Holly is a symbol of goodwill and joy. In the Victorian language of flowers, holly means foresight. Holly is seen as a symbol of good luck in both Christianity and Islam. But most importantly for me, it is said that disputes are often solved "under the holly tree"
As the current election cycle is set to come to a close next week, the American public has been subjected to a resurgence of racist innuendo and outright bigotry, the likes of which at age 54 I don't recall in my lifetime.
Years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act, the McCain campaign and it's supporters are conducting a campaign which John McCain claims he is proud of.
Is he? Furthermore, is he living up to the pledge he took as a co-sponsor of Words Can Heal Day, another 501(3)(c) foundation which came out of Aish Hatorah, just as the Clarion Fund consists entirely of Aish Hatorah members.
Polls show that 13% of the American public still believes Obama is a Muslim. That would not be a problem to anyone believing this if it were not for the connotation attached to the assertion, that to be a Muslim is suspect in and of itself.
In a recent statement made on Meet the Press Colin Powell stated:
I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, "Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim." Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, "He's a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists." This is not the way we should be doing it in America.
Playing to those who are bigoted enough to admit they would never trust a Muslim, and to those on the fence, leery but more closeted in their public statements, enter those who wish to remind the American public just what we should be afraid of, "radical" Islam. How best to remind the voters of this? Mail 28 million dvd's to American households in their newspapers, an "advert" accepted by more than 70 newspapers nationwide. Of course the 501(3)(c) behind producing and mailing this dvd have no political intentions, they are only providing an "education" to the receivers, it's only coincidence that this is being done during a campaign where one of the candidates is snickered to be a "secret Muslim", the Manchurian candidate waiting to take over the Oval Office and hand over our country to the "terrorists"
It is well documented that the Clarion Fund, the "educational charity" which raised the funds for the mass mailing of "Obsession" has close ties to Aish Hatorah. In fact, every single person connected to the filing for the Clarion Fund's 501(3)(c)'s tax exempt status is also an employee or member of Aish Hatorah, yet Gregory Ross and Ronn Torossian, Clarion's spoke people wish to deny that Aish Hatorah has anything to do with the Clarion Fund.
Interestingly, Aish Hatorah is very proud of one of their other efforts and does not seek to hide the connection. Perhaps this is because the roster of honorary chair persons and board members reads like the who's who of Congress, the business world, academia, faith leaders and Hollywood.
This organization is none other than Words Can Heal, founded by Irwin Katsof. Words Can Heal however is not Mr. Katsof's only endeavor. As someone who has been busy building a global business, Doheny Global, he also took off time to help establish Honest Reporting, the very entity cited in the opening credits of "Obsession".
Indefatigable, Katsof assisted in the organization and founding in 2001 of HonestReporting.com, a fast-action, interactive website which alerts, informs and mobilizes grassroots activists via email to respond to unbalanced reporting on Israel and the Middle East. To date, there are 140,000 subscribers, in English, Spanish, Italian and Russian. Source
Not to be satisfied with only creating a foundation which is against words and speech which can harm, Mr. Katsof's Words Can Heal sought sponsors in Congress who would introduce legislation for a "Words Can Heal Day"
Who was a co-sponsor of that legislation?
John McCain.
S. Res. 183 [107th]: A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the establishment of a National Words Can Heal Day
Sen. Harry Reid [D-NV]hide cosponsors Cosponsors [as of 2006-07-09] Sen. Barbara Boxer [D-CA] Sen. Samuel Brownback [R-KS] Sen. Maxwell Cleland [D-GA] Sen. Thomas Daschle [D-SD] Sen. Byron Dorgan [D-ND] Sen. Tim Johnson [D-SD] Sen. Carl Levin [D-MI] Sen. Joseph Lieberman [D-CT] Sen. John McCain [R-AZ] Sen. Barbara Mikulski [D-MD] Sen. Charles Schumer [D-NY]
Words Can Heal, which has authored a handbook used in schools and elsewhere also sought to infom in one of it's launch press releases that they are also addressing gossip and hate speech in politics "New National Campaign to Battle Verbal Violence and Gossip" wrote:
Print ads aimed at bringing a new tone to American politics will begin this week in National Journal, Congressional Quarterly, Roll Call, and The Hill.
All who wish to take the Words Can Heal pledge recite the following:
I pledge to think more about the words I use.
I will try to see how gossip hurts people, including myself, and work to eliminate it from my life.
I will try to replace words that hurt with words that encourage, engage and enrich.
I will not become discouraged when I am unable to choose words perfectly, because making the world a better place is hard work.
And I am pledging to do that, one word at a time.
I do suppose that John McCain as a co-sponsor of the legislation to establish a Words Can Heal DAY did at some point in time take the pledge of the organization he sits as an honorary co-chairman of. Perhaps he needs to pass the memo to Sarah Palin and the mobs that collect at their rallies also.
Yet what is a favored campaign tactic of McCain in these twilights days of his campaign? The robo-call. One of those calls is voiced by ex-Homeland Security chief, Tom Ridge:
Hello, this is Governor Tom Ridge, America's first Secretary of Homeland Security. I'm calling for John McCain and the RNC because this week Joe Biden, Barack Obama's running mate, made startling comments that we must take seriously. He reminded us of Sen. Obama's inexperience when he said that America would face an international crisis that Sen. Obama would be unprepared to handle alone. If the Democrats win complete control of government they will want to give traditional civil rights to terrorists and talk unconditionally to dictators and state sponsors of terror. Barack Obama and his Democrat allies lack the experience and judgment to lead America. (Source)
Things begin to get interesting when one learns that Tom Ridge has a close relationship with Irwin Katsof. The question is WHICH Irwin Katsof? The founder of Words Can Heal that seeks civil discourse in society and politics, Irwin Katsof the founder of the Jerusalem Fund of Aish Hatorah, Irwin Katsof who took of time from his busy schedule to establish Honest Reporting (in the opening credits of "Obsession")or the Irwin Katsof who in his business life, founded Doheny Global and Criterion Strategies, a security company.
JERUSALEM, Aug. 24, 2000 PRNewswire --
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge today received the Jerusalem Fund's "Friend of Zion Award" from the Jerusalem Fund of Aish HaTorah and the Municipality of Jerusalem.
Gov. Ridge received the "Friend of Zion Award" based on his "unbending support for the Jewish state," according to the Jerusalem Fund.
"We believe Gov. Ridge is a tremendous friend of the State of Israel and a spokesman for morality and ethics, and that's why he was selected to receive the `Friend of Zion Award'," said Rabbi Irwin Katsof, of the Jerusalem Fund. Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert presented the award to Gov. Ridge. Other award winners this year include U.S. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nevada) and Gregory D....(source)
DALLAS -- DRI Corporation (formerly known as Digital Recorders, Inc.) (DRI) (NASDAQ: TBUS), a digital communications technology leader in the domestic and international surface transportation and transit security markets, announced today that David L. Turney, the Company's Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, participated in the Friedland Investment Events LLC's Global Equities Conference on July 16 in Atlantic City, N.J., and subsequently in a Homeland Security-related conference sponsored by Doheny Global Group and Ridge Global LLC in Washington, D.C.
Immediately following the Friedland conference, Mr. Turney participated in a Homeland Security-related conference sponsored by the Doheny Global Group and Ridge Global LLC. The event, "Accessing Funds from the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security," included presentations and discussions about business opportunities and strategies in the Homeland Security market. (Source)
Migdal Ohr Hosts VIP’s From All Across The USA July 24, 2008
On Wednesday July 2, 2008 the residents of Migdal Ha’Emek were treated to an unusual sight, hovering overhead were six helicopters loaded with American dignitaries and private sector leaders, en route to Migdal Ohr. This prominent delegation was led by the Managing Director of the Doheny Global Group, Irwin Katsof, who had arranged for the mission to spend an afternoon witnessing the holy work of Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman and Migdal Ohr, which nurtures and educates over 6,500 of Israel’s most disadvantaged youth.
The diverse group of VIP’s had traveled to Israel from all corners of the United States to rejoice, reflect and recognize the miracle of Israel’s 60 years. Among the esteemed guests were The Honorable Tom Ridge, President and CEO of Ridge Global, First Secretary of Homeland Security and Former Governor of Pennsylvania, accompanied by his daughter Lesley Ridge. (source)
Lest one think that Aish Hatorah is an innocuous organization, read Jeffery Golberg's recent article "The Jewish Extremists Behind "Obsession" Certainly no one would question Goldberg's staunch support of Israel for he is surely not a left-leaning apologist.
Do not be surprised to find that Aish Hatorah has been secretly involved in political endeavors before as Shmarya Rosenberg wrote today.
So there we have it.
Rabbi Katsof, those of us who look at your various endeavors would like to know, CAN words heal? Because we certainly know they can harm. Obama as a Muslim (which he is not, refer to Colin Powell's statement above)is unacceptable as a candidate to those who claim he is Muslim. This isn't only about Obama however, this is about ALL Muslim Americans who are believed to be suspect by the very same people who claim Obama is a Muslim and therefor unqualified to become president. Words can whip up fear and racism when designed to do so.
Now the dvd "Obsession" has been mailed to 325,000 rabbis and ministers by the The Judeo-Christian View, who's general publisher, Rev. Dozier has called Islam a "cult" The website of the Judeo-Christian View is certainly political in nature, slamming Obama. Reverend Dozier was quoted concerning how they acquired the 325,000 copies of "Obsession":
The Rev. O'Neal Dozier, pastor of the Worldwide Christian Center in Pompano Beach, Fla., said he mailed 325,000 copies of "Obsession" three weeks ago along with another video "on same-sex marriage and child sacrifice" in the first issue of "The Judeo-Christian View."
Dozier said he was the "general publisher" but did not pay for the mailing. He refused to name the funder but said that person had been in touch with officials from Aish HaTorah. (Source)
In another article from NPR, Gary L. Cass claims to be the publisher of the Judeo Christian View
Cass said he, not Dozier, is the proprietor of The Judeo-Christian View. He told us the big mailing was done this month "to take advantage of interest in the political season to launch" the publication.
And to deepen the mystery over how "Obsession" is distributed, Cass was vague as to how his publication acquired DVDs for the mailing. He said they came from Clarion but declined to say if they were purchased or contributed. Referring to Clarion, he said, "Let's just say we have a good working relationship with them." (Source)
Clarion claims 501(3)(c) status. The Judeo-Christian View which published a newsletter which is clearly political in nature has "good working relationship with them." (Clarion) Your "product" is clearly being distributed for political purposes.
Yet another Rabbi Katsof endeavor is the World Congress of Christians, Jews and Muslims (Foundation for Pluralism). Clearly the two gentleman above, Reverend Dozier and Gary L. Cass don't seem to have "pluralism" in mind in their publication.
Perhaps it is time for Rabbi Katsof, founder of Words Can Heal to step in to tone things down in the current Islamophobic frenzy that is being stirred up by McCain supporters. Perhaps it is also time for Senator McCain and Tom Ridge (who is also an honorary chair person of Words Can Heal) to retake their pledges to Words Can Heal because we all KNOW,
Words can HARM.
Video: McCain supporters tell their stories while waiting for the McCain/Palin rally in Bethlehem, PA, October 8, 2008.
Sarah Palin has been asking lately who Barack Obama really is. She particularly wonders why we aren't talking more about his relationship with Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Fair enough. Obama has repudiated inflammatory aspects of Wright's black liberation theology and dissociated from Wright's church. Now let's ask the same questions of Governor Palin. She isn't talking about her own pastors or her faith and, given her spiritual background, that's probably politically astute. But what does she really believe? Here are five questions for Sarah Palin.
Does she believe that she knows God's plan?
Last June Palin spoke at Wasilla Assembly of God Church in her hometown and informed a class of missionaries that it's God plan to build a $30 billion oil pipeline in Alaska. She also spoke of the spirit of prophecy, saying "that God's going to tell you what's going on." Does she believe that God divulges his plans to humans? Would she base policy on that?
Does she believe in witchcraft?
When Palin was running for governor, Thomas Muthee, an evangelical pastor from Kenya, came to her church, laid hands on her and prayed for her success. In his sermon, he spoke of Jesus banishing every form of witchcraft. (Muthee himself takes credit for having driven a witch out of a town in Kenya.) Palin later looked back fondly on Muthee's boldness and power in praying for her that day. Is she comfortable with the idea of witchcraft? Muthee also referred to "Israelites" (Jews) running the finances of nations. What did she think of that?
Does she think that Jews should convert to Christianity?
Two months ago, Palin sat in the Wasilla Bible Church and heard her pastor introduce a spokesman for Jews for Jesus named David Brickner. That was reported soon afterward. What wasn't noted is how closely tied her pastor and her church are to that messianic Jewish organization. Brickner had spoken there in 2004 and had really connected with the congregation, said her pastor, Larry Kroon. In fact, Kroon added that Jews for Jesus is so important to him that it's one of the reasons that he's a pastor.
Messianic Jews believe that Jews can accept Yeshua (Jesus), but still retain their Jewish identity and religious traditions. Many Jewish leaders condemn them. Elie Wiesel, for example, calls them hypocrites who don't have the courage to declare that they have rejected their people.
In church that day, Palin heard Brickner report on the "good news" that Jews for Jesus missionaries in Tel Aviv had handed out 132,000 tracts on messianic Judaism. This, he said, was the first step in a six-year evangelistic campaign in Israel. He added that terrorism is God's judgment on the Jews for refusing to accept Jesus.
The McCain campaign said that Palin didn't agree with that idea. Okay. What did she think, though, when her pastor led the congregation in a closing prayer that Jews will turn to Jesus? Did Palin pray along with them?
Does she believe that we are in the end-times?
For more than two decades, Palin attended Wasilla Assembly of God, a Pentecostal church. She still worships there on occasion. Pastors of that church say that we are now in the end-times and that events involving Israel reveal signs of the end. The Assemblies of God Web site says the founding of Israel very probably meant that the last days have begun. Jesus will return and take believing Christians to heaven, an event called the rapture. Then the antichrist will appear and horrible tribulations and Armageddon will follow.
These ideas are consistent with a theological view that expects Israel and the Jewish people to play a crucial role in the terrible days at the end of the world. In its classic formulation, this belief holds that one-third of the Jews will convert and the rest will be killed. The vast majority of evangelicals today do not believe that. Millions do, however, including many Pentecostals. Does Sarah Palin?
Why does she support Israel?
Although there are only 6,000 Jews in Alaska, Gov. Palin keeps a flag of Israel in her office and has spoken of her deep, personal, lifelong commitment to the Jewish state. Not even George W. Bush has ever said anything like that. She attends churches that read the Bible literally, and her former pastor in Wasilla says that her biblical worldview is central to her policies. Does that contribute to her love of Israel? Does she believe literally in God's promise to give the entire Holy Land to the Jews, and that Isreal fulfills prophecies of Christ's second coming?
Many Christian Zionists, including Pentecostals, see Arab opposition to Israel as Satan's attempt to block God's plan to redeem the world through the Jews. Does Palin? Perhaps not. In her debate with Joe Biden, she endorsed a two-state solution, which suggests that she is not solely guided by biblical literalism. But there are many streams of conservative Christianity. Many evangelicals will respect Israel's decisions and unhappily accept a Palestinian state, despite their belief that it will delay God's plan. What does Sarah Palin believe?
The writer, chairman of the English Department at Stony Brook University, is the author of Evangelicals and Israel: The Story of American Christian Zionism (Oxford), which will be published in November.
Muslims at a church discussing the meaning of the Muslim Prayers. Watch as everyone participates, and appreciates the essence of Islam. Real conversation and sharing the inside of our religious experiences.
A must see & share short film.
All the presentations are offered as free downloads from the site -- see segment "For Islamic Centers", intended for ordinary Muslim Students to engage in public presentations at their colleges, Churches and local community centers.
As you will see in this video - being Muslims and working with other people of faith, it is easy to build bridges. www.MuslimBridges.org Peace be to you.
"The Weeping Olive Trees of Palestine" Article by Sonja Karkar found HERE
Video: A beautiful song about the Palestinian lands by folk singer Leon Rosselson. Born Jewish, his songs of protest have travelled worldwide and have been sung by many great singers. Rosselson has been singing his songs for fifty years appearing all over the world where songs of conscience are sung. This rare concert footage was shot in Edinburgh in October 2007 and this haunting song is on the fantastic CD Turning Silence into Song. His website is www.leonrosselson.co.uk/ and Leon allowed us to tape this concert performance. Contains an intro about visiting Palestine through the years.
Omar Bustami, left, of the Muslim Student Union, talks about his experiences in Israel and Palestine as part of the Olive Tree Initiative at Thursday night's Beyond Stereotypes presentation at UCI.
UCI students of various ethnic and religious backgrounds discuss their experiences from trip to Israel and Palestine.
By Michael Alexander
Isaac Yerushalmi wasn’t quite sure what he would find on his trip to Israel and Palestine, but the moment that burned its way into the president of Anteaters for Israel’s brain was an encounter with a soldier who went to Lebanon in war and wished it had been in peace.
“His job was to find where Hezbollah was shooting missiles from,” he said. “He talked about how Lebanon, in those hills, it was such a beautiful country. He wished he was there not to be fighting this war but to see the country and appreciate its beauty.”
Yerushalmi was just one of 14 Muslims, Jews, Christians, Druze and otherwise-affiliated students who took part in the Olive Tree Initiative, a joint trip to the conflict-torn regions in September.
They spent equal amounts of time in Israel and Palestine and met with people from all persuasions and walks of life.
Thursday night, they shared their experiences to hundreds in a campus forum titled “Beyond Stereotypes: Faces and Voices of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.”
UCI has had a history of tension between Jewish and Islamic groups on campus, including allegations of anti-Semitism from speakers and threats to student safety.
But the members of the Muslim Student Union, Anteaters for Israel, Hillel, Society of Arab Students, Middle Eastern Studies Initiative and other groups didn’t raise the $60,000 for the trip just to trade accusations; they were changing their lives together.
From sitting in a cab and hearing the driver speak “Ara-Hebrew,” to going to the city of Hebron and seeing Jews and Muslims praying separately at the tomb of Abraham across a barred window, students poured out anecdotes that had shocked and surprised them.
One remembered seeing two roads splitting off in the same spot: one for Jews, and one for Muslims. Another, however, remembered a famous restaurant owned by a Jew and a Muslim that had outlasted being bombed and kept bringing people together.
The students, who on their own asked questions of business leaders and politicians and other residents, made an impression wherever they went, professor Manuel Gomez said.
Most memorable to him was the mayor of an Israeli settlement who said: “I’m impressed with you guys. I invited Condoleeza Rice here and she was afraid to come here. You guys had the courage to come here and look with your own eyes.” (perhaps she didn't visit Ariel because the US is "officially on record" against ILLEGAL settlements!-MAYBE since I am quite sure fear wasn't the issue but political correctness certainly plays a part in Ms. Rice's agenda)
Several students talked about a moment that crystallized the whole trip for them. On a rooftop in Jerusalem, the whole group sat down on a Friday night for Jewish Shabbat dinner.
For Shahrooz Shahandeh, who went unaffiliated with any campus group, it was his first.
“It was in the old city, in between the Christian and the Armenian and the Muslim and the Jewish quarters, on a rooftop,” Shahandeh said. “Up on this rooftop you had Muslims and Jews and Druze and Christians, sitting there and breaking bread and laughing and singing. It was incredible. I would never have thought that this would have been possible in a city with this history of turmoil and conflict. I thought, ‘This is what it could be like.’”
Not every moment was a hopeful one, but even those brought forth a kind of urgency, students said. Former Society of Arab Students president Amanda Naoufal got an earful from the group’s own bus driver.
“He tells me in Arabic, ‘You know you guys are just wasting your time,’” she said. “‘I’ve been doing this for 15 years: brought people from the United States, taken them all over Israel, all over Palestine, and they’ve cried for Israeli children, cried for Palestinian children, and then they go home and forget, and nothing changes.’”
But Naoufal said she took it as a challenge, not a reason to give up, and students had plenty of ideas on things to do back stateside.
One student had ideas about a radio show on KUCI to debate the issues in a civil setting, while many others called for the Olive Tree Initiative to happen over and over, bringing as many people as possible to the experiences they had had.
But in a way, graduate student Daniel Wehrenfennig said, the very fact they had gone sent a message. He recalled a Palestinian who was shocked to see that any place in the world could produce a group of people from so many conflicting backgrounds working on a common goal.
“For us the chance is, the mission is, to maybe be the broken link,” he said. “A lot of people here have friends and family one side or another. Some of them, they cannot talk to each other, for physical reasons or maybe emotional reasons, but maybe they can talk to us.”
Don’t worry about Mickey Mouse or ACORN stealing the election. According to an investigative report out today in Rolling Stone magazine, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Greg Palast, after a year-long investigation, reveal a systematic program of "GOP vote tampering" on a massive scale.
- Republican Secretaries of State of swing-state Colorado have quietly purged one in six names from their voter rolls.
Over several months, the GOP politicos in Colorado stonewalled every attempt by Rolling Stone to get an answer to the massive purge - ten times the average state's rate of removal.
- While Obama dreams of riding to the White House on a wave of new voters, more then 2.7 million have had their registrations REJECTED under new procedures signed into law by George Bush.
Kennedy, a voting rights lawyer, charges this is a resurgence of 'Jim Crow' tactics to wrongly block Black and Hispanic voters.
- A fired US prosecutor levels new charges - accusing leaders of his own party, Republicans, with criminal acts in an attempt to block legal voters as "fraudulent."
- Digging through government records, the Kennedy-Palast team discovered that, in 2004, a GOP scheme called "caging” ultimately took away the rights of 1.1 million voters. The Rolling Stone duo predict that, this November 4, it will be far worse.
There's more:
- Since the last presidential race, "States used dubious 'list management' rules to scrub at least 10 million voters from their rolls."
Among those was Paul Maez of Las Vegas, New Mexico - a victim of an unreported but devastating purge of voters in that state that left as many as one in nine Democrats without a vote. For Maez, the state's purging his registration was particularly shocking - he's the county elections supervisor.
The Kennedy-Palast revelations go far beyond the sum of questionably purged voters recently reported by the New York Times.
"Republican operatives - the party's elite commandos of bare-knuckle politics," report Kennedy and Palast, under the cover of fighting fraudulent voting, are "systematically disenfranchis[ing] Democrats."
The investigators level a deadly serious charge:
"If Democrats are to win the 2008 election, they must not simply beat McCain at the polls - they must beat him by a margin that exceeds the level of GOP vote tampering."
Block the Vote by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. & Greg Palast in the current issue (#1064) of Rolling Stone.
[Media enquiries - Dave Falkenstein, Sunshine Sachs & Assoc, via interviews@gregpalast.com.]
Note - Kennedy and Palast are releasing, simultaneously with the Rolling Stone investigative report what they call, the vote-theft 'antidote': a 24-page full-color comic book, Steal Back Your Vote, which can be downloaded or obtained in print from their non-partisan website, [2]
As all who read the news know by now, the Clarion Fund, who distributed 28 million copies of their dvd, "Obsession" in swing state newspapers, is being slowly exposed for who they are.
Not to be deterred in their efforts, on October 5th they released for sale their new dvd, "The Third Jihad" just in time for the elections. This new dvd is being marketed "Tupperware style" by offering free copies to any members of Brigitte Gabriel's ACT for America, the "lobbying arm" of her 501(3)(c) ACT for anyone who can schedule a showing prior to October 31, just in time for the elections. A shorter 30 minute version is also being spread via the internet on various websites.
Below is the account of one website which the Clarion Fund has suddenly had a change of heart about featuring their film.
On Monday, October 13th, Snag Films released a press statement which in part reads: (sorry, for some reason blockquoting isn't working for this section, but from here to the break is the press release from Snag Films)
WASHINGTON, Oct 13, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- With three weeks to go before perhaps the most consequential election in recent history, SnagFilms today announced it would offer viewers free streaming of more than 60 election-themed films so that voters might become better informed on issues before November 4th.......
"So much of the discourse in American elections is reduced to 30-second ads and sound bites," said SnagFilms CEO Rick Allen. "We offer long-form, substantive, issues-based documentaries which viewers can view immediately, on-demand, and for free. In addition to our deep library of issues-focused films, for these last three weeks of the election, we've secured an amazing line-up of documentaries that will appeal to voters across the political spectrum.".......
THIRD JIHAD (2008) -- Available Now A pointed assessment of the threat of Radical Islam to Western civilization, Third Jihad uses experts, first-hand accounts and images rarely seen in the West to reveal an 'insider's view' of radicals' plans to extend the global jihad to American shores. (Source)
Jasser (a member of the Committee on the Clear and Present Danger-which coincidentally is also in it's third incarnation) wants to implore to the viewers: Despite the fact that we have experienced no terror attacks since 9/11, there is a much more DANGEROUS "jihad" going on, and of all things it is PEACEFUL so we aren't aware of it. It seems the first jihad was hundreds of years ago when Islam was spread by the sword out of Arabia, was pushed back by Christendom out of the Iberian Peninsula, the second jihad, the Ottoman Empire, and now that Muslims can't fight wars anymore (except for terror tactics), they are here amongst us, everywhere, waiting to take over our country and grab away our Constitutional rights and replace them with Shariah! There is even a map of prior Islamic conquests complete with the current Islamic conquest map which digitally shows Islam taking over North America complete with appropriate dire music. Yes, Zuhdi Jasser knows this to be absolutely true, because he tells us so.
The Muslims are everywhere, they are building mosques, they are GASP, asking for their full Constitutional rights to be granted and more than that, within only a few more years America will have a 20% Muslim population because their birthrate is higher. After showing footage of riots in Denmark after the cartoon debacle he states, "They say that Muslims in America are assimilated, I'm here to tell you that what is happening in Europe will happen here in America, it's only a matter of time". Shortly after, you see Zuhdi Jasser playing soccer in the park with his children, then segway into the next segment, the suitcase bomb and mushroom cloud.
As "The Third Jihad" wishes to "get out as quickly as possible" according to those at the premier last week in Santa Ana so that people know, if we elect Obama, GOD KNOWS WHAT WILL BECOME OF OUR COUNTRY. (These were members of Brigitte Gabriel's ACT for America voicing this opinion). So how to do it cheaply and efficiently? The internet of course. Which is where Snag Films comes in.
Their press release picked out only a few films to feature, "The Third Jihad" being one of them. So why is it that suddenly as of yesterday afternoon when you link to "The Third Jihad" on Snag you get the following:
At the request of the filmmaker, this film has been removed from exhibition until further notice.
What? Clarion suddenly had a change of heart and regretted having their film featured on the website operated by Steve Case, co-founder of AOL? Well, it seems they did, but perhaps it has something to do with feedback sent in to them by people and comments made about the featuring of this latest piece of propaganda out of the Clarion Fund.
My own comments cannot be seen any more, but shortly after I made them, the film was removed. Rick, the CEO of Snag Films had invited another commenter Richard Silverstein to engage him on why the film shouldn't be featured there. I jumped in, which was after I had sent a feed back email addressed to Jean Case, who in June 2006 was appointed by President Bush to chair the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation and later was appointed by Condaleeza Rice to co-chair the U.S.-Palestinian Partnership (Source)
Comment #1: Posted 10/15/08 by Robin on The Third Jihad Rick, I am more than willing to engage you as the CEO of SnagFilms who has chosen to feature this film. If you have checked the emails for submission of films, then you would see that I addressed an email to Jean Case who with her husband, Steve Case, are founders and supporters of this website and the Case Foundation
Have you watched the film Rick? Because if you haven’t I suggest both you and Jean Case do so, in full length since you have chosen to host an abridged version here to be disseminated to blogs, Facebook, other websites by "snagging it"
It starts out with the hostage/murder in the Russian school, note be taken, these were Muslims. It then gives the number of more than 30 "terrorist plots" uncovered before they could take place. It cherry picks the "Sears Tower plot". Link to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_b...
The film erroneously claims government victory when there has been NO government victory, only two mistrials and evidence to the contrary, that this was a government sting to CREATE a so called terrorist plot. Does this film say that? Not hardly, with dramatic music playing in the background it gives "proof" that Muslim bogey men are at large using this faux example.
Last week Rick I attended a "premier" of the full length version of "The Third Jihad". The "premier’ which I attended had been scheduled by members of Brigitte Gabriel’s ACT for America. The same Brigitte Gabriel who stated, ""The difference, my friends, between Israel and the Arabic world is the difference between civilization and barbarism. It’s the difference between goodness and evil [applause]....and this is what we’re witnessing in the Arabic world, they have no soul! They are dead set on killing and destruction." - Bridgette Gabriel, CUFI 2007.
The audience as they let out made it abundantly clear that we are in a war with ISLAM which attempting to take over America. We must be hyper-vigilant against ALL Muslims.
On Monday I came face to face with Gregory Ross, spokesman for the Clarion Fund, producers and disseminators of this film. After informing him of my experience I asked him if the Clarion Fund was willing to put on their website a public disclaimer that their film was not to be used in any fashion shape or form to spread hatred or distrust of Muslim Americans at large. He refused to do this Rick, instead stating to me that they cannot control how their film is used. View More >
Comment #2: What You’re Talking About Posted 10/15/08 by Robin on The Third Jihad
In addition Rick, I find this film which has been chosen to be hosted here at complete cross purposes to Mrs. Case’s work with U.S.-Palestinian Partnership where CERTAINLY she works with Muslim Palestinians both in Palestine and here in the US. Just yesterday she attended a summit meeting for this organization with Condaleeza Rice who appointed her.
In the full length version of this film Jasser gives a chart and claims that by the year (I believe 2100), Muslims will constitute 20% of the US population due to 1)Islam is the fastest growing faith in the US 2) their birthrate is higher.
He has provided proof positive of what occurs when the Muslim population reaches 20% by showing Muslim riots in Europe where the population in some countries has reached that critical mass. He then states, "People say that Muslims in America are assimilated, I’m showing you proof that a large majority of them are not, it is only a matter of time before what has occurred in Europe occurs here" WITHOUT stating the fact that millions of Muslims live in Europe peacefully.
Rick, is this the sort of scare tactic Mrs. Case would want to further? Especially in light of her work with Condaleeza Rice who is working til the last days of this administration to try to establish peace in Israel/Palestine (and Palestine is obviously majority Muslim)
Mrs. Case was also a Bush appointee to President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation. President Bush himself has stated quite clearly that Muslim Americans are not to be scapegoated and has called PUBLICLY for full restraint in attacking or condemning them. Is not the purpose of this film, and those who are using it as their tool at complete cross purposes to his call?
These are some questions I think need to be answered Rick, because anti-Muslim sentiments are at an all-time high in this election, and this website is offering the means by which to spread them. Thank you. View More >
I never received a reply from either my comments to Rick or my email to feedback. But now the Clarion Fund has all of a sudden requested their film be removed til further notice.
HELLO Gregory Ross, where are you, come out come out wherever you are. Is your newest "documentary" a bit of an embarrassment to Mrs. Jean Case who was appointed by Condaleeza Rice to work with MUSLIM (as well as Christian) Palestinians? Have you found it in your heart to not put her in such a bad position?
Mr. Ross you stated (in referring to the mass distribution of "Obsession") "In the DVD, we say that 10 to 15 per cent of Islamists are actively supporting physical damage against the West. But most Muslims are in favour of Sharia law [Islamic religious law], whether they live in the Middle East, Europe or the US." (Source)
The US Palestinian Partnership was announced last December and announced by Condaleeza Rice in February at the Department of State in February in cooperation with the Aspen Institute. Your latest flack, Zuhdi Jasser warns the Muslims are coming to get us. Are they coming to take over the Aspen Institute too? Are they taking over our State Department?
What say you Zuhdi Jasser and Gregory Ross?
Updated information: Whoever accepted this film at Snag the Vote SURELY knows that one of the scare tactics used against Obama is that he is a secret Muslim. The mass distribution of "Obsession" in swing states was not only a scare tactic it was ALSO a political tactic, distributed by mail widely also to rabbis in February by the Republican Jewish Coalition and CUFI This new film, "The Third Jihad" is also being mass marketed, only this time on the cheap. Not only is it notable that the Clarion Fund has asked to have their film removed until further notice, I wonder if this had anything to do with it.
Case, Jean N WASHINGTON, DC 20036 Case Foundation/President $2,000 01/31/2008 P OBAMA FOR AMERICA - Democrat (source)
Enough already Clarion Fund, on Monday Gregory Ross was asked by a Los Angeles rabbi why all the secrecy if they are legitimate. He claimed they aren't "secretive" This question was asked to him on the sidewalk outside the Islamic Center where Sheriff Lee Baca and Los Angeles interfaith leaders met to stand shoulder to shoulder against hatred whipped up by the mass distribution of "Obsession"
We live in America Gregory Ross was told by the very rabbi who bar-mitzvahed him and was there in solidarity with Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, and other rabbis, "You will NOT get away with spewing this hate."
You tube: After a press conference against the "Obsession" movie held by the Coalition for Renewing American Democracy, the Communications Director of the Clarion Fund confronted the coalition members. Here, Rabbi Steven Jacobs is shown talking to the Communications Director.
The person rightfully being grilled is Gregory Ross, spokesman for the Clarion Fund who set up a "501(3)(c) to take in funds to distributing "Obsession" the film they also produced. I was there that day also, right behind Rabbi Jacobs as he ripped Gregory Ross to shreds. He wasn't the only one though, it was truly a moment to savor as Rabbi Jacobs, as it turned out, the very rabbi who barmitzvahed Gregory Ross told him just what he thought of what he is doing
LA Sheriff Baca & Actor Mike Farrell Join Coalition Opposing Anti-Muslim DVD
October 13, 2008
Sheriff Lee Baca, actor Mike Farrell and nearly 20 members of the newly formed Coalition for Renewing American Democracy held a press conference earlier today to voice their unified opposition to an anti-Muslim DVD called "Obsession."
Since mid-September, roughly 28 million copies of a DVD called "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West" have been distributed as advertising inserts in 70 newspapers in 12 key election swing states. While the DVD begins with a statement that most Muslims do not support terrorism, it immediately sets to work undermining this idea. "Obsession" is anti-Muslim propaganda which aims to produce anxiety, mistrust, and deep unease in the average American viewer about the presence, activities and attitudes of millions of their fellow Muslim American citizens.
"This is no longer a discussion about Muslims," said Rabbi Haim Dov Beliak, co-founder of JewsOnFirst.org. "This whole enterprise becomes the responsibilites of Christians and Jews and other religious people to stand in their pulpits to educate and refute these claims. I think that this distribution will have echoes in this society for a very, very long time. We will for a very long time be involved in rebutting, correcting the record, and defending those people who are being defamed."
Rabbi Allen Freehling, Executive Director of the Los Angeles City Commission on Human Relations, added: "We are here as a group of diverse individuals representing all kinds of communities to indicate to those people who, for their own self-serving purposes, created this DVD to let them know that they will not succeed. They may have started something that they may resent in the long run. After all, they were hoping for destruction and violence, they were hoping to divide us. The fact of the matter, this has brought us closer together to communicate to the community at large to indicate that those who spew hate will not succeed."
At the press conference, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca also stressed the role of law enforcement in protecting people of all backgrounds.
"Hate crime is something that concerns all Americans, since civil rights and human rights are constitutional guarantees," Baca said. "The proposition put forth by some who are extremists, who want not only to defame a religion but incite other people to discredit them and therefore act out in a violent way toward people of that relgion, is a totally unacceptable practice that cannot in any way be condoned. Law enforcement is vigilent to protect people and their right to practice their religion."
Dr. Maher Hathout, Senior Advisor to the Muslim Public Affairs Council, added: "Democracy becomes healthy when citizens are aware and when they ask questions. I believe the current hurricane of hate we are fighting will ultimately dissipate because the very fabric and the very core of the American people is good and they will eventually resent this vulgarity in dealing with serious issues. The makers of 'Obsession' have the right to speak and we have the obligation to respond. They speak hate and we will speak love. They will speak division and we will speak unity."
Other speakers at the press conference included actor Mike Farrell, Rabbi Steven Jacobs (Progressive Faith Foundation), and Dr. Xandra Kayden (UCLA professor).
The coalition also released a statement, signed by more than two dozen religious, civic and law enforcement officials, voicing their "deep concern over the recent distribution of a deeply divisive and anger-provoking DVD" which undermines "our common and cherished beliefs by inciting fear and furthering ignorant stereotypes." (Click here to read the full statement.)
The statement from the Coalition for Renewing American Democracy reads, in part:
"We, as members of civic and religious organizations along with law enforcement, come together united against hate and extremism. We believe that the best way to counter political and religious extremism is through cooperation and coordination. Those who divide our pluralism along the lines of religious or political views only further the cause of extremism. They profit from the fear generated from propaganda while we are on the front lines of pursuing effective public policy to eradicate terrorism."
America stands for the core values of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, pluralism, and equality for all. The Coalition for Renewing American Democracy seeks to work with a diverse group of faith and civic leaders and communities to renew America's promise by engaging elected officials and community leaders to promote security and guard against discrimination. (source)
In April I attended M.E.S.T.O.'s concert, "Baalbak in Hollywood" at the same location. It was SO good. If you get the chance, be SURE to attend, you will be VERY glad you did. (the location is directly across the street from the Walt Disney Concert Hall)
Cairo in Hollywood
Sunday, October 26, 2008 at 7:30 pm. Zipper Concert Hall (The Colburn School of Music) 200 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012 For Tickets Call (310) 795-4280 General $35; Sponsors $100
Nabil Azzam, conductor Lilit Khojayan, qanun virtuoso Anna-Suzette Eblen, singer
Watch videos of past performances by M.E.S.T.O HERE
Confirmed that star singer Dalal Abu Amneh is coming to sing with MESTO this Sunday, October 26th in Zipper Hall.
Video: MESTO and Conductor Nabil Azzam present Misru 'llati (مصر التي) featuring Dalal Abu Amneh at the Opera House in Cairo, Egypt.
Conflict brewing: Palestinian beer defies Middle East strife
11 hours ago
TAYBEH, West Bank (AFP) — Some Palestinians have taken up arms and others attend peace talks in their decades-long struggle, but Nadim Khoury has found a third route to statehood -- the brewing of delicious local beer.
The 49-year-old returned to his native West Bank village of Taybeh from the United States in 1994 with the unusual and ambitious idea of distilling the dream of Palestinian independence into a smooth, full-bodied golden lager.
"Everyone thought I was crazy, they didn't believe me. But I didn't listen to them because I like making beer," says Khoury, who discovered micro-brewing in the 1980s when he was a student in Boston, where he lived for 23 years.
Since the heady early days of the Oslo negotiations, hopes for Middle East peace have waxed and waned, but Khoury's Taybeh brewery has endured as a rare economic success in the heart of the occupied territories.
"It contributes a lot to the economy. I believe this is how we can build a Palestinian state and not wait for US aid. Taybeh is permanent aid," he says.
The malt comes from France and Belgium, the hops are Czech and Bavarian, but the beer is made in a hilltop Christian village in the heart of the West Bank from which it takes its name -- Taybeh is Arabic for "delicious."
It's an unlikely place for a brewery. The grey tower of an army outpost stands guard over the main road into the village, one of more than 600 Israeli military checkpoints and roadblocks that dot the West Bank.
When the latest intifada erupted in 2000, Israel laid siege to the entire area, forcing Khoury to smuggle crates of beer into the nearby town of Ramallah -- the political capital of the West Bank -- on the backs of donkeys.
The situation has improved in recent years, but Khoury still frequently has to surmount the barriers to reach customers in Israel.
"Taybeh has a short shelf life because it has no preservatives. It cannot sit for three or four hours at a checkpoint," he says.
Israel and the Palestinians renewed peace talks at a conference in the US city of Annapolis nearly a year ago and pledged to try to reach a full peace deal by the end of 2008.
But despite promises from all sides to take steps to jump-start the West Bank economy and the pledge of billions of dollars in international aid, Khoury says little has changed for local businesses.
"I don't like to smuggle beer, I want to trade freely, but where is Annapolis? Where is the treaty?"
Palestinian society -- which is over 90 percent Muslim -- has been growing more outwardly religious, with the Islamist Hamas movement winning parliamentary elections in 2006 and seizing the Gaza Strip in June 2007.
Taybeh remains popular in the upscale bars and restaurants of Ramallah and mostly Arab east Jerusalem, but in a nod to rising religious sensitivities, the brewery debuted its first non-alcoholic beer this month.
The label of the new beverage, like the Hamas flag, is green and adorned with Arabic writing. The other beers -- Golden, Amber, Dark, and Light -- are labelled only in English.
Khoury insists he has never heard any objections from his Muslim neighbours and that he has no shortage of customers. "The population in Palestine is 98 percent Muslim, but everyone drinks beer."
Residents in the mostly Muslim neighbouring village of Deir Jarir, like virtually all Palestinians, adamantly reject any talk of religious intolerance and say they have no problems with the brewery down the road.
"The relationship between Muslims here and Christians in Taybeh is fine. We work together and we live together," says Azzat, a 52-year-old labourer. "According to the Koran they have their religion and we have ours."
On a warm day in early October, a German brass band in traditional Bavarian costumes regales a diverse group of drinkers and local Palestinian families at Taybeh's fourth annual Oktoberfest.
Tim Nourse, a contractor working on a US Agency for International Development (USAID) project in Ramallah, says it is nice to see Taybeh making a comeback after the difficult years of the intifada.
"It's kind of a classic American microbrew," he says as he sips a pint of Golden lager. "Very pleasing to the American palate."
The notion that Taybeh could be tasty enough to help bring peace to the Middle East draws laughter at first.
On second thought: "The foundation of peace between Israel and the Palestinians is the development of a vibrant economy. The making of beer and other services could be part of that," Nourse says.
"Or you could be cynical and say Taybeh allows us to drown our sorrows."
Romet Mor, a 27-year-old Israeli from just outside Jerusalem who leads alternative tours of the West Bank, including the brewery, says Taybeh could offer a new perspective on Palestinian culture.
"Most people don't identify the Palestinians with beer, so it can change the way people see them," he says.
While admitting that many Israelis refuse to drink Taybeh because it is made by Palestinians, Mor points out that many on the left seek it out for the same reason, seeing it as a symbol of peace and coexistence.
Khoury, who has guided his little brewery through good times and bad, remains hopeful that one day Palestinian life will be as smooth and full-flavoured as his hard-won product.
"There is nothing left for us but hope for the future," Khoury says. "We have already moved once. We are not moving again."
In the meantime, he takes pride in his modest contribution to the struggle. "You know, Jordan brews Amstel under license. I like to tease them about it. We don't have a state, but at least we have our own beer." (source)
Video: Taybeh Oktoberfest 2007 (some of it is in fast motion)
ACTOR MIKE FARRELL & SHERIFF BACA JOIN COALITION OF CIVIC & FAITH LEADERS IN SPEAKING OUT AGAINST ANTI-MUSLIM DVD
(Los Angeles - 10/10/08) -- Sheriff Lee Baca and LAPD Captain Mike Downing will join actor Mike Farrell and the newly formed Coalition for Renewing American Democracy to speak out against an anti-Muslim film called "Obsession" during a press conference on Monday, October 13 in Los Angeles.
The DVD, called "Obsession: Radical Islam's War with the West," has been distributed to 28 million households in election swing states, and has been widely criticized as a divisive political ploy.
WHAT: SHERIFF BACA JOINS CIVIC-FAITH COALITION IN SPEAKING OUT AGAINST MASS DISTRIBUTION OF ANTI-MUSLIM DVD
WHEN: Monday, October 13, 2008 at 10:00 a.m.
WHERE: Islamic Center of Southern California 434 S. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90010
WHO: Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca Actor Mike Farrell Captain Mike Downing (Los Angeles Police Department) Xandra Kayden (Coalition member, League of Women Voters) Rabbi Steven Jacobs (Coalition member, Progressive Faith Foundation) Rabbi Allen Freehling (Coalition member, L.A. City Commission on Human Relations) Salam Al-Marayati (Coalition member, Muslim Public Affairs Council) Dr. Maher Hathout (Coalition member, Muslim Public Affairs Council)
The coalition will also release a statement, signed by more than a dozen religious, civic and law enforcement officials, voicing their "deep concern over the recent distribution of a deeply divisive and anger-provoking DVD" which undermines "our common and cherished beliefs by inciting fear and furthering ignorant stereotypes."
The statement from the Coalition for Renewing American Democracy reads, in part:
We, as members of civic and religious organizations along with law enforcement, come together united against hate and extremism. We believe that the best way to counter political and religious extremism is through cooperation and coordination. Those who divide our pluralism along the lines of religious or political views only further the cause of extremism. They profit from the fear generated from propaganda while we are on the front lines of pursuing effective public policy to eradicate terrorism.
We have come together to express our deep outrage over the recent distribution of a divisive and hate-provoking DVD called "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West" to residents across the nation.... Invoking fear and anger in American voters is never the way to address the real problems of extremism and terrorism, and in a city as diverse and complex as Los Angeles -- at a time of great economic uncertainty -- this sort of hatred and blind tarring of a people and a faith is painful and dangerous.
America stands for the core values of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, pluralism, and equality for all. The Coalition for Renewing American Democracy seeks to work with a diverse group of faith and civic leaders and communities to renew America's promise by engaging elected officials and community leaders to promote security and guard against discrimination.
Founded in 1988, the Muslim Public Affairs Council is an American institution which informs and shapes public opinion and policy by serving as a trusted resource to decision makers in government, media and policy institutions. MPAC is also committed to developing leaders with the purpose of enhancing the political and civic participation of Muslim Americans.
Sarah Palin's Pals: 'I've Got No Use for America or Her Damned Institutions' (VIDEO)
By TheImproper.com
Sarah Palin has been bashing Barack Obama for his past acquaintanceship with Bill Ayers, a University of Illinois professor who 40 years ago was a member of the Weathermen, a radical movement active when Obama was 8 years old.
In the 1960s and 70s, the Weathermen conducted a campaign of bombing public buildings--actions which Obama has denounced as "detestable."
But Palin says this ex-acquaintanceship proves that Obama "is palling around with terrorists who would target their own country." But if guilt-by-association is a valid political consideration, Palin is even guiltier. Why? Because she's married to a man (Todd Palin) who only recently ended his 7-year membership in the Alaskan Independence Party (AIP). The members of this treasonous cabal wants Alaska to split off from the United States and walk away with the state's rich federal oil fields and one-fifth of America's land base.
AIP was founded in 1984 by Joe Vogler, a violent anti-American. "I'm an Alaskan, not an American," Vogler once said. "I've got no use for America or her damned institutions." According to Vogler, AIP's central purpose was to drive Alaska's secession from the United States. Current AIP chairman Lynette Clark still clings to this radical belief, recently saying "[Alaska] should be an independent nation."
Vogler was murdered in 1993 during an illegal sale of plastic explosives that went bad. A year earlier, he had renounced his allegiance to the United States explaining that, "The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government."
Vogler even cursed the American flag, pledging, "I won't be buried under their damned flag...when Alaska is an independent nation they can bring my bones home." Shockingly, Palin has never denounced Vogler or his detestable anti-Americanism.
Palin's husband Todd was an AIP party member from 1995 to 2002. While retaining her Republican registration, Sarah Palin attended the AIP's 1994 convention where the party called for a draft constitution to secede from the United States and create an independent nation of Alaska.
The McCain Campaign has reluctantly acknowledged that she also attended AIP's 2000 Convention. She apparently found the experience so inspiring that she agreed to give a keynote address at the AIP's 2006 Convention and even recorded a video greeting for the 2008 convention. In other words, this is not something that happened when she was eight! Is this who you want in the White House _______________________________________________
Sarah Palin when asked about rumors she was on the shortlist to become McCain's vp: "As for that vp talk all the time, I tell ya, I still can't answer that question til someone answers for me, what is it exactly that the vp does every day, I'm use to uh being very productive and working real hard and in administration we want to make sure that that vp spot would be a fruitful position ESPECIALLY for ALASKANS and the thing's we are trying to accomplish up here for the rest of the US before I can even start addressing that question" (Video)
Excuse me, but wasn't he talking to her about running for vice president of the United States, not ALASKA?
Just what are the goals of the Alaskan Independence Party? Read them HERE
Now, what does Sarah promote more than anything else while on the stump?
Q: If Alaska became independent, wouldn't we lose a lot of federal money?
A: No. If Alaska returned to territorial status, most federal money would still be available. If Alaska were to attain complete independence, its revenues from oil and other natural resources would far exceed the amounts currently received from the federal government, at our current level of resource utilization.
Hmmmm, so maybe we can just put lipstick on this AIP position and call it Republican big oil interests getting in there to open it all up before they make their final push.
And what about US citizenship? Remember, Todd Palin was officially a member of this party for years and Sarah "pals" around with them, speaking at their conventions.
Q: Would I lose my U.S. citizenship?
A: Depending on the form of independence, several forms of citizenship would be possible, including the retention of U.S. citizenship or dual citizenship. However, considering the moral, educational, and economic decay of the U.S., Alaskans' who hold themselves to a higher standard might very well decide to at least maintain an arm's length distance from a country in decline.
There you go, Palin has the NERVE to denegrate Michelle Obama's statement that she had never been prouder of her country than when her husband ran but yet Palin's husband belonged to a party that thinks Alaska is above the rest of the US and should keep an "arm's length"
I'd say Ms. Palin, your well made up MASK is peeling away very quickly as you lipstick melts away under the heat of the TRUTH.
Report: Right-Wing Pundits Use Mainstream Media to Smear American Muslims
Report profiles 12 top Islamophobes in U.S. media, examines the rise of 'smearcasting' phenomenon - how Islamophobes use the mainstream media to spread fear, bigotry and misinformation
Last update: 2:16 p.m. EDT Oct. 8, 2008
NEW YORK, Oct 08, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR), the national media watchdog group, released a first-of-its-kind report today that profiles 12 of the leading Islamophobic pundits and media figures and examines the ways they've negatively influenced media coverage in the U.S. The report, "Smearcasting: How Islamophobes Spread Fear, Bigotry and Misinformation," describes a loose network of right-wing, anti-Muslim partisans who regularly use innuendo, questionable sources of information and even lies to smear, and effectively marginalize, Muslim Americans in the media.
"This report takes a fresh look at Islamophobia and its perpetrators in today's media," said Steve Rendall, one of the report's authors and a senior analyst at FAIR. "We found prominent right-wing pundits and activists using misinformation and innuendo to broadcast hate against an entire community -- in this case, Muslims -- and major media have either fallen asleep at the wheel or, in many cases, have actively helped to spread the smears."
"Media should seek various points of view, but the message of the Islamophobes cannot possibly comport with the standards and practices that should constrain media outlets from airing smears against ethnic and religious groups," said Rendall, "We're talking about double standards."
The report's "dirty dozen" list includes talk show hosts like Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage and Glenn Beck; activists like Michelle Malkin, Daniel Pipes and David Horowitz; and influential writers like Mark Steyn and Robert Spencer.
The report also features four case studies, or snapshots, of how smearcasting has impacted the news cycle, including:
- - Right-wing pundit Daniel Pipes led a successful campaign to oust the principal of a secular Arabic-language New York City public school by initiating a media-driven pressure campaign. The principal's history of forging interfaith and interethnic alliances was ignored as the campaign branded her a "stealth Islamist," and media pressure eventually forced her to resign.
-- Conservative columnist and Internet activist Michelle Malkin pressured Dunkin' Donuts into dropping an ad featuring celebrity chef Rachael Ray wearing a black-and-white scarf -- which Malkin falsely identified as a keffiyeh, calling it a symbol of "murderous Palestinian jihad."
-- Islamophobia has emerged in the 2008 presidential election, from nefarious whisper campaigns directed at Sen. Barack Obama to the recent distribution of the anti-Muslim propaganda DVD "Obsession" to 28 million newspaper subscribers in swing states.
"We're not talking about people raving on a street corner downtown," said Rendall. "These are people who either have a powerful platform at their disposal or are allowed unfettered access to powerful platforms by reporters and editors in what are considered mainstream publications."
"These Muslim-bashing attacks have a real impact, not only on Muslims in America but on our civil discourse," Rendall added. "We're in the middle of a historic election in which Islamophobia has already played a role, and I don't think we've seen the last of the dirty tricks and the smearcasting. Media need to step up and do their job of separating fact from innuendo, and they should distinguish the impartial experts from the smearcasters."
FAIR, the national media watch group, has been offering well-documented criticism of media bias and censorship since 1986. We work to invigorate the First Amendment by advocating for greater diversity in the press and by scrutinizing media practices that marginalize public interest, minority and dissenting viewpoints. As an anti-censorship organization, we expose neglected news stories and defend working journalists when they are muzzled.
So if you haven't read about one of the more bizarre beliefs of Sarah Palin which has come to light, let me enlighten you. The woman who doesn't know what a vice president does, who instead of answering questions she CAN'T answer tells you she's going to talk about other things, the woman who has "only been on the job for five weeks (that would be you are INTERVIEWING for the job, OMG, it's been FIVE weeks already? That's a LONG time considering the earth has only been around for six thousand years!), yep, that's ole "Joe SixPac", moose huntin', hockey mom trying to turn her own pig's ear into a purse Palin.
Where was I? Oh yes, one of the more unusual beliefs she holds is that dinosaurs lived side by side with human beings. What's that? She's seen the proof with her own eyes!
The Young Turks have something to say about this latest confession from the woman who wants YOU to take a stroll in the forest with her to see the footprints of man right inside the same footprints of dinosaurs!
Upon wondering, say it isn't so Sarah, just how this is possible, I had to go no further than the comments on the same you tube:
'Historia Animalium' written in the 1500's describes several animals as alive at the time that we consider dinosaurs today. A peasant in Italy encountered and killed a small dinosaur Tanystropheus in 1572.
WOW, I'm from Texas too and I didn't know that! Let's look further.........searching searching
Dragons are "mythological" giant reptiles. Many cultures have dragons in paintings, literature and history. Some of the paintings of the "dragons" look like various kinds of dinosaurs. How could it be that so many cultures independently made up the thought of a giant reptile? These sound a lot like dinosaurs to me. Dinosaurs were created along with man and all the other animals.
Later on, there was a worldwide flood which drowned and buried all life on earth except people and animals in a very large boat called the ark. There was plenty of room for dinosaurs. The biggest dinosaur egg was only about the size of a football. Young dinosaurs were very small. The large ones were old ones as they grew all their life. The young ones with a long life ahead of them were on the ark, not the old, big ones.
The ones that got buried quickly with sediment fossilized. Also, all of the lush vegetation was buried and later turned to gas and oil. After the flood, which lasted a year, the earth's climate was changed because it was the first time it had ever rained. Before the flood the earth was covered with a canopy of misty water which made it into a giant green house.
So, God made dinosaurs, but they weren't called that yet. They were called dragons. Then, the big ones died out and people forgot that they were ever real, and they became part of myth. Then, when the dragon bones were dug up and they were given a new name, dinosaur. I have booklets about this topic if you would like to request one free of charge.
GREAT, that's how Alaska got all that oil! From dragon bones! Poor Puff! But I want to see a picture of this dinosaur that an Italian farmer killed (must have been the LAST one) in 1572
Ya know, gee Sarah, I understand now, the "young earth" theory sure is cool! But if I saw that cute little critter, and had never seen one before, I might call the Sierra Club up instead of hitting it over the head. Weren't they around back then?
I just gotta wonder, does Sarah believe that "Historia Animalium" written in the 15oo's by Conrad Gesner which was based on the BIBLE (GEE we've come full circle in this in-house logic) gives full proof to her belief. Only Philip Munger might know since Sarah ain't talking much about this sort of thing lately.
Well Sarah, since you made a list of pet projects that John McCain has worked out for you in the debate the other night, might I as a potential citizen at your mercy suggest another one? Since Todd is so happy on a snow mobile, and you, according to Fred Thompson, are highly qualified to become my vice president because you can single handedly field dress a moose, why don't the two of you do something fun together, heck take the press along with you for photo-ops, you can PROVE that creationism should be taught right alongside evolution in our schools? Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to go out and find one of these dinosaurs that SURELY must still exist in that vast wilderness up there. Then bring it on back home. You can then drape it on the back of your sofa in your office in the White House right alongside that grizzly bear of yours. Yep Sarah, should you succeed in your aspirations, our country will come a long way baby. Wink wink, you BETCHA!
