Displaying posts published in

February 2020

AIPAC Responds After Bernie Sanders Said He’s Skipping Pro-Israel Event By Zachary Stieber

https://www.theepochtimes.com/aipac-responds-after-bernie-sanders-said-hes-skipping-pro-israel-event_3248456.html

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) launched “an odious attack” against the group’s upcoming event after Sanders said he wouldn’t attend the conference.

“Senator Sanders has never attended our conference and that is evident from his outrageous comment,” AIPAC, which says it is America’s pro-Israel lobby, said in a statement on Sunday.

The annual conference features over 18,000 Americans from a wide variety of backgrounds and includes both Senate and House Democratic speakers.

“By engaging in such an odious attack on this mainstream, bipartisan American political event, Senator Sanders is insulting his very own colleagues and the millions of Americans who stand with Israel. Truly shameful,” AIPAC added.

The statement was in response to Sanders’s announcement over the weekend that he wouldn’t attend AIPAC’s conference, which is being held on March 1 and March 2 in Washington.

“The Israeli people have the right to live in peace and security. So do the Palestinian people. I remain concerned about the platform AIPAC provides for leaders who express bigotry and oppose basic Palestinian rights,” he told supporters in a statement.

Can Macron halt the rise of Islamic extremism? Gavin Mortimer

https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2020/02/can-macron-halt-the-rise-of-islamic-extremism/

Emmanuel Macron has unveiled his plan to combat the rise of Islamic extremism in France. Stressing that his fight was not against the religion but political Islam, ‘which has no place’ in the Republic, the president outlined a series of measures in a speech last week. Notably, his plans involve an end to the hosting of imams from countries such as Turkey and Algeria, and more rigorous control on foreign financing of mosques from the likes of Qatar.

Macron stopped short of introducing an ‘Islam of France’, which had been mooted two years ago, but his intention is to eliminate the malevolent influence of outsiders.

But is it too late to stop what Macron described as the ‘Islamist separatism’ of France, a process that began in the 1980s when François Mitterrand’s Socialist government turned a blind eye to the ‘re-islamisation’ of the suburbs by men who took their inspiration from the Iranian revolution?

The alarm was first raised in 2002 with the publication of Les Territoires perdus de la République (The Lost Territories of the Republic) by Georges Bensoussan, in which he exposed the extent of this re-islamisation.

Iran Still Reeling Nearly Two Months After Suleimani Assassination By P. David Hornik

https://pjmedia.com/trending/iran-still-reeling-nearly-two-months-after-suleimani-assassination/

The U.S. assassination of Quds Force commander Qasem Suleimani on January 3 was a dramatic event—but how much did it really set Iran back? After all, he was only one official; couldn’t Iran just replace him and move on?

Almost two months later, a report in The Guardian says that’s not so, and that Iran—and the Revolutionary Guard of which Suleimani’s Quds Force was the spearhead—is still trying to recover.

“There were 11 bodies pulled from the wreckage,” said one [apparently Iraqi] official. “We are talking about the entire inner sanctum of the Quds Force. This wasn’t just Hajj Qassem [Suleimani] and Abu Mahdi [al-Muhandis]. This was everyone who mattered to them in Iraq and beyond.”

Another source, a western intelligence agency, was more circumspect, suggesting that those killed may have been less decisive in the Iranian nexus than the Iraqis believed.

But even if that Western intelligence agency is right, The Guardian goes on to say:

From the bunkers of south Beirut to the battlefields of northern Syria and the combustible streets of Iraq, the loss of Suleimani and his entourage has derailed much of Iran’s momentum in the region….

“Two senior sources in Beirut” told The Guardian that Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah “agreed to help fill the gaping hole left by the deaths of Suleimani and Muhandis. But there were limits to what he could do. He had lived a life even more in the shadows than the Iranian general for the past 14 years. And a drone strike from a night sky was unlikely to make him feel safer.”

Claims of Russian Election Meddling Are Still a Scam By David Harsanyi

https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/02/russian-election-meddling-claims-still-a-scam/If you can’t handle some memes or misleading ads, you probably shouldn’t be voting.

The fearmongering over Russian election “interference” might be the most destructive moral panic in American political life since the Red Scare. Then again, to be fair, those who prosecuted the post-war hunt for Communists had the decency to uncover a handful of infiltrators. We’ve yet to meet a single American who’s been brainwashed or had their vote snatched away by an SVR Twitterbot. Probably because no such person exists.

Nevertheless, millions of Americans believe that a handful of terrible memes — and I mean the most amateurish and puerile efforts imaginable — on social media were enough to overturn a presidential election in the most powerful nation on earth. Or, more likely, most pretend to believe it. As Donald Trump’s fortunes have turned somewhat in recent weeks, and socialist Bernie Sanders looks poised to take the Democratic Party nomination, the Russians are once again coming to snatch your vote.

There were lots of “wows” from journalists on Twitter last week when the New York Times reported that members of the House Intelligence Committee were warned by an aide to Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire that Russia would be meddling in the 2020 campaign in order to get President Trump reelected. When Trump found out, the Times reported, he was furious that briefers had given Adam Schiff ammunition for political attacks.

Pentagon police chase ‘suspicious’ suspect through Arlington National Cemetery FBI now questioning man, who was ‘acting suspiciously’ By Ben Wolfgang

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/feb/24/pentagon-police-chase-suspect-through-arlington-na/?utm_source=onesignal&utm_campaign=pushnotify&utm_medium=push

A man was arrested after “acting suspiciously” in a Pentagon parking lot Monday and is now being questioned by the FBI, military officials said.

The suspect was approached by Pentagon security forces about 10:45 on Monday morning and then fled the area, spurring a chase through nearby Arlington National Cemetery.

It took authorities more than two hours to capture the man, and Pentagon Police, Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall Police, U.S. Park Police, and Arlington County Police were all involved in the search, officials said.“The suspect is currently being questioned by the Pentagon Force Protection Agency in coordination with the FBI. As this is now an ongoing investigation, we have no other details to provide at this time,” Pentagon spokesperson Sue Gough said in a statement.

Charles Lipson: America’s House Divided Cannot Stand Voters tend to see their political opponents as enemies, which is dangerous for democracy.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/americas-house-divided-cannot-stand-11582563522?

For constitutional democracies to thrive—or even muddle through—voters and candidates have to respect their political opponents. Parties must see the competition as legitimate even amid vigorous disagreement on ideas. This shared sense is a load-bearing wall for democracy.

Over the past decade, the U.S. has become much more divided, sawing holes in this wall and hoping to miss the support beams. Progressives and conservatives agree on one thing: It’s the other guys with the chain saws. A 2018 Axios poll summed up the sentiment: Some 61% of Democrats thought of Republicans as racist, bigoted or sexist. About half of Republicans described Democrats as ignorant or spiteful.

Why do so many Americans see their political opponents in such stark terms? One reason is that many on both sides think the future of American democracy hangs in the balance, that a victory for their opponents could ruin the republic. Conservatives fear the growth of the administrative state—powerful bureaucrats who rule by fiat and undermine elected leaders. For progressives, the perceived danger is Donald Trump. The left sees him as an aspiring dictator who is willing to shred constitutional norms.

The two sides might seem diametrically opposed, but they aren’t. Both could be true and form a vicious circle. If “the swamp” and the “deep state” bureaucracy are out to sink President Trump, he can stay afloat only by fighting them ferociously. The harder he fights, the more progressives double down to defend the administrative state, which their policies have built.

“What Ails Us?” Sydney Williams

www.swtotd.blogspot.com

In the summer of 1961, after my sophomore year in college, I worked in the smelter of Canada’s Falconbridge Nickel Mines just outside of Sudbury, Ontario. There were a number of Canadian students – all men – working in the mine that summer. On weekends, we would head into Sudbury to have a few beers and otherwise relax. One evening, fortified with libations, we attended a student union debate. The subject:“Resolved: I Would Rather be Dead than Red,” a common debate topic at the time. At the debates’ conclusion, members of the audience were asked if they would like to come up and speak, first for the affirmative and later for the negative. Having enjoyed debate in school and with vocal cords loosened with a couple of Molson Ales, I approached the dais and gave my reasons in the two minutes of allotted time. A few other students did as well. Then the moderator asked who would speak for the negative. At first no one rose, so again I approached the dais, this time to applause, to offer my opposing views.

The idea of debating two sides of an issue was always good training. Aristotle is alleged to have said that “it is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” I would go further and claim that if one does not understand an opponent’s position, then there is no possibility of reaching compromise. We have entered a twilight zone where biases are so extreme that we no longer communicate but talk over one another. Institutions, like family, church (or, at least, traditional Christian churches) and community organizations are in decline. They have been replaced by groups like #BlackLivesMatter, #MeToo, #Resistance, #MAGA and social media, which give participants a chance to gather on like-minded platforms but offer little opportunity to witness or appreciate opposing views.

Unlike Swedes, French, Chinese or Japanese, we are Americans by choice, a choice that was either ours or that of our forefathers. While a typical Swede or Chinese can be imagined, a typical American cannot. We are too diverse.

“AMERICAN INGRATE” BY BEN WEINGARTEN

https://mailchi.mp/7a206fee7c5e/bhw-2374242?e=a0fa704ef6

In American Ingrate, Federalist Senior Contributor Benjamin Weingarten exposes Ilhan Omar’s radical and revolutionary Left-Islamist agenda, her seminal role in the progressive takeover of the Democratic Party, and the dire threat she poses to U.S. national security by way of her collusion with subversive anti-American forces.

She says that America was “founded by the genocide of indigenous people and on the backs of slaves,” and that “ignorance really is pervasive” among Americans today.

She says America must “dismantle” capitalism and “demilitarize” U.S. foreign policy, which she sees “from the perspective of a foreigner,” tweeting “thousands of Somalis [were] killed by…American forces…#NotTodaySatan.”

She says American support for Israel is “all about the Benjamins baby;” and that American Jews disloyally pledge “allegiance” to Israel’s “apartheid…regime,” which has “hypnotized the world.”

She says of the 9/11 attacks: “some people did something.”

Shockingly, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) words merely scratch the surface of her hatred of America—and the West—and divert our gaze from the nefarious actions she is taking to sabotage it from within.

American Ingrate is the defining book on the size, scope, and nature of the threat posed by Representative Omar—the personification of the anti-American Left-Islamist nexus—heightened by her hidden collusion with like-minded adversaries foreign and domestic, and alleged criminality and corruption.

This is a clarion wakeup call to the dangers epitomized by Rep. Omar. For she is not merely a lone radical in Congress, but the archetype of the new Democratic Party—and a uniquely dangerous figure at the heart of a uniquely dangerous challenge to America.

Among other things, this heavily researched work:

Makes the definitive case that as President Trump has argued, Rep. Omar is the face of the Democratic Party, while delving deeply into her unexplored background, unchallenged beliefs, and under-appreciated effort in leading her party to advance a fundamentally subversive, intersectional- and identity politics-based agenda geared towards destroying our core institutions under the guise of “social justice;” 
Sets forth the argument that she not only personifies but leads the unholy progressive-Islamist alliance–held together by the glue of Jew-hatred as a proxy for hatred of Judeo-Christian Western civilization–that truly has triumphed over the Democratic establishment; and
Builds the as yet ignored case for her collusion with corrupt and anti-American actors and regimes foreign and domestic–on top of credible allegations of criminality and corruption, including previously unreported details pointing to her fraudulence

AMIL IMANI ON ISLAM’S EXPANSION IN THE WEST, AND DIANE WEST ON THE CONTINUING COUP

Islam’s Expansionism in America by Amil Imani

HTTPS://GRANITEGROK.COM/BLOG/2020/02/ISLAM-EXPANSIONISM-IN-AMERICA

“Well, that did not work. The events of 9/11 did nothing to wake people up. Eighteen years have come and gone since the horrific attacks of 9/11. Sadly, we still have not learned the lessons of it. Whose fault, is it?”

Here is one reason, from a headline: “Loophole used by 9/11 hijackers still open with 6 million visa overstays in the U.S.”  Here is another: Sharia law continues to stealthily insert itself into every aspect of American life and culture. The number of mosques has tripled and many Muslims have been brought to America and resettled in every corner of the country. And because it is obligatory for a Muslim to follow Islamic laws and not some fabricated laws like the U.S. Constitution, therefore, a Muslim can never be both, a Muslim and an American at the same time. They are incompatible.

Diana West explains the anti-Trump conspiracy that has continued into 2020

https://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/2020/02/21/diana-west-explains-the-anti-tru

DIANA WEST, Nationally syndicated columnist, Blogs at Dianawest.net, Author of Death of the Grown Up, American Betrayal, and Red Thread: A Search for Ideological Drivers Inside the Anti-Trump Conspiracy:

The sentencing of Roger Stone
The continuation of the anti-Trump conspiracy into 2020

(PART TWO):

How the case of Rich Higgins underscores the issues with the anti-Trump establishment
Is there equal justice in the US with respect to political figures?
The infiltration of the justice department and intelligence community by the deep state

(PART THREE):

Will the Russian collusion narrative re-surface during the 2020 presidential election?
The connection between the Obama administration and Russia through Skolkovo

(PART FOUR):

Understanding the roots of McCarthyism
What are the motivations behind the Democratic Party?

Impeachment Witness Marie Yovanovitch Signs Book Deal Reportedly Worth 7 Figures By Ivan Pentchoukov

https://www.theepochtimes.com/impeachment-witness-marie-yovanovitch-gets-7-figure-book-deal_3247408.html

Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, a key witness in the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump, has signed a book deal.

Publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt confirmed that it acquired the rights to Yovanovitch’s as-yet-untitled memoir.

The book will follow her career as a foreign service officer in Mogadishu, Somalia; Kyiv, Ukraine; and eventually Washington, “where, to her dismay, she found a political system beset by many of the same challenges she had spent her career combating overseas,” the publisher said in a statement.

“Yovanovitch’s book will deliver pointed reflections on the issues confronting America today, and thoughts on how we can shore up our democracy.”