07/27/14

Time to Finish the Threat

Arlene from Israel

It’s going on 72 hours since I’ve posted – the longest interval I’ve gone without a posting since this war with Hamas began.  In that period, as I have attempted to track what is happening, I felt as if my head was spinning 350 degrees. Round and round.

Here I only intend to review the essential outline of what has been transpiring and then look at the bottom line basics that matter most.

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In the period leading up to Shabbat, on Friday, Israel was said to be considering a proposal for a week long ceasefire that had been put on the table by Kerry.  In the end, that proposal was unanimously rejected by the Israel Security Cabinet; its members were, to a person, furious: Kerry had come out solidly on the side of Hamas.

Communicating with representatives of Qatar and Turkey in putting together his proposal, Kerry had, in the words of unnamed Israeli sources cited by Times of Israel, “’dug a tunnel under the Egyptian ceasefire proposal’ — which Israel accepted and Hamas rejected last week — and presented the Israeli government with a text that accepted ‘most of the demands’ raised by Hamas…

”To the ‘horror’ of the Israeli ministers, the Kerry proposal accepted Hamas’s demands for the opening of border crossings into Gaza — where Israel and Egypt fear the import of weaponry; the construction of a seaport; and the creation of a post-conflict funding channel for Hamas from Qatar and other countries, according to the sources. The proposal, meanwhile, did not even provide for Israel to continue demolishing the Hamas network of ‘terror tunnels’ dug under the Israeli border. (All emphasis added)

http://www.timesofisrael.com/kerry-completely-capitulated-to-hamas-in-ceasefire-proposal-says-israel/

”Channel 2′s diplomatic reporter Udi Segal said ‘voices”’ from the cabinet had described Kerry as ‘negligent,’ ‘lacking the ability to understand’ the issues, and ‘incapable of handling the most basic matters.’”

I myself think describing Kerry thus is cutting him too much slack. He is not the rocket scientist of the diplomatic world, true. But he’s not so foolish that he cannot perceive the implications of failing to call for demolishing the terror tunnels into Israel.  What we are seeing is not an attempt to stop the fighting that is simply lacking in conceptual clarity. We’re seeing an ally of Hamas express his distain and malice toward the people of Israel.  Make no mistake about this, or about the fact that Kerry speaks for the man in the White House.

Times of Israel editor David Horovitz calls what Kerry did a “betrayal,” and says the result is that “Jerusalem now regards him as duplicitous and dangerous.”

http://www.timesofisrael.com/john-kerry-the-betrayal/

This is an awakening that I see as all to the good.

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Subsequent to this, Kerry went to Paris where he met with representatives of Qatar and Turkey to “continue working” on the ceasefire.  I believe he met there as well with Ban Ki Moon, whom my readers know well as another duplicitous anti-Israel diplomat.

Should you feel inclined (you many not), you can see here a recent video of a press conference with Netanyahu and Ban. Our prime minister very vividly lays out the picture of what we are contending with regarding Hamas, after which Ban professes sympathy and then advises us that we cannot solve the problem until there is no more “occupation” and a “two state solution.”  We should start talking to each other.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qG-abT0lYYM

Today, Ban made a comment about how the people of Gaza have suffered enough.  As if we were causing that suffering on purpose and calling a halt to it is all that matters.

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After Israel rejected the week-long ceasefire that had been proposed by Kerry, Ban Ki Moon, in Paris, working with other “diplomats,” called for a short humanitarian ceasefire – to allow supplies to be brought in and the dead to be brought out – to be honored from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM yesterday. That was accomplished.

The UN then asked that the ceasefire be extended for another day.  We agreed to four more hours. But at 8:01 PM Hamas started firing again, declaring that “We didn’t agree to an extension.”  In spite of this, we held our fire.

Yet another extension – another day – of ceasefire was then requested and at about midnight last night the Security Cabinet met again (they are in very frequent session) and voted to agree to that further extension – I believe 20 hours – even though it was a one-sided ceasefire.  It was about at that point that I went into my WHAT ARE THEY DOING? mode.

Today we started shelling in Gaza again, because Hamas did not honor the ceasefire and enough was enough.

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AFTER we started shooting again, Hamas suddenly decided a ceasefire was a good idea after all, and called for it to be mutually instituted. This time Netanyahu said, Nothing doing.  Hamas had violated five ceasefires, two in the last 24 hours. Just since midnight last night, Hamas has launched over 40 rockets.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183396#.U9Ue15vlrIU

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One can readily see, reading this description of what has been transpiring, how the head might spin.  But the precise details are not important – it’s the bigger picture that matters.

There have been many questions raised about how much work was being done on dismantling the tunnels during times when we were holding fire.  I’ve gotten different reports on this from various sources, but my sense is that very little was done.  Thus do these “humanitarian” ceasefires unsettle me because they have the potential to shut us down a little at a time.  Before everything we have set out to do has been done.

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However, in the end, it’s not just about dismantling the tunnels we have uncovered: The stark truth is that we are not going to get all of the tunnels.

Several times I have a great sense of unease as our prime minister has said, “We are moving ahead with our goals, but there is no guarantee we will get 100% of the tunnels.”  And slowly, the picture has become clear.

Reports say we have identified about 35 tunnels.  I cited a report from Steve Emerson the other day that said the Americans, utilizing infrared censors in a satellite, had identified 60 tunnels.  Just today I picked up reliable information that, from the terrorists we have arrested in Gaza, we have learned that there are somewhere between 70 and 100 tunnels.

What is more, we are not fully dismantling all of those tunnels we have identified – a difficult job because of that reinforced concrete.

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We are, at least in some cases, apparently doing such things as detonating charges at the mouths of tunnels and pouring sand into them.  Is it far fetched to wonder whether some of them would be able to be reinstated as working tunnels with some effort by Hamas?

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Preventing Hamas from using these tunnels is the top priority now.  A major story has been making the news about what Hamas had planned.  I’ve heard alternately that written plans for this were picked up inside of some of the tunnels, or that the information came from some of the terrorists who have been captured.  I cannot verify the story and thus normally would not even mention it.  But it sounds like something Hamas might have been planning. They didn’t build the tunnels for recreation.  If it wasn’t this, it would be something similar:

“Hamas had apparently been preparing a murderous assault on Israeli civilian targets for the coming Jewish New Year Holiday, Rosh Hashanah, which begins on September 24, according anonymous sources in the Israeli security services, as reported today by the Israeli daily Maariv.

The Hamas plan consisted of what was to be a surprise attack in which 200 fighters would be dispatched through each of dozens of tunnels dug by Hamas under the border from Gaza to Israel, and seize kibbutzim and other communities while killing and kidnapping Israeli civilians.” (Emphasis added)

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4516/hamas-mega-attack

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So, if we take out 45 tunnels and 15 or 20 remain – each with several exit points in Israel?  It does not bear thinking about.  But we have to think about it.

Other means must be devised for preventing this.  The threat must be finished.  And it remains the responsibility of the government to do so.

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It is very much to the good that Netanyahu is saying that the only ceasefire proposal on the table is Egypt’s, and that the rehabilitation of Gaza will depend on its demilitarization:

http://www.jpost.com/Operation-Protective-Edge/Netanyahu-Future-funds-to-rebuild-Gaza-must-be-linked-to-its-demilitarization-369066

There is, as well, the need for the development of techniques at the Gaza border on our side that will reveal any underground activity, or interfere with it.  There are many cutting-edge engineers we can draw upon. We think out of the box: We need the attention and the dedication to see this through.

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What I ask, then, is that you please write to PM Netanyahu. Let him know that you are with him as he stands strong – that standing strong against all demands that weaken Israel is imperative.  Tell him that the job must be done right.  Hamas must be sufficiently weakened or eliminated, so that it is no longer a threat to Israel. In particular, Hamas must be totally blocked from its ability to attack Jews in Israel via tunnels. The nation of Israel is depending upon him; and the Western world requires his model of strength and determination.

E-mail: [email protected]  also [email protected]  (underscore after pm) use both addresses.

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The rockets also must be contended with.  Some tens of thousands remain (in truth, we cannot be certain precisely how many).  They present less of an immediate threat than the prospect of large scale attacks via tunnels because of Iron Dome and our use of shelters. But this threat, too, must be eliminated.

You will note that a constant refrain of Hamas is that their borders must be opened. This would facilitate the transfer of more rockets into Gaza.  And I mention here that Hamas reportedly expects to acquire new rockets from North Korea:

“Hamas [has] signed an arms deal with North Korea in order to replenish its depleted rocket arsenal…according to The Telegraph.

In an exclusive report the British paper sited senior security sources who claimed that the deal, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, had already been signed, having been made via Lebanese intermediaries.  Hamas has reportedly made an initial down payment in cash to Pyongyang, and is hoping for an imminent delivery to Gaza.”

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183374#.U9U6opvlrIV

These plans signal the attitude of Hamas leaders – they are not feeling defeated, but want to pick and go on.  Our methods of dealing with them must be informed by their attitude.

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As of today, 43 of our soldiers have died.

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A new poll indicates that 86.5% of Israelis do not want a ceasefire now.

http://imra.org.il/story.php3?id=64491

The spirit of the nation is incredible, as people gather to pray for the soldiers, and pack gift packages to bring to them. Almost everyone is involved somehow.

07/27/14

SESSIONS: All Americans must help stop Obama’s dictatorial threats to expand Amnesty to millions

Doug Ross @ Journal

By Senator Jeff Sessions

I call on the American public to rally Congress against the President’s openly declared threat to implement, by executive order, the amnesty that Congress has rejected:

How Congress chooses to act in the coming hours and days will determine whether the President succeeds in his plan to nullify the immigration laws of the United States.

Just yesterday, TIME magazine reported that the President is considering a grant of ‘work authorization for perhaps several million undocumented immigrants.’ Permitting those illegally present in the U.S. to work and take jobs is contrary to plain law, which the President has no power to change. Yet Democratic members of Congress have openly crowed about these planned executive actions.

It has now been extensively reported that these executive actions will likely expand his Deferred Action program (DACA) to apply to an additional 5–6 million adult illegal immigrants. The existing DACA program has been widely misunderstood. The executive action did not, as The Hill writes today, only result in ‘deferred deportations for young undocumented immigrants.’ Illegal immigrants in the interior of the U.S. have already, as a practical matter, been immune from enforcement under this Administration. DACA applies to individuals up to 30 years of age and provides actual amnesty papers, photo ID, and work permits to illegal immigrants—who can then take any job in America.

The President’s planned executive orders would expand this permitting program to another 5–6 million illegal immigrants. This would effectively end immigration enforcement in America.

No Member—House or Senate, Democrat or Republican—should support any bill with respect to the border crisis that does not include language explicitly prohibiting the Administration from taking such action. Congress must foreclose any possibility of these unlawful executive actions before congressional funding is granted. This is an essential precondition.

The American people have begged and pleaded for years for our laws to be enforced.  We have people in our own country living in violence, fear, and poverty every single day.  They have demanded an immigration policy that puts their jobs, wages, and communities first. Every citizen should pick up the phone and ask of their congressional representative: where do you stand?

CALL CONGRESS NOW AND DEMAND IT BLOCK OBAMA’S PLANNED DICTATORIAL AMNESTY ORDER.

BACKGROUND:

7/25/2014: National Review, Gutiérrez: ‘I Think We Can Get 3 or 4, Maybe Even 5 Million People’ Amnesty via Executive Action

“Days after telling La Raza convention attendees that he is confident President Obama will use executive action to give legal status to millions of immigrants in the United States illegally, Representative Luis Gutiérrez (D., Ill.) predicted that the administration could legalize as many as 5 million people… Gutiérrez said he will meet with White House officials later in the day ‘to negotiate additional terms and avenues the president can use’ through executive action.”

7/17/2014: Daily Caller, Dem Lawmaker: Obama Has Promised To ‘Act Shortly’ By Granting Amnesty To Many Illegals

“Democratic lawmaker Tony Cardenas revealed that President Barack Obama promised the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on Wednesday he will ‘act shortly’ to bypass Congress and grant some form of amnesty to many illegal immigrants…”

7/3/2014: National Journal, Obama’s Immigration Independence Day

“Obama told the group [of amnesty advocates] that Boehner had informed him on June 24 there would be no votes on immigration before the midterm election but that he believed there was a good chance a comprehensive bill could pass in the next Congress. The president also told the group that Boehner urged him not to press ahead with executive action because that would make legislating more difficult next year.

Obama told the group, according to those present, his response to Boehner was: ‘Sorry about that. I’m going to keep my promise and move forward with executive action soon.’

In the room, there was something of a collective, electric gasp. The assembled immigration-rights groups had been leaning hard on Obama for months to use executive action to sidestep Congress and privately mocked what they regarded as Pollyanna hopes that House Republicans would budge…

Obama told the groups what they had been dying to hear—that he was going to condemn House Republicans for inaction and…provide legal status to millions of undocumented workers—all by himself…

Obama made it clear he would press his executive powers to the limit. He gave quiet credence to recommendations from La Raza and other immigration groups that between 5 million to 6 million adult illegal immigrants could be spared deportation under a similar form of deferred adjudication he ordered for the so-called Dreamers in June 2012…

Obama has now ordered the Homeland Security and Justice departments to find executive authorities that could enlarge that non-prosecutorial umbrella by a factor of 10. Senior officials also tell me Obama wants to see what he can do with executive power to provide temporary legal status to undocumented adults.”

07/27/14

Rallying Around Joe Carr, Our Conservative Star

By: Lloyd Marcus

Please forgive me for stating the obvious. The mainstream media does not report the news nor does it give a rat’s derriere about America. The mainstream media is nothing more than co-conspirators with Obama, assisting his fundamental transformation of America. Its role is to protect Obama above all else and spin stories and polls to dispirit conservative opposition.

I have decided to stop helping the enemy to depress me by listening to all of the garbage that comes out of the mouths of Obama’s talking heads. For six years, regardless of the issue, everything they say is designed to shield Obama, brand conservatives as extremists and discourage them. I am talking about the likes of Juan Williams, Alan Colmes and Leslie Marshall to name a few. I know what these Obama operatives are going to say. So, why on earth should I allow these unworthy minions to raise my blood pressure by granting them access to my mind. Whenever I see their heads pop up on my TV, I hit “mute”.

While I realize it is prudent to stay informed, certain pundits have proven themselves to be total Obama sellouts. Obama’s professional dispiriting voices are engaged in psychological warfare. In essence, they are driving through the streets of America with a bullhorn proclaiming, Conservatives, your plight is hopeless. You have lost! Surrender to Obama, now!

By the way, muting these guys has proven to be great for my blood pressure.

Patriots, we are attacked daily by Obama’s army of MSM drones and talking head snipers, committed to seeking and destroying our “will” to fight back against Obama’s hostile takeover (transformation) of our great nation.

Brothers and sisters, we are the good guys and God is on our side. Therefore, I focus all of my attention each day on whatever task God places in front of me to weaken and ultimately defeat Obama’s evil agenda. That task at the moment is to help Tea Party conservative Joe Carr to defeat RINO Lamar (whatever Obama wants, Obama gets) Alexander in the August 7th Republican primary in Tennessee.

My wife Mary’s dad, Don, recently passed away. Don was an old-school American hard working, honorable, loving husband and father; a real man. We attended his memorial in West Virginia. After a brief stop back home in Florida, we will love on Sammy (our greyhound) a bit and hit the road.

We will drive to Tennessee to meet up with our Conservative Campaign Committee (CCC) team to dive head first into the Joe Carr for U.S. Senate campaign. Our CCC team effort includes an independent expenditure campaign which involves producing and airing ads for Joe Carr; boots on the ground to organize volunteers to make phone calls, wave signs and more. Our team will exhaust every opportunity to hoist Carr over the top. Lord knows, our Tea Party movement needs this one folks.

State Rep. Joe Carr is a great guy; one of us – committed to Reagan principles such as limited and less government, personal responsibility, individual liberty, and free and fair markets. https://www.carrfortn.com/about/

Carr believes our self-evident rights as enumerated in the Constitution come from God, not from government. He is a lifetime member of the NRA. Carr is pro-life with a 100% pro-life voting record.

Given the devastating disastrous unprecedented free-flow of illegals across our border, I am extremely excited that Joe Carr led the charge to protect Tennessee families from the fed’s basically rolling out the welcome mat to illegals. Thanks to Rep. Carr, Tennessee enacted the toughest illegal immigration laws in the country. Now that’s what I am talkin’ about. We need Joe Carr and strong conservatives like him in DC.

And, have you heard about the latest exposed bullying tactic of the Obama regime? Along with Obama’s numerous imperial presidential executive demands on We the People, repeals of our freedoms and the IRS targeting all opposition, it has come to light that another of Obama’s hit squad thugs, the DOJ, are targeting industries. http://bit.ly/UqlffM

Meanwhile, the knuckle-headed GOP still believes they can work with Obama, rather than politically throwing him across their knee for a good spanking, firmly telling him “no” and sending him to his room for a two year time out. Joe Carr will boldly challenge Obama’s tyranny. Carr has a record of bucking his own party in favor of doing what is best for the people of Tennessee.

Joe Carr has overwhelming Tea Party support: Sarah Palin, Laura Ingraham, Conservative Campaign Committee, Tea Party Leadership Fund, Tea Party Nation, Gun Owners of America, Conservative HQ, Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund and many more.

So patriots, stop letting Obama’s minions get you down. Focus all your time, resources and energy into getting our good guys like Joe Carr elected. Sen. Mike Lee said every bold, strong and rock solid conservative that we send to Washington is more than simply one more vote. Each conservative emboldens and strengthens our ranks. Let’s rally around Joe Carr, our conservative star. http://bit.ly/1qCrs74

Lloyd Marcus, Unhyphenated American

Chairman, Conservative Campaign Committee

07/27/14

Victim: The Forty-something Woman

By: Brenda Walker
Victims of Illegal Immigration – A Collection of Essays
Hat Tip: Dick Manasseri

The execution-style murder of 47-year-old Marilyn Bethell could easily have been avoided with a better understanding of human psychology by the reckless refugee agencies that welcomed a clearly dangerous young man into America.

In 2005, Sudanese refugee Gareng Deng entered the Aurora, Illinois home of Bethell, forced her to a wooded area a few miles away, and shot her in the head. Her body was not found until two months later.

As a boy in war-torn Sudan, Deng reportedly suffered traumatic experiences, witnessing genocide and other atrocities, like seeing a man’s arm chopped off. When he came to America as a refugee with his parents, the imprint of violence did not fade away, but instead escalated. By the time he was 14, he had been charged with 11 crimes and had participated in two shootings, but the basic psychological counseling he received from DuPage County was inadequate. He was a seriously damaged (and dangerous) teenager.

In most arenas where social science has influence, it’s understood that children who suffer horrific brutality during their formative years often grow into violent adults. War-traumatized children, in particular, carry a lot of baggage.

But in the Refugee Industrial Complex, there is no appreciation that they are importing human time bombs. Refugee resettlement workers gather troubled persons worldwide, deposit them in American communities, collect relocation fees from the government, and then disappear when problems appear. It is irresponsible and dangerous for these self-appointed do-gooders to welcome predictable criminals.

A decade ago, the media gave uplifting coverage to the story of the Lost Boys, who trekked across Africa to escape Sudan’s civil war. But the press didn’t do proper follow-up, which would have been less inspiring.

An estimated 80 to 90 percent of Lost Boys suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can lead to substance abuse, depression, and violence.

In 2009, three African refugees in Virginia thought kidnapping the wife of a wealthy man for ransom would be a swell way to make extra cash. At trial, a professional refugee resettler testified, “They went through terror themselves, so I couldn’t imagine them inflicting that on anyone else.”

In fact, the opposite is true, and it’s time the refugee promoters faced the evil consequences of their actions.

Brenda Walker is a writer living in northern California who publishes LimitsToGrowth.org and ImmigrationsHumanCost.org. The latter focuses on the crime victims of immigration.