JNF Honors Canadian PM Amidst Protests Against Bedouin Expulsion 3DEZ13

CANADA used to be the country I, and a lot of Americans, wished we could be more like. Their federal and provincial governments seemed to be guided by social justice and making sure the national social contract was maintained for the benefit of all Canadians. Yes, Canada has it's share of problems, but they have a history of admitting their mistakes and working together to overcome and correct a lot of them. But over the past few years the corporate greed that is turning America into a Third World plutocracy has been creeping North of the border, turning the Canadian dream into a nightmare. The election of stephen harper as Canadian Prime Minister has sped up the demise of the Canadian experience. He is a corporate, special interest lap dog, kow-towing to the whims and demands of those with money, disregarding the best interest of his nation for the profit margins of corporate masters and increased campaign contributions for their minions in local, provincial and federal government offices. Here is a report on his betrayal of Canadian foreign policy ethics from TNN, The Real News Network, covering PM harper's government's support of the nazi like tactics the jnf (jewish national fund) is using against Palestinians in the West Bank and Arab Israeli citizens in Israel proper. Just like the nazis sought to eliminate, to erase all evidence of Jews in Germany and occupied Europe the jnf is committed to eliminate and erase all evidence of Arab (both Christian and Muslim) history in Israel and the West Bank. harper has decided to align his government's foreign policy with fascism, a move that doesn't represent the Canada we used to know. Click the link to view the video.....
http://youtu.be/Tjuxcbd4fMA

The Jewish National Fund has a long history of displacing Palestinians and Bedouins in Israel and erasing the remains of their destroyed villages.

Precis

On Sunday, December 1st, hundreds protested in Toronto, Canada. The demonstrators gathered in freezing weather outside the Metro Toronto Convention Center where thousands attended the JNF honoring dinner for Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Harper has been one of the most fervent supporters of Israel. Under his leadership military and financial relations with Israel tightened. Meanwhile in Israel, a creative protest group created a parody of the Jewish National Fund, calling itself "The New JNF", which vowed to stop erasing Palestinian history and displacing Bedouins in the Negev Desert. The Real News' Lia Tarachansky spoke to Noga Kadmon, an Israeli historian and the author of the renown book Erased From Space And Consciousness.

Transcript

LIA TARACHANSKY, PRODUCER: On Sunday, December 1, hundreds protested in Toronto, Canada. The demonstrators gathered in freezing weather outside the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, where thousands attended the JNF honoring dinner for Stephen Harper, the Canadian prime minister.~~~PROTESTER: We're here because we know that just behind these walls, Stephen Harper is supporting Israeli policies. And what we want Stephen Harper to know is that Palestine will be free! So Harper, Harper, you will see! Palestine will be free! Harper, Harper, you will see!CROWD: Palestine will be free!~~~TARACHANSKY: The mega fundraising event, organized by the Jewish National Fund, attracted Canadian public officials and major donors to Israel and the JNF. David Koschitzky, the chair of the Centre for Israel and the Jewish Affairs, said this was an opportunity to thank the prime minister for his steadfast friendship and support over the years. A recorded message by the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was screened at the dinner.BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: You've chosen wisely. Stephen Harper has proved to be a real leader. And a real leader doesn't follow the herd. A real leader doesn't go by existing fashions. That's not to lead. That's to follow. But Stephen leads. And he has stood up for Israel and he's stood up for the truth time and time again.TARACHANSKY: At the luxurious dinner, where tables cost as high as $100,000, the JNF announced a bird sanctuary in northern Israel will be built and named after Stephen Harper. In return, Harper performed his own surprise for the crowd.STEPHEN HARPER, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER (SINGING): Hey Jude, don't make it bad.TARACHANSKY: Harper has been one of the most fervent supporters of Israel. Under his leadership, military and financial ties with Israel tightened. His administration stood behind Israel on all diplomatic fronts as well. In the UN, Canada was one of only nine countries who stood against 138 others, when it refused to support the symbolic upgrade of the Palestinian Authority to the status of an observer state. More recently, Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird announced Canada will not lift its sanctions on Iran, despite last week's Geneva agreements. The Jewish National Fund, or the JNF, is a registered charity in Canada known mostly for planting trees in Israel. While it positions itself as a green organization, it was started over 100 years ago for the purpose of purchasing land in historic Palestine for Jewish settlement. The JNF has played a vital role in Israeli politics, in the distribution of land after the state was created, and, as some claim, in the erasure of Palestinian history from its landscape.NOGA KADMON, HISTORIAN AND AUTHOR (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): The JNF has existed many years, even before the state, and has a part in the erasing of the [destroyed Palestinian] villages. It started, physically, when leaders in the JNF supported and tried to convince the government to demolish villages and erase their remains, and continued when the JNF planted groves, also on those village ruins, to hide the remains that survived.TARACHANSKY: Noga Kadmon is a historian and the author of the renowned book Erased from Space and Consciousness, where she carefully documents the first years of the Israeli state following the 1948 War, during which two-thirds of the Palestinians were made refugees.KADMON: Planting trees in Israel has many ramifications beyond greening and creating shaded spots. And in each place we must look at the history and what was there before and what the grove covers up and what it prevents, such as development for the people who live nearby or who owned the lands until [the destruction]. Of course, sometimes the JNF plants a grove and it benefits everyone, but in many places JNF plants groves on destroyed Arab villages or next to existing villages, thereby preventing their expansion.TARACHANSKY: Protests against the JNF have led to a worldwide movement in recent years. In Israel, activists in a group calling itself the New JNF handed out flyers in central Tel Aviv last week. The group's name is a parody and has no links to the actual organization. The activists claimed this New JNF has learned its lesson, and even decided to change his position, admitting its forests cover up some of the hundreds of villages destroyed in '48.TEXT ON SCREEN: Look for us under the forests! The New JNF is online and on Facebook.MEMBER OF THE NEW JNF (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): We are the New JNF. That's our new logo. People have never known the names. They know the new, Zionist names of these forests, but not what's underneath them. So the New JNF is here to educate people about them.TARACHANSKY: The fliers the activists gave out in Tel Aviv include a link to a fake blog, where Rafi Shtendel, claiming to be the chairperson of the New JNF, writes about the role the company has played in the erasure and destruction of Palestinian history. The author's name is but a slight alteration of the JNF's actual chairperson, Efi Stenzler. On this fake blog, Rafi writes: "Sixty-five years ago there was an entire culture here that we have destroyed to establish a Jewish State, whose ruins are covered by KKL [JNF] forests." In the blog, Rafi documents several places where through signage and afforestation the JNF erased local Palestinian and Muslim history. On the real JNF's website, a different kind of letter, by its real chairperson, tells another story. Here Efi Stenzler writes, "Over the years, we have developed thousands of projects that have changed the face of the country. KKL-JNF forests are vital to Israel's landscape and environment." In its mandate, the JNF writes simply that its work is aimed at "the benefit of the Jewish people" and not all the citizens of Israel. But receiving millions of dunams of state lands give it the status of a semi-governmental body. Even today, JNF forests are being used to dispossess the indigenous Bedouin in the Negev Desert, as the The Real News has documented in recent years. It is after this dispossession that the dinner in Toronto was named. Despite The The Real News's repeated attempts to solicit a response, the JNF refused to comment. Speaking to The Jerusalem Post, the organizers of Sunday's dinner called the protest an attempt to delegitimize Israel, saying the JNF and its supporters all over the world will continue to strengthen the state of Israel with all of its strength and will act fearlessly to reinforce it. Simultaneously, Stephen Harper announced he will visit Israel in January. For The Real News, I'm Lia Tarachansky in Tel Aviv.

End

Bio

Lia Tarachanskyis an Israeli-Canadian journalist with The Real News Network reporting on Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. Born in the Soviet Union, Tarachansky grew up in a settlement in the occupied West Bank. She is the director of Seven Deadly Myths, a documentary that tackles Israel's biggest taboo - what happened to the Palestinian 1948 when the state was created. Tarachansky previously worked as a Newsroom Producer in The Real News' Washington D.C. and Toronto Headquarters, and her work appeared on BBC, Al Jazeera, USA Today, Canadian Dimension Magazine and others.

 

http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=11130 

Mass Shootings More Lethal Than Homegrown Islamist Terrorism 5FEB13

THE statement at the end of this article says it all. "The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, the seventh mass shooting of 2012, spurred lawmakers into a conversation about changing gun policy. If earlier incidents had involved a Muslim shooter, starting that conversation may not have taken so long. Whether Americans expect the government to protect them from violence—and what lengths Americans expect the government to go in order to do so—seems to depend heavily on whether or not the person intending to do harm happens to be Muslim." From Mother Jones.....

The Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security released a study Friday (first reported on by Spencer Ackerman of Wired) that showed that terrorism perpetrated by Muslim Americans, already a very rare occurrence, declined for the third year in a row. University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill professor Charles Kurzman, who authored the study, noted that mass shootings by non-Muslims in 2012 were considerably more lethal than homegrown terror attacks by Muslims. There were nine such terror plots last year, five of which involved confidential informants, compared to seven mass shootings.

For example, in 2012, the number of deaths resulting from acts of terror perpetrated by Muslim American suspects was zero. By comparison, there were 66 deaths from mass shootings in the United States in 2012. Here's what that looks like:

Mother Jones

Since the 9/11 terror attacks, mass shootings have been considerably more lethal than Islamist terrorist attacks in the US. As Kurzman notes, more people were killed in mass shootings in the US in 2012 alone than died in all terrorist attacks by Muslims in the US since 9/11:

Mother Jones

The comparable lethality of mass shooters versus aspiring terrorists seems to be in part a result of would-be terrorists' commitment to theatricality. Terrorist wannabes are frequently snared in elaborate false terror plots by federal agents, whereas mass shooters often simply go to crowded places and open fire. Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, who killed 13 people and wounded many others in 2009 in a rampage at Ft. Hood, Texas, was one of the only Muslim terrorists to attempt a mass shooting; his plan resulted in more casualties than any other post-9/11 Muslim terrorist attack in the US.

The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, the seventh mass shooting of 2012, spurred lawmakers into a conversation about changing gun policy. If earlier incidents had involved a Muslim shooter, starting that conversation may not have taken so long. Whether Americans expect the government to protect them from violence—and what lengths Americans expect the government to go in order to do so—seems to depend heavily on whether or not the person intending to do harm happens to be Muslim.

Reporter

Adam Serwer is a reporter at the Washington, DC, bureau of Mother Jones. For more of his stories, click here. You can also follow him on Twitter. Email tips and insights to aserwer [at] motherjones [dot] com. RSS | TWITTER

Who's Behind the Anti-Islam Ads on MTA and Muni?

• Pam Geller, the blogger who warned America about nefarious Shariah turkeys, strikes again.

• The GOP's Anti-Muslim Wing Is in Retreat

  Why Republicans finally seem to be distancing themselves from the Muslim-bashers in their midst.

• NYPD's Massive Muslim Surveillance Program Lead to...Nothing

• McCain Blasts Bachmann for Her Anti-Muslim McCarthyism

  John McCain defends an Obama administration official from charges that she's a plant for the Muslim Brotherhood.

• Anti-Islam Filmmaker Becomes a Martyr to the Right

  Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, the guy behind the anti-Islam film that sparked protests across the Middle East, has some new admirers.
  http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/02/mass-shootings-terrorism-casualties-comparison-report

VIDEO: Conservative warns The Daily Show: U.S. will invade ‘entire continent of Africa’ due to Muslims 8FEB13

FROM Raw Story, make sure you watch the video, and check out my earlier post on the 2000 tanks we have sitting in the desert in Nevada at Congress Set to Spend $3 Billion on Tanks, But Army Says It Doesn’t Want Them & 10&9OKT12 http://bucknacktssordidtawdryblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/congress-set-to-spend-3-billion-on.html

 

More than 100 members of Congress have called on the Pentagon to build 300 more of the massive tanks at a cost of $3 billion. But the Army has said it has no need for them.Al Madrigal of The Daily Show mocked an anti-Islam conservative activist on Thursday night amid a report on the M1 Abrams tank.

“Well, we need more tanks for the simple reason that we may have to use them,” conservative author Alan Caruba explained.

Retired Major General Paul Eaton disagreed emphatically. He noted the U.S. military already had 3,000 tanks “sitting in a boneyard near Reno,” causing Madrigal to wonder if Nevada had ever been attacked.

“To my knowledge, Nevada has never been attacked,” Eaton replied.

But Caruba insisted the United States needed more tanks. There was, according to Caruba, a risk the U.S. would need to launch a ground invasion of Africa because of the high population of Muslims living on the continent.

“Their religion requires them to wage jihad,” he explained. “If you are a Muslim, you better be out there jihading away.”

Caruba was surprised to learn the United States was actually selling its excess tanks to Muslim countries, but after a moment of reflection he rationalized the sale. “Good. They are our allies — in some respects,” he said.

Watch video, via Comedy Central, below:

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/02/08/conservative-warns-the-daily-show-u-s-will-invade-entire-continent-of-africa-due-to-muslims/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story%29
Raw Story (http://s.tt/1zx0W)

Chart: Almost Every Obama Conspiracy Theory Ever 2NOV12

I do not understand how people can believe any of these, but when people get all their news and information from fox "news" and right wing shockjocks on talk radio and racist right wing evangelical Christians and hear this over and over and over from multiple right wing extremist then it actually becomes the truth to them. They loose the ability to think for themselves much like the people of hitler's Germany, of stalin's USSR, of mao's prc, just to name a few. See my earlier post on the gop and right wing media at The Republican Party Needs to Ditch Fox News If It Wants to Win 7NOV12
This from Mother Jones.....

Fake birth certificates, ghostwriters, teleprompters, a teenage trip to Mars, and more of the most paranoid and bizarro Obama conspiracy theories out there.

—By Asawin Suebsaeng and Dave Gilson

Barack Obama's presidency has been an inspiration to many Americans—especially nutjobs. Ever since the first-black-president-to-be appeared on the national political stage, a cottage industry of conservative conspiracy theorists has churned out bizarro, paranoid, and just plain racist effluvia—some of which has trickled into the political mainstream. Below, we've charted some of the Obama-baiters best (i.e., worst) work. (Scroll down for more detailed descriptions of the conspiracy theories in the diagram.)

The Conspiracy Theories

Disclaimer: It should go without saying that none of these are true. Follow links at your own risk.

Obama is a secret Muslim: This one began right after he took the stage at the 2004 Democratic convention, with chain emails alleging his "true" religious affiliation. The rumor soon found its way onto the popular conservative online forum Free Republic, and took on a whole new life in the years to come. Related: Obama secretly speaks Arabic, attended a madrassa as a kid in Indonesia, referred to "my Muslim faith" in an interview, and was sworn in on a Koran. 
Obama's bringing 100 million Muslims to America: Avi Lipkin and his PR outfit Special Guests claimed to have evidence of a scheme to bring roughly 100 million Muslims from the Middle East into the United States, converting the country into an Islamic nation by the end of Obama's second term and making it easier to obliterate Israel.
Obama once aided the mujahideen: Harlem pastor and professional race-baiter James David Manning contended that in his younger days, Obama went undercover as a CIA agent to facilitate the transfer of cash and weapons to the Afghan mujahideen in the '80s, thereby aiding what would become the Taliban.
Obama is in the pocket of the Muslim Brotherhood: Billy Graham's son Franklin wants you to know that Obama is allowing the Muslim Brotherhood to take over the federal government.
Obama redecorated the Oval Office in Middle Eastern style: Driven by his fierce sense of anti-American interior design, Obama got rid of the red, white, and blue decoration scheme in his White House office.
Obama married a Pakistani guy: World Net Daily correspondent and conspiracymonger extraordinaire Jerome Corsi posted a video in which he claimed to have "strong" evidence that Obama was once married to his college roommate from Pakistan. The smoking gun: Photos of the chums in which the future president is "sitting about on the [Pakistani roommate's] lap." Related: For years Obama wore a gold ring on his left hand. Was it his gay-wedding ring?
Obama's ring has a Koranic verse on it: The very same ring is allegedly emblazoned with a key phrase in the Islamic declaration of faith: "There is no god except Allah." (It's not.)
Obama was funded by a Saudi prince: Another fairy tale courtesy of Corsi: In late-'70s Chicago, Obama secured political and academic funding from a variety of sketchy Arab sponsors, including a Saudi prince. Which may explain why President Obama bowed to the Saudi king.
Obama was born in Kenya: In early 2008, fringe theorists began a push to prove Obama was born on foreign soil and was therefore ineligible to live in the White House. The theory gained national attention thanks to the efforts of perennial GOP candidate Alan Keyes, "birther queen" Orly Taitz, and Corsi. Related: Obama's birth certificate is a fake, he killed his grandmother in Hawaii because she knew the truth, sealed access to his birth certificate and other damning documents, and did pretty much everything horrible you could possibly do for the sake of a phony birth certificate.
Obama lost his US citizenship: According to Corsi, Obama became an citizen of Indonesia while he lived there as a child.
Michelle's "whitey" tape: During the 2008 campaign, rumors surfaced that a video of Michelle Obama using the word "whitey" would be released to sink her husband's campaign. It's never materialized. Related: The time Glenn Beck called Barack Obama a racist.
Obama was a Black Panther: Well, only if you're not very good at spotting photoshopped images.
Obama is the son of Malcolm X: Because, you know, black people. This charmer popped up on Atlas Shrugged, Pamela Geller's anti-Muslim website. (Geller is also known for obsessing over Shariah turkeys she believes are destroying Thanksgiving.)
Obama is the son of Frank Marshall Davis: The conspiracy film Dreams From My Real Father espouses the theory that Davis, a leftist activist, was not only Obama's ideological mentor but his biological father. Related: Obama got a nose job to make his nose look less like Davis'.
Obama's mom and dad were communists: And you know that communism is an inherited condition.
Obama's ghostwriter was Bill Ayers: Conservative commentators claimed they uncovered evidence that ex-Weatherman Bill Ayers was the true author of Obama's 1995 memoir Dreams from my Father. Former Republican congressman Chris Cannon of Utah went as far as to try to commission an Oxford professor to confirm Ayers' authorship through computer analysis.
Obama trained to overthrow the government: In 2008, leading Obama conspiracy theorist Andy Martin declared on Fox News' Hannity's America that the then-presidential candidate had trained for "a radical overthrow of the government" during his time as a community organizer in Chicago.
Obama wouldn't say the Pledge of Allegiance: During the '08 campaign, Obama was rumored to have refused to say the pledge during a town hall meeting. A photo of the incident was actually taken while the national anthem was being sung.
Obama removed the flag from Air Force One: …and replaced it with his campaign logo.
Obama ordered soldiers to swear allegiance to him: In April 2009, a clearly satirical report detailing how secretary of defense Robert Gates was growing "extremely frustrated" with the White House's plans to scrub the Constitution from the military oath of loyalty made the rounds on the right-wing blogosphere.
Obama secretly gave away American islands to Russia: Texas House candidate Wes Riddle endorsed this theory and noted the relinquishment as grounds for impeachment. However, the seven Arctic islands were actually given away in 1991 by President George H.W. Bush.
Obama caused the recession—in 1995: According to a recent Daily Caller story, Obama's efforts to force banks to lend to African Americans in the mid-'90s led to the subprime mortgage crisis that killed the economy in 2008.
Obama's youth reeducation camps: Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) warned that "young people will be put into mandatory service" at politically correct, billion-dollar camps run by the Democrats.
Obama's coming for your guns: Extreme gun-rights outfits, along with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), alleged that the Obama administration is supporting the (nonexistent) United Nations Small Arms Treaty, which would lead to nationwide gun confiscation.
Obama's coming for your gold: This theory was floated by Glenn Beck—and the gold company he shilled for.
Obama is planning FEMA concentration camps: Again with the camps. This theory got a big boost from Glenn Beck (who claims he didn't mean anything by it). Related: An executive order titled, "National Defense Resources Preparedness," was issued in the middle of March 2012. Conservative commentators saw it as a martial law power-grab that allowed the president to commandeer farmland, steal everyone's food, and draft any American into slave labor for a war of aggression against Iran. Also, he has a "secret vault" at Interpol's headquarters for imprisoning Americans. (Chuck Norris is on the case.)
Obama wants to confiscate your IRA: Townhall.com sent out an message ad claiming that Obama wants to seize your retirement account by force.
Obama caused the BP oil spill: Conspiracy-minded radio host Alex Jones promoted the theory that the Deepwater Horizon spill was all part of the administration's plans of oil nationalization and global government.
Obama was behind the Aurora massacre: In July, Gun Owners of America blasted out a press release claiming that the mass murder at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, was suspiciously timed. "Someone in Washington" was probably behind it, paving the way for Obama-led firearm confiscation and "government genocide."
Obama personally caused Hurricane Sandy: It wasn’t global warming that made Sandy so intense; it was Barack. Alex Jones' site reported the president engineered the storm using a Pentagon weather modification project. The mayhem caused by the hurricane would afford Obama the opportunity to score points by briskly managing disaster relief a week before the election.
Obama had Andrew Breitbart killed: In March 2012, conservative media impresario Andrew Breitbart died of heart failure. Less than a month prior to his death, he had announced that he had uncovered footage of Obama's formative years as a radical. So obviously, Obama had him offed. (The tapes were later revealed to contain things like a young Obama hugging a black college professor.) Related: People—like a Rod Blagojevich fundraiser and an Obama impersonator—died between 2008 and 2012. Obama was in office between 2008 and 2012…coincidence?!?!
Obama spiked the jobs report: "Jobs truthers" (like former GE CEO Jack Welch and Florida tea party congressman Allen West) accused the Obama administration of cooking the September unemployment numbers to manufacture a rosier picture of the economy and boost the president's chances of reelection.
Obama faked bin Laden's death: Since no photographs of Osama bin Laden's corpse were produced, the Al Qaeda leader must still be out there. Fox News' Steve Doocy and Andrew Napolitano entertained the idea that Operation Neptune Spear was merely a ploy to revive Obama's sagging approval ratings. Related: Obama was photoshopped into the iconic killing-OBL White House photo.
Obama's plan to fake an assassination attempt: A false-flag operation would create urban tumult and give Obama the pretext to declare martial law, thus suspending democracy, postponing the 2012 election, and prolonging his stay in office. The theory was flagged by Tenn. State Rep. Kelly Keisling, among others, after circulating online.

Obama the brainwashing hypnotist: As a master of neurolinguistic programming, Obama convinced Americans to vote for him via subliminal messages. Related: Rush Limbaugh pondered if hypnosis was the reason that so many Jewish voters were in the bag for Obama.
Obama's teleprompter: Obama's eloquence is a myth! The 44th president is incapable of speaking in public with his teleprompter.
Obama had a ghostwriter for everything: Jack Cashill over at WND had a hot scoop on how Obama's love letters to his college girlfriend were ghostwritten.
Obama's anti-Semitic poetry: However, according to the American Thinker, Obama's ghostwriters did not write his youthful poem "Underground," which compares Jews to fig-eating underwater apes and echoes Koranic verse.
Obama's exiled lover: Obama was supposedly fooling around with an attractive young staffer from his 2004 Senate campaign. Michelle Obama had the temptress packed off to the Caribbean before the '08 campaign.
Obama is gay: Which explains why he joined Rev. Jeremiah Wright's church. No, really. (Via Corsi, of course.)
Obama's crack cocaine/gay sex/murder orgy cover-up: In 2008, a small-time conman named Larry Sinclair and his kilt-wearing lawyer held a press conference to tell the world of the future president's murderous, drug-and-sodomy-fueled crimes.
Obama's campaigns were funded by drug money: During an October conference call organized to oppose pot legalization, a writer from Lyndon LaRouche's magazine asked about "reports [that both Obama's] 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns have been financed in part by laundered drug money."

Obama is the Antichrist: Obviously. Related: If you play his 2008 Democratic nomination acceptance speech backwards, you can hear him instruct listeners to do Satan's bidding.
Obama is a lizard overlord: According to codes hidden in Biblical verse, Obama is a reptilian humanoid. This idea has found its way on to some right-wing radio shows, and two Daily Caller reporters recently published a (satirical?) e-book on the topic titled, The Lizard King: The Shocking Inside Account of Obama's True Intergalactic Ambitions by an Anonymous White House Staffer.
Obama's adventures on Mars: As a teen, Obama participated in a CIA initiative to teleport to Mars using a top-secret "jump room." Self-described time travelers William Stillings and Andrew Basiago claim to have met the future POTUS at American space bases on the Red Planet. In early 2012, a spokesman for the National Security Council actually acknowledged these claims, and issued a fairly convincing denial.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/10/chart-obama-conspiracy-theories

PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS, RELIGION AND THE VIRGIN BIRTH OF CHRIST

I have been amazed by the way the right wing evangelical Christians have embraced mitt romney considering most evangelical Christian denominations do not consider the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter Day Saints (better known to the rest of us as Mormons) as Christian, especially with all the questions about Pres Obama's true faith (Muslim or Christian????). These Christians recite the Apostle's Creed in church, and it clearly states "I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth: And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary....." BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY, but Mormons don't believe in the virgin birth. It is a fundamental tenant of Christian faith, and Mormons do not believe it. In fact, in the Qur'an (Koran) the virgin birth of Jesus is recorded as such " Muslims believe that Jesus (called 'Isa in Arabic) was the son of Mary, and was conceived without the intervention of a human father. The Qur'an describes that an angel appeared to Mary, to announce to her the "gift of a holy son" (19:19). She was astonished at the news, and asked: "How shall I have a son, seeing that no man has touched me, and I am not unchaste?" (19:20). When the angel explained to her that she had been chosen for the service of God, and that God had ordained the matter, she devoutly submitted herself to His will." The rest of the story in the Qur'an is much different than in the Bible, and Muslims accept Jesus as a prophet but not the Savior. So what I want to know is why the different attitude about romney's faith and the false accusations about Pres Obama being a Muslim? I believe it is based not on religion at all, but is racism, pure and simple, and totally against true Christian teachings. 
For those who may be interested here is a more complete explanation of Mormon teaching about the virgin birth of Christ....

Was the LDS Jesus born of the virgin Mary?

by Matt Slick
The Bible teaches that Jesus was born of the virgin Mary. This means that Mary had no sexual relations with any man prior to the birth of Jesus.
Likewise, the Mormon church also maintains that Jesus was born of the virgin Mary.  However, there is quite an interesting array of Mormon authorities who have said some very interesting things about the relationship between God and Mary in regards to Jesus’ birth. Let’s take a look at some of them and see what we find:
Brigham Young, second prophet and president of the LDS church said,

"The birth of the Saviour was as natural as are the births of our children; it was the result of natural action. He partook of flesh and blood—was begotten of his Father, as we were of our fathers," (Journal of Discourses, v. 8, p. 115).
Brigham Young also said, "Now, remember from this time forth, and for ever, that Jesus Christ was not begotten by the Holy Ghost," (Journal of Discourses, vol. 1, p. 51).
Brigham Young said, "When the time came that His first-born, the Saviour, should come into the world and take a tabernacle, the Father came Himself and favoured that spirit with a tabernacle instead of letting any other man do it. The Saviour was begotten by the Father of His spirit, by the same Being who is the Father of our spirits," (Journal of Discourses, vol. 4, 1857, p. 218).

Joseph Fielding Smith, stated

"The birth of the Savior was a natural occurrence unattended with any degree of mysticism, and the Father God was the literal parent of Jesus in the flesh as well as in the spirit," (Religious Truths Defined, p. 44, as cited in the book, Mormonism: Shadow or Reality, by Gerald and Sandra Tanner, Utah Lighthouse Ministry, P.O. Box 1884, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110, bookstore at 1358 South West Temple, 1982, p. 260).
Joseph Fielding Smith said, "They tell us the Book of Mormon states that Jesus was begotten of the Holy Ghost. I challenge that statement. The Book of Mormon teaches no such thing! Neither does the Bible." (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 1, p. 19).

Bruce McConkie, who was a member of the First Council of the Seventy stated,

"Christ was begotten by an Immortal Father in the same way that mortal men are begotten by mortal fathers," (Mormon Doctrine, 1966, p. 547).
"And Christ was born into the world as the literal Son of this Holy Being; he was born in the same personal, real, and literal sense that any mortal son is born to a mortal father. There is nothing figurative about his paternity; he was begotten, conceived and born in the normal and natural course of events,...Christ is the Son of Man, meaning that his Father (the Eternal God!) is a Holy Man." (Mormon Doctrine, by Bruce McConkie, p. 742).

Heber C. Kimball who was a member of the first presidency said,

"In relation to the way in which I look upon the works of God and his creatures, I will say that I was naturally begotten; so was my father, and also my saviour Jesus Christ. According to the Scriptures, he is the first begotten of his father in the flesh, and there was nothing unnatural about it." (Journal of Discourses, v. 8, p. 211).
"The man Joseph, the husband of Mary, did not, that we know of, have more than one wife, but Mary the wife of Joseph had another husband," (Deseret News, October 10, 1866, as cited in the book, Mormonism: Shadow or Reality, by Gerald and Sandra Tanner, Utah Lighthouse Ministry, P.O. Box 1854, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110, bookstore at 1350 South West Temple, 1982, p. 261).

What conclusions can we draw from the words of the leaders of the Mormon church regarding Jesus’ birth?

1. It was the result of natural action, (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, v. 8, p. 115).
2. Jesus was not begotten by the Holy Ghost," (Journal of Discourses, vol. 1, p. 51); (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 1, p. 19).
3. "The Father came Himself and favoured that spirit with a tabernacle instead of letting any other man do it," (Journal of Discourses, vol. 4, 1857, p. 218).
4. The birth was the result of natural action, (Journal of Discourses, vol. 8, p. 115).
5. "The Father God was the literal parent of Jesus in the flesh as well as in the spirit," (Religious Truths Defined, p. 44).
6. "Christ was begotten by an Immortal Father in the same way that mortal men are begotten by mortal fathers," (Mormon Doctrine, by Bruce McConkie, 1966, p. 547).
7. "There is nothing figurative about his [Jesus’] paternity; he was begotten, conceived and born in the normal and natural course of events," (Mormon Doctrine, p. 742).

Remember, according to Mormon teaching the Holy Ghost is a male personage, a man. (Le Grand Richards, A Marvelous Work and a Wonder, Salt Lake City, 1956, p. 118; Heber C. Kimball, in Journal of Discourses, vol. 5, p. 179).
The Father, who is God, is also in the form of a man (Joseph Smith, Journal of Discourses, vol. 6, p. 3; and Doctrine and Covenants, 130:22).
Mary, of course, was a woman.
This is even more interesting when we realize that the Mormon church officially proclaims that Jesus was born of a virgin. For example, Bruce McConkie stated "Modernistic teachings denying the virgin birth are utterly and completely apostate and false." (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, page 822.) That is fine.  Let them proclaim it.  But quite honestly, I fail to see how the Mormon people can assert that Mary remained a virgin in light of this evidence from their prophets and apostles. I see them saying two different things while backpedaling, trying to seem Christian.
Of course, this is my opinion and the Mormons who read this will accuse me of sensationalism.  But, I am simply pointing out what many of their official church leaders have said.  In the changing teachings of Mormonism, you never know what you'll find next.1

This article is also available in: Español

• 1. Here is a list of the sources that were consulted for this article: (1) McConkie, Bruce R., Mormon Doctrine, 2^nd edition, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1979; (2)Richards, LeGrand, A Marvelous Work and a Wonder, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1950; (3) Smith, Joseph Fielding, Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 1, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1954; (4) Tanner, Gerald and Sandra, Mormonism: Shadow or Reality, Utah Lighthouse Ministry, P.O. Box 1854, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110; (5) Witte, Bob, Where Does it Say That?, no publisher or location.
• http://carm.org/was-lds-jesus-born-of-virgin-mary 

 

In New Egypt, Christians Face Old Discrimination 11MAR11

IF you listen closely there is reason for hope in this story because of the number of people who don't want to fight, who don't want to hate, who just want to hope for a better life in a free Egypt. 

by Steve Inskeep

Listen to the Story

Morning Edition

[5 min 1 sec]

Steve Inskeep/NPR

A Coptic priest speaks to a crowd of thousands of mourners in Moqattem, in the eastern outskirts of Cairo, Thursday at a memorial service for victims of the week of clashes that have left 13 people dead in Egypt.

Christians and others in Egypt are marching Friday to a burned-out church in a village called Soul.
The torching of that church recently was part of a series of incidents that started with a romance and turned deadly. The story says a lot about Egypt in this uncertain time.
The Rev. Apollo Isaac says a Christian boy in the village outside Cairo was caught with a Muslim girl.
"The village culture forbids that kind of relationship to happen," he said.
Village elders decided last week that the Muslim girl should be killed. Her father refused. Soon, he was killed, and the conflict escalated. Muslims blamed the Christians for the tragedy and burned down Apollo's church in Soul.
For the past week, Christians have been waving crosses and shouting at a continuous protest in the center of Cairo. Their story has meshed with the wider anxiety over Egypt's future.
Activist Fady Philip has shouted himself hoarse.
"This is basically for the church, but it's including all of the Christians' requests for everything," he said. "It starts with the church, but it doesn't end with the church."
Historically, Christians have faced discrimination in Egypt. The Christian minority joined the protest against President Hosni Mubarak, but when Mubarak left, and the army proposed changing the constitution, nobody touched the article declaring Islam to be the religion of the state.
Christians often feel like second-class citizens, though many Muslims do support them now, like the one who showed up at the protest, declaring the two religions "friends." A leading Muslim scholar also denounced the church burning, and the army promised to rebuild the church. Yet tensions increased.
People from a largely Christian neighborhood staged a demonstration. Muslims confronted them. Soldiers appeared, and someone opened fire.
It was one of several clashes around the city that killed at least 13 people and wounded 140 this week.
A memorial service was held Thursday for many of the Christian dead. A Coptic priest spoke to a crowd of thousands, including the families of many victims.
"The pains of this life," he told the families, "are nothing compared to the glorious state we will be in in the afterlife."
The priest was speaking in a room that symbolizes Egypt's Christian minority. It was vast -– and it was underground.
It's a hillside cave that has been turned into a meeting hall, with relief sculptures of saints carved on the walls. At the entrance to that cave, NPR spoke with a crowd of people who illustrate the dilemma of Christians in Egypt.
When asked if they are concerned that the new government may not respect their rights, a black-clad priest named Abraham Femy said he will rely on God to look after him. Muslims are their brothers, he said.
Femy added that during Tuesday's violence, he restrained a Christian who tried to take revenge on a Muslim.
But others in the crowd grew angry, saying they were attacked on Tuesday night.
"The army kill us! The army kill us!" one man said. "Believe me! The army kill us!"
Christians in the crowd suspect that soldiers actually were the ones who opened fire on them. They gave NPR bullets that one man claimed were discarded after they jammed in a soldier's gun.
Another Christian, Magdi, was philosophical. Egyptians are just beginning to figure out how to relate to one another in a freer time, he said.
"We are all ignorant when it comes to politics. For the last 40 or 50 years, we were just trying to find money to get bread and food," Magdi said. "So when it comes to politics, the country is still a newborn."
Egyptians are putting that newborn freedom to the test Friday. Protesters are marching to the burned church in the village where it all started. They are calling it a Friday of National Union.

Thousands Of Egyptian Muslims Show Up As ‘Human Shields’ To Defend Coptic Christians From Terrorism 8JAN11

Here's a story worth sharing, and one that gives hope, those that participated really are living their faith....from ThinkProgress and Ahramonline
On New Year’s Day, a devastating terrorist bombing at a Coptic church in Egypt killed 21 people and injured 79 others. Although the identity of the culprits was not known, it was assumed that they were Muslim extremists, intent on targeting those they saw as heretics. Religious tensions immediately rose in the country, and angry Copts stormed streets, battled with police, and even vandalized a nearby mosque. The riots and heightened tensions between the Muslim and Coptic communities was likely what the terrorists wanted — to divide the Egyptian community and create sectarian strife between different religious groups.
Yet by Coptic Christmas Eve, which took place Thursday night in Egypt, things had changed completely. As Egyptian Copts attended mass at churches across the country, “thousands” of Muslims, including “the two sons of President Hosni Mubarak,” joined them, acting as “human shields” to protect from terrorist attacks by extremists. The Muslims organized under the slogan “We either live together, or we die together,” inspired by Mohamed El-Sawy, an Egyptian artist:

Egypt’s majority Muslim population stuck to its word Thursday night. What had been a promise of solidarity to the weary Coptic community, was honoured, when thousands of Muslims showed up at Coptic Christmas eve mass services in churches around the country and at candle light vigils held outside. From the well-known to the unknown, Muslims had offered their bodies as “human shields” for last night’s mass, making a pledge to collectively fight the threat of Islamic militants and towards an Egypt free from sectarian strife.
“We either live together, or we die together,” was the sloganeering genius of Mohamed El-Sawy, a Muslim arts tycoon whose cultural centre distributed flyers at churches in Cairo Thursday night, and who has been credited with first floating the “human shield” idea. Among those shields were movie stars Adel Imam and Yousra, popular preacher Amr Khaled, the two sons of President Hosni Mubarak, and thousands of citizens who have said they consider the attack one on Egypt as a whole. “This is not about us and them,” said Dalia Mustafa, a student who attended mass at Virgin Mary Church on Maraashly. “We are one. This was an attack on Egypt as a whole, and I am standing with the Copts because the only way things will change in this country is if we come together.”

Al Jazeera English covered the attacks and reported from the site of one of the solidarity events where Muslims and Christians stood side by side, protesting discrimination against Copts and calling for an end to violence. Watch it:
It is a frequent complaint among opinion makers in the United States that the global Muslim community does not condemn and prevent terrorism. New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman has even said that Islam needs a civil war similar to the one the United States fought in order to deal with its extremists. But the truth is that moderate and progressive Muslims all over the world are battling extremism. Here in the United States, one-third of al-Qaeda related terror plots have been broken up thanks intelligence provided by Muslim Americans. It is up to the press to report these positive stories and not exaggerate the sway that extremists hold over the global Muslim community.

Egypt's Muslims attend Coptic Christmas mass, serving as "human shields"

Muslims turned up in droves for the Coptic Christmas mass Thursday night, offering their bodies, and lives, as “shields” to Egypt’s threatened Christian community

Yasmine El-Rashidi , Friday 7 Jan 2011

http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/3365.aspx 

Egypt’s majority Muslim population stuck to its word Thursday night. What had been a promise of solidarity to the weary Coptic community, was honoured, when thousands of Muslims showed up at Coptic Christmas eve mass services in churches around the country and at candle light vigils held outside. From the well-known to the unknown, Muslims had offered their bodies as “human shields” for last night’s mass, making a pledge to collectively fight the threat of Islamic militants and towards an Egypt free from sectarian strife.
“We either live together, or we die together,” was the sloganeering genius of Mohamed El-Sawy, a Muslim arts tycoon whose cultural centre distributed flyers at churches in Cairo Thursday night, and who has been credited with first floating the “human shield” idea.
Among those shields were movie stars Adel Imam and Yousra, popular preacher Amr Khaled, the two sons of President Hosni Mubarak, and thousands of citizens who have said they consider the attack one on Egypt as a whole.
“This is not about us and them,” said Dalia Mustafa, a student who attended mass at Virgin Mary Church on Maraashly. “We are one. This was an attack on Egypt as a whole, and I am standing with the Copts because the only way things will change in this country is if we come together.”
In the days following the brutal attack on Saints Church in Alexandria, which left 21 dead on New Year’ eve, solidarity between Muslims and Copts has seen an unprecedented peak. Millions of Egyptians changed their Facebook profile pictures to the image of a cross within a crescent – the symbol of an “Egypt for All”. Around the city, banners went up calling for unity, and depicting mosques and churches, crosses and crescents, together as one.
The attack has rocked a nation that is no stranger to acts of terror, against all of Muslims, Jews and Copts. In January of last year, on the eve of Coptic Christmas, a drive-by shooting in the southern town of Nag Hammadi killed eight Copts as they were leaving Church following mass. In 2004 and 2005, bombings in the Red Sea resorts of Taba and Sharm El-Sheikh claimed over 100 lives, and in the late 90’s, Islamic militants executed a series of bombings and massacres that left dozens dead.
This attack though comes after a series of more recent incidents that have left Egyptians feeling left out in the cold by a government meant to protect them.
Last summer, 28-year-old businessman Khaled Said was beaten to death by police, also in Alexandria, causing a local and international uproar. Around his death, there have been numerous other reports of police brutality, random arrests and torture.
Last year was also witness to a brutal parliamentary election process in which the government’s security apparatus and thugs seemed to spiral out of control. The result, aside from injuries and deaths, was a sweeping win by the ruling party thanks to its own carefully-orchestrated campaign that included vote-rigging, corruption and rife brutality. The opposition was essentially annihilated. And just days before the elections, Copts - who make up 10 percent of the population - were once again the subject of persecution, when a government moratorium on construction of a Christian community centre resulted in clashes between police and protestors. Two people were left dead and over 100 were detained, facing sentences of up to life in jail.
The economic woes of a country that favours the rich have only exacerbated the frustration of a population of 80 million whose majority struggle each day to survive. Accounts of thefts, drugs, and violence have surged in recent years, and the chorus of voices of discontent has continued to grow.
The terror attack that struck the country on New Year’s eve is in many ways a final straw – a breaking point, not just for the Coptic community, but for Muslims as well, who too feel marginalized, persecuted, and overlooked, by a government that fails to address their needs. On this Coptic Christmas eve, the solidarity was not just one of religion, but of a desperate and collective plea for a better life and a government with accountability.

Egypt's facebook users rally behind Copts

Egyptian Facebook users, both Muslim and Christian, joined in using the popular social network to express solidarity and anger at New Year Eve's attack on Two Saints Church in Alexandria

Ekram Ibrahim , Thursday 6 Jan 2011

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/0/3167/Egypt/0/Egypts-facebook-users-rally-behind-Copts-.aspx

"In mourning of Egypt's Two Saints Church martyrs", is among a variety of Facebook profile pictures chosen by Egyptian users, both Muslim and Christian.

A crescent embracing the cross set in white against a black background. This has been the most prevalent Facebook picture chosen by thousands of Egyptian users to express their grief and anger at the New Year's Eve bombing of Two Saints Church. Portraits of Jesus Christ also abound, many on the Facebook pages of Muslim, and not just Christian users. Another prominent profile picutre has the words "In mouring for Egypt's martyrs", also set against a black background.
Active Facebook users in Egypt have been rallying in denunciation of the bombing of Two Saints Church in Alexandria, and in solidarity with Egypt's Copts.
The social network has been increasingly used by growing numbers of its four million Egyptian users as an instrument of mobilization and awareness raising around political and social issues. Most recently, tens of thousands of users set up a Facegroup supporting former International Atomic Energy Agency director Mohamed El Baradei as a presidential candidate in the forthcoming presidential elections scheduelled for automn this year.
But, says Rasha Abdallah, the head of the American Univeristy in Cairo's (AUC) mass communications department, the outpourings of anger, grief and solidarity sentiments expressed by Facebook users over the past few days is virtually unprecedented.  “People came together in a way I have not seen before,” she said.
On their status lines, many Copts wrote: “Egypt, I am angry - a Coptic Egyptian.” Others, both Muslim and Christian: “Terrorism has no religion.” Many Muslim users used their status lines to send messages of condolence to the victims' families and to the Coptic community at large.
The most encouraging aspect of this outpouring of solidarity sentiments on Facebook in the aftermath of the church bombing is the “recognition that we have a problem and we need to work on it, on the contrary to the government’s stand,” says the AUC's Abdullah.
Among the foremost initiatives promoted by a great many Facebook users has been the call on Egyptian Muslims to make of themselves "human shields" to Copts, by attending Coptic Christmas Eve mass on 6 January. How far this and other political and social initiatives are able to transcend the virtual boundaries of digital networks and make a real impact on the ground remains to be seen.
However, as Abdallah puts it, “it is enough that Facebook users initiate the idea, then it should be taken from there to the mainstream media thus reaching a wider audience.”
For her own part, Abdallah created a Facebook group on the day following the bombings demanding that the "religion" entery in the national ID card be removed. It's mere presence, according to Abdallah, "is a message from the government that religious identity matters."