[8/31/06]

[Joel Rosenberg - novelist] 12:15 am [permalink]
Congressional Staff Discuss Iran's End Times Theology, Nuclear Threat With Iran vowing to defy the international community and accelerating its nuclear program, interest in truly understanding Iran's intentions are growing in Washington. Yesterday, I had the privilege of addressing about 75 Congressional and Bush administration staffers on the topic of "The Iranian President's End Times Theology and Its Implications for U.S. Foreign Policy."

We discussed why Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is saying that the end of the world is rapidly approaching, and why he believes that the way to hasten the coming of the Islamic Messiah known as the “Hidden Imam” or the “12th Imam” or the “Mahdi” is to launch a global jihad to annihilate Israel (the “little Satan”) and the U.S. (the “Great Satan”). We also discussed Ahmadinejad's 18-page letter to President Bush, the speech he gave to the United Nations last fall in which he believes that he was surrounded by an angel of light, and his latest gambit -- demanding a debate with President Bush. The first question that was asked when my presentation was finished: How should the U.S. respond to a leader who believes it is his religious mission to bring about the end of days, and who is feverishly pursuing the arsenal and alliances needed to bring his apocalyptic vision to pass? That, indeed, is the central question of the hour. We discussed it at length and I encouraged these staffers to help the leaders they serve get up to speed quickly on the radical Shi'ite End Times theology (or, eschatology) held by Ahmadinejad and his inner circle. Only then will they fully appreciate how dangerous is the current crisis and how little time the U.S. has to make a decision of how to stop Iran from launching its genocidal plans.

[8/30/06]

[Streetsweeper] 12:05 am [permalink] @Human Events
Journalists' Forced Conversion Not Contrary to Islam by Robert Spencer - The most bizarre element of the two weeks of captivity suffered by Fox News reporter Steve Centanni and photographer Olaf Wiig was the video that surfaced depicting their conversion to Islam. Even before the journalists revealed that their conversions had been coerced, there were indications that they were not acting freely. While reading a statement he himself had ostensibly written, Centanni stumbled over words, appeared to puzzle over the handwriting, and seemed to grimace after pronouncing the words “peace be upon him” after the name of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Most jarring was the video editor's invocation of the favorite Koran verse of Western analysts of Islam and terrorism, "There is no compulsion in religion" (2:256). The irony of featuring this verse in a video depicting two forced conversions has been widely noted. In fact, however, the juxtaposition of this verse with the video of Centanni and Wiig was probably not simply transparent deception, as strange as that may seem.

Islamic law forbids forced conversion, but as Andrew Bostom documented earlier this week, this is a law that throughout Islamic history has all too often been honored in the breach... [full article at Human Events]

[8/29/06]

[Joel Rosenberg - novelist] 12:15 am [permalink]
Rome To Lead Mideast Peace Force Not since the fall of the Roman Empire has Rome stationed military forces in or near the Holy Land. But the current government in Rome has just formally offered to lead the U.N. peacekeeping force that will be stationed in southern Lebanon, on the border with Israel. "Italian prime minister Romano Prodi made the offer on Monday (21 August) and it has been accepted by Beirut," reported the E.U. Observer. Italy's parliament has authorized up to 3,000 troops be sent to the region. For the moment, Prodi is planning to send 2,000.

The move was a dramatic and unexpected one, given Italy's more recent history of reticence to be involved in Mideast affairs. What's interesting is that Bible prophecy -- notably the Books of Daniel and Revelation -- suggest a revived Roman Empire will emerge in the "last days" before the return of Jesus Christ to earth and that a Roman dictator known by theologians as the "Antichrist" will eventually sign a peace treaty will Israel, and then break that covenant and try to destroy the Jewish State, a move that will lead to the battle of Armageddon. Such events don't occur until after the "rapture" -- the disapperance of true followers of Jesus Christ from the earth -- but many evangelical Christians believe the rapture is an increasingly immiment event. The sudden emergence of Rome as a critical player in the Mideast peace process will do nothing to dampen that belief.

Meanwhile, Germany will commit some 1,200 troops to the U.N. force, mostly by way of naval and air forces. This is a dramatic step as well, given that not since the Nazis sought to takeover the whole of North Africa and the Middle East have German military forces been anywhere close to the region.

[NOTE: Sorry I've been unable to blog over the past week. I was preaching on "Are We Living In The Last Days?" near Jacksonville, Florida...was in Chicago, narrating the audio version of EPICENTER....and participating in a weekend-long board meeting for the new organization my wife and I have formed, The Joshua Fund. More on all this soon. Thanks for your patience.]

[8/28/06]

[8/25/06]

[Jon Coupal - president Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association] 12:15 am [permalink]
Angelides' Policies Would Imperil State's Economy Sir Winston Churchill once said that "for a nation to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle." It appears Phil Angelides wants to put the entire state of California into that bucket, then fill the bucket with concrete just to make it a little more challenging.

Angelides, the Democratic nominee in the governor's race, has exactly the wrong philosophy for California's economy. His proposals to expand the size and scope of government are estimated to cost more than $18 billion -- that's nearly 14 percent of the entire state budget. The only positive thing that can be said about his plan is that he hasn't been shy -- up to now -- about his intentions. But any intention to raise taxes -- even disclosed -- is still bad.

The California economy is currently rebounding from the economic crisis of three years ago, but it is still vulnerable. Higher taxes -- any higher taxes -- could derail this engine of prosperity.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, in contrast, has a record that is decidedly taxpayer friendly. When he came into office, he immediately followed through on a campaign promise to reverse the tripling of the car tax. This saved California motorists about $4 billion per year.

Phil Angelides called that tax reduction "wrong-headed," but this is no surprise. There are few taxes for which Angelides has yet to oppose an increase. The car tax, the sales tax, the income tax, the alcohol tax, farm taxes, taxes on services such as auto repair have all been targets of Angelides efforts to increase state revenues at the expense of already heavily burdened taxpayers. He's even taken aim at dismantling the property tax protections of Proposition 13. His philosophy on taxes appears to be rather simple: More is better.

But more isn't better -- unless we are talking about the growth in state revenues that has resulted from Schwarzenegger's holding the line taxes. Let's be clear. Thanks to his fiscally sound approach, the economy has boomed. Personal income is growing at a rate of 6 percent a year. There are nearly 600,000 new jobs in the state. Revenues are up, allowing for record spending for education and other state programs that even some of the Governor's most vocal critics have applauded.

So what is a natural tax-and-spend liberal to do? Under pressure by supporters to resuscitate a comatose campaign with ten weeks to go before the election, Angelides has released his own tax plan that he claims would benefit the middle class.

His plan is troubling on two levels. First, it runs contrary to Angelides' career-long philosophy on taxation. And second, he has given no indication that he will scale back on his spending plans to pay for $1.4 billion in tax breaks. Taxpayers have a right to be suspicious that if Angelides agrees to stop reaching into one of their pockets, he intends to reach into another pocket through other forms of taxation.

This is an unfortunate trend with Angelides. He has proposed a number of spending plans along the campaign trail but never answered the question, "How will you pay for it?" He wants to dramatically increase school funding, supports state-run single-payer health care, says he will close the budget deficit, and advocates immediate universal health care for California children, among other spending. His only on-the-record plan to pay for these things: raising taxes on the "wealthy" and closing "corporate tax loopholes." He has failed to detail these "loopholes" and how much he would bring in from them. And he claims all of his spending will only require $5 billion in higher taxes, which is akin to trying to buy a Ferrari at the 99 Cents Store.

When it comes to Angelides' tax plans, taxpayers are forced to conclude that either he does not plan to follow through on his promises, or he plans a massive tax hike to pay for them all -- a tax hike that will inflict great harm to California's middle class.

It is fortunate that the media are not buying Angelides' attempt to recast himself as a taxpayer champion. Indeed, the word "pandering" was heard more than once this week when reporters got together to compare notes. By word and deed, Angelides has spent a political lifetime tattooing the word "tax raiser" on his forehead. Although he can cover it up with a hat that says "tax cutter," everybody knows the tattoo is still there.

[8/24/06]

[Julia Gorin pundit/comedian] 12:05 am [permalink]
CNN tells us to ‘Know Your Enemy’ — and gives us Christianne Amanpour A CNN documentary titled “In the Footsteps of bin Laden” premiered Wednesday night at 9:00 PM ET. The commercial for it had the caption “Know Your Enemy.” Ironically enough, it was hosted by Christianne Amanpour, the British-Iranian pro-Muslim propagandist who sold the West on the anti-Serb wars that allied us with bin Laden-trained terrorists in Bosnia and Kosovo. She even reported from a Serbian graveyard, claiming to be at a Bosnian-Muslim one. The phenomenal new book by Peter Brock, “Media Cleansing: Dirty Reporting” has it all.

In the footsteps of bin Laden? Amanpour should know; she’s been covering his tracks for more than a decade. Know our enemy? Her treacherous face on display for all. [Go to Julia Gorin's Glob]

[8/23/06]

[Daniel Pipes - author, activist, activist] 12:01am [permalink]
Bibliography - My Writings on the Changing Face of Warfare: Warfare in recent decades has turned historic assumptions upside down. Countries used to be the enemy; now regimes are the enemy, while their subject peoples are our friend. Battlefield superiority used to be the goal, now it is assumed before a shot is fired. Victory used to be the goal, now it's peace. Promoting one's own interests was the exclusive goal, now helping the defeated is no less important. Victors used to plunder the vanquished; now victors fund the defeated. Rooting for one's own side was once assumed, while helping the enemy was treasonous; now, allegiance has become a legitimately open question.

I hope to chip systematically away at this topic. Here is a bibliography of my writings on this subject, with additions as needed:

• “Mysterious America.” IntellectualCapital.com, April 1, 1999. While objective indices point to unparalleled American power, subjective realities paint a much murkier picture of confusion, insularity and reluctance.”
• “Attack U.S. and Win Aid.” (with Jonathan Schanzer), New York Post, January 28, 2002. Considers and criticizes the "mouse that roared"” syndrome.
• “War's New Face.” New York Post, April 16, 2003. Analyses six features of modern warfare
• “War as Social Work?” New York Post, May 6, 2003. Assesses the odd development of judging hostilities less in terms of what they do for oneself than what benefits they affect the other side.
• “The End of Treason.” The New York Sun, August 16, 2005. Documents and explains why the concept of treason is nearly defunct.
• “The Lebanon War's Strange Logic.” The New York Sun, August 15, 2006. Considers the topsy-turvy situation in which combatants show themselves in stress.

[8/22/06]

[Julia Gorin pundit/comedian] 12:05 am [permalink]
P.S. to “How Broadway Divas Think” I just remembered that the same Patti Lupone who commended Vanessa Redgrave’s pro-PLO politics (see glob below) came back from a Spain vacation just a few months before the deadly attacks on Madrid, saying that it’s the Muslim influence in the south of Spain that “gives the area its allure and magic.”

And I just want to tell her, “Um actually, Patti, magic is when you can put the people back together again. That’s usually how that trick goes. Otherwise, I think it’s called terrorism.” [Go to Julia Gorin's Glob]

[Julia Gorin pundit/comedian] 12:01 am [permalink]
How Broadway Divas Think On her website, the original Broadway Evita Patti Lupone blogs about her travels in “Ramblings from the Road,” commenting, “What a mess this world is. If we send bombs to Israel we had better be building bomb shelters for the people of Lebanon. What is going on? Everybody wants peace, I know it. And, you know, I think back to Vanessa Redgrave and her politics of the 60’s and 70’s…”

This one just “knows” that everyone wants peace — despite the evidence to the contrary thrown at us on a daily basis. But let’s go along. Let’s think like Patti. This means that:

If Lupone’s bodyguards carry guns, she’d better buy bullet-proof vests for her stalkers.

If pharmaceutical companies provide AIDS drugs, they should make the HIV virus resistant to the drugs.

And if Planned Parenthood provides abortion services, they’d better support anti-abortion legislation.

Because we really shouldn’t take sides. [Go to Julia Gorin's Glob]

[8/21/06]

[Mediacrity] 12:01 am [permalink]
A Tepid Response to Palestinian Thuggery The Palestinian kidnapping of Fox news correspondent Steve Centanni and camerman Olaf Wing is now in its seventh day, and it's interesting to note the flabby response from both the media and so-called journalism "protection" organizations -- which are usually quick to condemn Israel and the U.S. authorities in Iraq.

The usually garrulous Committee to Protect Journalists issued a tepid statement expressing "concern," and the media generally has kept its distance. The New York Times, typically, buried a tiny reference to the kidnapping in a news roundup two days later. Obviously the Times was hoping that Centanni would be swiftly released, and delayed mentioning the kidnapping in the hope that it could report news of his release at the same time. Mustn't upset the myth of Palestinian moderation!

Another big problem with the kidnapping, from the standpoint of pro-Palestinian mouthpieces like the Times, is that it is part of a pattern of Palestinian intimidation of journalists, as noted in an excellent FrontPage Magazine article Thursday.

The media has ignored that aspect of the kidnappings, and instead has even used the kidnappings to give a publicity plug to terrorists, such as in this ludicrous AP story today quoting an Islamic Jihad terorist saying what a terrible thing it is to kidnap people.

It will be interesting to see if the media picks up on the FrontPage Magazine article, and puts the kidnapping in context. Don't hold your breath. [go to Mediacrity blog]

[8/18/06]

[Joel Rosenberg - novelist] 12:15 am [permalink]
ABC Preparing Prime Time Special "Are We Living In The Last Days?" With wars and rumors of wars raging in the Middle East, ABC News correspondent Elizabeth Vargas is preparing a prime time special examining religious and scientific views of the last days. "How smart are we as a civilization? Smart enough to control our destiny and avoid the cataclysms that may end life as we know it? Watch 'Last Days on Earth,' a special 2-hour edition of 20/20, Wednesday, Aug. 30, at 9 p.m. For thousands of years, different religions have warned Earth about Armageddon and the final days. We are now living in an age where scientists are adding their voices and their evidence in support of end-of-the-world possibilities. Last Days on Earth is a program that could change the way you see your world and yourself." The program comes in the wake of a tremendous amount of media coverage of the question of current events and Bible prophecy, and a growing interest in the topic at the White House, on Capitol Hill and at the CIA. NBC Nightly News was also working on a story, but has put plans to air it on hold in light of the Mideast cease fire. Very shortly, Tyndale will be releasing the results of a nationwide poll we commissioned on American attitudes towards Bible prophecy as part of Epicenter: Why The Current Rumblings In The Middle East Will Change Your Future. We specifically asked Americans of all races, religions and political parties whether they believe we are living in what the Bible calls the "last days." I think you'll be stunned by the results. More on that soon.

* BREAKING: France rebuffs U.N. pleas to send a major peace-keeping force to Lebanon
* Iran plans large-scale war games in run-up to Aug 22
* North Korea appears to be preparing nuclear test
* Russia moves military equipment to Armenia
* Putin considers new alliance with 5 Central Asian republics
* Apocalypse Now?

[8/17/06]

[Julia Gorin pundit/comedian] 12:01 am [permalink]
Thank you, Mike Wallace! Intelligence agencies, you’ve been put on alert. In Mike Wallace’s interview with Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the senile-from-birth CBS journalist called the Hezbollah-backer “an impressive fellow,” “obviously smart as hell,” “reasonable,” and “an interesting man.” Wallace also said, “He couldn’t have been more accommodating. He had a good time doing the interview.” Furthermore, Ahmadinejad “didn’t propagandize,” made his case “fairly rationally” and was “infinitely more rational than I had expected him to be.” According to World Net Daily, “Wallace concluded that Ahmadinejad was sincere in his hope for peaceful coexistence between Iran and the West.”

FLASHBACK:

It’s 1998. ABC Nightline decides to do an interview with Osama bin Laden, who has declared war on America. The assignment goes to correspondent John Miller. From Paul L. Williams’ 2005 book The Al Qaeda Connection:

Bin Laden, to the network’s astonishment, graciously consented to the interview, leading ABC executives to believe that the emir must be either a fan of Nightline or else a Muslim leader in search of publicity…

The interview between Miller and bin Laden took place in Afghanistan on May 28, 1998. Osama was all smiles as Miller obsequiously hailed him as a ‘hero to his followers’ and ‘the Middle East version of Teddy Roosevelt…

John Miller’s interview with bin Laden was aired on June 8, 1998. On August 7, 1998, the US embasies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed.

I’d say we’ve had enough examples of networks functioning as indicators of imminent attacks, based on whom they’re trying to ingratiate to us. By now, the intelligence community should be using major media interviews as red flags, and should base their timelines for anticipating attacks on media interviews with lunatics. [Go to Julia Gorin's Glob]

[8/16/06]

[Daniel Pipes - author, activist, activist] 12:01am [permalink]
More on the term "Islamic Fascists" George W. Bush had used "Islamic fascists" and "Islamofascists" often before but, for reasons that elude me, his statement on Aug. 10 turned this wording into a major issue, with dozens of articles, pro and con, debating the term. I myself weighed in today with an article titled "‘At War with Islamic Fascists'." Here are some of the discussions that struck me as particularly worthwhile, with additions as they appear:

• Abdel Rahman al-Rashed, "بالتأكيد هم فاشيون" ("They Certainly Are Fascists"). August 13, 2006. The general manager of Al-‘Arabiya news channel, who has already proven his bravery, asks "What's wrong with describing terrorists with any negative term?"
• Timothy R. Furnish, "Islamic Fascism': Well, It's Half Right." August 14, 2006. Argues that this term "should be avoided because it's simply another way to let Islam off the hook."

[8/15/06]

[Joel Rosenberg - novelist] 12:15 am [permalink]
Russian Newspaper Lays Out Scenario For Mideast Apocalypse - Says Russia, Turkey could be involved Picking up on the Wall Street Journal oped by Bernard Lewis about Iran's end-of-the-world religious passions, the Russian newspaper Pravda has laid out its own scenario for a nuclear apocalypse in the Middle East.

1. The war in Lebanon continues to flare.

2. Hezbollah fires Iranian missiles at Israel, but Israel intercepts those missiles, as it intercepted the Scuds fired in 1991 by Iraq.

3. Israel attacks Iranian nuclear sites, perhaps with the help of the U.S. Navy. Iran launches a full-scale counter attack against Israeli cities and American warships.

4. Turkey gets dragged into the war, as does Russia and all Hell breaks loose. Pravda: "Very soon such participants as Turkey will inevitably get dragged into the funnel of war. In Iraq and Afghanistan anti-government militant groups will become very active. Finally the conflict will focus on the fighting for the control over the territories with major oil resources. That is exactly with the U.S. is after. The eventual possession of the oil treasury by one of the conflicting sides will provoke harsh resistance from both Asia and Europe. Russia is also very likely to get provoked into becoming an active participant. In the end this might become the Ultimate Fifth Act, in which no one wishes to believe…"

“Such a scenario does not seem too unrealistic to me,” Sergey Markov, a Russian political scientist, told Pravda. “These days anything is possible in the Middle East. People living there are crazy and they constantly keep playing with fire. Their situation has gone out of control and is ready to explode any minute. In fact, the new world war is already going in that place.”

"How could you stay silent when you see your land burn and your children get killed?" said Mr. Yahia, who said he was a platoon commander with the local defense force [Times-speak for "Hezbollah"]. "The whole population here is resisting."

In Lebanon, maybe. But to the dilettantes at the Times, the romantic allure of terrorism "irresistible" -- as long as Katyushas aren't being lobbed at their apartments on West End Avenue. [go to Mediacrity blog]