Atlas Shrugs

Obama's Department of [In]Justice and Sharia Prosecutes Infidels for "Hate" Speech Crimes

And so it begins. This is an outrage. An infidel was prosecuted by Obama's Department of Justice and sent to jail for a year for saying in an email that he would “do WHATEVER it takes to eradicate Islam.” So what? A year in prison? A $3,000 fine? 

We witnessed a traitorous Department of Justice refuse to prosecute the Black Panther party for voter harassment and intimidation with weapons on Election day. Senior DoJ lawyers resigned in protest.

"Obama has Violated His Oath of Office" in Racist Dept of Justice Decision to Drop New Black Panther Party Voter Intimidation Case and Mandate DOJ Policy: "No Voter Intimidation Cases Will Brought Against Black Defendent Where the Victim is White" (read it at Atlas Shrugs)

The Department of Justice sponsored a booth at the Muslim Brotherhood front ISNA (Islamic Society of North America) convention underwritten by, among others, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas-linked CAIR.

Obama's Department of Justice sued a New Jersey county, alleging that it refused to accommodate a Muslim employee's khimar, a religious head covering. The suit seeks monetary damages and also seeks to require Essex County to adopt a policy that accommodates the religious observances and practices of employees.

Further, Obama's Department of Justice dropped the "charges" against the Muslims who blew up the USS Cole.

Obama's Department of Justice is still trying to bring the 911 mastermind to New York City for a civilian trial. And these examples are just the tip of the iceberg. The prosecution of Sobolevskiy is by far the worst, and Judge David G. Bernthal, referring to the defendant’s crime as “an act of terror,” is in need of immediate removal. Nuts.

I do not advocate for violence or ugly email missives, but a year in jail for them? This is something altogether different. The Department of Justice is enforcing sharia and abandoning rule of law.

Washington - Maryland Man Sentenced To 1 Year For Sending Threatening Email to Illinois Mosque Vosizneias.com (hat tip Nik)

Washington -  Ilya Sobolevskiy, a 25-year-old resident of Maryland, was sentenced today to serve 12 months in prison and to pay a $3,000 fine for violating the civil rights of members of an Urbana, Ill., mosque, announced the Justice Department. 

During a guilty plea hearing in August 2010, Sobolevskiy admitted that he sent an email to a member of the Central Illinois Mosque and Islamic Center (CIMIC), in which he threatened, among other things, that he would “do WHATEVER it takes to eradicate Islam.”  Officials at CIMIC reported the threat to the FBI, which referred the case to the department’s Civil Rights Division.

“One of our most basic rights is the freedom to practice one’s faith in peace,” said Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez of the Civil Rights Division.

I agree. Tell that to the Coptics, Sikhs, Hindus, Jews, Christians, living under Islamic law.

Actually our most basic human right is free speech.

“We have no tolerance for threats of violence fueled by bigotry, and we will aggressively prosecute such actions.”

“It is a top priority of the FBI to protect the civil rights of the American people. We encourage members of the community to report all allegations of civil rights violations. The FBI will aggressively investigate these matters to ensure that our society remains free,” said Stuart R. McArthur, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Springfield Office.

CAIR must be laughing in jihadic glee.

Federal Magistrate Judge David G. Bernthal, referring to the defendant’s crime as “an act of terror,” gave the defendant the maximum sentence permitted by law.

This case was investigated by the Springfield, Ill., division of the FBI, and was prosecuted by department Trial Attorney Patricia Sumner.

So I guess I should turn over my hundreds of "hate" emails. Something tells me that those emailers won't be serving time any time soon.

Washington Post has it here.

UPDATE:  The last name is Sobolevsky. The offense is "Obstruction Of The Free Exercise Of Religious Beliefs" (U.S.C Sec. 247(a)(2)). The case number is 2:10-cr-20062-DGB.

Not only was Sobolevsky sentenced to a year in prison, but also a year of supervised release.

Tear Down This Presidency!

On the twentieth anniversary of one of freedom's monumental moments, one of America's finest moments, the fall of the Berlin Wall, Obama is MIA.

Huh?

Yes, the mirror man who has never met a camera or teleprompter he didn't fall head of heels in love with is NOT at the anniversary of the Fall of the Wall.

He sent a video. I kid you not.

He went to a meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference Alliance of Civilizations (instead of the graves of the glorious dead on the anniversary of Normandy), toured Turkey's mosques, bowed to the wahhabi Saudi king, coasted to Copenhagen to whore for his cronies in Chicago (Olympics) -- but he can't go to Germany for this stunning historical triumph of free men.
Sarkozy, Merkel, all the greats are in attendance.

He must have had a late basketball game with Reggie. All kidding aside, Obama could not stand the idea of the exaltation of Reagan. He is so small and so petty. He is the anti-Reagan.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, German President Horst Koehler and Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit (L-R) arrive at Pariser Platz in Berlin November 9, 2009, during celebrations to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Berlin Marks 20th Anniversary of Wall's Fall

World leaders, dignitaries and thousands of visitors are in Berlin to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. It is a time to remember the past and celebrate the November day in 1989 that changed the future.

Despite the rain, crowds gathered at the Bornholm Bridge, the first checkpoint in the Berlin Wall to open the night of November 9, 1989.

The Wall stood for nearly three decades, dividing the city and Germany into East and West. But in the end, protests and peaceful revolutions, such as in Poland, and changes in Moscow brought it down. That led to the reunification of Germany and the end of the Cold War.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev (L), German Chancellor Angela Merkel, former Polish President Lech Walesa hold picture showing cars, people at border crossing after fall of Berlin Wall in 1989, 09 Nov 2009

In a gesture full of symbolism, Chancellor Angela Merkel crossed from one side to other, accompanied by VIP guests, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, former Polish labor leader and president Lech Walesa, and civil rights activists of 20 years ago.

Mrs. Merkel said meeting here was especially significant.  

She said there is joy in the possibilities that opened up at this very bridge, noting it was the result of a long struggle against oppression. She thanked Lech Walesa and his Solidarity Labor movement in Poland and Mikhail Gorbachev, the reformist leader in Moscow. Both paved the way for what would happen in Germany in 1989.

World leaders and dignitaries have gathered to join in the 20th anniversary celebrations, which include open air concerts, fireworks, and the symbolic collapse of a wall of brightly painted oversize dominoes. The dominoes have been set up to run for one and a half kilometers in an area where the Wall once stood, and late Monday they will be toppled - much like the Wall was two decades ago.  

Organizers of the anniversary events say they want the festivities to connect with ordinary people - to show that it was people power, with the help of reform-minded political leaders, that brought down the Wall and changed the course of history. 

Robert Spencer in Germany: Fighting for Freedom Worldwide

Erste Bilder aus Berlin

Pictures and reports from the rally against the Islamisation of  Europe in Berlin, with 200 participants as a new, particular civil resistance against Islam. 

Spencer at human rights rally in Germany

Today I spoke in Berlin at a rally against antisemitism and Islamization, sponsored by Bürgerbewegung Pax Europa (BPE), the most important German human rights organization, seeking to preserve European values, freedom and democracy. BPE is not tied to any political party, but has members that belong to all the German democratic parties. As an NGO, BPE also participates in conferences of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)'s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

Other speakers included Renè Stadtkewitz, a member of the Berlin Parliament for the Christian Democrats (Angela Merkel's party); and a former member of the Green Party who left his longtime political associates after trying to awaken his fellow Leftists to the perils of Islamic supremacism, to no avail.

Leftists and their jihadist allies marched by twice in a counterdemonstration, shouting "Nazis raus" -- Nazis, get out. The people assembled for the BPE rally shouted the same thing right back at them. Of course, there were no Nazis among us, and we were standing against antisemitism and in favor of free speech, legal equality, and democratic government, but the facts never stop the Left from making the charge, as we have all learned recently from stateside libelbloggers.

Many people at our rally had Israeli flags, and as you can see from the photo, I had one also. Not long after this picture was taken I got it mounted on a flagpole and waved it around at the beginning and end of my talk. The German police told the BPE organizers that we had to put the Israeli flags away when Leftists and Jihadis passed by. They told the same thing to several people in the crowd, including one man, Florian Euring, who was kind enough to explain the whole situation to me. Apparently the police were afraid that the Israeli flag would "provoke" the Leftist/jihadist demonstrators. But as I am not fond of placating thuggery and kowtowing before Islamic supremacism, I thought, well, if the police really don't want the Israeli flag shown, let them arrest an American citizen, and then things will get even more interesting. So I went out front, close to the counterdemonstrators, waving the big flag, but the German police moved me back. They may also have said to put the flag away, but I have forgotten all my grad-school German, and so the flag stayed. A reporter, demonstrating an objectivity level on par with that of, say, Michael Kruse, passed by with a barrage of sharp words for me and my flag -- but I still didn't understand German.

During my talk, which was translated on the spot by Christine Dietrich of Politically Incorrect, I spoke about the new Obama-sponsored anti-free speech resolution at the UN, and how it was of a piece with the spurious charges of the counterdemonstrators. Both represent attempts to demonize the resistance to the global jihad and Islamic supremacism as "hatred," "racism," "fascism." I explained why the charges are not and cannot be true, as we were there in defense of Western Constitutional government, freedom of speech, legal equality, etc., and had no race-based issue with Islam or Muslims at all -- or any inclination to look kindly upon white Western Islamic supremacists like Talib Islam, John Walker Lindh, Adam Gadahn, etc. I showed how the Koran actually manifests the religious hatred and incitement to discrimination and violence about which the resolution speaks, but noted that this resolution will never be used against Islamic jihadists. After all, it was crafted not to silence them, but to render the West mute and hence defenseless against the advancing jihad.

The situation is very grave, but as long as there are even just a few lovers of freedom left, the game is not over. And there are more than a few in Berlin; it was a pleasure and honor to meet them.

Pamela Geller, American Thinker: The Case for Iran

I have the lead article at The American Thinker today (and Saturday too!): The Case for Iran: Fighting for Freedom.

The ultimate question is what a regime change, or even modification of the regime with a Mousavi as president, would mean to Iran's nuclear program. More

It articulates quite clearly my take and thinking on Iran and what it all means.

Despite the cynics, tens of thousands took to the streets today. This is too key an issue, critical and historic, for the West to take such a passive position. It is an opportunity we have never seen the likes of. Squandering it is foolish and suicidal, and plays into the hand of the mullahs. Everyone is so anxious to  bash it, scorn it and write the post mortem.  Why?

And please spare me the lectures on Mousavi. I know who he is and what he is and  said so first at Atlas on June 12th and 14th, and again in the American Thinker on the 17th. Things have changed, and perhaps so has the man.

It's not about Mousavi.

Please read it. I am interested in your comments.

 

Atlas has been liveblogging Iran for two weeks.  Archives here.

WILDERS: #1 WITH BULLET

Wilders took America by storm. I will have the video, pictures and speeches up by tonight of our event Friday. You must watch the event and send it to everyone. Wilders brought down da hous.

Also, the latest polls show that Wilders' party is the biggest party in the Netherlands.
Check out the notoriously hostile Dutch press. I guess the writer was moved a bit by the love.

WILDERS IN WASHINGTON: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

 

Geert Wilders en Pamela Geller op het CPAC symposium

Geert Wilders sprak in Washington, D.C. op een symposium voor 400 enthousiaste Amerikanen. Het bezoek leverde veel aandacht maar waarschijnlijk weinig geld op. Zijn 'welkom thuis' geschenk zal die pijn verzachten.

Zodra Pamela Geller hoorde dat Wilders naar Amerika kwam nodigde ze hem voor de bijeenkomst van de Conservative Political Action Committee. Op dit jaarlijkse symposium komen conservatieve Amerikanen samen om te luisteren naar speeches over de bedreiging van het vrije wapenbezit, de verloedering van familiewaarden en het gevaar van socialisme. Wilders' verhaal over de inperking van de vrijheid van meningsuiting mocht niet ontbreken, aldus Geller die via haar blog Atlas Shrugs tegen het oprukkend Islamitische gevaar waarschuwt. "Het gaat de verkeerde kant op en als niemand iets doet worden we op een dag allemaal wakker in een strafkamp." En Wilders - "de dappere verdediger van Westerse waarden" - geeft volgens haar het goede voorbeeld. 

Translation thanks to KGS of the terrific Tundra Tabloids for this google translation:

Geert Wilders and Pamela Geller at the CPAC conference

 Geert Wilders spoke in Washington, DC at a symposium for 400 enthusiastic Americans. The visit provided a lot of attention but little money. His' welcome home 'gift will alleviate pain.

Huh?

Once Pamela Geller heard Wilders came to America they called him for the meeting of the Conservative Political Action Committee. At this annual symposium are conservative Americans together to listen to speeches about the threat to the free possession of weapons, the degradation of family values and the danger of socialism. Wilders' story about the curtailment of freedom of expression should not be missed, says Geller through her blog Atlas Shrug against advancing Islamic threat warns. "This is the wrong way and if anyone does something we all wake up one day in gulag.  And Wilders - "the brave defender of Western values" - indicates, in its good example.

I didn't say that but what the hell -- I will translate my remarks.

The meeting, which Geller organized together with the David Horowitz Freedom Center and the Web site Jihad Watch, was Wilders' third gig in Washington, DC Previously he spoke in the National Press Club and on Capitol Hill, where he was invited by the Republican senator Jon Kyl film showed. Coincidence or not, that action came on the same day as Senator John Kerry's meeting on improving the relationship between America and the Muslim World.

Wilders moved by the loud cheering and cries "Wilders for President" and "we love freedom" on the stage.  He began his story by thanking the U.S. immigration service - a reference to the English refusing him entry to.The room responded with cries books.  When he talks about a speech by President Reagan in 1982 gave the English House is a wave of enhousiame by the public. For most visitors to the conservative CPAC conference, the 40th president is still the best.  Wilders also as the Wall Street Journal quoted people recognizing the sound - that is a newspaper that at least they seem confident to say. "The freedom of expression in the Netherlands, according to the Journal as large as Saudi Arabia," Wilders says, "and my lawsuit called the newspaper" no small victory for Islamic regimes that wish to export their censorship. "

After the final standing ovation organizer Geller called on those present to donate money for Wilders' lawsuit. "Alle bedragen zijn welkom want het is 'bloody expensive. "All amounts are welcome because it is bloody expensive." "How much money they had obtained it did not say, but it was probably not much. "But it was not for me. I have the rent for the room and all facilities paid. And all we get beautiful." On its Web site, which attracts thousands of visitors daily, is now a link to Wilders' fund.

This translation is funny. I will post the real reportage tonight.

 Personally, the PVV leader is not on the cost or proceeds of the evening.  But even without major check is the visit to America, which Wilders says is home to feel successful. It earned him the necessary attention in the media as expected, opinions were split. In the FOX talk of Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly, it was largely with him. The Washington Post compared Fitna in Congress with the screening of the pro-Ku Klux Klan film "Birth of a Nation 'in the White House in 1915. The New York Times described Wilders as a fierce critic of Islam with clean container rover positions as the plan to pay Muslims to leave the country.

Big media serving their Islamic overlords.

Despite the heartwarming reception "and" the American love of freedom of expression "said Wilders in the country never want to live. The day he came home from a survey revealed by Maurice de Hond PVV that the largest party in the Netherlands. "Mission accomplished." "Mission accomplished.

UPDATE: Atlas reader LN does a better job than google:

Geert Wilders and Pamela Geller at the CPAC conference

At a symposium in Washington, DC, Geert Wilders spoke to 400 enthusiastic Americans. The visit provided a lot of attention but probably little money. His 'welcome home' gift may compensate for that (referring to his party now being the largest acc. to one pollster, ed.)

As soon as Pamela Geller heard Wilders would came to America she invited him for the meeting of the Conservative Political Action Committee. At this annual symposium conservative Americans meet to listen to speeches about the threat to the free possession of weapons, the degradation of family values and the danger of socialism. Wilders' story about the curtailment of freedom of expression could not be absent there, says Geller who - through her blog Atlas Shrugs - warns against the advancing Islamic threat. "Things are heading the wrong way and if nobody does anything we'll all wake up one day in a gulag." And according to her, Wilders - "the brave defender of Western values" - sets a good example.

The meeting, which Geller organized together with the David Horowitz Freedom Center and the website Jihad Watch, was Wilders' third appearance in Washington, DC. Previously he spoke for the National Press Club and at Capitol Hill, where he was invited by Republican senator Jon Kyl to show film. Coincidence or not, that happened to be on the very day of senator John Kerry's meeting on improving the relationship between America and the muslim world.

Wilders entered the stage accompanied by loud cheers and cries "Wilders for President" and "we love freedom". He first thanked the U.S. immigration services - a reference to his being refused entry to their country by the British. The audience responded with booing/hooting. When he recalled a 1982 speech by President Reagan in the British House of Commons, the audience reacts with a wave of enthusiasm. For most people attending the conservative CPAC conference, the 40th president is still the best. Also when Wilders quotes the Wall Street Journal people react in approval - apparently considering it to be a newspaper that at least they can rely on. "According to the Wall Street Journal, in the Netherlands, freedom of expression is as large as in Saudi Arabia", Wilders says, "and this newspaper regards my lawsuit 'no small victory for Islamic regimes that wish to export their censorship'."

After the last standing ovation organizer Geller called on those present to donate money for Wilders' lawsuit. "Any amount is welcome because it is bloody expensive." How much money had been collected she could not say, but it was probably not that much. "But that wasn't the main goal. I paid the rent for the hall and all facilities myself. Whatever we collect helps." Her website, which attracts thousands of visitors daily, has a link to Wilders' fund.

Nor did the PVV leader himself comment about the cost or proceeds of the evening. However, also without major cheque, the visit to America, where Wilders says he feels at home, is successful. It earned him the necessary attention in the media where, as was to be expected, opinions were diverse. In the FOX talkshows of Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly most agreed with him. The Washington Post compared Fitna in Congress with the screening of the pro-Ku Klux Klan film "Birth of a Nation" in the White House in 1915. The New York Times described Wilders as a fierce critic of Islam with controversial viewpoints like the plan to pay Muslims for leaving the country.

Despite the 'heartwarming reception' and "the American love of freedom of expression" Wilders said he'd never want to live in the country. And why would he? Upon his return, a poll by Maurice de Hond revealed the PVV has become the largest party in the Netherlands. "Mission accomplished."

STEYN, DON'T SURRENDER!

ATLAS ODE TO STEYN! (want more? go here)

Isabella the Crusader sent me the fabu news. The lawfare jihadi weenies are vewy scar-wed wight now. Malkin has dah money post here, "Well, well, well. Looks like the speech-squelchers in Canada want to back off their bullying of Mark Steyn and Maclean’s. Too little, too late:". Yeah baby.

The National Post’s Jonathan Kay reflects on unintended consequences:

[I]t’s fair to say that the Maclean’s imbroglio has been one of the biggest shots in the arm to Canadian conservatives in general. It’s turned red-meat right-winger Ezra Levant into a star blogger and a free-speech hero with brand-name recognition in the United States, turned Steyn’s name into a household word, created a debate within the Jewish community over its traditionally doctrinaire support for blanket hate-speech laws (Ezra for CJC president, anyone?), shone a light on the amateurish shenanigans of Canada’s human rights commissions, driven a powerful movement for reform of said commissions, and generally served to marginalize the pro-censorship lobby to the point that its main defender is now a disgruntled former journalist who fills his blog with unhinged conspiracy theories about how everyone who favours free speech is a racist.

All of which to say: Thank you, CIC. You’ve done a good deed — albeit unintentionally.

Stay vigilant.

I stand with JUMBLATT!

Video: Lebanese Druze Leader Walid Jumblatt Exchanges Curses and Threats with Lebanese Rivals  Please watch it, click below, this is the definition of bravery.

Blogging Towards Democracy Worldwide

These are great stories. This is where my hope lies. In the individual. I dread the obvious crackdown on these heros but it won't stop these heros.

From China to Iran, Web Diarists Are Challenging Censors Spiegel Online

Authoritarian states like China, Iran and Egypt are having trouble dealing with the burgeoning number of critical online diaries. These blogs, which multiply by the second, expose news about incidents that many regimes would prefer to keep hushed up. In many countries, blogs are giving people their first real taste of democracy.

It is well after midnight when Abdel Kareem Sulaiman, 22, gets some uninvited company. Suddenly the door to his apartment bursts open and a squad of Egyptian security police officers storms into the room and arrests the drowsy Sulaiman on the spot.

: Blogs are a way for people to bring news to countries with rampant censorship." alt="Egyptian Web log with photos of a sexist attack: Blogs are a way for people to bring news to countries with rampant censorship."

Sulaiman is neither a hardened criminal nor a terrorist. He even attended the world's largest Koran school at Cairo's renowned Al-Azhar University. But what has the Egyptian officials so upset is not his resume but the fact that, under the pseudonym "Kareem Amer," he writes an online diary, or blog, in which he routinely expresses vocal criticism of politicians and imams alike. Sulaiman is a blogger, and a political blogger at that, a circumstance that doesn't bode well for him in Egypt.

He has been harassed by the authorities for more than a year now, after having rebelliously expressed opinions on his Web site about religious excesses in Alexandria. He was expelled from the university in March for allegedly making anti-Islamic statements, and he has been in jail since Nov. 6. He could remain behind bars for years, given the lengthy and serious list of accusations he faces. Amnesty International claims that Kareem has been charged with an "array of offenses" that include "spreading information disruptive of public order, incitement to hate Muslisms and defaming the president of the republic (Hosni Mubarak)." All in all, his is a textbook case of treason on the Internet -- at least in Egypt.

His blogger friends have already launched a protest in his support. A short film about Sulaiman can be viewed on the YouTube video site, and a petition for his release appears on a site called www.freekareem.org.

The rise of a new resistance: the bloggers

Many bloggers see the Internet as the first true democratic platform, one that enables every individual to exert far more influence than by simply checking a box on an election ballot. All it takes is a computer for any thought, from mundane musings to critical ideas, to be replicated and to garner support, all at little or no cost to the blogger.

  Bloggers are able to react with lightning speed to events as they unfold. A case in point is a scene that unfolded in Cairo four weeks ago at the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting. Hundreds of men ran through the city's downtown and harassed women -- young and old, veiled and unveiled, alone and accompanied. The victims were groped, and the mob even tore the clothes off some women. While the police stood idly by, bloggers took pictures and promptly posted them on the Internet. Newspapers took five days to report on the scandal, while the government-controlled papers ignored it entirely.

SANDMONKEY!

Wafa Sultan on the Danish Cartoons

Wafa Sultan, incredible woman of courage speaks out again. I have written of her breathtaking  bravery and look forward to everything she writes, every word she speaks. I stand in awe of her. Wafa and those voices like hers must be empowered, encouraged and given much greater visibility in the media and the court of world opinion.  This is must see video

Wafa Sultan: We, as Muslim people, have been hostages of our own belief system for too many centuries. We have been hostages of our own prison. We have never heard other voices outside of our box. We are not use to hearing other voices. We barely are allowed our own voices. So I see publishing the cartoons was the first crack in the walls of our prison. Because as a prisoner it is almost impossible to break the wall of your prison. You need someone outside of your prison to help you break it.
[...]
Publishing the cartoons and the criticism again and again will push Muslims to take a deeper look at their religion and this is the only way to improve our culture, to improve our religion.
[..] We have to be grateful to hear how others feel about our religion.

Question: You are very critical of Islam even though you were born and raised as a Muslim. What is it about Islam that you are so critical about?

Wafa: I believe the trouble with  Islam is deeply rooted in its teachings. Islam is not only a religion, Islam is also a political idealogy that preaches violence and applies its agenda by force.
I have never criticized the religious part of Islam. I respect the religious part of Islam as much as I respect any other religion. But I believe we have to take the political power out of Islam and confine it as a religion to worship places and homes.
This is only the solution.

Question: How strong do you think moderate Muslims are in the Arab World?

Wafa: I believe, wrongfully they were called moderate. I don't believe there is  moderate Muslim. I believe they are moderate in terms of culture. Not in terms of religion. Because in Islam you have to believe in every teaching as a holy teaching. You can not change. You have to accept it the way it is otherwise you are not a Muslim.

Wafa receives death threats on a daily basis. She believes in what she is doing so much so she is willing to sacrifice her life.

Wafa: I will never give up hope under any circumstances.

Previous Related articles:
Atlas Shrugs: EUREKA! A Moderate Muslim Voice of Reason
Atlas Shrugs: Wafa Fatwa?
Atlas Shrugs: Wafa Sultan: Applause good, Money Better
Atlas Shrugs: This Purim, Gd Bless Wafa Sultan

UPDATE: Watch out Wafa! Stay out of Saudi Arabia.
MEMRI reports here Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abd Al-'Aziz:

We Will Cut Off Tongues of Those Who Try to Distort Islam With Reform and Progress - They Are Serving the West

UPDATE 10/4: More on reforming Islam from down under.  Article from The Australian;

Prophet not perfect: scholar Richard Kerjab

A LEADING adviser on Islam, Ameer Ali, has attacked Muslims who "blindly" follow their faith and fail to question the veracity of the Koran, saying that even Mohammed had "flaws".

The chairman of John Howard's Muslim advisory board yesterday warned that Islamists would continue to breed jihadis unless the Koran was "reinterpreted" for today's society. He also said mosques were increasingly being used by imams to deliver sermons that were not open to discussion.

Dr Ali said the majority of Muslim clerics had for centuries imposed a "literalist" teaching of Islam, telling their followers that deviating from the written message would ultimately lead to their admission into hell.

"The times are changing and with the change of times, you also have to reinterpret the Koran," he told The Australian.

"Because if you believe that it's a book for all the times and all the nations, then that book must be yielding new meanings.

"There are verses about slavery, and the Koran says you must be kind to the slaves. So are the Muslims saying we must have slavery to be kind?

Canada's Courageous Harper Slams Franco-Phony Antisemitism

More and more impressed with the Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper. He did not disappoint. Once again he stands with Bush, Howard, Blair and the good men of our time and speaks good to evil. How appropriate that such a stand would take place in ironically the Franco -phony summit. Indeed.

BUCHAREST - Prime Minister Stephen Harper sparked a diplomatic flap Friday on one of his first outings among world leaders after he stood in the way of attempts at the Francophonie summit to craft a pointed political statement on this summer's war between Israel and Hezbollah.

Harper found himself fighting against what French President Jacques Chirac called "a great majority'' of the 53 member states at the conference when he took a stand against a statement of sympathy for the civilians in Lebanon because it made no mention of the Israeli civilians displaced, injured or killed in the month-long war.

Canada's rookie prime minister vetoed a last-minute Egyptian-sponsored amendment to a statement which said that the Francophonie ``deplored'' the effects of the war, which killed 1,500 people. The amendment did not recognize Israeli suffering.

"The amendment wants to recognize and deplore the war and recognize the victims of Lebanon. We are able to deplore the war, we are able to recognize the victims, but on both sides,'' Harper said at a news conference near the end of the two-day summit. Article here Hat tip Norman

Photo: Norman send me that pic.

We had another huge rally for the troops yesterday at Toronto's Yonge and Dundas square. Thousands attended. I am so proud of our PM Stephen Harper

O Canada - downloadable mp3 or Listen to "O Canada"

FREE GILAD NOW! NY RALLY!

Israel to Fight Until Soldier's Release
Israel will continue its military offensive in the Gaza Strip at its own pace until Palestinian militants release a captured Israeli soldier and halt their rocket attacks, Prime Minister Olmert told the cabinet on Sunday. Releasing prisoners to Hamas in response to a kidnapping would damage Palestinian moderates and reward extremism, he said. (New York Times)

It was something to see. An incredibly beautiful scene.
Roughly a thousand people (to my eye at the height.) Young (alot), old all walks of life. My only issue was the co-opting of this rally by the Democrats. Clearly Israel is a non-partisan issue. Either support civilized men or you support savages. But it was Democrats on parade and when a member of the RNC asked oif they were would announce the rally to protest The New York Times pro-terror policies later today, they were categoriccally denied. No way would they say or do anything against  the Democrats PR machine - The New York Slime.

Mort and Atlas, watch the VLOG below, he was great

Those faces

Generro and Fred Tang- representing the Chinese Community Council he is speaking on the Nadler Vlog, listen to him

Jerry Nadler (powerful speaker) I don't like his politics but he is right there on Israel. Nadler was great. Listen to him. THIS IS THE BEST OF THE VLOGS

 

 

Give 'em plenty of woe! FREE GILAD NOW! Nadler and Atlas.

These anti-semites show up to denounce Israel at every turn. Scroll down and watch the VLOG below.

THE VLOGS:
Mort Zuckerman, Publisher of The New York Daily News spoke

 

 

Our worst enemies come from our womb, wolves in Jewish clothing, but the women take them on. THIS IS THE WORST OF THE VLOGS. The self loathing Jews show up at every pro-Israel, Pro Pali rally, every one. They sicken me.

 

 

Sheldon Silver, the worst of the worst, funny that the cop and I both shared the sentiment eh?

 

 

Joy

 

 

Love that

UPDATE: Rally at Syrian UN Mission Demands Return of Israeli Soldier

Hundreds of religious leaders, politicians, and youth gathered outside the Syrian Mission to the UN Monday to demand the safe return of Israeli soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit, who was kidnapped by Hamas. "Syria supports Hamas and encouraged the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit. We are here to say that Syria is not immune," said Rep. Jerrold Nadler. (New York Sun)

    See also "Free Gilad" Rallies in NY, DC, London

Rallies and communal meetings have been held in New York, Washington, London, Paris, Johannesburg, Santiago, Buenos Aires, and Sydney as part of a worldwide effort to pressure the Syrian government into aiding in the release of kidnapped Israeli Cpl. Gilad Shalit. (Jerusalem Post)

 

Biz Friendly Calderon Wins Mexico

Another defeat for Chavez, Castro and the rest of the tin pot moles;

Felipe Calderón, the business-friendly candidate of the ruling National Action Party (PAN) on Monday emerged as the most likely winner of one of the closest elections in Mexico’s history.

According to preliminary figures, Mr Calderón, a balding 43-year-old Harvard-trained economist, had an advantage of about 400,000 votes, or roughly 0.8 per cent of the total number cast. Story here

UPDATE: Recount........hold breath

Bush Blair Press Conference 7:30 pm

Live blogging
Bush begins by laying out the era in Iraqi history:

Bush:The formation of a new government represents a new beginning for Iraq and a new beginning for the relationship between Iraq and our coalition. The United States and Great Britain will work together to help this new democracy succeed

The United States and Great Britain have lost some of our finest men and women in combat. The car bombings and suicide attacks and other terrorist acts have also inflicted great suffering on the Iraqi people. And Iraqis have increasingly become the principal victims of terror and sectarian reprisal. g.

Yet, in the face of this ongoing violence, each time the Iraqi people voiced their opinion, they chose freedom. In three different elections, millions of Iraqis turned out to the polls and cast their ballots. Because of their courage, the Iraqis now have a government of their choosing, elected under the most modern and democratic constitution in the Arab world. The birth of a free and democratic Iraq was made possible by the removal of a cruel dictator.

The decision to remove Saddam Hussein from power was controversial. We did not find the weapons of mass destruction that we all believed were there -- and that's raised questions about whether the sacrifice in Iraq has been worth it. Despite setbacks and missteps, I strongly believe we did and are doing the right thing. Saddam Hussein was a menace to his people; he was a state sponsor of terror; he invaded his neighbors. Investigations proved he was systematically gaming the oil-for-food program in an effort to undermine sanctions, with the intent of restarting his weapons programs once the sanctions collapsed and the world looked away.

If Saddam Hussein were in power today, his regime would be richer, more dangerous and a bigger threat to the region and the civilized world. The decision to remove Saddam Hussein was right.

We are constantly adapting to the realities on the ground

All of our efforts these past three years have led to the emergence of this government
The terrorists are at war with the people of Iraq. They are at war with a free and democratic nation.

Blair begins:
I was in Iraq early this week. Spoke first hand with the Iraqis and I came away thinking that the challenge was  daunting but came away thinking now more certain than ever we must  rise to the challenge
Iraqis were "utterly inspiring."
Reason for the blood and violence - the same forces creating this violence, blood in Iraq are the same forces  targeting our countries.

Press Q&A:

First question concerns troop withdrawal
Bush: Politics will not make the decision. Conditions will make that decision.
Blair: I think it's possible for the Iraqi security forces to take control of their country. For that to happen, they need a strong government. Iraqi leaders intend to create such a government. There is no excuse now for anyone to exact violence, everyone can participate in this free, elected government. Not a single Iraqi political leader, NOT ONE, wants us to pull out . They have a clear sense of what they want the multi-national forces to do.

Next asshat........UN said the invasion was illegal.
Blair: We need to recognize there are threats in the world today that call us to act earlier.
The global terrorism -- there is a clear link between every country, in the Middle East, our countries, and Iraq and Iran, this terror is all linked.
We will succeed in Iraq and Afghanistan
BUSH:  I'D LIKE TO SEE A UNITED NATIONS THAT'S EFFECTIVE. ONE THAT IS UNABASHED IN THEIR DESIRE TO SPREAD FREEDOM. THAT'S WHAT I'D LIKE TO SEE there was more, priceless
"I'd like to see a United Nations that's effective, one that joins us in trying to rid the world of tyranny, one that is willing to advance human rights and human dignity at its core, one that's an unabashed organization -- is unabashed in their desire to spread freedom. That's what I'd like to see, because I believe that freedom will yield to peace. I also believe freedom is universal. I don't believe freedom is just a concept only for America or Great Britain. It's a universal concept. And it troubles me to know that there are people locked in tyrannical societies that suffer. And the United Nations ought to be clear about its desire to liberate people from the clutches of tyranny. That's what the United Nations ought to be doing, as far as I'm concerned. "

Iran question:
Bush: We spent a great deal of time talking about the Iranian issue, and one of the goals that Tony and I had was to convince others in the world that Iran, with a nuclear weapon, would be very dangerous, and therefore, we do have a common goal. And the fundamental question is, how do you achieve that goal, obviously. We want to do it diplomatically.

Right now, we, as a matter of fact, spent a lot of time upstairs talking about how to convince the Iranians that this coalition we put together is very serious. One option, of course, is through the United Nations Security Council. And we strategized about how do we convince other partners that the Security Council is the way to go if the Iranians won't suspend like the EU3 has asked them to do. The Iranians walked away from the table. They're the ones who made the decision, and the choice is theirs. Now, if they would like to see an enhanced package, the first thing they've got to do is suspend their operations, for the good of the world. It's incredibly dangerous to think of an Iran with a nuclear weapon.

Re: The letter
He didn't address the issue. The issue at hand is the nuclear weapon. No beef with the Iranian people. We want the Iranian people to be free, their women to be free.
If they want to be isolated from the world, we will do that.
The Iranians walked away from the table.

Question:  Snow retiring?  .... Americans are increasingly concerned about rising health care costs, costs of gasoline. And does that make it hard for your administration, Treasury Secretary Snow, and everyone else to continue to talk up the economy?

What planet is this fool on? Another bogus meme. The economy is booming.The American economy is the fastest growing of any major industrialized nation in the world. Productivity has been growing at the highest rate in decades.

[UPDATE: May 25th: America's economy is on the fast track.  Today’s revised report by the Commerce Department indicates our economy grew at 5.3 percent for the first quarter of this year.]

PRESIDENT BUSH: No.....he's doing a fine job. After all, our economy is strong. We grew at 3.5 percent last year; a good, strong first quarter this year. We added five -- 2.5 million new jobs, we've got 4.7 percent unemployment rate nationwide. Productivity is up, home ownership is high, small businesses are doing well. 

[...]promote alternatives, such as ethanol or battery technologies that will enable us to drive the first 40 miles on electricity. We're spending about $1.2 billion over the next 10 years to develop hydrogen fuel cells. We want -- we need to get away from hydrocarbons here in America,

One way we could help alleve gasoline prices here in America .....We haven't built a new refinery here since the 1970s. And curiously enough, when demand for a product goes up with tight supply, price follows.

As far as health care goes,[..] one of the most practical ways is to get rid of these junk lawsuits that are running good doctors out of practice and running up the price of medicine. Passed it out of the House. They can't get it out of the Senate because the lawyers won't let it out.

Next asshat, asking/implying Blair if he wants Kofi's job (!)

Blair: No (light joke) ...but the UN must be effective. The whole point of the international community is that they must be able to take actions
Bush on IRAQ: "The sacrifice is worth it and necessary." The best way to defeat them in the long run is liberty. History has proven that freedom can change countries, peoples.

Bush is on a roll.............very very strong performance I gotta tell you

I can't believe the leftarded networks are not running this. It is an important event. They can't even determine what is news anymore.

Blair: The terrorists are fighting in Iraq because they fear Iraqis do want to be free. The people fighting us there know what is at stake. The question is do we?

Question: Questioning the ability of the Iraqi soldiers and our ability to leave;
Bush: We are training them.  WE are making progress toward the goal.We were at 165,000 troops now we are down to 130,000...we've moved troops out of Kuwait. The military will achieve the objective not politicians. How many troops depend on what the Generals dictate.A loss in Iraq will make this world a very dangerous place.
There are no rules of war for these people.

Blair: No one is a saying there aren't problems.There are.  But there is another side to it and that is the Iraqi people want this. They want to take over. There is a positive side to the Iraqi forces. They know this is the prerequisite for success for them. One of the Iraqi policemen told Blair "we were  a completely failed state"
So they are talking about building a state from scratch.

Blair: [...]And the problem we have is very, very simple. A large part of the perspective with which we look at this is to see every act of terrorism in Iraq, every piece of ghastly carnage on our television screens, every tragic loss of our own forces -- we see that as a setback and as a failure when we should be seeing that as a renewed urgency for us to rise to the challenge of defeating these people who are committing this carnage. Because over these past three years, at every stage, the reason they have been fighting is not, as we can see, because Iraqi people don't believe in democracy, Iraqi people don't want liberty. It is precisely because they fear Iraqi people do want democracy, Iraqi people do want liberty.

And if the idea became implanted in the minds of people in the Arab and Muslim world that democracy was as much their right as our right, where do these terrorists go? What do they do? How do they recruit? How do they say, America is the evil Satan? How do they say the purpose of the West is to spoil your lands, wreck your religion, take your wealth? How can they say that? They can't say that.

Asshat: What mistakes do you regret the most? A real setup question........LLL looking for tomorrow's headline, ya know?

Bush: Sounds like kind of a familiar refrain here -- saying "bring it on," kind of tough talk, you know, that sent the wrong signal to people. I learned some lessons about expressing myself maybe in a little more sophisticated manner -- you know, "wanted dead or alive," that kind of talk. I think in certain parts of the world it was misinterpreted, and so I learned from that. And I think the biggest mistake that's happened so far, at least from our country's involvement in Iraq is Abu Ghraib. We've been paying for that for a long period of time. And it's -- unlike Iraq, however, under Saddam, the people who committed those acts were brought to justice. They've been given a fair trial and tried and convicted.

Blair: Not forseeing the violence of unleashing al qaeda and like terrorists in a free Iraq......underestimating the tenacity of the enemy

Press Conference VIDEO HERE

UPDATE:Poster boy for the left, George Galloway supports Blair assassination;

Galloway says murder of Blair would be 'justified'

The Respect MP George Galloway has said it would be morally justified for a suicide bomber to murder Tony Blair.

In an interview with GQ magazine, the reporter asked him: "Would the assassination of, say, Tony Blair by a suicide bomber - if there were no other casualties - be justified as revenge for the war on Iraq?

Mr Galloway replied: "Yes, it would be morally justified. I am not calling for it - but if it happened it would be of a wholly different moral order to the events of 7/7. It would be entirely logical and explicable (hat tip zhombre)

A Blind Man Sees

From Wall Street Journal Political Diary (Paid Only)

"'Understanding' noises about terrorist atrocities -- in London or Madrid, but especially Tel Aviv and Haifa -- as having their roots in poverty, oppression and injustice are equally common, though these voices are at a loss to explain why there have been movements in the past fighting these evils that didn't resort to randomly blowing up civilians. Well-known writers -- mature people, veterans of the Left -- see their way to endorsing the Iraqi so-called resistance despite its murderous methods, or give out lightminded comparisons between the US under George Bush's leadership and Nazi Germany. That there are such themes being aired by people on the broad liberal Left is a matter of record... The Euston Manifesto is a response to these political tendencies, and as such is very much on target" -- writing in the Times of London, University of Manchester Prof. Norman Geras, one of the authors of the Euston Manifesto, a British liberal-left statement in favor democracy and against tyranny and terrorism.

PUNK JIHAD: Muslims Rioting in France

Having just spent time with Nidra Poller, it seems reality comes fast on the heels of her sagacity. Poller coined "Punk Jihad." Their government in its last throes. An anarchical Muslim population that knows the government will cave. They are incapable of saving themselves. Poor poor France. From today's weekend Wall Street Journal.

PARIS -- More than 11,000 people marched through Paris on Saturday to protest a bill that would stiffen rules for immigrants in France and give authorities the power to chose who is allowed in the country.

Protesters shouted "Solidarity with immigrants!" Many wore stickers showing an immigrant being tossed into a trash can. Demonstrators marched to a square near the Interior Ministry and the headquarters of the governing conservative party.

Police said 11,200 people turned out to protest Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy's bill, while organizers put the figure at 35,000. It was France's largest march in support of immigrants in years.

The bill would make it more difficult for poor immigrants with little education and few skills to start a new life in France. Mr. Sarkozy, a presidential hopeful in next year's elections, says France should take a more proactive approach to immigration, an argument that gained resonance after riots ripped through heavily immigrant French suburbs last fall and forced France to rethink its model of integration.

The plan would set up a kind of quota system and create a three-year "competence and talent" residence card for foreigners whose skills would "constitute assets for the development and influence of France." Lawmakers began debating the plan early this month, and a first reading is planned next week.

Translate immigrants to Muslims. The press are afraid of their own shadow. Punk Jihad. No matter how they try the paint the riots as "rallying" it is this. Did you know all meals served in the public schools halal.

France is out of control. It's not good for Anerica. Losing Europe is not good for us.

EGYPTIAN OPPRESSION: HELP FREE AYMAN NOUR AND BLOGGER ALAA

The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, active, the brave." —Patrick Henry (hat tip Bruce via The Patriot)

Please sign the petition I ran back in April. We must support those fighting for liberty in the Arab world. THe following commentary ran in today's Wall Sreet Journal here;

None of the setbacks echoes more loudly than President Hosni Mubarak's decision to take the one truly independent candidate who had the temerity to run against him and clap him in jail.

That candidate was Ayman Nour, a long-time advocate of human rights and a maverick parliamentarian. Mr. Nour pried a small opening in Egyptian politics late in 2004 when he succeeded in securing legal status for his al-Ghad (Tomorrow) Party. One of the hallmarks of Egypt's authoritarianism has been its peculiar party system. A plethora of official "opposition" parties, all of them long since suborned or neutered by the government, are formally licensed, a status which genuinely independent parties are consistently denied.

Such was the initial fate of al-Ghad, but Mr. Nour was unusually persistent. Another hallmark of Egypt's system -- which is authoritarian but not totalitarian -- is that the judiciary, particularly at its highest levels, has always retained some independence. So Mr. Nour doggedly used the courts to force the regime finally to grant the license. No sooner had the regime bent to Mr. Nour's legal tactics, however, than it announced his arrest. Read it all.

Muslim extremists are targeting moderates

UPDATE: More Egyptian oppression from the Sandmonkey;

As you may have heard by now, Egyptian Blogger Alaa Abdel Fatah has been arrested alongside 10 others while demonstrating in support of the independence of the Judiciary in Egypt and the release of previous demonstrators who were detained 2 weeks earlier. The Police entrapped them, cordoning off their peaceful protest and then proceeded to handpick the demonstrators that they wanted to detain, beat them, and then arrested them.

Alaa and those arrested with him are now arrested for 15 days "pending investigation", which could be renewed indefinitely if the state so wishes. He and the men were sent to the infamous Torah Prison and the girls to the Qanatir prison for the duration. This makes them hardly safe, because stuff that goes on in Egyptian prisons on the hands of the jailors: beatings, sexual assaults, torture of all kinds.

Currently there are about 48 detained, 6 of them are bloggers, and 3 of them are women. The best known is Alaa, which makes him the posterboy of this campaign - but getting them out is equally as important. Egypt has fewer than 830 bloggers all in all, 60 of whom are political and less than 30 are politically active. Now 6 of those are in jail - 20% of all politically active Egyptian bloggers - and amongst them one of Egypt's most highly profiled one.

This is by no means a co-incidence. Government agents handpicked people to arrest from amongst the protesters. They have been wanting to get Alaa for a long time now, precisely because he is high profile, and because he helps organizes the protests and spread the information through the blog aggregator he runs (www.manalaa.net). With Alaa gone, Aggregator could shut down without his maintenance and other bloggers could get too scared to be active and find no way to organize or reach one other. It's of vital importance that he gets released ASAP.

Alaa is a secular democracy activist, and a tireless advocate of freedom, free speech and human rights. He organizes demonstrations and engages in protests against all kinds of injustices in Egypt and is the winner of the international Best of the Blogs award from Reporters Without Borders last December.

Alaa was arrested while protesting to support Egypt's Judges fight for independence. 2 weeks earlier he had organized a "National Unity" protest to show solidarity with Egypt's Christians who suffered a sectarian attack on 3 churches on Good Friday. Before that he was one of the few voices that urged calm and peaceful dialogue while the cartoon crisis was hitting its peak. He is a desperately needed voice of moderation and democracy in Egypt, and one of the few flickers of hope in a country whose future seems mire between the crushing rule of the regime and the fanaticism of the Islamist opposition.

And now Alaa needs your help. We have started an e-mail campaign to the Egyptian embassies and the US State Department in order to push for his release, and have started protests in front of the Egyptian embassy and consulates in the US for his release. We will also hold protests in France, Italy and Gemany. We could use your help in getting the word out and sending them an e-mail demanding his release.

Addresses for the Egyptian embassies in the US and Canada are available here, templates for e-mails to be sent to the embassies here, and the contact information for the person to e-mail in the US state department is here. If you are a journalist or know one, help us spread the word by writing about this or demanding your local newspaper write about this. If you have a blog or a website and would like to raise awareness about this issue, banners for the Free Alaa campaign can be found here and here. We could use any help we can get, so if you have any ideas or ways to help us, please do.

 

Natan Sharansky on Dissident Bush

Important principles may, and must, be inflexible. Abraham Lincoln

Read Natan Sharansky on President Bush in today's Wall Street Journal;

Dissident Bush
George W. Bush has the courage to speak out for freedom.

There are two distinct marks of a dissident. First, dissidents are fired by ideas and stay true to them no matter the consequences. Second, they generally believe that betraying those ideas would constitute the greatest of moral failures. Give up, they say to themselves, and evil will triumph. Stand firm, and they can give hope to others and help change the world.

Political leaders make the rarest of dissidents. In a democracy, a leader's lifeline is the electorate's pulse. Failure to be in tune with public sentiment can cripple any administration and undermine any political agenda. Moreover, democratic leaders, for whom compromise is critical to effective governance, hardly ever see any issue in Manichaean terms. In their world, nearly everything is colored in shades of gray.

Unsung Hero, U.S. Ally - JAPAN

Japan approves more support for US Afghan campaign

Japan's Cabinet approved on Friday a six-month extension of its non-combat support for the US-led campaign in Afghanistan against remnants of the Taliban and al-Qaida, the top government spokesman said.

Japan has sent vessels to the Indian Ocean to transport fuel and supplies to US craft during the invasion to oust the Taliban in November 2001.

Have you noticed how the mainstream media ignores or worse, holds in contempt, the countries that support our fight for freedom in the global war of Islamic terrorism.

Thank you Japan, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.