04/16/13

Belgian police search and arrest 45 muslims for terror related activities

04/16/13

Decorated Vet Arrested After ‘Rudely Displaying’ His Rifle — and Says Officer Pulled Gun on Him in Front of His Son

Bavarian Inquisition – Worrying Development For Freedom of Expression

strong>By: Aeneas Lavinium
ICLA

Galileo before the Holy Office, a 19th century painting by Joseph-Nicolas Robert-Fleury.

In the week just past, a decision was made by the high priests of the Bavarian Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BOPC), that poses a profound threat to freedom of expression. They declared that the Bavarian branches of Politically Incorrect and the Die Freiheit political party are potentially a threat to the Constitution. They are effectively accused of stirring up hatred of Muslims, a charge that seems to have more to do with the influence of oil money that is sloshing about from rich Islamic states than it is about any real hatred of Muslims.

This means that the state regards such groups as a potential danger to security. It means that they will be closely monitored by the authorities. It also means that members of such groups will be stigmatized and demonized. The state has intervened on behalf of one side in a perfectly acceptable political debate. As such it has interfered with the normal workings of a democratic society and it sets a dangerous precedent for the future.

This decision harkens back to an earlier, less tolerant age! Colored by its recent action, the “Bavarian Office for the Protection of the Constitution” begins to sound like the 16th century “Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition” or Saudi Arabia’s “Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.” Like these rather disreputable institutions, the BOPC is now attempting to dictate what people say with regard to the philosophical issues of religion and belief.

It is ironic that it is Bavaria, that cradle of National Socialism, where freedom of speech is once again being curtailed nearly 70 years after consigning that repulsive enemy of freedom to the dustbin of history. There are those who have said that the fascists of the future will come in the guise of anti-fascists. This would appear to be an example of that phenomenon in the present. The actions of the Bavarian authorities speak for themselves – being against free speech is a hallmark of fascism. The state is effectively telling people what they can think. As such, it has overstepped the bounds of reasonable behavior. When considering the attitude of the false prophets of the BOPC, it might be appropriate to consider the following Biblical passage:

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?” (Matthew 7:15-16, The Bible, King James version)

In a free and democratic society, any religion that attempts to shape politics must be subject to scrutiny. Tolerant followers of any proselytizing religion, must surely agree that people will provide counter arguments. Otherwise the marketplace of ideas could not function and social progress would be stifled. Europe’s Inquisition did not grasp this and the Bavarian authorities seem to struggle with the concept.

A key consideration relates to whether Islam is political. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is the acknowledged voice of the Islamic world. Its persistent demands for sharia compliant blasphemy laws in Western countries demonstrates a determination to shape policy. Even if Islam is not political in its essence, the activities of the OIC put it clearly in the political realm. Islam has therefore become of justifiable interest to Western citizens. In democracies, matters of public interest must be up for debate if the essence of such societies is to survive. The action of the Bavarian authorities towards the organizations cited strikes at the very foundation of democracy itself.

People have a right not to be Muslim. They also have a right not to follow Islamic dogma and not to be subject to sharia. The Bavarian authorities have accepted the sharia principle that Islam and its Prophet are beyond criticism. They have conveniently ignored the irrefutable fact Sharia has a second class place for non-Muslims built into it. From an Islamic perspective, non-Muslims in a land dominated by Islam are obliged to fit into that system.

Citizens of Bavaria and elsewhere have a right not to live under such a system. They have a right to protect their children from the prospect of living under such a system. Decent law abiding people have been demonized by the Bavarian authorities just because they favor government of the people, by the people and for the people.

In many ways, this draconian announcement is not about Islam at all. It is about a political transition from a democratic system to one based on oligarchy. Those with power are cynically using Islam to achieve their totalitarian goals. The claim that it is ‘to protect the Constitution’ has as much credence as the claim of the OIC that it is an advocate of religious freedom. It is crystal clear from the authority’s actions that those who run Bavaria, favor the creation of a highly controlled society.

This sort of thing will be happening in more and more Western countries as governments consolidate their on-going crackdown on dissent and dissenters. The transition to an oligarchical system is already underway. It is time for people to make the decision to either raise their voices or accept that in the near future they will not have a say in how their society is run. The words of Martin Niemöller once again ring true:

“First they came for the communists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist.

Then they came for the socialists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist.

Then they came for me,
and there was no one left to speak for me.”

(Martin-Niemöller-Foundation version)

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04/16/13

Backlash to Soros’ Drugging of America

By: Cliff Kincaid
Accuracy in Media

The most successful campaign initiated by billionaire hedge-fund operator George Soros has been the legalization of marijuana. California has been the focus of most of his efforts. But there are indications that the campaign has gone too far, too fast in Colorado, prompting a backlash from the black Democratic mayor of Denver, who fears his city is becoming a new capital for the marijuana industry.

During my recent trip to Denver to cover the National Conference for Media Reform, I visited a “Native Roots Apothecary,” an official dispensary of “medical marijuana” in Denver, and discovered that a Colorado resident can get two ounces of marijuana a day (at an average of $150 an ounce), and “self-medicate” for almost any reason. Even a heavy marijuana user goes through only a quarter of an ounce a day. So fears are growing that “medical marijuana” is quickly becoming integrated into the illegal drug business. It was not supposed to happen this way, but state “regulation” of the industry has been a tragic joke.

Colorado has been in the news lately for passing new “gun control” legislation, at the urging of President Obama. But the state is also becoming known as a magnet for drug activity and a destination for what is called “drug tourism.”

The Denver Post says that on Saturday, April 20, the city will be the venue for a “coming out for cannabis” party that will attract thousands. The liberal paper also lists “Dozens of marijuana-themed and marijuana-friendly concerts [which] are happening Friday and Saturday.”

April 17-23 is “World Cannabis Week” in Denver.

Marijuana is still illegal on the federal level, but President Obama told ABC News that recreational users of marijuana, in states that have legalized the substance, should not be a “top priority” of federal law enforcement officials.

Denver’s Mayor Michael Hancock, who welcomed participants to the National Conference for Media Reform, is already concerned about the possible damage to his city’s reputation.

Before the state legalized the drug last November, Hancock said, “I do firmly believe it’s a gateway drug. I also think it’s the wrong message we want to send our children that it’s okay for them to consume or use marijuana…We don’t want to be the first state in this nation that legalizes marijuana. I believe we will lose our attractiveness to companies, employers who want to come to our state. Tourism is the number-one industry for the City of Denver, number two in the state of Colorado, and I believe that sector will be disproportionately harmed with the perception that Denver is the marijuana capital.”

Now that the state has legalized the drug, Hancock has advised the City Council to outlaw private marijuana clubs. He is also worried about public consumption of the drug. The Denver Post reported on his testimony: “As a father, Hancock said he is opposed to marijuana. ‘There is no denying …the potential for a negative impact on our kids—on their home lives, their health, their education and their future.”

There are already over 1,400 “medical marijuana” businesses in the state. Full-blown legalization, which passed last November, is still being implemented.

In Denver, there is even a magazine, “Culture,” described as “The #1 medical cannabis lifestyle magazine.” So being “sick” has become a lifestyle? This just goes to show that “medical marijuana” is a scam to get high.

I was not permitted into the section of the “Native Roots Apothecary” offices where the drugs are actually stored or sold. But I did take several photographs in the lobby, or waiting room. For some reason, the owner came out later demanding that I delete these photos. The back of the door featured a big “I medicate” poster advertising the arrival of the “Cannabis Cup” in Denver on April 20.

The Colorado State government says the total number of “patients” who currently possess “valid” ID cards for “medical marijuana” is an astounding 108,951.

State law says you must have “an active, debilitating medical condition.” But I was told any problem or ailment will do, as long as a “medical marijuana doctor” certifies your need for the drug. Postcards advertising a website were available to direct people to doctors willing to help. A $25 gift certificate made it even easier.

“No prior medical records required,” the postcard said. “Compassionate doctors [are] on staff to assist you in obtaining your medical marijuana license.” In other words, you don’t need to show medical records or pass a physical examination to determine the nature of your health problem. Just walk in, tell them what ails you, and walk out with your card.

In addition, Colorado cannot monitor the source of the dope, to determine it is not coming from criminal gangs or Mexican cartels. And they can’t control what you do with it, after you smoke your daily allotment.

There is an obvious failure by Colorado to regulate the “medical marijuana” industry. This means that a new marijuana industry, following the passage of Amendment 64 in November 2012, is making the problems that already exist much worse. Inevitably, we will be seeing more social, economic and legal problems, not to mention hundreds of thousands of more mostly wasted, alienated, and disoriented youth.

Fortunately, Denver’s liberal paper, The Denver Post, is being forced to cover this debacle. It recently reported that “State regulators charged with watching over Colorado’s medical marijuana industry have fallen short on everything from tracking inventory and managing their budget to keeping potential bad actors out of the business, a state audit released Tuesday found.”

It went on to say that “The findings are a blow to the state Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division as it prepares to take on the additional task of regulating recreational marijuana legalized by Amendment 64.”

In addition to the prospect that legalization will end up assisting the illegal drug business, there is growing evidence that marijuana causes serious mental problems.

Jared Loughner, who in 2011 shot former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, and subsequently pleaded guilty to 19 charges of murder and attempted murder, was a heavy marijuana smoker. Documents recently released in the case by the Pima County (Arizona) Sheriff’s Department, after Freedom of Information requests from news organizations, reveal that Loughner’s parents knew that he had been smoking marijuana and using cocaine.

Ironically, therefore, “medical marijuana” may be creating more cases of deranged individuals with even more serious mental problems and sicknesses, leading to dangerous and irrational behavior and “gun violence.”

But look for the liberals to blame the guns, not the drugs.

An excellent piece in The American Spectator by Peter Hitchens, “The Right’s Reefer Madness,” highlights “the hilarious falsehood” known as “medical marijuana,” which he points out was originally promoted by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) as a “red herring to give marijuana a good name.”

But it is not so hilarious, Hitchens writes, when you consider the evidence linking marijuana to mental illness. He writes, “There are experienced psychiatrists, such as Professor Sir Robin Murray of London’s Maudsley Hospital, who have little doubt of the connection. Likewise, there are nurses from British mental hospitals who have contacted me to tell of their conviction that there is a connection between marijuana and mental illness.”

He laments that too many so-called conservatives have abandoned the fight against these dangerous drugs.

Cliff Kincaid is the Director of the AIM Center for Investigative Journalism and can be contacted at [email protected].

04/16/13

Communist “Peace” Movement Uses Their “Friend” Obama’s Ecomonic Crisis to Gut US Military

By: Trevor Loudon
New Zeal

The US left’s number one goal has long been the destruction of the U.S. military. Which is why the Communist Party USA and their allies have always controlled the major U.S. “peace” movements.

If the US military can be weakened or destroyed, the communist’s friends in Moscow, Beijing, Havana, Caracas, Pyongyang, Hanoi and Tehran will have no significant impediment to world domination.

Judith LeBlanc

One of the Communist Party’s key peace activists is Judith LeBlanc.

From the People’s World:

Judith LeBlanc has been working non-stop over the last 10 years to end U.S.wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

LeBlanc is motivated by a bigger vision to completely change “national spending priorities from wars and weapons to funding jobs, human services, and diplomacy.”

LeBlanc, a veteran of decades of organizing for workers rights, equality and peace, is national field director for U.S. Peace Action which, with a membership of 90,000, is the largest peace organization in the country.

LeBlanc is also one of the Vice-Chairs of the Communist Party USA and chairs it’s Peace and Solidarity Commission – the body charged with controlling the “peace” movement.

Before her current role with Peace Action, she was the national Co-Chair of United for Peace and Justice, with fellow Marxist and pro-Cuba activist, Leslie Cagan.

LeBlanc has a habit of hobnobbing with tyrants and extremists, as this 2002 photo of LeBlanc with Palestinian terrorist leader Yasser Arafat shows.

LeBlanc and the communists want to use their “friend” Barack Obama’s economic crisis as an excuse to gut the U.S. military. This is their time and they don’t mean to lose this opportunity to destroy America’s defenses, to the advantage of their foreign allies, once and for all.

Despite great difficulties, LeBlanc sees tremendous opportunities to change the debate in the country and demilitarize the economy and U.S. foreign policy.

Prioritizing cuts to the Pentagon budget has taken on a new urgency since President Obama announced a federal budget proposals that include cuts to Social Security even though it has nothing to do with the federal budget deficit.

Although somewhat split, the public prefers cutting Pentagon spending to cutting social benefits and programs.

LeBlanc acknowledges redirecting funding from the Pentagon budget is a tough battle and pits the public against the powerful military industrial complex, Wall Street and the political ultra-right.

But LeBlanc remains optimistic and believes “changing U.S. spending priorities entails building political pressure on Congress through common efforts of community, labor, and peace groups.”

Among the Peace Action campaigns LeBlanc is coordinating is the “Move the Money” Campaign, a grassroots coalition effort to change national spending priorities by moving the money from the Pentagon to fund jobs, human needs and diplomacy.

“The campaign relies on organizing labor- community coalition building nationally and locally, public education and mobilizing political pressure on Congress,” says LeBlanc.

There is no other way to create millions of jobs than through government investment in public infrastructure and social programs, she says.

“More jobs can be created by converting to a sustainable, demilitarized economy, through funding energy conservation, building a sustainable manufacturing and energy sector and hiring millions of teachers and health care workers,” she says.

And of course North Korean sabre-rattling is all America’s fault. Notwithstanding that Pyongyang wouldn’t belch, if Beijing didn’t tell it to. “Rogue Nation?” Garbage. All this posturing is just to make China look good when it settles North Korea down again – probably in exchange for massive Western aid.

LeBlanc says growing tensions on the Korean peninsula are directly related to the Administration’s so-called “Asia Pivot” involving more troops, aircraft carriers, and military alliances as a challenge to China.

The recent U.S. war games in the region and failure to make a sustained effort of multilateral regional negotiations has inflamed the difficult relations between South Korea and the DPRK.

But the peace movement, in alliance with the Asian community and immigrant groups, is vigorously countering this with educational materials and plans for Congressional pressure to debunk the rational for the so called “Asia Pivot” as yet another failed policy and waste of resources.

“There’s no end to our work,” says LeBlanc. “But we’re more confident each day that we can bring about real and lasting change.”

Mmm… That “change” word. Where have I heard that before?

04/16/13

German Left-Wing Mag Mocks Boston Terror Victims…

By: KGS
Tundra Tabloids

Left-wing bastards.

While the world grieves for the victims of the Boston Terror Attack, 8-year old Martin, who dies after hugging his dad, his little sister, who lost a leg, his mother, seriously injured, the dead, the injured, many still struggling for life and their loved ones, leftwing US-haters in germany mock the victims. German paper Titanic publishes the above cartoon, suggesting that imperialist US-policy is the reason for the attack.(Source: Quotenqueen)

h/t: Politically Incorrect