Westerners and their Morality Plays

Over 200 people died in Baghdad in terrorist attacks and not ONE person posted anything regarding this tragedy in FB. Yet, I have no doubt that if two days from now there will (heaven forfend) be a bombing somewhere in the West, there will be slew of postings and memes about how this is nothing compared to the bombings that Iraqis have to endure on a daily basis.

What this proves to me is that Westerners are only interested in victims of terrorism to the extent that it has something to do with them. Or, put in a different way, we out here in the Middle East are not important as ACTUAL human beings, but rather as bit characters in a larger Western morality play.

Civilization and its Discontents? Part Deux

A few days ago, a Kenyan friend of mine commented on the supposed depravity of Western civilization in a Facebook post. According to his sources, in 1938, the Nobel Peace Prize committee found itself deadlocked over whether it should grant the prize to Gandhi or Hitler. As it turns out, this story is actually a fiction concocted by Tariq Ali - the Pakistani-British Leftist "intellectual" (See HERE).

Meanwhile, back in the real world (see HERE):

Archbishop Desmond Tutu touched another tripwire this week by nominating mass-murderer Marwan Barghouti for the Nobel Peace Prize, an act hailed by the Arab press. “Barghouti is currently serving five life sentences in an Israeli prison for his role in leading terrorist activities during the first and second intifadas that included dozens of suicide bombings against Israeli civilians. He is a former leader of the Tanzim, a militant faction of the Fatah party currently headed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, that took credit for many of the murders during the bloody Second Initfada in the early 2000’s. In 2014, he called for the launch of a third intifada,” the Jewish Press reported.

What does this say about African civilization, that a priest will nominate someone who is serving five concurrent life prison sentences after having been found guilty in a court of law for murdering innocent people? Perhaps it says that so long as the person in question is killing (supposedly) "white" people or "colonialists" (i.e. the biggest lie of all), this is actually praiseworthy?  

It is said that even though very few Southern whites were slave owners, they were willing to fight and die for the cause of slavery just so that there would be someone they felt was beneath them. Similarly, it seems extremely fortunate for Africans and aging Leftist "Liberation" theologians of Tutu's ilk that the Jews exist.

We are literally the gift that keeps on giving.  Since Jews supposedly committed deicide and accepted that "His blood shall be on us and on our children!" (Mathew 27:25) we are uniquely evil. Opposing Israel and being anti-Zionist is not just politically correct, it is a church-sanctioned prerogative.

Or as the old saying goes: "The more things change the more they stay the same."

I'm Finally Feeling the Bern

From CNN: Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., tweeted: “It’s horrific. It’s unthinkable.”

I am trying to understand - What exactly is unthinkable? That a Muslim terrorist chose to murder innocent civilians? Or that someone who was raised to believe that gay people are an abomination that deserve to die actually acted on his theologically sound (from his perspective) beliefs.

It is precisely because well-meaning but clueless idiots such as Bernie cannot fathom the danger of this barbarism that the Left is on the wrong side of history and will lead us to the abyss. Societies don't just disappear. First they crumble from within.

If this entirely predictable scenario comes off as "unthinkable" to you, then you definitely do not have what it takes to protect the American people in what is, unfortunately, a civilizational struggle.

Brace Yourselves!!!

You are about to be reminded by President Obama that Islam is a Religion of Peace.

By the end of the day his spin doctors will try to turn this into just another abject lesson on the "scourge of gun violence" and the need to curtail 2nd Amendment rights.

Anyone who will dare to say anything else is a racist and an Islamophobe.

Please note that this fact is not up for discussion.

My 2 cents: A society that cannot appreciate its contributions nor identify the threats that it faces is doomed to disappear. A phobia is an irrational fear. I have nothing against Muslims per se, but Islamism i.e. political Islam is a dangerous death cult and a tangible threat to humanity. There is nothing irrational about this fear. Complacency is irrational and primarily harms those Muslims that liberals and progressives think they are protecting.

UPDATE 1: That didn't take long:

"Obama also noted that the worst mass shooting in U.S. history is a further reminder of how easy it is for someone to get a weapon that allows them to shoot people in a school, in a house of worship, a movie theater or a gay nightclub."

UPDATE 2: From President Obama's statement:

"We are still learning all the facts. This is an open investigation. We’ve reached no definitive judgment on the precise motivations of the killer. The FBI is appropriately investigating this as an act of terrorism. And I’ve directed that we must spare no effort to determine what -- if any -- inspiration or association this killer may have had with terrorist groups. What is clear is that he was a person filled with hatred."

This is clearly an out and out lie. Mateen declared his allegiance to the Islamic State while on the phone with 911. There is no way that Obama did not know this. Hence his willingness to classify this as a terrorist act. Clearly, he did not say this because he does not want to single out a certain religious group that is implicated in this attack.

The last statement is completely delusional. "What is clear is that he was a person filled with hatred." Really? That's it? Just a bad seed, a misanthrope and sociopath who was off his meds tonight? Perhaps the shooter was ideologically motivated? Perhaps Omar honestly and truly believed that what they were doing was Allah's will and hence an act of Love based on their understanding of what God really wants? I am certainly not justifying this barbarism, but it is consistent with a certain weltanshchauung.

So it has apparently become de rigeur following every terrorist attack on the West to point out that "others" in the world have suffered terrorism and that news coverage of one attack and not another is clear evidence of casual racism.

Here’s why I think this is disingenuous (i.e. BS):

1) The only time bleeding hearts bleed for the Ivory Coast or Yemen is AFTER an attack on Paris or Brussels. I have yet to see a “Je Suis Abidjan” or “Je Suis Aden” profile pic in the colors of the Yemenite flag and I seriously doubt that I will. How many people died in Pakistan today and not one person on my feed posted their deep sorrow at this tragedy? (Oh wait, they were Christians – no need to feel sorry for them. I mean, why are they even there?)

2) The articles that are posted on this subject oddly fail to mention that there is a common thread to all of these attacks (Hint: it starts with “Is” and ends with a word that rhymes with “ham”).

3) I find the use of random dead people in Africa to make some snarky political point or to show how "enlightened" you are because you can find Bamako on a map, is basically a form of trafficking in dead people and exploitative.

4) Somehow in the list of attacks that we are so emotionally enjoined to remember, Israel always remains forgotten. Coincidence? Or just casual antisemitism? If you actually feel bad for victims of terrorism around the world and wanted to make a stand against violence, you'd think that Israel would also merit a mention. Then again, I guess some people just have it coming.

HERE is a good example.

Even the NY Times got in on the act Click HERE.

NB: Apparently, the March 8 stabbing death of Taylor Force – a Vanderbilt student who was visiting Israel – is just "violence" does not count as terrorism.

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/08/middleeast/israel-violence/ 

Terrorism and the Mental Muddle

I just unfriended someone on Facebook who wrote a heartfelt post about the "senseless" and "thoughtless" "tragedy" in San Bernardino.

This was not a "senseless" "tragedy." Of course, it is indescribably tragic for those who died and their loved ones, but this was a heinous crime, a terrorist act that was planned in advance and well thought out (i.e. in no way "thoughtless"). This slaughter was motivated by an extremist ideology based in a particular and well-founded stream of fundamentalist Islam. To call this "senseless" literally constitutes a willful disregard of the facts at hand.

If you can't see that and want to politicize the carnage for your hipster cause du jour (e.g. "gun violence" or climate change), then you too are part of the problem.

Are there Moderate Muslims?

At a time when we are constantly enjoined to remember that most Muslims are moderates, it is interesting to hear this Egyptian Muslim's take on things.

"The bottom line is; it is quite possible, at one point of history, to have an entire nation dominated by some very bad ideas. We have seen it before and we are seeing it today. For the west now to deny this historical fact and pretend that the majority of people are always naturally sane, rational, peace loving hippies is hypocritical, misleading and dishonest. It is an ugly lie that offends our intelligence."

"There are moderate Muslims but it should be clear at this point that they are not as influential as the extremists. It should be clear that advocates of reform in the Muslim world are as marginalized and persecuted as any other non-Muslim minority. One clear proof of that can be seen in the fact that many if not most such Muslims, like Mr. Zonneveld or me personally, do not actually reside in their home countries but in the western world due to the fact that many parts of the Muslim world are extremely intolerant towards reform and criticism.

In my childhood I was told that every day that passes on the Islamic nation without a caliphate is a sin. That the failures and miseries of the Muslim world started the moment we gave up conquests and wars against the infidels. That our prosperity depends on conquering new lands, converting new believers, looting new resources and enslaving more women. I was taught that a Jew is essentially a demon in flesh and that it is our destiny as good Muslims to kill them all. I was regularly fueled by battle stories and stories of lethal feuds of seventh century Arabia. It was not just me, a small child in Cairo, who was raised with these great apocalyptic prophecies, it was also so many people from all around the globe."

For the full opinion piece, click HERE.

Guard Your Women - Beware the Jews!

It's utterly amazing to me that Europeans have found a way to blame Zionists and Jews for the "refugee" invasion that is currently going on in Europe. While it is true that Jews are disproportionately liberal and progressive, it is equally true that they are undoubtedly one of the groups who have the most to lose from this population transfer. That there are Jews who support this shortsighted policy, is in spite of the fact that they are Jews not because of it.

Otherwise, I found this "viral" video to be interesting because it contrasts so sharply with the "warm and fuzzy" clips of women and children refugees proferred by the mainstream media. Actually, this video turns this tendency on its head by focusing on European women and the dangers that they face from virile Muslim marauders. In some ways this reads like the mirror image of Muslim paranoia surrounding the control and "honor" of their women.

For all of its many faults, I think that those who have only seen positive imagery of refugees/migrants or images of suffering and victimization, rightly deserve to be shocked by what is presented here. In short, the clip is both interesting, deeply problematic and unsettling in many ways.

The Miracle of Fire at Joseph's Tomb

According to the CNN headline, another miracle occurred here in the Holy Land today - "Joseph's Tomb site catches fire."

How could this happen? Perhaps this was a case of spontaneous combustion? Most likely, I thought to myself, this was due to a "fire from heaven" such as the one called down by Elijah during his duel with the priests of Baal (I Kings Ch. 18:38-40).

Sadly, it turns out that this was just a mob of Palestinian arsonists who decided to upset the "status quo" by burning down a Jewish and Christian holy site. According to tradition, Joseph, son of the patriarch Jacob (i.e. Israel), was buried here after he was brought to the Holy Land following the Exodus.

Although these acts of desecration of non-Muslim holy sites are all-too-common both here in Israel and in Islamic States, President-for-life Mahmoud Abbas snapped into action and promised a full investigation.  For the record, he stated that "These kinds of acts, or any other acts that violate the law and order ... offend our culture, religion and morals."

First of all, I am happy to see that Abbas is actually capable of condemning violence. It is just too bad that he has, to date, been unable to similarly condemn the stabbing of innocent people.  I guess what that means is that the wave of stabbings we have experienced over the past ten days do not offend Palestinian culture, religion, and morals.

Read all about it.

PS  After a few hours CNN did a stealth edit of the Headline. It seems that even they realized their own ridiculousness.

Flagging Sophistication

I never could understood why it is considered the height of sophistication to aver that "Flags are just pieces of cloth with color on them."

That's like saying that books are just wood pulp with ink on them. Or humans are just sacks of flesh with blood and bones in them. Or movies are just projections of light through celluloid.

Sure, all of the above are technically true, but they entirely miss the point.

"On the Verge of Destruction"

Just last month CNN declared it the "last chance to see" the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and made it the poster child for the world's 25 most "magnificent and endangered" structures.  As you can see from the link (below), these buildings are apparently "on the verge of destruction." it is odd then that Palmyra did not even make their list. This, despite the fact that Palmyra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was already in the Islamic State's hands at the time the article was published. (http://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/30/architecture/gallery/beautiful-buildings-verge-of-destruction/)

This is just one more example of how the Arab-Israeli conflict skews reality. While everyone is focused on what is going on over here in Israel, very important things are happening throughout the Middle East that are not being covered by the news. It is precisely for this reason that no one saw the Arab Spring coming and why the real story of the last decade was happening in the Sunni triangle of Iraq and in the underground bases of Iran. Gaza, Israel, West Bank - this is all a side show to a much bigger drama.

Today the world lost a priceless historical gem that was part of the patrimony of all of mankind. What else will be lost if the West continues with it's head in the sand?

Do Not Disagree with Me!

As each day passes, the Obama administration and President Obama himself ups the rhetoric against anyone who opposes the Iran "deal"/capitulation.  In his latest "presidential" outburst, Obama stated that he does not recall a similar example of a leader of an another country forcefully injecting themselves into the debate that is currently going on in Washington surrounding the "deal"/capitulation.

I will leave it to others to debate whether or not this is unprecedented.  I personally think all of this debate surrounding the agreement is a moot point since he will clearly veto any bill that rejects this deal and there will never be enough votes to override a veto.

That said, and in light of his latest assertions I do think that there are two things that need to be clearly stated:

1) This administration is constantly interfering in Israel's internal affairs, to the point where it tried to inject itself into the recent elections up to and including the subversion of Israeli democracy. I guess it is no fun when the shoe is on the other foot, but somehow I am sure that the US will somehow get over it.

2) The Iranian nuclear bomb is an important issue that Washingtonians need to debate but it is an absolutely  EXISTENTIAL issue for Israelis (and Palestinians, for that matter).  There is literally wall to wall consensus here from every political camp (including the Arab parties) that a nuclear Iran is a threat to this region and that this is a bad deal that will not prevent Iran from going nuclear.  I think that an Israeli Prime Minister who did not try to impact the vote on this issue by making his voice loudly heard would not be worthy of his positions.

So, Obama's protestations of admiration for Israel and commitment to the country's security notwithstanding, it is actually our kids who are on the front lines and our lives that are in harms way. Rather than encourage debate and argue the finer points of this "deal"/capitulation, Obama's imperious approach just comes off as condescending. How dare Israelis oppose his "gift" to us?

Frankly, if Obama had only spent 5% of the energy he is currently using to fend off Israeli objections into forcing the Iranians to agree to the dismantlement of their nuclear program and anytime/anywhere inspections, we would be in a much better place. Sometimes it really is hard to tell who Obama thinks are America's friends and who are its enemies.