Greg GutfeldRecently Greg Gutfeld of FOX News’s Satirical Red Eye Show proposed that a gay bar should be placed next to the Mosque to determine just how tolerant the Muslims behind this project would be. Throughout the Arab and Muslim world homosexuality is a crime and in some cases punishable by death in such countries as Iran. Gutfeld stated that according to the official website the founders of the mosque are building it in an effort to preach tolerance and communication. He said, “Wouldn’t it be great to test their tolerance. So I figured, let’s open an Islam friendly gay bar.” Although Gutfeld is a comedian he is deadly serious about going through with the construction of the gay bar. After attempting to contact those involved with the building of the mosque by letter and email he eventually received a tweet which read, “You’re free to open whatever you like, if you won’t consider the sensibilities of Muslims you’re not going to build dialogue.” That statement might be a bit hypocritical don’t you think?
Ground Zero Mosque will Divide Muslim Community
from other Americans
The plans to build a $100 million Muslim community center that contains a mosque only footsteps away from Ground Zero have increasingly infuriated New Yorkers as well as the bulk of the nation. The backers of the mosque claim that placing it in such proximity will help promote healing. Proponents of the placement, where thousands lost their lives due to a radical strain of the Islamic faith, claim that it will help heal relations and exemplify tolerance.
Any rational thinking person knows that radical interpretation of the Koran only applies to a small minority of Muslims, and that most Muslims are peaceful, loving people. However, the reality is that if the founders of this mosque truly wanted to promote healing and tolerance they would understand that it would be best if they relocated. The placement of the mosque will only increase division among Muslim and other communities in New York and across America. If the Muslims behind the building of this mosque wanted to show how committed they are to tolerance and healing they would move the mosque elsewhere and it would do a great deal for Muslim/American relations.
However, their refusal to engage in discussion with Governor Paterson, who has reached out a hand and offered to provide government land for the re-location of the mosque, suggests that the promoters of this mosque are not much interested in mending ties between Muslims and other Americans.
New York Construction Workers Vow Not to Work on Mosque
On Friday the Daily News reported that a growing number of New York construction workers are vowing not to work on the mosque planned near Ground Zero. Even if and when they find workers willing to construct the mosque those individuals will be putting themselves in danger. Without question anyone who agrees to be involved with the construction will be ostracized. They will also submit themselves to the risk of real physical danger by certain nut jobs who will take the anger out in irrational fits of violence.
On Friday the Daily News reported that a growing number of New York construction workers are vowing not to work on the mosque planned near Ground Zero. Even if and when they find workers willing to construct the mosque those individuals will be putting themselves in danger. Without question anyone who agrees to be involved with the construction will be ostracized. They will also submit themselves to the risk of real physical danger by certain nut jobs who will take the anger out in irrational fits of violence.
Funding for Mosque Remains a Question
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Demonstrations At Proposed Mosque
Demonstrations At Proposed Mosque
According to official data the project planners only has $180,000 in the bank. It is a $100 million project. So where are they going to get all the money and who is going to fund it? The founders of the community center have remained quite silent on this aspect of the building. However, they have said that they won’t rule out taking money from Iran, which just happens to be the #1 state sponsor of terror in the entire world. What sort of a message does that send? Not a healing one.
Many who object to construction of an Islamic facility so close to the site of the World Trade Center feel that a large, if not dominating Muslim presence there would be at best insensitive and at worst a symbol of the very Islamist supremacy that is the goal of Al Qaeda and other Jihadist killers.
In addition the supposed imam of the place,Feisal Abdul Rauf, told 60 Minutes shortly after 9/11, "I wouldn't say that the United States deserved what happened, but the United States policies were an accessory to the crime that happened." He added, "In the most direct sense, Osama Bin Laden is made in the USA." More recently, he has declined to identify the racist and totalitarian Hamas party as being guilty of the much less severe designation of terrorist.
The Iranian Nuclear Threat Grows
Admiral Mullen, The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, announced a few weeks ago on NBC’s Meet the Press that the U.S. does have an attack plan for Iran which is aimed at taking out their nuclear facilities. “I hope we don't get to that. But it's an important option, and it's one that's well understood,” Mullen said.
In response to the speculation about either an American or Israeli attack, the Iranian Ambassador to the UN, Mohammad Khazai told an Iranian news outlet, ”If the Zionist regime commits the slightest aggression against the Iranian soil, we will set the entire war front and Tel Aviv on fire."
While hatred emanates toward the U.S. from the Iranian regime, it views the U.S. simply as an enabler of Israel, who President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has promised to “wipe of the map”. Although the Iranian government detests much of what the U.S. stands for, the bulk of the hatred is a result of America’s staunch alliance with the Jewish State. Supreme Leader Ayatollh Khamenei and President Ahmadinejad hate Jews as much as Hitler and view them as the biggest problem in the world today. Ahmadinejad has repeatedly engaged in violent rhetoric towards Israel and made clear his intentions to enact a “final solution” upon all Jews.
Israel's Analysis of the Iranian Threat
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin NetanyahuIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's believes that stopping Iran's nuclear weapons program is integral to stopping the worldwide campaign to reverse 1948. It is, he says, a campaign to "put the Jew back to the status of a being that couldn't defend himself — a perfect victim." From 1948 through 1973, he says, enemies tried to "eliminate Israel by conventional warfare." Having failed, they tried to demoralize and paralyze Israel with suicide bombers and other terrorism. "We put up a fence," Netanyahu says. "Now they have rockets that go over the fence." Israel's military, which has stressed offense as a solution to the nation's lack of strategic depth, now stresses missile defense. Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, says Israel is the "enemy of God." Tehran, proclaiming that the Holocaust never happened and vowing to complete it, sent an ambassador to Poland who in 2006 wanted to measure the ovens at Auschwitz to prove them inadequate for genocide. Iran's former president, Hashemi Rafsanjani, who is considered a "moderate" by people for whom believing is seeing, calls Israel a "one-bomb country." If Iran were to "wipe the Zionist entity off the map," as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has often called for, it would, Netanyahu believes, achieve a regional "dominance not seen since Alexander." Netanyahu does not say Israel will, if necessary, act alone to prevent this. Or does he? He says CIA Director Leon Panetta is "about right" in saying Iran can be a nuclear power in two years. He says 1948 meant this: "For the first time in 2,000 years, a sovereign Jewish people could defend itself against attack." And he says: "The tragic history of the powerlessness of our people explains why the Jewish people need a sovereign power of self-defense." If Israel strikes Iran, the world will not be able to say it was not warned.
Attack Iran or Let Them Get a Nuclear Bomb?
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad So the question that has been asked tirelessly over the past years remains. What should we do about Iran's nuclear ambitions? In addition two other questions abound. Will America strike Iran's nuclear facilities? -- and if not -- Will Israel take matters into their own hands? Would an American or Israeli attack be successful. Some say American missiles could do the job, but the ripple effect an attack on Iran would have throughout the Arab world would be catastrophic. Many disagree, saying that countries such as Saudi Arabia would secretly be happy with an attack on Iran. An Iranian nuclear power in the region threatens other Arab states as well as Israel. Some question the firepower of the Israeli air force to do the job. In either case the pundits all agree that the window of opportunity is closing. The overstating alarmist, yet equally intelligent former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton claims it is already too late. Over the weekend Iran brought online its first nuclear power reactor, built with Russia's help. Bolton warned that it is now too late for Israel to launch a military strike against the facility because any attack would spread radiation and affect Iranian civilians. The saga will continue with nothing anywhere near a definite solution in the future. Sanctions could have worked had the international community been willing to enforce tough measures aimed at cutting off Iran's economic livelihood. Four rounds of sanctions later, little to no progress has been made through the sanctions. An American or Israeli attack seems to be the only option short of preventing the Iranian regime of acquiring the bomb. Neither is a good option. The question now is which is preferable, a risky attack that will inevitably come with mountains of blowback endangering Americans and Israelis, or a crazed apocalyptic Iranian theocracy determined to enact the "final solution on Israel"?
Economic Woes Continue
Layoffs are back, and that's bad news for the fragile economic recovery. New applications for unemployment benefits hit a nine-month high last week — a spike that suggests private employers may shed jobs this month for the first time this year. Political analysts continue to refer to the current state of economic affairs as the "jobless recovery". With the sluggish economy holding down revenues and the federal government still spending lavishly, the national deficit will hit $1.3 trillion this year — second only to last year's record, the Congressional Budget Office said Thursday. You can be assured that spending and deficit talk will be a main theme of this year's midterm elections.
Last Combat Brigade Leaves Iraq
A line of heavily armored American military vehicles, their headlights glowing as sunset fell on the desert, barreled past the barbed wire and metal gates marking the border between Iraq and Kuwait early Thursday and rolled into history. For the troops of the 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, it was a moment of relief fraught with symbolism but lightened by cheers of excitement as soldiers came one step closer to going home. One soldier captured by television cameras as he was leaving the Iraqi desert exclaimed 'We Won! We Brought Democracy to Iraq!' Seven years and five months after the U.S.-led invasion, the last American combat brigade left Iraq. However, U.S. military presence in Iraq is far from over. Scatterings of troops still await departure, and some 50,000 will stay another year in what is designated as a “noncombat” role. They will carry weapons to defend themselves and accompany Iraqi troops on certain missions. Special forces will continue to help Iraqis hunt for terrorists. So the U.S. death toll - at least 4,415 by Pentagon count as of Wednesday - may not yet be final.
Scientists suggest fresh look at psychedelic drugs
Mind-altering drugs like LSD, ketamine or magic mushrooms could be combined with psychotherapy to treat people suffering from depression, compulsive disorders or chronic pain, Swiss scientists suggested on Wednesday. Research into the effects of psychedelics, used in the past in psychiatry, has been restricted in recent decades because of the negative connotations of drugs, but the scientists said more studies into their clinical potential were now justified. The researchers said recent brain imaging studies show that psychedelics such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), ketamine and psilocybin -- the psychoactive component in recreational drugs known as magic mushrooms -- act on the brain in ways that could help reduce symptoms of various psychiatric disorders. The drugs could be used as a kind of catalyst, the scientists said, helping patients to alter their perception of problems or pain levels and then work with behavioral therapists or psychotherapists to tackle them in new ways.
James Edstrom's Note: We think Greg Gutfeld's idea is the best we have heard so far. We love his show Red Eye and have chatted with him on several occasions outside Fox News on our Cigarette breaks. A gay bar right next to the proposed Mosque would be perfect. We could have Go-Go Boy night with me and Greg dancing on the bar. Since woman can not show their face in many Muslim countries, we could have all the transexuals wear a veil out of respect for the Mosque next door. Since Homosexaulity is a crime, we can have a dungeon downstairs so we can be punished by the Muslim's right away. Hey, maybe we can even have glory holes between the Mosque and the Gay Bar to give them what they really need!
Economic Woes Continue
Layoffs are back, and that's bad news for the fragile economic recovery. New applications for unemployment benefits hit a nine-month high last week — a spike that suggests private employers may shed jobs this month for the first time this year. Political analysts continue to refer to the current state of economic affairs as the "jobless recovery". With the sluggish economy holding down revenues and the federal government still spending lavishly, the national deficit will hit $1.3 trillion this year — second only to last year's record, the Congressional Budget Office said Thursday. You can be assured that spending and deficit talk will be a main theme of this year's midterm elections.
Last Combat Brigade Leaves Iraq
A line of heavily armored American military vehicles, their headlights glowing as sunset fell on the desert, barreled past the barbed wire and metal gates marking the border between Iraq and Kuwait early Thursday and rolled into history. For the troops of the 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, it was a moment of relief fraught with symbolism but lightened by cheers of excitement as soldiers came one step closer to going home. One soldier captured by television cameras as he was leaving the Iraqi desert exclaimed 'We Won! We Brought Democracy to Iraq!' Seven years and five months after the U.S.-led invasion, the last American combat brigade left Iraq. However, U.S. military presence in Iraq is far from over. Scatterings of troops still await departure, and some 50,000 will stay another year in what is designated as a “noncombat” role. They will carry weapons to defend themselves and accompany Iraqi troops on certain missions. Special forces will continue to help Iraqis hunt for terrorists. So the U.S. death toll - at least 4,415 by Pentagon count as of Wednesday - may not yet be final.
Scientists suggest fresh look at psychedelic drugs
Mind-altering drugs like LSD, ketamine or magic mushrooms could be combined with psychotherapy to treat people suffering from depression, compulsive disorders or chronic pain, Swiss scientists suggested on Wednesday. Research into the effects of psychedelics, used in the past in psychiatry, has been restricted in recent decades because of the negative connotations of drugs, but the scientists said more studies into their clinical potential were now justified. The researchers said recent brain imaging studies show that psychedelics such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), ketamine and psilocybin -- the psychoactive component in recreational drugs known as magic mushrooms -- act on the brain in ways that could help reduce symptoms of various psychiatric disorders. The drugs could be used as a kind of catalyst, the scientists said, helping patients to alter their perception of problems or pain levels and then work with behavioral therapists or psychotherapists to tackle them in new ways.
James Edstrom's Note: We think Greg Gutfeld's idea is the best we have heard so far. We love his show Red Eye and have chatted with him on several occasions outside Fox News on our Cigarette breaks. A gay bar right next to the proposed Mosque would be perfect. We could have Go-Go Boy night with me and Greg dancing on the bar. Since woman can not show their face in many Muslim countries, we could have all the transexuals wear a veil out of respect for the Mosque next door. Since Homosexaulity is a crime, we can have a dungeon downstairs so we can be punished by the Muslim's right away. Hey, maybe we can even have glory holes between the Mosque and the Gay Bar to give them what they really need!
