campaign and the DNC. That sordid mess involved Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, Andrew McCabe, James Comey, and the whole gang. The setting up and the railroading of Michael Flynn. It was not the FBI's proudest moment. Now we know that if anybody colluded with the Russians, it was Hillary Clinton and her gang. It was they who paid for the Steele Dossier.

There was so much made of Trump's conversation with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine asking for an investigation into what happened when then-Veep Joe Biden got the then-president of Ukraine to fire the prosecutor who was investigating Burisma, the corrupt energy company that had Hunter Biden on its board of directors at a salary of tens of thousands of dollars a month. Nobody ever tried to impeach Joe Biden for that even though they have the smoking gun video of him bragging in a speech how he successfully got the prosecutor fired by threatening to block a foreign aid package to Ukraine.

Impeachment Trial Number 2 accused Trump of inciting an insurrection on January 6, 2021. The trial was actually held after he had left office. It ended in another thud.

So now we have Trump and others allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 election based on reports that there were suspicious goings-on at election centers in Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Milwaukee. Was there hanky-panky going on in those cities on election night? I'm not sure. William Barr has testified that whatever election fraud might have occurred, it was not enough to affect the outcome of the election. I take him at his word. I would also add that I am not comfortable with the tape of Trump's telephone conversation with the Georgia secretary of state as to "finding 11,000+ votes" that would put him ahead. In that same conversation, however, Trump speaks extensively about hundreds of thousands of suspicious ballots cast. Was Trump soliciting fraudulent votes in his favor or asking that suspicious Biden votes be investigated? In that same vein, I was never comfortable with what Al Gore and his lawyers tried to do in Florida in 2000. But this is the reality: If it's a close election, there will be recounts. And yes, I do believe that election fraud does exist in general.

As for the January 6 hearings, we will have to see if Ms Hutchinson's words are true or rebutted by others in the White House and/or Secret Service. Of course, no matter what comes out of the hearings, this is about preventing Trump from running in 2024 and-if they can- getting him indicted for his post-election actions including on January 6. Did Trump actually incite a riot on January 6, 2021? You may argue that his take-no-prisoners stump speech riled up the crowd, but he told them to march "peacefully and patriotically" down to the Capitol to make their voices heard. Legally, that's pretty exculpatory.

Italy: The Human Cost of Illegal Migration

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Fouse) — Thu, 23 Jun 2022 02:06:00 +0000

Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com

This article from Il Giornale is rather long. It took me two days to translate it, but it is well worth a read. This is how immigration has gone off the rails in Italy (as well as other Western European countries). No control over who is allowed in and who isn't. The result is hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants, radical Muslims, and various and sundry types of criminals. That has resulted in dead Italians, raped Italians, and Italian police being assaulted by people who should not even be in the country.

The article mentions San Siro, a neighborhood where I lived during my years in Milan in the 1980s. How sad to hear how it has been taken over by squatters and riff-raff.

https://www.ilgiornale.it/news/cronache/immigrazione-criminale-i-reati-compagine-straniera-2041566.html

Rapes, fights, "cultural" crimes: The criminal immigration that frightens Italy

17 June 2022 - 07:23

The violent side of immigration between sexual crimes and attacks on police: " In Italy, a stable presence of the foreign component"

Francesca Bernasconi and Rosa Scognamiglio

Women and girls molested or raped in the middle of the street. Police officers and Carabinieri punched or threatened with knives. And girls mistreated or killed by their own relatives because they rejected the traditions of their own culture and wanted to live Western style. These are the crimes and attacks that appear on the news pages and involve criminal foreigners. And the phenomenon of criminal immigration, born contemporaneously with the arrival in Italy of social and cultural groups from various countries in the world, a phenomenon which, from the 1970s, has transformed the peninsula into an immigration state. But how has this trend transformed the criminal panorama?

The presence of different social, ethnic, and cultural groups inevitably brings about a transformation of criminal-specific points, (as) explained to Il Giornale by the criminologist Francesca Capozza, author of the book, Criminal Immigration, which analyzes the phenomenon, showing the face of foreign crime in Italy. "You see the stable presence of the foreign connection that takes the form of organized crime, within that municipality, of terrorism, as well as culturally-motivated crimes".

The numbers of foreign crime

Immigration is not synonymous with criminality. It's the opposite. Beginning in the 1970s, however, in our country, an increase in the arrival of people from other parts of the world with different customs and habits has been recorded. In addition to people who migrate legally, there are those (who migrate) illegally. This new movement has brought about a change in crime because, in addition to Italian crime, there is added the foreign component, which has gone on to change the general panorama of criminality and security.

The statistics, reported in the XIII Report of the Antigone Association on conditions of detention, tell of a rise in the number of foreigners present in Italian jails, which, beginning in the early 1990s, has undergone an "unstoppable" increase. Now, according to the data from the Justice Ministry, updated on 31 May, 2022, detained foreigners make up 17,136, of a total of 57,067 people in jail: a percentage that slightly surpasses 30%, as also confirmed by Francesca Capozza, who speaks of official data," which do not record, therefore, any unverified, subsequent involvement". In the large cities, however, this percentage goes up so much that, according to what is specified in Il Giornale by counselor Riccardo De Corato, "in Milan, over 70% of the prison population of San Vittore is composed of immigrants."

It is necessary, however, to point out that among the foreign detainees, the percentage of illegal migrants, reported in the Antigone report, is "between 60-80% depending on the type of crime. Not just that. "Almost all of the migrants who commit crimes have previous arrests," points out Counselor De Corato. "I believe many of the illegals present in Italy are fleeing their own country of origin because they evidently have unfinished business with the justice (system), they probably can't walk around free or they risk heavy sentences. Otherwise, you cannot explain the motive in which they prefer to pay money to the smugglers, risking their lives at sea, rather than reach Italy by other means. I do not believe that they are all fleeing from war."

These percentages refer to criminality in general. But the activity of the foreign component varies according to the type of crimes committed. The XIII Antigone Report of 2017 connected the presence in jail of foreign criminals mostly to property crimes, relative to drugs, and connected to prostitution. "The type of crime mostly committed by them," Dr. Capozza explained to Il Giornale, concerns crimes against property (27%, in particular, thefts and robberies), against persons (31%, particularly deliberate personal injuries), violations of drug laws (about 31%)". On the other hand, the percentage of foreigners detained for Mafia-type crimes is low.

Rapes and sexual molestations

It was shortly after dawn on August 9, 2021, when a 26-year-old Italian-South American was surprised from the back, dragged by the arm, and raped in an excavation ditch for water pipes in a construction site at Cascina Gobba, just steps from the San Raffaele Hospital, by a 31-year-old Egyptian without a regular residence permit. On the other hand, last December 6, a young (female) commuter was attacked on the Milan-Varese train by two young men in their early 20s. The first, who was reportedly the "lookout", is an Italian with drug addiction problems; the other-the material perpetrator of the attempted rape- is a Moroccan with a prior police record and illegally in Italy. And then the horror of New Years' Eve: nine young girls were molested by a gang of foreigners just steps from the Duomo (Cathedral) of Milan during the festivities for the beginning of the new year.

"I beg you, stop" That desperate cry, then the horror from the illegal (migrant)

"The data from Istat (Italian National Institute of Statistics) speak clearly: Foreigners are 5 times more (often the perpetrators) in respect to crimes of sexual violence than Italians," points out Counselor Riccardo De Corato-notwithstanding the tightening of sentences, the molestations and the rapes are not diminishing. The policies that (protect) women do not seem to have taken effect within part of the foreign population-and the serious episode that took place New Years' Eve in Duomo Square confirms it- that they continue to consider the woman as an object, a property, with which, the man can do as he wants".

On June 2, five adolescents were harassed with shocking molestations on a train to Peschiera returning from a day spent at Lake Garda. The perpetrators, not yet all identified, reportedly directed racist insults at the young victims."You are white, you shouldn't be here (on the train-editor's note) ". A worrisome phenomenon, which signals a negative record in Lombardy (region), relative to sexual crimes. "In our capital (Milan-editor's note), the trend of the past few years has never seen a drop, unfortunately," adds De Corato-"On the contrary, it is rising slightly given that from 273 cases in 2011, it has passed 285 in 2021. In my opinion, the situation is very troubling."

"Culturally motivated" crimes

No less alarming is the tendency relating to so-called "culturally motivated crimes", i.e. those crimes that ripen in a cultural context in contrast with the systems of rules and values in the host country. "The explanatory theories of foreign crime identify (multiple factors) of delinquent behavior in which the interior conflict between the culture of origin and value systems of the host country," explains Dr. Capozza, "which, within the same person, produces a contrast between divergent cultural systems and norms (and) can lead to discomfort, insecurity, and confusion with the risk of maladjustment, psychiatric disturbance, and criminality."

Then there are other factors to take into consideration, for example, "the precarious economic conditions in which the immigrants are in," the expert continues. "The social marginalization of which they are often victims with the subsequent risk of "labeling", the absence of social groups and family references can favor the adoption of delinquent behaviors."

Among the culturally oriented crimes, those connected to the phenomenon of forced marriages are notably on the increase. According to the latest data released by the Viminale (Interior Ministry), two out of three victims are foreigners with a strong incidence of Pakistani women. "I believe that there is, at least on the part of some, also a large problem underestimating certain phenomena that are ignored and characterized as habits and customs of a culture (that are) to be respected," adds De Corato. "I am referring, for example, to the niqab (face covering) and female genital mutilation, the latter practice to which many children, daughters, and (non-EU) foreigners in our country are being subjected."

Estimates relative to infibulation (University of Milan, Bicocca 2019), on the other hand, account for 87,600 victims in Italy. Of these, 7000 are (female) children and girls little more than adolescents. "There is evidently still much to do to spread the culture of respect and equality in respect to women," concludes the security counselor for the Lombardy region. "Sometimes, we open our eyes realizing how serious the condition of cultural segregation is in which women are kept, here (Italy) as well, when incidents like that of Saman (Abbas) occur. Then everything falls back into forgetfulness, and we pretend not knowing that many Muslims consider women to be anthropologically inferior and subordinate to men."

Attacks on police

Not just rapes, thefts, robberies, or "culturally-motivated" crimes. Violent immigration also affects the police. The latest incident goes back a few days when at Pisa, a (non-EU) foreigner, aged 30, attacked a policeman, hitting him with a violent punch. Not just that: During the episode, the young man reportedly destroyed the glass of the patrol car.

In May of 2021, instead of being attacked, two police officers were working in Milan when a pair of North Africans in the country illegally went into a rage insulting the officers. Then the violence: Kicks and punches directed at the officers, both injured, so much they had to go to emergency care. One of the two police officers was treated for a fractured hand with a (recovery) prognosis of 25 days, while the other was diagnosed with a contusion on his elbow. Earlier, in January 2021, a group of foreigners had surrounded police officers, threatening them with a broken bottle and punching them several times.

According to the report, "Beaten cops" in 2021, furnished by ASAPS. the Association for safety on the streets, in 2021 physical attacks on officers totaled 2,655, more than 7 per day. Of these, 37% were caused by foreign citizens. But why this fury directed at police and Carabinieri, with the risk of being arrested? "On the one hand, the linguistic difficulty and knowledge of the culture and the rules make it difficult for the foreigner to be able to communicate and comprehend the social and judicial system in which he is inserted," explained the criminologist Francesca Capozza. But there is more. In fact, the expert continues, "on the other hand, the police at the time of the crime, represent the limit and the law from which they themselves are fleeing, or that they struggle to understand and accept, thus reactive emotions connected to them pour out."

The risk of radicalization

The data relative to the phenomenon of violent immigration, which clearly concerns only the extremist and radical fringe of the foreigners who reach Italy, outlines scenarios that are not very reassuring for the future. Milan, where the presence of illegal migrants has reached 50,000, is among the Italian cities most at risk. "It is evident that the choice of moving to Milan is not accidental. There is money, well-being, and work. But there is also the question. The point at which many neighborhoods of the city are now (run by) the foreign element," explains De Corato. The public housing of San Siro, for example, is almost all occupied by Arab squatters. The same can be said for Corvetto, where there is a strong presence of foreigners from Eastern Europe, Roma (Gypsies), and Africans. They are all places where the government has lost contact with reality, and where, in my opinion, the situation is irreversible. And it is obvious then that the risk rising, violent criminality is elevated."

Though the prospects are not encouraging, and the process of radicalization is a conceivable eventuality, we are not facing an irreversible crisis. "The only solution to guarantee the safety of our citizens is the presence of police on the ground. In Milan, for example, up until some time ago, there were neighborhood watches. Where did they go? The only deterrent is the presence everywhere of men in uniform, on foot, and the social concierge," concludes the Lombardy counselor. "But in the current state, with entire neighborhoods under assault by foreigners, it is practically impossible to apply solutions of this type. The people are afraid."

Deja Vu all over again?

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Fouse) — Sat, 11 Jun 2022 00:50:00 +0000

Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com

"Anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination have no place in the University. The Regents call on University leaders actively to challenge anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination when and wherever they emerge within the University community."

-UC Regents revised Statement of Principles Against Intolerance

March 24, 2016

On May 18-19, the University of California Regents held public meetings in which students, faculty, staff, and other interested parties could address the regents with their UC-related concerns. During those hearings, a number of Jewish students from UCLA urged the Regents to take a stronger stand against campus anti-Semitism as they recounted their own personal experiences. I am cross-posting an article from the Los Angeles-based Jewish Journal.

https://jewishjournal.com/news/california/349080/ucla-students-urge-uc-regents-to-take-a-stronger-stance-against-antisemitism/

Wait a minute: This all sounds very familiar. That's because back in 2015, I participated in two such events where I joined other colleagues in informing the UC Regents about the problem of anti-Semitism on UC campuses. The first event was at UC Irvine, where I was then working as a part-time teacher, and the second event was at UCLA. Subsequently, in March 2016, the Regents passed a revised Statement of Principles Against Intolerance that specifically addressed anti-Semitism.

Predictably, that did not solve the problem because similar, Palestinian-inspired incidents have continued to occur on UC campuses including disruptions of Jewish, pro-Israel events by Students for Justice in Palestine and various chapters of the Muslim Student Association/Union. I should add that 2015 was hardly the only year in which UC Regents have listened to the complaints of anti-Semitism from Jewish students. The result has been, in my view, that the Statement of Principles is nothing more than a piece of paper that the university can proudly exhibit when complaints arise. Anti-Semitism does have a place at the University of California and is alive and well, just as is the case on campuses across North America.

And why is this given that the UC Regents have gone on record with their Statement of Principles? It is largely because university administrators are too cowardly to take action, in some cases, probably because they sympathize with all the efforts to demonize Israel, even if it means that some Jewish students are subject to intimidation and bullying while pro-Israel speakers have their free speech rights violated. No doubt, they are also intimidated by the Muslim students and their supporters in organizations like CAIR-ever ready to file lawsuits against people for perceived discrimination.

I will close this with a quote from one of the UCLA Jewish students to the Regents:

The UC Regents need “to stand in solidarity with the Jewish community and stay committed to creating a safe educational space for all students by upholding the Principles Against Intolerance.”

Mass Killings and Mental Illness

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Fouse) — Thu, 26 May 2022 17:12:00 +0000

Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com

Recent events around the world, including the US, have caused many of us to consider the question of mental illness when especially heinous crimes are committed, particularly involving mass murder. As I write, the US, just yesterday (May 24), has experienced a horrific elementary school shooting in Texas. Ninteeen children and three adults (including the 18-year-old shooter) are reported dead. Just a couple of weeks ago, we were shocked by a racially motivated shooting in Buffalo when ten people were shot and killed by a young white gunman targeting black people. In addition, the US in the last couple of decades has suffered a number of mass-casualty school attacks that defy explanation.

We are also dealing with the issue of terror attacks at the hands of Islamic terrorists, which often result in mass casualties, but just as often with only one or two casualties, attacks committed either by suicide vest, gun, or simply using a knife or car if that is all that is available.

In Europe, being politically correct, the politicians, police, and media are very quick to describe a Muslim attacker as "mentally ill". Just two days ago (Monday), a man shouting, "Allahu Akhbar" entered the embassy of Qatar in Paris, and beat and strangled a security guard to death as police had to wait outside almost an hour for official written permission to enter the embassy and intervene. As usual, the assailant is being described as having a history of mental illness. It's not just in France, but also in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden, and other Western European countries dealing with a massive influx of Muslim migrants, mostly, single young males. Aside from periodic terror attacks, the rate of murder, aggravated assault, and rape has skyrocketed. In Europe, the powers that be would prefer to label them as individuals with mental problems (which have nothing to do with Islam, of course). Apparently, they are all crazy. But are they?

It is pretty much a given that we have a mental health crisis in the US. When you consider the amount of violent crime, senseless attacks, homelessness, and drug abuse, I fully agree that we have a mental health crisis, and crime is a component of that.

Recently, one of my anonymous reader/commentators took me to task for, according to him or her, being (among those) ready to assign mental illness to white racist perpetrators but not to Muslim attackers when they murder someone to the cry of "Allahu Akhbar". In other words, killing non-Muslims in the name of Islam.

While I think my critic was off-base (I don't excuse murder by anybody), the point merits some reflection.

Mass murderers generally by definition have a few screws loose. That applies both to serial killers and one-timers who explode and take out as many victims as they can in one fell swoop. (It is also true that serial killers and mass killers tend to be white.)

The issue of Islamic radicalization and acts of violence against non-Muslims (or Muslims of other sects) seems more complex because they are following an ideology. An ideology they interpret as requiring them to wage violent jihad against infidels. Of course, not all Muslims subscribe to that ideology, preferring to live peacefully with their neighbors and make a living to support their families.

But many do feel called upon to join the jihad-the "lesser jihad" as the Prophet Mohammad was quoted as saying as he returned from a battle: The "greater jihad" was the inner struggle to be a better Muslim. It is this latter jihad that you hear about when you talk to Islamic apologists. The fact is that both jihads exist.

So the question begs: Are violent Muslim extremists, the members of al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Islamic State-and those who act independently, such as this week's attacker at the Qatari embassy in Paris-insane? Are they all deranged individuals who are incapable of acting rationally? Were the 19 hijackers of 9-11 all insane? They carried off the biggest terror attack in history. They had a motive. They apparently acted very calmly and methodically. In that case, you had 19 "crazies" who all found each other and coordinated their operation perfectly.

The critics of Islam-those who have either left it or studied it in detail- would tell you that a perfectly sane, rational person can attend certain mosques, listen to certain imams, learn the Koran, the Hadith, and the life and sayings of Mohammed, and come to a perfectly rational conclusion that his or her religion compels him/her to take up arms and kill people in the name of Allah. Again, not all Muslims follow that call, but we need to be on our guard for those who might.

So the question of which murderers are mentally ill and which are simply evil is a bit tricky. We should differentiate according to sound reasoning and not assign labels selectively.

The Supreme Court Leak

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Fouse) — Wed, 04 May 2022 17:34:00 +0000

Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com

This article first appeared in New English Review.

Since Monday, the number one issue in the US is the apparent leaking of a Supreme Court draft document indicating that the Court is about to overturn Roe v Wade. There are two issues at play here. First is the significance of the decision-if that is indeed the final decision (which Chief JusticeJohn Roberts denies), and second-and more importantly, in my view-the leak itself.

Let us set aside any debate on the issue of abortion itself (I am pro-life). Whether you are for or against abortion, we all should be concerned about how this document-which Roberts concedes is genuine- got turned over to Politico. It is almost certain that it was turned over, if not by one of the justices (which I doubt), by someone employed in the Court, possibly a law clerk.

If so, this is a gross violation of the confidentiality and independence of the court. While it is true that the nomination and confirmation of Supreme Court justices have become highly politicized over the years, the Court was always considered independent, and its processes were considered confidential. To my knowledge, this is the first time in the history of the Court that this has occurred.

While we don't yet know who is responsible for the compromise of this document (We should know soon), the motive would appear to be that some disgruntled person within the Supreme Court building wanted to short-circuit what appears to be a coming decision against Roe v Wade. That would involve provoking nation-wide protests, which have already begun, and a campaign of pressure against one or more justices to change their vote before it is made public. Could threats against certain justices be far behind?

It should be noted that if this is the final decision of the Court, abortion will not be outlawed. The issue will merely be returned to the states, their voters, and their legislators to either allow it, ban it, or allow it with certain restrictions. Women wanting an abortion will still, almost certainly, be able to travel to California, New York, or several other states if their own state bans it.

Since the news broke, I have been watching the reactions on Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC (not continuously). Most of the discussion on Fox revolves around the leak and its serious implications for the Court. All I have seen on CNN and MSNBC are discussions about how this decision would be a disaster for women's reproductive rights. Again, I may have missed something on these two networks, but they don't seem to be concerned about the leak per se. I would guess that once the person's identity becomes known, that person will be heralded by the left as a "heroic whistleblower".

In short, the Court is in dangerous waters, not because of the decision-whatever it is- but because of this leak. If the eventual decision is changed because of this leak and public pressure, the credibility of the Court will be destroyed. If the President and the Democrats decide to pack the Court and succeed in doing so, the Court's credibility will be destroyed. It will mean that aside from the obvious fact that the nomination and confirmation of Supreme Court justices is politicized, their deliberative and decision-making process have also become politicized. We cannot have that.

New York: Pro-Palestinian Group Calls for "Global Intifada"

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Fouse) — Sun, 03 Apr 2022 19:37:00 +0000

Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

https://garyfouse.blogspot.com

This article first appeared in New English Review.

Palestinians passing out sweets to celebrate a terror attack against Israelis

-New English Review

Never underestimate the gall of the pro-Palestinian lobby in the US. The month of March witnessed three deadly terror attacks against civilians in Israel by Palestinian killers. In these three separate attacks, 11 Israelis were killed, most of them civilians. This was widely hailed in the West Bank and Gaza where people poured out onto the streets and passed out candy. Thus, it appears that Israel may be on the brink of another so-called intifada (uprising). Previous intifadas in the past decades have cost the lives of thousands of people on both sides. The important point is that they were started by Palestinians.

And keep in mind also that intifadas are much more than marches, protests, passive resistance, and people using slingshots against the guns of Israel's military. They include murderous attacks against innocents, using guns, knives, bombs, or cars.

So it strikes me as particularly obnoxious when Palestinian supporters turn out in American cities and college campuses and proclaim their support for intifadas. Especially obnoxious are the actions of these people in their Palestinian scarves with the black and white doo-dads marching in New York City this week and calling for a "global intifada," as the Jewish News Syndicate reports. Keep in mind that New York City has a large Jewish population, and the city has experienced a disturbing number of anti-Jewish attacks in the last few years. This is evidence that the anti-Semitism rampant on university campuses has metastasized into our society at large-at least among certain segments of our population. It is troubling, and I lay most of the blame on the pro-Palestinian lobby in the US.

It is instructive that these people would be calling for a global intifada. They can define it as they want, but history has shown us that intifadas are murderous attacks against innocent civilians, women, and children. Combine that word with chants like, "From the river to the sea; Palestine will be free". The "river" is the Jordan River on Israel's eastern border, while the sea is the Mediterranean on its western coast. That means no more Israel and no more Jews. A global intifada would mean more deadly attacks against Jews on the streets of cities all over the world including here in the US.

That is a concept that the majority of clear-minded, decent Americans will never embrace. In spite of all the efforts of the pro-Palestinian crowd, which include appeals to blatant anti-Semitism, a solid majority of Americans still stand with Israel and reject this Jew-hatred that is deeply embedded in the Middle Eastern mindset.

The pro-Palestinian crowd would do well to remember that this is not the West Bank or Gaza, where acts of terrorism are celebrated. We have laws against violence in this country, and plenty of jail cells to accommodate these folks. We don't want their intifada in our country. It is time we stand up to these bullies. What took place in New York this week does not represent America.

Period Equity at UC Santa Cruz (America's Wackiest University)

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Fouse) — Fri, 18 Mar 2022 21:55:00 +0000

Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com

"Period equity, or menstrual equity, refers to having equal access to free period products regardless of one’s gender, and, in turn, dispelling existing stigmas around menstruation."

-City on a Hill Press (UCSC)

In these dark times, it's time for some laughs, and what better source of humor is there than the University of California at Santa Cruz, America's Wackiest University and home of the Banana Slugs?

UCSC has once again become a trailblazer when it comes to recognizing marginalized groups-like women during that time of month. So now, in the name of period equity, the school has introduced tampon machines in its bathrooms-at least those designated as "all-gender" bathrooms in a particular building on campus. (Don't they mean "both gender"? Just askin'.

"Earlier this quarter, the first free menstrual supply dispensers were installed in all-gender restrooms on the third floor of the Bay Tree Bookstore and in the Redwood Building."

But Dear Readers, Let's don't be too harsh on the young lady pushing this idea. After all, she is just a young college student who is having all these ideas planted into her mind by the so-called adults who are responsible for educating her. Where else could a young person get the idea that a (publicly-funded) university should be giving out free condoms when those fortunate enough to attend the University of California at any campus can clearly pay for them? And if you think this is an equity issue, I say men can buy their own condoms as well.

Munich-2022 Version

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Fouse) — Mon, 21 Feb 2022 22:33:00 +0000

Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com

"Good news, mein Fuehrer. Kamala Harris and Nancy Pelosi are in Munich."

Well, this has to be reassuring. Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff, and Barbara Lee have joined Kamala Harris in Munich to meet with our allies and reassure them of.....whatever. President Biden has decided to send his A Team to Munich since, after all, he is the B Team.

"I have here in my hand, a paper signed by Putin........"

The last farce that took place in Munich was in 1938 when British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain "pulled peace out of the fire" with his infamous sell-out of Czechoslovakia. That was the one that saved the world from WW2, if you recall.

This makes Ukrainian President Zelenskiy's decision to leave Ukraine and attend the Munich confab all the more confusing. Maybe this is his way of getting out of town while the getting is good. He certainly doesn't need to be in Munich to hear Kamala Harris and Nancy Pelosi prattle on about "economic sanctions in our time!" What does he think they are going to do, vote Ukraine into NATO?

It's a sad situation all the way around. Having people like Harris and Pelosi going to Munich of all places is just adding to the humiliation.

Is the University of Chicago a "Brown University"?

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Fouse) — Mon, 07 Feb 2022 02:29:00 +0000

Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com

Back in 2005, I published my third book, Erlangen: An American's History of a German Town. My reason for choosing the Franconian (N Bavaria) town of Erlangen was that I had spent almost three years there as a US Army Military Policeman in the 1960s. I developed a strong attachment to Erlangen, and after my army service, I returned several times and ultimately decided to write a history of the town.

Erlangen is also a university town and home to Friedrich-Alexander University, notable for its medical department and historically famed as a center of Lutheran theology. Many of Germany's greatest Lutheran theologians taught there, and I know of at least 3 or 4 who are buried in Erlangen.

An unfortunate part of its history was that it was the first university in Germany where Nazi students formed a student organization, (the NS Studentenbewegung-National Socialist Student Movement) in 1923 and achieved a majority in student government (1929). This was in the days before Hitler took power in 1933. Hence, they acquired the moniker, the "Brown University".

Indeed, as Hitler and his party were struggling throughout the 1920s and early 1930s to gain power in Germany, one of their first targets was the universities. Hitler made a total of 5 speeches in Erlangen between 1923-1931, largely due to the presence of the university. In 1931, the famed writer and later exiled dissident, Thomas Mann, spoke at Erlangen, and his speech was disrupted by the Nazi students. In addition, Hitler's student followers engaged in acts of intimidation against their opponents including of course Jewish students and Jewish professors, whose classes they boycotted and occasionally disrupted. This happened, of course, at other universities.

Why do I bring this up? Certainly not to denigrate the present-day University of Erlangen nor present-day Germany. It is because I have seen similar agitation in US universities against today's generation of Jewish students-especially if they support the Jewish state of Israel.

That is because the well-organized and well-financed Palestinian movement is alive and well on US college campuses as Israel is regularly demonized. pro-Palestinian activists fight to gain seats in student governments while trying to keep Jews out. In recent years, we have witnessed the latter effort at UCLA, USC, and UC Santa Cruz. I wrote about them on this site. Anti-Israel events on campuses all over the country are the order of the day while any pro-Israel event can expect to be disrupted by today's latter-day Brown Shirts.

And who are these Brown Shirts in the 21st century? In my opinion, we are talking about the various chapters of the Muslim Student Association on campuses around the country and their sister organization, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), the latter organization open to non-Muslim students as well including some misguided Jewish students on the left of the political spectrum.

SJP's tactics of bullying and disruption have been well documented at more universities that could be listed here. On more than one occasion, I have applied the moniker The Brown University to Brown University itself due to harassment of Jewish students at that Rhode Island institution. I know some would accuse me of resorting too often to Nazi comparisons in writing about current anti-Semitism on our campuses. But the harassment, bullying, disruption, and intimidation that I have personally witnessed brings back the specter of what was going on in German universities in the years before and immediately after Hitler took power.

Of course, things got infinitely worse in Germany for Jews later in the 3rd Reich, and we have not reached that level of horror yet. But as we witness the awful resurgence of anti-Semitism worldwide, it is important to note that in the US, at least, its point of origin has been within our universities. During my 18 years teaching part-time at UC Irvine, I personally witnessed it many times. I've seen how they try to intimidate Jewish students. They've tried to intimidate me-unsuccessfully.

In my case, I had the advantages of age, life experience, and my position as an adjunct teacher on campus to deal with the intimidation. But the average 19-20 student usually doesn't possess those advantages. I've seen time and time again how Jewish students try to "dialogue" with these people. They are routinely unsuccessful. It is a losing tactic.

The following article from The College Fix on what is going on at the University of Chicago is reminiscent of what was going on in German universities in the lead-up to 1933 when Hitler took power.

https://www.thecollegefix.com/dont-take-shtty-zionist-classes-uchicago-students-for-justice-in-palestine-says/

If you are a student of the history of the Third Reich, which I am, you can look back to the 1920s and early 30s when Nazi students were boycotting classes taught by Jewish professors and agitating to get them removed from their positions. After Hitler took power, they were successful.

Today, we have little Brown Shirts agitating against the hiring of Israeli professors and against any classes that would present Israel in a positive light as opposed to the propaganda and indoctrination delivered by the pan-Arab, anti-Israel, anti-West professors of the various Middle East Studies departments and their useful idiot allies. These modern-day Brown Shirts are trying to stop their universities from having any relationships with Israeli universities. They routinely disrupt pro-Israel events and try to shut them down. They are against free speech when it comes to their opponents. And to the great shame of our universities, the administrators have turned a blind eye. They have refused to punish offenders. They have enabled the trouble-makers and the anti-Semites. The institution where I taught for 18 years-UC Irvine- is no exception.

The University of Chicago needs to tell SJP in no uncertain terms that they will not censor speech or classes they don't like on campus. SJP is a despicable organization. That they count a few Jewish members in their ranks is irrelevant. They are still Brown Shirts.

Italy: New Year's Eve in Milan

noreply@blogger.com (Gary Fouse) — Sat, 01 Jan 2022 22:43:00 +0000

Gary Fouse

fousesquawk

http://garyfouse.blogspot.com

Brings back memories of New Year's Eve in Cologne

Duomo in Milan

Arguably, the two most spectacular and iconic cathedrals in Europe are the Dom in Cologne, Germany and the Duomo in Milan, Italy. I have been fortunate enough to have visited both, and since I lived in Milan for 5 years in the 1980s, I am quite familiar with the Duomo.

Dom in Cologne

Unfortunately, both now share shameful episodes in their recent past. It was New Year's Eve 2015-2016 when hundreds of young men, basically all of Middle East origin, stormed the square between the Cologne cathedral and the train station, molesting dozens, if not hundreds of women while the police could not or would not do a thing.

New Year's Eve, Cologne 2015-16

Now, a similar, if somewhat smaller episode has occurred steps away from the Milan Duomo, where a teenage girl was accosted and groped by about 30 young men she described as being "of foreign origin" during the New Year's Eve celebrations.

The below article from Il Giornale is translated by Fousesquawk.

https://www.ilgiornale.it/news/milano/19enne-molestata-milano-notte-capodanno-almeno-30-aggressori-1999312.html

"Surrounded and molested by 30 foreigners". The horror just steps away from the Duomo.

I January 2022-14:43

Reportedly of foreign origin, as reported by the victim, the attackers who surrounded a girl near the Duomo Square

by Francesca Galici

It was a little after one-thirty am on New Year's Eve when a girl was surrounded and molested by about 30 boys near the Royal Palace in Milan, right in the middle of the city, a few steps from Duomo Square. The 19-year-old tried to defend herself using the purse she carried with her, which, however, was grabbed by her attackers as she tried to push them off.

This is the recounting of the girl, who reported to the police that she was groped and that at a certain point, the group reportedly tried to undress her. Fortunately, numerous police officers were in the area, who quickly received the alarm of the young girl and were able to immediately intervene.

At the sight of the uniforms, the attackers dispersed in several directions making their escape. The girl was immediately treated by the officers, and for her, aside from the huge fright and shock, there were no further serious consequences. The girl told the investigators that the group of attackers were presumably of foreign origin.

The incident has brought to light an age-old problem of security common to all large cities on New Year's Eve. It was in 2016 in Cologne, Germany, that 90 women reported being subjected to molestation and violence on the part of some 1,000 drunken men, described by the victims as "apparently of Arab origin".

Violence on New Year's Eve

In this same zone, a short distance from where the 19-year-old was attacked, shortly before dawn, another episode of violence was recorded in a brawl which led to the injuries to a few young men. According to the initial reconstructions, it seems that an 18-year-old was stabbed in the neck by a 16-year-old at the height of a dispute near Duomo Square. The 18-year-old is now being treated at the Milan Polyclinic in serious condition. First responders found him in a pool of blood, and his condition immediately appeared to be very serious, such that the young man is fighting between life and death.

In all, 10 brawls were recorded yesterday near the center of Milan. The work carried out by police, in riot gear, was important, guarding Duomo Square and the surrounding areas, trying to reduce the gatherings, but it was impossible to avoid the formations of young men. Moments of tension were also recorded in the outer areas, like Gae Aulenti Square, (and) sometime after midnight, patrols responded to an attack suffered by two young men by seven foreigners. The two young men, ages 18 and 19, were transferred in code yellow to Fatebenefratelli Hospital in Milan with injuries to the head and chest, caused by broken bottles.