Happy Veteran's Day!

I would like to wish our troops a Happy Veteran's Day.

Thank you for your service and protecting the freedoms we value so much! Let's remember our troops, both past and present, and all they have done and continue to do for this country.

Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall was erected in order to restrict emigration from East Germany to West Germany. Because East Germany was under the control of the Soviet Union, a Communist society was established. East Germany's economy was dismal and individual freedoms stifled, which caused many people living in the eastern part of the country to want to escape the repressive conditions of East Germany. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 was celebrated around the world. November 9, 2009 marked the 20th anniversary of the destruction of the barrier.

Here is an interesting two part analysis from the Ayn Rand Institute regarding this historical event:

Memorial Service Held at Fort Hood

A memorial service was held today at Fort Hood.

Here is a 9-minute clip from part of the memorial service:


"Here at Fort Hood, we pay tribute to 13 men and women who were not able to escape the horror of war, even in the comfort of home," remarked President Obama. The president, however, seemed to caution against linking the attack at Fort Hood with any religion, stating that no religion condones such behavior.

While the majority of human beings are not likely to condone terrorist attacks, there have been radical Muslims here in the United States that have expressed support and praise for the Fort Hood murderer. To disregard the fact that the Fort Hood shooter allegedly expressed support for Islamic suicide bombers and Islamic jihad is remarkably disingenuous. According to some sources, the shooter attempted to reach out to Al Qaeda and gave a presentation in support of Islamic holy war in front of his colleagues.

It is very unfortunate that Major Nidal Hasan was not investigated at the first signs of trouble, whether his issue was his mental health or his religious/political convictions. However, I am extremely skeptical of claims that this psychiatrist who has never been deployed overseas suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). If that's true, thousands of psychiatrists treating patients today are suffering, because of their patients' experiences, from various forms of trauma and thereby unequipped to treat anyone for mental health issues.

Also See:
- Female Officer Stopped Fort Hood Shooter
- Fort Hood Shooter May Have Exhibited Signs of Radicalism
- Alleged Fort Hood Shooter Frequented Local Strip Club

New Footage Shows Iran's Financing and Support of Hamas and Hezbollah

On November 4, 2009 the Israeli Navy intercepted an Iranian ship near Cyprus, which is 100 miles west of the Israeli coast. The Iranian ship was sailing under an Antiguan flag. The ship was transporting 500 tons of weapons from Iran and intended for the Shi'ite Hezbollah terrorist group in Lebanon.

It is well-known that Iran provides Hezbollah and Hamas with weapons. The Israeli military has released new footage reaffirming Iran's sponsorship of Hezbollah and Hamas.

The following Israeli military footage is from November 4th. It shows the 500 tons of Iranian weapons which were meant for Hezbollah:


It is also well-documented that Iran has financed Hamas. The following footage from January 2002 shows an Iranian shipment of weapons which was bound for Gaza:


Also See:
- Israeli Navy Intercepts 500 Tons of Hezbollah-Bound Iranian Arms
- Hezbollah stockpiles 40,000 rockets near Israel border
- Weapons Cache Discovered by IDF Forces in Nablus on June 3, 2009

Female Officer Stopped Fort Hood Shooter

Sergeant Kimberly Munley, a female civilian police officer, acted quickly to stop the Fort Hood shooter from harming any more people. Sgt. Munley is has been referred to as a quick-thinking officer and a hero (and rightfully so). Munley was struck in both thighs and her wrist. The woman's father told local news that his daughter is "tough" and that she "will pull through this."

From the Washington Post:

Sgt. Kimberly Munley, a civilian police officer, was outside directing traffic Thursday when the killing began.

Inside the soldier readiness facility on this Army post, Maj. Nidal M. Hasan, an Army psychiatrist unhappy about his upcoming deployment to Afghanistan, opened fire with two pistols, one of them semiautomatic, officials said. The gunfire was continuous, methodical and well-aimed. Unarmed soldiers scattered or dropped to the floor.

He shouted "Allahu Akhbar!" -- "God is great" in Arabic -- and emptied as many as six magazines during the rampage, according to Lt. Gen. Robert Cone and other Army officials.

Munley, 34 years old and trained in tactics developed in the wake of the Columbine massacre, raced toward the gunfire. She arrived at 1:27 p.m., about four minutes after the first 911 call, as Hasan was fleeing the building, according to official accounts.

Munley rounded a corner and fired twice at Hasan. He fired back and charged at her, according to the accounts. Munley dropped to the ground in a protective position and began firing back.

At some point, Hasan began to fumble with his gun. "He's reloading," someone screamed, according to an officer on the scene.

In the exchange, Munley was struck in both thighs and one wrist. Hasan was shot four times, including at least once in the torso.

Hasan, 39, is hospitalized and remained on a ventilator Friday. He is suspected of acting alone in a rampage that killed 13 people and wounded at least 30 others....

Read the full, detailed report here.

I hope that all those who were wounded in yesterday's attack make a quick, full recovery.

Why they love to hate us: Hating on the Jews

Hat Tip: Gabriel Koshinsky

A friend and reader published an article regarding the reasons for antisemitism over at The Chimes, Capital University's official school paper.

The article, written by Gabriel Koshinsky, makes reference to the fact that Jews, a tiny minority of the world's population, are commonly thought to maintain an enormous control. Here is an excerpt from the article:

Anti-Semitism and Jew-hating goes back thousands of years. We have been the root of stereotyping and the chosen scapegoats of numerous societies from ancient Greece to our modern day world. I will leave the facts to themselves, but my basis for writing this column is to answer why anti-Semites love to hate us.

During the Medieval Ages we were accused of being the anti-Christ, and creating the plague. On top of this we were accused of being covetous business merchants which led to the Spanish Inquisition. We were scapegoats during the gradual demise of the Czar. In 1905, Jews were labeled Communists by the Romanov regime. During this time the Elders of the Protocols of Zion was published by the Russian Secret Police to undermine the Bolsheviks. It claimed Jews were making plans to takeover the world. In 1933, Jews were accused of bankrupting Germany and ripping off the German working man.

Now in the Middle East, we are the center of attention. Our enemies use anti-Zionism as a word shift but clearly echo the same fallacies of our conspiracy for world domination and lobbying tactics. Palestinians have been bought into the notion in order to distract themselves of the mass corruption among their leaders, just as peasants were incited to start the pogroms in reaction to famines.

Like it or not, Jews are the people tyrants, racists, and institutions that sought to gain or take away power. Somehow they believe 2 percent of the Jewish population in the United States and even less in other nations control the strings of society. What's tragic is that while Islamic Extremists have spouted off claims of blood libel, and Jewish attempts for world domination, they have done so at the expense of any possible peace agreement....

Read the full article here.

Also See:
- The Pipeline of Hatred: Islamic Anti-Semitism and Anti-Israelism
- Age old anti-Semitic stereotypes alive in Europe

Unemployment in the U.S. Over 10 Percent

Ten percent is the highest unemployment rate America has had in more than two decades. However, the actual number of individuals who are unemployed is likely to be much higher considering that some people are either not eligible for unemployment benefits or are not certified to work in the U.S.

President Obama (and President Bush) signed bailout plans which have not alleviated any of the country's fiscal problems. The current plans are reminiscent of President Roosevelt's arbitrary New Deal which created many fiscal failures. Excessive borrowing will also eventually yield unwanted results when future generations will have to pay back staggering sums of money.

From Fox News:

Just hours after the government announced that the jobless rate topped 10 percent for the time since 1983, President Obama signed new legislation to provide additional unemployment benefits to Americans thrown out of work.

At a news briefing in the White House Rose Garden on Friday, Obama said the sobering national unemployment numbers are regretful, and pledged to work hard to restore the struggling economy.

Nearly 16 million people are unemployed and the economy shed a net total of 190,000 jobs in October -- less than the downwardly revised 219,000 lost in September -- the Labor Department said Friday. August job losses were also revised lower, to 154,000 from 201,000....

Read the full report here.

Also See:
- "Cash for Clunkers" Likely Cost Americans $24,000 Per Car

Fort Hood Shooter May Have Exhibited Signs of Radicalism

Update (November 6, 2009, 10:10AM): Someone claiming to be a contributor from salafimanhaj.com left me a comment stating that my article alleges Hasan wrote for their site. My article did not make such a claim anywhere. I have added a couple of words to my initial blog post. To clarify, commenting on a website or a document from a site does not make someone a contributor. I never used the word "contributor" in conjunction with Hasan's name even once, therefore it makes little sense to suggest I was alleging that he contributed to any website. I have not, in any place on this blog, alleged anything about salafimanhaj.com's political or religious stances and have no reason to do so.

Major Nidal Hasan, who murdered 13 of his colleagues on November 5, might have exhibited some signs of radicalism long before the attack at Fort Hood.

Earlier this year Hasan allegedly posted comments online praising suicide bombers. Scribd.com lists the source of the article on which Hasan is said to have posted comments as being from salafimanhaj.com. "If one suicide bomber can kill 100 enemy soldiers because they were caught off guard that would be considered a strategic victory," commented a user named "NidalHasan" on a document entitled "Martyrdom in Islam Versus Suicide Bombing." According to a colleague of the shooter, Hasan has expressed sympathy for the jihadist who murdered two military recruiters in June 2009.

Hasan's comments on the internet sparked the interest of federal law enforcement. However, an official investigation was not opened.

Hasan, who is 39-years-old, was never deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. Therefore arguments that he suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder make very little rational sense. The shooter is the son of Muslim parents from a town near Jerusalem. At first glance he seemed to be a level-headed individual from a good family. However, a very troubling portrait of the shooter is now emerging.

Here are some additional details from Fox News:

WASHINGTON — His name appears on radical Internet postings. A fellow officer says he fought his deployment to Iraq and argued with soldiers who supported U.S. wars. He required counseling as a medical student because of problems with patients.

There are many unknowns about Nidal Malik Hasan, the man authorities say is responsible for the worst mass killing on a U.S. military base. Most of all, his motive.

For six years before reporting for duty at Fort Hood, Texas, in July, the 39-year-old Army major worked at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center pursuing his career in psychiatry, as an intern, a resident and, last year, a fellow in disaster and preventive psychiatry. He received his medical degree from the military's Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., in 2001.

While an intern at Walter Reed, Hasan had some "difficulties" that required counseling and extra supervision, said Dr. Thomas Grieger, who was the training director at the time.

Grieger said privacy laws prevented him from going into details but noted that the problems had to do with Hasan's interactions with patients. He recalled Hasan as a "mostly very quiet" person who never spoke ill of the military or his country.

"He swore an oath of loyalty to the military," Grieger said. "I didn't hear anything contrary to those oaths."

But, more recently, federal agents grew suspicious.

At least six months ago, Hasan came to the attention of law enforcement officials because of Internet postings about suicide bombings and other threats, including posts that equated suicide bombers to soldiers who throw themselves on a grenade to save the lives of their comrades.

They had not determined for certain whether Hasan is the author of the posting, and a formal investigation had not been opened before the shooting, said law enforcement officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the case.

Read the full Fox report here.

Also See:
- Horrific Shooting at Fort Hood
- Shootings carry echoes of 2003 grenade attack on 101st Airborne
- Fort Hood gunman reportedly shouted 'God is great' during rampage