David Duke’s blog is running an article by neo-Nazi William Pierce on Soviet murders of Ukrainian nationalists. Naturally both Duke and Pierce are working with the assumption that the Soviet Union was run by Jews.

This is not a one-time event, but the standard talking point of the neo-Nazis and other anti-Semites. This subject is always – always! – brought up more often to justify Adolf Hitler’s treatment of the Jews, as well as a future genocide.

I’ve written about all of these before and nobody once challenged these facts. But maybe it’s because none of the people who saw it have a Ph.D. in Jew-baiting.

So here’s the challenge for David Duke, who I presume will see this link to his web site, and/or anyone else who chooses to take it.

David, I’ve established certain facts on this blog in many previous posts. Please show me one thing that I got wrong.

A. ORIGINS OF COMMUNISM

• Communism came out of German school of thought known as the “German Historical School“.
• Founders of Communism called “The German Ideology“.
• It was organized by an Aryan, Friedrich Engels, who needed to hire someone with “Jewish brains”, so he sponsored the most self-hating Jew he could find – Karl Marx.
• All German Communists were patriotic, nationalist Germans looking to do “what’s good for the Germans” whereas all the ranking Jewish Communists were anti-Zionist and rejected Judaism.
• Marx was influenced by Germans Immanuel Kant, G. W. F. Hegel, Ludwig Feuerbach and not at all by the Bible, Jewish history or Zionism.
• The school of economics that was most Jewish at its founding was the Austrian School, the single most right wing theory out there.

B. BOLSHEVIK REVOLUTION

• The Bolshevik Party was fully sponsored by the German government.
• The Bolshevik revolution of October 1917 was organized and imposed on Russia by the German government even though the Bolsheviks themselves, including Vladimir Lenin, opposed it.
• That the Germans were sponsoring the Bolsheviks was acknowledged by the Russian Czar (despite the fact that he himself was 92% ethnic-German), as well as all the non-Bolshevik parties.
• The Jewish Bund and the Zionists was opposed to the Bolsheviks.
• Soviet Communists made the Jewish Bund and Zionism illegal.
• Jews were underrepresented in Bolshevik Party in October 1917 and were better represented in all the other Russian parties, and were only over-represented briefly after the revolution because Germany tried to undermine the Russian people by promoting all ethnic minorities, and also because Jews were almost the only literate people left after the Bolsheviks expelled or killed the Russian elite.
• In 1917, only 1.5% of Bolsheviks were Jewish.
• Jews only embraced Communists because the Czarist White Army murdered 100,000 Jewish civilians from 1918 to 1920 in a genocide intended to exterminate all Russian Jews. Naturally, the targets of genocide did not side with those murdering them.

C. BENEFICIARIES OF THE BOLSHEVIK REVOLUTION

• Germany immediately benefited from the Revolution because Bolsheviks surrendered in WWI and gave up land.
• The origin of Russian multiculturalism is based on promoting ethnic Germans in Russia immediately after the Revolution. Massive regions in Russia and Ukraine became German-speaking, and became dominated exclusively by German culture.
• Soviet Union was the main military and financial sponsor of Israel’s Arab enemies, including many terrorist organizations.
• While certain Soviet agencies saw Jewish over-representation for a year or two, if you look at all positions of real power, Jews were over-represented for only a few years in the 1920s and even then by only 1%, being 5% of the population and 6% of the government. After the 1920s, Jews were always massively under-represented in the Soviet government.

D. VICTIMS OF THE SOVIET REGIME

• Lenin shut down a far higher percentage of synagogues than either churches or mosques.
• The only Jews who were accepted were those who rejected Judaism and Zionism. Those who refused were declared Enemy of the People, subject to extermination.
• Lenin wrote, “Whoever directly or indirectly puts forward the slogan of a Jewish “national culture” is (whatever his good intentions may be) an enemy of the proletariat, a supporter of the old and of the caste position of the Jews, an accomplice of the rabbis and the bourgeoisie.” No other ethnicity was singled out in such a fashion and German nationalism was actually promoted at the same time.
• Joseph Stalin killed Jews in disproportionate numbers.
• In Holodomor, which targeted Ukrainian farmers, Jews were over-represented among the victims. While hardly any Jews were farmers, 1.4% of the victims were Jewish. If farmers were picked at random, it would’ve been under 0.1%.
• In the Katyn massacre, Jews were likewise over-represented and “Jewish intelligentsia” was an explicit target of Stalin. One of the victims was the Chief Rabbi of the Polish Army.
• Holocaust denial was the standard party line in the Soviet Union and it was only allowed to admit that “Soviet citizens” were murdered by the Nazis with no mention that Jews were targeted.
• When the PLO killed the Israeli Olympic team in 1972, East German Communists helped the Arabs commit the massacre.

E. STALIN, HIS PURGES AND THE JEWS

• The only time when Stalin was in power that purges did not take place was during the time when a Jew was the head of NKVD. He was eventually killed by Stalin too.
• Jews were the most disproportionally targeted group during the massive Yezhovschina Purge.
• Jews were over-represented in all Stalinist purges. Whether Stalin killed Generals or scientists, Jews took the brunt of it.
• All but one Jew in high power was murdered by Stalin.
• Stalin announced that “Every Jewish nationalist is the agent of the American intelligence service. Jewish nationalists think that their nation was saved by the USA (there you can become rich, bourgeois, etc.). They think they’re indebted to the Americans.”
• Stalin directed Kruschev to incite anti-Semitism in the Ukraine, telling him “The good workers at the factory should be given clubs so they can beat the hell out of those Jews.”
• Opposition to Stalin in the 1930s was Jewish-led.

F. ANTI-COMMUNISM IN THE SOVIET UNION

• After WWII and until Perestroika, anti-Communist activity in the Soviet Union was near-exclusively Jewish.
• Even after Stalin’s death, massive numbers of Jews were in prisons or psych wards as “Enemies of the People”.
• Even Kevin MacDonald admitted admitted that after Stalin and until Perestroika, the Soviet Union was both officially and de facto anti-Semitic.
• Life was terrible for Jews in the Soviet Union that despite being fairly well off financially, more than 90% of them left the country at first opportunity. Many spent years in prison because they publicly fought for the right to leave. Imagine being in a country where you willingly go to prison just so you could leave at the end of your sentence. Jewish-run Soviet Union? From prison?

So these are my facts. Please, David… Mr. Duke, please… show me which of these facts are wrong. Show it to me. Or, please, shut up.

Oh well. So it was Christmas today. While ‘the rest of the world’ unwrapped presents from santa, I followed my plans. As I wrote earlier, I was looking forward to this day so I can go into the city and shoot. What else is there to do for a Jew, other than going to the movies or eating Chinese food?! I didn’t go to the movie to see NINE as planned. The reviews aren’t so great. I think I’ll pass. Instead I went with my friend Sheila, my mentor and good friend into the city, both carrying our cameras. And yes, we did eat Chinese. The weather was great; a bit cloudy but great for photographs. My goal was to add photos to my Graffiti series and explore downtown Manhattan, SoHo, NoHo and a bit of the East Village. We started out around Chinatown, which was packed with tourists and all shops and restaurants were open. We stopped for hot soup that was very filling. We even visited the markets and shot some fish, which I will add to my “market” series. The further uptown we went, the more the city looked like a ghost town. We searched for a cafe and had great difficulty finding one other than the Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks. Some of the Starbucks were actually closed. We ended up finding this fantastic little place Le Petit Canard that reminded me of Quebec City or France. The service was amazing, especially given that it was Christmas and I would think these guys would want to be home with family (or not) or at least have the day off. I’d be a grouch if I’d have to work on a Holiday. Anyway, it felt great sitting there sipping on “The Madam”, which consisted of coffee, Bailey’s, Frangelico and real whipped cream!

On my way back home I went to Sheila’s place to discuss our photography work. Sheila’s photography is absolutely incredible and she’s been in this field for a while now. She is going to be very, very famous real soon and her photography will fetch in the thousands! She’s made quite a bit of sales and her photos, to those who know of her, are in demand. I had mentioned her earlier in my blog. She has a great eye for design, color and art in general. Her artistic talent reflect her personality which is absolutely amazing! I adore her and admire her immensely. I appreciate her advice and feedback. I don’t think I can do my work without having her see it first. I showed her what I was working on. Some photos were discarded and some kept and encouraged. We talked about everything and anything (as we always do) and finished our amazing day with pizza and our favorite Sauvignon Blanc – New Zealand. I came home to look through the photos I shot today. Two out of all graffiti I shot today will be added to my series – good enough. A day in the life of a photographer

For now, Good Night. I will be at work tomorrow from 7-3.

Here are some photos. Enjoy.

Le Petit Canard

228 3 Avenue

New York, NY 10003-2505
(212) 673-4062

Why not be a Madam for a day?

I LOVE BEING JEWISH AT CHRISTMAS TIME. No pressure.

I love the lights and the wreaths and the smug sense that I don’t have to exert any effort.

Growing up, I once asked my father if we could have a tree. I didn’t really want one, I just wanted to see what he would say. He was one of the least religious people ever, but his answer was unequivocal. I never asked again. It was fine.

One year, wanting to be among Jews, I went to see Schindler’s List on Christmas Day. Another year, Dream Girls at BAM, with my kids. It was packed, and I got an insight into how Christians spend Christmas.

This year, I celebrated by having brunch with an old friend and a new friend at my favorite all-purpose drinking and dining spot, The Living Room, inside the always-festive Maidstone. At the next table, Kim Cattrall [I wasn't going to bold anything in this post, but that is a boldface name] was having Xmas Day brunch with her father. She looked not a day over 35, in black pants and a black lace top, and spent a lot of time on her Blackberry.

My own efforts at holiday sentiments usually come out cheesy, but I like what my friend Jim Lüning said in his holiday e-mail: “Cheers to making new mistakes in 2010, and never repeating the old ones.” Thanks, Jim. I love going into the new year with permission to make mistakes, as long as they’re fresh and not recycled.

Prophet’s Love and
Tolerance for Mankind
Dr. Farida Khanam

The Prophet Muhammad (saw)  is introduced in the Qur’an in these words:

And We have not sent you forth but as a mercy to mankind (21:107).

This shows that his distinctive quality was that he was a blessing incarnate in word and deed.

According to a tradition recorded in the Sahih of Imam Muslim, when his opponents greatly increased their persecution, his Companions asked him to curse them. At this the Prophet replied, “I have not been sent to lay a curse upon men but to be a blessing to them.” His opponents continued to treat him and his Companions with injustice and cruelty, but he always prayed for them.

Once he was so badly stoned by his enemies that the blood began to spurt from all over his body. This happened when he went to Ta’if, where the Hijaz aristocracy used to while away their summer days. When he attempted to call them to Islam, instead of listening to his words of wisdom, they set the street urchins upon him, who kept chasing him till nightfall. Even at that point, when he was utterly exhausted and bleeding from head to foot, all he said was: “O my Lord, guide my people along the true path as they are ignorant of the truth.”

His heart was filled with intense love for all human kind irrespective of caste, creed, or color. Once he advised his companions to regard all people as their brothers and sisters. He added: “You are all Adam’s offspring and Adam was born of clay.”

All this tells us what kind of awareness he wanted to bring about in man. His mission was to bring people abreast of the reality that all men and women, although inhabiting different regions of the world, and seemingly different from one another as regards their color, language, dress, culture, etc., were each other’s blood brothers. Hence a proper relationship will be established between all human beings only if they regard one another as sisters and brothers. Only then will proper feelings of love and respect prevail throughout the world.

According to a hadith (sayings of the Prophet), the Prophet once said, “A true believer is one with whom others feel secure. One who returns love for hatred.” The Prophet made it clear that one who would only return love for love was on a lower ethical plane. We should never think it is only if people treat us well, that we should treat them well. We should rather be accustomed to being good to those who are not good to us and to not wronging those who harm us.

The Prophet once borrowed some money from a Jew. After a few days the Jew came to demand payment of his debt. The Prophet told him that at that moment he had nothing to pay him with. The Jew said that he won’t let him go until he had paid him back. And so the Jew stayed there, from morning till night, holding the Prophet captive. At that time the Prophet was the established ruler of Medina and could have easily taken action against him. His Companions naturally wanted to rebuke the man and chase him away. But the Prophet forbade this, saying, “The Lord has forbidden us to wrong anyone.” The Jew continued to hold the Prophet captive until the following morning. But with the first light of dawn, the Jew was moved by the Prophet’s tolerance, and he thereupon embraced Islam. In spite of being a rich man, he had detained the Prophet the day before on account of a few pence. But now the Prophet’s noble conduct had had such an impact on him that he was willing to give all his wealth to the Prophet, saying, “Spend it as you please.”

According to another hadith, the Prophet once said: “By God, he is not a believer, by God, he is not a believer; by God, he is not a believer, with whom his neighbors are not secure.” This hadith shows how much he loved and cared for all human beings. One of the lessons he taught was that we should live among others like flowers, and not like thorns, without giving trouble to anybody.

In another hadith the Prophet said: “If a believer is not able to benefit others, he must at least do them no harm.” This shows that to the Prophet the man who becomes useful to others leads his life on a higher plane. But if he fails to do so, he should at least create no trouble for his fellow men. For a man to be a really good servant of God, he must live in this world as a no-problem person. There is no third option.

The Prophet’s own example is testified to by Anas ibn Malik who served the Prophet for ten years. He says that the Prophet never ever rebuked him. “When I did something, he never questioned my manner of doing it; and when I did not do something, he never questioned my failure to do it. He was the most good-natured of all men.” Such conduct gained him the respect even of his enemies and his followers stood by him through all kinds of hardship and misfortune. He applied the principles on which his own life was based in equal measure to those who followed his path and to those who had harmed or discountenanced him.I

In the present world, everyone’s thinking, tastes, aptitude, likes and dislikes can never exactly coincide. For many reasons, differences do arise in this world. But then, what is the permanent solution to the problem? The solution lies in tolerance, called i‘raz in Arabic. The Prophet’s entire life served as a perfect example of this principle. According to his wife, ‘A’isha, “He was a personification of the Qur’an.”

That is to say, the Prophet molded his own life in accordance with the ideal pattern of life which he presented to others in the form of the Qur’an. He never beat a servant, or a woman, or anyone else. He did, of course, fight for what was right. Yet, when he had to choose between two alternatives, he would take the easier course, provided it involved no sin.’ No one was more careful to avoid sin than he. He never sought revenge—on his own behalf—for any wrong done to him personally. Only if God’s commandments had been broken would he mete out retribution for the sake of God. It was such conduct which gained the Prophet universal respect.

In the early Meccan period when the antagonists far exceeded the Prophet’s companions in number, it often happened that when the Prophet would stand to pray, his detractors would come near him and whistle and clap in order to disturb him, but the Prophet did not even once show his anger at such acts. He always opted for the policy of tolerance and avoidance of confrontation.

When the Prophet migrated to Medina he built the first mosque known as Masjid al-Nabi (Mosque of the Prophet), considered to be the second most sacred mosque in Islam.

One day the Prophet was sitting in the mosque along with his companions. A Bedouin entered the mosque and started urinating. The Companions rushed to catch him and give him a good beating. But the Prophet did not allow them to do so. After the Bedouin had urinated, he asked his companions to bring a bucket of water and wash the place. Afterwards the Prophet called the man and with gentleness and affection explained to him that this was a place of worship and that it should be kept clean.

When the opposition became very strong the Prophet left Mecca for Medina. But his antagonists did not leave him in peace. They began to attack Medina. In this way a state of war prevailed between the Muslims and non-Muslims.

Since the Prophet avoided war at all costs, he strove to bring about a peace agreement between him and the Meccans. After great efforts on his part, the non-Muslims agreed to the finalizing of a 10-year peace treaty, which was drafted and signed at the al-Hudaybiyyah.

While the al-Hudaybiyyah treaty was being drafted, the Meccans indulged in a number of extremely provocative acts. For instance, the agreement mentioned the Prophet’s name as ‘Muhammad the Messenger of God.’ They insisted that the phrase ‘the messenger of God’ should be taken out, and be replaced simply by ‘Muhammad, son of Abdullah’. The Prophet accepted their unreasonable condition and deleted the appellation with his own hands. Similarly, they made the condition that if they could lay their hands on any Muslim they would make him a hostage, but if the Muslims succeeded in detaining any non-Muslim, they would have to set him free. The Prophet even relented on this point. For the restoration of peace in the region, the Prophet accepted a number of such unjustifiable clauses as were added by the enemy. In this way he set the example of peace and tolerance being linked with one another. If we desire peace, we must tolerate many unpleasant things from others. There is no other way to establish peace in society.

Once the Prophet was seated at some place in Medina, along with his companions. During this time a funeral (procession) passed by. On seeing this the Prophet stood up. Seeing the Prophet stand, up, one of his Companion remarked that the funeral was that of a Jew, that is, a non-Muslim. The Prophet replied, ‘Was he not a human being?’

This incident illustrates how an atmosphere of mutual love and compassion can be brought about in the world only when we consciously rise above all insidious demarcation of caste, color and creed. Just as the Prophet did, we too must look at all men as human beings who deserve to be respected at all events.

Source

Slightly edited to ease understanding and reposted here with permission from a Jewish friend; from a portion in the annual cycle of Jewish Torah reading (Parshat Vayigash). The lessons contained herein are universal. Lets build upon our common ground, to establish good relations between people of different faiths.

Blessings and peace,

Paul Salahuddin Armstrong

———

Parshat Vayigash starts in the middle of the story of Joseph (Yoseph/Yusuf), peace be upon him, confronting his brothers. After holding back as long as he could, Joseph finally revealed his identity, and eventually asked for his father to be brought down to him. When Jacob (Yaakov/Yaqub), his father, peace be upon him, finally did come, Joseph took him to meet Pharaoh, setting up a confrontation between two opposing powers; Jacob was the spiritual leader in his generation, while Pharaoh ruled the physical. Their conversation seems (47:8-10) strange at first glance. The only question Pharaoh asked Jacob was (literally) “How many are the days of the years of your life?” which is not only a strange question, but is obviously worded strangely, too. The response seems even more bizarre, when Jacob answers that “the days of the years of my (physical) living is 130 years, (but) the days of the years of my life are few and bad, and did not surpass those of my fathers.” What does all the obscure language mean? Why didn’t Jacob answer Pharaoh’s question directly by just telling him how old he was? And who asked about Jacob’s forefathers?

Rav Hirsch helps us by explaining that Pharaoh actually asked Jacob how many truly meaningful, spiritual days he had had in all the years of his lifetime. Jacob answered by first explaining to Pharaoh that although his physical years were 130, he didn’t look at those physical numbers. Instead, his focus was on achieving the spritual greatness of his forefathers, and answered that he hadn’t reached that goal. Physical numbers meant nothing unless there was a spiritual purpose attached to it. And although Jacob didn’t reach his own personal goals, he’s our forefather BECAUSE he struggled to reach them. That’s the lesson Jacob taught Pharaoh, and that’s the lesson we must learn: We mustn’t get caught up in our clothing designers, cars and bank accounts, but must strive to be more spiritual, where the only thing that really ‘counts’ is effort. We should all commit to doing at least one action a day (give charity, read the scriptures, learn about our religion, pray, meditate on God’s names) to make deposits into the only bank account that really counts – the spiritual kind.

Don’t give me presents
On Christmas day
Give me your presence instead
Wherein my heart flies
To meet my soul
Beyond words into
Truth
Felt only

Uncontained
By wrappings and ribbons
Undefined by greeting cards

My piece of peace
My joue my jew
My joy
My magi
Magically real

This day and
Any day

By Paul Salahuddin Armstrong

I hate the attitude of hate… Why hate? I love God, love His prophets, love His saints, love creation, and love all people! On this, virtually all religions would agree, yet then they pick at straws: their concept of God (or gods) -only, their prophets/avatars/saints/gurus -only, people of their sect -only. Why? Many scriptures, especially of course the Holy Torah, Holy Bible and Holy Qur’an, but even some Hindu scriptures, testify to the Oneness of God!

“Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad” (Holy Torah, Deuteronomy 6:4), “Allahu Ahad” (Holy Qur’an 112:1), God is One and only! If God is One and only, as the scriptures testify, our concepts of God are purely human constructs, God is way above such false limitations being placed upon His Divine Majesty! God inspired all prophets, avatars, saints and gurus who spoke Truth, irrespective of which artificial religious institutions later placed claims upon them. The creation is the reflection of God’s divine attributes, in the material world, which transcends any particular religious claims to it. Humanity is part of God’s creation, each person a manifestation of one of God’s divine names in the flesh. How can we then hate anyone, when all people were created by the same God of all creation, all religions and all humanity?

According to the scriptures of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, we are all descended from Adam and Hawwa (Eve), the first man and the first woman. Adam in Hebrew means “Earth”, as well as man. The Arabic letters that make up the name Adam; Alif, Dal, Mim; indicate the positions of our Salaah (daily worship), standing, bowing and prostrating, which is similar to a traditional form of worship found in Judaism as well. Thus indicating our utter dependence upon God.

Through Adam, humanity’s connection to the Earth, which our bodies are formed from and one day return back to, is made abundantly clear. Surely, this should inspire within us a certain degree of reverence and respect for nature. God willing, we may return to our role of stewardship, “God’s viceregents” (khalifa) of the Earth, taking good care of the creation God has entrusted to us.

Through Adam, we may see our common heritage. Modern science too, now acknowledges our mitochondrial DNA, demonstrates we were all descended from a woman, even they’ve called “Eve”. Whether we are Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Druze, Samaritan, Zoroastrian, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Confucian, Shintoist, Animist, Agnostic or Atheist; we are all one very extended family, each branch blessed with their own unique characteristics, qualities, tastes, culture, crafts and skills. Oh how God has blessed humanity! How can we then be ungrateful?

from:
http://www.twinklebulbs.com/trivia.htm
http://www.holidayinsights.com/
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20091224/APF/912241360

HOLDAY FUN FACTS!!!

The idea for using electric Christmas lights came from an American named Ralph E. Morris in 1895.  The new lights proved safer than the traditional candles, which often started fires by falling in the dry Christmas trees.

Candy canes began as straight white sticks of sugar candy used to decorated the Christmas trees. A choirmaster at Cologne Cathedral decided have the ends bent to depict a shepherd’s crook and he would pass them out to the children to keep them quiet during the services. It wasn’t until about the 20th century that candy canes acquired their red stripes.During the Christmas/Hanukkah season, more than 1.76 billion candy canes are made.

Two hundred years before the birth of Christ, the Druids used mistletoe to celebrate the coming of winter. They would gather this evergreen plant that is parasitic upon other trees and used it to decorate their homes. They believed the plant had special healing powers for everything from female infertility to poison ingestion. Scandinavians also thought of mistletoe as a plant of peace and harmony. They associated mistletoe with their goddess of love, Frigga. The custom of kissing under the mistletoe probably derived from this belief. The early church banned the use of mistletoe in Christmas celebrations because of its pagan origins. Instead, church fathers suggested the use of holly as an appropriate substitute for Christmas greenery.

The tradition of gifts seems to have started with the gifts that the wise men (the Magi) brought to Jesus. As recounted in the Bible’s book of Matthew, “On coming to the house they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.”

In 1836, Alabama was the first state in the USA to declare Christmas a legal holiday.In 1856, President Franklin Pierce decorates the first White House Christmas tree.

In 1907, Oklahoma became the last USA state to declare Christmas a legal holiday.

Due to the time zones, Santa has 31 hours to deliver gifts? This means that he would have to visit 832 homes each second!

Kwanzaa is a African-American holiday celebrating history, culture, family and community. It was started in California in 1966. It was created by scholar-activist Dr. Maulana Karenga. Kwanzaa is now celebrated all over the world, but primarily in the U.S., Africa, and the Caribbean.

Focusing on values, culture and history, Kwanzaa encourages people to learn more about their roots and to focus upon their values.

SPENDING: Holiday shoppers have brought retailers a mildly positive season.

Spending through Dec. 19 is tracking a little below the 1.6 percent growth forecast by ShopperTrak, a research firm that monitors sales and traffic at more than 50,000 outlets.

Israel now shares a monstrous distinction with China. It illegally harvests organs from the dead. The former head of Israel’s Abu Kabir forensic institute has admitted the ghoulish practice, according to a reported published by The New Zealand Herald. Abu Kabir’s forensic pathologists harvested organs from dead bodies, primarily Palestinians, without the permission of their families.

In August it was reported by Aftonbladet, Sweden’s largest circulation daily, that Israeli troops killed Palestinians specifically to harvest their organs. The report appeared after an American Jew was arrested in the United States for illicit organ trafficking. The story made news in Israel, where some commentators compared it to medieval libels that Jews killed Christian children for their blood. Daniel Seaman, who heads Israel’s government press office, said the article played on “vile anti-Semitic themes,” according to the Associated Press.

The Swedish newspaper reported that Israeli soldiers targeted Palestinians specifically in order to harvest their organs.

Journalist Donald Bostrom wrote in the article that Palestinians “harbor strong suspicions against Israel for seizing young men and having them serve as the country’s organ reserve – a very serious accusation, with enough question marks to motivate the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to start an investigation about possible war crimes.”

An Israeli official called Bostrom’s story “hate porn” and the American magazine Commentary wrote that the story was “merely the tip of the iceberg in terms of European funded and promoted anti-Israel hate.”

“The fact is, however, that substantiated evidence of public and private organ trafficking and theft, and allegations of worse, have been widely reported for many years. Given such context, the Swedish charges become far more plausible than might otherwise be the case and suggest that an investigation could well turn up significant information,” writes Alison Weir, executive director of If Americans Knew.

The latest accusation was revealed in connection to the Swedish report. The former head of Abu Kabir forensic institute, Dr Jehuda Hiss, was interviewed in 2000 by an American academic who released the interview because of the report in Aftonbladet and the denials of the Israeli government. “We started to harvest corneas,” Hiss told the academic. “Whatever was done was highly informal. No permission was asked from the family.”

“We’d glue the eyelid shut,” Hiss added. “We wouldn’t take corneas from families we knew would open the eyelids.”

Israel’s Channel 2 TV aired parts of the interview over the weekend.

In addition to corneas, skin, heart valves, and bones were taken from the bodies of Israeli soldiers, Israeli citizens, Palestinians and foreign workers, often without permission from relatives.

Hiss also said skin was taken from the backs of dead Palestinians and the families of the dead never discovered the theft because they did not examine the bodies before burial. Muslim custom dictates that the deceased be buried as soon as possible after death, avoiding the need for embalming or otherwise disturbing the body.

After the interview aired on television, the Israeli military admitted the macabre practice.

Palestinians have feared for many years that Israeli Occupation Forces in the West Bank and Gaza have targeted them for organ harvest.

In an article published in the Washington Report on Middle East Affair, Mary Barrett reports on the killings of young Palestinians. Her report contains an interview with Dr. Hatem Abu Ghazalch, the former chief health official for the West Bank under Jordanian administration and director of forensic medicine and autopsies. Barrett asks Ghazalch about “the widespread anxiety over organ thefts which has gripped Gaza and the West Bank since the intifada began in December of 1987.”

“There are indications that for one reason or another, organs, especially eyes and kidneys, were removed from the bodies during the first year or year and a half,” Ghazalch responded. “There were just too many reports by credible people for there to be nothing happening. If someone is shot in the head and comes home in a plastic bag without internal organs, what will people assume?”

In 2000, Nancy Scheper-Huges characterized organ harvesting as a form of modern cannibalism. “Today, China stands alone in continuing the use of organs of executed prisoners for transplant surgery,” she wrote.

Now Israel joins China as an international outlaw in this gruesome practice.

Organ harvesting will now be added to the list of Israel’s war crimes and human rights violations in the Occupied Territories.

[source]

Because of modern alarmist reactions to the word “Palestine,” many non-Arabs and non-Muslims take offense when it is argued that Jesus was a Palestinian (peace be upon him). Jesus’ ethnicity, skin color, and culture often accompanies this conversation, but it is interesting how few people are willing to acknowledge the fact he was non-European. A simple stroll in the Christmas aisle of your local shopping store will show you the dominant representation of Jesus: a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, White man.

Islamophobia and anti-Arab propaganda have conditioned us to view Palestinians as nothing but heartless suicide bombers, terrorists, and enemies of freedom/democracy. Perpetual media vilification and demonization of Palestinians, in contrast to the glorification of Israel, blinds us from seeing issues such as the Palestinian refugee crisis, the victims of Israel’s brutal attack on Gaza last winter, the tens of thousands of homeless Palestinians, and many other issues that are constantly addressed by human rights activists around the world. To speak from the perspective of the Palestinians, especially in casual non-Arab and non-Muslim settings, generates controversy because the minds of many already associate Palestinians with violent stereotypes. So, how could Jesus belong to a group of people that we’re taught to dehumanize?

When I’ve spoken to people about this, I’ve noticed the following responses: “No, Jesus was a Jew,” or “Jesus is not Muslim.” The mistake isn’t a surprise to me, but it certainly reveals how ignorant much of society still is. Being a Palestinian does not mean one is Muslim or vice versa. Prior to the creation of Israel, the word “Palestine” was a geographic term applied to Palestinian Muslims, Palestinian Christians, and Palestinian Jews. Although most Palestinians are Muslim today, there is a significant Palestinian Christian minority who are often overlooked, especially by the mainstream Western media because the agenda is to simplify the conflict as “Muslims versus Jews.” To learn about many Palestinian Christians opposing Israeli military occupation, as well as Jews who oppose to the occupation, is to reveal more sides to an immensely one-sided story. Professor Jack D. Forbes writes about Jesus’ multi-cultural and multi-ethnic environment:

When the Romans came to dominate the area, they used the name Palestine. Thus, when Yehoshu’a [Jesus] was born, he was born a Palestinian as were all of the inhabitants of the region, Jews and non-Jews. He was also a Nazarene (being born in Nazareth) and a Galilean (born in the region of Galilee)… At the time of Yehoshu’a’s birth, Palestine was inhabited by Jews—descendants of Hebrews, Canaanites, and many other Semitic peoples—and also by Phoenicians, Syrians, Greeks, and even Arabs.

Despite these facts, there are those who use the color-blind argument: “It does not matter what Jesus’ ethnicity or skin color was. It does not matter what language he spoke. Jesus is for all people, whether you’re Black, White, Brown, Yellow, etc.” While this is a well-intentioned expression of inclusiveness and universalism, it misses the point.

When you see so many depictions of Jesus as a Western White man with Euro-American features, the ethnocentrism and race-bending needs to be called out. No person is superior to another based on skin color, but to ignore the way Jesus’ Whiteness has been used to subjugate and discriminate against racial minorities in the West and many other countries is to overlook another important aspect of Jesus’ teachings: Love thy neighbor as thyself.

Malcolm X wrote about White supremacists and slaveholders using Christianity to justify their “moral” and “racial superiority” over Blacks. In Malcolm’s own words, “The Holy Bible in the White man’s hands and its interpretations of it have been the greatest single ideological weapon for enslaving millions of non-white human beings.” Throughout history, whether it was in Jerusalem, Spain, India, or Africa, so-called White “Christians” cultivated a twisted interpretation of religion that was compatible with their colonialist agenda. And racism was a key component of their atrocities.

And here we are in the 21st century where Islamophobia (also stemming from racism because Islam gets racialized) is on the rise; where people calling themselves “Christian” fear to have a Black president; where members of the KKK and anti-immigration movements behave as if Jesus was an intolerant White American racist who only spoke English despite being born in the Middle-East! It is astonishing how so-called “Christians” like Ann Coulter call Muslims “rag-heads” when in actuality, Jesus himself would fit the profile of a “rag-head,” too. As would Moses, Joseph, Abraham, and the rest of the Prophets (peace be upon them all). As William Rivers Pitt writes:

The ugly truth which never even occurs to most Americans is that Jesus looked a lot more like an Iraqi, like an Afghani, like a Palestinian, like an Arab, than any of the paintings which grace the walls of American churches from sea to shining sea. This was an uncomfortable fact before September 11. After the attack, it became almost a moral imperative to put as much distance between Americans and people from the Middle East as possible. Now, to suggest that Jesus shared a genealogical heritage and physical similarity to the people sitting in dog cages down in Guantanamo is to dance along the edge of treason.

Without acknowledging Jesus as a dark-skinned Middle-Eastern man — a Palestinian — who spoke Aramaic — a Semitic language that is ancestral to Arabic and Hebrew — the West will continue to view Islam as a “foreign religion.” Hate crimes and discriminatory acts against Muslims, Arabs, and others who are perceived to be Muslim will persist and they will still be treated as “cultural outsiders.” But what about Christianity and Judaism in America? Aren’t these religions “cultural outsiders” according to the racist logic of xenophobes and Islamophobes?

Jesus would not prefer one race or group of people over another, and I believe he would not encourage today’s demonization and dehumanization of the Palestinian people or the misrepresentations of him that only fuel ignorance and ethnocentrism. As a Muslim, I believe Jesus was a Prophet of God, and if I were to have any say about the Christmas spirit, it would be based on Jesus’ character: humility, compassion, and Love. A Love in which all people, regardless of ethnicity, race, culture, religion, gender, and sexual orientation are respected and appreciated.

And in that spirit, I wish you all a merry Christmas. Alaha Natarak (Aramaic: God be with you).

A key terror suspect who allegedly helped to plan last year’s attacks in Mumbai and plotted to strike Europe was an American secret agent who went rogue, Indian officials believe.

David Coleman Headley (aka Daood Sayed Gilani), 49, who was born in Washington to a Pakistan diplomat father and an American mother, was arrested in Chicago in October. He is accused of reconnoitering targets in India and Europe for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the Pakistan-based terror group behind the Mumbai attacks and of having links to al-Qaeda. He has denied the charges.

He came to the attention of the US security services in 1997 when he was arrested in New York for heroin smuggling. He earned a reduced sentence by working for the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) infiltrating Pakistan-linked narcotics gangs.

Indian investigators, who have been denied access to Mr. Headley, suspect that he remained on the payroll of the US security services — possibly working for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) — but switched his allegiance to LeT.

“India is looking into whether Headley worked as a double agent,” an Indian Ministry of Home Affairs official said yesterday.

Mr. Headley, who changed his name from Daood Gilani, was in Mumbai until two weeks before the attacks on the city, which claimed 166 lives last November. It is alleged that he spent months checking targets in India’s commercial capital, using his Western looks and anglicized name to move in elite social circles, hobnob with Bollywood actors and even to pass himself off as Jewish.

Despite being firmly on the radar of the US intelligence agencies, he was allowed to return to India as recently as March. Indian officials are furious that their American counterparts did not share details of that visit at the time. The Indian media has raised the possibility that Mr. Headley was being protected by his American handlers — a theory that experts say is credible.

“The feeling in India is that the US has not been transparent,” said B. Raman, a former counter-terrorism chief in the Indian foreign intelligence service, the Research and Analysis Wing.

“That Headley was an agent for the DEA is known. Whether he was being used by the CIA as well is a matter of speculation, but it is almost certain that the CIA was aware of him and his movements across the subcontinent.”

According to Mr. Raman, it is probable that Mr. Headley, who was arrested when the US authorities learned that he was about to fly to Pakistan, was listed on the main database of the US National Counterterrorism Center, a facility used by the CIA and several other American agencies to track terror suspects.

Indian officials suspect that US agencies declined to share intelligence to avoid compromising other secret operations and to to be able to deny any link with Mr. Headley.

Analysts believe that the US may also have been anxious to avoid sharing information that could further raise tensions between India and Pakistan, nuclear-armed neighbors who have fought three wars.

According to documents put before a court in Chicago, Mr. Headley had links with the Pakistan Army and, through it, with al-Qaeda.

As well as helping to co-ordinate the Mumbai atrocity, Mr. Headley is accused of planning attacks on Mumbai’s Bollywood film industry, the Shiv Sena, a Hindu extremist group also based in Mumbai, a major Hindu temple, and a Danish newspaper that had published cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad.

The US authorities allege that he was close to Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a former Pakistani schoolmate and businessman who is also being charged with planning to attack the Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten. Mr. Rana is accused of having known about the attack on Mumbai in advance.

The CIA denied that Headley had worked for the organization.

“Any suggestion that Headley was working for the CIA is complete and utter nonsense. It’s flat-out false,” Paul Gimigliano, from the CIA’s Office of Public Affairs, said.

The Indian Home Secretary, Gopal Krishna Pillai, has said that his Government would seek the extradition of Mr. Headley — a request that has so far been stonewalled by US officials.

And I believe its about time. Christmas is one of those holidays that everyone loves. Mostly retail business’s. We buy more crap for people at Christmas then any other day. We spend and spend and spend and spend for one day, then spend the next 250 days trying to get out of debt for the upcoming holiday season.

And today Christmas Eve means people are still shopping trying to get there last minute presents.

But I think we forget something. Sexy lingerie may look good…..but please remember that you are giving that sexy lingerie on CHRISTmas. No not X-mas. Not Happy holidays. CHRISTMAS.  If you celebrate something on December 25th it is supposed to be CHRISTMAS.

So I know this is getting sort of religious and I am not trying to force my view on anyone (yes I am….who am I kidding?) but this holiday still has Christ in it. Therefore remember why we give these gifts.

I know its too late this year. But next year when you go shopping don’t buy into the retail stores gimmicks of them trying to sell you crap. Candles are nice, but honestly who really wants a candle? A brand new car is nice but your going to wreck it anyways. Snuggies are cute I guess…..though you probably will never get married by wearing one.

So why do we give people this crap? Is it to impress? Or is it to make up for the 364 days of being a irritating bastard?

What is worse is when someone gives you a present. You feel like you must return the favor. I don’t think you realize something.

I AM CHEAP!!!!!

Why do you think I have no girlfriend when it comes close to a holiday? Its because I don’t like spending MY money on someone!

I am kidding.

not really ….

Anyways from everyone here at steppin’ (me) and from yours truly (me)

Have a great Christmas!

Merry Christmas from CYizz-a-clause

We always hear Jews say “oh, im such a bad jew” when they work on Shabbat or if they eat a cheeseburger or bacon sandwitch. But should this be the way the Jewish people view who’s a good/bad Jew? Shouldn’t the way one is measured as a good or bad Jew be measured by what acts of lovingkindness that one bestows on others. Or how one takes care of the world, of america, of their state, city, town home? While its always good to have a stable identity and some of that comes from observance, to make that the deciding factor is disturbing in some respects. As we look to the secular new year in a couple of weeks, may we wish for January first and on to be opprotunities of showing Jewish vales, because that is what makes a good Jew.

On Monday, Rebbe of the Spinka sect of Hasidic Judaism, Rebbe Naftali Tzi Weisz was arrested Monday after tax evasion which costed the general public millions in taxes and went on for years, if not decades. This all was found by authorities after a whisleblower installed cameras, recorded coversations etc reveled evidence to police. Because the crime involved donations to organizations, it was said that prosecution is tricky and difficult based on the compliance of the organizations involved. Fines were said to have been in the millions.

Islam was founded in Medina, which was a Jewish community.  This is where they felt safe to start.  They are using the same tactics today.  They see us as Jews (all).  They use tricks and fear.  They lie and have ILL WILL on all.  Just like in the good old days of the Qaran.

He established his evil ministry at around the hanukah and christmas times because that is the most suseptable time for the peace (life) loving religions. 

“Muhammad, having been judged as a hallucinating insane poet, was tormented by the Meccans in many ways. It got so bad, that after his wife’s death he left for Medina where a significant Jewish community provided a safer place for him to gather followers, build a powerbase, reveal his Medina Quran of intolerance and vilification, and launch his religion in full force and by brute force.”

Christmas Spirit and Islam

By editor • on December 20, 2009

by Amil Imani, Freedom of Iran, December 19, 2009

This is the time of the year that the air is filled with everything Christmas. There is something for everyone: gifts for family and friends, prayers at churches, and Christmas music everywhere. It puts me in a contemplative mood, particularly when I hear the delightful Christian refrain, peace on earth, goodwill to men. This is the gift I want. This is my Christmas. When there is peace on earth and all people dispense and receive good will.

Yet, I am saddened to see the world as it is, particularly with what Islam is doing to it, which is the exact opposite of working for peace and extending goodwill to all people.

My contemplation takes me to the genesis of Islam. Something I have come to view as a scourge of humanity, and here are a few of my random thoughts about the founder of Islam: the person who launched a religion that has denied peace to mankind right from the start, the person who advanced a religion that began with war, continues with war, and aims to carry on with bloodletting to the end of time. All this makes me think and shake my head in bewilderment.

Starting with the premise that an all-knowing powerful God is the creator of this awe-inspiring universe where we humans are an infinitesimally insignificant part of his creation humbles me. Muslims call this creator Allah—a recast of one of 360 idols in the pre-Islamic Idolatry of Mecca—and attribute numerous superhuman qualities to him. It is awe-inspiring to realize that a being of that description may indeed exist.

That leads me to some questions: Why would such an indescribably exalted creator, with his ascribed boundless wisdom and resources, pick an illiterate Bedouin to become his prophet for then and forever? The man himself, Muhammad, admitted in the Quran to his own illiteracy. Yet, Allah persisted in choosing this man? Was Allah bored with the rest of his universe and playing a joke on us helpless mortals? Or was it a case of Allah not being able to get any reasonably literate man to take the job?

I don’t have an answer to this or a bevy of other questions and the answers I have seen so far from Muslims are far from satisfactory. I am forced to mark this as one of the enigmas of life and move on to further look into Muhammad, his claims, his life and the way all might come together with Allah’s choreography of our life of drama.

Muslims claim that Muhammad was the most perfect man, the kind of saintly man that each and every one of us should adulate and aspire to follow. On the top of their list is the desire to lead their lives in such a way that would please Allah, if they can.

Muhammad has done that, Muslims claim. And apparently Allah, in his infinite kindness, does not require the rest of us mortals to do things that we are incapable of doing. And Muhammad has brought us the perfect life manual, the Quran, to help us in our quest, we are told.

Besides, a great inducement for me to check Islam out is the promise of eternal life in an indescribably lush sensual paradise of Allah if I make the grade. If I fail, I am told, my forever destination is the dreadful inferno of hell.

I have also checked out those schools of thoughts that say life starts here and ends here. End of discussion. Well, buying into the idea that I am going to end up as fertilizer in some desolate cemetery is not something I would like to contemplate. So, I kept looking into this Islam thing since I was born and raised in it. After all 1.5 billion people have bought into it. They can’t all be misguided, can they?

This quest led me to examine the teachings and life of Muhammad closely. And here are a few of my findings that have thrown me for a loop. Hence, I am sharing my findings with the readers in the hope that someone would supply me with explanations that would relieve me of my perplexities.

I have, in my quest, read, re-read, and read again the Quran—purportedly the literal word-for-word of Allah transmitted to Muhammad by the Archangel Gabriel over the course of some 20 years.

Right away I am troubled. Is Allah the same creator who has created the entire universe by a single word of his mouth—kon va yakoon—be and became, as Islam claims? Then why did it take this magnificent all-knowing lightingly-fast-Allah 20 years to get across a dime-novel-size hodgepodge of contradictory and nonsensical verse called the Quran, to us poor creatures?

Was it because Muhammad was illiterate and he couldn’t write them down? But that can’t be. He didn’t write down anything himself. He dictated to anyone who could write and was around at the time to do it. Therefore, in the course of some 20 years what is claimed to be the word-for-word dictates of Allah went through a number of intermediaries and materialized in several versions.

First the Archangel Gabriel whispered it to Muhammad, then Muhammad found some Arab who could write—not an easy find among the masses of the most backward illiterates of Arabia—and who happened to have a pen of some sort and a parchment to jot down what Muhammad still managed to recall.

Perhaps this does explain the several versions of the Quran that popped up after Muhammad’s death and the Caliph Othman’s choice of one as the genuine and burning of the others. The practice of burning books Muslims don’t like to talk about, goes all the way back to their venerated second Caliph, Othman.

Now, how could a fallible politician like Othman be the judge of Allah’s genuine utterances? Was there another Archangel that helped him out, or he just simply liked that particular version best? One thing you can say about Othman. He was an astute enough politician to realize that you can’t have one Islam with several versions of the word-for-word revelation of Allah.

Here is another problem. Even the chosen version of the Quran, if you can make any sense of it at all, reads like two different books. The early part is known as the Mecca Quran. This part is much about meekness, tolerance, kindness and so forth. This was the time that Muhammad’s wife Khadija—a monotheist Hanif, in contrast to polytheist idolater Muhammad—introduced her young troubled husband to her Christian uncle and exposed him to the teachings of Christianity that influenced his “revelation.”

During this early phase of his ministry, Muhammad spoke respectfully about the “people of the book,”—Christians and Jews, the people from whose book he liberally plagiarized to launch his monotheistic faith with the invaluable encouragements of his wife Khadija.

It was Khadija who convinced the young man that he was indeed chosen by Allah to be his spokesperson; that the jinn and angels communicated with him were parts of Allah’s plan for him.

Muhammad, during his Mecca years, was ridiculed for his confused sayings by his own tribe of Quraish. He was called shaeron majnoon—crazed poet. At this early stage he went by his birth name of Abulqasem. It was later that he took on the new name of Muhammad—Praiseworthy-One—to go better with his ministry.

Muhammad, having been judged as a hallucinating insane poet, was tormented by the Meccans in many ways. It got so bad, that after his wife’s death he left for Medina where a significant Jewish community provided a safer place for him to gather followers, build a powerbase, reveal his Medina Quran of intolerance and vilification, and launch his religion in full force and by brute force.

Once in Medina, Muhammad hit on a most powerful formula for success. He justified everything, on the spot, by saying that Allah wants it this way. And Allah was nothing to trifle with. He held the key to the most magnificent paradise as well as to the dreadful hell. The duty of a good Muslim became unquestioning obedience to everything that Muhammad said and wished. Muhammad became Allah’s gatekeeper to paradise and hell.

Muhammad’s formula worked magic with the Bedouins of Arabia who thrived on robberies and killings. His religion spread like a pandemic disease in no time at all. And here we are in the 21st century, at Christmas time, praying for peace and goodwill to men, while Muhammad’s men are working overtime to make sure that men see neither peace nor goodwill.

I would like to join the chorus of peace on earth and goodwill to men. Yet, deep in my soul, I find it my solemn duty to keep on sounding the alarm about the fire of Islam even at this poignant moment of Christmas.

http://formermuslimsunited.americancommunityexchange.org/2009/12/20/christmas-spirit-and-islam/

The Democrats choose this time of year to push the 2 biggest peices of legislation, healthcare and climate summit.  I just wanted to take note of that.  We are at the most vulnerable at this time, because we don’t want to think that someone is trying to play a fast one on us.  It never enters the conversation, unless it’s blatently overt.  We are not thinking about negative things.  Most try very hard not to be negative.  Most get taken for a ride.  During the holidays, that is when this type of crime is most likely to succeed.  The Democrats have waited ’till the Christmas season to pull the biggest fast one.  Wow!  Thats low.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJOe3CXE-mA&feature=PlayList&p=BA5888B71244BE5A&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=38

I am going to sing this and many of these things applied to my Polish Poor Christmas.  (There is no domestic violence in this video but the mother is in the penetentiary and Mama was one step away from it.  Why aren’t Jewish women in prison or facing insane asylums? What they have pulled off for 10,000 years surely is insane but I guess there are not enough insane asylums to fit the 6,000,000 Jews in this country.

I am at times amazed at how traffic gets to my blog. I have very little traffic and I don’t try to promote my site. I have actually tried to discourage people from reading my stuff, because I prefer to filter what I read and it seems less is more when filtering. Much of what I write, a person either “gets” it or it has little meaning for you. If you don’t get it, there is probably no reason you should read anything I write. I have no following, so there is no message there, it is best you just move on–there is nothing to see, the crowd should just move on.

I have limited ability to track who comes to my site. However, WordPress does tell me what words are used in a search, that brought people to my site. This week they used:”gourley”,  al qaeda as religious movement,  iraq china oil,  shaper convert ot milling machine,  chinese military.

The search “al qaeda as religious movement” found my posting http://larrydunbar.wordpress.com/2009/12/07/flournoy-at-aei-al-qaeda-has-%e2%80%98got-to-be-very-worried/, but the search “al qaeda as a religious movement” has a closer relationship to my last post: Quick and Dirty.

Al Qaeda is Islam’s quick and dirty. Al Qaeda is Islam’s gamers. They move from decision to action quick and dirty. This is why Al Qaeda has a bureaucracy that reportedly surprised most people. The bureaucracy acts as a gatekeeper in the game and restricts the gamer from moving from one level to the next, until it is properly oriented to the rules of the game, while maintaining relevancy to the movement. The reason the attempt to bring down seven jumbo-jets into the Pacific failed, the bureaucracy came apart under pressure from those inside, as the leadership was taken-out or rendered irrelevant from the outside.

All force in a movement is internal and across a gap. Leadership of a movement is the nearest to the gap between the forces inside and out. Therefore, they are the most vulnerable to those forces outside that tend to break the movement apart. Without the leadership necessary to maintain the bureaucracy in a movement like Al Qaeda, the gamers lose. 

The reduction in bureaucracy is why a corporate crusader will ultimately fail in its attempt at war. It will have the best gamers, but not the necessary bureaucracy that would enable the gamers to get past the gatekeepers and move on to the next level. The corporate structure is non-generational in nature, which would otherwise give the gamers their precision and accuracy of movement.

That is why I believe only a nation will have the necessary amount and orientation of bureaucracy to win in the game of war. The gamers need to know precisely where they came from and going to, while maintaining accuracy in those targets. Without precision and accuracy the gamers will not be able to move between decision and action faster than the non-gamers.

Competing on the level of non-gamers takes the gamers out of their game.

Rabbi Leib Tropper of Monsey New York, a tightly knit Chasidic neighborhood of Rockland County, has been reported to have been proposing sex as a trade for a women’s conversion to Orthodox Judaism. Shannon Orand says she has proof from her recording a conversation that this is true. This wasn’t a small little sexual conversion, not that any sex conversation between a Rabbi is small, but he actually proposed to pseudo-rape her as a way of fulfilling his sick need. This also is topped with a few words including “darling” and “cutie pie”. So, my take on this, Monsey is very close-knit. This shouldn’t been seen as something that is representative of Orthodox Judaism because stuff like this happens in all faiths. But such a man, of such great respects in his community, promoting tzniut(modesty and sexual control) and family purity of Orthodox Judaism but on the other hand is having non marital sexual relations with a student of his. That is quite sick in my opinion. Shannon Orand (suspected picture not shown to protect her) has since had her conversion process, which if everything ended well was to end sometime last week, has since been canceled because the Rabbi was apart of that religious court apparently. Orand still is continuing her love for Judaism and from my knowledge of conversion, if her conversion was to end a week ago, she must have already had the beit din(religious tribunal) or would have had it that week and was going to the mikveh(ritual bath) sometime that week. So while her conversion with another Rabbi should go quite easy, one thing I’m interested in knowing is, was Rabbi Tropper her studying Rabbi or just one apart of the beit din. If she studied with this man for a two years(required by Orthodoxy) then how could she not suspect this before? If she did suspect it before, did she just hide it because her love of Judaism was so great? Are there other victims out there? Will they be willing to speak, out of fear that their conversion will be revoked? These are the questions that worry me.

EDIT:

Video(Audio) proof of this. Phone recordings between Rabbi Leib Tropper and Shannon Orand:

Today is December 21st 2009. I have seen the lights go up, the trees get decorated, a few people wrapping presents. There has been an invite or two to a party or an open-house…yet, it doesn’t feel like Christmas is only 4 days away, and I wonder why?

I have a guess…I believe it is probably because Christ is almost out of the picture!

Don’t worry, this isn’t going to be some long commentary, nor am I going to blame anyone but myself.

I am a Christian. Being a Christian is NOT a religion – it is a relationship. I have trusted Jesus Christ to be my Saviour against God’s wrath that I deserve. I seek to serve and follow Him – as well as – to be more like Him. I am not perfect, I am not sinless, I make mistakes, I hurt people unintentionally, I struggle against my own impure thoughts and desires…life is very hard! Jesus saving me does not give me the excuse to do these things, either! His was a Free Gift of Justification, my life must now go through sanctification – and it is not easy – not one bit!

I say all this as a confession of sorts. To my readers, my friends, my Lord – I am so focused on what is wrong with my life and the things I would like to see happen for me, that I barely paid attention to the fact that Christmas is upon us! Christmas is NOT about a tree, colored lights, giving gifts, a home-cooked meal. Are those things okay? Of course they are! However, they are the celebration that is supposed to happen AROUND the FOCUS – that of remembering Christ’s birth and God’s Greatest Gift to the creation He loved so much!

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” – John 3:16 KJV

This verse has been cited so much that sometimes I believe it loses its meaning simply through repetition. I beg you to take the time to pray and meditate on this same verse, no matter how well you know it, and truly seek God’s Heart about what it means! Hopefully, the meaning of Christmas and why we celebrate it will become properly focused within your heart once again!

I am confessing my own failure to focus!

“Thank you, Jesus, for gently reminding me and for allowing me to share it here! – Amen.”

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!

After a major Canadian Rabbi (pictured) abruptly stopped offering Orthodox conversions in Ottawa, it has brought back the attention of conversion and Jewish identity in general. As many of us know, your considered Jewish by the Orthodox and Conservative if your have a Jewish mother(regardless of the father) or if you underwent a traditional conversion. Reform and Reconstructionist movements view it similarly, but one is Jewish if either parent is Jewish. Conversion isn’t required to be strict. But this, again, isn’t as simple as we (and trust me, I) wish to make it. On the subject of Jewish identity though the parents, there are many opportunities where this can be challenged. If your mother is Jewish, one might ask, did she convert? Is she Jewish though her father? If she did convert, was it Orthodox? If she is Jewish by her father, is her mother a Jew too? All of these are factors that would make Orthodoxy object to the Jewishness. On the subject of conversion, the issue is alot more complicating. Was the conversion done strict enough? Was it with the right intentions? Was the Rabbi even allowed to conduct conversions? Is the Rabbi even considered such? Were all the rituals done? Correctly? Even if all questions are answered with an assuring “Yes”, that still isn’t enough. For example, Chief Sephardic Rabbi, Ovadia Yosef (pictured right), at one time didn’t accept any conversion done by the RCA, the most well known and top of the ranks Rabbinical council of Orthodoxy. This would mean that nearly all American Orthodox Jews who converted in the states by a “verified RCA Rabbi” would be a goy to Yosef. Not to forget RCA is active in Canada as well.There was even one Haredi Rabbi (pictured left) who challenged conversion in general. This has brought alot of worry and disgust from Orthodox converts. How would you feel if you observed Judaism, have children you rear as Jews and consider yourself a Jew for so long and then your not considered such just from one declaration from a Rabbi? How would one feel if they went though an Orthodox conversion for marriage etc but observed another stream of Judaism to later have their conversion revoked? Would that not make them a Jew in that specific stream or just by the Orthodox, which is supposed to recognize their own conversions. Is their really a conversion that is dis legitimate – proof? We aren’t so sure.