In the latest of his instructional videos, Dr. Bill Warner explains to his audience that not all forms of jihad are violent. Just because your nice Muslim neighbor wouldn’t hurt a fly, it doesn’t mean he’s not waging jihad against the infidel…
Many thanks to Vlad Tepes for uploading this video:
I had originally collected 300 news items from while I was gone, to be used for last night’s news feed, and had planned to post them (late). But it was too much for the software — it broke the system. So that post had to be discarded, unfortunately.
The most interesting item from tonight’s news is that Abu Hamza was convicted of terrorism in New York, and may face a life sentence.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Fjordman, JD, JP, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.
The following video of the Prayer March for Persecuted Christians was posted by the organizers, Burning Bush Ministries in Orlando. They did a superb job of putting together this event:
Below are the notes that accompany this video. They list me as coming from “out of the country”, but that’s obviously a mistake (it happens to me a lot, because of the “Vienna” connection).
On May 17, 2014, 200+ people gathered in Orlando, FL for the Prayer March For Persecuted Christians coordinated by Rev. Bruce Lieske and Alan Kornman. Tom and Carole Hays, Barbara Lieske, Dolores Divine, Judy Finnie, and a team of dedicated volunteers ultimately responsible for making this event a reality.
People of all faiths, races, and denominations joined together to raise awareness of Christian persecution around the world.
An international group of speakers from Pakistan, Syria, Egypt, Germany, and Europe tell their personal stories of persecution. Meet many of them as you watch this video.
Recent events in Nigeria where 300 Christian girls were kidnapped, forced to convert to Islam, raped, and tortured by the Islamist Jihadi group Boko Haram, caught the attention of the world. 10% of the kidnapped girls who were Muslim were set free by their captors. The fate of the remaining girls is grim.
What Is Christian Persecution
Rev. Bruce Lieske writes, “We believe that the prayer march for persecuted Christians held in Orlando, Florida on May 17, 2014 is the beginning of a North American movement. For too long Christians have been silent about the plight of persecuted Christians around the world. In the past we have heard little about this growing problem. It does not fit the preferred narrative of the secular news media, and for the most part our pulpits are silent. Pastors appear to be intimidated by the lie of ‘political correctness’ or cowed by implied threats from Muslim organizations. Christians are now the most persecuted people group on earth. They suffer imprisonment, beheadings, rape, public torture and kidnappings — often resulting in forced marriages, sex slavery and false conversions to Islam. Their homes, churches and schools are burned, such as happened in Pakistan in 2013 when 200 homes and two churches were burned because of an alleged blasphemy against Muhammad.
I just got back from Orlando, where it was my privilege to attend the Prayer March and Rally for Persecuted Christians. The Rev. Bruce Lieske and his team at Burning Bush Ministries are to be commended for their efforts in organizing a memorable and inspirational evening.
A number of Gates of Vienna regulars took part in the march. Among the representatives from Europe were Sister Hatune Dogan (Germany), Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff (Austria), and Henrik Ræder Clausen (Denmark), who took the video posted below.
Valerie Price of ACT! For Canada was also among the out-of-town (and out-of country) marchers.
Preceding the march was an ACT! For America meeting on Thursday night (where Elisabeth gave the speech you read a couple of days ago), and a panel discussion at a local Lutheran church on Friday night. The march on Saturday was followed by a prayer service at another Lutheran church, this one in downtown Orlando.
All the events were a great success, thanks to the tireless work of the ecumenical team that did the planning, donated the venues and materials, and provided the staffing for the march and the prayer service.
Many thanks also to Vlad Tepes for uploading this clip from yesterday evening:
…not yet, anyway.
Timing is everything, until it isn’t. When plans get pushed aside by events…
We’d planned to do the Spring 2014 Fundraiser Fun-For-All starting tomorrow. The Baron has just arrived home, but he’s full of the Orlando aftermath. “Aftermath” means lots of videos to process and a lot of ground to go over again, but in cyberspace time rather than real time.
So we’ve decided that it would be best if he simply takes the week to decompress, process and metabolize the events and the people who came together to give voice to the voiceless Christians who are being murdered by the Religion of Peace. That done, we can begin the nuts-and-bolts of fundraising later on.
How much “later” remains the question. I would like to do it near the Summer Solstice, but the B may not want to wait that long. My reason? For several decades we had a Midsummer weekend celebration. Friends came from all over and camped out for two days. We had lots of food and a big Saturday night supper with everyone contributing their favorite dish. I don’t think we ever had to assign main dishes or salads or desserts; it just seemed to turn out right by magic. And I could always count on the bachelors for Kentucky Fried Chicken. (My specialty was sweet and sour stuffed cabbage). The fireworks were after supper — it didn’t get dark until after nine so all the kids were certainly wound up by then. And with the mighty sugar surges from Mississippi Mudcake flowing through their systems, their little brains were panting for the fiery flowers in the dark sky overhead and the pinwheels and the rocket’s red glare, of course.
Ah, memories. We sure collected us some…
Anyways, no Spring Fundraiser this week. But there will be an Early Summer Squeeze for sure. No doubt y’all are as disappointed as can be, but never fear — that mason jar full o’ cash will be lighting our pages soon.
However, first things first:…
Dr. Williams is here to weigh in on the villain du jour – that crude, rude, evil and rich racist – Donald Sterling. This modern day slave driver owns a basketball team. He also has a big mouth, or rather, he has a trouble-making mistress who recorded his rantings about black people which made him a de facto La Boca Grande. But if you can’t trust your mistress, who can you trust?
As frequent readers of Gates of Vienna are aware, I’m an enthusiastic fan of economist, Walter Williams. I like him for the same reason I like The Grateful Dead or the former poet laureate, Billy Collins: the lightness of being that shines through all of their work shines also on us. The gifts they share with us are buoyant and blesséd, and so are we when we participate in their work…
Economic philosophy has been called “the dismal science”; if you get your ideas about economics from Paul Krugman, he of Yale and The New York Times, you’ll no doubt agree. PK has the existential flaw which runs through all of liberal ‘thinking’, i.e.,they feel rather than think and are immune to reality, thus the scare quotes. This immunity to Reason is a (sort of) tribute to liberals’ deeply held dogmas. Even as the arrow falls to earth they will continue to hold their hands over their eyes, denying themselves a world-shaking glimpse of the laws of gravity and clinging to their failed ideologies.
Overriding those dimwitted feelings is the regressive notion of scarcity. This “not-enough-to-go-around” idea has been used to harness the negativity and fears of groups who have been taught to believe that unless they scratch and claw and wail “no fair!” they’ll be left powerless, out in the cold. The sad part of all that nonsense is its self-fulfilling nature. Even sadder is the reality that these economic illiterates vote in the very people who will make their fears real even as they lie about making them safe from the Robber Barons and other villains spawned by that ol’ debbil, Capitalism.
Dr. Williams is the cure for such dogmatic drivel. He goes on his merry way, undeterred by the True Believers and still teaching economic reality after all these years. His classes at George Mason University continue to be over-subscribed.
Here is his “Books” page. Included are his own books and the works of others he thinks are basic to economic literacy. He also has online somewhere a brief course for beginners who are enthusiastic about Reason and Reality and are willing to drop those heavy doom and gloom chains they carry everywhere.
If you’ve read any of the drivel written about Donald Sterling and what fate he deserves, Dr. Williams’ antidote to silly talk extruding from pundits’ mouths at an alarming rate is below. Any emphases there are mine:
Donald Sterling, Los Angeles Clippers owner, was recorded by his mistress making some crude racist remarks. Since then, Sterling’s racist comments have dominated the news, from talk radio to late-night shows. A few politicians have weighed in, with President Barack Obama congratulating the NBA for its sanctions against Sterling. There’s little defense for Sterling, save his constitutional right to make racist remarks. But in a sea of self-righteous indignation, I think we’re missing the most valuable lesson that we can learn from this affair — a lesson that’s particularly important for black Americans.
Though Sterling might be a racist, there’s an important “so what?” Does he act in ways commonly attributed to racists? Let’s look at his employment policy.This season, Sterling paid his top three players salaries totaling over $46 million.. His 20-person roster payroll totaled over $73 million.
Here are a couple of questions for you:
Alert: Reality Quiz coming up!
Continue reading
Islamic jurisprudence is fascinating in the ways they can twist their “laws” to fit their blood-lust needs.
The interview with Dr. Bostom also provides some background on previous Boko Haram atrocities against boys in Nigeria.
Meanwhile Michelle Obama gave a speech on the kidnapped girls. Her problem with the terrorists? That the girls are being denied an education. We can presume Mrs. Obama is speaking officially for this incompetent, bored, and obscenely mismanaged administration. In other words, who cares?
Here is a page with lots of background information on this typically Islamist terrorist group.
As Dr Bostom and his interviewer point out, the silence of putative “moderate Muslims” in Nigeria – or elsewhere – is an example of the lack of any authentic “moderation” in Islam. Once Islam is in charge in any country, the collective citizenry are too busy surviving to develop further, much less to show any inclination toward moderation. For all its wealth, Saudi Arabia is no different: Backward, indolent, superstitious and supremely intolerant.
The wheels appear to be coming off this connection gizmo. The phone connection sounds like chirping birds, alternating with a fax machine noise. No, we don’t have a fax.
The series of deluges that moved through here last night may have gotten into the string and tin cans we use for connection. So if you don’t hear from me…
A brief post on the events in Orlando the past day or so. More to come shortly, but in the meantime, here is the text of Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff’s speech and some photos (courtesy Henrik Ræder Clausen) from the day.
Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff:
The Ongoing Islamization of Europe
Ladies and Gentlemen, I bring you greetings from Austria.
I congratulate Brigitte Gabriel, and you, Mike, and all the various chapters of ACT! For America for their tireless efforts to expose the ongoing stealth Islamization of the United States and Canada. As a native European, I can testify personally that the Islamization of my country and my continent is hardly a matter of stealth — it is occurring quite openly. Radical Islamic preachers declare the supremacy of Islam during Friday prayers in mosques in major cities all across Western Europe. Muslim demonstrators frequently take to the streets carrying signs that read “Islam Will Dominate” and “Sharia is the Answer”.
Under the direction of the EU bureaucrats in Brussels — whom we did not elect and cannot remove — we Europeans are required to admit more and more third-world immigrants, most of them Muslims. Our public institutions must change to accommodate them. Our schools become centers of Islamic propaganda and serve halal food to all their students, Muslim or otherwise. More and more mega-mosques are being built in our cities. Multicultural “tolerance” requires that we permit fully-veiled women as employees in all occupations, public or private. And, most ominously, any criticism of Islam — or even factual accounts of Islamic history and practices — are punished by lawsuits or state prosecution.
While looking for some further information on good and bad petroleum energy news, this report popped up. Think of this post as a place marker for the Baron; he’s sure to read whatever I put up when he gets back so this bit of good news will warm his heart.
Via RealClearEnergy a
link to the Independent brings a story which sounds a lot like what the Baron began to do when he heard about these new improved light bulbs, but well before he knew about his macular degeneration:
How would you view a man who’s stockpiled a lifetime supply of old-fashioned light bulbs because he believes low-energy bulbs could lead to blindness?
I’d view him as someone who plans to stay one step ahead of the regulatory harms that bureaucracy inflicts on average folks. But that’s just little ol’ paranoid me…and the doctors cited below. -D
You might well dismiss him as dotty. But the man in question, John Marshall, is no crank. In fact, he’s one of Britain’s most eminent eye experts, the professor of ophthalmology at the University College London Institute of Ophthalmology.
So concerned is he that he has boxes stacked with old-fashioned incandescent light bulbs at home.
“I bulk-bought incandescent light bulbs before the government made it illegal to import them,” he says. “I have enough to see me out.”
You have to admire the good doctor’s choice of words – i.e., buying enough to ‘see me out’. Amusing choice of metaphor; given that he’s English the wording is probably deliberate. It’s also what the Baron did – stock up on his favorite incandescent wattages…though we are still able to continue stocking up on these ‘normal bulbs’ here in La La Land. Go figure.
The Independent has another doctor-witness:
Nor is he alone in his concerns about modern light bulbs.
Another eminent British professor, John Hawk, an expert in skin disease, is warning they may cause sunburn-like damage, premature ageing and even skin cancer. He doesn’t have any low-energy bulbs in his house, explaining: “I have lots of old-style bulbs I bought in bulk when they were available.”
So there you go: compact fluorescent lights cause blindness and skin disease.
[And cell phones cause governmental agencies itching to follow your every move, but that’s a subject for another paranoid rant.]
Here’s the Independent’s explanation of why the EU would rather expose you to those exploding CFLs which can spray mercury everywhere while it burns your house down – yep, all in the name of making your carbon footprint a daintier (albeit contaminated) size:
The EU ban on “traditional” bulbs was aimed at cutting fuel and carbon emissions. The low-energy bulbs – or compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), to give them their technical name – are said to use 80 percent less electricity and to last longer.
[…]
The concern is about some of the light rays emitted at high levels by these bulbs, says Professor Marshall.
Recent scientific evidence shows these specific rays are particularly damaging to human eyes and skin. Light is made up of a spectrum of different coloured rays of light, which have different wavelengths. As he explains: “Light is a form of radiation. The shorter the wavelength, the more energy it contains. The most damaging part of the spectrum is the short-wavelength light at the indigo/violet end of blue.
“Incandescent bulbs did not cause problems, but these low-energy lamps emit high peaks of blue and ultraviolet light at this wavelength.”
In the same way ultraviolet rays in sunlight can cause premature ageing in our skin if we get sunburnt, there is a similar situation in the eye, says Marshall.
“You shed skin every five days, but your retina is with you for life.”
Well, we have long blocks here in the Outback of Virginia, so I’ll be gone for a few days. I’ve packed ample supplies of haggis and surströmming for the journey. I won’t faint for lack of sustenance.
There will be no news feed until I return.
While I’m gone, Dymphna will be keeping watch from the battlements. She’ll crank up the crossbow and upend cauldrons of burning oil whenever necessary — so watch out!
Ninety-eight would-be migrants were discovered hiding in false cargo loads in two trucks that arrived in Italy aboard a ferry from Greece. The new arrivals are said to be from Syria, and some of them are expected to apply for asylum in Italy.
In other news, Russia announced that it will shut down all American GPS stations on its territory. It also says it will ban the American use of Russian rocket engines to send military satellites into orbit.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Egghead, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, JP, Srdja Trifkovic, Steen, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.