and I want to live in a country of politically correct cowardice, come to think about it, so does CAIR! From BNP in England...
At just after 4pm on Friday 6th of July, despite valiant efforts by paramedics, 52 year old Keith Brown was pronounced dead on the front lawn of his garden in Normacot, Stoke-on-Trent. The police, the local newspaper (the Sentinel), together with local TV and radio reported that Keith had died as the result of, “a dispute between neighbours”. As has become the norm when white indigenous people are killed by non-white immigrants no further details were given about the attack and the public were simply left to imagine just what might have occurred. Had the roles of victim/perpetrator been reversed of course the media and the police would have gone to extraordinary lengths to emphasise the depths of British wickedness and speculate as to what great heights the victim would have climbed had the community not been deprived by yet another act of “white racism”. The British people have become so used to the double standards employed in the reporting of race crime it has become understood amongst many British people that an attack on one of their own together with a non descriptive account of the assailants can mean only one thing. Maybe there is some perverse logic operating here, perhaps with all good intentions the police and the media are justifying their selective treatment of racially-motivated assault, rape and murder as for the better interests of the community as a whole. Nevertheless, even the most twisted of liberal minds must be able to understand the consequences of completely writing off the indigenous population and that only in the relative short-term can they get away with it. BNP presence on councilUnfortunately for those content to sacrifice their own kind on the altar of diversity, the latest Muslim gang murder of an Englishman took place in Stoke-on-Trent. This very English city regularly votes en masse for British National Party representatives with the result that, despite massive efforts by the Labour Party, a powerful block of BNP councillors sits in the Civic Hall. The people of this city are fair-minded, proud and intelligent and easily able to repel the constant stream of ethno-masochistic propaganda that is regularly directed towards them. The people of Stoke elect BNP councilors for a reason, because they believe with all their hearts that the Party and its councillors are the only ones prepared to tell the truth. In many British town and cities the murder of another one of our own kind at the hands of yet another gang of Muslim thugs could very well be covered up, but not in Stoke. What you are about to read is the shocking and scandalous truth about the murder of Keith Brown, a man now being mourned by seven children.Land grabThe so-called neighbourhood dispute first started when Keith Brown’s Muslim neighbours decided to move the fence that divides their property an extra two feet in their favour. Keith tried all he could to get the council’s legal team to stop the erection of concrete posts and new fence panels on his property, but despite being advised that he was “in the right” on several occasions nothing was done.Every morning Keith would open his curtains to see this encroachment on his own bit of land, his own personal space and, as the large Muslim family started to take pleasure in goading him about the invasion of his property, his quality of life became minimal.The relationship between the neighbours became seriously strained and it was not long before the police were called to intervene. Amazingly though it was Keith who found himself dragged before the courts on a trumped up charge of “racism”, but thankfully his West Indian neighbour appeared as a witness and described the charges as ridiculous. Eventually the case was thrown out.Keith’s eldest son was actually sent to prison for later defending his father against a further physical assault, the injustice of which hurt Keith considerably.Last year the brake pipes of Keith’s van were cut and he narrowly avoided a serious accident. Not long after this Keith’s beloved English bull terrier was poisoned to death and his Alsatian puppy mysteriously disappeared.Throughout all of this time Keith and his partner had requested to move from the area to a new council house, but despite being on the housing list for years nothing was ever done for them.CCTV footageIn desperation Keith fitted a CCTV system to his house in order to obtain video evidence of the continued racially-motivated abuse and assaults directed towards him and his family. One such assault was indeed captured on video and burnt to DVD. Last year Stoke BNP councillor Steve Batkin requested a meeting with a local police Inspector at Sutherland Road Police Station in Longton to hand over the DVD and to complain about Muslim drug dealing in the area. The female, Asian officer refused to even take the DVD and dismissed Steve’s formal complaint about the continuing assaults on Keith Brown saying that , “she knew who he was”. In the minuted meeting she at least said she would look at the narcotics issue, but later informed Steve that the alleged drug-dealing was just down to “private hire drivers falling asleep in their cars”.The months of anguish continued for Keith, abuse, assaults and smashed windows until finally the inevitable but entirely avoidable happed. Last Friday afternoon witnesses saw Keith and his neighbours in yet another flare up. Keith had just returned from picking up his three youngest children from school when he was confronted by a group of Muslim men outside his house. Whilst Keith was remonstrating with these men another Muslim man crept from behind a car and plunged a large knife in his back. Keith never saw it coming, but his three young children did. Having brutally attacked Keith the gang then set about his 19-year-old son leaving him hospitalised.As Keith lay dying in his garden, paramedics desperately tried to resuscitate him, but Keith had already slipped away, stabbed in the back by his murderer and stabbed in the back by those who should have protected him.One of the things we have always been proud of in this country is that, unlike other countries, life is not cheap here. Not anymore, even in Third world countries never would the ruling elite, the police and the media despise their fellow countrymen so much that they would conspire to ensure that their lives were made the cheapest of them all.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Friday, June 29, 2007
Peaceful Intentions from the "international elements"
Yes, the news services and Britain are maintaining their political correctness, more love and peace from "international elements". Geez, I wonder who that might be. From CNN.....
LONDON, England (CNN) -- As authorities were investigating an explosives-packed car discovered outside a nightclub near Piccadilly Circus on Friday, a second vehicle was found in London that had similar explosive material inside, security sources said.
Both cars were laden with large amounts of fuel, gas canisters and "a substantial quantity of nails," British police anti-terror chief Peter Clarke said.
"These vehicles are clearly linked," he said.
The second car had been parked underground near Trafalgar Square in an area where parking was not allowed.
Workers towed it to a lot on Park Lane near Buckingham Palace and thought it smelled of gasoline. Given the reports that gas canisters were among the explosive material found in the other car, they became suspicious, security sources said.
Authorities then blocked off a section of Park Lane while they examined the car and discovered the material.
Earlier Friday, a section of Fleet Street also was cordoned off briefly, then reopened without incident.
Inside the first car near Piccadilly Circus, a device was found loaded with fuel, gas cylinders and nails, said security sources, and it was set up for remote detonation.
Security sources said the "relatively crude device" contained at least 200 liters, or about 50 gallons, of fuel in canisters.
Police said the car was found shortly before 2 a.m. Friday and deactivated. The device could have caused huge numbers of casualties, police said.
Clarke said detectives were examining security camera footage for clues to the driver of the vehicle.
The incident renewed fears of a terrorist strike almost two years after London's transport network was hit by suicide bombers.
Security sources with knowledge of the investigation said a cell phone was found as part of the first device, but it was not immediately clear whether it was to be used as a detonator or timer, or in some other way.
Clarke said the car was discovered when a quick-thinking ambulance crew noticed it was filled with smoke outside the popular Tiger Tiger nightclub.
Explosives officers discovered the fuel and nails attached to a "potential means of detonation" inside the vehicle. Officers "courageously" disabled the trigger by hand, Clarke said.
"Even at this stage it is obvious that if the device had detonated, there could have been severe injuries and loss of life," Clarke said. He said it was too early to say who was responsible.
Witness Daniel Weir said he was walking home from work when he noticed police had cordoned off the area around the nightclub and a nearby vehicle.
He snapped several photos, including one that showed a canister labeled "patio gas."
"If I had known what was actually ... going on, I don't think I would have been hanging about," he told CNN hours later.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, appointed two days earlier in a transition of power seen as a potential spur for extremists to mount an attack, said the incident was a reminder of the dangers facing the country.
Brown, whose predecessor Tony Blair's support of the Iraq war provoked anger among Islamic militants, said Britain faced "a serious and continuous threat" and the public needs to be alert at all times.
The incident came a little more than a week before the second anniversary of July 7, 2005, when four Islamic extremist suicide bombers killed 52 people and injured hundreds more on London's transport system in the deadliest strike on the city since World War II.
'Rude awakening'
CNN international security correspondent Paula Newton said the Piccadilly Circus bomb was potentially aimed at theatergoers or nightclubbers, echoing plots recently thwarted by anti-terror police in which Islamic militants intended to attack prominent dance venues and shopping malls.
London has a long history of bomb attacks and alerts during decades of violence mounted by Northern Irish guerrilla groups. Lone attackers also have previously targeted the city's gay and immigrant communities.
Friday's incident could prove to be the first major test for Brown, a former finance minister, who has only just appointed his Cabinet, including new Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, in charge of domestic security.
"For Gordon Brown, it is a rude awakening to the realities you take on as prime minister," CNN's European political editor Robin Oakley said.
Smith on Friday attended a meeting of Britain's so-called Cobra emergency committee -- consisting of intelligence and security chiefs -- and later briefed Brown's Cabinet.
"As the police and security services have frequently said, we face one of the most serious and sustained threats to our security at the moment," Smith told reporters.
Police later said they were deploying an enhanced presence to provide extra security across the capital, but said the reinforcements were not in response to a specific incident.
LONDON, England (CNN) -- As authorities were investigating an explosives-packed car discovered outside a nightclub near Piccadilly Circus on Friday, a second vehicle was found in London that had similar explosive material inside, security sources said.
Both cars were laden with large amounts of fuel, gas canisters and "a substantial quantity of nails," British police anti-terror chief Peter Clarke said.
"These vehicles are clearly linked," he said.
The second car had been parked underground near Trafalgar Square in an area where parking was not allowed.
Workers towed it to a lot on Park Lane near Buckingham Palace and thought it smelled of gasoline. Given the reports that gas canisters were among the explosive material found in the other car, they became suspicious, security sources said.
Authorities then blocked off a section of Park Lane while they examined the car and discovered the material.
Earlier Friday, a section of Fleet Street also was cordoned off briefly, then reopened without incident.
Inside the first car near Piccadilly Circus, a device was found loaded with fuel, gas cylinders and nails, said security sources, and it was set up for remote detonation.
Security sources said the "relatively crude device" contained at least 200 liters, or about 50 gallons, of fuel in canisters.
Police said the car was found shortly before 2 a.m. Friday and deactivated. The device could have caused huge numbers of casualties, police said.
Clarke said detectives were examining security camera footage for clues to the driver of the vehicle.
The incident renewed fears of a terrorist strike almost two years after London's transport network was hit by suicide bombers.
Security sources with knowledge of the investigation said a cell phone was found as part of the first device, but it was not immediately clear whether it was to be used as a detonator or timer, or in some other way.
Clarke said the car was discovered when a quick-thinking ambulance crew noticed it was filled with smoke outside the popular Tiger Tiger nightclub.
Explosives officers discovered the fuel and nails attached to a "potential means of detonation" inside the vehicle. Officers "courageously" disabled the trigger by hand, Clarke said.
"Even at this stage it is obvious that if the device had detonated, there could have been severe injuries and loss of life," Clarke said. He said it was too early to say who was responsible.
Witness Daniel Weir said he was walking home from work when he noticed police had cordoned off the area around the nightclub and a nearby vehicle.
He snapped several photos, including one that showed a canister labeled "patio gas."
"If I had known what was actually ... going on, I don't think I would have been hanging about," he told CNN hours later.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, appointed two days earlier in a transition of power seen as a potential spur for extremists to mount an attack, said the incident was a reminder of the dangers facing the country.
Brown, whose predecessor Tony Blair's support of the Iraq war provoked anger among Islamic militants, said Britain faced "a serious and continuous threat" and the public needs to be alert at all times.
The incident came a little more than a week before the second anniversary of July 7, 2005, when four Islamic extremist suicide bombers killed 52 people and injured hundreds more on London's transport system in the deadliest strike on the city since World War II.
'Rude awakening'
CNN international security correspondent Paula Newton said the Piccadilly Circus bomb was potentially aimed at theatergoers or nightclubbers, echoing plots recently thwarted by anti-terror police in which Islamic militants intended to attack prominent dance venues and shopping malls.
London has a long history of bomb attacks and alerts during decades of violence mounted by Northern Irish guerrilla groups. Lone attackers also have previously targeted the city's gay and immigrant communities.
Friday's incident could prove to be the first major test for Brown, a former finance minister, who has only just appointed his Cabinet, including new Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, in charge of domestic security.
"For Gordon Brown, it is a rude awakening to the realities you take on as prime minister," CNN's European political editor Robin Oakley said.
Smith on Friday attended a meeting of Britain's so-called Cobra emergency committee -- consisting of intelligence and security chiefs -- and later briefed Brown's Cabinet.
"As the police and security services have frequently said, we face one of the most serious and sustained threats to our security at the moment," Smith told reporters.
Police later said they were deploying an enhanced presence to provide extra security across the capital, but said the reinforcements were not in response to a specific incident.
Why Hamas Won
This is from the American Congress for Truth. Read it and realize that the old expression "one bad apple don't spoil the whole bunch" is a load of hoohah. Makes total sense, unfortunately for the west and for Israel.
WHY HAMAS WON
By RALPH PETERSJune 19, 2007 -- HAMAS won its shut-out victory in Gaza with alarming ease.And the reason Hamas won is even more alarming: Fanaticism trumps numbers. You'll hear no end of explanations for the terrorist triumph: Hamas wasbacked by Iran; Gaza is Hamas' base of support; some Fatah units ran out ofammunition . . . All true. And all secondary factors. Fatah's security forces in Gaza outnumbered the Hamas gunmen. Fatah hadstockpiles of weapons and military gear (now in Hamas' arsenal). Fatah evenhad the quiet backing of Israel and America. And Fatah folded like a pup tent in a tornado. Hamas won because its fighters are religious fanatics ready to die for theircause. Fatah runs an armed employment agency under the banner of Palestiniannationalism. Most of the latter's security men are on the payroll becauserelatives or ward pols got them jobs. And they want to stay alive to collecttheir wages. The result was predictable. Our government pretended otherwise. Now hairsshould be standing up on the backs of thousands of necks, from the WhiteHouse to the Green Zone. Yes, Iraq is more complex than Gaza. But once you pierce the surfaceturbulence and look deep, the similarities are chilling: Iraq's securityforces do include true patriots - but most of the troops and cops just wanta job, or were ordered to join up by a sheik or a mullah, or are gatheringguns until their faction calls. The al-Qaeda-in-Iraq terrorists, the core members of Muqtada al-Sadr's MahdiArmy and the hard-line Sunni ghazis are willing to die for the victory oftheir faction and their faith. They believe they're doing Allah's will. Itgives them a strength we rush to explain away. The raw numbers suggest that Iraq's fanatics don't stand a chance. Thegovernment has a far greater numerical advantage than did Fatah. But numbersoften mislead analysts during insurgencies: Iraq's government wouldn't lasta week without U.S. troops. The lesson from Gaza is that such wars are neither waged nor won by themajority of the population. A tiny fraction of the populace, armed anddetermined, can destroy a fragile government and seize power. Polls showing that most Iraqis "want peace" and don't support the extremistsonly deceive us (because we want to be deceived). It wouldn't matter if 99percent of the Iraqis loved us like free falafel, if we're unwilling toannihilate the fraction of 1 percent of the population with the weapons andwill to dictate the future to the rest. At the height of last week's fighting in Gaza, one Palestinian in 300carried a weapon in support of Hamas - a third of one percent of thepopulation. Now Hamas rules 1.5 million people. Numbers still matter, of course. But strength of will can overcome hollownumbers. And nothing - nothing - gives men a greater strength of will thanreligious fanaticism. We don't want to hear it. Secular virtues were supposed to triumph. Theydidn't, but we still can't let go of our dream of a happy-face, godlessworld where nobody quarrels. Our refusal to acknowledge the unifying - and terrifying - power ofextremist religion has deep roots. As academics rejected and derided faithin the last century, even the Thirty Years' War - the horrible climax ofEurope's wars of religion - was reinvented as a dynastic struggle, or afight for hegemony, or a class struggle. But the Thirty Years' War was about faith. All the other factors were inplay, but the core issue, from the Protestant coup in Prague in 1618 to thePeace of Westphalia in 1648, was religious identity. And the atrocitiescommitted on both sides make Iraq look like amateur hour: Wars of religionalways demand blood sacrifice. (It was a compromise of bloody exhaustionthat ended the Thirty Years War.) Our problem is that, of those who rise in government, few have witnessed thepower of revelation or caught a life-changing glimpse of the divine. Theysimply can't imagine that others might be willing to die for all thatmumbo-jumbo. Our convenience-store approach to faith leaves us numb to thepassion of our enemies. The true believer always beats the feckless attendee. The best you can hopefor is that the extremist will eventually defeat himself. And that does leave us some hope: Fanatics inevitably over-reach, as alQaeda's Islamo-fascists have done in Iraq, alienating those who once sawthem as allies. But the road to self-destruction can be a long one: Thepeople of Iran want change, but the fanatics have the guns. And sorry,folks: Fanatics with guns beat liberals with ideas. Faith is the nuclear weapon of the fanatic. And there's not going to be areligious "nuclear freeze." It doesn't matter how many hearts and minds youwin, if you don't defeat the zealots with the muscles.
WHY HAMAS WON
By RALPH PETERSJune 19, 2007 -- HAMAS won its shut-out victory in Gaza with alarming ease.And the reason Hamas won is even more alarming: Fanaticism trumps numbers. You'll hear no end of explanations for the terrorist triumph: Hamas wasbacked by Iran; Gaza is Hamas' base of support; some Fatah units ran out ofammunition . . . All true. And all secondary factors. Fatah's security forces in Gaza outnumbered the Hamas gunmen. Fatah hadstockpiles of weapons and military gear (now in Hamas' arsenal). Fatah evenhad the quiet backing of Israel and America. And Fatah folded like a pup tent in a tornado. Hamas won because its fighters are religious fanatics ready to die for theircause. Fatah runs an armed employment agency under the banner of Palestiniannationalism. Most of the latter's security men are on the payroll becauserelatives or ward pols got them jobs. And they want to stay alive to collecttheir wages. The result was predictable. Our government pretended otherwise. Now hairsshould be standing up on the backs of thousands of necks, from the WhiteHouse to the Green Zone. Yes, Iraq is more complex than Gaza. But once you pierce the surfaceturbulence and look deep, the similarities are chilling: Iraq's securityforces do include true patriots - but most of the troops and cops just wanta job, or were ordered to join up by a sheik or a mullah, or are gatheringguns until their faction calls. The al-Qaeda-in-Iraq terrorists, the core members of Muqtada al-Sadr's MahdiArmy and the hard-line Sunni ghazis are willing to die for the victory oftheir faction and their faith. They believe they're doing Allah's will. Itgives them a strength we rush to explain away. The raw numbers suggest that Iraq's fanatics don't stand a chance. Thegovernment has a far greater numerical advantage than did Fatah. But numbersoften mislead analysts during insurgencies: Iraq's government wouldn't lasta week without U.S. troops. The lesson from Gaza is that such wars are neither waged nor won by themajority of the population. A tiny fraction of the populace, armed anddetermined, can destroy a fragile government and seize power. Polls showing that most Iraqis "want peace" and don't support the extremistsonly deceive us (because we want to be deceived). It wouldn't matter if 99percent of the Iraqis loved us like free falafel, if we're unwilling toannihilate the fraction of 1 percent of the population with the weapons andwill to dictate the future to the rest. At the height of last week's fighting in Gaza, one Palestinian in 300carried a weapon in support of Hamas - a third of one percent of thepopulation. Now Hamas rules 1.5 million people. Numbers still matter, of course. But strength of will can overcome hollownumbers. And nothing - nothing - gives men a greater strength of will thanreligious fanaticism. We don't want to hear it. Secular virtues were supposed to triumph. Theydidn't, but we still can't let go of our dream of a happy-face, godlessworld where nobody quarrels. Our refusal to acknowledge the unifying - and terrifying - power ofextremist religion has deep roots. As academics rejected and derided faithin the last century, even the Thirty Years' War - the horrible climax ofEurope's wars of religion - was reinvented as a dynastic struggle, or afight for hegemony, or a class struggle. But the Thirty Years' War was about faith. All the other factors were inplay, but the core issue, from the Protestant coup in Prague in 1618 to thePeace of Westphalia in 1648, was religious identity. And the atrocitiescommitted on both sides make Iraq look like amateur hour: Wars of religionalways demand blood sacrifice. (It was a compromise of bloody exhaustionthat ended the Thirty Years War.) Our problem is that, of those who rise in government, few have witnessed thepower of revelation or caught a life-changing glimpse of the divine. Theysimply can't imagine that others might be willing to die for all thatmumbo-jumbo. Our convenience-store approach to faith leaves us numb to thepassion of our enemies. The true believer always beats the feckless attendee. The best you can hopefor is that the extremist will eventually defeat himself. And that does leave us some hope: Fanatics inevitably over-reach, as alQaeda's Islamo-fascists have done in Iraq, alienating those who once sawthem as allies. But the road to self-destruction can be a long one: Thepeople of Iran want change, but the fanatics have the guns. And sorry,folks: Fanatics with guns beat liberals with ideas. Faith is the nuclear weapon of the fanatic. And there's not going to be areligious "nuclear freeze." It doesn't matter how many hearts and minds youwin, if you don't defeat the zealots with the muscles.
An Interesting History of Christmas
by W.J. Bethancourt III
© copyright 1997 W.J. Bethancourt III
Updated 01/09/03This page reads best with Internet Explorer. Refresh this page often!
LUKE 2:8-11 There were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, and keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said to them: fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people; for unto you has been born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord
First of all, we need to establish from the beginning that December 25th is in all probability not the date of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.
The year of the Christian Nativity must be ascertained by historical and chronological research, since there is no certain and harmonious tradition on the subject. The "Anno Domini" dating system, which was introduced by the Roman abbot Dionysius Exiguus, in the sixth century, and came into general use two years later, during the reign of Charlemagne, puts the Nativity Dec. 25, 754 Anno Urbis, that is, after the founding of the city of Rome. Nearly all chronologers agree that this is wrong by at least four years. Christ was born 750 AU (or 4 BCE) if not earlier.
According to Matthew 2:1 (comp. Luke 1:5, 26), Christ was born "in the days of King Herod" I, "the Great," who died, according to Josephus, at Jericho, 750 AU, just before Passover. This date has been verified by the astronomical calculation of the eclipse of the moon, which took place March 13, 750 AU, a few days before Herod's death.
Allowing two months or more for the events between the birth of Christ and the murder of the Innocents by Herod, the Nativity must be put back at least to February or January, 750 AU (or 4 BCE), if not earlier.
( note to Millinialists: the real year 2000 has therefore come and gone ...... )
So why do we celebrate it on December 25th?
December 25th occurs about the time of the Winter Solistice, the shortest day of the year. The shortening days were taken as a sign that the Sun was getting weaker. After the Solistice, the days begin to get longer ...... and pagan peoples thought that was an indication that the Sun was getting stronger.
Thus, the Winter Solistice became the "birthday" of several gods: Attis, Frey, Thor, Dionysus, Osiris, Adonis, Mithra, Tammuz, Cernunnos and so forth. It is a "solar holiday," marking the time that the sun becomes apparently stronger day by day.
Mithra, by the way, was born on December 25, of a virgin. His birth was witnessed by shepherds and magicians [magi]. Mithra raised the dead and healed the sick and cast out demons. He returned to heaven at the spring equinox and before doing so had a last supper with his 12 disciples (representing the 12 signs of the zodiac), eating mizd, a piece of bread marked with a cross (an almost universal symbol of the sun). Any of that sound familiar?
We also have a Jewish festival near that date: Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights (another solar reference) which occurs on the 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev, approximately in December by the Roman calendar, and the Zoroastrian Yalda, the celebration of the victory of good over evil.
The Christian holiday was not always celebrated on December 25th, however.
For the first three hundred years of the current era, there was no festivity of the birth of Jesus. Some churches celebrated Jesus' birthday in the spring time and some celebrated it on January 6 (Epiphany).
Early in the fourth century, the Roman church decreed that December 25 would henceforth be recognized as the birthday of Christ. The Eastern churches refused to accept Christmas until 375 C.E., and the churches in Jerusalem rejected the December 25 date until the seventh century.
There are still some Eastern Rite churches that continue to celebrate the Epiphany date.
The Pilgrims outlawed Christmas. They also refused to use the 1611 King James Bible!
The Winter Solistice was the season of a major celebration of fertility in ancient Rome called "Saturnalia," starting on December 17th. This honoured the "good old days" when the god Saturn ruled a supposed "Golden Age", and there were no masters and no slaves, and everything was easy. Thus, it became a reversal-holiday, when the masters served the slaves, and a slave was chosen to temporarily rule the household. The Romans were civilized enough to not kill him afterwards, as seems to be the custom with such holidays in more primitive cultures.
They also exchanged presents, were allowed to gamble in public, and in general had a good time. It was the greatest holiday of the year.
It should come as no surprise then that the Christian Church co-opted this seasonal holiday, celebrated by the city that ruled the world -and- celebrated by Christianity's major competitor (Mithraism). It was simply a very astute political move.
St. John Chrysostom, Bishop of Constantinople at the end of the fourth century wrote: "On this day also the Birthday of Christ was lately fixed at Rome in order that while the heathen were busy with their profane ceremonies, the Christians might perform their sacred rites undisturbed. They call this (December 25th), the Birthday of the Invincible One (Mithras); but who is so invincible as the Lord? They call it the Birthday of the Solar Disk, but Christ is the Sun of Righteousness."
This custom of the "Feast of Fools" was continued in medieval Western Europe, with a "Lord of Misrule," mummers doing traditional plays, feasting with a boar's head, games, dancing and other such merriment. This could last for more than just Christmas Day, going on until at least Epiphany (January 6th) in many cases ..... these are our "Twelve Days of Christmas."
Christmas even started out controversially in North America. Reverend Rel Davis writes:
The festival of Christmas has always been a controversial one in Christianity. The Puritans banned Christmas altogether and during the Cromwellian period in England, anyone celebrating Christmas was jailed for heresy. Probably the most hated of all Puritan laws was the one abolishing Christmas and probably led to popular acceptance of royalty (nb: the Restoration) -- at least the King allowed the masses to celebrate Yule!
In America, Christmas was generally outlawed until the end of the last century. In Boston, up to 1870, anyone missing work on Christmas Day would be fired. Factory owners customarily required employees to come to work at 5 a.m. on Christmas -- to insure they wouldn't have time to go to church that day. And any student who failed to go to school on December 25 would be expelled. Only the arrival of large numbers of Irish and northern European immigrants brought acceptance of Christmas in this country.
Christmas did not even begin to be a legal holiday anywhere in the United States until very late in the nineteenth century CE, with Alabama being the first state to make it so.
Now let's look at some Christmas customs:
The name "Yule" is not derived from Chaldaean, as some would have you believe, but rather from the Old Norse "Jol" or "Jul" thru Anglo-Saxon "Geol" to Middle English "Yule." It means "Winter Solistice," or "Christmas." It is found in the Germanic languages, but not in the Romance languages like French, Spanish and Italian, who have names for Christmas that mean closer to "The Birthday" than anything else. There is, of course, no connection linguistically between Chaldaean and the Germanic languages .... or with the Romance languages either, for that matter.
I have also heard some folks thundering against the use of the abbreviation "Xmas" as being "against Jesus." Frankly, nothing could be more absurd. This usage derives from a common medieval abbreviation for "Christ" using a Cross rather than the name. This was most common in signatures, and thus you would see a signature of "Xtoph" rather than "Kristoph." It is simply an abbreviation, and nothing more.
The name "Christmas" derives, of course, from Middle English "Cristes mæsse" or "Christ's Mass," that is, the Roman church's standard ritual celebration. This alone, being Roman Catholic, seems to render it suspect in the minds of many hard-core Protestants .... though they seem to forget that at the time Middle English was spoken, the Roman Catholic Church was pretty much the only game in town.
The night before, Christmas Eve, was called "Modranect" or "Modranecht" by the Germanic pagan peoples (this seems to be Old English / Anglo-Saxon, and apparently means "Mother's Night"). This is obviously in honor of the Mother Goddess who bore the solar Child of Promise.
The Magi, or the Three Wise Men: The "Magi" were, in antiquity, priests of Zoroastrianism ..... and reputed to be expert Magi-cians (see the derivation of the word there?) and astrologers. Mithraism is associated with Zoroastrianism much like Christianity stems from Judaism. The "Three Kings" bits are a later interpolation, and there may very well be a "Triple God" aspect slipping in here from folk-memory, too.
The Star of Bethlehem? Well, this page might give us some leads. It may have been a planetary conjunction noticed by the magician-astrologers. That theory at least explains why there are no other accounts of a miraculous star in historical records of the time.
I have heard several remarks over the years about how much the Wiccans must like Christmas, because they can buy so many nicely made pentagrams then. Not to worry, though, because as shown in the medieval poem "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" and in Mallory's "Morte d'Arthur" the pentagram is very much a Christian symbol too.
The Yule Log is pretty obvious. Sympathetic magic, with its rule of "As in Heaven, so on Earth" (a re-stating of the more usual wording of 'As above, so below") means that to have a blazing fire on earth would encourage the sun to grow stronger. Therefore, the Winter Solistice is a "fire festival," with bonfires and Yule logs being lit to "help" the sun grow stronger between then and Midsummer. It also served a more practical purpose of warming up the home during a cold night in which many people stayed awake for much longer than they usually did.
Mistletoe is an old Celtic symbol of regeneration and eternal life. The Romans valued it as a symbol of peace and this eventually led to its usage as one of the common symbols of Christmas. Kissing under mistletoe was a Roman custom, due to its' being regarded as a symbol of fertility.
We also find the mistletoe figuring in the Norse story of Balder, and in medieval legend as the wood from which the Cross was made .... which legend was probably derived from the Balder story, as it was a twig of mistletoe that killed him.
It was considered a protection against evil, the devil, and witchcraft ..... and, when laid on the altar of a church (as done as late as the 18th Century CE at York cathedral in England) signified a sort of general amnesty.
Many primitive societies, such as the Ainu of Japan and the Wallas of West Africa also regarded the mistletoe with veneration.
During the "Druid craze" (an interest in alleged "Druidic customs," mostly entirely spurious) of the 18th and early 19th Century CE the Church began to distrust mistletoe as a "pagan" plant and banned it from the churches. This is curious in view of the old legends that the plant was the wood used for the Cross, the "sanctae crucius lignum," called the "l'herbe de la croix" in France. Supposedly it was once a strong tree, but it's use for the Cross degraded it.
It became fashionable in England to have your very own mini-Stonehenge in your garden, and one fellow with more money than sense even hired a white-bearded man to play the part of a Druid priest and come out of a fake cave occasionally and gibber at the wealthy man's guests.
All of this spurious Druidism is connected with the "British Israelite" sort of thing so popular then, when British antiquaries were trying to connect the Druids of the British Isles with Biblical nations and races, Freemasonry, the "religion of Noah," "Helio-Arkites," and many other fanciful blind-alleys. Some of the more luminous (?) names of this movement were William Stukeley, Edward Williams (who called himself "Iolo Morganwg" and can be viewed as one of the classic British cranks, forging documents right and left to back up his theories), John Williams ab Ithel, Owen Morgan (who called himself "Morgan O. Morgan"), the epic-forger James MacPherson (he wrote the "Ossian" stuff), Edward Davies, Godfrey Higgins and James Bostwick, and others.
With the later serious archaeological digs, all this was shown to be the fabrication that it really was. The Christmas Tree ..... well, this one may shock you. We get our "tannenbaum," or fir tree, from the Germanic peoples, who had the quaint custom of sacrificing nine kinds of every living thing to One-Eyed Woden (OÞin) by hanging them on a tree. (One of OÞin's symbols was a noose, and his horse Sleipnir has eight legs symbolizing four pallbearers! He was a Death God in addition to being a God of Poets and the All-Father)
Interestingly enough, in the much beloved Christmas time story of "The Nutcracker" (Tchaikowski's Nutcracker Suite) the person who brings in the miniature castle with the toys, the nutcracker and so forth is a man named Drosselmeier who has ... one eye.
We should be glad of the civilizing effects of Christianity here in the substitution of ornaments and lights for sacrifices!
The old pagan use of the tree was revived by Martin Luther, without the Old Norse style decorations, and brought to America by the Hessian mercenaries in the service of George III of England during the American Revolution. It appeared in Great Britain in the 1840's when Prince Albert, the German-born consort of Queen Victoria, set one up in the Palace.
At the time, the medieval form of the holiday was dying out in England, and the introduction of the tree by the Crown seems to have sparked a revival of interest in Christmas, but now the customs changed radically, becoming more Germanic.
Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" was also a major influence, as was Clarke Moore's poem, "The Night Before Christmas" (see below).
Thus, most of the traditions and customs of the English-speaking world that center around the Christmas tree tend to date from Victorian times, due to the influence of Victorian English customs and mores.
It is interesting to read Isaiah 55:13 --
"Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off"
and to see it referenced to Luke 2:12 --
"And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."
The fir tree (our pine) is taken as a sign of the Child of Promise, and the Promise He gave us.
The New Chain-Reference Bible, KJV, B.B. Kirkbride Bible Co. Indianapolis 1964
Christmas cards are fairly recent. The practice of sending Christmas greeting cards to friends was initiated by Sir Henry Cole of England in 1843, with the first card being designed by J.C.Horsley. It was commercially oriented from the first - 1000 copies were sold in London.
And now we get to Santa Claus. Poor Santa! He is getting all kinds of flack from the more rabid Grinch types out there, because he may have had his origins in a combination of pagan gods and Christian history.
From the Germanic traditions we merge OÞin and Thor:
Every Yule, the good god Thor would visit every home with an altar to him (i.e., every home with a fireplace!) and bring gifts to children, who would put out their sabots (wooden shoes) the night before. Good children would receive gifts of fruit, candy and pieces of coal to burn in the fireplace.
-Rev. Rel Davis
In Northern Germany, Santa Claus is said to ride a white horse, much like OÞin did, though Santa's horse has the usual number of legs.
From the Christian traditions we get St. Nicholas, one of the saints on whom we have no hard evidence whether he really lived or not.
Nicholas was supposedly born in the city of Parara, to wealthy parents who died when he was a child. On reaching adulthood, he became a priest and gave all his possessions to the poor, especially to orphans. He made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. On a pilgrimage to the Holy Land he calmed a storm at sea with his prayers, making him the patron saint of sailors. When he returned he was elected Bishop of Myra. He gave money anonymously for spinsters' dowries. During the Diocletian persecutions he was imprisoned but freed under the Emperor Constantine. His Feast Day is December 5th.
He was also said to bring back the dead from a magic cauldron (an ancient Celtic concept), that he miraculously multiplied a shipment of grain so it could feed his entire diocese for two years, with enough left over for a new crop of grain and that when he died, his bones exuded a huge quantity of holy oil capable of curing any known disease.
His acts of charity, especially towards children, and the gift-bringing of Thor, show us the folk origins of the Santa Claus theme.
Remember also that not all countries that have a "gift-bringer" figure on Christmas call it "Santa Claus." Norway calls him "Julenisse," England calls him "Father Christmas," (and derives him from a background figure in the old Mummer's Plays, only comparatively recently adding the attributes of the American Santa Claus), in Italy and Russia Santa becomes female and is called "Befana" (who rides a broomstick!) and "Kolyada" respectively. In Germany, the "Kristkindl" or "Christ Child" brings the presents. The Dutch call him "Sinter Klaus," or "Klaus of the Cinders" i.e. the man who comes down the chimney. The Three Kings do the gift-giving, on January 6 in Spain, and Knight Rupprecht (another OÞin survival) plays a secondary part in northern Germany.
However, Santa played a very minor part in the American holiday until 1823, when Clarke Moore's poem, "The Night Before Christmas" was published. This single poem, combined with the visual picture popularized by the political cartoonist (of the time) Thomas Nast, pretty much set the tone for what we conceive as "Santa Claus."
His eight reindeer? Well, let's look at the names given them in the aforesaid poem:
Dasher
Dancer
Prancer
Vixen
Comet
Cupid
Donner
Blitzen
"Donner" and "Blitzen?" Those are the German words for "thunder" and "lightening," and the word for "thunder," "donner," is derived from the old Germanic godname "Donar," who we know as "Thor," and the name of Thor's palace in Asgard was "Bilskirnir" which means "lightening!"
Eight reindeer? One for each leg of Odin's horse?
And, of course, with the addition of Rudolph of the famous red nose (unknown until the Gene Autry song came out) we get the Germanic mystical number of nine ...... nine kinds of things ..... in this case, reindeer.
Remember, of course, that these names were arbitrarily given by the author of the poem (and the song) and are not found in any folk traditions that I could unearth. The "nine kinds of things" is coincidence .... unless the authors of the poem and song were members of the Universal Conspiracy Against Everything, which I highly doubt.
There are many other Christmas customs and legends that I can't go into, both for lack of space and because they don't figure into the primary themes of the holiday in the English-speaking world, such as the animals talking on Christmas Eve, and the delightful modern song about the "Little Drummer Boy."
With all this pagan background, you'd think that the celebration would be something other than what it is, wouldn't you? Actually, what we have here is a very good example of taking old legends and mythos and reworking them to fit a new one, and adding the central message of Christmas ..... the birth of the Child of Promise to the world.
You see, symbols mean what your culture has taught you they mean. If when you look at the Cross you think of Jesus of Nazareth and see a symbol of redemption you are interpeting it as a Christian symbol. If you see it as a gallows; as a means of executing criminals against the State, then you are seeing it as an ancient Roman would. There are many other pagan associations with the cross, including the Norse sun-cross and it's usage as a generalized solar symbol. Should we then interpet the Cross as a pagan symbol? Of course not!
Equally, no one sees the symbols of Christmas detailed above as anything other than either symbols of a commercialized, secular holiday or the birth of the Child. The past pagan associations these symbols had are pretty much dead, and the notion of an Eternal Conspiracy to demonize these symbols is prima facie silly. These are symbols and traditions, deeply engraved in the folk conciousness, that have simply taken on a much deeper meaning.
And invariably these attacks on the Christmas holiday get around to an attack on the Roman Catholic Church, since the holiday was established by the Pope .... forgetting that the Roman Church was pretty much the "only game in town" back in 300 CE.
And the constant association I see with a "Babylonian Mystery Religion" that connects Nimrod, Ashtoreth and Tammuz with each other as an "Anti-Holy Family" in ancient Babylon is simply NOT grounded in archaeological fact. I have NEVER seen hard evidence on this issue.
(It is fascinating, in the light of the old saw about how "the gods of the old religion become the devils of the new" to see the gods of the old religion becoming the folk myths of the new.)
The danger is not in the originally pagan symbols, nor in it's establishment by the Bishop of Rome, but in the commercialization and secularization of the holy day; we are losing the real meaning of the holiday to an orgy of spending and politically correct saccharine cuteness. The meaning of Christmas is not found in how many presents we can give or get, nor in how much money we can spend on it, nor in how prettily we can decorate our home, but in the Message of the Child.
Christmas (call it Yule if you want to!) is a holiday and holy day that can be kept by Christian and pagan alike, and one that brings joy to the world indeed.
And if the devil has been trying to "pervert it's symbols thru the ages, giving them pagan meanings," then to view them as such is to fall into Old Scratch's trap, isn't it?
Little Children: Love One Another!
And for all you Grinches out there that think we should outlaw Christmas ..... well, go read this, and this, and think on what is written in I Corinthians 13.... you may have a lot of Faith, and a lot of Hope, but darn little Charity.
Bibliography
The Bible; KJV 1611 (facsimile edition)
Bethancourt, W.J. III: The Medieval Book of Days; (unpublished ms.)
Cavendish, Richard, "Man, Myth and Magic"; (Vols. 4 and 14 et. al.) (New York: Marshall Cavendish Corp. 1970)
Davis, Rel (Rev.): "St. Nick, Old Nick and the Good God Thor"; (Talk made on December 18, 1993)
Durant, Will: Caesar and Christ; Simon and Shuster 1944
Lane, C. Arthur: Illustrated Notes on English Church History; Soc. For Promoting Christian Knowledge 1904
Lehane, Brendan & Time-Life Books: The Enchanted World: The Book of Christmas; (Time-Life Books, Alexandria VA, 1986)
Lyttleton, Margaret and Forman, Werner:The Romans: Their Gods and Their Beliefs; (Orbis Publishing Ltd., London, 1984)
Wedeck, H.E. and Baskin, Wade, "A Dictionary Of Pagan Religions"; (New York: Philosophical Library, 1971)
The Roman Calendar
© copyright 1997 W.J. Bethancourt III
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LUKE 2:8-11 There were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, and keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said to them: fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people; for unto you has been born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord
First of all, we need to establish from the beginning that December 25th is in all probability not the date of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.
The year of the Christian Nativity must be ascertained by historical and chronological research, since there is no certain and harmonious tradition on the subject. The "Anno Domini" dating system, which was introduced by the Roman abbot Dionysius Exiguus, in the sixth century, and came into general use two years later, during the reign of Charlemagne, puts the Nativity Dec. 25, 754 Anno Urbis, that is, after the founding of the city of Rome. Nearly all chronologers agree that this is wrong by at least four years. Christ was born 750 AU (or 4 BCE) if not earlier.
According to Matthew 2:1 (comp. Luke 1:5, 26), Christ was born "in the days of King Herod" I, "the Great," who died, according to Josephus, at Jericho, 750 AU, just before Passover. This date has been verified by the astronomical calculation of the eclipse of the moon, which took place March 13, 750 AU, a few days before Herod's death.
Allowing two months or more for the events between the birth of Christ and the murder of the Innocents by Herod, the Nativity must be put back at least to February or January, 750 AU (or 4 BCE), if not earlier.
( note to Millinialists: the real year 2000 has therefore come and gone ...... )
So why do we celebrate it on December 25th?
December 25th occurs about the time of the Winter Solistice, the shortest day of the year. The shortening days were taken as a sign that the Sun was getting weaker. After the Solistice, the days begin to get longer ...... and pagan peoples thought that was an indication that the Sun was getting stronger.
Thus, the Winter Solistice became the "birthday" of several gods: Attis, Frey, Thor, Dionysus, Osiris, Adonis, Mithra, Tammuz, Cernunnos and so forth. It is a "solar holiday," marking the time that the sun becomes apparently stronger day by day.
Mithra, by the way, was born on December 25, of a virgin. His birth was witnessed by shepherds and magicians [magi]. Mithra raised the dead and healed the sick and cast out demons. He returned to heaven at the spring equinox and before doing so had a last supper with his 12 disciples (representing the 12 signs of the zodiac), eating mizd, a piece of bread marked with a cross (an almost universal symbol of the sun). Any of that sound familiar?
We also have a Jewish festival near that date: Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights (another solar reference) which occurs on the 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev, approximately in December by the Roman calendar, and the Zoroastrian Yalda, the celebration of the victory of good over evil.
The Christian holiday was not always celebrated on December 25th, however.
For the first three hundred years of the current era, there was no festivity of the birth of Jesus. Some churches celebrated Jesus' birthday in the spring time and some celebrated it on January 6 (Epiphany).
Early in the fourth century, the Roman church decreed that December 25 would henceforth be recognized as the birthday of Christ. The Eastern churches refused to accept Christmas until 375 C.E., and the churches in Jerusalem rejected the December 25 date until the seventh century.
There are still some Eastern Rite churches that continue to celebrate the Epiphany date.
The Pilgrims outlawed Christmas. They also refused to use the 1611 King James Bible!
The Winter Solistice was the season of a major celebration of fertility in ancient Rome called "Saturnalia," starting on December 17th. This honoured the "good old days" when the god Saturn ruled a supposed "Golden Age", and there were no masters and no slaves, and everything was easy. Thus, it became a reversal-holiday, when the masters served the slaves, and a slave was chosen to temporarily rule the household. The Romans were civilized enough to not kill him afterwards, as seems to be the custom with such holidays in more primitive cultures.
They also exchanged presents, were allowed to gamble in public, and in general had a good time. It was the greatest holiday of the year.
It should come as no surprise then that the Christian Church co-opted this seasonal holiday, celebrated by the city that ruled the world -and- celebrated by Christianity's major competitor (Mithraism). It was simply a very astute political move.
St. John Chrysostom, Bishop of Constantinople at the end of the fourth century wrote: "On this day also the Birthday of Christ was lately fixed at Rome in order that while the heathen were busy with their profane ceremonies, the Christians might perform their sacred rites undisturbed. They call this (December 25th), the Birthday of the Invincible One (Mithras); but who is so invincible as the Lord? They call it the Birthday of the Solar Disk, but Christ is the Sun of Righteousness."
This custom of the "Feast of Fools" was continued in medieval Western Europe, with a "Lord of Misrule," mummers doing traditional plays, feasting with a boar's head, games, dancing and other such merriment. This could last for more than just Christmas Day, going on until at least Epiphany (January 6th) in many cases ..... these are our "Twelve Days of Christmas."
Christmas even started out controversially in North America. Reverend Rel Davis writes:
The festival of Christmas has always been a controversial one in Christianity. The Puritans banned Christmas altogether and during the Cromwellian period in England, anyone celebrating Christmas was jailed for heresy. Probably the most hated of all Puritan laws was the one abolishing Christmas and probably led to popular acceptance of royalty (nb: the Restoration) -- at least the King allowed the masses to celebrate Yule!
In America, Christmas was generally outlawed until the end of the last century. In Boston, up to 1870, anyone missing work on Christmas Day would be fired. Factory owners customarily required employees to come to work at 5 a.m. on Christmas -- to insure they wouldn't have time to go to church that day. And any student who failed to go to school on December 25 would be expelled. Only the arrival of large numbers of Irish and northern European immigrants brought acceptance of Christmas in this country.
Christmas did not even begin to be a legal holiday anywhere in the United States until very late in the nineteenth century CE, with Alabama being the first state to make it so.
Now let's look at some Christmas customs:
The name "Yule" is not derived from Chaldaean, as some would have you believe, but rather from the Old Norse "Jol" or "Jul" thru Anglo-Saxon "Geol" to Middle English "Yule." It means "Winter Solistice," or "Christmas." It is found in the Germanic languages, but not in the Romance languages like French, Spanish and Italian, who have names for Christmas that mean closer to "The Birthday" than anything else. There is, of course, no connection linguistically between Chaldaean and the Germanic languages .... or with the Romance languages either, for that matter.
I have also heard some folks thundering against the use of the abbreviation "Xmas" as being "against Jesus." Frankly, nothing could be more absurd. This usage derives from a common medieval abbreviation for "Christ" using a Cross rather than the name. This was most common in signatures, and thus you would see a signature of "Xtoph" rather than "Kristoph." It is simply an abbreviation, and nothing more.
The name "Christmas" derives, of course, from Middle English "Cristes mæsse" or "Christ's Mass," that is, the Roman church's standard ritual celebration. This alone, being Roman Catholic, seems to render it suspect in the minds of many hard-core Protestants .... though they seem to forget that at the time Middle English was spoken, the Roman Catholic Church was pretty much the only game in town.
The night before, Christmas Eve, was called "Modranect" or "Modranecht" by the Germanic pagan peoples (this seems to be Old English / Anglo-Saxon, and apparently means "Mother's Night"). This is obviously in honor of the Mother Goddess who bore the solar Child of Promise.
The Magi, or the Three Wise Men: The "Magi" were, in antiquity, priests of Zoroastrianism ..... and reputed to be expert Magi-cians (see the derivation of the word there?) and astrologers. Mithraism is associated with Zoroastrianism much like Christianity stems from Judaism. The "Three Kings" bits are a later interpolation, and there may very well be a "Triple God" aspect slipping in here from folk-memory, too.
The Star of Bethlehem? Well, this page might give us some leads. It may have been a planetary conjunction noticed by the magician-astrologers. That theory at least explains why there are no other accounts of a miraculous star in historical records of the time.
I have heard several remarks over the years about how much the Wiccans must like Christmas, because they can buy so many nicely made pentagrams then. Not to worry, though, because as shown in the medieval poem "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" and in Mallory's "Morte d'Arthur" the pentagram is very much a Christian symbol too.
The Yule Log is pretty obvious. Sympathetic magic, with its rule of "As in Heaven, so on Earth" (a re-stating of the more usual wording of 'As above, so below") means that to have a blazing fire on earth would encourage the sun to grow stronger. Therefore, the Winter Solistice is a "fire festival," with bonfires and Yule logs being lit to "help" the sun grow stronger between then and Midsummer. It also served a more practical purpose of warming up the home during a cold night in which many people stayed awake for much longer than they usually did.
Mistletoe is an old Celtic symbol of regeneration and eternal life. The Romans valued it as a symbol of peace and this eventually led to its usage as one of the common symbols of Christmas. Kissing under mistletoe was a Roman custom, due to its' being regarded as a symbol of fertility.
We also find the mistletoe figuring in the Norse story of Balder, and in medieval legend as the wood from which the Cross was made .... which legend was probably derived from the Balder story, as it was a twig of mistletoe that killed him.
It was considered a protection against evil, the devil, and witchcraft ..... and, when laid on the altar of a church (as done as late as the 18th Century CE at York cathedral in England) signified a sort of general amnesty.
Many primitive societies, such as the Ainu of Japan and the Wallas of West Africa also regarded the mistletoe with veneration.
During the "Druid craze" (an interest in alleged "Druidic customs," mostly entirely spurious) of the 18th and early 19th Century CE the Church began to distrust mistletoe as a "pagan" plant and banned it from the churches. This is curious in view of the old legends that the plant was the wood used for the Cross, the "sanctae crucius lignum," called the "l'herbe de la croix" in France. Supposedly it was once a strong tree, but it's use for the Cross degraded it.
It became fashionable in England to have your very own mini-Stonehenge in your garden, and one fellow with more money than sense even hired a white-bearded man to play the part of a Druid priest and come out of a fake cave occasionally and gibber at the wealthy man's guests.
All of this spurious Druidism is connected with the "British Israelite" sort of thing so popular then, when British antiquaries were trying to connect the Druids of the British Isles with Biblical nations and races, Freemasonry, the "religion of Noah," "Helio-Arkites," and many other fanciful blind-alleys. Some of the more luminous (?) names of this movement were William Stukeley, Edward Williams (who called himself "Iolo Morganwg" and can be viewed as one of the classic British cranks, forging documents right and left to back up his theories), John Williams ab Ithel, Owen Morgan (who called himself "Morgan O. Morgan"), the epic-forger James MacPherson (he wrote the "Ossian" stuff), Edward Davies, Godfrey Higgins and James Bostwick, and others.
With the later serious archaeological digs, all this was shown to be the fabrication that it really was. The Christmas Tree ..... well, this one may shock you. We get our "tannenbaum," or fir tree, from the Germanic peoples, who had the quaint custom of sacrificing nine kinds of every living thing to One-Eyed Woden (OÞin) by hanging them on a tree. (One of OÞin's symbols was a noose, and his horse Sleipnir has eight legs symbolizing four pallbearers! He was a Death God in addition to being a God of Poets and the All-Father)
Interestingly enough, in the much beloved Christmas time story of "The Nutcracker" (Tchaikowski's Nutcracker Suite) the person who brings in the miniature castle with the toys, the nutcracker and so forth is a man named Drosselmeier who has ... one eye.
We should be glad of the civilizing effects of Christianity here in the substitution of ornaments and lights for sacrifices!
The old pagan use of the tree was revived by Martin Luther, without the Old Norse style decorations, and brought to America by the Hessian mercenaries in the service of George III of England during the American Revolution. It appeared in Great Britain in the 1840's when Prince Albert, the German-born consort of Queen Victoria, set one up in the Palace.
At the time, the medieval form of the holiday was dying out in England, and the introduction of the tree by the Crown seems to have sparked a revival of interest in Christmas, but now the customs changed radically, becoming more Germanic.
Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" was also a major influence, as was Clarke Moore's poem, "The Night Before Christmas" (see below).
Thus, most of the traditions and customs of the English-speaking world that center around the Christmas tree tend to date from Victorian times, due to the influence of Victorian English customs and mores.
It is interesting to read Isaiah 55:13 --
"Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off"
and to see it referenced to Luke 2:12 --
"And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."
The fir tree (our pine) is taken as a sign of the Child of Promise, and the Promise He gave us.
The New Chain-Reference Bible, KJV, B.B. Kirkbride Bible Co. Indianapolis 1964
Christmas cards are fairly recent. The practice of sending Christmas greeting cards to friends was initiated by Sir Henry Cole of England in 1843, with the first card being designed by J.C.Horsley. It was commercially oriented from the first - 1000 copies were sold in London.
And now we get to Santa Claus. Poor Santa! He is getting all kinds of flack from the more rabid Grinch types out there, because he may have had his origins in a combination of pagan gods and Christian history.
From the Germanic traditions we merge OÞin and Thor:
Every Yule, the good god Thor would visit every home with an altar to him (i.e., every home with a fireplace!) and bring gifts to children, who would put out their sabots (wooden shoes) the night before. Good children would receive gifts of fruit, candy and pieces of coal to burn in the fireplace.
-Rev. Rel Davis
In Northern Germany, Santa Claus is said to ride a white horse, much like OÞin did, though Santa's horse has the usual number of legs.
From the Christian traditions we get St. Nicholas, one of the saints on whom we have no hard evidence whether he really lived or not.
Nicholas was supposedly born in the city of Parara, to wealthy parents who died when he was a child. On reaching adulthood, he became a priest and gave all his possessions to the poor, especially to orphans. He made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. On a pilgrimage to the Holy Land he calmed a storm at sea with his prayers, making him the patron saint of sailors. When he returned he was elected Bishop of Myra. He gave money anonymously for spinsters' dowries. During the Diocletian persecutions he was imprisoned but freed under the Emperor Constantine. His Feast Day is December 5th.
He was also said to bring back the dead from a magic cauldron (an ancient Celtic concept), that he miraculously multiplied a shipment of grain so it could feed his entire diocese for two years, with enough left over for a new crop of grain and that when he died, his bones exuded a huge quantity of holy oil capable of curing any known disease.
His acts of charity, especially towards children, and the gift-bringing of Thor, show us the folk origins of the Santa Claus theme.
Remember also that not all countries that have a "gift-bringer" figure on Christmas call it "Santa Claus." Norway calls him "Julenisse," England calls him "Father Christmas," (and derives him from a background figure in the old Mummer's Plays, only comparatively recently adding the attributes of the American Santa Claus), in Italy and Russia Santa becomes female and is called "Befana" (who rides a broomstick!) and "Kolyada" respectively. In Germany, the "Kristkindl" or "Christ Child" brings the presents. The Dutch call him "Sinter Klaus," or "Klaus of the Cinders" i.e. the man who comes down the chimney. The Three Kings do the gift-giving, on January 6 in Spain, and Knight Rupprecht (another OÞin survival) plays a secondary part in northern Germany.
However, Santa played a very minor part in the American holiday until 1823, when Clarke Moore's poem, "The Night Before Christmas" was published. This single poem, combined with the visual picture popularized by the political cartoonist (of the time) Thomas Nast, pretty much set the tone for what we conceive as "Santa Claus."
His eight reindeer? Well, let's look at the names given them in the aforesaid poem:
Dasher
Dancer
Prancer
Vixen
Comet
Cupid
Donner
Blitzen
"Donner" and "Blitzen?" Those are the German words for "thunder" and "lightening," and the word for "thunder," "donner," is derived from the old Germanic godname "Donar," who we know as "Thor," and the name of Thor's palace in Asgard was "Bilskirnir" which means "lightening!"
Eight reindeer? One for each leg of Odin's horse?
And, of course, with the addition of Rudolph of the famous red nose (unknown until the Gene Autry song came out) we get the Germanic mystical number of nine ...... nine kinds of things ..... in this case, reindeer.
Remember, of course, that these names were arbitrarily given by the author of the poem (and the song) and are not found in any folk traditions that I could unearth. The "nine kinds of things" is coincidence .... unless the authors of the poem and song were members of the Universal Conspiracy Against Everything, which I highly doubt.
There are many other Christmas customs and legends that I can't go into, both for lack of space and because they don't figure into the primary themes of the holiday in the English-speaking world, such as the animals talking on Christmas Eve, and the delightful modern song about the "Little Drummer Boy."
With all this pagan background, you'd think that the celebration would be something other than what it is, wouldn't you? Actually, what we have here is a very good example of taking old legends and mythos and reworking them to fit a new one, and adding the central message of Christmas ..... the birth of the Child of Promise to the world.
You see, symbols mean what your culture has taught you they mean. If when you look at the Cross you think of Jesus of Nazareth and see a symbol of redemption you are interpeting it as a Christian symbol. If you see it as a gallows; as a means of executing criminals against the State, then you are seeing it as an ancient Roman would. There are many other pagan associations with the cross, including the Norse sun-cross and it's usage as a generalized solar symbol. Should we then interpet the Cross as a pagan symbol? Of course not!
Equally, no one sees the symbols of Christmas detailed above as anything other than either symbols of a commercialized, secular holiday or the birth of the Child. The past pagan associations these symbols had are pretty much dead, and the notion of an Eternal Conspiracy to demonize these symbols is prima facie silly. These are symbols and traditions, deeply engraved in the folk conciousness, that have simply taken on a much deeper meaning.
And invariably these attacks on the Christmas holiday get around to an attack on the Roman Catholic Church, since the holiday was established by the Pope .... forgetting that the Roman Church was pretty much the "only game in town" back in 300 CE.
And the constant association I see with a "Babylonian Mystery Religion" that connects Nimrod, Ashtoreth and Tammuz with each other as an "Anti-Holy Family" in ancient Babylon is simply NOT grounded in archaeological fact. I have NEVER seen hard evidence on this issue.
(It is fascinating, in the light of the old saw about how "the gods of the old religion become the devils of the new" to see the gods of the old religion becoming the folk myths of the new.)
The danger is not in the originally pagan symbols, nor in it's establishment by the Bishop of Rome, but in the commercialization and secularization of the holy day; we are losing the real meaning of the holiday to an orgy of spending and politically correct saccharine cuteness. The meaning of Christmas is not found in how many presents we can give or get, nor in how much money we can spend on it, nor in how prettily we can decorate our home, but in the Message of the Child.
Christmas (call it Yule if you want to!) is a holiday and holy day that can be kept by Christian and pagan alike, and one that brings joy to the world indeed.
And if the devil has been trying to "pervert it's symbols thru the ages, giving them pagan meanings," then to view them as such is to fall into Old Scratch's trap, isn't it?
Little Children: Love One Another!
And for all you Grinches out there that think we should outlaw Christmas ..... well, go read this, and this, and think on what is written in I Corinthians 13.... you may have a lot of Faith, and a lot of Hope, but darn little Charity.
Bibliography
The Bible; KJV 1611 (facsimile edition)
Bethancourt, W.J. III: The Medieval Book of Days; (unpublished ms.)
Cavendish, Richard, "Man, Myth and Magic"; (Vols. 4 and 14 et. al.) (New York: Marshall Cavendish Corp. 1970)
Davis, Rel (Rev.): "St. Nick, Old Nick and the Good God Thor"; (Talk made on December 18, 1993)
Durant, Will: Caesar and Christ; Simon and Shuster 1944
Lane, C. Arthur: Illustrated Notes on English Church History; Soc. For Promoting Christian Knowledge 1904
Lehane, Brendan & Time-Life Books: The Enchanted World: The Book of Christmas; (Time-Life Books, Alexandria VA, 1986)
Lyttleton, Margaret and Forman, Werner:The Romans: Their Gods and Their Beliefs; (Orbis Publishing Ltd., London, 1984)
Wedeck, H.E. and Baskin, Wade, "A Dictionary Of Pagan Religions"; (New York: Philosophical Library, 1971)
The Roman Calendar
Thursday, June 28, 2007
By Any Other Name
I have been explaining to people how "Christianity has changed the "laws" and "times" of our creator to suit its' own needs. People typically look at me with amazement and ask me "Are you Jewish or something?" No I am not Jewish, that should be obvious by the title of the blog. I am an avid reader of the scriptures though. In the past I did read the scriptures, now I am studying them.
My approach is to ask people if they remember when Coke decided it was going to put out "New Coke" and replace the old formula. Most people my age remember, even Pepsi fans do. It was a big mistake( or was it just a marketing ploy, anyway I digress), most people hated it, the taste was not as good as the "Classic Coke" flavor, it didn't work with rum etc. etc.
Now, imagine for a moment that the Coca Cola Company took a different approach. Lets say just for now that there are 50 unique ingredients Let's say the company decides to change the flavor again, but remembering what happened last time they decide to change the flavor without anyone knowing. It could be done. Let's say that their approach this time is to change one ingredient at a time, one ingredient a year. Chances are that not one person would notice the change and the years time would allow people to be "conditioned" to the new flavor without a complaint, after 50 years you have a new product and nobody can tell the difference. In other words, the can says "Coca Cola Classic", but what you are drinking, well, it ain't Coke Classic anymore.
This is what has been done to the Scriptures, fortunately for those who did this they had thousands of years to change the ingredients. One of the things I have known for over twenty years is that the Sabbath is on Saturday. People can argue with me for as long as they like about this topic. There is nothing in the New Covenant that states the Old Covenant has been abrogated, in fact in Matthew( 5) Yahushua ( Jesus is not his name) stated he was not here to undo Moses law or the Old Covenant, he was here to fullfill it. I have read many arguments about how the old law was "nailed to the cross". Where does it state this? These are the same people that call Yahushua, Jesus. I would like to see their argument for renaming our Savior/Messiah, or our heavenly Father. His name is not Lord, or Lord Almighty, those are not even names, they are titles, His name is not God or God Almighty, His name is Yahweh( YHWH). God is a title, that is what he is. Lord presents problems, it means master, that would be more in tune with what muslims revere, allah( the black rock of the kaaba), Yahweh wants a personal relationship with us, he doesn't want to be our Master, he is our creator. Jehovah is not Gods name, Jehovahs Winesses have a serious problem, the "J"was not part of the alphabet until after 1000 CE, it was introduced by the Anglo-saxons. To make matters worse, some Bibles( mine included at this time, I will get a new one) say that Jesus means God saves, NOT. Yahushua means Yahweh saves, Jesus doesn't mean anything as far as I can tell. The fact that names have been changed for whatever reason is problematic and it misleads people into believing something that is not true.
Another tidbit has to do with Yahwehs called out assemblies( Festival Sabbaths), there are seven of these mentioned in the Old Covenant. I can find nowhere in the Scriptures where Christmas or Easter are called out as Yahwehs assemblies, in fact what I have run into is quite disturbing, for me anyway. Christmas and Easter are tied together, but not how we have been taught. They appear to have been festivals long before Yahushua came to save us , and they appear to have nothing to do with Yahushua. They appear to be remnants of older religions from Babylon, fertility festivals. The easter festival is actually tied to the sun impregnating the earth and then 9 months later, you guessed it, the son of the SUN is born, not Yahushua. So in my estimation both Christmas and Easter are, well, not what they seem and they are not good. Why? We are instructed in the Scriptures not to celebrate false festivals. Now I understand that bad behavior can be forgiven, even if it is unhealthy, but if something is wrong why would it be taught as something good and right. You see, I don't begrudge people wanting to celebrate winter solstice, but don't try to push it off as the birth of the Messiah, that is what the Catholic Church and the Protestant Church have done, to our detriment. If you want to celebrate Yahweh/Yahushua why not celebrate them on the dates we are instructed by Yahweh.
I would like to know why anyone would argue the fact that the Sabbath(weekly) is on Saturday. There is no instruction to change the Sabbath to Sunday. There was "compulsion" to celebrate Sunday by Constantine, it was either you did what he said or you were killed. The only reason I can think of for Christians to hold onto this false belief is that it must be "profitable" in some fashion. The arguments that I have read are at best dubious, and they( the Sunday worshippers) always claim they won the argument when at best it was left incomplete, quite disengenuous. I just hope people will make a better effort to find the truth, it is out there, it is not in church, it is not in some religious practice, it is in the Scriptures. Read them, over and over if you have to, you will eventually get it.
Remember, what your consuming isn't always whats on the label, caveat emptor!
My approach is to ask people if they remember when Coke decided it was going to put out "New Coke" and replace the old formula. Most people my age remember, even Pepsi fans do. It was a big mistake( or was it just a marketing ploy, anyway I digress), most people hated it, the taste was not as good as the "Classic Coke" flavor, it didn't work with rum etc. etc.
Now, imagine for a moment that the Coca Cola Company took a different approach. Lets say just for now that there are 50 unique ingredients Let's say the company decides to change the flavor again, but remembering what happened last time they decide to change the flavor without anyone knowing. It could be done. Let's say that their approach this time is to change one ingredient at a time, one ingredient a year. Chances are that not one person would notice the change and the years time would allow people to be "conditioned" to the new flavor without a complaint, after 50 years you have a new product and nobody can tell the difference. In other words, the can says "Coca Cola Classic", but what you are drinking, well, it ain't Coke Classic anymore.
This is what has been done to the Scriptures, fortunately for those who did this they had thousands of years to change the ingredients. One of the things I have known for over twenty years is that the Sabbath is on Saturday. People can argue with me for as long as they like about this topic. There is nothing in the New Covenant that states the Old Covenant has been abrogated, in fact in Matthew( 5) Yahushua ( Jesus is not his name) stated he was not here to undo Moses law or the Old Covenant, he was here to fullfill it. I have read many arguments about how the old law was "nailed to the cross". Where does it state this? These are the same people that call Yahushua, Jesus. I would like to see their argument for renaming our Savior/Messiah, or our heavenly Father. His name is not Lord, or Lord Almighty, those are not even names, they are titles, His name is not God or God Almighty, His name is Yahweh( YHWH). God is a title, that is what he is. Lord presents problems, it means master, that would be more in tune with what muslims revere, allah( the black rock of the kaaba), Yahweh wants a personal relationship with us, he doesn't want to be our Master, he is our creator. Jehovah is not Gods name, Jehovahs Winesses have a serious problem, the "J"was not part of the alphabet until after 1000 CE, it was introduced by the Anglo-saxons. To make matters worse, some Bibles( mine included at this time, I will get a new one) say that Jesus means God saves, NOT. Yahushua means Yahweh saves, Jesus doesn't mean anything as far as I can tell. The fact that names have been changed for whatever reason is problematic and it misleads people into believing something that is not true.
Another tidbit has to do with Yahwehs called out assemblies( Festival Sabbaths), there are seven of these mentioned in the Old Covenant. I can find nowhere in the Scriptures where Christmas or Easter are called out as Yahwehs assemblies, in fact what I have run into is quite disturbing, for me anyway. Christmas and Easter are tied together, but not how we have been taught. They appear to have been festivals long before Yahushua came to save us , and they appear to have nothing to do with Yahushua. They appear to be remnants of older religions from Babylon, fertility festivals. The easter festival is actually tied to the sun impregnating the earth and then 9 months later, you guessed it, the son of the SUN is born, not Yahushua. So in my estimation both Christmas and Easter are, well, not what they seem and they are not good. Why? We are instructed in the Scriptures not to celebrate false festivals. Now I understand that bad behavior can be forgiven, even if it is unhealthy, but if something is wrong why would it be taught as something good and right. You see, I don't begrudge people wanting to celebrate winter solstice, but don't try to push it off as the birth of the Messiah, that is what the Catholic Church and the Protestant Church have done, to our detriment. If you want to celebrate Yahweh/Yahushua why not celebrate them on the dates we are instructed by Yahweh.
I would like to know why anyone would argue the fact that the Sabbath(weekly) is on Saturday. There is no instruction to change the Sabbath to Sunday. There was "compulsion" to celebrate Sunday by Constantine, it was either you did what he said or you were killed. The only reason I can think of for Christians to hold onto this false belief is that it must be "profitable" in some fashion. The arguments that I have read are at best dubious, and they( the Sunday worshippers) always claim they won the argument when at best it was left incomplete, quite disengenuous. I just hope people will make a better effort to find the truth, it is out there, it is not in church, it is not in some religious practice, it is in the Scriptures. Read them, over and over if you have to, you will eventually get it.
Remember, what your consuming isn't always whats on the label, caveat emptor!
Evil Hates Light
This is an article from the Associated Press, it concerns the "flying imams" who were removed from a plane for suspicious behavior. These jackasses are now attempting to intimidate the US and its' people into silence when we see things that are not right. Now their attorney would like to keep the proceedings from the public, fortunately for all citizens in this country we still have some judges who know right from wrong, unlike judges in Germany who use the quran for sentencing muslims, apparently judges in Germany don't have a clue what country they are in, anyway I digress, here is the article.
A federal judge overseeing a lawsuit filed by six Muslim men who were removed from a US Airways flight last fall has declined to limit public access to the case.
Omar T. Mohammedi, a New York attorney for the six Muslim scholars, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he sought limited media access because he felt some of the coverage of the case has been biased against his clients.
"When you think of the media, and the way they have been portraying this case, it has not been very helpful. It has been biased," Mohammedi said. "That has caused a lot of stress, a lot of stress on our clients, as well as made it difficult for us to handle this case ... in a manner that it should be handled."
[...]
In a letter dated Tuesday and addressed to Mohammedi, U.S. District Judge Ann Montgomery noted that Mohammedi had requested that the court remove members of the media from an electronic distribution list, bar members of the media from attending hearings, and hold proceedings in closed session.
"The Court declines to treat this case in the extraordinary manner that you request," the judge wrote. She added that the public and press have an interest in full access to judicial proceedings under the First Amendment.
"You have provided no legal authority supporting your request to limit public access to this case," Montgomery wrote. "While it is regrettable that anonymous individuals have threatened violence, the Court Security Officers will insure that the United States Courthouse here in Minneapolis is secure."
The way the media handled this is not very helpful? Omar, your clients were behaving suspicious, they were not just standing there minding their own business, they were attempting to incite fear for the express purpose of this lawsuit. The fact that CAIR is involved reeks of colusion, an attempt to relieve citizens of more rights in order to further islam and sharia in this country. I am quite sure this would work in Europe, lets hope these imams are sent packing with their frivolous lawsuit.
A federal judge overseeing a lawsuit filed by six Muslim men who were removed from a US Airways flight last fall has declined to limit public access to the case.
Omar T. Mohammedi, a New York attorney for the six Muslim scholars, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he sought limited media access because he felt some of the coverage of the case has been biased against his clients.
"When you think of the media, and the way they have been portraying this case, it has not been very helpful. It has been biased," Mohammedi said. "That has caused a lot of stress, a lot of stress on our clients, as well as made it difficult for us to handle this case ... in a manner that it should be handled."
[...]
In a letter dated Tuesday and addressed to Mohammedi, U.S. District Judge Ann Montgomery noted that Mohammedi had requested that the court remove members of the media from an electronic distribution list, bar members of the media from attending hearings, and hold proceedings in closed session.
"The Court declines to treat this case in the extraordinary manner that you request," the judge wrote. She added that the public and press have an interest in full access to judicial proceedings under the First Amendment.
"You have provided no legal authority supporting your request to limit public access to this case," Montgomery wrote. "While it is regrettable that anonymous individuals have threatened violence, the Court Security Officers will insure that the United States Courthouse here in Minneapolis is secure."
The way the media handled this is not very helpful? Omar, your clients were behaving suspicious, they were not just standing there minding their own business, they were attempting to incite fear for the express purpose of this lawsuit. The fact that CAIR is involved reeks of colusion, an attempt to relieve citizens of more rights in order to further islam and sharia in this country. I am quite sure this would work in Europe, lets hope these imams are sent packing with their frivolous lawsuit.
Monday, June 25, 2007
CAIR and its' PRIORITIES
Seaside principal: no public apologyBy Bay City News Service A Monterey school principal today cited employee rights as the reason why a public apology would not follow a lunchroom incident Tuesday when a supervisor demanded that a Muslim student remove her Islamic head scarf. Seaside High School Principal Sydney Renwick agreed to a face-to-face apology for the 13-year-old student who said she was humiliated when a lunchroom supervisor demanded she remove her hijab in front of 100 students at her school .
The Gentile says an apology is necessary and should suffice, but not all agree...
But Renwick said a request by the Bay Area chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations to have the lunchroom supervisor publicly apologize would be a violation of the employee's rights. He cited the creation of a hostile work environment as one of those violations."The school understands that this is an emotional issue and that religious practice is central to this community's beliefs and value system," Renwick said. "But on the same token, we cannot violate this person's rights while we attempt to rectify the situation." CAIR is requesting a public apology because the student was humiliated in public, according to CAIR spokeswoman Abiya Ahmed. "A public apology is important not just for this girl, it would offer closure to the family," Ahmed said.She said her group has offered to provide diversity training at the school to prevent what she called "ignorance" and "misunderstanding" within the community.But Seaside already has a comprehensive diversity training program set in place, Renwick said. In recognition of the community's diverse population, the training was implemented before the school year, he said. Renwick called Tuesday's event an isolated incident and said that it was not the intent of the employee to single out one person because of her faith. The employee was enforcing school rules that prohibit headwear indoors, according to Renwick. The rule exists for student safety and mostly applies to inappropriate clothing such as gang-related attire. "This was in no way an attempt to harm a student," Renwick said. "This was an extremely isolated incident. There's a zero tolerance policy (against prejudice and discrimination) at this school. Zero tolerance is understood, accepted and reinforced. When incidences do occur, they are investigated thoroughly."Renwick said the investigation into Tuesday's incident has been completed and that he is in the process of determining disciplinary action.
The Gentile says; Dear Abiya Ahmed, diversity training? Islam does not care for "diversity", you should know that. You either tow the line or your outted( killed). I guess what you mean by diversity training is "indoctrination", that is defined a little differently then "diversity training".
It is not amazing that CAIR would have a cow over an apology. This is the same group that calls hamas a resistance movement. This is the same group that is an unindicted co-conspirator in a case currently on trial for funding terrorists. Look, CAIR has openly stated that islam is not in this country to be equal to other beliefs and religions, CAIR believes the US should be under sharia law, CAIR is a representative of intolerance, hatred, anger, vengeance, commonly known as islam. I certainly hope Mr Renwick doesn't cave to the threats by CAIR.
The Gentile says an apology is necessary and should suffice, but not all agree...
But Renwick said a request by the Bay Area chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations to have the lunchroom supervisor publicly apologize would be a violation of the employee's rights. He cited the creation of a hostile work environment as one of those violations."The school understands that this is an emotional issue and that religious practice is central to this community's beliefs and value system," Renwick said. "But on the same token, we cannot violate this person's rights while we attempt to rectify the situation." CAIR is requesting a public apology because the student was humiliated in public, according to CAIR spokeswoman Abiya Ahmed. "A public apology is important not just for this girl, it would offer closure to the family," Ahmed said.She said her group has offered to provide diversity training at the school to prevent what she called "ignorance" and "misunderstanding" within the community.But Seaside already has a comprehensive diversity training program set in place, Renwick said. In recognition of the community's diverse population, the training was implemented before the school year, he said. Renwick called Tuesday's event an isolated incident and said that it was not the intent of the employee to single out one person because of her faith. The employee was enforcing school rules that prohibit headwear indoors, according to Renwick. The rule exists for student safety and mostly applies to inappropriate clothing such as gang-related attire. "This was in no way an attempt to harm a student," Renwick said. "This was an extremely isolated incident. There's a zero tolerance policy (against prejudice and discrimination) at this school. Zero tolerance is understood, accepted and reinforced. When incidences do occur, they are investigated thoroughly."Renwick said the investigation into Tuesday's incident has been completed and that he is in the process of determining disciplinary action.
The Gentile says; Dear Abiya Ahmed, diversity training? Islam does not care for "diversity", you should know that. You either tow the line or your outted( killed). I guess what you mean by diversity training is "indoctrination", that is defined a little differently then "diversity training".
It is not amazing that CAIR would have a cow over an apology. This is the same group that calls hamas a resistance movement. This is the same group that is an unindicted co-conspirator in a case currently on trial for funding terrorists. Look, CAIR has openly stated that islam is not in this country to be equal to other beliefs and religions, CAIR believes the US should be under sharia law, CAIR is a representative of intolerance, hatred, anger, vengeance, commonly known as islam. I certainly hope Mr Renwick doesn't cave to the threats by CAIR.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
NPR RADIO PROMOTES HATEMONGERS
I listen to these people every day, not really by choice, they took over my favorite station and my work place has a ton of RF interference( I can only pick up one station, NPR). Yesterday June 20th these people gave CAIR air time. Hard to believe, but true. CAIR is an unindicted co conspirator in some Hamas and terrorist fund raising. They also play up their own importance as a muslim American relations organization ( hence the name Council for American Islamic Relations) in fact, they are a lobbying group for Saudi Arabian Wahhabi Sect Islam, the ones that want all infidels dead , converted or paying the non muslim tax( jizyah)
Now I admit it was a short amount of time they gave them in a news article, but to give this hate mongering group any time is a joke. The story seemed harmless, it was that the central valley had a reduction in hate crimes against muslims. Right. I wonder if the hate crimes their brethren overseas and here are committing in the name of their "black rock" registers with them? Rhetorical question, of course they don't care about the hate crimes their people commit against Christians, Jewish, Hindu , Buddhists etc. If muslims attack anyone it must be because they are infidels, or they are infidels who have attacked muslim sensibilties( muslim sensibilities, hmmm, kind of reeks of military intelligence). Look, when you can justify MURDER as a religious act you prove you do NOT know God ( Yahweh), when you oppress people, when you maim people, when you openly discriminate based on nothing, when you terrorize people, then you are the enemy of GOOD and RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Sadly, just like the uneducated people at the Sacramento Bee who bestow legitimacy to these hate peddlers, NPR does not do its' homework either. Of course I could be wrong, maybe they know exactly what they are doing, maybe this is part of their aganda. I have heard NPR espouse how good it was for African Americans to join Islam( May ,2007, news and notes), there is no way they have read what the quran says, if any African American had really read what that book says about them( along with the sunna,hadith etc, books required to make sense of a book that makes no sense) they would not join, unless they are hatemongers and hate themselves. Again with the "religion of peace, a noble religion " blah blah blah, are you kidding, I heard muslims call in from here in the US stating that they would never advocate violence, unless of course someone insults their religion or prophet. NPR actually plays this kind of stuff. If it is a "publicly funded station" I would recommend they use the publics money a little more wisely. Look,I have listened to gas bags like Limbaugh from the right, there is no difference between NPR and neo-con dimbulbs, just like there is no difference between politicians, clergy etc. They have an agenda and will say whatever they see as necessary to further it. The sad thing is Limbaugh funds himself, so he should be able to speak from his perspective. NPR is funded by the public and GOVERNMENT GRANTS, they should be showing things from ALL perspectives, not just those who send the most money. I will admit, NPR had on a gentleman recently who spoke the truth about islam, but he was very very careful choosing what he said, but the balance is skewed. NPR should be more thoughtful when giving people who support murder airtime, regardless of how innocent the story may be.
Now I admit it was a short amount of time they gave them in a news article, but to give this hate mongering group any time is a joke. The story seemed harmless, it was that the central valley had a reduction in hate crimes against muslims. Right. I wonder if the hate crimes their brethren overseas and here are committing in the name of their "black rock" registers with them? Rhetorical question, of course they don't care about the hate crimes their people commit against Christians, Jewish, Hindu , Buddhists etc. If muslims attack anyone it must be because they are infidels, or they are infidels who have attacked muslim sensibilties( muslim sensibilities, hmmm, kind of reeks of military intelligence). Look, when you can justify MURDER as a religious act you prove you do NOT know God ( Yahweh), when you oppress people, when you maim people, when you openly discriminate based on nothing, when you terrorize people, then you are the enemy of GOOD and RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Sadly, just like the uneducated people at the Sacramento Bee who bestow legitimacy to these hate peddlers, NPR does not do its' homework either. Of course I could be wrong, maybe they know exactly what they are doing, maybe this is part of their aganda. I have heard NPR espouse how good it was for African Americans to join Islam( May ,2007, news and notes), there is no way they have read what the quran says, if any African American had really read what that book says about them( along with the sunna,hadith etc, books required to make sense of a book that makes no sense) they would not join, unless they are hatemongers and hate themselves. Again with the "religion of peace, a noble religion " blah blah blah, are you kidding, I heard muslims call in from here in the US stating that they would never advocate violence, unless of course someone insults their religion or prophet. NPR actually plays this kind of stuff. If it is a "publicly funded station" I would recommend they use the publics money a little more wisely. Look,I have listened to gas bags like Limbaugh from the right, there is no difference between NPR and neo-con dimbulbs, just like there is no difference between politicians, clergy etc. They have an agenda and will say whatever they see as necessary to further it. The sad thing is Limbaugh funds himself, so he should be able to speak from his perspective. NPR is funded by the public and GOVERNMENT GRANTS, they should be showing things from ALL perspectives, not just those who send the most money. I will admit, NPR had on a gentleman recently who spoke the truth about islam, but he was very very careful choosing what he said, but the balance is skewed. NPR should be more thoughtful when giving people who support murder airtime, regardless of how innocent the story may be.
Just for the record , here are some very racist sayings from islams "holy books"
Ishaq:243
"I heard the Apostle say: ‘Whoever wants to see Satan should look at Nabtal!' He was a black man with long flowing hair, inflamed eyes, and dark ruddy cheeks.... Allah sent down concerning him: ‘To those who annoy the Prophet there is a painful doom." [9:61] "Gabriel came to Muhammad and said, ‘If a black man comes to you his heart is more gross than a donkey's.'"
Ishaq:144
"A rock was put on a slave's chest. When Abu Bakr complained, they said, ‘You are the one who corrupted him, so save him from his plight.' I will do so,' said Bakr. ‘I have a black slave, tougher and stronger than Bilal, who is a heathen. I will exchange him. The transaction was carried out."
Tabari II:11
"Shem, the son of Noah was the father of the Arabs, the Persians, and the Greeks; Ham was the father of the Black Africans; and Japheth was the father of the Turks and of Gog and Magog who were cousins of the Turks. Noah prayed that the prophets and apostles would be descended from Shem and kings would be from Japheth. He prayed that the African's color would change so that their descendants would be slaves to the Arabs and Turks."
Tabari II:21
"Ham [Africans] begat all those who are black and curly-haired, while Japheth [Turks] begat all those who are full-faced with small eyes, and Shem [Arabs] begat everyone who is handsome of face with beautiful hair. Noah prayed that the hair of Ham's descendants would not grow beyond their ears, and that whenever his descendants met Shem's, the latter would enslave them."
Bukhari: V9B89N256
"Allah's Apostle said, ‘You should listen to and obey your ruler even if he is a black African slave whose head looks like a raisin.'"
Ishaq:450
"It is your folly to fight the Apostle, for Allah's army is bound to disgrace you. We brought them to the pit. Hell was their meeting place. We collected them there, black slaves, men of no descent.
Ishaq:374
"The black troops and slaves of the Meccans cried out and the Muslims replied, ‘Allah destroy your sight, you impious rascals.'"
Bukhari:V4B52N137
"The Prophet said, ‘Let the negro slave of Dinar perish. And if he is pierced with a thorn, let him not find anyone to take it out for him.... If he [the black slave] asks for anything it shall not be granted, and if he needs intercession [to get into paradise], his intercession will be denied.'"
WAKE UP NPR RADIO, you are acting like a tool!
First Eurabia, Next Amerabia
This is story out of Paris France is hard to believe, even for France. Read this and keep your "powder dry" as one of the commenters wrote. The fact that the PC culture sees this and says nothing should give away their agenda. THE GENTILE
From "ONE NEWS NOW" this story....
After a long struggle against Islamic intimidation, an evangelical church in the outskirts of Paris has been forced to vacate the 1,000-square-foot facility where it had been meeting.
The Temple de Paris Church has been located in the Paris suburb of Bagnolet. Christine Thabot, the wife of the pastor, says Muslims have been trying to get rid of them since 2005, but local authorities had permitted the church to remain in the facility, paying 8,000 euros a month (~ $9,400 U.S.) in rent.
According to Thabot, the Muslims changed their strategy. "They attacked our owner this time," she explains. "They took up the case and [told him he was] not allowed to have this church open -- and on Friday we [were told] that we had to get out of our premises."
Thabot says Temple de Paris Church has been unable to secure another worship center. "For an evangelical or Protestant church, it is almost next to impossible to buy or to rent any premises," she says. "As soon as they find out you are a church, there is nothing open to us."
Thabot says many churches in the area have been closed and have had similar difficulties in securing new facilities. But she claims Muslims can secure property for building a mosque simply by paying one euro to the authorities.
My guess is CAIR is loving this and trying to formulate a template to repeat this in the US, remember they have openly stated they are not here to be equals or to assimilate, they are here to take over. THE GENTILE
From "ONE NEWS NOW" this story....
After a long struggle against Islamic intimidation, an evangelical church in the outskirts of Paris has been forced to vacate the 1,000-square-foot facility where it had been meeting.
The Temple de Paris Church has been located in the Paris suburb of Bagnolet. Christine Thabot, the wife of the pastor, says Muslims have been trying to get rid of them since 2005, but local authorities had permitted the church to remain in the facility, paying 8,000 euros a month (~ $9,400 U.S.) in rent.
According to Thabot, the Muslims changed their strategy. "They attacked our owner this time," she explains. "They took up the case and [told him he was] not allowed to have this church open -- and on Friday we [were told] that we had to get out of our premises."
Thabot says Temple de Paris Church has been unable to secure another worship center. "For an evangelical or Protestant church, it is almost next to impossible to buy or to rent any premises," she says. "As soon as they find out you are a church, there is nothing open to us."
Thabot says many churches in the area have been closed and have had similar difficulties in securing new facilities. But she claims Muslims can secure property for building a mosque simply by paying one euro to the authorities.
My guess is CAIR is loving this and trying to formulate a template to repeat this in the US, remember they have openly stated they are not here to be equals or to assimilate, they are here to take over. THE GENTILE
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING!
A couple of goodys for the "you have got to be kidding" segment of our lives.
1. Jimmuh Carter says we should negotiate with hamas. Dear Jimmuh, obviously you have lost your mind or are you an anti-semite, maybe CAIR is in your pocket, or maybe it is Saudi money( is there a difference? you know CAIR, Saudi). It is truly disappointing to see someone turn on Israel as you have. Maybe we should send hamas weapons, oh thats right, they are already bragging that they have the weapons we sent fatah earlier this year. Maybe money, oh yea they are already bragging about getting the money we send for aid. Jimmuh, here is some news for you, the real Palestinians died out a long time ago( check your history), the people claiming to be Palestinians are actually Arabs from all over the Arab world. Their leaders, as well as you yourself, claim the oppression comes from Israel and the U.S and the west in general. This just in, the leaders of the Arab( including all the lying imams) world live in luxury, are wont of nothing other than maintaining their wealth and wealthy lifestyle and power, enslaving and oppressing their own people, and when the people pipe up what do their leaders tell them "it's Israel that is doing this to you" "it's the U.S that is doing this to you" it's the infidels that are doing this to you". Hamas are terrorists, you don't "negotiate "with terrorists, you kill them. Hamas murders innocent civilians, CIVILIANS Jimmuh, non combatants, mothers , sisters children. They justify this by A) All infidels are combatants B) refer to A. Again Jimmuh, you have apparently been bought, too bad.
2. Ahmed Yousef, assistant to the hamas prime minister, also says hamas is a resistance movement in a WAPO editorial( whats up with the Washington Post?), he states that hamas has never attacked anyone outside the theater of occupation, he states all they want is what is what all western countries have, freedom , self determination etc. etc. Look Ahmed, your theology does not allow for "western ideals", of course you know that, you are just hoping that by getting some space in the Washingtonistan Post people will see you as legitimate in some fashion. Only people who have not educated themselves on your ilk would fall for you attempt at legitimacy. You and your fellow hamas cohorts are liars, murderers, terroists, evil etc. etc. plain and simple. I could fertilize 10,000 acres with what you and your fellow fidels spew forth. To anyone interested in reading this idiots tripe, it is in the WAPO, read it and puke. That this murderous pile of protoplasm was able to get an editorial in this country amounts to treason, shame on any paper carrying these lies, you legitimize evil.
1. Jimmuh Carter says we should negotiate with hamas. Dear Jimmuh, obviously you have lost your mind or are you an anti-semite, maybe CAIR is in your pocket, or maybe it is Saudi money( is there a difference? you know CAIR, Saudi). It is truly disappointing to see someone turn on Israel as you have. Maybe we should send hamas weapons, oh thats right, they are already bragging that they have the weapons we sent fatah earlier this year. Maybe money, oh yea they are already bragging about getting the money we send for aid. Jimmuh, here is some news for you, the real Palestinians died out a long time ago( check your history), the people claiming to be Palestinians are actually Arabs from all over the Arab world. Their leaders, as well as you yourself, claim the oppression comes from Israel and the U.S and the west in general. This just in, the leaders of the Arab( including all the lying imams) world live in luxury, are wont of nothing other than maintaining their wealth and wealthy lifestyle and power, enslaving and oppressing their own people, and when the people pipe up what do their leaders tell them "it's Israel that is doing this to you" "it's the U.S that is doing this to you" it's the infidels that are doing this to you". Hamas are terrorists, you don't "negotiate "with terrorists, you kill them. Hamas murders innocent civilians, CIVILIANS Jimmuh, non combatants, mothers , sisters children. They justify this by A) All infidels are combatants B) refer to A. Again Jimmuh, you have apparently been bought, too bad.
2. Ahmed Yousef, assistant to the hamas prime minister, also says hamas is a resistance movement in a WAPO editorial( whats up with the Washington Post?), he states that hamas has never attacked anyone outside the theater of occupation, he states all they want is what is what all western countries have, freedom , self determination etc. etc. Look Ahmed, your theology does not allow for "western ideals", of course you know that, you are just hoping that by getting some space in the Washingtonistan Post people will see you as legitimate in some fashion. Only people who have not educated themselves on your ilk would fall for you attempt at legitimacy. You and your fellow hamas cohorts are liars, murderers, terroists, evil etc. etc. plain and simple. I could fertilize 10,000 acres with what you and your fellow fidels spew forth. To anyone interested in reading this idiots tripe, it is in the WAPO, read it and puke. That this murderous pile of protoplasm was able to get an editorial in this country amounts to treason, shame on any paper carrying these lies, you legitimize evil.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Tolerance
Tolerance. The word that the politically correct wield at all in order to drive their agenda. "What agenda is that Gentilesven?" you ask. Control, power, wealth, with an emphasis on CONTROL. In order for you not to be judged intolerant you must tolerate everything. Do not dare to speak the truth, you intolerant neanderthal. You must tolerate murder in the name of religion, you must tolerate reverse discrimination, you must tolerate child molesters, you must tolerate rapists, you must tolerate people who hate you based on(fill in the blank), you must tolerate whatever the government decides to force upon you, and don't you dare speak out in your own behalf. That means if they want to take your money and spend it on illegal immigrants or on an illegal war or on their yacht or pay for sex with an under aged page then you just shut up, they know what's good for you better than you do.
You must tolerate the term intolerant racist if you speak out about the evils of islam, amazing, I didn't know islam was a race. You must tolerate being called a hater if you describe someone by color( unless they are white, of course), even if it is required. You must tolerate being called a "breeder" if you are not a homosexual, heaven forbid what would happen if you actually opened your mouth and had an opinion about what was said about you. You must tolerate having money taken away from you in order to give an illegal immigrant health care, education, food, shelter, a car, a home and some extra money to send back to their nation of origin( or if your muslim you send it to your imam in Pakistan so he can give the money to a terrorist group to kill you) I could go on and on about what the PC want you to tolerate.
Sadly, many people are pushed into silence for fear of being labeled intolerant. What happens when people are silent? Study Germany between 1933 and 1945. Oh that could never happen here. Right. Wrong.
The agenda is set. Allow illegals into the country to shore up your voting block, tell them it is the racists who don't want them here. Kiss up to the (put your oppressed group here) because they can run to the ACLU( whom you need in your pocket to help steal the peoples rights) along with all the other down trodden groups(ethnic, religious, homosexuals etc.)
Just like too much of a good thing can be bad, too much tolerance leaves an imbalance. There is a reason for intolerance, just as there is a reason for tolerance. There are things that can and should be tolerated ands there are things that should not be tolerated. I have listed a miniscule list of things that the PC culture wants to force you to tolerate.
I think it is time for a little intolerance( not violence, intolerance, there is a difference although the PC would have you believe they are the same) Here is a list of things I cannot tolerate any longer: Fighting a war that was started based on lies, GWB lied, he knows it. Look it is very simple, if Iraq had weapons of mass destruction then why would you send 100,000 plus troops into an area where these weapons can be used on them, that would be immoral, and if they were not there it was a lie. Islam is a religion of peace, it is a noble religion. My ass, read their book(s), they teach their children murder and rape and pillaging is good. Illegal immigrants are not the problem. Really? Next time I am paying taxes I will send you the bill. If you want to support illegals take them into YOUR home and pay their way, if you are unwilling to do that then shut up, I did not ask them to come here and by definition they are ILLEGAL( next PC move will be to come up with a less "oppressive" term, illegal its so... so ... well , illegal). I can no longer tolerate a government that serves itself at the expense of the people. We have a president who could care less about what the people want, a congress that has nothing planned except to collect their pay and take extended time off, hell, they got elected, they don't need to do anything else. They want to shove crap down our throat while taking everything we work for to sustain their lifestyle( see the Kennedys, the Bushes, the Kerries, John Edwards, Dick Cheney, the Clintons etc. etc. ad nauseum) . I cannot tolerate the media, they lie and then they lie some more then they cover their lies with more lies( kind of like politicians) until there isn't even a trail of crumbs back to the truth. These arrogant people believe they can sway what happens in the world( and they actually do). When the media doesn't lie, it forces immorality onto the people under the guise of entertainment( sadly there is a market for hogwash). I cannot tolerate the racists who murder, you are entitled to your opinion, not someone elses life. I cannot tolerate the people who feel they are entitled based on race, religion, etc.( see islam) I cannot tolerate people who use the term "nigger". I have heard black people say "white people cannot use this word , it is our word"( see NPR radio June 2007) . Here is something you all need to know, it is NOT your word. It comes from the German word "negger" which means "negro", it was not and is not a derogatory term in German, the word was misunderstood by English speaking people who turned it into a word of ignorance. If you want this word , well you can have it. Why anyone would want to use a term of TOTAL IGNORANCE on themselves is sort of like me wanting to build a water treatment plant in my back yard to prevent my restroom from stinking after I have defecated. I cannot tolerate homosexuals telling me that homosexuality is natural, that it is good, that there is nothing wrong with it. I am tired of them screaming that they cannot tolerate people like me( heterosexual). Do what you want in the privacy of your home, I cannot see you there, so I don't care. When you go to the streets and try to shout down the truth it just shows how out of touch you really are. I cannot tolerate the anti-abortionists who try to "save " people from themselves and the unborn babies they carry, look, I understand what you are trying to accomplish, I don't believe in murdering babies. The truth is Yahweh has given us freedom, we can choose to do right or wrong, it is each INDIVIDUALS choice and we WILL pay for making the wrong choice.We also have a Savior. Yahweh sent Yahushua to save us from ourselves if we so choose, so how can any man stand in the way of the Savior and his relationship with any individual. When that individual stands in Judgement are you going to push the Messiah aside and say "I'll take over here Yahushua", my guess is that would be the fast track to the abyss. I cannot tolerate the clergy who have been lying to the masses. God has a name, Yahweh. He wants you to know it, he wants to have a relationship with each and every one of us. The clergy( all religions) would have you believe you have to go to church/synagogue/mosque in order to be with God, wrong. Yahweh hates religion, politics and the media because they all LIE. They have replaced Him, His Word and his feasts with false doctrines, false festivals and false names( there was no Jesus, the letter "J" was not concieved until the 15th century by anglo saxons, there is no Jehovah , lord presents its' own problems just by defintion, God does not want to be our "master", this is not even addressing the real name Lord Baal). I cannot tolerate the organizations that want to take my rights away while promoting evil. Organizations like the ACLU and CAIR and LA RAZA. These entities promote their own agenda and steal our rights at the same time. How can you have muslim prayers in schools when other religions are denied the same right. I guess if you get cash from the Saudis it goes a long way, ask CAIR. I guess CAIR is sharing the wealth with the ACLU. LA RAZA presents its own problems, they haven't figured out the war is over and they lost. I cannot tolerate the tolerance afforded to muslims when they themselves are the most intolerant and murderous group on the planet. Our government chastises Israel for defending itself and sends money to the idiots attacking them.
There is soooo much more to be intolerant of , this post will be continued at a later date!
You must tolerate the term intolerant racist if you speak out about the evils of islam, amazing, I didn't know islam was a race. You must tolerate being called a hater if you describe someone by color( unless they are white, of course), even if it is required. You must tolerate being called a "breeder" if you are not a homosexual, heaven forbid what would happen if you actually opened your mouth and had an opinion about what was said about you. You must tolerate having money taken away from you in order to give an illegal immigrant health care, education, food, shelter, a car, a home and some extra money to send back to their nation of origin( or if your muslim you send it to your imam in Pakistan so he can give the money to a terrorist group to kill you) I could go on and on about what the PC want you to tolerate.
Sadly, many people are pushed into silence for fear of being labeled intolerant. What happens when people are silent? Study Germany between 1933 and 1945. Oh that could never happen here. Right. Wrong.
The agenda is set. Allow illegals into the country to shore up your voting block, tell them it is the racists who don't want them here. Kiss up to the (put your oppressed group here) because they can run to the ACLU( whom you need in your pocket to help steal the peoples rights) along with all the other down trodden groups(ethnic, religious, homosexuals etc.)
Just like too much of a good thing can be bad, too much tolerance leaves an imbalance. There is a reason for intolerance, just as there is a reason for tolerance. There are things that can and should be tolerated ands there are things that should not be tolerated. I have listed a miniscule list of things that the PC culture wants to force you to tolerate.
I think it is time for a little intolerance( not violence, intolerance, there is a difference although the PC would have you believe they are the same) Here is a list of things I cannot tolerate any longer: Fighting a war that was started based on lies, GWB lied, he knows it. Look it is very simple, if Iraq had weapons of mass destruction then why would you send 100,000 plus troops into an area where these weapons can be used on them, that would be immoral, and if they were not there it was a lie. Islam is a religion of peace, it is a noble religion. My ass, read their book(s), they teach their children murder and rape and pillaging is good. Illegal immigrants are not the problem. Really? Next time I am paying taxes I will send you the bill. If you want to support illegals take them into YOUR home and pay their way, if you are unwilling to do that then shut up, I did not ask them to come here and by definition they are ILLEGAL( next PC move will be to come up with a less "oppressive" term, illegal its so... so ... well , illegal). I can no longer tolerate a government that serves itself at the expense of the people. We have a president who could care less about what the people want, a congress that has nothing planned except to collect their pay and take extended time off, hell, they got elected, they don't need to do anything else. They want to shove crap down our throat while taking everything we work for to sustain their lifestyle( see the Kennedys, the Bushes, the Kerries, John Edwards, Dick Cheney, the Clintons etc. etc. ad nauseum) . I cannot tolerate the media, they lie and then they lie some more then they cover their lies with more lies( kind of like politicians) until there isn't even a trail of crumbs back to the truth. These arrogant people believe they can sway what happens in the world( and they actually do). When the media doesn't lie, it forces immorality onto the people under the guise of entertainment( sadly there is a market for hogwash). I cannot tolerate the racists who murder, you are entitled to your opinion, not someone elses life. I cannot tolerate the people who feel they are entitled based on race, religion, etc.( see islam) I cannot tolerate people who use the term "nigger". I have heard black people say "white people cannot use this word , it is our word"( see NPR radio June 2007) . Here is something you all need to know, it is NOT your word. It comes from the German word "negger" which means "negro", it was not and is not a derogatory term in German, the word was misunderstood by English speaking people who turned it into a word of ignorance. If you want this word , well you can have it. Why anyone would want to use a term of TOTAL IGNORANCE on themselves is sort of like me wanting to build a water treatment plant in my back yard to prevent my restroom from stinking after I have defecated. I cannot tolerate homosexuals telling me that homosexuality is natural, that it is good, that there is nothing wrong with it. I am tired of them screaming that they cannot tolerate people like me( heterosexual). Do what you want in the privacy of your home, I cannot see you there, so I don't care. When you go to the streets and try to shout down the truth it just shows how out of touch you really are. I cannot tolerate the anti-abortionists who try to "save " people from themselves and the unborn babies they carry, look, I understand what you are trying to accomplish, I don't believe in murdering babies. The truth is Yahweh has given us freedom, we can choose to do right or wrong, it is each INDIVIDUALS choice and we WILL pay for making the wrong choice.We also have a Savior. Yahweh sent Yahushua to save us from ourselves if we so choose, so how can any man stand in the way of the Savior and his relationship with any individual. When that individual stands in Judgement are you going to push the Messiah aside and say "I'll take over here Yahushua", my guess is that would be the fast track to the abyss. I cannot tolerate the clergy who have been lying to the masses. God has a name, Yahweh. He wants you to know it, he wants to have a relationship with each and every one of us. The clergy( all religions) would have you believe you have to go to church/synagogue/mosque in order to be with God, wrong. Yahweh hates religion, politics and the media because they all LIE. They have replaced Him, His Word and his feasts with false doctrines, false festivals and false names( there was no Jesus, the letter "J" was not concieved until the 15th century by anglo saxons, there is no Jehovah , lord presents its' own problems just by defintion, God does not want to be our "master", this is not even addressing the real name Lord Baal). I cannot tolerate the organizations that want to take my rights away while promoting evil. Organizations like the ACLU and CAIR and LA RAZA. These entities promote their own agenda and steal our rights at the same time. How can you have muslim prayers in schools when other religions are denied the same right. I guess if you get cash from the Saudis it goes a long way, ask CAIR. I guess CAIR is sharing the wealth with the ACLU. LA RAZA presents its own problems, they haven't figured out the war is over and they lost. I cannot tolerate the tolerance afforded to muslims when they themselves are the most intolerant and murderous group on the planet. Our government chastises Israel for defending itself and sends money to the idiots attacking them.
There is soooo much more to be intolerant of , this post will be continued at a later date!
Monday, June 18, 2007
Arrogance
"What is going on?" is what someone who had been watching us( the people in America) would say after a short while of watching. In 1993 New York City was attacked by jihadists, we did(practically) nothing. In 2001 New York City was attacked again and we lost our moral compass.
The truth of the matter is we were attacked by an ideology of hatred, an ideology that spells out their hatred in their "religious book(s)". This ideology was created in the 7th century for and by a man to justify his pursuit of wealth through violence. Anyone who stood in his way was murdered, whether it was an old man or a woman or a group of people. If he wanted something and someone said no, he would kill them and then follow up by making up a verse that his god said it was o.k for him and his to do whatever it took to get what they wanted. For 1300 years his followers have been murdering and plundering and subjugating people based on this fellows homemade god and his books( of course being illiterate he himself wrote nothing).
Back to our moral compass, when we were attacked in 2001 we had every right to attack the country that gave these terrorists a safe haven, Afghanistan. Our leaders should have done their due diligence on what drives islam. They did not. I believe even if they had we would still be in the mess we are in now in Iraq, because of the arrogance of our leaders. To spew forth that islam is a religion of peace or that it is a great and noble religion, or here is the best one, islams god is the same as Yahweh( the Creator from the Scriptures). George W. Bush must have a substance abuse problem to be able to vomit forth such sickness. He obviously never studied history, obviously he does NOT believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Of course coming from someone who serves "Skull and Bones"I guess it is not so surprising, allah, baal, satan, skull and bones etc. all the same , all evil.
George W.Bush tells us that we have to fight them over there or we will have to fight them here. Well Mr.President, they are here and we will be fighting them here because of your absolute ignorance and your overwhelming arrogance. Jorge Bush wants to leave the borders open, no don't protect the sovereignty of our nation, sell it to the highest bidder. Right now the highest bidders are, drumroll please, China and Saudi Arabia. And along with the poor people from Southern and Central America are nationals from our enemy( China, islam etc.). And though I do not begrudge anyone the chance to better themselves, all people crossing the border illegally should be sent back, period. Just so all understand, Jorge Bush is not backing the immigration bill because he is benevolent and wishes all to live the "American Dream", he is watching out for someones bottom line( and it isn't yours or mine). When GWB leaves office, he will have destroyed everything this country has ever stood for, not to blame him for all of the USAs woes over time, he had a lot of help from previous presidents, he is just a very big exclamation point that pushed it all over the top.
The arrogance exhibited by our so called "leaders" is beyond help. It is not limited to the president of the country, he just happens to be the one making the biggest mess right now. Living in California we have our own arrogant leaders. Take Fabian Nunez for instance, he is the speaker of the house in California. Last year he joined a large demonstration of illegal immigrants in Los Angeles, on television he tells the camera that "we are not the problem", meaning the illegal immigrants are not the problem. Think about that for a moment. This man was elected by the people of California( the LEGAL residents who pay taxes that pay his salary, which as of July this year is over $133,000 a year) to uphold the law of the land. So what does he do, he gets in the face of the people and tells them that ILLEGAL immigrants are not a problem. I guess rising health costs, welfare costs, crime are not a problem for Fabian, only for the people paying the higher costs ( you and me). My guess is he does not understand the definition of ILLEGAL. It would be very interesting to see how he would be greeted by people who are LEGALLY waiting to get into this country LEGALLY, how would they feel knowing they are being pushed to the back of the line so ILLEGALS can be here first. I guess cutting in line is how Fabian sees it and for him it appears to be no problem. Lets face it, he is pandering for votes, the more latinos in his district the better chance he has to make a carreer out of politics. He has an agenda. Shocking.
These are just two cases of arrogance in politics. The fact that politics is now a self serving industry is obvoius. They take money from productive citizens in order to "bribe" voting blocks while the poor are neglected. When I say neglected I mean the poor are used to make points during speeches in election times that sound benevolent, but as soon as the election is over, well lets just say the poor are kept in their place( the place designated by politicians). Politicians, academics, clergy, whatever you call your leaders, they are all the same. They know better. You, being a lowly common citizen, cannot know because their great intellect trumps anything you may know or feel.
These politicos are attempting ( and succeeding) at removing judgement from our lives, they say you cannot judge this or that because it is hatred or prejudice, it could not be that we have a conscience for a reason. If you attempt to point out something wrong you are "intolerant". How did these people become so lofty. Read what Yahweh had to say, he knew these people before they knew themselves. Read Hosea or Romans 1, just for starters. I would say to all, there is a provision in the constitution that allows the people to change their government, but why? To fill the government with a new group of immoral miscreants. Greed begets more greed and that is what leaders are all about, that is why they are where they are at.
And in closing, politicians, the clergy, business leaders etc. cannot do these things to the people without help. The biggest helper right now is the media. These arrogant people believe( rightly so) that they can sway the peoples opinion, and they do, through lies and misinformation. The media has an agenda also, they have leaders( owners) who accept money, need I say more? Lastly, we the people are to blame, that we allow these arrogant, greedy, grasping, covetous fools to continue their illness at our expense is our fault. Here comes the word for the next post, tolerance. If we tolerate sick and twisted minds to direct and lead and manage us, we are no better than they are. I believe it is time for a little intolerance!
The truth of the matter is we were attacked by an ideology of hatred, an ideology that spells out their hatred in their "religious book(s)". This ideology was created in the 7th century for and by a man to justify his pursuit of wealth through violence. Anyone who stood in his way was murdered, whether it was an old man or a woman or a group of people. If he wanted something and someone said no, he would kill them and then follow up by making up a verse that his god said it was o.k for him and his to do whatever it took to get what they wanted. For 1300 years his followers have been murdering and plundering and subjugating people based on this fellows homemade god and his books( of course being illiterate he himself wrote nothing).
Back to our moral compass, when we were attacked in 2001 we had every right to attack the country that gave these terrorists a safe haven, Afghanistan. Our leaders should have done their due diligence on what drives islam. They did not. I believe even if they had we would still be in the mess we are in now in Iraq, because of the arrogance of our leaders. To spew forth that islam is a religion of peace or that it is a great and noble religion, or here is the best one, islams god is the same as Yahweh( the Creator from the Scriptures). George W. Bush must have a substance abuse problem to be able to vomit forth such sickness. He obviously never studied history, obviously he does NOT believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Of course coming from someone who serves "Skull and Bones"I guess it is not so surprising, allah, baal, satan, skull and bones etc. all the same , all evil.
George W.Bush tells us that we have to fight them over there or we will have to fight them here. Well Mr.President, they are here and we will be fighting them here because of your absolute ignorance and your overwhelming arrogance. Jorge Bush wants to leave the borders open, no don't protect the sovereignty of our nation, sell it to the highest bidder. Right now the highest bidders are, drumroll please, China and Saudi Arabia. And along with the poor people from Southern and Central America are nationals from our enemy( China, islam etc.). And though I do not begrudge anyone the chance to better themselves, all people crossing the border illegally should be sent back, period. Just so all understand, Jorge Bush is not backing the immigration bill because he is benevolent and wishes all to live the "American Dream", he is watching out for someones bottom line( and it isn't yours or mine). When GWB leaves office, he will have destroyed everything this country has ever stood for, not to blame him for all of the USAs woes over time, he had a lot of help from previous presidents, he is just a very big exclamation point that pushed it all over the top.
The arrogance exhibited by our so called "leaders" is beyond help. It is not limited to the president of the country, he just happens to be the one making the biggest mess right now. Living in California we have our own arrogant leaders. Take Fabian Nunez for instance, he is the speaker of the house in California. Last year he joined a large demonstration of illegal immigrants in Los Angeles, on television he tells the camera that "we are not the problem", meaning the illegal immigrants are not the problem. Think about that for a moment. This man was elected by the people of California( the LEGAL residents who pay taxes that pay his salary, which as of July this year is over $133,000 a year) to uphold the law of the land. So what does he do, he gets in the face of the people and tells them that ILLEGAL immigrants are not a problem. I guess rising health costs, welfare costs, crime are not a problem for Fabian, only for the people paying the higher costs ( you and me). My guess is he does not understand the definition of ILLEGAL. It would be very interesting to see how he would be greeted by people who are LEGALLY waiting to get into this country LEGALLY, how would they feel knowing they are being pushed to the back of the line so ILLEGALS can be here first. I guess cutting in line is how Fabian sees it and for him it appears to be no problem. Lets face it, he is pandering for votes, the more latinos in his district the better chance he has to make a carreer out of politics. He has an agenda. Shocking.
These are just two cases of arrogance in politics. The fact that politics is now a self serving industry is obvoius. They take money from productive citizens in order to "bribe" voting blocks while the poor are neglected. When I say neglected I mean the poor are used to make points during speeches in election times that sound benevolent, but as soon as the election is over, well lets just say the poor are kept in their place( the place designated by politicians). Politicians, academics, clergy, whatever you call your leaders, they are all the same. They know better. You, being a lowly common citizen, cannot know because their great intellect trumps anything you may know or feel.
These politicos are attempting ( and succeeding) at removing judgement from our lives, they say you cannot judge this or that because it is hatred or prejudice, it could not be that we have a conscience for a reason. If you attempt to point out something wrong you are "intolerant". How did these people become so lofty. Read what Yahweh had to say, he knew these people before they knew themselves. Read Hosea or Romans 1, just for starters. I would say to all, there is a provision in the constitution that allows the people to change their government, but why? To fill the government with a new group of immoral miscreants. Greed begets more greed and that is what leaders are all about, that is why they are where they are at.
And in closing, politicians, the clergy, business leaders etc. cannot do these things to the people without help. The biggest helper right now is the media. These arrogant people believe( rightly so) that they can sway the peoples opinion, and they do, through lies and misinformation. The media has an agenda also, they have leaders( owners) who accept money, need I say more? Lastly, we the people are to blame, that we allow these arrogant, greedy, grasping, covetous fools to continue their illness at our expense is our fault. Here comes the word for the next post, tolerance. If we tolerate sick and twisted minds to direct and lead and manage us, we are no better than they are. I believe it is time for a little intolerance!
Friday, June 15, 2007
A Somewhat New Direction
Dear reader, my blog will now add to the truth using the scriptures of our creator, Yahuwey. I will be referencing scripture from time to time to show how the future has been called out in it. I will reference contemporary events with scripture. It is interesting how current events and attitudes have already been seen. I will continue to inform about the evils of religion, all religion. For the past ten months I have been reading old scripture translated as well as translations of the quran and its' accompanying books( sunna, hadith etc). The past three months have been the most difficult because of the time required to study( hence no blogging since March) and because of what I have found out. I always thought muslims would be crushed when they found out that their imams and leaders had been lying to them about Islam. I now have joined the ranks of those people who are shocked that they have been lied to. I will elaborate more in later blogs. For right now I would like to leave you with a thought. Do you remeber when Coke changed its' formula? Do you remeber the uproar and dissatisfaction? Could you tell the difference in flavor? Now , what if Coke had only changed one ingredient say, every year. Lets say for the sake of fun that there are 15 ingredients. Most people probably would not have noticed the change the first year, they would probably have gotten used to it and accepted it as the "real thing". After 15 years of allowing people to "get used to it" no one would have known the difference. They would have thought they had the "real thing " when in fact what they got was a counterfeit. I now know that I have not been drinking the "real thing" for 45 years, that will now cease, I will post more later.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
A call to contact MSNBC! Got questions?!
This is a chance for all to watch an individual evade the truth at every turn, if you have a legitimate question for this representative of CAIR, I suggest you follow the instructions below from the American Congress for Truth!
Action Alert: Contact MSNBC
Action Alert
This Sunday, March 18th on "Meet the Press" with Tim Russert, Congressman Joe Sestak (D. -7th Dist. PA) who will appear at an April 7th Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR) fundraiser in his Delaware County district outside Philadelphia, will be appearing.
Please go to the Meet The Press website, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/ , scroll down the center/left column (the first box is "NBC video," the next is "Russert on Politics") to the third box, scroll down to the bottom option which invites you to SUBMIT A QUESTION FOR A GUEST. Request that Sestak be asked why he insists on appearing at a CAIR fundraiser, despite its well-known connections to terrorist groups (Hamas, the Holy Land Foundation, the fact that at least five of CAIR's employees and board members have been arrested, convicted, deported, or otherwise linked to terrorism-related charges and activities etc.) This is not only a Jewish issue - CAIR's connections to terrorism endanger all of us.
Be as specific as possible, and try to dispel one or two of his lame excuses, i.e. He is going there to speak to his Muslim constituents; he is going to tell the CAIR audience that Israel is a staunch ally; that 250 of his constituents are going to be there; that if CAIR were a terrorist organization the US would have shut it down as it did to the Holy Land Foundation (which provided CAIR with seed $, and for which CAIR raised money POST 9/11!); that he employs a former CAIR employee because, despite interviewing her 3 times ,he didn't realize she had worked for CAIR and now...well, she's only 23 and he "loves [his] employees."
PLEASE PASS THIS ON.
Lawyer wants Sestak to end ties with CAIR
By WILLIAM BENDER,
A Democratic lawyer is ratcheting up the pressure on U.S. Rep. Joseph Sestak and trying to build Jewish opposition to his planned attendance of an upcoming Council on Islamic-American Relations banquet and the hiring of a former CAIR staffer. Robert Lipshutz, a former Philadelphia assistant district attorney, distributed a letter Tuesday to Delaware County rabbis, calling on Sestak to cancel the April 7 speaking engagement in Philadelphia and fire his district outreach coordinator, Adeeba Al-Zaman.
With 32 chapters, CAIR describes itself as the nation's largest Muslim advocacy group. It devotes much of its resources to anti-defamation work and educational activities, but has also been flagged by prominent Democrats -- including Sens. Barbara Boxer and Charles Schumer -- for having ties to terrorist organizations.After facing some pointed questions Sunday at the B'nai Aaron Synagogue in Haverford, Sestak said Tuesday he stands by his decision to speak at the event and hire Al-Zaman to coordinate outreach activities in his district."It even says in the Torah, understand the other side before you make a judgment. Once you make your judgment, you should speak the truth. And the truth here -- and I looked into CAIR during the campaign -- is that they do some good," said Sestak, D-7, of Edgmont."But that isn't enough. They must condemn terrorism -- by name, the perpetrators -- and disassociate themselves from those who have murky ties or have been indicted."Sestak, who considers himself "a friend of Israel," said he would incorporate that message into his speech at the Hilton Philadelphia. Approximately 250 of the congressman's Muslim constituents are expected to attend the CAIR event.Lipshutz, 59, a Montgomery County Democrat who said he voted for congressional candidate Lois Murphy, isn't satisfied."You always have to be able to take in information to see if maybe you have to make a mid-course adjustment," said Lipshutz, who wants Sestak to cut all ties with CAIR and fire Al-Zaman.In his letter to Sestak, which was sent Tuesday to local rabbis, Lipshutz wrote: "I believe you are so sure of both your own goodness and of your judgment about this young woman that you failed to consider not only that your judgment may have been wrong, but also in the impact your decisions have made and will continue to make on others."The convictions of two former CAIR members on charges of supporting terrorist operations and engaging in financial transactions with Hamas was reportedly a factor in Boxer's decision to rescind an award to the head of CAIR's Sacramento office.Schumer, D-N.Y., said during a 2003 Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Terrorism hearing that CAIR has "ties to terrorism" and "intimate links with Hamas."The group's government affairs director, Corey Saylor, told the Daily Times this month that CAIR condemns "any act of terrorism, whoever commits it." He said individuals indicted or convicted for supporting terrorists were not acting on behalf of the organization.In the wake of negative news coverage, CAIR's Pennsylvania chapter has altered its Web site at least twice.The invitation for next month's "Connecting and Sharing" event was separated into a banquet with Sestak's name on it and a fund-raiser without his name. Sestak will not be participating in the fundraiser.The online biography for Al-Zaman, a stepdaughter of a CAIR board member, has also been scrubbed of any reference to her job with the congressman. Sestak said Tuesday he did not request the phrase be removed."I did not know it was on. I did not know it had been taken off," he said.Of Al-Zaman, Sestak said, "I cannot speak highly enough of her."
©DelcoTimes 2007
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Everyday, American Congress for Truth (ACT) is a 501c3 non profit organization on the front lines fighting for you in meeting with politicians, decision makers, speaking on college campuses and planning events to educate and inform the public about the threat of radical Muslim fundamentalists to world peace. We are committed to combating the global upsurge of hate and intolerance.To continue and bolster our efforts, we need your continued solidarity, activism and financial support. We are only as strong as our supporters. We thank you for helping us carry on this important work.
American Congress for Truth (ACT) , P.O.Box 6884, Virginia Beach, VA 23456Email: member@americancongressfortruth.comIf you no longer wish to receive these emails, please click here to unsubscribe
Action Alert: Contact MSNBC
Action Alert
This Sunday, March 18th on "Meet the Press" with Tim Russert, Congressman Joe Sestak (D. -7th Dist. PA) who will appear at an April 7th Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR) fundraiser in his Delaware County district outside Philadelphia, will be appearing.
Please go to the Meet The Press website, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/ , scroll down the center/left column (the first box is "NBC video," the next is "Russert on Politics") to the third box, scroll down to the bottom option which invites you to SUBMIT A QUESTION FOR A GUEST. Request that Sestak be asked why he insists on appearing at a CAIR fundraiser, despite its well-known connections to terrorist groups (Hamas, the Holy Land Foundation, the fact that at least five of CAIR's employees and board members have been arrested, convicted, deported, or otherwise linked to terrorism-related charges and activities etc.) This is not only a Jewish issue - CAIR's connections to terrorism endanger all of us.
Be as specific as possible, and try to dispel one or two of his lame excuses, i.e. He is going there to speak to his Muslim constituents; he is going to tell the CAIR audience that Israel is a staunch ally; that 250 of his constituents are going to be there; that if CAIR were a terrorist organization the US would have shut it down as it did to the Holy Land Foundation (which provided CAIR with seed $, and for which CAIR raised money POST 9/11!); that he employs a former CAIR employee because, despite interviewing her 3 times ,he didn't realize she had worked for CAIR and now...well, she's only 23 and he "loves [his] employees."
PLEASE PASS THIS ON.
Lawyer wants Sestak to end ties with CAIR
By WILLIAM BENDER,
A Democratic lawyer is ratcheting up the pressure on U.S. Rep. Joseph Sestak and trying to build Jewish opposition to his planned attendance of an upcoming Council on Islamic-American Relations banquet and the hiring of a former CAIR staffer. Robert Lipshutz, a former Philadelphia assistant district attorney, distributed a letter Tuesday to Delaware County rabbis, calling on Sestak to cancel the April 7 speaking engagement in Philadelphia and fire his district outreach coordinator, Adeeba Al-Zaman.
With 32 chapters, CAIR describes itself as the nation's largest Muslim advocacy group. It devotes much of its resources to anti-defamation work and educational activities, but has also been flagged by prominent Democrats -- including Sens. Barbara Boxer and Charles Schumer -- for having ties to terrorist organizations.After facing some pointed questions Sunday at the B'nai Aaron Synagogue in Haverford, Sestak said Tuesday he stands by his decision to speak at the event and hire Al-Zaman to coordinate outreach activities in his district."It even says in the Torah, understand the other side before you make a judgment. Once you make your judgment, you should speak the truth. And the truth here -- and I looked into CAIR during the campaign -- is that they do some good," said Sestak, D-7, of Edgmont."But that isn't enough. They must condemn terrorism -- by name, the perpetrators -- and disassociate themselves from those who have murky ties or have been indicted."Sestak, who considers himself "a friend of Israel," said he would incorporate that message into his speech at the Hilton Philadelphia. Approximately 250 of the congressman's Muslim constituents are expected to attend the CAIR event.Lipshutz, 59, a Montgomery County Democrat who said he voted for congressional candidate Lois Murphy, isn't satisfied."You always have to be able to take in information to see if maybe you have to make a mid-course adjustment," said Lipshutz, who wants Sestak to cut all ties with CAIR and fire Al-Zaman.In his letter to Sestak, which was sent Tuesday to local rabbis, Lipshutz wrote: "I believe you are so sure of both your own goodness and of your judgment about this young woman that you failed to consider not only that your judgment may have been wrong, but also in the impact your decisions have made and will continue to make on others."The convictions of two former CAIR members on charges of supporting terrorist operations and engaging in financial transactions with Hamas was reportedly a factor in Boxer's decision to rescind an award to the head of CAIR's Sacramento office.Schumer, D-N.Y., said during a 2003 Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Terrorism hearing that CAIR has "ties to terrorism" and "intimate links with Hamas."The group's government affairs director, Corey Saylor, told the Daily Times this month that CAIR condemns "any act of terrorism, whoever commits it." He said individuals indicted or convicted for supporting terrorists were not acting on behalf of the organization.In the wake of negative news coverage, CAIR's Pennsylvania chapter has altered its Web site at least twice.The invitation for next month's "Connecting and Sharing" event was separated into a banquet with Sestak's name on it and a fund-raiser without his name. Sestak will not be participating in the fundraiser.The online biography for Al-Zaman, a stepdaughter of a CAIR board member, has also been scrubbed of any reference to her job with the congressman. Sestak said Tuesday he did not request the phrase be removed."I did not know it was on. I did not know it had been taken off," he said.Of Al-Zaman, Sestak said, "I cannot speak highly enough of her."
©DelcoTimes 2007
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Everyday, American Congress for Truth (ACT) is a 501c3 non profit organization on the front lines fighting for you in meeting with politicians, decision makers, speaking on college campuses and planning events to educate and inform the public about the threat of radical Muslim fundamentalists to world peace. We are committed to combating the global upsurge of hate and intolerance.To continue and bolster our efforts, we need your continued solidarity, activism and financial support. We are only as strong as our supporters. We thank you for helping us carry on this important work.
American Congress for Truth (ACT) , P.O.Box 6884, Virginia Beach, VA 23456Email: member@americancongressfortruth.comIf you no longer wish to receive these emails, please click here to unsubscribe
You Can Help!
A request to help from the American Congress for Truth, here is your chance to help out The United States! This is our responsibility!
Action Alert about "Television Takeover"
ACT members earlier received an article entitled:
Television Takeover: Taxpayer-financed Al-Hurra is becoming a platform for terrorists.
Please make you voice heard in this intolerable situation by asking your legislator to have the Department of State replace the Al-Hurra director, Larry Register. Below is a letter you can send to your senators and representative in Congress. Go to the American Congress for Truth CONTACT CONGRESS link at: http://www.americancongressfortruth.org/contact-congress.asp.
Email and/or fax the letter to your legislator. For much greater impact, ALSO call them at both their local offices and their Washington offices. If you have never called a legislator before, it is very simple. A staffer will answer, and all you need to do is tell them you have a request for your legislator and state some version of the first paragraph of the letter that you feel comfortable with. Since this is not an active bill in Congress, you might be required to give the staffer some background. Be passionate, but polite. Get the staffer on our side. That will make our voices even louder.
Dear Representative or Senator________,
The taxpayer-financed Middle East TV network, Al-Hurra, has recently turned into an anti-democratic, terrorist-friendly voice. Please demand that the State Department's Broadcasting Board of Governors replace Larry Register, the network's new director.
Since the network's direction was taken over by longtime CNN producer, Larry Register, last November, the coverage has dramatically shifted toward more pro-terrorist and anti-democratic stories and commentary. Launched in February 2004, Al-Hurra broadcasts three separate feeds: Europe, Arab nations, and Iraq. The network's mission is to support our public diplomacy to the Arab world. It is supposed to showcase the American political process and report on things that get little attention on other Arabic networks, such as human-rights abuses and government corruption.
Iraqi Member of Parliament Mithal al-Alusi says stories that cry out for further investigation, such as recent arrests of those accused of supporting the terrorists in Iraq, are instead getting mere news-ticker mentions at the bottom of the screen. And Arab voices for freedom, which used to have a home on Al-Hurra, are now absent. "They're driving out the liberals," he complains.
The new direction of Al-Hurra was showcased on February 9 when riots broke out at the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem after Israel changed security measures to accommodate repair work near the mosque. Al-Hurra gave two hours of live coverage, thirty minutes more than Al-Jazeera. Al-Hurra's Muslim guests vilified Israel, creating conspiracy theories about Jewish "plans" to destroy the Al Aqsa Mosque. The Al-Hurra anchors asked such questions as, "Do you think that the timing of these actions is as innocent as Israel pretends?" The Al-Hurra anchors included Ikrima Sabri, imam of the Al Aqsa Mosque, who was Yasser Arafat's hand-picked mufti of Jerusalem. During the broadcast, Mr. Sabri accused Israel of firing guns and throwing bombs into the mosque and refusing to allow medical care for the wounded.
Iraqi parliamentarian al-Alusi said, "Al-Hurra should have the role of transporting democracy, and to help Iraqis understand freedom. If you have a good product, you must sell it in a good way. The United States is a very good product."
It is essential that the State Department's budget of over a half billion dollars to fund International Broadcasting Operations be spent wisely since this is an essential part of our war on Islamic Jihad. If Mr. Register cannot follow the Al-Hurra mission statement, then replace him with someone who can.
Sincerely,
Your Name
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Everyday, American Congress for Truth (ACT) is a 501c3 non profit organization on the front lines fighting for you in meeting with politicians, decision makers, speaking on college campuses and planning events to educate and inform the public about the threat of radical Muslim fundamentalists to world peace. We are committed to combating the global upsurge of hate and intolerance.To continue and bolster our efforts, we need your continued solidarity, activism and financial support. We are only as strong as our supporters. We thank you for helping us carry on this important work.
American Congress for Truth (ACT) , P.O.Box 6884, Virginia Beach, VA 23456Email: member@americancongressfortruth.comIf you no longer wish to receive these emails, please click here to unsubscribe
Action Alert about "Television Takeover"
ACT members earlier received an article entitled:
Television Takeover: Taxpayer-financed Al-Hurra is becoming a platform for terrorists.
Please make you voice heard in this intolerable situation by asking your legislator to have the Department of State replace the Al-Hurra director, Larry Register. Below is a letter you can send to your senators and representative in Congress. Go to the American Congress for Truth CONTACT CONGRESS link at: http://www.americancongressfortruth.org/contact-congress.asp.
Email and/or fax the letter to your legislator. For much greater impact, ALSO call them at both their local offices and their Washington offices. If you have never called a legislator before, it is very simple. A staffer will answer, and all you need to do is tell them you have a request for your legislator and state some version of the first paragraph of the letter that you feel comfortable with. Since this is not an active bill in Congress, you might be required to give the staffer some background. Be passionate, but polite. Get the staffer on our side. That will make our voices even louder.
Dear Representative or Senator________,
The taxpayer-financed Middle East TV network, Al-Hurra, has recently turned into an anti-democratic, terrorist-friendly voice. Please demand that the State Department's Broadcasting Board of Governors replace Larry Register, the network's new director.
Since the network's direction was taken over by longtime CNN producer, Larry Register, last November, the coverage has dramatically shifted toward more pro-terrorist and anti-democratic stories and commentary. Launched in February 2004, Al-Hurra broadcasts three separate feeds: Europe, Arab nations, and Iraq. The network's mission is to support our public diplomacy to the Arab world. It is supposed to showcase the American political process and report on things that get little attention on other Arabic networks, such as human-rights abuses and government corruption.
Iraqi Member of Parliament Mithal al-Alusi says stories that cry out for further investigation, such as recent arrests of those accused of supporting the terrorists in Iraq, are instead getting mere news-ticker mentions at the bottom of the screen. And Arab voices for freedom, which used to have a home on Al-Hurra, are now absent. "They're driving out the liberals," he complains.
The new direction of Al-Hurra was showcased on February 9 when riots broke out at the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem after Israel changed security measures to accommodate repair work near the mosque. Al-Hurra gave two hours of live coverage, thirty minutes more than Al-Jazeera. Al-Hurra's Muslim guests vilified Israel, creating conspiracy theories about Jewish "plans" to destroy the Al Aqsa Mosque. The Al-Hurra anchors asked such questions as, "Do you think that the timing of these actions is as innocent as Israel pretends?" The Al-Hurra anchors included Ikrima Sabri, imam of the Al Aqsa Mosque, who was Yasser Arafat's hand-picked mufti of Jerusalem. During the broadcast, Mr. Sabri accused Israel of firing guns and throwing bombs into the mosque and refusing to allow medical care for the wounded.
Iraqi parliamentarian al-Alusi said, "Al-Hurra should have the role of transporting democracy, and to help Iraqis understand freedom. If you have a good product, you must sell it in a good way. The United States is a very good product."
It is essential that the State Department's budget of over a half billion dollars to fund International Broadcasting Operations be spent wisely since this is an essential part of our war on Islamic Jihad. If Mr. Register cannot follow the Al-Hurra mission statement, then replace him with someone who can.
Sincerely,
Your Name
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Everyday, American Congress for Truth (ACT) is a 501c3 non profit organization on the front lines fighting for you in meeting with politicians, decision makers, speaking on college campuses and planning events to educate and inform the public about the threat of radical Muslim fundamentalists to world peace. We are committed to combating the global upsurge of hate and intolerance.To continue and bolster our efforts, we need your continued solidarity, activism and financial support. We are only as strong as our supporters. We thank you for helping us carry on this important work.
American Congress for Truth (ACT) , P.O.Box 6884, Virginia Beach, VA 23456Email: member@americancongressfortruth.comIf you no longer wish to receive these emails, please click here to unsubscribe
Our Taxes at Work!
I received this from ther American Congress for Truth, it amazes me to no end how the people who are supposed to represent us, in reality fail us. How do you like knowing your tax dollars are being wasted in Iraq when we have need for that money here!
Television Takeover
Taxpayer-financed Al-Hurra is becoming a platform for terrorists.
Television Takeover Taxpayer-financed Al-Hurra is becoming a platform for terrorists.By JOEL MOWBRAYThe Wall Street Journal
Fighting to create a secular democracy in Iraq, parliamentarian Mithal al-Alusi had come to rely on at least one TV network to help further freedom: U.S. taxpayer-financed Al-Hurra.
Now, however, he's concerned. The broadcaster he had seen as a stalwart ally has done an about-face. "Until now, we were so happy with Al-Hurra. It was taking stands against corruption, for human rights, and for peace. But not anymore."
Stories that he believes cry out for further investigation, such as recent arrests of those accused of supporting the terrorists in Iraq, are instead getting mere news-ticker mentions at the bottom of the screen. And Arab voices for freedom, which used to have a home on Al-Hurra, are noticeably absent. "They're driving out the liberals," he complains.
Mr. Alusi is not the only one concerned about the recent changes at Al-Hurra. Ken Tomlinson, the chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors -- the congressionally-created panel charged with overseeing Al-Hurra, among other government-funded broadcasters -- is currently demanding answers about the network's decision last December to broadcast most of a speech by Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hasan Nasrallah.
Sitting up straight and raising his index finger, he states emphatically, "It's the single worst decision I've witnessed in all my years in international broadcasting."
The airing of the Nasrallah speech is a sign of the network's new direction since it was taken over by a longtime CNN producer, Larry Register, last November. Launched in February 2004, Al-Hurra broadcasts three separate feeds: to Europe, Arab nations and one for Iraq. The network is supposed to be a key component of our public diplomacy to the Arab world. Its mission statement calls for it to showcase the American political process, and just as important, report on things that get little attention on other Arabic networks, such as human-rights abuses and government corruption.
Within weeks of becoming news director, Mr. Register put his own stamp on the network. Producers and on-air talent quickly understood that change was underway. Investigations into Arab government wrongdoing or oppression were no longer in vogue, and the ban on turning the airwaves over to terrorists was lifted. For those who had chafed under Mr. Register's predecessor -- who curbed the desire of many on staff to make Al-Hurra more like al-Jazeera -- the new era was welcomed warmly.
"Everybody feels emboldened. Register changed the atmosphere around here," notes one staffer. "Register is trying to pander to Arab sympathies," says another.
The cultural shift inside the newsroom is evident in the on-air product. In the past several months, Al-Hurra has aired live speeches from Mr. Nasrallah and Hamas leader Ismail Haniya, and it broadcast an interview with an alleged al Qaeda operative who expressed joy that 9/11 rubbed "America's nose in the dust."
While a handful of unfortunate decisions could be isolated, these actions appear to be part of Mr. Register's news vision. Former news director Mouafac Harb, a Lebanese-born American citizen, was not shy about his disdain for terrorists and had a firm policy against giving them a platform. But Mr. Register didn't wait long to allow Hamas officials on the air to discuss Palestinian politics.
At a staff meeting announcing the reversal of the ban on terrorists as guests, Mr. Register "bragged" about his personal relationship with Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar, a top Hamas official, according to someone who was present. Contacted on his cell phone last week for comment, Mr. Register declined, indicating that he couldn't spare even two minutes anytime in the coming days.
Perhaps it is because Mr. Register is so casual in his attitude to terrorists that interviewers now toss softball questions to fiery anti-Western guests, while also taking digs at one of America's closest Middle Eastern allies, Israel.
The new Al-Hurra was on full display Feb. 9, when riots broke out following Israel's implementation of security measures that limited access to the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
In roughly two hours of breathless live "breaking news" coverage -- which outdistanced al-Jazeera by 30 minutes -- Al-Hurra's Muslim guests vilified Israel, and one spun conspiracy theories about the Jewish state's "plans" to destroy the Al Aqsa Mosque. No doubt the Islamic talking heads were egged on by the Al-Hurra anchors asking questions such as, "Do you think that the timing of these actions is as innocent as Israel pretends?" (Translations were provided by a fluent Arabic-speaking U.S. government official.)
This powder keg of a panel included Ikrima Sabri, imam of the Al Aqsa Mosque, who is best known for his tenure as Yasser Arafat's hand-picked mufti of Jerusalem. During the broadcast, Mr. Sabri accused Israel of firing guns and throwing bombs into the mosque, then refusing to allow medical care for the wounded.
Mr. Sabri's propaganda should not have come as a surprise. Just weeks before 9/11, Mr. Sabri delivered a passionate Friday sermon, broadcast nationally on official Palestinian Authority radio. He prayed for the destruction of Israel, Britain and the United States. (The sound clip and transcript were provided by the Palestinian Media Watch.)
If anyone should be savvy about people like Mr. Sabri, it ought to be Mr. Register. With two decades of experience at CNN, including three years running the Jerusalem bureau, he should know that live TV is the wrong venue for firebrands or guests prone to outrageous commentary.
Complicating matters is that once someone is on Al-Hurra live, Mr. Register lacks the basic requirement to stay on top of unfolding coverage; he doesn't speak Arabic. Had Mr. Register been able to understand Mr. Nasrallah's Dec. 7 speech, perhaps he would have rushed to cut away early on. Before the five-minute mark, Mr. Nasrallah told the audience to stop their celebratory gun-firing, explaining, "the only place where bullets should be is the chest of the enemies of Lebanon: the Israeli enemy."
Former Broadcasting Board of Governors member Norman Pattiz understands the perils of turning over the airwaves to the likes of Mr. Nasrallah. Though he wouldn't comment on anything relating to recent months -- he left the board last year, before Mr. Register's arrival -- Mr. Pattiz said bluntly, "Simply handing a microphone over to a terrorist and letting them spew is not what I would call good journalism."
Though Mr. Pattiz is a well-known Democrat who feuded constantly with Mr. Tomlinson, a Republican, the two men had one area of agreement: Mr. Harb, Al-Hurra's original news director. Sounding remarkably similar to Mr. Tomlinson, Mr. Pattiz said, "The direction Al-Hurra launched in is the direction in which it should continue to go, because it was very successful."
Mr. Alusi, the Iraqi parliamentarian, agrees. "Al-Hurra should have the role of transporting democracy, and to help Iraqis understand freedom," he says. "If you have a good product, you must sell it in a good way. The United States is a very good product."
Mr. Mowbray is working on a book about the struggle for the heart of Islam in America.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Everyday, American Congress for Truth (ACT) is a 501c3 non profit organization on the front lines fighting for you in meeting with politicians, decision makers, speaking on college campuses and planning events to educate and inform the public about the threat of radical Muslim fundamentalists to world peace. We are committed to combating the global upsurge of hate and intolerance.To continue and bolster our efforts, we need your continued solidarity, activism and financial support. We are only as strong as our supporters. We thank you for helping us carry on this important work.
American Congress for Truth (ACT) , P.O.Box 6884, Virginia Beach, VA 23456Email: member@americancongressfortruth.comIf you no longer wish to receive these emails, please click here to unsubscribe
Television Takeover
Taxpayer-financed Al-Hurra is becoming a platform for terrorists.
Television Takeover Taxpayer-financed Al-Hurra is becoming a platform for terrorists.By JOEL MOWBRAYThe Wall Street Journal
Fighting to create a secular democracy in Iraq, parliamentarian Mithal al-Alusi had come to rely on at least one TV network to help further freedom: U.S. taxpayer-financed Al-Hurra.
Now, however, he's concerned. The broadcaster he had seen as a stalwart ally has done an about-face. "Until now, we were so happy with Al-Hurra. It was taking stands against corruption, for human rights, and for peace. But not anymore."
Stories that he believes cry out for further investigation, such as recent arrests of those accused of supporting the terrorists in Iraq, are instead getting mere news-ticker mentions at the bottom of the screen. And Arab voices for freedom, which used to have a home on Al-Hurra, are noticeably absent. "They're driving out the liberals," he complains.
Mr. Alusi is not the only one concerned about the recent changes at Al-Hurra. Ken Tomlinson, the chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors -- the congressionally-created panel charged with overseeing Al-Hurra, among other government-funded broadcasters -- is currently demanding answers about the network's decision last December to broadcast most of a speech by Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hasan Nasrallah.
Sitting up straight and raising his index finger, he states emphatically, "It's the single worst decision I've witnessed in all my years in international broadcasting."
The airing of the Nasrallah speech is a sign of the network's new direction since it was taken over by a longtime CNN producer, Larry Register, last November. Launched in February 2004, Al-Hurra broadcasts three separate feeds: to Europe, Arab nations and one for Iraq. The network is supposed to be a key component of our public diplomacy to the Arab world. Its mission statement calls for it to showcase the American political process, and just as important, report on things that get little attention on other Arabic networks, such as human-rights abuses and government corruption.
Within weeks of becoming news director, Mr. Register put his own stamp on the network. Producers and on-air talent quickly understood that change was underway. Investigations into Arab government wrongdoing or oppression were no longer in vogue, and the ban on turning the airwaves over to terrorists was lifted. For those who had chafed under Mr. Register's predecessor -- who curbed the desire of many on staff to make Al-Hurra more like al-Jazeera -- the new era was welcomed warmly.
"Everybody feels emboldened. Register changed the atmosphere around here," notes one staffer. "Register is trying to pander to Arab sympathies," says another.
The cultural shift inside the newsroom is evident in the on-air product. In the past several months, Al-Hurra has aired live speeches from Mr. Nasrallah and Hamas leader Ismail Haniya, and it broadcast an interview with an alleged al Qaeda operative who expressed joy that 9/11 rubbed "America's nose in the dust."
While a handful of unfortunate decisions could be isolated, these actions appear to be part of Mr. Register's news vision. Former news director Mouafac Harb, a Lebanese-born American citizen, was not shy about his disdain for terrorists and had a firm policy against giving them a platform. But Mr. Register didn't wait long to allow Hamas officials on the air to discuss Palestinian politics.
At a staff meeting announcing the reversal of the ban on terrorists as guests, Mr. Register "bragged" about his personal relationship with Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar, a top Hamas official, according to someone who was present. Contacted on his cell phone last week for comment, Mr. Register declined, indicating that he couldn't spare even two minutes anytime in the coming days.
Perhaps it is because Mr. Register is so casual in his attitude to terrorists that interviewers now toss softball questions to fiery anti-Western guests, while also taking digs at one of America's closest Middle Eastern allies, Israel.
The new Al-Hurra was on full display Feb. 9, when riots broke out following Israel's implementation of security measures that limited access to the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
In roughly two hours of breathless live "breaking news" coverage -- which outdistanced al-Jazeera by 30 minutes -- Al-Hurra's Muslim guests vilified Israel, and one spun conspiracy theories about the Jewish state's "plans" to destroy the Al Aqsa Mosque. No doubt the Islamic talking heads were egged on by the Al-Hurra anchors asking questions such as, "Do you think that the timing of these actions is as innocent as Israel pretends?" (Translations were provided by a fluent Arabic-speaking U.S. government official.)
This powder keg of a panel included Ikrima Sabri, imam of the Al Aqsa Mosque, who is best known for his tenure as Yasser Arafat's hand-picked mufti of Jerusalem. During the broadcast, Mr. Sabri accused Israel of firing guns and throwing bombs into the mosque, then refusing to allow medical care for the wounded.
Mr. Sabri's propaganda should not have come as a surprise. Just weeks before 9/11, Mr. Sabri delivered a passionate Friday sermon, broadcast nationally on official Palestinian Authority radio. He prayed for the destruction of Israel, Britain and the United States. (The sound clip and transcript were provided by the Palestinian Media Watch.)
If anyone should be savvy about people like Mr. Sabri, it ought to be Mr. Register. With two decades of experience at CNN, including three years running the Jerusalem bureau, he should know that live TV is the wrong venue for firebrands or guests prone to outrageous commentary.
Complicating matters is that once someone is on Al-Hurra live, Mr. Register lacks the basic requirement to stay on top of unfolding coverage; he doesn't speak Arabic. Had Mr. Register been able to understand Mr. Nasrallah's Dec. 7 speech, perhaps he would have rushed to cut away early on. Before the five-minute mark, Mr. Nasrallah told the audience to stop their celebratory gun-firing, explaining, "the only place where bullets should be is the chest of the enemies of Lebanon: the Israeli enemy."
Former Broadcasting Board of Governors member Norman Pattiz understands the perils of turning over the airwaves to the likes of Mr. Nasrallah. Though he wouldn't comment on anything relating to recent months -- he left the board last year, before Mr. Register's arrival -- Mr. Pattiz said bluntly, "Simply handing a microphone over to a terrorist and letting them spew is not what I would call good journalism."
Though Mr. Pattiz is a well-known Democrat who feuded constantly with Mr. Tomlinson, a Republican, the two men had one area of agreement: Mr. Harb, Al-Hurra's original news director. Sounding remarkably similar to Mr. Tomlinson, Mr. Pattiz said, "The direction Al-Hurra launched in is the direction in which it should continue to go, because it was very successful."
Mr. Alusi, the Iraqi parliamentarian, agrees. "Al-Hurra should have the role of transporting democracy, and to help Iraqis understand freedom," he says. "If you have a good product, you must sell it in a good way. The United States is a very good product."
Mr. Mowbray is working on a book about the struggle for the heart of Islam in America.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Everyday, American Congress for Truth (ACT) is a 501c3 non profit organization on the front lines fighting for you in meeting with politicians, decision makers, speaking on college campuses and planning events to educate and inform the public about the threat of radical Muslim fundamentalists to world peace. We are committed to combating the global upsurge of hate and intolerance.To continue and bolster our efforts, we need your continued solidarity, activism and financial support. We are only as strong as our supporters. We thank you for helping us carry on this important work.
American Congress for Truth (ACT) , P.O.Box 6884, Virginia Beach, VA 23456Email: member@americancongressfortruth.comIf you no longer wish to receive these emails, please click here to unsubscribe
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