theOneRepublic - tOR Blog

[Mediacrity] 12:01 am [permalink]
Sunday Times Wince-Fest Reading the Sunday New York Times, particularly its editorials and op-ed offerings, is always an adventure for anyone who does not adhere to a rigid-left point of view. "How much wincing will I have to do this morning?" we all ask ourselves, I am sure. I call it the "wince factor."

Well, Sunday's edition was truly a wince-fest. At least three winces on every page. Now, before I get to the winces, I should point out that the Times did run a decent, intellgent editorial on the UN Human Rights Commission that actually -- I think this may be a first for the edit page -- had something nice to say about John Bolton! I kid you not. Here it is.

But apart from that, it was just the usual conglomeration of winces. The Empty Suit.... oh my. As I indicated a few weeks ago, Barney Calame has clearly given up. All pretense of being an actual "public editor" is gone. I mean, a column on corporate discounts for Times employees? What's next? A column on the food in the Times cafeteria? (Oh, we do have a little item on the ports-controversy coverage. Everything A-OK!) My face was wincing so much I thought I had a nerve disorder.

"House conservative" David Brooks writes another lame column, this one about a convention on democracy in the Arab world. "William Safire's replacement." Yeah, right. Sure, Safire's shoes were tough to fill. But Brooks doesn't even try. You have to pay good money to Times Select to read his column. Why would anyone do that? "So now these [Middle East] democrats face a choice: live with the corrupt regimes of the status quo or embrace the rising Islamist parties like Hamas." Thanks, guy. Didn't know that.

Sarah Vowell followed with a phoned-in Katrina-genre Bush-bashing and Nicholas Kristof says the port controversy demonstrates prejudice toward Arabs: "But since 9/11 there has been a nativist, Know-Nothing streak in politics; a year ago it blocked China's deal to acquire Unocal, and today it rages at the Dubai ports deal." I won't post links because it isn't necessary -- these guys are just repeating what they always say.

Hey, don't tell me about "know-nothings," feller. All one has to do is pick up the Sunday New York Times, and the "know nothings" are out in force -- always the same monotonous, shrill, predictable drivel. And a little touch of the Empty Suit to tell us what a great paper it is in! [go to Mediacrity blog]

[Mediacrity] 12:03 am [permalink]
A Dumb Assault on Good Reporters I was a lonely defender of Judith Miller back when she was under politically motivated attack -- though I backed off when she published a confused, phony defense of her position. But the subpoena Friday of two reporters for Dow Jones by the Securities and Exchange Commission gives me no misgivings whastsoever. This is a clear case of intimidation of two tough reporters and I hope my conservative friends join me in calling for the SEC to back off.

What makes this whole thing particularly weird is that it seems to have been instigated by one of the wackiest CEOs around today -- Patrick Byrne. A couple of weeks ago I took Byrne to task for his nutty comment that his private litigation was a "jihad." This New York Times column today on this jackass is on the mark. He is engaged in outright bullying of the press, targeting bastions of the liberal media as the New York Post and his arch-enemy, Dow Jones. Two reporters there have gotten under his skin, and apparently he was able to persuade the dopey SEC to go along.

As I have said repeatedly for many months, as I've excoriated the lousier practitioners of journalism, there are still a surprising number of good ones out there -- working at places like Dow Jones, and generally not on the political or foreign policy beat. Those of us who condemn the bad apples of the media should stand by the good ones when they are under attack. [go to Mediacrity blog]

[Laura Mansfield - contributor, Strategic Translations] 12:03 am [permalink]
Michigan Muslim leader calls for the “physical death” of those who “defile” the Prophet Mohamed A Muslim leader of a Michigan mosque with links to a man who taught confessed shoe-bomber Richard Reid at the Finsbury Park Mosque, has called for the “physical death” of those who “defile” the Prophet Mohamed and other Prophets of Islam, describing it as “blasphemy”.

Hanafi Abdul-Malik, Imam of the downtown Flint Michigan mosque Muslim House made the statements to a reporter for the Flint Journal.

"Muslims respect God and all his prophets," Adbul-Malik said. "We would not bring harm to any of them."

"For anyone to defile any of them as has been done to the prophet Muhammad is blasphemy," he said. "We think the consequence for doing so is physical death."

Another Muslim House Imam has acknowledged that he lectured at the Finsbury Park Mosque and the two British Muslims involved in suicide bombings in Israel, Asif Hanif and Omar Sharif, and the ‘shoe bomber’ Richard Reid attended his lectures.

Imam Ramee Mohamed sought asylum in the UK in 2004, claiming he feared persecution should he return to the US. He was arrested in the UK in April 2004, and deported back to the US.

An article published on the front page of last week's Sunday Express, headlined "Maddest asylum plea yet", claimed Mr Muhammed taught Richard Reid - the so-called "shoe bomber"- and had links with the radical preacher Abu Hamza..

Imam Muhammed claims the article is untrue and has complained to the Press Complaints Commission. He admits Richard Reid attended a lecture of his at the Finsbury Park mosque, but says that was six years ago and that he was lecturing on brotherhood. He says he knows Omar Bakri Muhammed, leader of the fringe group al-Muhajiroun, but has no links with him.

By June 2005, Imam Ramee was back in Chicago at the “Takin it to the Streets 2005” Festival. Since returning to the US, Imam Ramee, a former Marine, has been interviewed by the FBI and placed on a list of people suspected of having terrorist links. (This has prevented him from returning to his old job as a prison officer and bans him from leaving the US.)

On July 25, 2005, Muslim House Imam Ramee Mohamed posted the following information on the website of the “Jamaatul Qadir International Educational Trust”, an organization that was run by Imam Ramee. (The website has been removed from the internet, but the contents remain in the Google Cache.)

Western Goverments seeks to lock-up Ulema that speak the truth Did Usama order the Muslims to fight or did the Quran, which is the pure unchanged words of ALLAH SWT ?

But Imam Ramee continues to preach his brand of Islam to the Muslims of America. Now one of his colleagues is calling for the death of anyone who insults the name of the Prophet Mohamed.

And now one of his colleagues is calling for the death of anyone who "defiles" the prophet Mohamed.

[Cliff Kincaid columnist] 12:05 am [permalink]
Hollywood Corruption Referring to Hollywood's Golden Globe awards, which are seen as a preview of what might happen on Oscar Night, an AP story said, "It was a triumphant night for films dealing with homosexuality and transsexuality." The 78th annual Academy Awards will air March 5 on ABC.

Meanwhile, USA Today published a December 21 article, "Films show terrorists as people," on how Hollywood is showing a "new side of terrorism." The story by Scott Bowles said that "To the dismay of some critics, several films are offering humanizing portraits of extremists, including suicide bombers…" It cites "Paradise Now," about suicide bombers; "Syriana;" "Sleeper Cell" on Showtime; and Steven Spielberg's "Munich."

Can it get any worse than this? Hollywood is promoting decadence at home while depicting our enemies as worthwhile human beings. It's like Hollywood is telling Osama bin Laden and his crew that we're ripe for the picking.

The Hollywood-funded Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is ecstatic over the R-rated homosexual propaganda film, "Brokeback Mountain," getting four Golden Globes. GLAAD says, "'Brokeback Mountain' is an American love story about two people who simply cannot have what they want because of societal prejudice." By contrast, Ted Baehr of MovieGuide calls it "twisted, laughable, frustrating and boring Neo-Marxist homosexual propaganda." The Office for Film and Broadcasting for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops calls the film morally offensive.

If it's not bad enough that Hollywood is promoting immorality and a soft-on-terrorism message, there are plans to launch a horror-film cable channel. There's nothing wrong with a good "spine chiller," but the Independent film studio Lions Gate is said to be behind this new venture. Lions Gate is responsible for such trash as "Devil's Rejects" and "Hostel."

The Catholic Office for Film and Broadcasting describes "Hostel" as "nauseatingly vile" and "Devil's Rejects" as "sinking to nauseating lows in presenting depravity as entertainment."

Nevertheless, Lions Gate reports that it has "attracted a diverse spectrum of blue-chip investors including Fidelity Management, Capital Research and Management, professional sports and broadband entrepreneur Mark Cuban and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen." [AIM]

[Laura Mansfield - contributor, Strategic Translations] 12:03 am [permalink]
Mecca-Cola, Hamas profiting from Cartoon Intifada Much of the fallout from the Cartoon Intifada has been obvious: a boycott throughout much of the Islamic world of Danish products; riots in the streets of Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia; attacks on consulates and western businesses.

But for Mecca Cola, the United Arabic Emirates-based company that competes head to head in Muslim populations with Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola, the fallout has been positive, with a ripple effect on their donations to Palestinian organizations linked to terror.

They have seen sales of Mecca Cola products triple since the outcry over the cartoons began.

According to Mecca Cola World Co. chairman Taoufik Mathlouthi "Growth came with these Danish caricatures. It's crazy but our sales multiplied by three. We cannot supply all the demand we have right now."

In fact, business is so good that they have launched a new energy drink called "Mecca Power" with the slogan "get the Halal power". Halal is an Arabic word that means "permitted" or "lawful" and is used to indicate something that is permissible under Islamic law.

This is good news for Palestinian charities in Gaza and the West Bank, which receive 10% of the proceeds of every can of Mecca Cola sold.

Mecca-Cola says that it definitely will give money to charity and has gone to great pains to assure that its donations don't go to terrorism.

Ten percent will go to buy books and school equipment for Palestinian children, and the other 10 percent will go to local charities in France, Mathlouthi said. It is important for the Mecca-Cola boss to donate goods and not cash, states Mathlouthi: "We don't want people to think that we support soldiers or terrorist groups, only suffering children."

The Mecca Cola website includes an undated image of the charities that receive donations at http://www.mecca-cola.com/en/beneficiary.php. The document, which lists the charities and certifies their charitable status, is signed by Dr. Mousa Zabout.

But a United Nations, Division of Palestinian Rights, document published in 2003 describes Zabout as follows: "Moussa Zabout, a Gaza physician with ties to Hamas and Islamic Jihad". And at least two of the charities on the list of recipients were temporarily shut down by the Palestinian Monetary Fund under pressure from the US as fronts for PA rival Hamas.

We've requested a current list of charities from the Public Relations Department at Mecca Cola, and have received no reply.

Does Mecca Cola continue to fund Hamas-linked charities from sales of their products, not just in the Islamic world, but in the UK, France, and other parts of Europe?

[Mediacrity] 12:03 am [permalink]
Hamas 'Pragmatism' and Palestinian 'Innocence' Yep, it's clear. Hamas is now OK, as long as its genocidal polices are implemented with a handshake and a smile -- or, to use media-speak, if it is led by "pragmatic" terror chieftains. Honestreporting has a solid takeout on this Hamas "pragmatism" nonsense, which I explored previously here.

The emerging pro-Palestinian line was expressed in the Washington Post today by former "president" Jimmy Carter. In an op-ed that reminds us why he was the most despised commander in chief in recent history, Carter warns: "Don't Punish the Palestinians."

Well, why not? After all, didn't they elect Hamas? I mean. . . no! no! says Carter. That was done by Martians. They are innocent! And above all they are oppressed!

Describing reports of joint U.S.-Israel efforts to isolate Hamastan, the elderly peckerwood says as follows:

This common commitment to eviscerate the government of elected Hamas officials by punishing private citizens may accomplish this narrow purpose, but the likely results will be to alienate the already oppressed and innocent Palestinians, to incite violence, and to increase the domestic influence and international esteem of Hamas. It will certainly not be an inducement to Hamas or other militants to moderate their policies.

Be nice to Hamas, and all will be fine. This line of pap may gain some traction, by the way, if the Pals go back to their effective policy of doubletalk.

But fortunately for Israel, when the Hamasniks say they don't want negotiations with Israel, they mean it. So the horrifying prospects for another "Oslo" are, for the time being at last, dead and buried. As they say in Georgia, "Hallelujah, brother!" [go to Mediacrity blog]