Obama: "The Egyptian People Must Decide (But the Transition Must Begin Now)"

Pro-Mubarak "cavalry" attacking demonstrators-camels???

" The warden said, 'Hey buddy, don't you be no square,
If you can't find a partner use a wooden chair.'"


-Elvis Presley-Jailhouse Rock

When the uprising in Egypt began, the White House proceeded very cautiously. The official position was that the Egyptian people would decide who their rulers would be. Yet, President Obama came out this week and announced in the same breath that the "transition" must begin now. He has also stated that the Muslim Brotherhood should play a role. Thus, the US is trying to have some influence in the outcome. Israel, which has so much at stake in that outcome, has reacted negatively.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/31/us-egypt-israel-usa-idUSTRE70U53720110131

Of course, the Israelis are careful not to inflame an already tense situation by making public statements. Obviously, they regard Hosni Mubarak as a ruler who has maintained the peace between their two countries.

As for Obama, it now appears that the US is trying to facilitate Mubarak's exit much as Jimmy Carter did to the Shah of Iran-with disasterous results. Obviously, he is trying to position himself to please the winning side, which he figures, probably won't be Mubarak. Talk about threading the needle.

I can't stand Black History Month either! Read on before you toss me to the wolves...

I really like this article and after I read this I had a couple of Blacks I work with read it and they agreed 100%. They asked how I would feel if it were White History Month and I responded that I would not like that either. Neither are necessary and there is NO need to highlight any one race, religion, culture etc. The only thing I would support like this is a no to islam and sharia law month, or year or forever. If this article offends you then I guess maybe you should start lobbying for your special month. But do not expect to find any takers here. It is about celebrating being Americans.


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Black American Dreads Black History Month
By Lloyd Marcus

February 1, 2011, I can't help imagining Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, the NAACP, the Congressional Black Caucus and all of the other race profiteering usual suspects joyously awakening with a song in their hearts, “It's The Most Wonderful Month of the Year”.


Ah yes, another Black History Month, time to pitch as many new “guilt trip” government entitlement programs as possible. “I mean, after all, we blacks are still victims of America's racist attitudes and systematic abuse which has changed very little since the 50s. White America still owes us, dammit!”


See, I know how to sound like a good little colored boy who knows his place on the Liberal Plantation. Democrat Massa's chief overseer Sharpton would be proud of me.


As a proud American who happens to be black, what I find most annoying about Black History Month, besides the concept of only one month to celebrate Black's contributions to America, is race profiteer's despicable divisive exploitation of the month.


Throughout American history, white folks, mostly Christians; there's that dirty “C” word which the left despises; suffered, sacrificed and died to help set blacks free and move them forward.


And yet, Sharpton and company uses Black History Month to promote the image that every black achievement was made “in spite of” white America.


This month will be flooded with documentaries, specials, articles and commentaries about how America still sucks for blacks and has a long, long way to go to make things right.


Just once, I would love to see Black History Month focused on celebrating the tremendous contributions by blacks in all areas of American life. Include a few “shout outs” to decent God fearing righteous white folks who helped. That would aid in bringing our nation together as opposed to the month being used divisively for political exploitation and extortion.


Black History Month should be a fair and balanced presentation of the history of Americans of African descent. Notice I said “Americans” rather than “African-Americans”.


Our liberal anti-American public school system, the liberal media and black race profiteering so-called leaders make no effort to encourage black youths to be proud Americans. They even discourage it. Their efforts are focused on creating proud “Africans” who happen to live in America.


The fact that the highest office in the land is occupied by a black man confirms that the good in America's history outweighs the bad. And yet, Sharpton and company would love to broadcast footage of the KKK lynching blacks 24/7 for the entire month of February. By the way, the KKK was founded by Sharpton's homeys, the democrats. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bEOiDjdhF4


Meanwhile, much of white America's efforts to “do the right thing” are ignored. For example, how many black youths are aware that ending slavery was a major issue of the Civil War. On the side desiring to end slavery, 360,000 mostly white soldiers died.


How many black youths know the Republican Party ended and abolished slavery in the United States and have championed Civil Rights more than any other political party?http://www.naacpc.org/1/post/2010/6/the-anti-slavery-republican-par...


I think about the whites who, by candle light, taught blacks to read despite it being illegal at that time. They risked being arrested because they knew it was the right thing to do. And how about the whites who marched along side Dr Martin Luther King. What are they, chopped liver? Sharpton and company act as if these great Americans never existed.


What is Black History Month in the minds of most American youths? Is it a celebration of black achievement? I think not. It is a month in which black kids are taught they are victims and white kids are taught they are guilty.


For reasons only a psychiatrist can understand, liberals are obsessed with focusing on the evils of American history. There is evil and wrong doing in the history of every nation/people on the planet. But, America's history is over flowing with goodness and a sense of fair play.


Why? Because regardless of what the Left says, we were founded on Godly principles. In the long run, we always strive to do the right thing. We celebrate courage, righteousness and personal achievement. Peerlessly generous, Americans are swift to the aid of people in need regardless of where they live in the world. We rally around the underdog and cheer for the good guy.


Americans are good great people. I have met many of them while traveling nationally on Tea Party Express. This is why it so offends me seeing them slandered and abused by the liberal media in support of black democrat race profiteers.


So folks, please ignore all of the Left's guilt trips and focus on the tremendous contributions by blacks to mankind and our great nation. Happy Black History Month.


Lloyd Marcus


Proud Unhyphenated American


Original article is here.

Will Ethanol Break the Muslim World After All? It has to be good for something??

Will Ethanol Break the Muslim World After All?
By Daniel Greenfield

Thursday, 03 February 2011 06:35 Daneil Greenfield .Ethanol has proven to be an inadequate solution to the problem of foreign oil, but it has toppled at least one Arab ruler and may not be done yet. The Soros backed college students and the Islamists have done their part in the protests, but the Tunisian and Egyptian mobs would never have made their showing without a goad. And the goad was high wheat prices. Part of the spike in wheat prices was due to the shift to ethanol production.

Remember when Americans were lining up with cans of gasoline during the OPEC oil boycott? Arab Muslims are now in the same boat, except with bread, rather than oil. Arab countries are frantically buying wheat, especially after the events in Tunisia and Egypt. Regime stability in the Middle East is now tethered to wheat prices. The Arab has prided itself on the power to pressure America using the price of oil, but the United States has now proven that it can do the same thing to the Arab world with the price of wheat. The price of oil may be climbing in America, but in Saudi Arabia the price of wheat is up by more than half.

The Arab-American relationship was built on a power inequity. They had a resource that we needed. But now we have a resource that they need even more badly. While you can do a lot of things with oil, you can't eat it. And while Americans may get angry when oil prices go up, unlike the Arabs, we don't overthrow the government. Of course anyone can grow wheat. China and India are the world leaders in wheat production. Behind them, Russia, America, Australia and Canada. But Russia has just stopped exporting grain. China uses most of its wheat domestically too but is ramping up export production. Wheat however is only one commodity. There are others.

The Arab Muslim world has held American foreign policy hostage using the one commodity they had that we needed. But as a side effect of their own terrorism, we adopted a course that unintentionally spiked up the price of a commodity they needed. They acted as if violence and chaos could only benefit them by driving up the price of oil, but the rising price of wheat is blowback. We of course did not set out to hammer the Muslim world with ethanol subsidies (though a smarter and cannier administration might have done that) and that is the beauty of it. Instead while trying to untangle ourselves from foreign oil because of their behavior, the net effect was to demonstrate their own instability.

It's more than a lesson in the interconnectedness of the world in the age of globalism. It is also a reminder that we may have more power than we realize. We don't need to invade a country and then occupy it for years at the cost of billions of dollars and thousands of lives. As it turns out we can topple regimes even faster with ethanol subsidies. Of course this isn't actually a solution. Wheat prices hit the poorer Arab countries the hardest. That being the countries without the oil. The net beneficiaries of populist protests will be the Islamists. And wheat won't be a permanent lever. China will ramp up its wheat production more aggressively in response to higher prices. We lack the wheat equivalent of OPEC to function as a price setting cartel. And the current conditions which brought together droughts in China, flooding in Australia and ethanol subsidies in America are close to unique. But what they do is show our power.

Ethanol is controversial on the left because it raises food prices and controversial on the right because it is built on subsidies and regulation. As a substitute for oil, it's inadequate, but as an economic weapon it raises certain possibilities. The United States is an economic superpower, but that is a power we rarely leverage. While the Muslim world has conducted a multipronged assault using lawfare, economic warfare and proxy terrorist groups-- we responded with charm offensives and massive armed offensives. But it can't hurt to take a page out of their book. To also use more subtle weapons. Including economic warfare. And as has already been demonstrated, price volatility can have a more explosive impact than a bomb.

The Muslim world has a small upper class, a sliver of a middle class and a huge underclass. While the trappings of the 21st century are there, from cell phones to the internet, there is more than a slight whiff of the feudal about the whole arrangement. Tyranny and brutality won't upset the applecart, but food availability does. (Medieval revolts were often triggered by high food prices.) What a feudal system needs above all else is stability. The illusion of a timeless order. A way of life in which change does not even exist. Instability is like lighting a match in a crowded room filled with fumes. And we have already seen what that match can do.

Arab Muslim rulers have bought peace at home by exporting their surplus populations and their terrorists to America and Europe. They have spun hateful fantasies about America and Israel to direct the anger of their own citizens away from the government. And we have been paying the price for it. Their artificial stability fuels our terrorism and the rape gangs and murders in our cities. The blowback from their terrorism has rebounded against them before. But always in a limited way. And with plenty of warning. This time though there was no warning. Just an economic tidal wave headed their way.

The rise in the price of wheat has hurt Americans. Particularly working families. But it has hurt the Muslim world far more. With the Obama Administration's continued commitment to ethanol subsidies, wheat prices are likely to keep on rising. And even with a Republican congress, that may not change significantly, because subsidies develop an interest based appeal of their own. Iowa is a swing state and ethanol is big business. The ethanol tax credit and tariff went through the Senate in December at 81 to 19 and 277 to 148 in congress. Throw in a cold winter and wheat prices are only going to keep rising.

In 2007-2008, Egypt saw major food riots break out. As did Yemen, Somalia and Bangladesh. The UN and the Davos summit have already issued urgent warnings about political instability due to food prices. The Islamists and Soros' boys have successfully piggybacked on this year's food riots, making it seem as if they had a massive following in the streets and a mandate for change. They succeeded in Tunisia, but Egypt is still up for grabs. But whoever replaces the dictators will not do any better. The Muslim Brotherhood wants to burqa all the women and start a war with Israel. That will certainly make the average Egyptian temporarily forget about the price of bread, but will make matters much worse.

Pushing women out of the workplace is economically feasible in Saudi Arabia, wallowing in its own oil. It's feasible in generally rural Afghanistan or Gaza which lives off foreign aid anyway. But it doesn't even fly in Iran and would mean economic disaster for Egypt. Cutting ties with America and beginning an expensive war with Israel wouldn't reduce the population much, but would cost a whole lot, and unlike 1967 and 1973, the Russians won't be footing the bill. And what would the price of bread look like then?

The Islamists have two weapons on their side. Oil and the birth rate. But the former can't be eaten and the latter must eat.

Original article is here.

From NY to Jerusalem , Daniel Greenfield Covers the Stories Behind the News. Daniel Greenfield is a blogger, author and columnists covering international affairs, the rising threat of terrorism and the growing problems of socialism. His daily blog can be viewed at Sultan Knish.

Follow the mayhem: Steven Davis

This was sent to me by Steven, one of my very good friends and he is a contributor her on PC. Short and to the point.

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Connect the dots folks. If you were a military strategist and you wanted to conquer the world by chocking off the supply of a needed commodity, wouldn’t your strategy of conquest resemble the pattern of advance we have witnessed in these ‘popular’ uprisings? Your rear is adequately covered, no one is aware of your true objectives, and you remain within striking distance of additional targets. If you were to take Jordan, then you would have Israel effectively isolated and the Red Sea flanked from both sides. All you would then need is Saudi Arabia to complete the hegemony. Iraq and Iran would then fall as you would be able to choke off all traffic from the Persian Gulf from the Saudi Peninsula. Don’t tell me someone is not in charge of this. I couldn’t have done better myself.

Steven

An Overview of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood's Stance on U.S. and Jihad

This is from the MEMRI and was just released yesterday. The article is a bit on the long side but it gives an excellent overview of the muslim brotherhood in Egypt.


Due to my work schedule and severity of pain that I am battling, posts may be hit or miss the next week or so.

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U.S. and the Arab and Muslim World


February 3, 2011 Special Dispatch No.3556


An Overview of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood's Stance on U.S. and Jihad; Translation of Its Draft Political Platform


This report presents an overview of the positions of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, as expressed by its general guide, Muhammad Badi', since his nomination in January 2010, and as set out in its proposed political platform, which was drafted in the era of Badi's predecessor, Muhammad Mahdi 'Akef, and was leaked to the media in August 2007. The translations are taken from reports published by MEMRI over recent years.[1]


Badi': The U.S. Is on the Verge of Collapse


In a Friday sermon in September 2010, Badi' said that the U.S. was already on the threshold of collapse and would soon fall, like other immoral societies before it: "The Soviet Union fell dramatically, but the factors that will lead to the collapse of the U.S. are much more powerful than those that led to the collapse of the Soviet empire – for a nation that does not champion moral and human values cannot lead humanity, and its wealth will not avail it once Allah has had His say, as happened with [powerful] nations in the past. The U.S. is now experiencing the beginning of its end, and is heading towards its demise..."


In the same sermon, Badi' said that the Muslims would soon emerge victorious over their enemies, as promised by Allah in the Koran: "Allah said: 'The hosts will all be routed and will turn and flee [Koran 54:45].' This verse is a promise to the believers that they shall defeat their enemies, and [that the enemies] shall withdraw. The Companions of the Prophet received this Koranic promise in Mecca, when they were weak... and a little more than nine years after the Hijra, Allah fulfilled his promise in the Battle of Badr... Can we compare that to what happened in Gaza?"


He called on the Muslims to unite against their enemies, whose "oppression and tyranny" they need not fear: "Today we see how much the [Muslim] nation needs unity... O Muslim nation, unite! O sons of Palestine, unite, all of you, in the face of the enemies who scheme against you, and know that Allah is the best of schemers, and that though Him you shall triumph. [Know that] Islam is capable of confronting oppression and tyranny, and that the outcome of the confrontation has been predetermined by Allah."[2]


In a March 2010 sermon, Badi' said that Allah promised to destroy nations guilty of "oppression, aggression, and tyranny" in the Koran: "Allah says about the destruction of nations because of their oppression, aggression, and tyranny: 'Of the wrongdoers the last remnant was cut off. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds [Koran 6:45]'; 'And [as for] these towns, We destroyed them when they acted unjustly, and We have appointed a time for their destruction' [Koran 18:59]..."[3]


Badi': Jihad – The Only Path to Restoring the Muslim Ummah to Its Former Glory


Badi' has repeatedly called on Muslim leaders to encourage and support jihad, which he considers a duty incumbent on Muslims and the only path to restoring the Muslim ummah to its former glory. In a weekly Friday sermon in April 2010, he said: "Muslim leaders, Islam, to which you belong, advocates jihad as the only means for setting the Ummah's situation aright, as Allah says: 'O you believers! When you are told to go forth in Allah's way, why should you incline heavily to earth? Are you contented with this world's life instead of the hereafter?' [Koran 9:38] Our revival, majesty, and glory depend on the return to righteousness, which will only be achieved through resistance and the support of [resistance] in every way – with money, arms, information, and self[-sacrifice]..."[4]


Badi' has called on Muslims peoples to wage jihad in whatever way they can, whether through personal self-sacrifice or through contributions. For instance, in the March 2010 sermon mentioned above, he said: "A nation cannot live, a state cannot be founded, rights cannot be protected, and land, property and money cannot be preserved but by means of jihad for the sake of Allah. [Therefore], 'stand up and strive in His cause as you ought to strive [Koran 22:78]'... Our only way to repel the vicious attack on our land and restore our honor and glory is to sacrifice our souls, our money, our time, our lives and anything else for the sake of our noble cause."[5]


In the same sermon, Badi' rejected definitions of jihad as terrorism, insisting that jihad is legitimate, and calling the occupation of land by foreign elements terrorism: "...Jihad must not be likened to terror. Jihad means making sacrifices in order to restore what has been stolen, defend one's property, expel the occupier, and make Allah's word supreme, while terror is occupying someone else's land..."[6]


In the abovementioned September 2010 sermon, Badi' said: "Today the Muslims desperately need a mentality of honor and means of power [that will enable them] to confront global Zionism. [This movement] knows nothing but the language of force, so [the Muslims] must meet iron with iron, and winds with [even more powerful] storms. They crucially need to understand that the improvement and change that the [Muslim] nation seeks can only be attained through jihad and sacrifice and by raising a jihadi generation that pursues death just as the enemies pursue life."[7]


"It is your obligation to stop the absurd negotiations, whether direct or indirect, and to support all forms of resistance for the sake of liberating every occupied piece of land in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, and all [other] parts of our Muslim world. The sources of your authority, as all religious scholars have agreed, are the Koran and the Sunna, and not U.N. resolutions or the dictates of the Zionists or Americans. This can be achieved if you declare the Palestine cause and the causes of the [other] occupied Islamic nations your primary concern. You must stand behind your free peoples and their various institutions in their repeated calls for boycotts, an end to normalization, and support for the resistance and its representatives... You must revoke all the agreements of capitulation.... especially the Camp David Accords... which go against the Egyptian constitution and U.N. resolutions, and do not therefore obligate Egyptian senior officials..."[8]


Badi': The Koran Is the Constitution


In his September 23, 2010 Friday sermon, Badi' said: "The noble Koran is the constitution that sets out the laws of Islam. It is the fountainhead of all virtue and wisdom in the hearts of the believers, and it is the best [way] for the believers to become closer to Allah... The Holy Koran includes all the tenets of faith, laws of worship, principles of public good [and] legal concepts [pertaining to] this world, including duties and prohibitions, and they are for the benefit of all humanity, without distinctions of religion, [skin] color, gender, [social] status or language..."


Badi' added that Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan Al-Bana had considered it the duty of the Muslims to establish the Koran as the basis for the laws of this world and to implement these laws. Al-Bana, Badi' said, believed that "the Muslim Brotherhood... [must] urge the public to obey the edicts [of the Koran] and to join them in achieving this goal, which is the loftiest goal a Muslim [has] in his life, so that the Koran may rightly become our constitution and the constitution of the entire Muslim ummah..."


Badi' added that the Koran must continue to be a way of life for every Muslim and his family, and that, at the state level, countries whose official religion is Islam must establish the Koran as "the basis for the constitution and the first source of legislation, the scales of justice in the courtrooms and one of the bases of the [school] curricula at all levels [of education]... All clauses of the [state] constitution which Islam and its precepts do not permit must be removed..."[9]


Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood Discussions of Political Platform


In January 2007, Badi's predecessor, former Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood supreme guide Muhammad Mahdi 'Akef declared that, for the first time in its history, the Muslim Brotherhood movement would publicize its political platform. Since then, the official platform has not been released,[10] but a draft of the platform – sent by the movement to some 50 Egyptian intellectuals for review – was leaked to the media in August 2007.[11]


Following is a translation of the platform as it appeared on the website Islam Online:


The President and Legislative Branch Will Be Advised by the Supreme Council of Clerics


The religious character of the state is an issue dealt with extensively in the platform. The draft states: "We present this reform plan to all sectors of the Egyptian people... in accordance with the constitution and with the [principle of] freedom of expression, opinion and thought, and in accordance with the second article of the constitution, which states that Islam is the official state religion and that the Islamic shari'a is the main source for legislation... [p. 5]. The Islamic state is, by its very nature, a civil state, because appointments to [public] office are made on the basis of qualifications, experience, and expertise, while the [holders of] political positions are elected by the people... [p. 14])"


The draft platform states further: "The authority of the shari'a will be implemented in a manner that conforms to the [will of the] nation, by means of a parliamentary majority elected in free, clean, and transparent [elections]. The legislative branch must consult with the nation's Supreme Council of Clerics, which will likewise be freely and directly elected from among the clerics, and will be completely independent of the executive branch – procedurally, financially and administratively. It will be assisted by neutral and reliable committees and advisors with knowledge and experience, including in the secular sciences. [The duty of consulting with the Supreme Council of Clerics] will also apply to the president when he wishes to implement decisions based on law and in the absence of the legislative branch. In these circumstances, the Supreme Council of Clerics decision will be final and will best serve the interests of the public.


"In the case of controversial [questions] which are not unambiguously [settled] by shari'a laws based directly on clear and applicable texts [from the Koran or hadith], the final decision will be made by the legislative branch. Such decisions, if [approved by] the legislative branch by absolute majority, will be valid even if they contradict the opinion of the Supreme Council of Clerics. In such cases, before the legislative branch makes its final decision, it must appeal to [the Supreme Council of Clerics] and present its position, which it believes better serves the interests of the public.


"The criteria for electing the members of the Supreme Council of Clerics, and the standards they will be required to meet, will be stipulated by law... [p. 10]"


Non-Muslims Are Barred From the Presidency


Another clause that evoked criticism deals with the treatment of Egypt's non-Muslim population. The draft states: "A state is predicated on the principle of citizenship. Egypt is the state of all those who hold Egyptian citizenship, who by law have equal rights and duties in accordance with the principles of equality and equality of opportunity... [p. 12]. The principles of equality and equality of opportunity are essential in obtaining justice and in deepening [the sense of] belonging to the homeland; they can be implemented by avoiding discrimination, in both rights and duties, on the basis of religion, gender, and race, and by granting all citizens an [equal] opportunity to express their opinions; to run for political organizations, to join [such organizations] and to move [freely] from one to another; [and] to study and to work - [providing] that they observe the basic values of society... [p. 23]."


On the other hand, the draft included the following: "There are basic religious offices in the country whose [function] is to protect religion. An Islamic state must protect non-Muslim [citizens] in all things concerning faith, ritual, etc.; at the same time, it must preserve Islam and all matters related to it, ensuring that no ritual, propaganda, or pilgrimage contradicting Islamic activities are carried out. These religious offices include that of the president or prime minister, depending on the political regime [in the country]. Accordingly, we believe that the duty of the president or prime minister - depending on the political regime - runs against the beliefs of non-Muslims. Consequently, a non-Muslim is exempt from this position, based on the Islamic shari'a, which does not obligate a non-Muslim to perform functions that contradict his faith... [p. 15]"


The Role of President Is Unsuitable For Women


According to the draft platform, women, too, are barred from running for president. The document stipulates that one way of ensuring citizens' equality and equality of opportunity is "to grant the woman all rights due to her in a way that does not undermine basic values in society. [p. 23]" It further states: "Women constitute half the population, and they balance the family roles (as wives, mothers, and house owners). Islam has [always] treated woman as man's sister. As for the woman's role with regard to employment, [Islam] stipulates that it should be balanced against the woman's lofty mission at home, with her children, so as to strengthen the basic units of society.


"Our worldview presupposes complete equality in human dignity between man and woman, while at the same time assigning crucial importance to distinguishing their social and humanitarian roles, without affecting the status of either gender. The woman's role in the family invests her with primary responsibility for educating the next generation and for ensuring that the family in our Egyptian Arabic Muslim culture serves as the basic social unit. Our national revival is predicated on the reestablishment of the family unit. Accordingly, we attribute supreme importance to the balance in the woman's roles, [including] the enhancement of her roles within the family and in public life; she should not be burdened with obligations that contradict her nature or her role within the family.


"We believe that offices occupied by women are determined by social consensus that rests on the authority of the Islamic culture. The debate over several offices and the possibility for a woman to occupy them (e.g., as judges) must be carried out as part of the social and religious dialogue with the aim of attaining social consensus, so that both women and men have a chance to participate in the decision-making process. On our part, we believe that the burdens of presidency must not be placed on a woman's shoulders – any more than supervising and leading the army – since they contradict her nature and the rest of her social and humanitarian roles... [p. 103]."


The Peace Treaty with Israel Will Be Reexamined


Another controversial aspect of the draft platform concerns honoring ratified international peace agreements, meaning in particular the peace agreements with Israel. The document states: "We honor unwritten laws and treaties, international contracts and agreements, as well all agreements that call for cooperation between the peoples to attain justice and equality... [p. 7] The principle of honoring international treaties and agreements ensures the stability of relations between the countries, and creates a legal framework for settling conflicts between different sides. International law, as well as international treaties and agreements, offers ways to probe the extent of commitment of the sides, while at the same times providing avenues for their revision should any of the sides feel that the agreement in question discriminates against it, harms its status, or undermines its security. Revising bilateral agreements and treaties is [an accepted] practice in international relations, anchored in [special] clauses of these agreements – and is regarded as a routine procedure... [p. 29]"


Tourists Visiting Egypt Must Respect Islamic Laws


The clause dealing with tourists in Egypt is equally controversial. The draft states: "Tourist services comprise religious tourism, scientific tourism, tourism to attend conferences, tourism for [medical] treatment, commercial tourism, and holiday tourism. All activities related to these aspects of tourism must be in line with Islamic principles, values, and laws. A tourist must familiarize himself with Muslim religious boundaries, so as not to transgress them in public during his stay [in Egypt]. As an Islamic state, Egypt must adhere to the Islamic values...Shari'a permits a non-Muslim to do things that are forbidden to a Muslim, albeit not in public but only in the private sphere – and this [regulation] also applies to a tourist... [p. 57]"


This clause infuriated Egypt's tourist agencies, which claimed that the Muslim Brotherhood's aim was to sabotage the Egyptian economy. The director of one such company said in response to the release of the draft: "How can we request that tourists in our country fulfill the demands of the Brotherhood's platform – is that reasonable? Doesn't our Islamic faith prompt us to honor [other] religions, [according to the verse] 'You shall have your religion and I shall have my religion [6:109]'? How can we force our religious precepts and principles on them? Every free individual [should have the right to choose] his faith… The Brotherhood's platform, if implemented, would cause great losses and harm to Egypt's tourism. A tourist travels to enjoy his freedom, and it is not wise to impose constraints – indeed, what, then, is the meaning of the word 'tourism?'..."[12]




Endnotes:


[1] An exception is the excerpts from Badi's Friday sermon of September 23, 2009, which were translated as part of the current document.


[2] MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 3274, "Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide: 'The U.S. Is Now Experiencing the Beginning of Its End'; Improvement and Change in the Muslim World 'Can Only Be Attained Through Jihad and Sacrifice,'" October 6, 2010, http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/193/4650.htm.


[3] MEMRI Inquiry & Analysis Series Report No.599, "In Advance of the Arab Summit, The Arab 'Resistance Camp' and Iran Campaign For a New Intifada Against Israel, the PA and the Renewal of Peace Negotiations – While the Summit Itself Is Set To Stress a 'Just and Comprehensive Peace' Including Israeli Withdrawal from Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine as the 'Arab Strategic Option,'" March 26, 2010, http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4062.htm.


[4] Special Dispatch No.2988, "Muslim Brotherhood Leader: Only Jihad Can Restore the Muslim Ummah to Its Former Glory; 'The Hour is Near when [We will] Rid the Ummah of this Foreign Body [Israel] that has been Malevolently Planted in Its Midst,'" June 1, 2010, http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4254.htm.


[5] MEMRI Inquiry & Analysis Series Report No.599, "In Advance of the Arab Summit, The Arab 'Resistance Camp' and Iran Campaign For a New Intifada Against Israel, the PA and the Renewal of Peace Negotiations – While the Summit Itself Is Set To Stress a 'Just and Comprehensive Peace' Including Israeli Withdrawal from Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine as the 'Arab Strategic Option,'" March 26, 2010, http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4062.htm.


[6] MEMRI Inquiry & Analysis Series Report No.599, "In Advance of the Arab Summit, The Arab 'Resistance Camp' and Iran Campaign For a New Intifada Against Israel, the PA and the Renewal of Peace Negotiations – While the Summit Itself Is Set To Stress a 'Just and Comprehensive Peace' Including Israeli Withdrawal from Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine as the 'Arab Strategic Option,'" March 26, 2010, http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4062.htm.


[7] MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 3274, "Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide: 'The U.S. Is Now Experiencing the Beginning of Its End'; Improvement and Change in the Muslim World 'Can Only Be Attained Through Jihad and Sacrifice,'" October 6, 2010, http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/193/4650.htm.


[8] Special Dispatch No.2988, "Muslim Brotherhood Leader: Only Jihad Can Restore the Muslim Ummah to Its Former Glory; 'The Hour is Near when [We will] Rid the Ummah of this Foreign Body [Israel] that has been Malevolently Planted in Its Midst,'" June 1, 2010, http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4254.htm.


[9] http://www.ikhwanonline.com/


[10] Al-Ahram (Egypt), January 14, 2007.


[11] The draft first appeared in the Egyptian daily Al-Masri Al-Yawm, which published it in four installments from August 10 through 14, 2007. However, senior Muslim Brotherhood officials stated that the version published in the paper was not the final version of the platform. Another version of the draft was posted by www.islamonline.net on August 25, 2007. See MEMRI Inquiry & Analysis Series Report No.409, "Public Debate on the Political Platform of the Planned Muslim Brotherhood Party in Egypt," December 11, 2007, http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/125/2632.htm#_edn1.


[12] Akher Sa'a (Egypt), August 29, 2007. The draft sparked criticism both from external elements and among members of the movement. Then Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood supreme guide Muhammad Mahdi 'Akef responded to the wave of criticism by asserting that the draft had been aimed at assessing public opinion, and that changes to the platform would take the various criticisms that had arisen into account. Since 2007, no new proposals for a platform have been issued. It should be noted that, in June 2010, Badi' called for the revocation of the Camp David Accords, and that in an August 6, 2010 interview on Al-'Arabiya TV, he reiterated the Muslim Brotherhood's opposition to Copts or women running as presidential candidates. www.ikhwanonline.com, April 1, 2010 and August 6, 2010.

Original article/dispatch is here.

February Bulletin of the Oppression of Women Jan. 12-Feb. 1, 2011

Here is the the latest Bulletin Of the Oppression Of Women from Political Islam by Bill Warner. I try not to miss these bulletins but there are many links to copy and sometimes it is just too much for me to do, too late in the day or night. Feel free to share. Just be sure to give proper credit to Bill Warner and Political Islam.

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Bulletin of the Oppression of Women

Asqa, You are never forgotten.

January 12- February 1, 2011

January 12, 2011

UK (video) British schoolgirl's testimony that they are being threatened with violence and rape daily by Muslims.

January 14, 2011

Kosovo

Fake foreign marriages enable Kosovans to move to the West.

Pakistan

A Muslim who allegedly confessed to sexually assaulting five Christian girls raped a 10-year-old Catholic girl. More HERE.

January 15, 2011

Canada (hat tip to GateofVienna)

Extortionist 'enjoyed' forced sex.

UK (hat tip to GatesofVienna)

A victim tells the story of her 'boyfriend' who was part of an Asian sex gang.

Somalia

Women living in areas controlled by Somalia's Islamists say they are increasingly the target of more draconian rules meted out by the rebels bent on enforcing their ideologies.

Australia

A group of seven young men allegedly trapped a 21-year-old mother in her laundry in Bendigo, Victoria and raped her as her children slept.

January 17, 2011

Pakistan

Killings of newborn babies, especially girls, is on the rise in Pakistan.

Saudi Arabia

A Saudi husband divorced his wife after discovering that she is a smoker.

January 18, 2011

Australia

A man killed his estranged wife because she had planned to end their arranged marriage and sell their home.

January 19, 2011

UK

A man threatened to kill his cousin and harm her family after she decided to stop wearing the traditional Muslim headscarf.

Pakistan (hat tip to JihadWatch)

A man accused of killing his wife and daughter for honor is arrested.

Australia (hat tip to JihadWatch)

A Sydney artist whose anti-burka mural has infuriated left-wing and Islamic activists is vowing that the provocative artwork will stay in place despite death threats, abuse, a string of vandalism attacks, a violent weekend protest and a police request to remove it.

Saudi Arabia

A man divorces three wives for a car from the fourth wife.

Pakistan

There was a bomb attack on a school where girls are taught.

Kuwait

An officer targeted maids for rape.

Pakistan

A man tried to kill his wife after ultrasound reports revealed that she was about to give birth to a baby girl, the couple's third daughter.

January 20, 2011

UK

An imam was jailed for a series of sex attacks on children.

January 21, 2011

USA (hat tip to JihadWatch)

A Minneapolis Muslim police officer was charged with felony assault Friday, accused of hitting his wife in the face with a gun and threatening to kill her.

USA

Local teens are desperate to stop honor killings.

January 22, 1011

Iran

Iranian authorities have ordered a ban on women from watching live broadcasts of soccer matches at public movie theaters.

UK

Harry Potter actress asks that brother who beat her not be jailed.

January 23, 2011

Australia

A 14 year old girl is sexually assaulted by a limousine driver.

Pakistan

A Pakistani actress castigated for appearing to cuddle with an Indian actor on a reality show lashed out at a Muslim cleric who had criticized her during a widely watched television exchange this week. More HERE.

Pakistan

A Muslim woman attempts to set herself on fire to protest sexual harassment.

Pakistan

A 22-year-old woman was allegedly electrocuted by her relatives in the name of family honor.

January 24, 2011

USA

A Phoenix Muslim man is on trial for trialfor an honor killing.

Jordan

A Jordan man who killed his pregnant daughter gets a reduced jail sentence.

January 26, 2011

Afghanistan (Video)

A couple refused to denounce their love for one another, even under stoning.

Pakistan

Vigilante justice haunts Pakistani women.

Finland (Hat tip to and translated by IslaminEurope)

A Muslim family is charged for trying to marry off their 12 year old daughter.

January 27, 2011

USA

Honor Killing in America: updates on two trials.

Israel

A woman describes the stabbing attack that seriously wounded her and killed her friend.

Saudi Arabia

A man beats his wife after she delivers a baby girl.

January 29, 2011

UK

A senior Muslim politician has blamed unhappy arranged marriages to cousins for leading some Pakistani men to prey on vulnerable young white girls to fulfill their sexual needs.

January 31, 2011

India

Two teenage sisters are brutally murdered.

February 1, 2011

Denmark (Hat tip to and translated by IslaminEurope)

A Koran teacher had illegal relations with a 15 year old Danish girl and then married her.

Produced by politicalislam.com

Publisher: Bill Warner; Editor: Asma Marwan

Permalink

The Daily Catch Videos for 2-2-2011

Demo video for EDL demonstration in Luton 2-5-2011. Luton is the birthplace of the EDL.

Guramit Singh exposes Islam to the British Asians - BBC Asian Network

Tommy Robinson on BBC's Newsnight takes on Paxman

Tommy Robinson appeared on BBC's Newsnight hosted by Jeremy Paxman. Tommy held his ground and more, fending off every attempt at Paxman's attempts to brand him a racist.

From Gates of Vienna and there is more to the post. This one merits its own post as it is quite well done by Tommy and due to the other guests on the show.

LONG LIVE THE EDL!

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Paxman takes on the EDL

As we posted earlier tonight, Tommy Robinson appeared on the BBC program “Newsnight” and was interviewed by the host, Jeremy Paxman.

Aeneas has posted his assessment of the EDL leader’s encounter with the legendary Paxman. The program included other guests — including Francis Fukuyama and the British Foreign Secretary — so I am reposting Aeneas’ entire piece from the ICLA website:

Tommy Robinson appeared alongside the UK Foreign Secretary William Hague, End of History author Francis Fukuyama, and Prince Hassan of Jordan. Newsnight juxtaposed the events in Egypt with the prospect of the EDL demonstration in Luton this coming weekend. While the Egyptians move towards the embrace of Islamism and the Muslim Brotherhood, the people of England begin to stand up against it. While our elite dream about ‘proper’ democracy in the Middle East, just as the Muslim Brotherhood are increasing their power and influence in Egypt, the EDL prepare for asserting their democratic rights in England. Of course, what the elite mean by ‘proper’ democracy is compliant democracy that they can manipulate and control just like they do in Britain. In Britain elections are contested by parties that none of the people really want but who are the only ones promoted by the media as likely to stand a chance of winning. The political-media axis thus creates a self-fulfilling prophesy in Western countries like Britain that benefits the elite and not the people.


We are currently witnessing momentous events in global affairs reminiscent of the events that surrounded the fall of the Berlin Wall. In Egypt people confront the regime that they believe betrayed them, in England people are about to take to the streets of Luton, an area of Islamist strength, to lead the way in Europe against the system that was set up by the same international elite that betrayed the people of Egypt. As far as the international elite are concerned, globalisation is king and culture can take a walk. As far as those in power are concerned, the English people and their culture can be sacrificed at the alter of the global economic greed and the interests of the elite.

Francis Fukuyama of ‘End of History’ fame appeared on the same programme as Tommy Robinson who demonstrated that history, from his perspective, is far from over — England will survive the current impulse to impose sharia and move forward to better things! The EDL is leading the way against the ravages of the global elite and their desire to Islamise Western Europe. It seems that, due to the success of Tommy Robinson’s Newsnight appearance, the Luton event will be better attended and more successful than hitherto the EDL leadership had dared to believe. It seems that the Luton demonstration on 5 February 2011 will be truly historic. People who have been oppressed by politically correct bullying and demands for the acceptance of Islamisation will have their chance to make their voices heard.

Original article is here.

Thanks to Gates Of Vienna.

America and the Middle East food riots: American Thinker

Yesterday(seems like much longer to me, lack of sleep)I had an article about the useless bio fuel product, ethanol and how it had contributed to what we are watching steam roll over the Middle East. I just finished reading this over at American Thinker and it dove tails nicely into my recent post on the same subject. This reinforces how useless and costly the entire ethanol program has been, is and will continue to be until it gets repealed or overturned. How many people could have been fed with all that corn getting wasted in our gas tanks?

Where are all the human rights organizations crying foul against this idiotic and wasteful program? If we were starving terrorists then maybe, just maybe I might be slightly better about this, but we are not.

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America and the Middle East Food Riots
By Steve McCann

Perhaps the most overused but most accurate term used to describe the policies and ideology of the American left is the "Law of Unintended Consequences." There is virtually nothing that these people espouse that, once put in place, has not had detrimental effects on either the people of the United States or the world.

Today there is a global food shortage and skyrocketing prices. This has become the underlying factor in the riots in Tunisia, Algeria, and Egypt, where up to 56% of a person's income is dedicated to the acquisition of food. These riots are now leading to the upheaval of governments and the very real possibility of the ascendancy of the radical elements into control.

While bad weather in various parts of the world is an element of the accelerating food prices, there are two other factors directly related to the United States and its policies.

First, because of the enormous deficits run up by the Obama administration and the Democrat-controlled Congress, the Federal Reserve has had to effectively print trillions of dollars, which have flooded the global market. Commodities are priced in dollars; consequently, emerging markets throughout the world, and the food sector in particular, are suffering from rapidly rising inflation.

The CRB food index is up an incredible 36% over last year. Raw materials are up 23%. Since 2009, the dollar has declined by over 13% against the Japanese yen and 25% against the Canadian dollar.

Larry Kudlow in the National Review writes in regard to the riots in Africa and the Middle East:

So I have to ask this tough question: Is Ben Bernanke's ultra-easy QE2 money-priming partially to blame.

But food riots in the North Africa/Middle East area are bumping smack into long-time resentment over autocratic government. If food is in fact the trigger for what may be a revolution in Egypt, then US monetary policy has to shoulder at least some of the blame.

An example of this inflation is in the price of wheat. The January 2011 future price is $335.00 per metric ton, while last year at this time, it was $157.00 per metric ton -- an increase of 113%. Not all of this increase is due to the inflationary impact of the dollar, but with global yields down due to weather factors, this foolish U.S. monetary policy has made matters needlessly worse.

The second factor in the overall global food situation is the American decision to, in essence, burn food in its cars, a policy championed by the environmentalists since the 1990s. In 2010, the United States produced 13.1 billion bushels of corn. Of that amount, 4.2 billion bushels went into ethanol (33% of total production). That represents for 2011, a year in which global stocks are down nearly 8%, over 14% of all corn grown in the world being used in the most inefficient manner possible -- being put into American gas tanks.

Thus, the future price of corn per bushel in January 2011 is $6.51, as compared to $3.84 in January 2010 -- an increase of nearly 70%. While the price spike is in part due to lower yields, had the corn destined for ethanol been put back into the overall corn stocks, the net effect would have been to offset this lower crop, and the global market would have maintained the 2010 price level despite the inflationary impact of the dollar.

There is no quicker way to foment riots and revolution than to deprive the populace of food, particularly when so much daily income goes into feeding oneself and one's family. The pictures we have seen in North Africa may well be repeated elsewhere throughout the world. This time, the "Law of Unintended Consequences" wrought by the policies of the American left and the Obama administration will be limited not only to the United States, but also to many throughout the world. If the riots in Egypt and the Middle East take a severe and radical turn, then the prospect of open warfare in that region, which will involve the United States, will become a near certainty.

Original article is here from American Thinker.

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Tags: EPA, ethanol, food prices, Global food prices, global Islamic revolution, Obama, cap and trade, Oil and fossil fuels, scarcity of corn products worldwide To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the Patriot's Corner. Thanks!

obama will now officially accept the muslim brotherhood in Egypt.

So sad and immensely stupid of obama and his administration to take this 'tactical move' in regard to egypt and the future of the Middle East, and beyond. Here is what Baron from Gates of Vienna has to say after on opening about what the White House stated:


WASHINGTON — The Obama administration said Monday for the first time that it supports a role for groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, a banned Islamist organization, in a reformed Egyptian government.


The organization must reject violence and recognize democratic goals if the U.S. is to be comfortable with it taking part in the government, the White House said. But by even setting conditions for the involvement of such “non-secular” groups, the administration took a surprise step in the midst of the crisis enveloping Egypt for the past week.


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Incredibly naive and ignorant. The muslim brotherhood renounce violence? Of course they will say yes to this but then there is that tiny problem of taqiyya in islam. The Baron adds his thinking to the above:


"This is the first rub — and there are a lot of rubs in this deal.


Anyone who has studied the Muslim Brotherhood, or Islam in general, knows that a believer is not just permitted to lie, not just encouraged to lie, but required to lie if the action in question is required. It is mandatory for believers to work to establish the rule of sharia in any Muslim state. Therefore, when necessary, it is mandatory for believers to lie in order to achieve that end.


The Muslim Brotherhood will be more than happy to “reject violence”. No problem!"


More from the article: The statement was an acknowledgment that any popularly accepted new government would probably include groups that are not considered friendly to U.S. interests, and a signal that the White House is prepared for that probability after 30 years of reliable relations with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.


Monday’s statement was a “pretty clear sign that the U.S. isn’t going to advocate a narrow form of pluralism, but a broad one,” said Robert Malley, a Middle East peace negotiator in the Clinton administration. U.S. officials have previously pressed for broader participation in Egypt’s government.


Gibbs said the U.S. government has had no contact with the Muslim Brotherhood because of questions over its commitment to the rule of law, democracy and nonviolence. But the Brotherhood is not listed on U.S. terrorism lists, as are the Hamas and Hezbollah organizations.


From Baron, again in response to the above statements from the expert on islam, Robert Gibbs: "This is either the stupidest or most disingenuous comment ever to emerge from the White House press office. Hamas is the Muslim Brotherhood. It is known as the “Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine”. Its status as a franchise of the MB is officially established in its own covenant, as pointed out by Dr. Andrew Bostom earlier today.


The stupidity of American political leaders is unsurpassed. It seems that they never, ever learn. And they can’t see something that’s right there in front of their eyes."


Here is the complete article form San Jose Mercury.

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U.S. supports role for 'non-secular' groups in Egyptian government
By Paul Richter and Peter Nicholas
Los Angeles Times

WASHINGTON--The Obama administration said Monday for the first time that it supports a role for groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, a banned Islamist organization, in a reformed Egyptian government.


The organization must reject violence and recognize democratic goals if the U.S. is to be comfortable with it taking part in the government, the White House said. But by even setting conditions for the involvement of such "nonsecular" groups, the administration took a surprise step in the midst of the crisis enveloping Egypt for the past week.


The statement was an acknowledgment that any popularly accepted new government would probably include groups that are not considered friendly to U.S. interests, and a signal that the White House is prepared for that probability after 30 years of reliable relations with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.


Monday's statement was a "pretty clear sign that the U.S. isn't going to advocate a narrow form of pluralism, but a broad one," said Robert Malley, a Middle East peace negotiator in the Clinton administration. U.S. officials have previously pressed for broader participation in Egypt's government.


The Bush administration pushed Mubarak for democratic reforms, but a statement in 2005 did not address a role for Islamists.


"This is different," said Malley, now with the International Crisis Group. "It has a real political edge and political meaning."


White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said a reformed government "has to include a whole host of important nonsecular actors that give Egypt a strong chance to continue to be (a) stable and reliable partner."


Gibbs said the U.S. government has had no contact with the Muslim Brotherhood because of questions over its commitment to the rule of law, democracy and nonviolence.


His remarks came after a White House meeting at which administration officials briefed outside Middle East experts, leaving some of the participants with the impression that the administration was not counting on Mubarak to remain in power.


The Muslim Brotherhood is the largest and best-organized Egyptian opposition group, with an estimated 600,000 members, many of them educated, middle-class men. It has disavowed terrorism and violence, but its inclusion in any government would likely be deeply controversial among U.S. allies, especially in Israel, because it advocates tearing up Egypt's peace treaty with the Jewish state.


Its members run for elective office as independents. It won 20 percent of the seats in parliament in 2005. But in elections in November, Brotherhood members didn't win a single seat in balloting that was tainted by allegations of fraud.


U.S. conservatives such as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich have warned about its rise, and many draw comparisons to the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran. But others contend that fears of the Brotherhood, which has been suppressed for decades by the government, are overstated.


No, those who fear the muslim brotherhood and all it represents are very well founded in their fears. As are those of us who study and follow islam and sharia law. Many of us KNEW this was just around the next corner with this administration. It is quite obvious to this counter jihadist that obama and his ilk were ambushed by what has spread throughout the arab world like the spanish influenza or black plague. I will move on to finish this out with Baron's surgical analysis of this travesity that will cost many, many innocent lives before it is over.


Baron concludes and quite accurately, I must add:
"The new official narrative about the Muslim Brotherhood is now being constructed. Like its subsidiary Hamas, it will have a “military wing” and a “political wing”, and we gullible Americans will work to strengthen the political wing, which will do all the usual good deeds — feeding children, building schools, running social services.


They’re good little socialists, those Brotherhood guys! And naturally they have no interaction with or control over those evil terrorist dudes in the military wing.


In addition to its political efforts, the Muslim Brotherhood runs social and economic programs that help fill the gaps in Egypt’s public services.


This is deeply pernicious stuff. And how about this?


It rejects the possibility of a woman or a Christian being president of Egypt, and would press for stricter adherence to Islamic codes.

Sound familiar? Take a look at Lebanon and hezbollah.


Will the human rights crowd pass judgment on that one? Want to hold your breath? No, we do not want to hold our breath. Maybe our weapons and the 2nd Amendment, a little bit closer.


U.S. conservatives such as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich have warned about its rise, and many draw comparisons to the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran. But others contend that fears of the Brotherhood, which has been suppressed for decades by the Egyptian government, are overstated.


Well, we’ll find out who’s right before very long.


The stupidity of American political leaders is unsurpassed. It seems that they never, ever learn. And they can’t see something that’s right there in front of their eyes."


Here is the original article from the San Jose Mercury.


Of course, here is the link to Gates Of Vienna and much thanks to Baron Bodissey and Dymphna. Two of the best people out there.

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