Right Truth

Hungry for News

After the attacks of September 11, 2001, like many other Americans I was hungry for news.  I began searching the internet for every scrap of information I could find on the current situation, Islam, Islamic terror, our security, ...  With each new morsel of information I craved ... more.  Not finding much in the news sites, I turned to experts who were using internet sites to share their knowledge.

I soon realized that while many blogs were just silly and a waste of my time, many were very well informed.  I know there are those out there who denigrate bloggers as uninformed people who spread rumors and nothing more.  That is incorrect in many cases.  On certain blogs I found not only commentary, but links to reputable sites where I found the information I was so hungry for. 

This article is dedicated to the fine people on the internet who take hours out of their day to search, research, and share important news of the day.  I hope you will find something to increase your knowledge about world events today.  (Dedicated to Chad at In The Bullpen, who was my inspiration and who no longer has the time in his busy life to share.  I do miss his writing.)

Joe Biden said he really didn't care about the persecution of Russian dissidents -- he only wanted Americans to think he cared...  It's all about perception, making the voters feel good.

Here before us is a Soviet archival document,* a top secret report by a communist apparatchik who had received a delegation of US Senators led by Joseph Biden in 1979. After describing routine arms control discussions, it quotes Biden as telling the Soviets off-record that he did not really care about the persecution of Russian dissidents. He and other Senators might raise human rights issues with their Soviet counterparts, but only to be seen by the public as defenders of human rights, not to have those problems really solved. They would happily take no for an answer.

Vadim V. Zagladin, the then deputy head of the International Department of the CPSU Central Committee (the organization formerly known as the Comintern), wrote in the report:

The delegation did not officially raise the issue of human rights during the negotiations. Biden said they did not want 'to spoil the atmosphere with problems which are bound to cause distrust in our relations.' However, during the breaks between the sessions the senators passed to us several letters concerning these or those 'refuseniks'.

Refuseniks were one of the best known groups of oppressed citizens in the USSR at that time: thousands of Jews who were refused exit permissions to emigrate to Israel on various trumped-up pretexts.

Unofficially, Biden and [Senator Richard] Lugar said that, in the end of the day, they were not so much concerned with having a problem of this or that citizen solved as with showing to the American public that they do care for 'human rights'. They must prove to their voters that they are 'effective in fulfilling their wishes'. In other words, the collocutors directly admitted that what is happening is a kind of a show, that they absolutely do not care for the fate of most so-called dissidents.

In the same conversation, Biden asked us to ensure that senators' appeals on those issues are not left unanswered - even if we just reply that the letter is received but we cannot do anything.  (continue reading at FrontPageMagazine)

Iran, Standoff with Iranian Revolutionary Guard and American USS Peleliu :

Amid false allegations from Iranian media that a U.S. plane was forced down after accidentally entering Iranian airspace, FOX News learned Tuesday about another tense incident that occurred last month near the Strait of Hormuz.

On Sept. 6, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard threatened to shoot down U.S. helicopters flying cover aboard the USS Peliliu patrolling in the area, according to a classified military transcript of the radio exchange.

According to the transcript, the Peleliu, while en route to the Strait from the Gulf of Oman — was engaged in flight operations using CH-46 helicopters when they encountered an Iranian P3 surveillance plane overhead. The U.S. Navy, which considered the plane as outdated and a non-threatening presence, had a friendly exchange with the Iranians.  (More at Fox)

Iran's influence in Iraq:

Bill Roggio, managing editor of The Long War Journal (which provides in-depth reporting and analysis on the war on terror), says - despite press reports to the contrary - "Iranian influence [in Iraq] has declined since the surge."  (continue reading)

North Korea:  Tests short range missiles and refuses to allow inspectors into nuclear sites.

North Korea fired short-range missiles off the country’s western coast this week amid tensions raised by its moves to reassemble its nuclear weapons program, South Korean media reported on Wednesday. 

North Korea, launched two missiles on Tuesday toward international waters between the North and China, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported, quoting an unnamed government source.  (More at Herald Tribune)

China:   Savior in world's financial crisis?

China, the world’s biggest holder of currency reserves,  ... has cut interest rates twice in three weeks, including a move on Wednesday. Yet speculation is swirling that Beijing could also chip in with a vote of confidence by pledging to hold onto its vast dollar assets and even buy more to help fund the massive bailout of the U.S. financial system now under way.

“For the sake of long-term U.S.-China relations, for the sake of China presenting a better image, I think China should stand up and say that it supports the U.S. dollar and is buying Treasuries,” said Tao Xie, an expert on U.S.-China relations at the Beijing Foreign Studies University.  (More at Herald Tribune)

China's ambition to eclipse America's space program:

China became the third country to send a person into space in 2003. In 2005, the country sent two more astronauts on a five-day flight on Shenzhou VI. The nation's first lunar probe, Chang'e-1, blasted off on a Long March 3A carrier rocket last October from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province. Beijing plans to build a space station by 2017 and perform a manned moon landing by 2020. The last American moon landing was in 1972.  (continue reading)

Lebanon's military gets guns from America -- (just waiting for Hezbollah to step in and take them)

Both nations have reportedly "signed three new military contracts worth $63 million" in U.S. grants to the Lebanese Army for "secure communications, ammunition and infantry weapons:" Military aid which will ultimately end up in the hands of Hezbollah, according to Middle East terrorism expert Dr. Walid Phares.

"It is ironic to say it, but Hezbollah ‘authorized' the creation of a U.S. Lebanese military commission so that eventually the organization would seize the U.S. made ‘secure communications, ammunition and infantry weapons,'" said Phares in a conversation this week.  (continue reading)

Hamas leaders used U.S. based Muslim charity for fund-raising:

Senior members of Hamas appeared at fundraising events sponsored by the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development and a related charity called the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), an FBI agent testified Tuesday.  (continue reading)

The Country With Real Leverage In Tehran -- Germany

Thanks to Wall Street Journal European, via Insights Into Today's Middle East, The Country With Real Leverage in Tehran :

At the U.N. General Assembly last month, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier condemned a speech by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as "blatant anti-Semitism." Mr. Steinmeier also criticized Iran's "delaying tactics" on the nuclear issue and warned that the Iranian government "must not exhaust the patience of the international community." But was he really challenging Iran's nuclear-weapons program?

For all his tough words, Mr. Steinmeier never said what steps the international community should take if Iran continues its "delaying tactics." His British and French colleagues recently repeated their willingness to impose unilateral European sanctions on Iran if Russia and China block new sanctions resolutions in the Security Council. However, Mr. Steinmeier opposes European sanctions, saying they exceed the U.N. mandate. Indeed, so far there is little sign of the Germany government implementing any measures to thwart Iran's ambition to develop nuclear weapons.

Yet no country has more powerful leverage. Germany in particular can exert highly effective economic pressure on Iran. German political scientist Matthias Küntzel has estimated that two-thirds of all Iranian companies use German technology. Simply depriving Iran of German spare parts would severely disrupt Iran's industry.

More than 1,700 German companies are active in Iran. These include household names like Linde, ThyssenKrupp and BASF. Germany's technology and telecommunications giant Siemens has made the biggest financial commitment. As part of a continuing $450 million deal started in 2006, Siemens is committed to sell Iran 150 locomotive engines over six years and to transfer the technical know-how for manufacturing them in Iran within 10 years.

Clearly, Germany by itself has enough economic leverage with Iran to persuade its leaders to halt uranium enrichment, as demanded by the U.N. And yet there is no sign of a will to use it. In fact, German-Iranian business ties are flourishing more than ever. Germany is still Iran's most important trading partner in the West. After a two-year decline, German exports to Iran grew in the first quarter of 2008 by 13.6%, as compared to the same period in 2007. The German control office for foreign trade (BAFA) approved 1,926 business deals from January through July 2008, an astonishing increase of 63% over the same period last year.  (more)

 

Our Enemies Praise U.S. Economic Woes

That's right,

Ayatollah Jannati In Iran Friday Sermon: U.S. Economic Woes 'Divine Punishment'-'The Unhappier They [Americans] Become, The Happier We Get'
In his October 3, 2008 Friday sermon at the Tehran University campus, Iranian Guardian Council secretary and interim Friday prayer leader Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati said that Iran's enemies had targeted its economy, and that the U.S.'s economic crisis was "divine punishment" that had made Iranians very happy.

And:

Al-Qaeda: US Economic Crisis Equals Muslim Victory
An American member of al-Qaeda pointed to economic troubles in the United States as proof that "the enemies of Islam" face defeat, in an English-language video released Saturday. In a half hour video message, California-native Adam Gadahn urged Pakistanis to unite against their government and U.S. forces, and taunted Americans over their economic crisis, relating it to their military interventions.

However, they need to be concerned because economists are showing other countries are also suffering financial problems.

US sanctions: financial firewall for Iran, Syria?
Syria and Iran, both targeted by U.S. sanctions, proclaim that their "independent" economies will suffer less than others from global financial turmoil. But economists in the region say neither Tehran nor Damascus will be immune from the credit crunch spreading from the United States, or from any ensuing world economic downturn. Some argue that the cost of sanctions greatly outweighs any unforeseen benefits Syria or Iran might gain by being denied access - and direct exposure - to U.S. financial markets.

Be careful what you wish for Iran and Al-Qaeda.

Iranian Law - Death for Apostasy from Islam.

The death penalty mandate for apostasy from Islam in Iran.

Iranian Parliament provisionally approves death penalty for leaving Islam

Barnabas Fund reports,'The Iranian Parliament has given provisional approval, by a majority of 196 to seven, to a bill that mandates the death penalty for apostasy from Islam. Until now Iranian judges could impose the death penalty in such cases only on the basis of Islamic law and fatwas, not on the basis of Iranian law.

The bill prescribes a mandatory death sentence for any male Muslim who converts from Islam to another religion, and lifelong imprisonment for female converts from Islam. It also gives the Iranian secular courts authority to convict Iranians living outside the country of crimes relating to Iranian national security. It seems likely that this could be used against the many Iranian Christians who live outside Iran but are involved in evangelism within it. Apostasy from Islam is viewed by most Muslims as equivalent to treason.  (continue reading at Christian Quoter)

On Iran's nuclear program, DEBKAfile says:

Iran is on its way to mastering technology that would enable it to build atomic bombs, International Atomic Energy Agency director Mohamed ElBaradei said to the German Sueddeutsche Zeitung Friday. Asked if Iran was on the way to “virtual” nuclear-weapons power status, ElBaradei replied: “That is correct,” but added: Tehran could not “break out” to a bomb as long as IAEA monitors remained at nuclear sites.

US-Russian deal lets Iran’s nuclear bomb program off the hook

The collapse of Israel’s foreign policy on Iran came at an unfortunate juncture:

1. The pandemonium in the US-led financial world has removed the Iranian threat from international consciousness.

2. Moscow, Iran and Syria are cementing their partnership, giving Tehran’s nuclear aspirations a strong diplomatic umbrella.

Moscow is pursuing cold war tactics in two new spheres: the Middle East, from its center of gravity in Tehran, and Latin America, resting on Venezuela’s anti-American posture and friendly relations with Iran.  (DEBKAfile)

US approves 25 F-35 stealth fighter aircraft to Israel

The Pentagon has approved the $15.2 billion sale of 25 F-35 stealth Strike Fighters to Israel with an option for another 50, saying assisting Israel develop a strong and ready self-defense capability is vital to US national security interests.

DEBKAfile’s military sources report that President George W, Bush, in mid-financial crisis, fully discharged his promise of a defense package for Israeli before he left office. Israel is the first foreign nation to receive the Lockheed Martin F-35 Strike Fighter, the plane of the future, which will enhance its air-to-air and air-to-ground defenses and replace the older Air Force F-16 fighters by virtue of five exceptional features:

1. An advanced radar for striking ground or air targets long distance while destroying any threat in its immediate environment.

2. An electro-optical targeting system (EOTS).

3. The pilot’s helmet-mounted displays (HMD).

4. It is the first fighter plane in the world with a communications system linked to satellites.

5. The capacity for carrying large quantities of ordnance from joint direct attack munitions to AIM-120 and AIM-132 air-to-air missiles.  (DEBKAfile)

The new, advanced long-range radar system has arrived in the Negev.

The news this week of the deployment of the X-band radar in the Negev, and of Pentagon plans to supply up to 75 JSF fighters, appears to signify a new era in Israeli-US relations, though the lack of trust has yet to completely dissipate.

The X-Band Radar.
Photo: Courtesy

The radar, together with 120 servicemen, landed at Nevatim Air Force Base. Under US pressure, the Defense Ministry clamped a tight media blackout on the arrival, until it was leaked to Defense News by the US European Command.

THE HIGH-POWERED radar will be hooked up to the US military's Joint Tactical Ground Station. Assisted by satellites, it will be capable of detecting an Iranian ballistic missile shortly after launch, cutting the response time of the Arrow anti-missile system. The Arrow's current Green Pine radar can pick up incoming missiles at a range of 500 to 600 miles. The new system has a range of around 1,200 miles. (Jerusalem Post)

Eleven Minutes -- from Iran to Israel.

There are new reports of a missile delivery system being hidden in Iran, South of Tehran.  From Iran to Israel it only takes eleven minutes to deliver a missile with a nuclear warhead.  Reporting for Fox News, Jennifer Griffin discussed a new missile delivery system seen in new photos, which showed an underground tunnel.  For Israel's protection, the United States is providing a missile defense system, referred to as FBX-T, X-Band Radar, and AN/TPY2 , which has been deployed to Israel and  will be linked to the US military’s Joint Tactical Ground Station. 

Also known as an X-Band radar, the AN/TPY2 radar is designed to track ballistic missile warheads through space and provide ground-based missiles with the targeting data needed to intercept them.  (more)

The United States has deployed the new missile defense radar system to Israel, along with about 120 American military personnel.  The system will help defend Israel from an attack by Iran.  The system can detect something as small as a baseball, so it should have no problem detecting and destroying an Iranian missile.

U.S. military deployed a similar radar system in Japan in 2006 after the Democratic People's Republic of Korea had a missile test.

This past Spring Israel decided they would attack Iran's nuclear facilities, but American President George W. Bush would not give his approval.  However, since that time ...

Israel recently signed a deal with Washington for the purchase of F-22 stealth bombers, which are ideally suited to the type of targeted bombing raids planned by an Israeli air force command. Israel’s existing fleet of F15 fighter jets could also be used to launch an attack on Iran.

 Israeli military has bought 90 F-161 fighter bombers that can reach Iran and will receive 11 more by the end of next year. It has also bought two new Dolphin-class submarines from Germany, in addition to the three it already has, that are reported to be capable of firing nuclear missiles.  Earlier this month, the US Defense Department told Congress it intended to sell Israel 1,000 smart bombs capable of penetrating 90cm of steel-reinforced concrete.  (wsws)

Iran, a Bigger Threat Than Wall Street?, by Greg Sheridan at The Australian, writes:

 ... Israel sees a nuclear armed Iran as representing the threat of annihilation to the Israeli people.

If that is really Israel's view, and if international diplomacy cannot stop Iran going nuclear, an Israeli military strike must eventually be more likely than not.  (The Australian, hat tip Democracy Broadcasting)

Russia has been, and will continue to be -- NO HELP.

In our discussion, [Michael] Rubin told me he thought the Russians might feel themselves to be in a win-win situation.

If they continue to sell the Iranians nuclear technology, they make a lot of money and frustrate the Americans. If the US or Israel ultimately strikes at Iran's nuclear facilities, it will do two things that will please Russia. It will cause great international discomfort for the US, thus lessening any US pressure on Russia over human rights, its treatment of Georgia or other such issues. And it will drive up energy prices when Russia is a huge exporter of energy, thus making Russia even richer.

Long-term, enlightened self-interest would see the Russians recognize the dangers they too would ultimately face from a nuclear-armed Iran, but so far that long-term, enlightened self-interest has been notably lacking in the Russian governing class.  [snip]

Rubin believes that the Revolutionary Guard has become so powerful, and has infiltrated itself into so many positions of power, that it is fair to describe Iran as having undergone a kind of creeping military coup. (The Australian)

In April, Israel conducted a massive five-day civil defense drill.  Next ...

In June, Israel carried out a long-range exercise over the eastern Mediterranean involving more than 100 F-15 and F-16 fighter jets, refueling planes and rescue helicopters. Citing unnamed sources, the New York Times reported that the operation was a dry run for an attack on Iran.  (wsws)

We must not forget the Syrian nuclear facility,  built with assistance and supply from North Korea, which Israel took out in one beautiful mission.

Eleven minutes, that's all it takes, for Iran to reach Israel with a missile.  It appears Israel is on her own.  In spite of all the rumors that President George W. Bush will attack Iran before he leaves office -- I don't believe a word of it.  Little Israel may be getting military supplies,  equipment, machinery, and even U.S. personnel to help them -- when the time comes I'm sad to say, it may be Israel alone.

Eleven minutes... From Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the mullahs, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard -- To Israel. 

Saad bin Laden Leaves Iran, Goes Home to Papa in Pakistan

Osama bin Laden's son, Saad bin Laden, has returned to Pakistan.  Does this mean that papa bin Laden is dead or injured and his next-in-line is coming home to take over?  Or is this part of the re-grouping and re-organizing of al-Qaeda?  Where has Saad bin Laden and other al-Qaeda leadership been lately?  In IRAN !!!

Osama bin Laden’s son, Saad has returned to Pakistan according to messages posted on a Jihad web forum.

Al Qaeda is consolidating its leadership in the territory under its control in Pakistan.

Osama bin Laden’s son and heir apparent, Sa’ad bin Laden, has returned to Pakistan from his safe haven in Iran, according to messages posted on a Qaeda jihad Web forum known as al-Hesbah.

An organization that tracks and translates discussions on such forums, the SITE Institute, provided its subscribers with a summary of messages describing what it said was an escape by Sa’ad bin Laden from an Iranian prison. American counterterrorism officials, however, have considered him to be under a permissive version of house arrest since the American invasion of Afghanistan, in 2001.

The move of Sa’ad bin Laden to Pakistan tracks with the movements of other senior jihadists to the country since Al Qaeda re-established a safe haven in the 10,500-square-mile area that comprises the provinces along the border with Afghanistan.

It also could signal a new phase of Iran’s relationship with Al Qaeda. For the last year, public messages from the terrorist organization’s second in command, Ayman al-Zawahri, have accused Iran of collaborating with America in fighting Al Qaeda in Iraq. Leaders of the Iraqi tribal uprising against Al Qaeda, however, have said Iran has collaborated with their foes.

While Al Qaeda, a Sunni Salafist organization, regards the Shiite theocracy of Iran as an apostate form of Islam, the two sides in the past have worked together through Iran’s Quds Force, an elite unit of the Iranian army. In 2001, following the American invasion of Afghanistan, most of Al Qaeda’s leadership fled to Pakistan. But others, including Sa’ad bin Laden and Saif al-Adel, fled to eastern Iran.  (continue reading at The New York Sun , hat tip National Terror Alert)

PROTESTERS TO AHMADINEJAD: YOU'RE NOT WELCOME IN NEW YORK

PROTESTERS TO AHMADINEJAD: YOU'RE NOT WELCOME IN NEW YORK

 

BY: FERN SIDMAN
(Images at the end of article)

 

Chants of "Stop Iran" and "Shame on the Grand Hyatt" could be heard on East ND Street in midtown Manhattan, early Thursday evening, September 25th, as over 1000 Jews and non-Jews, representing over 60 political and religious organizations gathered across the street from the Grand Hyatt Hotel. Angered by the invitation extended to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to attend a gala dinner in his honor at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, an umbrella organization called 9/25 Rally, under the leadership of the Jewish Action Alliance's Beth Gilinsky assembled for a historic rally featuring a veritable cornucopia of speakers representing a broad cross section of affiliations. The dinner at the Hyatt was hosted by the American Friends Service Committee, the Mennonite Central Committee, the Quaker United Nations office, a group called Religions for Peace and the World Council of Churches - United National Liaison Office. The co-sponsor of this event was the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations.

 

The rally was held just two days after the Iranian president took the podium at the General Assembly of the United Nations and addressed the world body. Calling the United States "occupiers, without a sense of shame"; a direct reference to the US military presence in Iraq and consistently pointing to the US as a "bullying power", Ahmadinejad saved his most vitriolic statements for Israel and the Jewish people. 

 

Questioning Israel's right to exist he stated, "In Palestine, 60 years of carnage and invasion is still ongoing at the hands of some criminal and occupying Zionists. They have forged a regime through collecting people from various parts of the world and bringing them to other people's land by displacing, detaining, and killing the true owners of that land. "

 

In typical Hitlerian fashion, he intimated that worldwide Jewry maintains a secret cabal, whose ultimate goal is global domination. Substituting the politically correct word "Zionists" for "Jews", he assigned direct blame on Jews for the collapse of the financial markets and several Wall Street investment icons. Said Ahmadinejad, "The dignity, integrity and rights of the American and European people are being played with by a small but deceitful number of people called Zionists. Although they are a minuscule minority, they have been dominating an important portion of the financial and monetary centers as well as the political decision-making centers of some European countries and the US in a deceitful, complex and furtive manner."

 

Commenting on what he perceives as pandering by American presidential nominees to Jewish interests, the Iranian president continued spewing forth his invective by intoning "It is deeply disastrous to witness that some presidential or premiere nominees in some big countries have to visit these people, take part in their gatherings, swear their allegiance and commitment to their interests in order to attain financial or media support. This means that the great people of America and various nations of Europe need to obey the demands and wishes of a small number of acquisitive and invasive people. These nations are spending their dignity and resources on the crimes and occupations and the threats of the Zionist network against

their will."

 

Among the personalities speaking at the rally were Rabbi Avi Weiss of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, Guardian Angels founder, Curtis Sliwa, Edward Cox, Representative of Governor Sarah Palin, Beth Gilinsky, Jewish Action Alliance & Women United, Father Keith Roderick, Christian Solidarity International, Amir Abbas Ffakhravar, Council for a Democratic Iran, State Senator Ruben Diaz, New York Hispanic Clergy Organization, Father Rob Schenck, National Council of Clergy and Faith in Action, Rabbi Zev Friedman, Rambam Mesivta High School, Michael Hines, International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem, Joseph Hakim, International Christian Union, Aryeh Eldad, Member of Israeli Knesset, New York City Councilman David Weprin, New York State Assemblyman Rory Lancman, Gregory Wright, Log Cabin Republicans of New York, Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, New York Board of Rabbis, Simon Deng, former Sudanese slave, Sudan Freedom Walk, Dr. Richard Land, The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, Fira Stukelman, Holocaust survivor, Council of Jewish Émigré Community Organizations (COJECO), Andrea Lafferty, Traditional Values Coalition, Desiree Bernstein, 911 Families, Banafshe Zand-Bonazzi, Alliance of Iranian Women, Christine Brim, Center for Security Policy who read a prepared speech by Dr. Phyllis Chesler, author and women's right activist, Anne Bayefsky, Eye on the UN, Dr. William Donohue, Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights and Frank Gaffney, Center for Security Policy.

 

Many of the speakers excoriated Grand Hyatt Hotel owner, Penny Pritzker for allowing her hotel to be used as a venue to honor the Iranian president. Ms. Pritzker, a Chicago billionaire who now serves as the National Finance Chair for Barack Obama's presidential campaign was asked by the speakers to turn over all revenue generated by this event to the United States armed forces. Other speakers took direct aim at human rights abuses in Iran and strongly lambasted President Ahmadinejad for executing draconian forms of torture on all those who do not march lock step with the Iranian regime. Michael Hines of the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem wore a symbolic armband with a bright yellow Jewish star as a sign of solidarity with the Jewish people and the land of Israel. "Despite the dangerous rants of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Israel will not be wiped off the map. Not under our watch," he declared forcefully.

 

Fira Stukelman, a Holocaust survivor from Babi Yar, spoke of Ahmadinejad's popularity with certain organizations. "What we are witnessing is rise of a genocidal maniac, in the same genre as Adolf Hitler and the world remains silent" she said while holding a sign that said, 'Never Again'. Rabbi Avi Weiss led the crowd in prayers and the recitation of Psalms and applauded those who had the courage and temerity to speak out against evil as personified by Ahmadinejad. Other speakers addressed the ubiquitous phenomenon and dangerous proliferation of Sharia law throughout Europe and how the stringency of such laws could possibly permeate North American society. Edward Cox, the representative for Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee said that the "Iranian uranium enrichment program poses a great danger to the free world and must be stopped at all costs." Others referred to Ahmadinejad as a terror monger who will stop at nothing to destroy those he bitterly opposes. 

 

In her prepared remarks, read by Christine Brim, author and women's rights activist, Phyllis Chesler who specializes in documenting horrific honor murders of women in the Muslim world, spoke of the barbaric murder of a Iranian woman named Soraya M. who was falsely accused of adultery. Soraya was stoned to death, with her body being subsequently immolated. Says Dr. Chesler, "The villagers—who had know Soraya since her birth—cursed her, spit on her, hit her, and whipped her as she walked to her stoning. A “shudder of pleasure and joy ran through the crowd” as their stones drew blood. According to one account, Soraya died a slow and agonizing death."

 

Gregory Wright of the Log Cabin Republicans spoke of the horrific executions of homosexuals in Iran and chided other left-wing Gay and Lesbian organizations for not speaking out against the persecution of gays in Iran. "The reason Ahmadinejad said that there are no gays or lesbians in Iran last year at Columbia University, is because they've all been murdered or are in hiding."

 

Signs that read, "Iran Needs Regime Change", "No Jihad in My Backyard", "No Nukes for Kooks", and "Ahmadinejad = Hitler" were held by rally participants as well as signs from such Christian groups such as Christians United for Israel" and human rights organizations. 

Fern Sidman is an investigative journalist and writer for several Jewish publications in the New York City area. Her articles have appeared in The Jewish Press, The Jewish Planet, The 5 Towns Jewish Times, Image Magazine, Community Magazine and The Jewish Connection.

NYC Protest Today Against “Lovefest” for Ahmadinejad

Phyllis Chesler's speech for the protest tonight:

Phyllis Chesler’s Speech for the Women United 9/25 Rally Protesting Ahmadinejad and his Christian Supporters. 5:30pm NYC, across the Street from the Grand Hyatt Hotel, East 42nd St and Lexington Ave.

I wish I could be with you in person this evening but, given my recently implanted titanium steel hip, my days of street rallies may be over. But I am with you in spirit and have sent a colleague to cover the rally for me.

I congratulate you all: the inspired and hard-working rally organizers, the speakers, and those who have gathered here to protest the nuclear, misogynist, genocidal, and barbaric policies of Iran whose public face is That Man–Ahmadinejad–the mullahs’ little errand boy.

You are also here to protest the so-called Christian groups who have assembled inside the hotel to honor this modern day Hitler. They should be ashamed of themselves. However, let me remind us: 55,000 other Christians from 128 nations have demanded that the UN arrest and indict Ahmadinejad over his threats to Israel. (God bless them).  (continue reading)

Via email:

From:  GayPatriotWest

If you’re in New York this afternoon, try to make it to mid-town Manhattan for a protest across the street from the Grand Hyatt Hotel, East 42nd St between Park and Lexington Avenues at 5:30PM today.

There, a group of fifty prominent Jewish and Christian leaders, and public policy groups will protest a dinner meeting between Iranian president Ahmadinejad, anti-American U.N. officials and American religious leaders.
Yeah, you read that right, American religious leaders, including representatives of The American Friends Service Committee, Mennonite Central Committee, Quaker UN Office, Religions for Peace, and the World Council of Churches-UN Liaison Office will be breaking bread with a man who murders his own people.

He executes gay people too. I wonder if national gay organizations will question these groups for dining with the tyrant. I’d bet good money they’d be demanding apologies if these groups honored James Dobson in a similar manner.  I could find nothing on the web-sites of the Human Rights Campaign or the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF).  The New York chapter of Log Cabin is a co-sponsor of the rally.

Not just that U.N. officials will also be there, honoring a man who threatens the destruction of U.N. member state, something which violates the organization’s charter:

Top U.N. officials are scrambling to figure out how to stop the president of the General Assembly, Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, from dining with and honoring Mr. Ahmadinejad, who has violated an assembly resolution against denying the Holocaust and broken one of the cardinal rules of the U.N. Charter by calling for the elimination of a member state, Israel.

Why do so many Western élites embrace the most hateful anti-American leaders?  Why do they assume that if we just sit down and talk to our enemies, we’ll make everything better? As if it’s our intransigence that’s the cause of our adversaries’ angry attitudes, brutal policies and despotic acts.
If you think it’s wrong to honor a tyrannical world leader and question the naivete of these religious leaders and are in the New York City area, make sure to join this protest today!

Protesters From More Than 60 Groups to Rally Against Ahmadinejad "Peace" Dinner in NYC
U.N. President to Speak at Event with Iranian President, from The Israel Project:

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (photo courtesy of Times Online)

Protesters from more than 60 national religious and political organizations are scheduled to gather outside a “peace” dinner for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in New York City at 6 p.m. today (Sept. 25) in front of the Grand Hyatt Hotel, 109 East 42nd St. The “Rally Against Ahmadinejad,” will feature speakers such as Richard Land of The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, Rabbi Avi Weiss of AMCHA – The Coalition of Jewish Concerns, and Bill Donohue of the Catholic League for Civil and Religious Rights.

The dinner with Ahmadinejad – billed as “Has Not One God Created Us? The Significance of Religious Contributions to Peace” – is hosted by American Friends Service Committee, the Mennonite Central Committee, the Quaker United Nations Office, Religions for Peace and the World Council of Churches – United Nations Liaison Office. Besides Ahmadinejad, other speakers at the dinner include Miguel D’Escoto Brockmann, president of the General Assembly of the United Nations and the Rev. Kjell Bondevik, former prime minister of Norway and president of the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights.

Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann, President of the 63rd U.N. General Assembly and former Nicaraguan foreign affairs minister who will speak with Ahmadinejad (photo courtesy of CBS News)

On their official website, the protest rally organizers state, “The religious groups meeting with Iranian President Ahmadinejad September 25 are being used to give legitimacy to one of the world’s greatest violators of human and religious rights. Our mission is to expose the truth of the current Iranian regime’s crimes against humanity, and to deny them that false legitimacy.” Full list of rally organizers

The dinner comes two days after Ahmadinejad addressed the U.N. General Assembly, telling world leaders gathered for the annual event, “[The] American empire in the world is reaching the end of its road…” and “Today, the Zionist regime is on a definite slope to collapse, and there is no way for it to get out of the cesspool created by itself and its supporters.”


For more information about the Rally Against Ahmadinejad, visit www.925rally.org or contact (212) 726-1124 or info@925rally.org.

John McCain will not push Israel to capitulate in the peace process

From Israpundit Ted Belman:

McCain will refrain from actively engaging in the peace process

By Ted Belman

Last week I wrote to John McCain’s press office and recommended that he take a position of not pushing Israel to capitulate in the peace process. I wrote that it would contrast with Obama’s position supported by J-Street and his foreign policy advisors that Israel should be pressured to make further concessions.

So you can imagine my satisfaction of seeing this in INN

McCain ‘Would Not Promote Israel-PA Talks’

by Gil Ronen

(IsraelNN.com) A U.S. administration under John McCain would discourage Israeli-Syrian peace talks and refrain from actively engaging in the Israeli-Palestinian diplomatic process. That was the message delivered over the weekend by two McCain advisers – Max Boot, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and Richard Williamson, the Bush administration’s special envoy to Sudan – during a retreat hosted by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy at the Lansdowne Resort in rural Virginia.

Richard Danzig, a representative of Barack Obama, said the Democratic presidential candidate would take the opposite approach on both issues.

I believe this is an important policy difference, one which will drive more Jews to vote for McCain. --Ted Belman

So dear readers, what do you think of this news?

50 organizations to protest U.S. religious leaders' lovefest with Ahmadinejad tomorrow 9/25

Via email:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Women United (212) 726-1124
info@925rally.org

50 organizations to protest
U.S. religious leaders' lovefest with Ahmadinejad tomorrow 9/25

New York City, September 24: Fifty  organizations,  prominent Jewish and Christian leaders, and public policy groups (see list below)  will mount a major protest across the street from the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City on Thursday, September 25 at 6 p.m, to show their outrage at the dinner meeting  to be held by Iranian president Ahmadinejad, anti-American U.N. officials and American religious leaders.

Women United, a new international human rights organization,  calls on human rights activists, religious organizations, and leaders of all backgrounds, faiths, and political affiliation to stand in solidarity on Thursday at the Hyatt demonstration.

WHEN: Thursday September 25, 6:00 pm start time

WHERE: Across the street from the Grand Hyatt Hotel, East 42nd St between Park and Lexington Avenues, New York City

WHO: 50 organizations participating (see list below)

BACKGROUND: Several Western religious leaders are about to betray their brethren across all religions, parties, and countries by “honoring” with a dinner and "dialogue" the tyrannical regime of Ahmadinejad and the Iranian mullahs.  Those organizations are The American Friends Service Committee, Mennonite Central Committee, Quaker UN Office, Religions for Peace, and the World Council of Churches-UN Liaison Office. Other organizations, political leaders and media have also been invited to appease the Islamic leaders who have turned Iran into a terrorist state.

For more background, see this September 22 article on the Grand Hyatt Hotel meeting with Ahmadinejad from the New York Sun Newspaper: http://www.nysun.com/foreign/ahmadinejad-prepares-to-steal-the-scene/86300/

For more information on the rally, go to www.925rally.org

The following organizations are participating in the rally to protest the Hyatt event with Ahmadinejad.  This coalition is unprecedented in its breadth and in the variety of organizations joining together to oppose the dire threat of Ahmadinejad and the Mullahs’ tyrannical regime.  Organizations are joining the rally every hour, so we will update this list periodically through the afternoon of September 25.

Women United/Code Red

911 Families for America
ACT for America
Alliance of Iranian Women
Amcha
American Center for Law and Justice
American Maronite Union
Americans for a Safe Israel
American Values
Arabs for Israel
Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights
Center for Jewish Values
Center for Security Policy
Christian Solidarity
Coalition for the Defense of Human Rights
Committee on the Present Danger
Concerned Women for America
Council for a Democratic Iran
Endowment for Middle East Truth
Eye on the U.N.
Family Security Matters
Foundation for Defense of Democracy
Fuel for Truth
Glenn Richter, Founder Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry
Guardian Angels
Dov Hikind, New York State Assembly
Institute for Freedom and Democracy
International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem
International Christian Union
Aryeh Eldad, Israeli Knesset
Jerusalem Reclamation Project
Jewish Action Alliance
Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs
Jihadwatch
Rory Lancman, New York State Assembly
Log Cabin Republicans of New York City
Open Doors USA
Phyllis Chesler, author
Rabbi Zev Friedman, Rambam Mesivta high school
Rabbi Joseph Potasnik
StandWithUs
Stop Shariah Now
Sudan Freedom Walk
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention
Traditional Values Coalition
United American Committee
David Weprin, New York City Council
Women’s Freedom Movement of Pakistan
World Committee for the Land of Israel
Zionist Organization of America

An excellent article at McCain - Palin website, " Deconstructing Obama: Barack Obama's Rhetoric Vs. His Record "  (hat tip reader Paul)

See the full transcript of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech before the United Nations on September 23, 2008 here.  See Ahmadinejad's interview at NPR.

Palin's Speech that never happened

The speech Palin never gave: Ahmadinejad dreams of Final Solution, By Natasha Mozgovaya, Haaretz Correspondent,   thanks to Brian the Squeaky Wheel.  The full text:

I am honored to be with you and with leaders from across this great country - leaders from different faiths and political parties united in a single voice of outrage.

Tomorrow, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will come to New York - to the heart of what he calls the Great Satan - and speak freely in this, a country whose demise he has called for.

Ahmadinejad may choose his words carefully, but underneath all of the rhetoric is an agenda that threatens all who seek a safer and freer world. We gather here today to highlight the Iranian dictator's intentions and to call for action to thwart him.
He must be stopped.

The world must awake to the threat this man poses to all of us. Ahmadinejad denies that the Holocaust ever took place. He dreams of being an agent in a "Final Solution" - the elimination of the Jewish people. He has called Israel a "stinking corpse" that is "on its way to annihilation."

Such talk cannot be dismissed as the ravings of a madman -not when Iran just this summer tested long-range Shahab-3 missiles capable of striking Tel Aviv, not when the Iranian nuclear program is nearing completion, and not when Iran sponsors terrorists that threaten and kill innocent people around the world.

The Iranian government wants nuclear weapons. The International Atomic Energy Agency reports that Iran is running at least 3,800 centrifuges and that its uranium enrichment capacity is rapidly improving. According to news reports, U.S. intelligence agencies believe the Iranians may have enough nuclear material to produce a bomb within a year.

The world has condemned these activities. The United Nations Security Council has demanded that Iran suspend its illegal nuclear enrichment activities. It has levied three rounds of sanctions. How has Ahmadinejad responded? With the declaration that the "Iranian nation would not retreat one iota" from its nuclear program.

So, what should we do about this growing threat? First, we must succeed in Iraq. If we fail there, it will jeopardize the democracy the Iraqis have worked so hard to build, and empower the extremists in neighboring Iran. Iran has armed and trained terrorists who have killed our soldiers in Iraq, and it is Iran that would benefit from an American defeat in Iraq.

If we retreat without leaving a stable Iraq, Iran's nuclear ambitions will be bolstered. If Iran acquires nuclear weapons ? they could share them tomorrow with the terrorists they finance, arm, and train today. Iranian nuclear weapons would set off a dangerous regional nuclear arms race that would make all of us less safe.

But Iran is not only a regional threat; it threatens the entire world. It is the no. 1 state sponsor of terrorism. It sponsors the world's most vicious terrorist groups, Hamas and Hezbollah. Together, Iran and its terrorists are responsible for the deaths of Americans in Lebanon in the 1980s, in Saudi Arabia in the 1990s, and in Iraq today. They have murdered Iraqis, Lebanese, Palestinians, and other Muslims who have resisted Iran's desire to dominate the region. They have persecuted countless people simply because they are Jewish.

Iran is responsible for attacks not only on Israelis, but on Jews living as far away as Argentina. Anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial are part of Iran's official ideology and murder is part of its official policy. Not even Iranian citizens are safe from their government's threat to those who want to live, work, and worship in peace. Politically-motivated abductions, torture, death by stoning, flogging, and amputations are just some of its state-sanctioned punishments.

It is said that the measure of a country is the treatment of its most vulnerable citizens. By that standard, the Iranian government is both oppressive and barbaric. Under Ahmadinejad's rule, Iranian women are some of the most vulnerable citizens.

If an Iranian woman shows too much hair in public, she risks being beaten or killed. If she walks down a public street in clothing that violates the state dress code, she could be arrested.

But in the face of this harsh regime, the Iranian women have shown courage. Despite threats to their lives and their families, Iranian women have sought better treatment through the "One Million Signatures Campaign Demanding Changes to Discriminatory Laws." The authorities have reacted with predictable barbarism. Last year, women's rights activist Delaram Ali was sentenced to 20 lashes and 10 months in prison for committing the crime of "propaganda against the system." After international protests, the judiciary reduced her sentence to "only" 10 lashes and 36 months in prison and then temporarily suspended her sentence. She still faces the threat of imprisonment.

Earlier this year, Senator Clinton said that "Iran is seeking nuclear weapons, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps is in the forefront of that" effort. Senator Clinton argued that part of our response must include stronger sanctions, including the designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization. John McCain and I could not agree more.

Senator Clinton understands the nature of this threat and what we must do to confront it. This is an issue that should unite all Americans. Iran should not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons. Period. And in a single voice, we must be loud enough for the whole world to hear: Stop Iran!
Only by working together, across national, religious, and political differences, can we alter this regime's dangerous behavior. Iran has many vulnerabilities, including a regime weakened by sanctions and a population eager to embrace opportunities with the West. We must increase economic pressure to change Iran's behavior.

Tomorrow, Ahmadinejad will come to New York. On our soil, he will exercise the right of freedom of speech - a right he denies his own people. He will share his hateful agenda with the world. Our task is to focus the world on what can be done to stop him.

We must rally the world to press for truly tough sanctions at the U.N. or with our allies if Iran's allies continue to block action in the U.N. We must start with restrictions on Iran's refined petroleum imports. We must reduce our dependency on foreign oil to weaken Iran's economic influence.
We must target the regime's assets abroad; bank accounts, investments, and trading partners.

President Ahmadinejad should be held accountable for inciting genocide, a crime under international law.

We must sanction Iran's Central Bank and the Revolutionary Guard Corps -which no one should doubt is a terrorist organization. Together, we can stop Iran's nuclear program.

Senator McCain has made a solemn commitment that I strongly endorse: Never again will we risk another Holocaust. And this is not a wish, a request, or a plea to Israel's enemies. This is a promise that the United States and Israel will honor, against any enemy who cares to test us. It is John McCain's promise and it is my promise.

Thank you.

Protest Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

via email:

WOMEN UNITED: CODE RED
www.925rally.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Women United (212) 726-1124
info@925rally.org

Over 30 organizations to protest September 25 Ahmadinejad dinner-dialogue
with U.S. "religious leaders"

New York City, September 22: Over 30 national organizations - including prominent Jewish and Christian leaders and political leaders - will mount a major protest across the street from the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City on Thursday, September 25 at 6 p.m., to counter a meeting by Iranian president Ahmadinejad with U.N. officials and "religious" leaders.

Over the weekend, national religious, human rights and public interest groups, opposed to Iran's stated plans for the destruction of Israel and America, proliferating nuclear weapons program, and brutal human rights violations, stepped up their efforts and began a 72 hour marathon of emails and phone calls to urge members to attend the rally.

"We are calling upon the participation of all human rights activists and religious organizations and leaders of all backgrounds, faiths, and political affiliation who find the threats to innocent peoples to be nothing less than an affront to morality and western civilization," said rally organizer Beth Gilinsky of Women United, an international human rights organization.

Many of these organizations are frustrated with the "disinviting" of Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska and all of the other elected officials for a rally that is taking place at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza today.  They are participating in the Thursday 925 Rally to oppose Ahmadinejad, and because a wide spectrum of religious and highest level elected leaders of both parties have been invited to speak out in unity.

WHEN: Thursday September 25, 6pm on

WHERE: Across the street from the Grand Hyatt Hotel East 42nd St, near Lexington Ave and Grand Central Station, New York City, NY.

WHO: Over 30 organizations participating, list to be released shortly.

BACKGROUND: Several Western "religious leaders" are about to betray their brethren across all religions, parties, and countries by "honoring" the tyrannical regime of Ahmadinejad and the Iranian mullahs with dinner and "dialogue." Their names are The American Friends Service Committee, Mennonite Central Committee, Quaker UN Office, Religions for Peace, and the World Council of Churches-UN Liaison Office. Other organizations, political leaders and media have also been invited to appease the Islamic leaders who have turned Iran into a terrorist state

For background, see this September 22 article on the Grand Hyatt Hotel meeting with Ahmadinejad from the New York Sun Newspaper: http://www.nysun.com/foreign/ahmadinejad-prepares-to-steal-the-scene/86300/

For more information on the rally, go to www.925rally.org

Why we need John McCain and Sarah Palin in office

"The purpose was to destabilize democracy --  "They want to destroy us economically."  That's what Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said yesterday after the attacks on the Marriott hotel.  However, that statement is accurate for any of the attacks on the United States and other Western countries.  They want to destabilize our democracy and destroy our economy.  We need a leader who understands this, who is against this, and who will not facilitate this evil intent toward our wonderful America.

I know it's been said before about previous elections in the United States, but ... I do believe the 2008 Presidential elections are extremely important, maybe the most important election we have ever experienced.  Why?   Because this election not only affects Americans, it can and will affect the entire world. 

Sen. Barack Obama wants to turn to the United Nations to make decisions for him.  As Col. Oliver North says in his commentary "U.N.: Home of Anti-Americanism, Haters of Free Enterprise, and True Believers in Global Government":

The U.N. headquarters building in Manhattan has become the venue of choice for “diplomats” and foreign leaders to condemn America, our values and virtues. Since the 1960s, star billing has been promised to any dictator or despot who will take to this “world stage” for the purpose of denigrating the Unied States  and our bounty, wealth and power. When they show up for the annual meeting of theU.N. General Assembly, it is guaranteed that their horrible harangues will be broadcast all around the planet.  [snip]

Just to make sure no one has any doubts as to how things will go in the days ahead, the members of the General Assembly selected Miguel d’Escoto - a prominent America-hater - as their president. When the 63rd UNGA convenes on Tuesday, Mr. d’Escoto will “moderate” this year’s assaults on the United States.

For those too young to remember the portly Mr. d’Escoto, he was one of the original founders of the communist-inspired Sandinista movement that seized control of Nicaragua in 1979. His U.N.-published biography proudly proclaims that he “spearheaded the Nicaraguan Government’s decision, in 1984, to bring to the International Court of Justice a claim against the United States for supporting military and paramilitary actions against the country, with the court subsequently ruling in favor of Nicaragua.”

Notably, the bio makes no mention of Mr. d’Escoto, a Maryknoll priest, being publicly reprimanded by Pope John Paul II during his 1983 visit to Managua. Nor does Mr. d’Escoto’s resume reflect his tenure as a paid asset of the Central Intelligence Agency in Chile. Apparently, the U.S.-haters at the U.N. just missed these facts.

None of this has deterred the utopian Mr. d’Escoto from serving as the “warm-up-act” for this year’s Bash America Fest in the Big Apple. The visibly well-fed Mr. d’Escoto has already announced that this UNGA session should “go down in history as the ‘Assembly of Frankness’ for the sake of world peace and the eradication of poverty and hunger from the Earth.”

Mr. d’Escoto has previously referred to President Ronald Reagan as a “butcher,” called President George W. Bush a “liar” and now promises that under his leadership the UNGA will redress the “sad but undeniable fact that serious breaches of the peace and threats to international peace and security are being perpetrated by some members of the Security Council that seem unable to break what appears like an addiction to war.”

All this is but preamble to what we can expect to hear from the likes of Iran’s Mr. Ahmadinejad and Venezuela’s Mr. Chavez. Both “leaders” will be there representing states that have been accused of supporting terrorism, drug-running, human-rights abuses and in the case of Tehran - pursuing a clandestine nuclear weapons program. Yet, Mr. d’Escoto claims, “No State should appropriate the right to decide on its own which States are terrorists, or sponsors of terrorism, and which are not. Less still should States that are guilty of wars of aggression, the worst form of terrorism imaginable, presume to arrogate that right unto themselves, and further, to unilaterally take action against those it has stigmatized.”

When he goes before this august body next week, President Bush needs to encourage Mr. d’Escoto - and the entire Blame America First crowd gathered in the General Assembly - to read Article 51 of the U.N. Charter: “Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security.”  (read it all)

This is the type people Obama wants to make decisions for the Unites States of America.  The United Nations is where Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez are invited to come and bash everything we hold dear as Americans. 

If Sen. Barack Obama is elected President of the United States, people should be ready for arm-twisting tactics on every level of his presidency, as witnessed in how he handled the Jewish groups and their dis-invite of Gov. Sarah Palin from the protests against a nuclear Iran.  From YID With LID:

[snip] The Jewish groups that are running the rally WERE THREATENED WITH A LOSS OF THEIR TAX EXEMPT STATUS IF THE KEPT PALIN ON THE ROSTER:

The groups sponsoring the rally against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaking at the UN were reportedly told, "it could jeopardize their tax exempt status" if they had Palin and not Clinton or Democratic VP candidate Joe Biden on hand.

"It's an absolute shame that this has happened," Hikind said. "To threaten organizations … to threaten the Conference of Presidents that if you don't withdraw the invitation to Gov. Palin we're going to look into your tax exempt status … that's McCarthyism (CBS News)

Why is this so serious? On one hand, it shows a total apathy to the cause that we were to be protesting. IF Senator Obama truly cared about a nuclear Iran, Hillary Clinton would not have withdrawn. But even more serious is that the pressure that Obama put on the Jewish organizers is just a dry run of what he want to do to Israel. (continue reading at YID With LID)