Something Wicked This Way Comes

I mentioned the other night that earlier in the day I had attended a panel discussion sponsored by the Middle East Forum entitled “De-Platforming, A New Problem”, hosted by Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington DC. Daniel Pipes moderated it, and in addition to Rep. Gosar, the panelists were Tommy Robinson (by video link), Anne Marie Waters, Raheem Kassam, and Ezra Levant.

The beginning of the event was interrupted for an extended period (it felt like half an hour, but was probably more like ten minutes or so) by three lefty protesters. As you can see from the screen cap above, one of them represented Code Pink, a far left peace-’n’-justice advocacy group that was co-founded and made notorious by Medea Benjamin.

I intended (and still intend) to provide an extensive write-up of the event. I was waiting for a full video of the proceedings to be released, but unfortunately there has been a glitch: the MEF is having technical problems with the video file, so the public release of footage of the panelists has been delayed.

As a result, the sole video record of the event is the one provided by RT. For reasons best known to themselves, the Russian team chose to focus mostly on the disruption of the proceedings, and omit the substantive remarks by the panelists. The clip I posted earlier has been taken down by Ruptly and replaced with this slightly longer version, which contains a little bit more of what Tommy said along with a few other odds and ends:

For those who are interested, the original two-minute Ruptly video has been mirrored here.

The bearded shouter with the kippa is named Mikey Franklin, who bills himself as a “professional troublemaker”. At one point he had a Facebook page, but sometime within the last 48 hours it has been taken down. However, as of this afternoon he still has active accounts at Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. He also has IMDb cast listings for two productions, and is listed at Netroots Nation.

Except for Facebook, all of the above links were active this afternoon (November 16). For all I know, they may disappear soon, too.

A woman named Caroline Debnam says she was one of two young female protestors at the back of the room. It’s hard to tell from her Twitter postings, but I think she’s the one wearing the Code Pink button in the screen cap at the top of this post.

I also have my suspicions about the man with the grizzled hair and beard who sneered at the Code Pink girl and called her a “snotty little brat”. His behavior was not helpful to our side, but rather served the interests of our enemies. However, if what he did was entirely of his own volition, I apologize to him in advance.

I can’t help but wonder who footed the bill for this operation. And I’m suspicious of the fact that Ruptly had multiple stringers on site, and was able to post an edited video of the disruption very quickly, before I even returned home from the Wretched Hive of Scum and Villainy.

I tend to paranoia, but I will refrain from airing all my speculations here, not only because they are just that — speculations — but also because I don’t want to post anything that might end up being actionable in the event that one or more of the speculatees were to take exception to what I say.

The fact that there is no video of the what happened except for the unsatisfactory Ruptly footage makes it imperative that private cell phone recordings of all or part of the event be uploaded to YouTube as soon as possible. If you were taking footage at the MEF gig, please get in touch with me (gatesofvienna [at] chromatism [dot] net), and I’ll help you get the footage to Vlad Tepes. Or, if you have uploaded your footage, please send a link. I haven’t been able to find anything except the Ruptly clips.

One last note: According to his social media accounts, Mikey Franklin is indeed Jewish. However, if you look through his Instagram snaps, you’ll see that neither he nor anyone among his family and friends wears a kippa, or shows any other sign of being Orthodox.

It’s plain that Mr. Franklin reserves the wearing of the kippa for those occasions when he is being a “troublemaker”. The practice would seem to serve two simultaneous purposes:

1.   It provides him with protective cover as an oppressed “minority” when he decides to make trouble; and
2.   It serves to harm the State of Israel and observant Jews in general by associating them with his troublemaking.
 

I’m not saying that purpose #2 is deliberate on his part. But it may sometimes serve the interests of those who would contract with him for his troublemaking services (if such a transaction has ever in fact occurred).

Once again, the above is pure speculation. But all of the information that was at the listed links as of 2:45pm EST is factual.

Readers are free to draw any additional conclusions they like. However, I may not approve them in the comments if I deem them potentially actionable. Circumspection is recommended.

The MEF issued this press release about what happened on Wednesday:

Thugs Disrupt MEF Congressional Event

PHILADELPHIA — Nov. 15, 2018 — Three hooligans disrupted a Middle East Forum event in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C. yesterday, hurling expletives and insults. The louts continued to scream for some ten minutes, preventing the event from resuming until the Capitol Police arrived and expelled them.

The event, sponsored by Congressman Paul Gosar (Republican of Arizona) in cooperation with MEF, a Philadelphia-based think tank, focused on censorship and “de-platforming.” This is the new trend of ostensibly non-political institutions — social media, Amazon, PayPal, O2, Hyatt Hotels, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Mastercard, among others — to deny service to conservatives or those who publicly discuss Islamism and related topics.

As one participant in the event, UK activist Tommy Robinson, put it, “They are trying to de-platform an event on de-platforming.” Robinson discussed PayPal having closed his account and the major impact this has had on the ability to convey his message.

Rep. Paul Gosar opened the event with a warning that, “If you are not able to express your ideas on the common platforms, then you do not have free speech. If you are denied the ability to trade in the common marketplace, then you are not economically free — which is a prerequisite to political freedom.”

Raheem Kassam, a UK citizen of Pakistani Muslim ethnic background, told about his being demonetized by YouTube, and the impact this had on his ability to do his work.

Ezra Levant of Canada’s Rebel Media explained how the forces of intolerance have bullied him in courtrooms and, most recently, with canceling two cruises he had planned for Rebel.

Anne Marie Waters of the For Britain Party, told about her extensive difficulties in setting up a new party — simply opening a bank account or renting offices.

“Under the pretense of standing up to ‘Nazis’ and ‘Islamophobes,’ the hoodlums tried to silence people from, among others, Jewish and Muslim backgrounds,” said Daniel Pipes, MEF president and moderator of the event. “We waited out the disruption and resumed a successful discussion of an increasingly urgent issue. Suffice to say, the Forum will not be intimidated by thugs. But, sadly, we will make sure to have security close at hand at future public events.”

23 thoughts on “Something Wicked This Way Comes

  1. Unfortunately, there are a fair number of brainwashed Jewish ultra-lefties and a few of them prance around ostentatiously wearing kippot. They may be leftist neo-Hasidic Jewish Renewal types, a legitimate and interesting point of view from the 60s and 70s, but rarely Orthodox. The Baron’s guesses about Mikey Franklin are as good as mine here. Many Jews I know are pretty bewildered by the sudden new world of identitarian left alliance with Islam. They do not yet understand that they are increasingly shunned by the left and they don’t understand the danger of Islam. Islamic migration into the West has turned the political universe upside down.

    • I can sympathize with their bewilderment.Things have changed pretty fast .Up until Macron’s attack on Trump on Armistice day ,I had thought nationalism and patriotism were widely recognized as synonyms for love of country.

      Now Macron tells us nationalism is another word for treason.

      Up until Armistice day I had thought that we had won World Wars 1 and 2 and that France was grateful for the heroism of our men who died liberating her from German occupation.

      Now I know the French regard us as their deadliest enemy along with China and Russia and want to raise an army to defend themselves against us.

      And now history is rewritten and according to Macron ,Germany is the dearest and oldest ally France has.

      The Armistice day celebration ,according to Macron exists purely to affirm the Anglo-German alliance of World Wars 1 and 2 against the nasty Americans and horrible Russians.

      I think Macron has been smoking the waccky baccy but there are many on the left who will act as though he is actually making sense.

      • Macron does not speak for most French people. There is a great deal of disappointment here in him and his policies- particularly his tax cuts for the rich and the shoving up of fuel prices which affects the poorest most- especially those who live in the countryside where there is no public transport. His recent statements have not gone down well. The French are pretty fond of “la nation” and Macron’s ultra Europeanism combined with his scolding of the French as “backward” might appeal to the left wing of his party and help make up for his decidedly non left economic policies but they make a lot of people angry.

    • I have one question:
      In Germany we have Nazis and they are watched and fought by the Police and the protectors of the Constitution.

      Those left-wing jews are an embarrassement and danger for jews, so why doesn`t Israel watch and fight them? I think that the MOSSAD would be extremely qualified for it.

  2. I am the man with the “grizzled” beard who yelled back at the brats. Didn’t help our cause? Maybe you have a point. But, why are we always so polite? If a few more of us “grizzled,” as well as young, men and women show some grit for once, we might be taken more seriously. We are too easy to shut-up, and I think we need more fight. Does anybody know if they were arrested? Mark

    • I doubt they were arrested. Their speech, while disruptive, didn’t equal yelling “fire!” in a crowded theatre.

      We have a thing about civil discourse here at Gates of Vienna: yelling back at the brats is counterproductive to our work and violates first principles. We don’t demand that others have the same code of conduct, though. Except when they’re here.

      Being reactively rude to a leftist won’t get you taken more seriously; if anything it encourages their contempt. Would you engage a three-year-old or would you attempt to have their parents remove them from the room? That’s what the police do, they serve in loco parentis.

      These people see themselves on a moral mission, and we – their adversaries – are EVIL, irredeemable. They see themselves as always right, and they view us as something to be smashed into silence. And many of them are paid well for their political theatre.

      • I think that we need to be careful not to victim-blame.

        Mark is not the problem. Ms Code Pink AKA Snotty Little Brat is the problem.

        Does it help to snipe at such people? Probably not. But by the time things have degenerated to the point where they had, it probably doesn’t hurt, either, if one keeps it short.

        I think I’d have let “Is daddy gonna pay your bail?” escape from *my* lips.

        • I didn’t think Mark was the problem; I thought his actions were not helpful to our cause, and that made me wonder if he were a plant for the other side, an accomplice of the three SJWs. I’m very glad to learn he was not.

      • ‘Don’t argue with idiots – a bystander may not be able to tell the difference.’ More wise words from my son, although I think they are not his – he did say who they belong to but I can’t remember.

      • I remember an old saying:

        If the intelligent people always take a step back, the idiots will rule.

        Or as the Vikings put it:

        If you run away from the fight, you will die tired (when the enemy catches up on you).

        And lets not forget WW II (yes, I know I lost by bringing up ….)

        Following your advice Chamberlain should have stayed in office, but the people were tired of holding the other cheek. They fought back and won.

  3. The way to handle such interruptors is not to argue with them, like that guy who called one of the protestors a “snotty brat”, but to get security to take them way, and laugh it off like Tommy Robinson.

    Such interruptors are setting a trap, trying to create a reason for them to sue.
    In the discovery process of litigation, each party, through the law of civil procedure, can obtain information from the other party or parties, such as bank records, emails, etc.

    Through the discovery process, information can be obtained about individuals who desire to be anonymous, such as me. Individuals on our side who wanted to be anonymous can, and probably will be doxxed.

  4. The three hysterical people who disrupted the event were shouting statements about the panellists that were clearly slanderous. Is there any possibility of suing them? It would shut Mikey Franklin up, if only temporarily.

  5. Hello from the Grizzled old man. My 14-year-old daughter just inspired me, as she often does. And I will take the advice of those above who caution me not to be rude and call them brats, tempting as it is. My daughter just asked, “Dad, why don’t you just sing back to them next time the brats scream.” So, I think I will. The next time a Code Pink brat starts to bark-out her clap-trap, I will sing Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land.” That way, we can get a folk festival going before the police come. Yours, Mark

    • That’s an excellent idea! I like your solution.

      By the way — I’m at least as grizzled as you are.

  6. I will allow my Grandaughter’s cuddly toy penguin to comment on this. His name is “Quark”…..

    In Penguinese “They are round and they bounce!”

  7. As a veteran of many disruptions at UC Irvine, I see a huge problem in that campus police, who are under the thumb of the university, will rarely if ever make arrests. The recent trend at UC Irvine has been to allow the disrupters to do their thing for about 5 minutes then gently usher them out of the room. This is unacceptable. When we hold events, we should insist that police be present and insist that disrupters will immediately be removed and arrested if they fail to immediately comply. It is also necessary in this climate for event organizers and audience members whose First Amendment rights have been violated to file a police complaint.

  8. So what we suspected from the outset was true. This guy was faking being an orthodox Jew.

    Why would a freedom-of-speech disruptor of a peaceful colloquium cross-dress and pose as a religious Jew and not as a Sikh, Hindu and why would he not just simply remain himself, an American leftist reform Jew?

    For one, Jewish liberal social warriors loathe and reject their religious brethren. Mikey Franklin and his social warrior comrades probably derived some ‘Schadenfreude’ pleasure out of blackballing and tarring their orthodox co-religionists as boorish, bigoted brownshirt fascists.

    Code Pink’s handlers enjoy putting the blame of a Beerhall brawl on ‘the Jews’. ‘Useful idiot’ self-hating ultra-left liberal Jewish activists such as Mikey who would normally not wear a Kippa are happy to oblige.

    And though liberal Jews (exactly like their Christian liberal friends) oppose and fight religion on every twist and turn, they are slyly utilizing the Kippa to feign victimhood, threatened allegedly by malicious fascists, such as poor Tommy Robinson whom they will hound until he is lynched in prison. Welcome to the perversion of truth and justice and to the world of doublespeak.

    Please don’t misunderstand. Jews, are entitled to their fair share of idiots, as any other society or nation is. Some 50% of the US populace is rabidly leftist, it seems. Why should Mikey Franklin be expected to be smarter. He is not.

    But in fact, a disproportionate number of the Mosaic extraction are fighting on the cutting edge of the conservative front. Just Google (as long as it is still possible) Breitbart, David Horowitz, Dennis Prager, Larry Kudlow and many others.

    Mainstream media of course, will not report on events as de-platforming at all because they want to eliminate any discussion on the subject.

    RT does seek to report these skirmishes because they have their own agenda. They seek to amplify fissures within the US and the West in general. If the US were to break apart, Russia’s stature would be stronger, relatively. Whatever weakens the West, strengthens the Russian Empire.

    Russia must struggle to maintain its superpower status. Their population is about half the size of the US. But their GDP is one quarter the size of the US. Reagan really was right in busting the Russians’ bank during the arms race.

    So Russia must seek other devices in order to keep their place as a superpower. Part of it is old KGB playbook. While Nixon and Reagan were busy bankrupting the Russian economy, the Soviets were undermining morale in the West. They bankrolled European intellectuals busy deconstructing longstanding institutions such as the family, marriage, fidelity, the church, or loyalty to king and country. The 1968 unrests in Europe and the US were products of these efforts. Successful from the point of view of the Soviets.

    Right now, Russians are doing everything that will sow discord within the former Western Alliance. You will find them sweet talking the French and Macron, maneuvering the Germans to eat out of their hands, causing trouble in the Middle East and reporting on real scandals in the US, which the corrupt US mainstream media has refused to do.

    Igor Nikolaevich Panarin dean of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s school for diplomats has been preaching the demise of the US dollar, the sale of Russian oil against alternate currencies, the divestment of Russia’s foreign currency reserves for deposits of gold, and ultimately, he is forecasting the break-up of the American United States, into six independent clusters.

    It’s not that the Russians are enemies of the US per se. It’s just that they want to secure a prominent place for themselves as a superpower in the front row.

    For that reason, RT will provide a lot of interesting programming which the mainstream media will not. They are happy to run stories questioning the suppression of freedom of the press in the US and Europe and casting bad light on the dictatorship of the left. They will uncover corruption of the Obama administration like nobody has. RT has become one of the only few networks in this.

    At the same time RT is not unhappy also to show right-wingers as Antisemites. Both serve the Russian strategy to sow distrust in the Western system.

    But RT quickly realized that the con game Mikey Franklin put up was so utterly fake, it would only discredit RTs own reliability. So wisely, they pulled down the video.

    • Very smart comment, Hugo! What are you? A foreign secretary spin doctor? An Intelligence service strategist?

      • An autodidact student of the absurd.

        This story of an orthodox Jew play-acting the rambunctious victim of Tommy Robinson, was phony from the outset.

        There are so many stories swirling around of leftards simulating being black, Jewish, you name it.
        Why only today this:

        “Kansas State University students were horrified after a student posted a picture of a racist note on the door frame of his home at Jardine Apartments. The note read, “Beware n***ers live here! Knock at your own risk.” Campus police began investigating the note, presumably with an open mind, and investigators say the student has admitted making the sign and hanging it.

        You cannot make these things up. I am surprised though, a Jewish reform apparatchik would cast his coreligionists into disrepute. Have they no shame? Apparently, the liberals don’t.

        Ze Jooz are always a convenient scapegoat for slander and libel.

        Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, aka ‘Sam Bacile’ , the Egyptian artistic video creator, producer and promoter of ‘Innocence of Muslims’ initially pretended he was an Israeli Jew,and the film was made with “100 Jewish donors”. Hillary Clinton claimed the video was to blame for the murder of Ambassador Stephens in Benghazi, when he was killed in a flare-up with rebel groups while negotiating an arms-deal-gone bad. For all I care or know in the end she may have funded this video. Go figure.

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