04 May 2015: A First Amendment Event China - continues to troll along in my old WP blog. Three hundred seventy views (in the last thirty days) from places which sound like towns which were named by slinging a metal pot down an alley and identifying the sound: Chongqing, Xingtai, Weifang... my apologies to the Chinese. Strangest view of all to the blog came from Bedasht, Iran. What the hell could possibly be going on in a village with only a smattering of households? One of the posts which generated interest has to do with a First Amendment Event. So indulge me and let me revisit the Curtis Culwell Center terror attack. This event was a response to the Charlie Hebdo terror attack in France. Sponsored by Pamela Geller, Geert Wilders, and Robert Spencer, it was well-attended by the press corps. I received two complimentary passes: One for the parking lot and the second for the event. We all had to move through a metal detector at ...
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When People You have never Heard of Protest Yeah, Yeah. I know. The grammar is a nightmare. But humor me - because my sense of humor took hold. https://www.dailymail.com/tvshowbiz/article-16135167/Ed-Sheeran-loses-200-000-Instagram-followers-24-hours-faces-cancellation-tour-Macklemore-Free-Palestine-row.html "Free Palestine!" Can someone just free up his brain cells? There is no digital footprint which establishes whether Macklemore visited Israel in the weeks after the October 7 attack on innocent festival attendees. No record of his trip to a morgue, a cemetery, or to speak with the families of those whose members were kidnapped and last seen wailing on the back of a motorcycle. Here is a small snippet of information regarding his activism. https://www.reddit.com/r/Palestine/comments/1ipeegi/after_16_months_of_genocide_macklemore_becomes/ But if we are to compartmentalize news based on images, maybe I should have saved some of the images coming off the Go...
Modern Technology Time Travels to the Han Dynasty It was the Hans Dynasty which invented the wheelbarrow. Apparently, the invention is good enough to remove what is left of one of the F 15 which was destroyed this month. Might this be the F 15 of Saudi Arabia which the Houthi lay claim to shooting down? Unsure.
Arsenal: Target America Template Calendar: Based on Life of Prophet Muhammad Secret Call: 3 years Decade I: Establishment Decade II: Expansion 1962: "You will be the first sign of our presence." (Arsenal p. 18) Arrival of the first members of the Muslim Brotherhood in North America with their assigned tasks. 1965: Establishment Focus on acquisition of small properties for modest footprint-single function masajid. Already in focus: purchase of farmlands for later expansion efforts. 1975: Expansion Addition of charity flanks to mosques for revenue generation. During these years there was no official accounting for the receipt of cash gifts. Saudi funds also made an appearance in the form of financial grants for construction of new masajid. While these were not matching grants, some fundraising efforts provided $50,000-$70,000 in cash donations. Ohio led the pack. (My personal belief? Saudi Arabia presents as an ...
Inhumane Treatment of Illegal Migrants in Custody I have noted a consistent practice model in play within America. When we get things wrong, our orientation is usually toward rectifying any wrong and assuring that it does not happen again. Our nation is proficient with the processes of investigation and of debriefing. This observation regarding our orientation toward a basic goodness is (once again) affirmed with the release of the report from DHS Office of Inspector General regarding living conditions at Florida's "Alligator Alcatraz". https://www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/assets/2026-09/OIG-26-22-Sep26.pdf There is no place in America for the inhumane treatment of individuals within our custody. How the most vulnerable and weak are treated provides a strong cue for greater society regarding basic values. And regarding the illegal entries now detained and facing deportation, the Hippocratic Oath should apply: "First, do no harm." Proper c...
Evening Thoughts I am reading "Arsenal" again. Not because I am not aware of what I penned so many years ago. But as a caution to honor the men who so greatly impacted my life with their thoughts, kindness, and willingness to instruct me regarding the finer aspects of Islamic law. Each character in the novel - was more than just a personal acquaintance. This re-visiting of "Arsenal" also allows me to remember journalism confidentiality. So even as I began to write in long form several pages of notes for a post on the Muslim Brotherhood, I find myself drawing a line through certain paragraphs. "Oh! I remember at which restaurant and exactly the seat which I took when this information was shared. It was shared with generosity and should remain part of a private conversation." This is not only about journalism confidentiality but the ebb and flow of deep friendships within the Muslim community. I had these experiences for two decades....