Imam Elahi Says Obama's Video Greeting Is 'Wise'

Before the Ayatollah had a chance to make his response to it, local Iranian agent Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi said of President Obama’s video greeting to “the Islamic Republic of Iran”: “It is so wise.” (“Muslims heartened by Obama greeting”).



Dawud Walid, head of Michigan CAIR, declared Obama’s greeting “unprecedented.”

And then,

“The past eight years created a huge roadblock,” said Imad Hamad, regional chairman of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

“I see the president on the right track, stepping up with an initiative as the primary way of addressing issues head on.”

I’m sure Gregg Krupa collected these helpful quotations and had them in print before the response of the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hit the news, basically shooting Obama down with a firm “not so fast, infidel.”(“Iran's supreme leader dismisses Obama overtures”) :

“Have you released Iranian assets? Have you lifted oppressive sanctions? Have you given up mudslinging and making accusations against the great Iranian nation and its officials? Have you given up your unconditional support for the Zionist regime? Even the language remains unchanged,” Khamenei said.

Khamenei,wearing a black turban and dark robes, said America was hated around the world for its arrogance, as the crowd chanted “Death to America.”

We’ll see how the president addresses the “issues head on” of the Iranian demand for our betrayal of Israel, or our backing down of criticism of Iran’s funding for Hamas and Hezbollah, and exporting terrorism around the globe, and their efforts to get nukes and missiles to launch them on.

It may turn out that the "huge roadblock" of the past eight years was the best thing for the world after all.

Pork for Palestinians

Well, folks, what do you think the likelihood is that anything like the hectoring, intrusive second-guessing of CEO spending is going to be tied to the $900 million we’re sending to Hamas in Gaza?

If Obama and Congressional Democrats can browbeat auto and bank executives into selling their corporate jets, passing up bonuses, and otherwise denying themselves the perks of position, can we expect a bit of “no spending this money on anti-Jew rocket launchers”? Somehow I don’t think we're going to see C-SPAN hearings with toughminded congressmen demanding Hamas killers explain where all the money went.

The funds are supposed to be distributed through the UN and NGOs. The UN’s honest broker reputation towards Israel is badly broken. Unifil border monitors turned a blind eye to Hezbollah weapons smuggling in Lebanon, broadcast IDF troop movements during the Israel-Lebanon War, and UN ambulances have been used to provide weapons transport cover to Palestinian terrorists during the intifadah. Then there is UN headquarters, the source of endless resolutions condemning Israel.

Everything in Gaza belongs to Hamas. That’s the meaning of the coup throwing Fatah out two years ago, and the establishment of Gaza as an Islamic state under Hamas control. Even if the NGOs have mechanisms for keeping US money from going directly for Hamas’s war aims against Israel, whatever social welfare or reconstruction costs Hamas saves thanks to our money they’ll simply redirect into their terrorist agenda.

And I love the way the NYT absolves President Obama for this stupid decision: “By seeking to aid Gazans but not Hamas, the administration is following the lead of the Bush administration, which sent money to Gaza through nongovernmental organizations.”

Did you hear anything in Obama’s State of the Change address the other night that sounded like any of his policies were meant to follow the lead of the Bush administration?

Dearborn Council Pays Their Jizya

The Dearborn City Council website has now posted its minutes from the special meeting it held last Thursday to adopt Osama Siblani’s resolution blaming Israel, and deflecting blame from Hamas, for the recent violence in Gaza. The resolution can be read here.

The council convened at 5: 35 for a “special meeting” not open to the public, read and approved the resolution, and adjourned at 5:56.

What are they thinking?

The worst of this is the resolution’s complete failure, as we expected it would fail, to mention the ongoing rocket attacks on Israeli civilians by Hamas that prompted the Israeli offensive in the first place. In this regard the resolution is even less balanced than news reports by the BBC or the New York Times. At least those sources can admit that the Israeli offensive was prompted by ceaseless rocket fire from Hamas, even if they couldn't admit Israel has the right to defend herself in force.

Even a European Union official has recognized that Hamas bears “overwhelming responsibility” for what they have brought on the residents of Gaza. He even said that Europeans are “sick of paying” to rebuild Gaza only to have Hamas, (and its prior irresponsible governments) provoke further strikes by Israel. (“EU envoy lays Gaza blame on Hamas”).

But those Dearborn council members, they know better.

Siblani (whom I have to assume drafted this) further sneaks in language blaming Israel, and not Hamas, for the situation, implying that Israel is “responsible” for the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza for which it is now denying “aid and assistance” (which is clearly false).

In fairness to our council members, they’re only repeating what they’re being told. It’s not as if news reporting on all this has been accurate. Then again, the rest of us have had no problem finding more accurate accounts of the situation, why can’t they?

I’m also a bit puzzled by the Council resolution’s declared support for “a Declaration of Human Rights.” [note indefinite article]. Why not The Declaration of Human Rights? Is that the UN version they've got in mind?, or the “The Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam”?

The latter embraces a “freedom and right to a dignified life in accordance with the Islamic Shari’ah”:

Article 22

(a) Everyone shall have the right to express his opinion freely in such manner as would not be contrary to the principles of the Shari’ah.

(b) Everyone shall have the right to advocate what is right, and propagate what is good, and warn against what is wrong and evil according to the norms of Islamic
Shari’ah.

It’s hard for me to believe this is anything but naked political pandering to Dearborn Muslims. While the city council is kow-towing to Dearborn's Muslims, and the guy sitting in the chair of the Commander-in-Chief is kow-towing to the Muslims in the rest of the world, who's speaking for the rest of us?

Timely Reminder

Too many people refuse to understand: Hamas is not fighting for a Palestinian state. Hamas is fighting for the annihilation of Israel which it would replace with an Islamic emirate. Not the same thing at all. -- Clifford D. May ("The Battle of Gaza: And the winner is. . .").