Nice To Know There's a Grownup In Charge In Ottawa

Just kidding!

A German Train Named for Anne Frank?

Jawohl. (Should've gone with Trainy McTrainface, no?)

Et tu, Coco?

Conan O'Brien and Anti-Israel Lies

Nothing Good

What the Fatah-Hamas unification means for Israel.

Breaking News: It's Manafort!

Those who were betting that Paul Manafort would be the first to be indicted can now collect their winnings. (Not me--my money was on Mike Flynn.)

Sunny Side Down: Douglas Murray on the Enduring Appeal of Communism

In a sublime essay, Murray notes that while there's a Stalin museum where you can buy Uncle Joe tchotchkes, nowhere can one find a gift shop selling "Heinrich Himmler tea towels."

That's because, while both fascism and Communism are totalitarian ideologies that result in absolute dictatorships and millions of corpses, only one of them--the one seen to be deficient in "good intentions"--is held in disrepute. And now that memories of Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot are fading, enthusiasm for the idea of Communism is making something of a comeback, spurred on by foolish cheerleaders in academe who share their ardor with impressionable (and sadly ignorant) young'uns.

Re those who are itching to try Communism again--and get it right this time, dammit--Murray writes:

How hard they have worked, these people. And how hard they work still. Never leaving a comrade behind. Never demoralizing those who are working towards similar goals. In recent years they exercised considerable energy defending their comrades in Venezuela. Today, as Venezuela’s troubles have burst into everybody’s view, they lament the tiny mistakes they consider their allies to have made along the way. But the result is always the same. As are the excuses. The problem is never the dish. The problem is that the dish has just not yet been perfectly served. How often it brings to mind that famous exchange between George Orwell and a Stalinist. Orwell was eventually able to make his Stalinist concede that there had been excesses and mistakes — the famines, the show trials — in the attempt to attain the state they were striving towards. And finally the inevitable cliché leaked out: “You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs.” To which Orwell replied, “Where is the omelette?” 

The question lingers still: not just in Russia, Cuba, and Venezuela but now again in the West. How come we are still watching this attempt to make this horrible, bloody recipe, which aims for utopia yet always leaves the same catastrophic, bloody mess?

That's a rhetorical flourish, of course. Murray knows eggs-actly why it retains its appeal.

This Is Your Brain on Porn

It's not a pretty picture.

A Killjoy Statement Without Equal

"Halloween is an opportunity to have a conversation with your child about race, power, and privilege."

The Peculiar Case of the NYT's Preferred Particularity

When it comes to particularity, the NYT loves "gay" and loathes "Jewish."

Corbyn a No-Show at Balfour Dinner Attended By Netanyahu? Quelle Shockeroo!

Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of a British political party that's rife with Jew/Zion-hate, is planning to skip a dinner in London honouring the centenary of the Balfour Declaration.

Update: Rabbi Jonathan Sacks has some thoughts on the BD's 100th:

Why Is the Trump Dep't of Ed Still Pushing "Access Islam," an Indoctrination Effort Aimed at Kids In Grades 5 to 12?

That's the question to be asked after reading this, from the Clarion Project.

Jonathan Kay Reads Simon Schama's History of the Jews, Draws the Wrong Conclusion (ie. That Muslims Are the "New Jews")

Kay goes on for many paragraphs recounting the plethora of expulsions and persecutions that make up much of Jewish history. Eventually, he reaches this decidedly odd conclusion:

Among the many dark passages contained in Deuteronomy is the promise that “the Lord shall scatter (Jews) among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the Lord shall lead you.” Yet in Belonging, Schama makes a strong case that the scattering of Iberian Jews was in some ways a blessing for the Jewish people, as it allowed them to create a network of sanctuaries that could not all be destroyed at one blow: When Jews were oppressed in one place, they could escape to another. Such migrations have become a dominant theme in Jewish history. 

No one could have predicted that, in 2017, it would not be Jews but Muslims who now roam desperately throughout the Mediterranean, westward across national borders, teeming in refugee camps and slums, escaping sectarian violence, poverty and bigotry. In a time when some demagogues are calling for new forms of Inquisition, Belonging helps put our moral duty to these migrants in perspective.

No one could have predicted it? Tell that to, say, Bernard Lewis, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Bat Ye'or and Samuel Huntington, among others.

And, you know me, I could not let that final paragraph, with its wealth of ahistorical claims, go unanswered. Hence this letter:

After detailing the Jewish people's many centuries of wandering and woe, Jonathan Kay draws entirely the wrong conclusion--that what's happening to Muslims in our time is similar to that benighted history.

That is simply not so. 

The source of the Jews' suffering was the fact that they no longer had a sovereign land of their own, and were always an often reviled minority in other lands who were a convenient scapegoat for the majority's troubles, be they religious, financial or due to some unforeseen calamity, like the plague.

The source of the Muslims' suffering is, well, the Muslims themselves, who lay claim to a total of 57 nations in the world; conveniently for them, but not, of course, for Israel, they comprise the UN's largest voting bloc.

As for Kay's contention that these suffering hordes find themselves at the mercy of a modern day "Inquisition", that idea is as false as it is fatuous. Instead of Simon Schama's new book, I would draw Kay's attention to the work of the historian who's the foremost expert on the topic of the Spanish Inquisition and its impact on the Jewish people. His name is Benzion Netanyahu and, ironically enough, he is the father of Israel's current president.

This is Netanyahu pere's book, and it's quite the doorstopper (I know because I read it when I returned from a trip to Spain last year). 

"Will Europe Protect Its Borders and Civilization Before It Is Submerged?"

Maybe. But probably not.

"So the G Man Briefed the Pee Man"

Oh, Mr. Steyn, you slay me!

Update: Then again, two things can be true at the same time. One: for the purposes of subverting the Trump candidacy, the DNC and the Clinton campaign jumped into a festering swamp full of Russian doo doo. Two: Trump's a--now how did his own Secretary of State so eloquently put it?--oh, yeah, a moron. With an overinflated ego. Who thrives on adulation and lashes out like a crybaby and a bully in its absence, and who forces supporters/enablers to worship him as though he were a combo of Louis IV, the Sun King, and Jesus H. Christ, ie. God.

Re Trump's enablers, a non-Trumpian writes:

Which brings us to the enabling. Everyone understands Trump can’t help himself. The rest of us, therefore, should make allowances for that and not provoke him. “You should have known Dad would fly off the handle!” So Trump is held to one standard and everyone else to another. Ted Cruz is right that the Republicans have work to do. But who has taken his eye off the ball more than anyone else in Washington? Hint: It’s not Jeff Flake, it’s not Bob Corker, and it’s not Ben Sasse. It’s most emphatically not Mitch McConnell, who gave Trump his biggest win — Justice Gorsuch — and who is doing yeoman’s work to get conservatives on the lower courts.  

It’s the guy who’d rather fight Gold Star families and rant about the NFL. It’s the guy who talks about revoking licenses for the press and talks about Confederate generals as “our heritage.” But just as there’s no reasoning with Dad when he gets into the Dewar’s, there’s no talking Trump out of his Twitter when he gets into one of his “moods.” Just as there’s no reasoning with Dad when he gets into the Dewar’s, there’s no talking Trump out of his Twitter when he gets into one of his ‘moods.’  

And, finally, there’s the fact that, like Trump, many of these people don’t care about policy either. As Michael Brendan Dougherty recently pointed out, the culture-war spats and nasty personal fights are to a very real extent Trump’s true agenda, or at least it’s what people who love the Trump Show love about the Trump Show. Where does this end? I don’t know. But I do know that political parties and ideological movements are defined every bit as much by what they say as what they do. The rhetoric yields the reality. And I for one think it’s worth pushing back against the forces that think the best way to win over voters — and the president — is for goonish felons to talk, however coded, about what a big d**k the president has.

Who cares about the size of his d**k? Even if it's cobra-esque, it hardly compensates for his other manifold shortcomings. 

JSpace Canada Conference: A Round Up of the Usual "Progressive" Suspects

Think I'd rather walk barefoot on hot coals than attend this one:

Description

An all day conference with over 30 speakers and panelists on Israel in the media, Zionist vs. Zionist, Canadian foreign policy and the next generation of activists.
Your ticket includes the reception and registration on Saturday, Oct. 28, 7:00 pm, at the Multi-Faith Centre, University of Toronto, 569 Spadina Ave.
The all-day Plenary Session is on Oct. 29, 9:00am to 5:00pm, at the Engineering Centre, Ryerson University, 245 Church St.
There are a few tickets available at $20 for the screening of Wrestling Jerusalem, Oct. 28 at 7:30pm.
For more information, see the Conference page on our website.
Confirmed speakers and panelists:
Jon Allen
Hania Amad
Galit Baram, Consul General of Israel
Peter Beinart
David Berson
Amy Block
Amit Breuer
Michael Charles
Jordan Devon
Isser Dubinsky
Rabbi Larry Englander
Nora Gold
Yoni Goldstein
Bernie Farber
Dr. Allan Fox
Jonathan Kay
Raja Khouri
Patrick Martin
Paul Michaels
Dr. Karen Mock
Keith Neuman
Mitch Potter
Hannah Singer
Devon Spier
Professor Janice Stein
Mira Sucharov
Jacqueline Swartz
Noura Zaina

A Muslim Undercover FBI Agent Tells CBC Radio's Anna Maria Tremonti How He Helped Foil a VIA Rail Terror Plot in Canada

He also tells her that "real" Islam has nothing whatsoever to do with jihad (which is news to anyone who is even semi-conversant with the Quran).

What Does the Old Jimmy Steward Movie "Harvey" Have in Common With the Weinstein Scandal?

They both deal with a large, hairy beast named Harvey whose doings were largely invisible.

Image by Timothy Bishop

No Safe Place

UK Tourists warned of possible ISIS Attacks in Trinidad and Tobago

France Funds the Jihad Via Unemployment Payments to French ISIS Fighters in Syria

How dumb are the French?

They are très, très dumb:

French jihadists fighting in Syria have been able to claim their unemployment benefits from France, according to a new report, which they have used to finance terror group Isis.  

French investigators have discovered a major scam that saw jihadists using their unemployment benefit or family allowance paid in France to help fund Isis in Syria, according to Le Figaro newspaper.  

At the height of the scam some 20 percent of the French jihadist fighters in Syria were still accessing their social benefits from France, the paper reported. 

Relatives of jihadists had been allegedly going to French employment centres to collect their family members’ monthly benefits, then transferring the funds abroad.  

“Armed with their cards and photos, the parents were able to access the funding from the Unemployment Agency or the Family Allowances and send it to combat zones, mostly via Turkey,” an investigator tasked with looking into the illegal financing of Isis, told Le Figaro. 

Last year at least 420 fraudulent withdrawals of this kind were made. 

The investigators said that there were 190 known people involved in making the money transfers from the French side, and 210 people collecting the money on the other side.

"Almost as Promising as the Hitler-Stalin Pact"

Daniel Greenfield pokes fun at a New York Times article bemoaning the "missed opportunity" that would have aligned Islam and Communism (hat tip: MW). 

Some Things--Like Woody Allen's Lust for Teenaged Girls--Never Change

Woody Allen’s new film features sex scene between actor and 15-year-old girl

A Pair of "Certified Translators" Have a Difference of Opinion Re a Toronto Star Whitewash

This letter to the editor, written by a self-described "certified translator" re the whitewash, appears in today's paper:

The lesson of this story about the deliberate mistranslation of an imam’s prayer, and the resulting vilification and loss of employment he suffered, is that people should not take translations at face value. Apparently no one thought to ask whether the translator had adequate language knowledge or had a bias about the subject matter of the translation. 

Unfortunately, most people think translation is a straightforward word-replacement exercise. There’s nothing straightforward about it. Faulty translations are common.
Brian Mossop, certified translator, Toronto

Actually, it's entirely straightforward. An Arabic-speaking imam trash-talked the Jews, and, finding himself in hot water, looked to some interfaith-minded Jews to assert that his straight talking was anything but.

Here's "certified translator" Robert Spencer on the subject (hat tip--BS; the italicized lines are from the article; the non-italicized paragraphs are Spencer's comments):

“He said ‘Jews’ is widely used in the Arabic-speaking world to mean ‘Israeli forces’ or ‘Israeli occupiers,’ not as a sweeping reference to all ethnic and religious Jews.” All right. But remember: Elkasrawy prayed: “O Allah! Count their number; slay them one by one and spare not one of them.” If he didn’t mean all Jews, but just the “Israeli occupiers,” it would have been kind of him to pray: “O Allah! Count their number; slay them one by one and spare not one of them, except the Jews who aren’t ‘Israeli occupiers.'”

“I have never thought of anything against people of Jewish faith,” he says. “In Islam, we believe that no one should be forced into any religion. We cannot hate any people, any group, because of their ethnicity or their religion.”

In reality, the Qur’an depicts the Jews as inveterately evil and bent on destroying the well-being of the Muslims. They are the strongest of all people in enmity toward the Muslims (5:82); they fabricate things and falsely ascribe them to Allah (2:79; 3:75, 3:181); they claim that Allah’s power is limited (5:64); they love to listen to lies (5:41); they disobey Allah and never observe his commands (5:13). They are disputing and quarreling (2:247); hiding the truth and misleading people (3:78); staging rebellion against the prophets and rejecting their guidance (2:55); being hypocritical (2:14, 2:44); giving preference to their own interests over the teachings of Muhammad (2:87); wishing evil for people and trying to mislead them (2:109); feeling pain when others are happy or fortunate (3:120); being arrogant about their being Allah’s beloved people (5:18); devouring people’s wealth by subterfuge (4:161); slandering the true religion and being cursed by Allah (4:46); killing the prophets (2:61); being merciless and heartless (2:74); never keeping their promises or fulfilling their words (2:100); being unrestrained in committing sins (5:79); being cowardly (59:13-14); being miserly (4:53); being transformed into apes and pigs for breaking the Sabbath (2:63-65; 5:59-60; 7:166); and more. They are under Allah’s curse (9:30), and Muslims should wage war against them and subjugate them under Islamic hegemony (9:29).

Yup, that's about as straightforward as it gets. 

Caroline Glick Asks, "Why Is the American Jewish Community Allying With the Movement to Annihilate Israel?

Great question. The problem is that the American Jewish Community, by and large, is Democratic/lefty to the max, and that Israel is a major disappointment since it, by and large, has rejected the American Jews' worldview in order to survive the existential threats to Israel's existence.

It also doesn't help when Donniel Hartman, of Israel's Shalom Hartman Institute, shows up in the States and says stuff like this:

“It’s a prayer that North American Jews won’t walk away despite the fact that Israel insults you every single day, that you’ll stay long enough to fight for the Israel you want.”

Talk about damning the Jewish state with faint praise. Why would North American Jews want to "stay" with Israel when it "insults" us "every single day"? In the face of such "insults," why would these Jews even stick around when there's no guarantee that Israel will ever conform to "the Israel you want," the Palestinian-embracing Jewtopia that's a figment of the progressives' perfervid dreams? Meanwhile and most conveniently, of course, the sage ignores the slings and arrows of which Ms. Glick speaks.

"Why Do American Jews Idealize Soviet Communism?"

Because old habits die hard?

Why There Likely Won't Be Many Women Drivers In Saudi Arabia

A woman who wants to apply for a driver's license there must first get permission from her male guardian/overlord.

One of the Worst of the Worst--the Absurdly-Named Democratic Republic of Congo--Gets Elected to the UN's "Human Rights" Body

It joins such "human rights" stalwarts as Venezuela, Cuba, Egypt and Bangladesh.

Unpalatable and Toxic

The Iran Deal: The Dog's Dinner Obama Dished Out

The Toronto Star Whitewashes Islamic Scripture--and an Imam Who Quoted From It--So That It Can Slam/Slander Israel

You have to read this Toronto Star piece in its entirety in order to believe it--and even then you may find it utterly gobsmacking. (I know I did.) In a nutshell, it's about a Toronto imam who got into hot water when he recited a hateful passage of Islamic scripture, and about how he reached out to some local Jews for absolution. The Star reporter underscores that the whole thing was a big mix-up, since Islamic scripture doesn't really say mean things about Jews, and, besides, Israel/Zionism/"the Occupation" and its mean-spirited "far right" supporters are the real problem. (The Star hired a bunch of experts in Arabic to say so.) Here's but a taste of the chicanery:

[Imam] Elkasrawy also was not referring to Jewish people when he said “slay them one by one,” a line from the Hadith that is often invoked as a cry for divine justice. This line was misunderstood as being part of his prayer about Al-Aqsa mosque; in fact, it was the closing line in a previous supplication that he made on behalf of suffering Muslims around the world, Hachimi said.  

As for “Purify the Al-Aqsa mosque from the filth of the Jews,” a more accurate translation is “Cleanse Al-Aqsa mosque from the Jews’ desecration of it,” according to Nazir Harb Michel, an Arabic sociolinguist and Islamophobia researcher at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.   

The crucial word here is danas. Arabic-English dictionaries list several possible definitions — among them “besmirch,” “defile,” and spiritual “impurity” or “filth” — so context is key in determining the appropriate translation. Harb Michel said “no translator worth two cents” would choose the “filth” definition in the context of Elkasrawy’s prayer.   

When danas is used in reference to a holy place — like Al-Aqsa — the common definition is “desecration,” the experts agreed. “He does not say ‘the filth of the Jews,’” said Jonathan Featherstone, a senior teaching fellow at the University of Edinburgh and former Arabic lecturer with the U.K. Foreign and Commonwealth Office.  

But what did Elkasrawy mean by “desecration”? Again, context is instructive. Days before his prayers, he and his congregants were reading reports of Israeli police deploying tear gas and rubber-tipped bullets inside Al-Aqsa mosque — actions many Muslims would consider to be a desecration of the site, especially during the 10 holiest days of Ramadan.  

Elkasrawy now realizes how wrong it was to mention “the Jews,” especially since his intention was to pray for the mosque, not against people.   

“If I could say it in a more clear way,” he says, “it would be ‘O Allah, protect the Al-Aqsa mosque from occupation. Or preserve the sacredness of the Al-Aqsa mosque from violation.’”   

He said “Jews” is widely used in the Arabic-speaking world to mean “Israeli forces” or “Israeli occupiers,” not as a sweeping reference to all ethnic and religious Jews. But he acknowledges this common usage is problematic. And, he asks, “How is it perceived in my (current) community? It’s something I didn’t take into account.”   

“I have never thought of anything against people of Jewish faith,” he says. “In Islam, we believe that no one should be forced into any religion. We cannot hate any people, any group, because of their ethnicity or their religion.”

Really? So why did Islam's founder order heads to roll--literally?

One would have to be a complete ignoramus--or an interfaith-minded leftist with squish for brains--to swallow such bollocks, or to think that it's "good for the Jews" to abet and abide Zion-hate, the Jew-hate of our time.

Just sayin'.

Update: One of the five "experts" in Arabic the Star consulted was Nazir Harb Michel, of Georgetown University. And, quell shockeroo, Michel seems to be an old hand at misrepresenting the words of Islamic clerics. He did so, for example, when an imam in California called for Muslims to "annihilate" Jews, and, a la the Toronto Star, the Washington Post wanted to pretend that it was a case of mistranslation, not bald, unadulterated hatred (my bolds):

Post reporter Michelle Boorstein noted that [Imam] Shahin's "widely distributed sermon about Jews in Jerusalem set off controversy and fear of violence." Boorstein minimized Shahin's call for anti-Jewish violence, claiming that the sermon merely "called [for] Muslims to come together to protest the closure" at the al-Aqsa mosque" and "prayer for God to destroy Muslims' opponents at the site." 

Boorstein failed to report an earlier July 14, 2017 sermon in which Shahin called to turn "Jerusalem and Palestine into a graveyard for the Jews." 

Making matters worse, the reporter also sought to impugn MEMRI, implicitly questioning its translation and its motivations. Boorstein claimed that MEMRI monitors media coverage, "particularly about Israel," which, as noted above, is false. The Post correspondent also uncritically quoted the mosque's statement, which falsely claimed that MEMRI had "cut and past" the imam's remarks. 

Boorstein even quoted Nazir Harb Michel, a senior fellow at Georgetown University's Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, who provided a whitewashed translation of Shahin's sermon. Michel, without evidence, "expressed concern that MEMRI was hoping to stir up anti-Muslim sentiment..." 

In fact, Shahin was advancing, not just anti-Jewish sentiment, but condoning and encouraging anti-Jewish violence. As CAMERA pointed out to in correspondence to the Post reporter, the cleric was making use of the "al-Aqsa libel"; the false claim that Jews are seeking to destroy or defile the al-Aqsa mosque. Palestinian Arab leaders have often employed this lie to provoke anti-Jewish violence (see, for example "The Battle over Jerusalem and the Temple Mount," CAMERA, July 24, 2017).

 Anyone believe that the Toronto imam wasn't making use of the same "al-Aqsa libel"?

Update: My letter to the editor:

It's so heartening to know that a prayer in Arabic describing Jews as "filth" and calling for them to be slaughtered is actually nothing more than a withering criticism of Israel's "colonialism" and the ongoing "Occupation."

I plan to file that information in the same place where I store other such, um, "clarifications," including the insight that Islam is always and only a religion of peace, and the insistence that "true" jihad is not a holy war but consists of an individual's non-violent "struggle" to hew to Islam's religious strictures.

Al Qaeda, Round II: The Son Also Rises

Now that ISIS is on the skids, the jihad is set to coalesce around a resurgent Al Qaeda and Hamza Bin Laden, the "charismatic" son of you-know-who.

The Pfefferman Pfroblem

Liel Leibovitz expatiates on the topic of the Transparent-ly awful TV mishpacha. 

The critics love it. Liel and me...not so much.

Farzana Hassan Tells the M-103 Committee to Ditch the Term "Islamophobia"

Hassan stated her case plainly--"Islamophobia" is too vague and loaded a term, and must be chucked:

A common dictionary meaning of anti-semitism is “hostility to or prejudice against Jews”. Islamophobia, on the other hand, also includes criticism of Islam as a religion. The common dictionary meaning is “intense dislike or fear of Islam, esp. as a political force; hostility or prejudice towards Muslims.”

While I could state my case without interruption for the ten minutes allotted, I felt the committee was reluctant to ask me any further questions, as I would have reinforced a viewpoint that countered the Liberal Party’s position. 

My only questions were from Conservative MP Scott Reid. 

I had recommended erasing Islamophobia from the motion, because in my view it is a vaguely defined term; I asked why the House would not agree to a more specific term to investigate anti-Muslim sentiment. Mr Reid's response was to ask if Islamophobia defined strictly as “hatred toward Muslims” would work. 

I responded that would not be adequate at all, and that any redefinition of the word by the House would fall on deaf ears. 

Besides, not every individual would be aware of this very narrow definition of Islamophobia. Words have their own lives among the people who speak them. As far as the general public is concerned, the vagueness would remain as few would be aware of the term as redefined by the House of Commons. Not everyone is aware of government proceedings or taps into government documents as a resource. 

Islamophobia will continue to have disturbingly wide connotations for people who subscribe to an obscurantist view of Islam and cannot tolerate any criticism.

Alas, the Liberals are too stupid and too heavily invested in the cult/culture/ideology of victimhood to do the right thing and scrap the sucker.

The Pop-Culture Inspired Costumes You Should Definitely Skip This Halloween

#11: Anne Frank?!?

Questions We Are NOT Allowed To Ask Muslim Immigrants (Becasue "Islamophobia")

Apparently, authorities are not permitted to ask some obvious questions (about possible ties to extremist organizations and feelings re chicks in Canada being unveiled, etc.) because it amounts to profiling, or targeting, or something.

The question thus arises: how can one properly vet people from, say, Syria and Somalia, if such inquiries are off the table?

"Perhaps the Slogan We Need...Is #BeDecent"

Works for me. And it makes a lot more sense than blaming the bad behavior of Harvey and his ilk on "white supremacy," including--wait for it--"zionism".

Monty Python's Gibungous Masjid

London's new mega-mosque is about to become a permanent fixture in Golder's Green, a traditionally Jewish area of the city.

Update: With the mega-mosque moving into their 'hood, London Jews are said to be experiencing "tension and concern."

The Entity Formerly Known As CAIR-CAN Urges Muslims to "Thank the TDSB for Supporting Islamic Heritage Month"

You can see why it would want to high-five the effort. After all, it has managed to slip da'wa, sharia and Jew-hate into Toronto public schools by positioning it as "diversity" and anti-"Islamophobia."

All in all, a job well done!

Get a Grip, JT

A Canadian rock icon's death engenders public blubbering from Canada's sensitive, new age prime minister.

Epic Fail

So much for using biometric screening to keep the bad guys out of Canada.

Epic Win

For once, Trump's boasts amount to something more than delusion and hot air  as ISIS is more or less trounced in Syria.

France's Approach to French ISIS Jihadists

In brief it's kill 'em in Syria so they can't return to France.

The Elephant in the M-103 Committee Room: Muslim Jew-Hate

Maybe if no one notices it, it'll go away.

Then again, maybe not:

The elephant in the room is that, in 2017, many anti-Jewish incidents have been the handiwork of Canadian Muslims, sometimes even claiming to act or speak in the name of Islam. In the past 12 months, no fewer than four Canadian mosques — two in Montreal, and one each in Toronto and Vancouver — have been exposed as sites of vile anti-Jewish hatred, including for making claims that Jews are “filthy,” “people of treachery and betrayal,” and even “the worst of mankind.” 

Just a few weeks ago, Quebec prosecutors decided not to lay charges against a Montreal imam, Sayed al-Ghitawi, who called on God to “destroy the accursed Jews,” to “kill them one by one” and “not to leave any one of them alive.” Imagine the outrage if a priest or pastor were caught on video making similar comments about Muslims at a Canadian church. 

Unfortunately, M-103 risks exacerbating the already lackadaisical public attitude toward these anti-Semitic outrages.

You know what else risks exacerbating it? The influx of immigrants/refugees from Muslim lands, which is mushrooming, and which resulted in the number of Muslims in Canada exceeding the number of Jews by a ratio of 3 to 1.

Thanks, Trump

The United States Serves Up Kurdistan to Iran on a Silver Platter

Was It Only Last Month That Harvey Weinstein Was High Fived at TIFF?

Why yes; yes it was:

A short while later, Jason Sudeikis and Ed Harris were the big names at a pre-screening reception that helped kick off a week of activity at RBC house. The pair are in town alongside director Mark Raso to launch their film Kodachrome. Later, the same space played host to producer extraordinaire Harvey Weinstein, actor Bryan Cranston and director Neil Burger, who all popped into the lounge (sans castmate Nicole Kidman) for post-premier cocktails in celebration of their film, The Upside...

From "producer extraordinaire" in September to an ignominious disgrace and the most reviled man in showbiz mere weeks later.

The swiftness of the downfall is nothing short of astonishing.

What Toronto Sun Columnist Farzana Hassan Plans to Tell the M-103 Committee

For one thing, she's going to set it straight re the non-similarity between Islamophobia and Jew-hate:

I consider equating Islamophobia with anti-Semitism highly flawed. In committee, I will argue that the two are fundamentally different, are used in very different contexts and would also have completely different ramifications in the context of M-103. 

[MP Iqra] Khalid [who is sponsoring M-103] has used the condemnation of anti-Semitism as a pretext to push for a similar response to what she considers Islamophobia. 

I would go so far as to label the demand for a motion like M-103 an unpatriotic act; it casts a harsh judgment on Canada’s existing laws and downplays its generous policies toward immigrants and refugees.

I give Hassan full props for daring to speak truth to this parliamentary committee, especially in light of the exceptionally frosty reception it accorded her colleague Tarek Fatah.

Couldn't Have Said It Better Myself

Good riddance to UNESCO

"Radio Free Islam"

An idea whose time has come? Or a reformers' pipe dream?

Sort of Takes All the Fun Out of Halloween Dress Up, No?

There's no doubt that, these days, the party poopers are in charge and a-ragin':

Post-secondary institutions are also taking up the cause: at the University of Toronto, plans are in motion for a social media campaign during the week leading up to Halloween that addresses not only what costumes should be avoided, but why. 

"I think when going into these conversations ... one thing that's missing from a lot of this discourse is the emphasis on empathy," said Chimwe Alao, the vice president of equity with the U of T Students' Union. 

Ignite, the association representing Humber and Guelph-Humber college students, has posted a list of rules online and says security officers will pre-screen costumes prior to the school's upcoming Halloween party. 

"Regardless of how well-intentioned your costume may be, it can still perpetuate harmful stereotypes and stigmas. Cultural costumes will not be permitted into the event; this is a zero-tolerance policy," the rules read.

To be clear, the following costumes are not permitted:

These head coverings, however, will likely pass muster:

Ontario "Islamic Heritage Month" Guide Book For School Teachers: A Blueprint For Indoctrination?

October is "Islamic Heritage Month" in Ontario.

Whoop dee doo, eh?

Don't worry, though. According to a "resource guidebook" created for  the province's public school teachers, the aim is not to shove Islam down kids' throats:

Q7. Am I supposed to teach students about Islam? 

No. This month (similar to other creed and cultural heritage months) is about learning the heritage and contributions of the Muslim community to Canadian society and celebrating diversity.  The Basic Beliefs and Practices: An Educator's Primer (Section 1.0) is one of many resources available to our staff to provide them with an understanding of Islam and to get a better understanding of Muslim students in their classrooms.

Clearly, though, that's a whopping load of bollocks. See, for example, this:

What does “Allah” mean?

Allah is the Arabic name for God. Literally meaning “The God”, the Arabic name Allah is used by Muslims around the world, irrespective of languages spoken. Other faiths and traditions address God using names such as Dieu, Jehovah, Ya'hweh, and Elohim.

Do Muslims believe God is a male?  

No. Muslim scholars of all ages - male and female - have agreed that “God, as the Creator of all beings, is the author of gender but is not gendered. While English translations of Arabic texts generally refer to Allah as ‘He', this only reflects the absence of a neutral pronoun in Arabic, and does not indicate that God is ‘masculine'” (Winter & Williams, 2002). God describes Himself in the Qur'an as being unlike any of His creation, indicating that nothing in creation resembles Him. 

What is the Qur’an?  

The word Qur'an literally means “the reading” or “the recitation” (Sheikh, 2002), and refers to the exact words revealed by God through the Angel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad1 (Winter & Williams, 2002). Muslims believe the Qur'an to be the final revelation from God to humanity, following revelations given to previous Messengers, including the Gospel of Prophet Jesus, the Psalms of Prophet David, the Torah of Prophet Moses, and the Scrolls of Prophet Abraham.  

Who was Muhammad?  

A descendent of Prophet Abraham, Muhammad was born in Makkah (modern day, Saudi Arabia) in the year 570 C.E.  At the age of 40, he was chosen by God to be His last Prophet and Messenger to convey the message of Islam to humanity over a period of 23 years. According to the Islamic worldview, God sent Messengers and Prophets to guide humanity over time, beginning with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus - to name a few. 

What is the meaning of Islam?  

Islam is the name of the religion revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.  The term Islam derives from an Arabic root that generates words with interrelated meanings, including “submission,” “commitment,” and “peace” (Sheikh, 2002). In a religious context, Islam refers to the voluntary submission and commitment.

Does that sound like "diversity" to you? Or does it sound like  da'wa (proselytization on behalf of Islam) masquerading as "diversity"?

Careful now. Should you decide it's the latter, you could be accused of "Islamophobia" (because that's how things are shaping up in Justin's glorious--and mega-"diverse"--Trudeaupia).

Update: The guidebook has sparked a great deal of controversy, much of it having to do with an outrageously broad definition of the "I" word. But considering the da'wa inherent throughout the thing, that seems like a case of nitpicking (and an avoidance of the problematic nature of the guide in toto) to me. 

"Harvey Weinstein May Be the Central-Casting Version of a Hollywood Predator, But He Was Just One Festering Pustule In a Diseased Industry"

Sarah Polley, who had her own run-in with the pustule a decade ago, sums it all up.

Update: Until his downfall, Weinstein had the backing of the rich and powerful in both the fashion and the political sectors. Re the former, the New Times has a piece on Weinstein's cozy relationships in the fashion biz (including the not-so-shocking info that he used to pressure his female stars to wear his wife's fancy-shmancy gowns--she's the co-founder of the Marquesa label--on Oscar and Emmy red carpets). As for Weinstein's political associations, Maureen Dowd offers this instructive anecdote:

[Former Hollywood Reporter editor Janice] Min recalled attending the $400,000 speech Barack Obama made as an ex-president to an A&E Networks advertising upfront at the Pierre hotel in New York in April. 

“Afterwards, amid rapturous applause, he walks right over to Harvey Weinstein and gives Harvey a hug,” Min said. “You can see the optics of it all. It makes your head explode if you think of the inability to explode the male network.”

Actually, it makes your head explode if you think about how Weinstein was able to buy his way into the uppermost echelon of the Democratic Party. And, if you happened to be on the receiving end of Harvey's unwanted advances, the sight of Harvey embracing Saint Obama must have underscored how futile it was to complain about them.

The Biggest Mystery of the Weinstein Scandal

How could "exemplary parents" like Barack and Michelle let their precious daughter work for a man with his rapey reputation?

Useful Idiot Du Jour

As Trump Tries To Kill the Iran Deal, a Former Israeli Spy Lobbies To Save It

A wised-up John Bolton explains why the deal must die.

The Hollywood Elite are Shocked--SHOCKED!--To Hear About Harvey Weinstein's Longstanding Predatory Behaviour

Who's shocked?

George Clooney, for one.

Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lawrence, too.

However, Daniel Greenfield isn't buying it. He says everyone who worked in Tinsel Town knew about the real Harvey, and the reason why they remained silent all those years--nay, decades--was because he used to wield a lot of power.

More recently, he didn't--and that's why he fell.

Simple as that, really.

Update: As per usual, Mark Steyn has a unique take on the subject:

When a decent old stiff such as Mitt Romney talks earnestly about looking for suitable female job candidates and clumsily distills the effort into the phrase "binders full of women", all the smart sophisticated types jump on it and make it a punchline for an antiquated condescension that only confirms how irredeemably misogynist the GOP is. 

By contrast, when Harvey Weinstein corners a TV reporter in the corridor of his restaurant and forces her to watch as he unzips his pants, masturbates, and finally concludes the performance by ejaculating into a pot plant, all you hear, from a couple of larger leaves round the back of the plant, are drenched crickets chirping. Three decades of crickets chirping. 

"Binders full of women": what an appalling sentiment! 

"Stand there and shut up while I masturbate in your general direction": well, say what you like but Harvey has always supported, as Meryl Streep noted today, "good and worthy causes" - like the Hillary campaign...

Me? I have come to the conclusion that, for now, neither the Left--with its Bills (Clinton and Cosby) and Harveys--nor the Right--with its Donald Trump--has any claim on the moral high ground.

Update: More outrage:

She's got Harvey on her heinie?

Silly Dame.

Maybe she can tweak her tat--you know, like Johnny Depp did after he broke up with Winona Ryder.

Update: Don't miss The New Yorker 's takedown of Harvey, by Mia's and Woody's kid.

Update: Remember when Harvey's antics used to slay 'em, not shame 'em?:

His alleged behavior became something of a Hollywood open secret: When the comedian Seth MacFarlane announced Oscar nominees in 2013, he joked, “Congratulations, you five ladies no longer have to pretend to be attracted to Harvey Weinstein.” The audience laughed.

Yeah, a Hollywood heavyweight (in every sense of the word) sexually assaulting vulnerable and powerless young women--how utterly high-larious!

It's Back (Quack, Quack)

The Return of the "Israel Lobby" Canard

Multiculturalism Is a Trojan Horse That Has Allowed Sharia to Establish Itselt in the West

Don't believe me? Read this.

"It's a New York Thing"

FYI, that's the embarrassingly pathetic excuse made by SNL's Lorne Michaels to justify the absence of any spoofing re sexual predator Harvey's Weinstein and his much belated comeuppance.

Scruton on the Ceeb

One of my favorite conservative thinkers, Sir Roger Scruton, shares his wisdom about the human condition with CBC radio's Michael Enright. (Lucky Michael--and lucky us.)

Most Fascinating Fact I've Learned Today (So Far)

Josh Gad's dad is an Afghan Jew.

Question: Where are the Outraged Feminists in Pussy Hats Who Feel Compelled to Protest Harvey Weinstein's Decades of Revoltingly Sexist Antics?

Answer: they are nowheresville, of course. 

Mark Steyn sums it up like this:

The biggest movie news this week was the disclosure that Harvey Weinstein, the man behind some of the most critically admired films of the past three decades, is a boorish misogynist predator who demands actresses, TV anchorettes and female employees massage him, shower with him, or, if all else fails, watch him masturbate into a pot plant. A longtime Clinton-Obama supporter, he's blaming it on a vast right-wing conspiracy, possibly hiding behind the pot plant, and has said he's going to focus on taking down the NRA (by forcing them to watch him masturbate, which is more than most arms could bear). It's fascinating to see that the same people who demand two-century-old statues conform to the mores of 2017 are entirely relaxed when powerful flesh-and-blood Hillary donors decline to do so.

Fascinating: indeed.

Pretty sickening, too.

Update: Women in Hollywood criticised for “deafening silence” over Harvey Weinstein sex harassment scandal

Lena Dunham is one of the few who has spoken out. (She's also probably one of the few who hasn't been hit on by Harvey.)

The CBC Convenes a Pity Party For an Alleged Terrorist

The heart bleeds:

A 19-year-old Mississauga, Ont., man awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to terrorism offences in a 2016 plot to detonate bombs in New York City in support of ISIS is "vulnerable" and "extremely fragile," his lawyer says. 

Sabrina Shroff, who is representing the man, spoke to CBC News on Friday, saying Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy is doing the best that he can under the circumstances. 

"It's a very difficult situation undoubtedly — not just for him but also for his entire family," Shroff said, emphasizing his young age. "We worry about him daily."

Yes, poor lad. So young. So delicate. How could he possibly know what he was doing when, allegedly, he became involved in a plot

 that allegedly included detonating bombs in Times Square and in the New York subway system, as well as shootings at various concert venues.

According to the information unsealed Friday, Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy purchased bomb-making materials and helped secure a cabin within driving distance of New York City for the purpose of building explosive devices. 

Sounds to me like Sabrina, she of the Queen Victoria royal "we," is worrying about the wrong people.

Toronto's Poop Cafe: Execrable or Yummy?

You decide:

Poop Cafe is Toronto's washroom-themed restaurant. Has someone in your life been using that poop emoji every day since it was invented, or bursts into uncontrollable laughter whenever toilet humour comes up? Is that person you? If that person also loves dessert, this place is for them.   

Beyond the poop-tastic theme with the little swirly emoji everywhere, ice cream served in toilet bowls and water served in urinal-shaped cups, this place offers a generous range of various Asian desserts, from Thai rolled ice cream to Hong Kong egg waffles. This place seems to encourage Torontonians to lighten up, and in the process open themselves to flavour combinations...

Speaking as someone who "picks up" after her dog, I can't say that that sounds even remotely appealing.

And the Oscar For the Biggest Doucebag in Hollywood Goes To...

...Harvey Weinstein, of course.

Get a Grip, Twitter

Twitter Swoons Over Justin Trudeau’s #TBT Photo on World Teachers’ Day

Toxic Mothering

France's 'Mama Jihad' jailed for 10 years for encouraging jihadi son

BTW, her name is Christine and her son's name is Tyler. (That's right, they're "reverts").

Update: Islamists to be charged over failed Paris apartment attack

When the Headline's Pretty Much the Entire Story

Only in the Daily Mail are you likely to read something like this:

'Are you trying to kill me?' Texts wife sent to Army sergeant 'after he tried to gas her a fortnight before sabotaging her parachute sending her plunging 4,000ft to the ground in murder bid because he was having affairs with a Tinder lover AND his ex-wife'.

The UN Tries to Make Crappy Treatment of Women in Arab Countries a Money Issue--But Is It?

Just stumbled upon this one:

BEIRUT, Oct 4 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The United Nations called on Arab nations on Wednesday to calculate the economic cost of violence against women, in a bid to promote policy reform in a region where the issue is a taboo. 

Only a handful of Arab states have laws that specifically tackle violence against women - be it marital rape, honour killings or incest, said the group, which was led by the U.N.'s agency on women. 

"Many countries in the Arab region still see violence against women and deal with it as a private issue and not a public issue," said Mehrinaz Elawady of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). 

"Costing (the) violence would help the government and the state understand that ... it is not only affecting the abused woman, it is also affecting the entire economy," the director of ESCWA's Centre for Women told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. 

Egypt used a model recommended by the U.N. to estimate in 2015 that gender-based violence cost it 2.17 billion Egyptian pounds ($123 million) a year. 

There is no data on the scale of violence against women in the Arab world...

It is obvious that the UN, in its woefully finite wisdom, is convinced that framing the problem in economic terms is the way to effect change. But if it fails to address the ingrained attitudes, borne of religion and culture, that relegate these women to a second class status, how can this "new" approach change anything?

Did Trump Tell the UN Sec'y Gen That Netanyahu Is a Bigger Problem Than Abbas?

Would you be shocked if he did? 

Speaking of Uncertified Shrinks, CNN's "Dr." Chris Cuomo Is On the Scene to Feel Your Pain

Christie Blatchford has had it with Cuomo, in post-massacre Las Vegas, "functioning as a sort of roving therapist, delicately probing the psyches of those before him, offering instant diagnosis and dispensing comfort and hugs." Here's Christie describing Cuomo's unctuous M.O.:

“You got outta there,” Cuomo said, eyes moist with empathy. “You started to heal.”

He told the fellow that whatever else, his job now was “to spend your time taking care of yourself. Know that your best days are ahead of you,” Cuomo concluded. He patted the man on the shoulder.

On and on it went like this, through the morning and later in the day, with anchor after anchor and reporter after reporter doling out wisdom to one another and their subjects.

Wolf Blitzer, for instance, pointed out that the trauma wasn’t going to be confined to those who had been wounded, but to the much larger pool of the 22,000 at the concert “who heard that killing field” and “are going to be haunted by that,” possibly for years.

“No question about it,” said Cuomo. Then he added, “We’re here just to listen” and reminded the concert-goers that “the burden will be a blessing in time.”

OMG, delusional Chris thinks he's a priest--or the Pope.

Or Oprah.

Black Market Psychotherapy Is Alive and Well in Merkel's Berlin

Is Germany a healthy, wholesome Utopia? Not so much, really. Turns out there aren't nearly enough English-speaking shrinks--and there's also a big taboo re mental health difficulties--in Germany's "hedonistic" capital city. This stat, for one, is pretty shocking:

Germany's suicide rate in 2015 was more than triple the rate of road fatalities in the same year.

Tom Petty at His Best (Prince, Too)

This is awesome:

Update: Tom Petty, RIP

Looks Just Like My Dog

"White Girls Are Filthy"

Thus do the wives of "Asian" men imprisoned for raping young non-Muslim girls justify their husbands' heinous actions.

A Chip Off the Old Jihadi Block

SAS launch mission to kill or capture Osama Bin Laden's son in Syria before he can copy his father and organise terror attacks against the West

Vehicular Jihad in Edmonton: Police Release Terrorist's Name

It's Abdulahi Hasan Sharif.

He's being described as a "lone wolf," of course.

Update: This, too, is supposed to make us feel better about things--an expert calls the attack "unsophisticated." (By that standard, the 9/11 attacks were also "unsophisticated" since they involved airliners hijacked by terrorists wielding ordinary box cutters.)

Update: OMG--he's a Somali refugee claimant who was known to police for his extremist views. After questioning him, though, the cops didn't think he would be moving from jihadi thought to jihadi action any time soon, if at all--so they let him go.

Despite these facts, this attack is being described as "unstoppable"--an obvious load of codswallop, if you ask me.

Update: Gee, I wonder if the "lone wolf" worshipped here:

...in a sermon on Friday, May 6 [2016) delivered at a mosque in Edmonton, an imam invoked the memory of Prophet Muhammad to whip up hatred against Israel. 

He declared peace accords with Israel are “useless garbage,” and vowed “Jerusalem will be conquered through blood.” 

In February, the same cleric predicted Islam would soon conquer Rome, “the heart of the Christian state.”... 

Update: While screaming "Allahu Akbar!," a jihadi weilding a knife stabs and kills two young women in Marseille, France.

ISIS has already claimed credit for the feat of jihad, but one wonders how soon it will be until authorities insist that the knifer had mental health issues, or was a "lone wolf" who was merely "inspired" by ISIS (as if that's so much less threatening that an attack organized and launched by ISIS).

Update: You knew it was coming, and sooner rather than later--Edmonton Muslims fear "backlash" in the wake of the attack.

Update: Iman Syed Soharwardy, he of the Alberta-based Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, wants us to condemn the terroism AND the--wait for it--"Islamophobia."

Update: You can always count on a local Liberal to utter the usual vapid assurances:

[Alberta Liberal Party leader David Khan] called for Albertans to come together to isolate extremism and hatred.  

"Our province’s diversity and multiculturalism are what will give us the resilience and strength to overcome this distressing and terrible incident," Khan said.

Hey, what would a jihadi attack in Canada be without a mention of "diversity and multiculturalism"? 

A nice change?

A breath of fresh air?

A shocking divergence from the multiculti hymnal?

Yes, yes, and yes!

Update: A statement that doesn't exactly inspire the greatest confidence (my bolds):

Police say there's no threat to public safety in Calgary following a suspected terror attack Saturday night in Edmonton. 

"At this point, we have no intelligence to suggest there is an imminent threat to Calgarians," Calgary police said in a Sunday statement. 

"However, it would be naive to think something like what occurred in Edmonton, could never happen in Calgary."...