Vladimir Bukovsky: The Dissident Who Won John O’Sullivan

https://quadrant.org.au/magazine/2019/12/vladimir-bukovsky-the-dissident-who-won/

Vladimir Bukovsky, the great anti-Soviet dissident, died on Sunday, November 4. Five days later the thirtieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall was celebrated throughout Europe but especially in the cities of Warsaw, Prague, Budapest and points east whose liberation had been entrenched by that symbolic event on November 9, 1989. 

Some of Bukovsky’s obituarists saw a poignancy in the near coincidence of the two dates because they believe the democratic promise of 1989 has not been fully realised in a “Europe whole and free”. But I don’t think Bukovsky, whom I was fortunate to know as a friend, felt quite that sentiment.

He undoubtedly believed strongly that the promise of 1991 when the Soviet Union disintegrated had been illusory. Admittedly, the USSR was no more, its constituent republics had regained their independence, the Communist Party had been defeated and discredited, and a revived Russian national state under Boris Yeltsin was restoring democratic government. All these, especially the independence of the Baltic republics (which has been sustained), obviously delighted him.

Jew-Hate in Germany An “aggressive mood” within a particular group. Stephen Brown

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2019/12/jew-hate-germany-stephen-brown/

Last month, a woman was attacked in Bavaria for being Jewish. A man heard her two sons speaking Hebrew and recognized them as being Israeli. He then yelled in Arabic “Jew” and threw a rock, striking the woman in the head. Fortunately, the woman was only lightly injured.

A similar incident occurred before a discotheque in Germany. A man was speaking Hebrew with friends when a stranger, for no apparent reason, punched him in the face. The attacker fled. 

“On the continent things are happening we haven’t seen any more since 1933,” said Berlin lawyer Nathan Gelbert before a committee of the Israeli parliament in a special sitting, as reported in Die Welt newspaper.

According to a study by the World Jewish Congress (WJC), which represents a hundred countries, “every fourth German harbors…anti-Semitic thoughts.” But the study does not break down by ethnic group or religion those who think thus.

In July last summer, the study polled 1,300 people. Other results include 41 per cent think Jews talk too much about the holocaust, 28 per cent believe Jews have too much power in the economy, 26 per cent believe they have too much power in world politics and 48 per cent believe Jews are more loyal to Israel than to Germany.

According to the study, “there is a growing anti-Semitism perceived in the overwhelming majority of the population.”

Geert Wilders Speaks at The Freedom Center’s Restoration Weekend Dutch leader of The Party for Freedom warns America to learn from Europe.

Dutch politician Geert Wilders delivered a powerful speech at the Freedom Center’s Restoration Weekend in Palm Beach, FL (November 14-17, 2019). He sounded the alarm that Islamic supremacist incursion is already advanced in America — and advises the U.S. to learn from Europe before its too late. Don’t miss it!

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2019/12/geert-wilders-speaks-freedom-centers-restoration-frontpagemagcom-0/

Bullets for Bodies, A Sick Twist in Iran Protests Revolutionary Guard charging families the cost of killing loved ones amid economic turmoil and exports of terror Shoshana Bryen and Stephen Bryen

https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/12/article/bullets-for-bodies-a-sick-twist-in-iran

There are protests and riots across Iran, brutally put down by Iranian security forces and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC); the government is charging families for the bullets used to kill their loved ones before releasing bodies to them. Inflation is rampant and economic growth is negative. Sanctions on Iranian oil shipments have led Iran to steal Iraqi oil, one cause of the anti-Iranian riots across Iraq.

Yet, Iran continues to arm its proxies and allies with missiles that can strike Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States, Jordan and Israel. Ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones, controlled by Iran’s Quds Force, are being spread across the region.

The Quds Force, commanded by Major General Qasem Soleimani, is part of the IRGC that works with Houthis in Yemen, with pro-Iranian government and government-recognized Shiite militias in Iraq, with Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria, and with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip.

While all of this aggressiveness may be the outward explosion of a regime in trouble, the transfer of these missiles and drones threatens not only some of America’s closest friends but threatens American forces in the region. Iranian general Allahnoor Noorollahi says Iran has 21 US military bases directly in its sights.

According to Axios, US bases in the Middle East include:

• Bahrain: More than 7,000 US troops, mostly naval forces, are there to maintain Persian Gulf security.
• Iraq: About 5,200 US troops were in the northern part of Iraq as of January, per the Defense Department. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said they were there help combat ISIS. The number may drop as the Iraqi military has said US troops have to leave.
• Jordan: About 2,795 US troops support operations to defeat ISIS and promote regional stability.
• Kuwait: Over 13,000 American troops are stationed in Kuwait and the US Central Command (CENTCOM) forward headquarters is there as well.
• Oman:   The country has hosted US operations since 1980 and has assisted the US in combating ISIS. A few hundred Americans are there now.
• Qatar: As many as 13,000 US troops are in Qatar, with plans to expand. The Gulf nation supports US efforts to combat regional terrorism.
• Saudi Arabia: The Trump administration announced on Nov. 19 that approximately 3,000 US troops will be deployed to Saudi Arabia to protect the region “against hostile action by Iran and its proxy forces.”
• Syria: CENTCOM does not disclose the current number of troops, but DOD has said about 2,000 US service personnel were in Syria, and the Military Times reportsapproximately 800 might still be there to protect oil resources.
• Turkey: The number of US troops in Turkey is unclear, but the country’s strategic location makes it valuable for transporting arms and people. The US has air bases in Izmir and Incirlik as part of NATO.
• United Arab Emirates: 5,000 US troops are stationed at air and naval bases.

Roots of anti-US Islamic terrorism Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger

The roots of the December 6, 2019 murder of three US soldiers on the Pensacola Naval Air Station, by an Islamic Saudi terrorist, are independent of US policy in the Middle East and beyond, as are all previous cases of anti-US and anti-Western Islamic terrorism. 

For instance, the launching of the anti-US terror stampede by Iran’s Ayatollahs was initiated in 1979, while the US supported the Ayatollahs ascension to power in Teheran and betrayed the Shah of Iran. Moreover, Erdogan’s intense support of Muslim Brotherhood terrorism, which has targeted the US and all pro-US Arab regimes, is aimed at advancing Erdogan’s vision to reestablish the Ottoman Empire and undermine US interests, in spite of Turkey’s NATO membership and the multi-year, mega-billion dollar US investment in Turkey’s national security since 1947.

Islamic rage and anti-Western terrorism are not driven by economic, social, or educational goals.  The roots of the Islamic rage against Western culture, in general, and the US – the leader of Western democracies – in particular, are nurtured by a worldview, which precedes the 1776 independence of the USA and the 1620 landing of the Early Pilgrims in New England.

According to Prof. Bernard Lewis, a world-leading expert on Islam and the Middle East, the anti-Western Islamic rage represents an early edition of a clash of civilizations: “If the fighters in the war for Islam, the holy war ‘in the path of God,’ are fighting for God, it follows that their opponents are fighting against God…. The army is God’s army and the enemy is God’s enemy…. In the classical Islamic view, to which many Muslims are beginning to return, the world and all mankind are divided into two: the House of Islam… and the House of Unbelief, or the House of War, which it is the duty of Muslims ultimately to bring to Islam…. Muslims from an early date recognized a genuine rival – a competing world religion…. This was Christendom…. The struggle between these rival systems has now lasted for some 14 centuries.  It began with the advent of Islam, in the 7th century…. It has consisted of a long series of attacks and counterattacks, Jihads and crusades, conquests and re-conquests…. America had become the archenemy, the incarnation of evil, the diabolic opponent of all that is good, and specifically, for Muslims, of Islam….”

MY SAY: SOLDIER RODGER YOUNG AND FRANK LOESSER BY RUTH KING

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2019/12/rodger_young_so

In public school in the Bronx, after World War II, we gathered in the schoolyard, recited the “Pledge of Allegiance,” and made way to the auditorium before classes. There we sang the national anthem and other patriotic songs. Among them was one, “The Ballad of  Rodger Young,” whose melody I found myself humming last week after so many decades. Who was Rodger Young and who wrote the stirring music and lyrics?

Young was born on April 28, 1918 in Ohio. Of small and thin stature, only 5 feet 2 inches, he was athletic and competitive and during his first year in high school in a trial game for the football team he sustained an injury which left him unconscious and led to significant deafness and damage to his vision. His disabilities forced him to leave high school during his second year.

In 1938, at the age of 20, Young joined the Ohio National Guard hoping to earn some money, convinced that his disabilities would foreclose the regular army. He was posted to Company “B” of the 148th Infantry regiment with the 37th Infantry Division. He was a disciplined soldier with small arms skill and when his unit was activated for federal service in 1940 he was promoted to sergeant and squad leader.

In 1942 after America entered the war his regiment was deployed to Fiji and then to the Solomon Islands in preparation for combat in New Georgia. He requested a reduction in rank, fearing that his eye and ear deficits would create a potential risk to his squad.

On July 31, 1943, near Munda on New Georgia, Young was part of a 20-man patrol that was sent out to track Japanese ordnance in enemy occupied territory. Returning from this task, his group was ambushed and pinned down by heavy fire from Japanese machine guns. Four soldiers were killed and Young was wounded. The commanding officer ordered withdrawal, but Young crawled towards the Japanese position and despite being wounded again, he attracted enemy fire. He threw hand grenades at the Japanese and was killed by return fire. His valor and determination enabled his platoon to withdraw with no further casualties.

Young posthumously received the highest military commendation — the the Medal of Honor. CONTINUE AT SITE

Obama and Biden: Three Scandals, One Day The Russian collusion hoax, Burisma, and the disastrous Afghanistan war just blew up in their self-proclaimed “scandal-free” faces. Julie Kelly

https://amgreatness.com/2019/12/09/obama-and-biden-three-scandals-one-day/

The Democrats’ Ukrainian impeachment gambit is backfiring on Joe Biden. The three-time presidential hopeful is getting awfully testy with voters and journalists who dare to confront Biden about his son’s ghost-payrolling gig for a corrupt Ukrainian energy company while dad was vice president and acted as President Obama’s point man for that country.

Biden taunted an Iowa farmer during a campaign event for raising questions about Hunter Biden’s lucrative Burisma board seat; over the weekend, he repeatedly scolded a female NPR reporter who pressed him on the matter. (An outrageous display that would now dominate headlines had it been President Trump.) 

But Biden’s in-your-face reaction when presented with valid inquiries about his son’s multi-million-dollar patronage job, a post that he surrendered this year only after the senior Biden announced his run for president, is telling: This is how you behave when the press runs cover for you and your boss for more than a decade.

The American public often is reminded, usually by Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and their loyalists in the American news media, that Obama’s eight-year reign was “scandal-free.” Of course, that is nowhere near the truth. From the “Fast and Furious” gun-running scam and IRS targeting of Tea Party activists to the egregious Benghazi terror attack cover-up two months before the 2012 election, the Obama Administration was among the most corrupt in U.S. history. And they have laughed all the way to Martha’s Vineyard and the Democratic presidential debate stage.

Terror Attack At Naval Air Station Highlights Immigration Catastrophe Limitations in the vetting process endanger national security. Michael Cutler

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2019/12/terror-attack-naval-air-station-highlights-michael-cutler/

The nearly all-consuming fixation on the lack of border security along the U.S./Mexican border ignore the many other elements of what should be a cohesive and coordinated immigration system.

Contrary to the claims made by the open borders, immigration anarchists, the purpose of the border wall is not to prevent the entry of aliens and/or cargo into the United States, but to make certain that all who enter the United States are properly vetted and records of their entry are created.

However, not enough attention is paid to the vetting process itself upon which the integrity of the immigration system depends.

The issue of border security must include the process by which visas are issued and by which aliens are screened at ports of entry.

The great majority of foreign terrorists who have attacked our nation have actually entered the United States through ports of entry either with visas that were obtained by concealing the backgrounds and true identities of the aliens in question, or by making bogus claims to political asylum, getting released and then disappearing.

The issue of the vetting of aliens has made it to the front page of newspapers and the “A block” of television news program because of the deadly shooting at the Pensacola Air Naval Station by a 21 year old member of the Saudi military, Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, a second lieutenant in the Saudi Air Force as reported in the New York Times on December 6, 2019, Trainee on Military Base Mounts Deadly Attack.

From Tough ‘Dirty 30’ Prosecutor to Tame Deep State Drone Corrupt cops and government bosses now get protection from DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz. Lloyd Billingsley

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2019/12/tough-dirty-30-prosecutor-tame-deep-state-drone-lloyd-billingsley/

“I think we’ll learn part of the story tomorrow,” Carter Page told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday. As Page had learned, “there’s a lot of exculpatory evidence that’s remaining classified, and there’s been internal battles.” On Monday, the former Trump advisor was on full alert when the Department of Justice Inspector General released the massive Review of Four FISA Applications and Other Aspects of the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane Investigation.

“We identified at least 17 significant errors or omissions in the Carter Page FISA applications, and many additional errors in the Woods Procedures” of the FBI, the report explains. On the other hand, the Inspector General did not conclude that the decision to surveille Page “was based on improper considerations in the absence of documentary or testimonial evidence to the contrary.” That leaves open the possibility the someone in the DOJ wasn’t talking, or advanced false information.

The FBI’s Peter Strzok, known for texts with Lisa Page touting an “insurance policy,” appears in the report 66 times. Strzok’s supervisor, William Priestap, Assistant Director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division, “ultimately made the decision to open the investigation,” and that decision came “after multiple days of discussions and meetings that included Strzok and other leadership in CD, the FBI Deputy Director, the FBI General Counsel, and an FBI Deputy General Counsel.”

IG Report Says CIA Dismissed Steele Dossier as ‘Internet Rumor’ By Mairead McArdle

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/ig-report-says-cia-dismissed-steele-dossier-as-internet-rumor/

The CIA considered the now infamous dossier from former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele to be nothing more than an “internet rumor,” according to the Justice Department inspector general.

According to the Intel Section Chief and Supervisory Intel Analyst, “the CIA expressed concern about using the Steele election reporting in the text of the [January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment into Russia’s election interference],” Inspector General Michael Horowitz said in his report released Monday on the FBI’s handling of investigations into the Trump campaign.

“The Supervisory Intel Analyst explained that the CIA believed that the Steele election reporting was not completely vetted and did not merit inclusion in the body of the report. The Intel Section Chief stated that the CIA viewed it as ‘internet rumor,’” the report states.

The controversial dossier came under scrutiny when its unverified and salacious information about then-presidential candidate Trump showed up in the FBI’s applications for Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants to surveil the Trump campaign during the 2016 election cycle.

The dossier alleged that the campaign had conspired with Russian operatives to benefit Trump in the election. However, Horowitz’s report asserts that the FBI found Steele’s information about a Russian government connection to be dubious, but nevertheless declined to mention as much in its later applications to the FISA court for warrants to surveil Trump campaign associate Carter Page.