Friday, August 15, 2025

Mamdani--Hardly an Original Thinker


First, be aware: Taqiyya: Muslim scholars teach that Muslims should generally be truthful to each other... unless the purpose of lying is to "smooth over differences" or "gain the upper hand over an enemy."  . . . "These circumstances are typically those that advance the cause of Islam - in some cases by gaining the trust of non-believers in order to draw out their vulnerability and defeat them. Now, on to Mamdani...

Phyllis Chesler  

"I am talking about New York City's next possible mayor, Zohran Mamdani. He is a Shia Muslim. He has supported Hamas and Shia Iran's genocidal intentions towards both Israel and America; once founded a chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine at college; called for the "globalization of the Intifada," and is also a socialist communist. Unsurprisingly, he is a privileged guy, one who grew up as the son of Mahmood Mamdani, the Indian-Ugandan professor of Postcolonial Studies at Columbia and the son of the very talented filmmaker Mira Nair." . . .

AfterMath - Home

  . . . "Why did Haifa’s International Film Festival wish to honor filmmaker Mira Nair for her film The Reluctant Fundamentalist? The film is just another exceptionally well done piece of anti-American propaganda which justifies Islamic/Islamist terrorism by showing us that America harasses Muslims constantly, even Muslims as brilliant and assimilated as Nair’s “fundamentalist” hero, Changez. According to Nair, America is to blame for Pakistani fundamentalist terrorism.

"Did the Haifa Film mavens really screen this film? If they did, how could they miss Nair’s agenda? Why would they wish to honor one more film that depicts America, the CIA, and American military forces as cruel, evil, and racist and which glorifies the offended dignity of innocent Muslims as a way of justifying the nihilistic terror that Islamist Muslims are unleashing, globally, first against other Muslims, second against infidels. Remember Syriana (2005), Paradise Now (2005), Kingdom of Heaven (2005), Babel (2006), The Kingdom (2007), Rendition (2007), and Amreeka (2009)?

"What is wrong with the film mavens who live in Haifa, a jewel of a Jewish city and one with a large Arab Muslim and Arab Christian population? Haifa is a genuinely mutli-ethnic and multi-racial abode. No city in Israel is an “apartheid” city, but Haifa is exceptionally integrated in terms of its demographics. There is nothing like it in Gaza and there will be nothing like it in Judea and Samaria if the world prevails and ethnically cleanses Jews from their historically Jewish land.

"This is truly heartbreaking: The so-called progressives and leftists—the “good” people—want to ethnically cleanse the “occupied West Bank” and East Jerusalem of its Jews—and all in the name of anti-racism. They do not demand that Arabs, including the new ones on the block, the Palestinian Arabs, allow Jews--not even the 800,000 Arab Jews who were forced to flee Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, the Maghreb--after centuries of persecution, to become citizens or even live in any of their twenty-two countries.

"The Arab and Muslim world is almost entirely “judenrein,” cleansed of Arab Jews, and they are persecuting and cleansing themselves of their Christian Arabs; and yet, the “good people” still insist that such Muslim racists and ideologues are the victims, the underdogs, provoked by white—dare I write “Zionist”?-- colonialism into becoming fundamentalist terrorists.

"Just like Mira Nair’s very sympathetic leading character Changez.

"But do Jews and Israelis wish to be defamed year after year? Do we wish to live with the consequences of such defamation which are none other than righteous hatred, increasing isolation, and then extermination?

"Mira Nair has just defamed Haifa and all Israel. She has been quoted as saying: “I will go to Israel when the occupation is gone…when the state does not privilege one religion over another. I will go to Israel when Apartheid is over.” She has tweeted that she supports “Palestine for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel and the larger Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions, (BDS) Movement.

"Nair's film is a deft and emotionally dangerous piece of propaganda. Clearly, Nair cannot see the elephant in the room: Islamic and Arab gender and religious apartheid. The Islamist oppression of women and dissidents.

"Like mother, like son."

The Press Is Lying About D.C. Crime

  Issues & Insights  

"We are beginning to wonder if there is anything the public can trust the media to report accurately when it comes to Trump."

"We’ve come to expect that no matter what President Donald Trump says or does these days, the mainstream press will rush out to say he’s wrong. So, we weren’t the least bit surprised when, after Trump said crime in the nation’s capital is out of control and called in the National Guard, news outlets immediately dismissed his claims.

"But who is doing the lying here?

"Crime in D.C. “is getting worse, not getting better,” Trump said. Nonsense, came the chorus of press reports, with headlines such as:

  • “Fact check: Violent crime in DC has fallen in 2024 and 2025 after a 2023 spike,” said CNN.
  • “Trump Takes Control of D.C. Police, Citing ‘Bloodthirsty Criminals.’ But Crime Is Down.” said the New York Times.
  • “FACT FOCUS: Trump exaggerates, misstates facts on Washington crime,” said AP.

"The implicit message is that Trump is making up a crime problem to flex his authoritarian muscles.

"These and countless other stories all cite the same set of police department statistics showing the rate of violent crime in D.C. on the downtrend.

"So, case closed, right?

"Not so fast. Just a few weeks ago, the local NBC affiliate reported that:

A D.C. police commander is under investigation for allegedly making changes to crime statistics in his district.The Metropolitan Police Department confirmed Michael Pulliam was placed on paid administrative leave in mid-May … Pulliam — the former commander of the 3rd District that patrols Adams Morgan and Columbia Heights — was placed on leave with pay and told he was under investigation for questionable changes to crime data, five law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation told News4.  . . . More...

VJ Day 2025: Japan’s PM expresses remorse over Second World War

 The London Times


"Japan’s prime minister used a rare word on Friday to mark 80 years since the country’s surrender at the end of the Second World War: “Remorse.”

"Speaking at an annual government ceremony for the war dead at the Nippon Budokan arena in Tokyo, Shigeru Ishiba said Japan would remain committed to peace.

“ 'We should never repeat the devastation of war. We will never ever make a mistake in choosing the path to take,” Ishiba said. “The remorse and lessons from that war should once again be engraved deeply in our hearts.”

"It was the first time since 2012 that a Japanese premier used the word at the ceremony, which is held to mourn the 3.1 million casualties of war in Japan.

"A moment of silence was observed at noon, exactly 80 years after Emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration in a radio broadcast.

"The four-and-a-half-minute address, delivered a few days after the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and replayed from a scratchy phonograph recording, stunned the nation in 1945, when Hirohito said that 'the war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan’s advantage' ”. . . More...

80 years after VJ Day, time to honour the troops who fought Japan. "One by one they are passing away, many of them centenarians whose lives have been scarred for the past 80 years by the unspeakable atrocities they witnessed in the jungle, in prison camps and in forced labour on the Burma Death Railway. VJ Day — victory over Japan — was almost an afterthought for most people in Britain in 1945, who for three months had been rejoicing over the defeat of Nazi Germany. Some 71,000 British and Commonwealth troops died facing fanatical Japanese fighters in Burma, Malaya, in the South Pacific, and on ships targeted by kamikaze pilots. A further 12,000 prisoners of war perished in atrocious conditions, starved, bayonetted, and abused in Japanese camps. An end to the cruellest combat of the Second World War saved thousands preparing for a devastating invasion of Japan itself." . . .  More...

Thursday, August 14, 2025

Commentary: Trump’s Counterrevolution Is Succeeding Beyond Expectations

 Victor Davis Hanson

 So, brace yourself. We’re looking at the resistance coming up to the counterrevolution, and it’s going to be fierce and unhinged.

 . . . "What am I getting at? Donald Trump is winning on all of these social and cultural issues.

"Abroad, we see that Iran no longer poses a nuclear threat for the immediate future; that Israel’s enemies—whether Hezbollah or Hamas or Houthis—are in disarray or severely attrited; Iran is no longer a threat to the Gulf states or Israel, at least for the immediate future; and we see some progress with Ukrainian war.

"People are angry about this counterrevolution for two reasons: It’s succeeding and it’s succeeding beyond anybody’s wild expectation." . . .

Democrats Betray Democracy to Stop Trump  . . . "And finally, the great scandal that the Democratic Party and the obsequious media knew that President Joe Biden was NON COMPOS MENTIS, he was not cognitively able to fulfill the office of the presidency. And they kept that from the American people, until they could no longer keep it, when he finally challenged Donald Trump to a debate and melted before our very eyes. Sort of like the Wicked Witch in “The Wizard of Oz.” He melted into a non-entity.

"So, my point is, if you look at the Democrats, they have staged three great scandals to try to destroy the Trump administration and by extension, democracy.

"They impeached Donald Trump twice. No one’s ever done that. They tried him as a private citizen. Nobody’s ever done that. They raided his home in Mar-a-Lago. That is a terrible precedent for an ex-president. No one’s ever done that. They tried to get him off the ballot in 25 states. No one had ever done that. There were two assassination attempts during the campaign. That had never happened before. They tried to debank him and make it impossible for Donald Trump to write a check, whether from Morgan Stanley or Bank of America, or any bank." . . .

CODEPINK = CODE-RED They Are Communist, Anti-Israel Agitators, Not Feminists

 Phyllis Chesler Organization  

"Where is CODEPINK's passionate statements on behalf of the Israeli women who were torture-raped, murdered, and kidnapped by Hamas?" 


. . . "Given the feminist and lesbian-"queer" hardline positions against Israel, I was thrilled to find out that Alice and I not only agreed on sex-based rights over and above gender-based rights, and on issues such as commercial surrogacy, pornography, prostitution, and on the trans issues--but also on Islamism, women under Sharia law, Islamic Jihad, and the alarming global rise in Jew and Israel hatred.

"We also agreed on the tragic rise of Jew hatred and Israel hatred among so-called feminists. She was happy/disconsolate to discover that what she calls the faux-feminist movement in Germany is much like its sad and sorry counterpart in America and elsewhere in Europe and Australia.

"Please understand: I have both lost and left countless feminist and faux-feminist colleagues and friends. They are completely drunk on every kind of Kool-Aid propaganda. There is absolutely no getting through to them. One of the few real feminists with whom I am still in touch actually just sent me an article written by one of the two CODEPINK Ladies, Medea Benjamin and Jodi Evans, who are funded by far left/Marxist billionaires, and whose position on Israel and Palestine is, in my considered view, far beneath contempt.

"Yes, we are that far apart.

"Neither Benjamin nor Evans is a feminist activist, although many feminists point to them as feminist heroes.

"For example, through her foundation, The Benjamin Fund (assets total $47.9 million), Medea Benjamin has granted funds to American Muslims for Palestine, Amnesty International, US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, etc. In November of 2023, post-Hamas's 10/7 pogrom-on-steroids, CODEPINK organized demonstrations, protests, and disruptions "to demand an immediate end to the brutal siege of Gaza and the cessation of all U.S. aid to Israel--and, that same month, 11/23, they demanded that President Biden "Stop Supporting Israeli Apartheid." CODEPINK got themselves arrested for interrupting a Senate hearing on aid to Israel. They also signed a letter which urged "international support for South Africa's genocide case against the state of Israel.

"Their anti-Israel focus goes on and on. They've partnered with Samidoun and Jewish Voice for Peace (oh please, do check them out); they've also endorsed "Global Days of Action for Palestine." Please read about CODEPINK's long history in my colleague Gerald Steinberg's totally trustworthy report, NGO-Monitor.

"What do any of CODEPINK's positions and activism have to do with women's rights?" . . .


Gerrymandering, Race Pandering, and Political Meandering

  American Greatness   Gerrymandering wars heat up as both parties redraw districts to cement power, with Republicans flipping liberal tactics and Democrats scrambling to keep their edge. 

"Republicans are fighting back, and Democrats don’t like that the Republicans are using their tactics against them." 

"Gerrymandering, the political practice of carving up awkward-looking legislative districts to benefit one party’s political power, has slithered into the public conversation once again.

"Some of us remember the history behind this political practice, starting with the governor of Massachusetts, Elbridge Gerry. Democratic-Republicans want to shore up their new power in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Federalist opponents of the maneuver mocked one of the serpentine-like districts created by the party, christening the shape with claws, wings, and a razor-sharp mouth, calling the monstrosity “The Gerrymander.”

"Why has the discussion roared into the public consensus this time? It started with the Texas legislature’s efforts to redraw its state’s districts after a request from the Trump Administration to review the fairness of the districts.

"Yes, there is gerrymandering in Texas, but not the way that liberal reformers want to portray the problem. Consider some of the urban, Democratic Congressional districts in Texas: the 29th, 32nd, and 33rd, for example, are obscenely drawn. These contortions are examples of race pandering, or “race-mandering,” which result from the tortured misuse of the Voting Rights Act and fears of ongoing legal challenges from left-wing legal activists demanding more majority-minority districts. This kind of lawfare recently forced Alabama and Louisiana to create gerrymandered districts.

"Texas is not alone in this fight, either. Ohio has to redraw its Congressional districts. This opportunity could create three more Republican-leaning Congressional seats, while the Texas legislature advances a map creating five more GOP seats. Of course, Governor Abbott and the Republican leadership have floated increasing the GOP advantage to six to eight seats if absent Democrats refuse to come back to work in their vain efforts to break legislative quorums. Democrats have not helped their cause by fleeing to Illinois, whose districts are so gerrymandered that even Stephen Colbert poked fun at them.

"Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who bravely pushed through a race-neutral Congressional map in 2021, netting four more GOP seats, has offered to redraw the Congressional districts yet again, in part because the state population has grown due to an increase in migration from failed blue states. DeSantis deserves credit for the current GOP-mandering effort, since he had refused weak maps from the Florida RINOs at the beginning of the decade.

"Indiana, Missouri, and South Carolina are also exploring more daring redistricting efforts, not just because of Trump’s leadership and Texas’s fight, but because the United States Supreme Court will be reviewing the “majority-minority” provisions in the Voting Rights Act. Democrats and liberal pundits fear that the court will strike them down entirely, wiping away the need for “majority-minority districts” and ensuring that Republicans gain more seats!" . . .

"California has become the laughing stock of the whole US with their lame brain Gov Numbscull . . ."

 

Governor Newsom Protests Too Much — The Minimum Wage Increase Did Destroy Jobs – Issues & Insights 
 . . . "The author’s results make perfect sense both theoretically and from a simple review of the data. It also raises concerns regarding Newsom’s willingness to follow the facts. And in this case the facts are clear – the administration’s minimum wage hike is reducing jobs and destroying the long-run opportunities enabled by a vibrant entry-level job market."

 BREAKING: ICE Raids Home Depot in California—Ignores Gavin Newsom’s Sanctuary Screeching (VIDEO)  "In a bold move that’s already making waves across California, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents conducted a major raid at a Home Depot near Los Angeles—sending a clear message to Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass: federal law still matters.

"The raid, captured on video and confirmed by multiple eyewitnesses, unfolded swiftly at the store’s parking lot. Agents reportedly apprehended several individuals suspected of being in the country illegally, drawing cheers from immigration enforcement advocates and outrage from the state’s pro-sanctuary leadership.

"News of the operation was first shared by Fox News’ Matt Finn and amplified by independent journalist Nick Sortor, who pointed out that ICE is “IGNORING Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass’ whining.” For years, California’s sanctuary policies have provided cover for illegal immigrants—even those with criminal records—by limiting cooperation with federal enforcement." . . .

While Newsom has repeatedly vowed to shield illegal immigrants from deportation, ICE’s unannounced presence at a popular retail location shows that federal authorities are no longer playing by California’s woke rules.


No! No! Gavin, please! Not all CAPS!


Break out that "TACO" allusion!  

Gavin Newsom Gets Terrible News About His Plan to Redistrict, After His Very Public Meltdown – RedState  . . . "By comparison, Texas Republicans won 58 percent of the total vote, yet the split is only 25 to 13 in their favor. Even under the new map in that state, California's district lines will still favor Democrats more than Texas favors Republicans. Yet, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), desperate to raise his profile for a 2028 presidential run, has decided to be a true hypocrite's hypocrite. He's been crashing out for days, posting in all caps and making threats to gerrymander California past its already absurdly unfair representation."  

AS MANY KNOW, DONALD “TACO” TRUMP — AUTHOR OF THE ART OF THE "DEAL" (A BOOK HE SHOULD RETURN TO THE LIBRARY) — JUST MISSED THE BEST DEAL IN HISTORY. HE ALWAYS “CHICKENS OUT” (TARIFFS, CHINA) — BUT EVEN A “CHICKEN” SHOULD KNOW A GOOD “DEAL” WHEN HE SEES ONE. I, YOUR FAVORITE GOVERNOR, GAVIN CHRISTOPHER NEWSOM, OFFERED THE BEST, MOST “AMAZING DEAL” IN HISTORY: STOP RIGGING TEXAS MAPS AND CALIFORNIA WON’T MAKE OURS MORE “BEAUTIFUL.” SADLY — BUT NO SURPRISE — DONALD WAS TOO WEAK (LITTLE HANDS) TO EVEN WRITE ME BACK. NO DEAL! AND NO DEAL = PERFECT, BEAUTIFUL MAPS THAT WILL “END” HIS PRESIDENCY. SOON HE WILL NOT BE “47.” PATRIOTS WILL TAKE BACK CONGRESS. MANY SAY I SHOULD RUN FOR SPEAKER (I WON’T!!!). MAKE THE MAPS GREAT AGAIN! LIBERATION DAY TOMORROW!!! THANK YOU! — GCN
. . . "Does this mean California Democrats won't keep trying? Of course, not, but it's a big initial blow to the narrative that it will be an easy road. We'll see if they can find some judge who invalidates their current maps based on nothing but raw partisanship because we all know that's the backup plan. I don't know what possible legal justification for that would exist, but we all know that's not really a factor. ". . .