Michigan Attorney General Targets Medical Marijuana Law

Says it sanctions criminal activity

Mark Huffman

 

Michigan is one of the states with medical marijuana laws on its books, but the state's attorney general says the law is poorly written and having unintended consequences.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, joined by two Republican state legislators, has announced his plans to revise the law in the next session of the legislature.

"Michigan voters didn't count on pot shops springing up across from their schools and churches," said Schuette.  "That's why I'm taking action today to support local governments' authority to protect their communities."

Schuette filed a brief today in support of the City of Livonia in the case, Linda Lott and Robert Lott v City of Birmingham, City of Bloomfield Hills, and City of Livonia. The case involves a legal challenge brought by the ACLU regarding the authority of communities to prohibit medical marijuana use or sales on the grounds that marijuana possession violates federal law.

'Illegal activity'

In a brief filed with the court, Schuette sides with Livonia, arguing that the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act is preempted by federal law and that local communities should not be forced to sanction criminal activity. The case is scheduled for oral argument on June 30, 2011 at 11:00 A.M.

Schuette said that conservative estimates suggest there are hundreds of dispensaries across the state, with eighty-four in the Lansing area alone.

While state courts complete their review of cases involving the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act, Schuette is working with legislators to make changes to the law.

"I welcome legislative reforms that will give prosecutors and law enforcement the tools they need to crack down on criminals who exploit the loopholes of this law," said Schuette.

Also today, Schuette issued an Attorney General's Opinion, declaring that the law allows no more than 12 marijuana plants to be cultivated in a single location. He further declared that each set of plants grown by a caregiver is required to be in a separate, enclosed and locked facility, accessible only to the caregiver and a single patient.

Out of control

Calling medical marijuana “out of control,” Schuettte said the Michigan law did not legalize marijuana, but criminals are exploiting it to sell the drug.

This week in Washington, Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) and Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) introduced legislation that would remove the federal prohibition against marijuana. The measure would essentially leave it up to the states to make their own laws with regard to the drug.

From: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2011/06/michigan-attorney-general-targets-medical-marijuana-law.html

Jordan opposes a Palestinian state.

A senior Jordanian official says the Hashemite kingdom will vote against a Palestinian statehood bid scheduled to be put before the UN General Assembly in September.

"Jordan's top national interests will be in danger if the Palestinian Authority declares statehood unilaterally – especially in everything related to the issue of refugees, water, Jerusalem, and the borders," the UAE-based al-Bayan quoted a Jordanian state official as saying.

The high-ranking official added that a unilateral Palestinian declaration of state is in Israel's best interest, as it wants the state to be established "within the borders of the separation fence" – a move that would effectively erase the border between the West Bank and Jordan, which the kingdom vehemently rejects.

The report says Jordanian Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit publicly expressed this opinion during a speech he made two months ago before fellow statesmen.


This was, according to the report, "the beginning of the exposure of Jordan's decision to publicly stand its ground before Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas".
Meanwhile, the paper also reported that Jordan is preparing to cancel the identification papers provided for Palestinian statesmen and their families. The decision was explained as a move that began with a 1988 ruling "to disengage from the West Bank and maintain Palestinian identity".

However, the paper claims this decision displays the deterioration in relations between the Palestinian Authority and Jordan, also seen in the Palestinian decision to prefer Egypt to Jordan as mediator in the truce talks between rival factions Hamas and Fatah.

From: http://yourjewishnews.com/8038.aspx

Breaking: Taliban Attack Kabul Hotel, Ten Reported Dead

by Ed Driscoll

 

At Hot Air, Allahpundit writes:

In progress as I write this. Sounds … Mumbai-esque.

A group of suicide bombers attacked the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul Tuesday, and fighting was ongoing with Afghan security forces, Chief of Criminal Investigation Mohammed Zahir told CNN.
A spokesman for the Taliban, Zabiullah Mujahid, said a group of Taliban bombers was responsible for the 10 p.m. attack on the hotel, which is popular among international guests. There were no immediate details on casualties.
The hotel is located on a hill on the outskirts of Kabul and is typically protected by heavy security. A news conference was scheduled to take place Wednesday in the hotel to discuss the planned transition of security from international to Afghan forces.

The hotel’s power has reportedly been cut, presumably by the bombers. Why they’d bother doing that if this is a simple suicide-bomb mission, I’m not sure. Alternate theory: Like Mumbai, this is not a simple suicide-bomb mission.

Associated Press reporters at the scene heard bursts of gunfire and saw shooting from the roof of the five-story Inter-Continental hotel that sits on a hill overlooking the city. Police ordered bystanders to lay on the ground for safety. There was no immediate word on casualties in the rare, nighttime attack in the Afghan capital.
A guest who was inside also said he heard gunfire echoing throughout the building. Streets leading to the hotel were blocked and the electricity was out…
Azizullah, an Afghan police officer who uses only one name, told an Associated Press reporter at the scene that at least one bomber entered the hotel and detonated a vest of explosives. Another police officer, who would not disclose his name, said there were at least two suicide bombers.

The Times says there could be as many as six suicide bombers on the scene, and reportedly at least three are carrying light and heavy weapons. According to a Taliban spokesman, who took credit for the attack on behalf of the group, the attackers “are breaking into each room and they are targeting the 300 Afghans and foreigners who are staying.” Systematic murder, in other words, not indiscriminate explosions; presumably, they’re wearing vests in case they’re cornered by U.S. and Afghan troops and want to take a few with them at the moment of truth.

The Christian Science Monitor reports the attack “appears to have left at least 10 people dead,” but as Allah noted this is very much a still-developing situation.
Ace adds, “the Intercontinental chain is a brand name. They like going after things with brand names,” which dovetails into this AP report:

The Inter-Continental—known widely as the “Inter-Con” opened in the late 1960s, was the nation’s first international luxury hotel. It has at least 200 rooms and was once part of an international chain. But when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979, the hotel was left to fend for itself.

Along with pretty much the rest of whatever little infrastructure that otherwise primitive nation had slowly begun to develop in the post-World War II-era.

From: http://pajamasmedia.com/eddriscoll/2011/06/28/breaking-massive-taliban-attack-on-kabul-hotel/

Ezra Levant & Brooke Goldstein on lawfare

Iran Threatens Turkey, Reveals Missile Silos

Soon those silos will contain nuclear-tipped missiles.

 

by 'Reza Kahlili'

Iranian regime-run site Entekhab reports:

According to sources close to the Iranian regime, who were interviewed by Al-Manar [Hezbollah affiliated TV run out of Lebanon], Iran’s resolve is as strong as a rock and defending Damascus is as much of a priority as defending Beirut and Tehran. … Tehran does not meddle in any of the events taking place in Syria.

Quoting the Iraqi daily newspaper Al-Akhbar, Entekhab wrote:

Tehran has threatened Turkey by announcing that Iran will bomb every single NATO and U.S. base in Turkey, should they allow any attacks on Syria to be launched from within Turkish soil. The Iranian regime believes protecting Syria to be as important as protecting both Lebanon and Iran.

Though Iranian regime officials have claimed that this threat has not affected Turkish-Iranian relations, there are reports that privately a number of Turkish officials are extremely incensed by the Iranian regime’s belligerence. So far, neither Iran nor Turkey has publicly commented on this matter.

I revealed on May 9 that Ayatollah Khamenei held a covert meeting in Tehran with commanders of the Revolutionary Guards, representatives of the Syrian embassy, members of Hezbollah, and leaders of the Sadr movement. There, he demanded that all operational and logistic forces be applied in order to stamp out the blaze of sedition in Syria and to destroy those who are enemies of God in that country. The Iranian supreme leader called the Syrian protesters an enemy of God who are plotting against Islam. One week after that meeting, reports from sources within Iran indicated a dispatch of Guard forces to Damascus via four planes filled with guns, ammunition, and other military equipment.

The Iranian leaders are extremely worried about the situation in Syria as the fall of the Assad government will be a big blow to the Islamic regime in Tehran. Syria has provided the gateway for the expansion of the Iranian terror networks needed to influence the events in the Middle East, and a change in Syria could mean the start of the demise of radicals in Iran.

read more: http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/iran-threatens-turkey-reveals-missile-silos/

Obama's Plan to Islamicize America

Victor Mordechai

 

At a meeting of the David Allen Lewis “Eschatology Club” a year ago in Springfield, Missouri, where I was the featured speaker, I was told by the organizers that in the previous monthly meeting, Pastor Don Jones made a disturbing statement about President Barack Obama’s plan to Islamicize America.

Jones went to one of his orphanages in Haiti after the massive earthquake there and met with a senior UN official, who said Obama had told him that the US would be a Muslim country by 2016, or by the end of his second term in office.

While that may seem far-fetched, it is not beyond the realm of possibility. First, Obama’s biological father was a Muslim— which makes the President a Muslim. His stepfather was an Indonesian Muslim who raised Obama as a Muslim in a mosque and madrassa (Islamic religious school) in Indonesia until age 11. His halfbrothers in Kenya are Muslims.

My wife Rachel, who is a radio and TV monitor in the Arabic language for Israel Radio in Jerusalem, has picked up many broadcasts indicating that the Arabs see Obama as a Muslim. In one broadcast prior to the 2008 elections, the Saudis claimed that “we will have a Muslim in the White House.”

Another Saudi broadcast said: “Obama’s job is to terminate the Shiite threat [Iran] and the Jewish threat [Israel]. And if he cannot do this, he should pack his bags and go home.”

America has always been a Judeo- Christian nation, but demographically at least, this is no longer true. While there are more than 250 million Christians in the US, the 6 million Jews are now outnumbered by Muslims who total about 20 million (9 million Iranians who fled after the fall of the Shah, 7 million Arabs and at least 3 million black Muslims, with the remainder being from Somalia and the former Yugoslavia).

Numerically, the Jews are now no. 3 or 4 along with the Hindus in the US, whose population is about the same as the Jews. According to Obama’s Inauguration Day speech, America is a “Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu” country. Numerically, he is right. So much for Judeo-Christian America.

In the June edition of Israel Today, I wrote about the worsening conditions of the Christians in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. International investment in Egypt has all but dried up since the Revolution. What international (Christian) corporation will invest in a country which is killing and ethnically cleansing its Christians? So the Egyptian economy appears doomed to collapse, which would create fertile ground for a takeover by the radical Muslim Brotherhood.

This would leave 70 million Muslims in Egypt in dire poverty.

The same applies to other countries in the Middle East that could be taken over by Islamic militants. In the case of Syria, the ruling Muslim Alawite sect will probably share the same fate as the Christians. This could lead to a flood of Arab Muslims to greener pastures in the West.

The Bible says Egypt will be a desolation and Egyptians will flee to other countries because the nation will be uninhabitable for 40 years (Ezekiel 29). If the official Syrian newspaper Tishrin is correct in saying that 600,000 Palestinian refugees and Syrians will march on the Golan Heights to reclaim their land, then a war with Syria is inevitable, which means that Syria will be a desolation as well (Isaiah 17).

The result could be tens of millions of Muslims fleeing to the US and Europe. President Obama would welcome these “brethren” on humanitarian grounds, and in effect, America would become a Muslim country.
I was just convicted and given a three-year jail sentence in Switzerland for helping defeat a plan to build minarets at the nation’s mosques by a 57 percent majority.

But the Muslims in Switzerland are already returning with a new minaret initiative. They are tenacious in their plans to Islamicize Switzerland and Europe. Why not the US?

 

 

From: http://www.israeltoday.co.il/tabid/178/nid/22844/language/en-US/Default.aspx

The real face of Hizb ut Tehrir

 

Interesting read on the same Muslim group that just held a conference in Chicago on Sunday, aggressively explaining to Muslims in the U.S. how they can support the establishment of a worldwide caliphate ruled by Islamic sharia law.

By Amir Mir, Asia Times Online :: The real face of Hizbul Tehrir

ISLAMABAD – The shadow of militant group Hizbul Tehrir (HuT) looms large in the interrogations of Pakistan army Brigadier Ali Khan and four majors who have revealed senior military officers planned to lead a coup against the government in Islamabad in an attempt to convert the country into a pure Islamic state by reviving the Khilafat (caliphate) system envisaged by the al-Qaeda-linked organization.

The officers are being interrogated in the garrison town of Rawalpindi by the Special Investigation Branch of the Military Intelligence (MI) after their arrest for suspected ties to militant organizations, reinforcing fears that the Pakistan’s armed forces have been infiltrated at all levels by al-Qaeda and Taliban-linked Islamic extremists.

The detained officers have conceded that they were in touch with

the HuT, which had incited them to launch a rebellion against the country’s military and political leadership over what they see as pro-American policies. Investigators have concluded that HuT has the same objectives as al-Qaeda – the enforcement of Islamic rule in accordance with sharia(Islamic laws) in Muslim-majority countries and the restoration of an Islamic caliphate.

A group of junior army officers linked to HuT had previously tried to stage a military coup against the regime of Pervez Musharraf regime in 2003 with the help of their moles in uniform. However, the plan was foiled and the plotters were court-martialed, followed by a government ban on the activities of the HuT in Pakistan. The authorities had also arrested Omar Khan, a British-born Pakistani who was identified as the person enlisting and indoctrinating the men in uniform on behalf of the HuT.

Islamic groups and parties have been striving since the inception of Pakistan to Islamize the country in accordance with the Objective Resolution, adopted by the Constituent Assembly in 1949, which stated that Muslims living in Pakistan would be enabled to mould their lives in line with the teachings of Islam. HuT is one such Islamic group and presents itself as a global revolutionary movement with branches in over 50 countries across the globe, including the United Kingdom and the United States.

Read it all via Asia Times Online and ask your elected officials why Hizb ut Tehrir is not banned in the U.S.

From: http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/2011/06/28/the-real-face-of-hizb-ut-tehrir/

Exclusive: On the trail of al Qaeda’s Southeast Asian soldiers

In parts of Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia, Osama Bin Laden is being mourned by young Islamist activists who are swearing to avenge him. From the jungles of the Philippines to the jails of Indonesia, FRANCE 24 reporters went on the trail of al Qaeda's Asian network for this exclusive report.

 

By Cyril PAYEN

On May 2 2011, history was made in Abbottabad in northern Pakistan. It was there in the Himalayan foothills, that Osama Bin Laden, the West’s most wanted man, was shot dead in a commando raid by US special forces.

A few weeks earlier, it was Umar Patek, the most wanted man in Asia, who was arrested in Abbottabad under the greatest secrecy. This Indonesian activist is suspected of being involved in the Bali nightclub bombings of 2002 that killed 202 people. Patek is said to be a leading member of the terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah.

Was the Abbottabad connection a coincidence? With this in mind, we decided to continue to Pakistan for an investigation we began several years ago that took us across the whole of Southeast Asia on the trail of al Qaeda’s Asian soldiers. We also tried to understand something that is evident from the determination of hundreds of jihadists -- the feelings of injustice and discrimination that are so widespread from Afghanistan to Indonesia, and in a large part of the Muslim world.

To follow the trail we had to gain the confidence of guerrillas in the jungle of Jolo, in the southern Philippines. The same went for Islamist fighters in Aceh, in Indonesia, and for networks of repented terrorists, convicted terrorists in jail, fugitives’ families, terrorism experts and sympathisers.

We tried to find the heart of the terrorist labyrinth, often without being able to film, simply going where meetings and chance took us. There were many undercover interviews, and many no-shows at appointments.

We were sometimes forced to bend the rules, for example, to speak to terrorists sentenced to life in a high-security prison. It was not easy to gain access to some key figures of these underground networks. Above all, we had to remain impartial to convince the repented terrorists to give details -- often for the first time on camera -- of the internal workings of secret organisations, and to lift the veil on their own past actions.

We also had to break into the very closed circle of the "new generation" of terrorists, these heirs of jihad who grew up nurtured by the tales of war and adventures of their elders, the veteran mujahideen of Afghanistan. Many of the latter left their villages in Indonesia or the Philippines to fight against infidels for their Muslim brothers. Many in the region are still willing to carry that torch.

On May 2 2011, when US President Barack Obama announced that Osama bin Laden had been killed, one part of the world welcomed the news with relief. But another, underground world -- the one that we encountered -- began mourning for a lost hero, and swore to avenge him.

From: http://www.france24.com/en/20110615-reporters-al-qaeda-asian-soldiers-osama-bin-laden-raid-terrorism-south-east-asia-umar-patek-jemaah-islamiah-jihadists#

Mickey Mouse tweet by Egypt's Sawiris angers Muslims

Naguib Sawiris is a leading secularist and recently formed a political party

One of Egypt's richest men has been accused of mocking Islam after tweeting cartoons of Mickey and Minnie Mouse wearing conservative Muslim attire.

Telecoms mogul and Coptic Christian Naguib Sawiris apologised for re-posting the images on Twitter a few days ago, saying he meant no offence.

But several Islamic lawyers have filed a formal complaint and there are calls for a boycott of his businesses.
The outcry comes at a time of tension between Egypt's Christians and Muslims.

There are also concerns about the growing influence of the ultra-conservative Salafist branch of Islam in Egyptian politics.

The tweeted images showed Mickey Mouse wearing a traditional Islamic robe with a full beard, while Minnie Mouse is wearing a niqab - a full-body veil - with just her eyes showing.

She is identifiable by her large ears and trademark pink hair ribbon.

The cartoons were already widely circulating online, but when Mr Sawiris re-posted them last week, he received an immediate angry reaction from people who said they were offended.

On Friday, he tweeted: "I apologise for those who don't take this as a joke, I just thought it was a funny picture; no disrespect meant. I am sorry."

But tens of thousands of people have joined groups on Facebook and other social media condemning him.
"There's a fine line between expressing your opinion/freedom of speech and being flat out disrespectful," said one woman.

Secular champion

Shares in Mr Sawiris' telecoms company, Orascom - Egypt's largest private employer - have already fallen as a result of the row and subsequent calls for a boycott.

Cairo has seen violent clashes between Christians and Muslims in recent months

The prosecutor general's office said a group of Salafist Muslim lawyers had filed a complaint accusing Mr Sawiris of religious contempt.

"How can a man like this make fun of Muslims, in a country on the brink of sectarian discord," Muslim cleric Mazen el-Sersawi said in a television interview.

"If this is just joking, why don't you depict Mickey Mouse as a monk or a nun?"

Mr Sawiris, whose father is the richest man in Egypt, is a champion of secularism and has spoken out against the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in the country, including the increasing number of women wearing full-face veils.

He was a leading voice in the anti-government protests that ousted Hosni Mubarak from power in February and recently started a new political party, The Free Egyptians.
But many have questioned his wisdom in sharing the cartoons at a time of tensions between Coptic Christians and conservative Muslims.

Scores of people have been wounded and several killed in clashes between the two communities in recent months, and there are fears this row will increase the chances of more sectarian clashes in the run up to post-revolution elections in September.

from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13944231?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Will U.S. Suspend Aid to Egypt’s Military?

Whither the "Arab Spring": Congress may cut $1.3B in military aid after Egypt warms to Islamists.

 

by Richard Pollock

 

 

The anti-Western policies recently adopted by Egypt’s military government may be spawning a surprising anti-Egyptian backlash in Washington. A movement inside and outside of Congress is calling for re-examination of the $1.3 billion in military assistance the U.S. gives each year to the Egyptian generals.
A call for an end to military aid reverberated throughout Washington last February, when President Hosni Mubarak refused to step down during the height of the “Arab Spring.”

Now, some see Egypt falling into an Arab Winter. Two observers recently noted that all is not well in land of the Nile, writing: “Post-Mubarak Egypt has morphed into a dictatorless tyranny.” Others believe the continuing flow of money is “simply rewarding bad behavior,” as Egypt is now expressing warmth toward Iran, Hamas, and the Muslim Brotherhood — while spurning Washington.

Since 1979, when former President Jimmy Carter helped to broker a peace agreement between Egypt and Israel, the United States has endowed the Egyptian military elite with a record $27 billion in military assistance — the second largest sum in the world. This largess has been said to have created an “economy within an economy.” And as a result, the Egyptian military is rife with corruption.

Egypt’s military/industrial complex is a topic rarely discussed in the West. Via U.S. aid, Egypt today operates a vast array of state-owned enterprises under the control of a military-run organization called the Armament Authority. This entity has enriched an entire generation of middle- to upper-level Egyptian officers.

The Armament Authority supervises the Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI), an Egyptian-based Arab military organization established in 1975. The AOI supervises nine military factory complexes, which produce civilian goods as well as military products. They independently run a wide array of for-profit companies ranging from manufacturing cars and jeeps and running auto dealerships to managing hospitals.

The Egyptian web of armament factories is the largest military manufacturing complex in the Middle East, its military industrial base dwarfing all other Middle East countries including Saudi Arabia.

Egypt appears now to be run by a civilian prime minister, Essam Abdel-Aziz Sharaf, who once served as Mubarak’s transportation minister. On March 4 — the day he assumed power — Sharaf appeared on stage with Mohamed Beltagy, a Muslim Brotherhood leader. Sharaf is well-known to hold a strong stance against normalization of relations with Israel.

The balance of power, however, is held by a group of generals who comprise the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. The generals are considered the real power behind the government. The group is secretive and opaque: last month Washington Post associate editor Lally Weymouth interviewed two of the council members — they only agreed to the interview on the grounds that they were not identified.
Lt. General Sami Hafez Enan, the Soviet-trained army chief of staff, is considered the general with the most influence in running Egypt’s affairs. Enan is also reported to be the Muslim Brotherhood’s “favorite general.”

Last month in Bali, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi met with his Egyptian counterpart, Nabil al-Arabi. Both said diplomatic and trade relations should improve now that Mubarak is gone. Tehran had severed ties with Cairo after Egypt signed its peace treaty with Israel.

read more: http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/will-u-s-suspend-aid-to-egypts-anti-west-military/

Qatari Investors: Huge Downtown Development Project Must Conform to Shariah

Posted by Lydia DePillis

 

The New York Times' profile of the CityCenterDC project has mostly nothing new in it if you've been following the huge downtown project at all. But it does include this fascinating nugget about the requirements of its Qatari investors:

Even before the Qatari investors became involved, Hines and Archstone determined that leasing to banks would not help them create lively shopping streets, Mr. Alsup said. But as it happened, their hesitancy on bank branches meshed with the policies of their financial partners, who adhere to the restrictions of Shariah, or Islamic law, including the ban on collecting interest. Restaurants will be able to serve liquor, but retailers whose primary business involves selling alcohol will not be allowed, Mr. Alsup said.

In their marketing materials, Hines and Archstone say they intend to provide “an authentic place for urban residents to socialize outside their homes.”

So, no bars or banks for the biggest downtown construction project in recent memory! As Bill Alsup alluded to, banks aren't all that great for a city streetscape, and it's admirable that they planned to forego such a dependable and high-rent-paying tenant. It's less advantageous, though, to not have business devoted primarily to selling alcohol. CityCenterDC is unlikely to be plagued by liquor stores, but it could definitely use a few places to be out at night drinking without getting a full dinner. Could Qatari money turn CityCenterDC into more of a black hole than the last piece of the puzzle in a living downtown?

(Also, I'm really sick of seeing the word "authentic" used in marketing and branding materials—and using it for a brand-new commercial development is particularly meaningless).

(Also I'm thinking about looking into this further—if you've heard any other examples of investors having moral or religious stipulations for the things they fund, drop me a line).

E-mail Lydia DePillis • Follow @housingcomplex on Twitter

 

From: http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/housingcomplex/2011/06/23/who-needs-liquor-laws-when-youve-got-qatar/comment-page-1/#comment-87287

The five nuttiest Arab world conspiracy theories

By Jamie Weinstein

Bio | Archive | Email Jamie Weinstein

No region of the world is immune to buying into outrageous conspiracy theories. But the Arab world is a conspiracy theory mecca (pun definitely intended). Maybe as a result of their powerlessness at home and collectively on the world stage, perhaps as a result of their embarrassingly primitive societies, their failure to modernize, and the lies passed on as truth on government run media, conspiracy theories thrive.
Invariably loony and almost always transparently anti-Semitic, the Arab world’s conspiracy theories are also sometimes entertaining in their absurdity – especially when you forget for a moment that they are used to inspire hatred and violence.


The Daily Caller has put together for your enjoyment the five nuttiest conspiracy theories circulating in the Arab world.


5. Mossad’s shark missiles
Shortly before Egypt was consumed by revolution, it was consumed by the threat of sharks – and it wasn’t even Shark Week. After shark attacks in Egypt’s top resort destination of Sharm el Sheikh killed a German tourist and injured several others, Egyptian officials speculated that the sharks could have been sent by the Mossad, Israel’s CIA.


“What is being said about the Mossad throwing the deadly shark in the sea to hit tourism in Egypt is not out of the question,” the regional governor of Sharm el Sheikh Mohamed Abdel Fadil Shousha claimed to the press, adding that Egypt “needs time to confirm” this blockbuster of a theory. (‘The Boners’ offered tortured defenses of Anthony Weiner)


Egyptian state TV helped propagate the conspiracy further when it brought on “Captain Mustafa Ismail,” who was described as “a famous diver in Sharm el Sheikh.”


Ahramonline described what the good captain had to say on the matter:

When asked by the anchor how the shark entered Sharm El Sheikh waters, he burst out, “no, it’s who let them in?”

Urged to elaborate, Ismail said that he recently got a call from an Israeli diver in Eilat telling him that they captured a small shark with a GPS planted in its back, implying that the sharks were monitored to attack in Egypt’s waters only.

“Why would these sharks travel 4000 km and not have any accidents until they entered Sinai waters?” asked Ismail.

The same Ahramonline article quoted an Egyptian marine biologist refuting the absurd conspiracy and stating it was “sad’ that Egyptian television decided to help spread it.


But why quibble with reality when fantasy is so much more interesting?


4. The mythical Zionist-Christian-Hindu alliance nuclear tests of 2004 caused the Asian Tsunami
The devastating Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 killed hundreds of thousands of people in 14 countries. While most of the world recognized this was a natural disaster of epic proportions, some in the Arab world thought otherwise.


“Was [the earthquake] caused by American, Israeli, and Indian nuclear testing on ‘the day of horror?’ Why did the ‘Ring of Fire’ explode?,” an Egyptian columnist asked (translation provided by the Middle East Media Research Institute, MEMRI).


After discussing how America, Israel and India have teamed up “to test a way to liquidate humanity,” the columnist went on to write that while the evidence isn’t yet in, it seemed a very likely conclusion that the triumvirate of evil (U.S., India, and Israel) were responsible for creating the tsunami.


“Nevertheless, although so far it has not been proven that secret Indian-Israeli nuclear testing is what caused the destructive earthquake, there is evidence that the recent nuclear tests, the exchange of nuclear experts between India and Israel, and the American pressure on Pakistan regarding its nuclear cooperation with Asian and Islamic countries [by providing India with advanced nuclear technology in an attempt to stop Pakistani activity] – all these pose a big question mark regarding the causes of the severe earthquake in Asia,” the columnist wrote.


And rain occurs because God cries.

NEXT: Number 2 and 3

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2011/06/26/the-five-nuttiest-arab-world-conspiracy-theories/#ixzz1QV0liYWq

Sen. Kirk wants FAA to investigate alleged religious discrimination by Delta

By Keith Laing

 

Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk (R) called Friday for the Federal Aviation Administration to investigate allegations Delta Airlines blocked Jewish passengers from flying as part of an agreement with a Saudi Arabian airline.

USA Today reported Thursday on rumors circulating Internet that as part of Saudi Arabian Airlines's agreement to join Delta's SkyTeam alliance, Delta would enforce a Saudi ban on passengers from Israel and non-Islamic religious artifacts.

Delta denied the accusation, saying it had a nondiscrimination policy, but Kirk still called for an investigation Friday.

"I am deeply concerned by the June 23, 2011, report in USA Today entitled 'U.S. Jews not able to fly on Delta flights to Saudi Arabia,'" Kirk wrote in a letter to FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt.  "If true, this policy appears to violate the U.S. Constitution's Equal Protection Clause while undermining the purpose of the Federal Aviation Administration – to promote the safety and expansion of U.S. civil aviation.
"I request your investigation into this matter to determine whether Delta Airlines violated U.S. law or regulation and to ensure no U.S. citizen is denied their right to fly solely on the basis of their religion," he continued. "Since a core mission of the FAA is to promote civil aviation, I would expect the FAA to use its full statutory and regulatory power to ensure that America's civil airways are not restricted for persons regardless of faith."

Delta sought to tamp down the controversy before Kirk's letter, taking to its blog on the company's website to respond to the report.

"We’ve gotten questions today from you, our concerned customers, following an article about Saudi Arabian Airlines joining SkyTeam (the global airline alliance that includes Delta as a member)," Delta spokesman Trebor Banstetter wrote on the company's blog.
"After listening to many of your thoughts today, we’d like to take this opportunity to share some information and help to clarify some of the questions we know you have," Banstetter continued. First and foremost, I think one of the most important things to mention here is that Delta does not discriminate nor do we condone discrimination against anyone in regards to age, race, nationality, religion, or gender."

The company added that "requirements to enter any country are dictated by that nation’s government, not the airlines, and they apply to anyone entering the country regardless of whether it’s by plane, bus or train."

"We, like all international airlines, are required to comply with all applicable laws governing entry into every country we serve," Banstetter wrote. "You as passengers are responsible for obtaining the necessary travel documents, such as visas and certification of required vaccinations, and we’re responsible for making sure that you have the proper documentation before you board."

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabian also moved Friday to try to dispel the rumors, saying in a statement that "rumors being circulated via the Internet regarding passenger flight restrictions on Saudi Arabian Airlines are completely false.
"The Government of Saudi Arabia does not deny visas to U.S. citizens based on their religion," the Saudi statement said.

from: http://thehill.com/blogs/transportation-report/aviation/168339-sen-kirk-wants-faa-to-investigate-delta-religious-discrimination-rumors#.TgZrobUdUnE.twitter

Dearborn Police Bar Christian Group from Public Street Near Mosque

Peaceful Muslims threw rocks, bottles at Dearborn Arab fest

A little snippet from a completely one-sided report on last weeks Islamofest in Dearborn, Michigan. via Dearborn Learns from Protests at Arab International Festival – Dearborn, MI Patch.

Several more arrests occurred within the Arab International Festival on both Friday and Sunday, as several anti-Muslim Christian groups vocally attacked Islam in and around the free speech zone guarded by Dearborn police and Wayne County sheriffs. The demonstrations drew the ire of hundreds–if not thousands–of festivalgoers, some of whom threw rocks, bottles and insults at the evangelist groups.

Dearborn youth not thrilled with concept of free speech

Despite the sometimes violent responses–a Sunday scuffle led to the arrest of one of the self-proclaimed “Bible Believers,” as well as the man who attacked him–Dearborn officials were generally pleased with the weekend.

Violence led to arrests

Some conclusions based on what the limited information the dhimmi media has actually reported:

• Dearborn Muslims and Arabs are so volatile and prone to violence that even the bizarre “free speech zones” have to be protected by police
• Some Muslims and Arabs threw rocks, bottles, and insults at those in the police-protection required free speech zones
• Despite police presence, Muslims and Arabs (and leftist tools) still responded violently with multiple arrests for physically attacking a non-Muslims
• Dearborn officials were pleased with the Muslim – Arab response to free speech

Dearbornistan, USA

Will 'illegal war' sink Obama's career?

Analysis: Lebanon's Hezbollah may fight Israel to relieve Syria

By Mariam Karouny

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group is preparing for a possible war with Israel to relieve perceived Western pressure to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, its guardian ally, sources close to the movement say.

The radical Shi'ite group, which has a powerful militia armed by Damascus and Iran, is watching the unrest in neighboring Syria with alarm and is determined to prevent the West from exploiting popular protests to bring down Assad.
Hezbollah supported pro-democracy movements that toppled Western-backed leaders in Tunisia and Egypt, but officials say it will not stand idly by as international pressure mounts on Assad to yield to protesters.

It is committed to do whatever it takes politically to help deflect what it sees as a foreign campaign against Damascus, but it is also readying for a possible war with Israel if Assad is weakened.

"Hezbollah will never intervene in Syria. This is an internal issue for President Bashar to tackle. But when it sees the West gearing up to bring him down, it will not just watch," a Lebanese official close to the group's thinking told Reuters.

"This is a battle for existence for the group and it is time to return the favor (of Syria's support). It will do that by fending off some of the international pressure," he added.

The militant group, established nearly 30 years ago to confront Israel's occupation of south Lebanon, fought an inconclusive 34-day war with Israel in 2006.

Hezbollah and Syria have both denied that the group has sent fighters to support a military crackdown on the wave of protests against Assad's rule.

read more: http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCATRE75L3S320110622

Islamophobia Research & Documentation Project

ISLAMOPHOBIA RESEARCH & DOCUMENTATION PROJECT (IRDP)

The Islamophobia Research and Documentation Project (IRDP) focuses on a systematic and empirical approach to the study of Islamophobia and its impact on the American Muslim community. Today, Muslims in the U.S., parts of Europe, and around the world have been transformed into a demonized and feared global "other," subjected to legal, social, and political discrimination. Even at the highest levels of political discourse, the 2008 U.S. Presidential elections, Islamophobia took center stage as a sizeable number of Americans expressed fear that Barack Obama, the first African American president, is somehow a closet Muslim. Newspaper articles, tv shows, books, popular movies, political debates, and cultural conflicts over immigration and security produce ample evidence of the stigmatization of Islam within dominant culture.

The challenge for understanding the current cultural and political period centers on providing a more workable and encompassing definition for the Islamophobia phenomenon, a theoretical framework to anchor present and future research, and a centralized mechanism to document and analyze diverse data sets from around the U.S. and in comparison with other areas around the world.


PROJECT GOALS

The Islamophobia Research & Documentation Project has the following goals:

1. Support graduate and undergraduate research and documentation focused on issues of Islamophobia through mentorship and intellectual exchange
2. Establish an advisory group of a diverse community of faculty working on issues related to Islamophobia
3. Provide seed funding for specific research projects on Islamophobia
4. Publish an annual report documenting the status of Islamophobia within the United States
5. Publish a bi-annual peer reviewed academic periodical focusing on emerging research on Islamophobia
6. Host an annual conference to discuss and analyze research outcomes

The research agenda is centered on Muslims in the Diaspora and the intersection between two categories of inquiry: 1) race, ethnicity, gender, nationality, and religion, and 2) the global "war on terror," its impact on Muslim communities and American culture, and the use of the war to reintroduce long discredited Eurocentric paradigms.

from: http://crg.berkeley.edu/content/islamophobia

California: Slaves to Allah Schooled to Manipulate Government and Media

 

The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) which just recently held a conference on Capitol Hill to speak out against anti-Sharia legislation, has teamed up with the Islamic Center of San Gabriel Valley in Southern California. They have put forth a combined effort to train Muslims to manipulate our government and media.

Last week, MPAC Senior Adviser Dr. Maher Hathout and Director of Policy & Programming Edina Lekovic conducted a powerful workshop called “Truth Over Fear: Countering Islamophobia” for more than 75 members of the Islamic Center of San Gabriel Valley in Southern California.

“Truth Over Fear” is a workshop and training session developed by MPAC to empower local communities with crucial tools to counter Islamophobia in a proactive and constructive manner. These hands-on training sessions are composed of two primary components: education and hands-on empowerment.

Participants learn how media propaganda produced by a cottage industry of self-proclaimed terrorism experts fuels Islamophobia and dehumanization, and they gain practical tools for addressing the irrational fear of Islam and Muslims that nearly half of Americans admit to having.

They also learned how to effectively engage their elected officials and government representatives, as well as with local and national media outlets.
Through this national campaign, MPAC seeks to inform our country on the dangers that Islamophobia presents to all Americans. The training sessions are meant to raise a proactive voice to counter hate and bigotry, which if left unchecked, can erode the very foundations of our democratic institutions.

Actually, not speaking out against Islam is a danger to non-Muslim Americans. The training sessions were meant to teach Muslims how to get Islam accepted into America. If the hate and bigotry that stems from Islam is left unchecked, it will erode the very foundations of our democratic institutions. That’s the truth! As I have been saying, we are in the middle of a massive information war. PLEASE do your part!

Link to Article

CAIR Loses IRS Status

IPT News  |  InvestigativeProject.org  
 

Donations to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) no longer are tax deductible after the organization was among  275,000 tax-exempt organizations purged earlier this month by the Internal Revenue Service.

The groups failed to file required annual reports, known as form 990s, detailing their revenues and expenses, for three consecutive years. CAIR had been a non-profit on its own, but in 2007, the IRS approved a separate tax-exempt CAIR Foundation. The foundation never filed any subsequent reports. Both the foundation and CAIR national are on the purge list.

CAIR has 30 state chapters throughout the country, many of which have their own non-profit designations which remain active.

While the IRS believes most of the organizations stripped of status have shut down, those still operating can apply for reinstatement. Meanwhile, CAIR's web site continues to solicit donations by touting them as tax deductible two weeks after the IRS issued the list and notifications were sent to all 275,000 purged groups.

Donors still could deduct the money on their tax returns if CAIR is reinstated between now and April 15. All the purged organizations have 15 months to seek reinstatement. But it is unclear whether CAIR will file the required papers or whether their explanation about past reporting failures will be enough to satisfy the IRS.

"This listing should have little, if any, impact on donors who previously made deductible contributions to auto-revoked organizations because donations made prior to the publication of an organization's name on the list remain tax-deductible," an IRS statement said. "Going forward, however, organizations that are on the auto-revocation list that do not receive reinstatement are no longer eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions, and any income they receive may be taxable."

To regain its exempt status, CAIR must file the missing three annual reports, along with a new application for exempt status. Finally, it must explain why it failed to file the 990s for three consecutive years and explain any new procedures which will ensure future compliance.

The annual reports include financial information on donations and other sources of income, operating expenses and names and payments given to directors and key staff members.

The CAIR Foundation won exempt status in 2007 and then never filed any annual reports. That year, the Washington Times reported that CAIR's membership plummeted by 90 percent, from a high of 29,000 people in 2000 to less than 1,700 in 2006. CAIR vehemently denied the report when it was issued. But a year later, when the organization sought to have its name removed from a list of unindicted co-conspirators in a Hamas-financing prosecution, CAIR attorneys tied the diminishing support to the 2007 co-conspirator list.

"Furthermore, the amount of donations that they have been receiving has dwindled well below their monthly budget, and as their associational activity necessarily relies upon donations from the public, the government's labeling of them as an unindicted co-conspirator has chilled their associational activity."

Anecdotal information indicates the group increasingly has turned to foreign donors for operating revenue. In 2006, State Department records obtained by the Investigative Project on Terrorism show, CAIR sent delegations to  Saudi Arabia and the  United Arab Emirates seeking millions of dollars in support.

The delegation included CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad, spokesman Ibrahim Hooper, then-board chairman Parvez Ahmed, and current chairman Larry Shaw.
In 2009, Awad solicited Libyan Dictator Muammar Gaddafi to help underwrite a program to distribute 1 million copies of the Quran to government officials and the general public in America and to help start up a new foundation Awad was trying to launch.

When it applied for exempt status, the CAIR Foundation told the IRS that it would solicit "nationwide, although it is expected that the largest support will come from Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, where CAIR-Foundation's visibility is most prominent to potential donors."

Source:  http://www.investigativeproject.org/2990/cair-loses-irs-status

 

Sudan's Nuba people 'targeted by army'

Determined disinterest in our own destruction

Center for Security Policy

By Frank Gaffney, Jr.

During the Cold War, America faced an implacable enemy, driven by a supremacist ideology that called for, among other things, the use of an array of covert front groups, stealthy techniques and subversive activities to achieve our destruction.  For many years, our effort to defeat Soviet Communism featured a concerted counter-intelligence (CI) effort aimed at ferreting out and defeating such sedition.

Unfortunately, America now faces once again an implacable enemy, driven by a supremacist ideology that calls for, among other things, the use of an array of covert front groups, stealthy techniques and subversive activities to achieve our destruction.  In the place of the Soviet Union and the influence operations run by its intelligence service, the KGB, and the Communist International (Comintern), we confront the Islamic doctrine known as shariah and the Muslim Brotherhood, which serves as the principal engine for extending its reach.

It seems, however, that we have no counter-intelligence effort comparable to that of the Cold War or remotely commensurate with today's threat.  Indeed, based on the evidence of successful penetration and influence operations being run by the Muslim Brotherhood these days, one would be tempted to conclude that counter-intelligence has effectively ceased to be part of our toolkit in keeping America safe and free.
Consider just a few of many worrying examples:

When President Obama engaged in his latest "outreach to the Muslim world" at the State Department last month, seated in the front row next to the Secretary of State was Imam Mohammed Magid.  Magid happens to be the president of the largest Muslim Brotherhood organization in the country, the Islamic Society of North America.  As with the White House's insistence that MB representatives be included in the audience during the President's Cairo 2009 address, the message could not be any clearer:  Far from perceiving the Brotherhood as what it is - an organization determined to destroy the United States and the rest of the Free World - Team Obama sees them as reliable partners.

That message was being reinforced at this writing when, on Monday, senior U.S. government officials sat down with an assortment of Muslim Brotherhood operatives and groups under the auspices of the Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding.  Bin Talal - a major benefactor of Brotherhood causes and enabler of its own and similar Islamist influence operations - endowed his center at Georgetown University with a gift of $20 million.  The investment is paying handsome dividends as it affords the MB a vehicle for using "interfaith dialogue" as a means of legitimating and promoting its personnel and agendas.

In 2009, the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) - an organization counter-terror expert Patrick Poole describes as the "political lobbying arm of the U.S. Brotherhood" - boasted that it was "consulted" by Los Angeles Mayor Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa about his choice of police chief.  Such political stroke may have something to do with the MB threat being downplayed by LAPD's current Deputy Chief Michael Downey, who testified last week before Rep. Pete King's House Homeland Security Committee about Islamist "radicalization" in the U.S. prison system.

Besides the cyber-sexploits of Rep. Anthony Weiner, the most astonishing revelation to come out of his public meltdown was the fact that his wife, Huma Abedin, a member of a prominent Muslim Brotherhood family in Egypt, happens to be Hillary Clinton's Deputy Chief of Staff.  (For more on the Abedins, see Arnold Ahlert's damning report.)  Secretary Clinton told an Egyptian audience last Tuesday that the job held by the Saudi-reared Ms. Abedin's job was an "important and sensitive position."

Meanwhile, part of the job of performing background checks for U.S. security clearances has been contracted out to companies incentivized to help clean up a serious backlog.  According to employees, they are given quotas of cases to process with one company requiring as many as twenty per day.  Does anyone seriously believe that this is a formula for properly vetting personnel?

Meanwhile, there is an issue requiring serious vetting whose problems date back to the bad old Cold War days.  The United States Senate is poised to confirm as the next Secretary of Defense a man who, back during Angleton's days, would have been considered a security threat.

Thanks to intrepid reporting by Cliff Kincaid and Trevor Loudon, we now know that during his days as a California Congressman, Leon Panetta, had close personal ties to Communist agents and spies.  At no point has he disavowed such relationships or expressed remorse for any help he may have provided them.  Neither has any senator indicated concern about the problematic judgment or security risks that might be associated with such a Pentagon chief.

The question occurs:  Can we possibly hope to survive our time's ideologically-driven subversion - let alone prevail over it - if we systematically disregard the threat its adherents pose here at home?  We need to reconstitute the sort of serious counter-intelligence capability and practice that we have employed to greateffect in the past.  Continuing to do otherwise is to invite, if not assure, our destruction.

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr. is President of the Center for Security Policy, a columnist for the Washington Times and host of the nationally syndicated program, Secure Freedom Radio, heard in Washington weeknights at 9:00 p.m. on WRC 1260 AM.
from: http://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/p18748.xml

Man Pleads Guilty to Killing Professor

By Leigh Dana

Man Pleads Guilty to Killing Professor

Binghamton, NY (WBNG Binghamton) Abdulsalam Al-Zahrani pleaded guilty to First Degree Manslaughter in Broome County Court.

 

The plea followed the determination that Al-Zahrani was competent to stand trial for the murder of Dr Richard Antoun. Two mental health doctors made the evaluation at Mid Hudson Forensic Psychiatric Center.

read more: http://www.wbng.com/news/local/Man-Pleads-Guilty-to-Killing-Professor-122335614.html

If the Majority of Muslims Are Peaceloving People, Do We Really Have Anything to Worry About?

 

ON ONE SIDE of the debate, we have people who say, "The majority of Muslims are peaceloving people." The implication is that because of this, we can all just relax, because the growing presence of Muslim people in our midst is not a problem. On the other side, we have people who say Islam is a totalitarian, aggressive ideology that has already made inroads into Western countries with the aim of usurping our governments and replacing our laws with Sharia.

It's possible both sides are correct. Let me explain.

 

read more: http://www.inquiryintoislam.com/2011/06/if-majority-of-muslims-are-peaceloving.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ANon-racistUnbigotedInquiryIntoIslam+%28An+Inquiry+Into+Islam%29&utm_content=Yahoo%21+Mail

June 20: Islamists & ACLU to pimp sharia law on Capitol Hill

The Muslim Public Affairs Council today announced it will host a Capitol Hill forum on “A Solution in Search of a Problem: The Impact of Anti-Sharia Bills in America” on Monday, June 20, to discuss the impact of state-level bills on various faith communities and the Constitutional guarantee to freedom of religion.

“Sharia has become an inflammatory buzzword that is getting thrown about and used to craft pre-emptive legislation with little to no understanding of what it is and isn’t,” said Haris Tarin, Director of MPAC’s Washington, DC, Office. “In the face of a wave of anti-sharia bills cropping up all over the country, it’s time for a level-headed adult conversation on the issue.”

read more: http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/2011/06/19/june-20-islamists-aclu-to-pimp-sharia-law-on-capitol-hill/

6 Arrested as Mob Rushes Terry Jones at Arab Festival in Dearborn

Pastor Jones' march through Dearborn on his way to rally at the Arab International Festival was cut short when counter-protesters confronted him in the street.

By Jessica Carreras and David Uberti | Email the authors |

  new  

Dearborn Police arrest a counter-protester who refused to stop harassing Terry Jones on Schaefer Road. 

Photos

Credit Ian Kushnir

Credit Ian Kushnir

Credit Ian Kushnir

Credit Ian Kushnir

Credit Ian Kushnir

 

Florida Pastor Terry Jones' day of demonstration in Dearborn was cut short after a mob rushed him on his way to the Arab International Festival Friday afternoon.

Jones' original plan was to march down Schaefer Road to speak at the Arab International Festival after he and several of his supporters spoke at Dearborn City Hall. However, that plan ended abruptly when Jones' march was met in the street with dozens of hostile protesters led by activist group BAMN–By Any Means Necessary.

read more: http://dearborn.patch.com/articles/six-arrested-in-bamn-mobbing-of-pastor-jones?ncid=breaking_news