Clare Lopez on Iran, 9-11, and the Twelfth Imam

Below is an interview with Clare Lopez, a senior fellow with the Center for Security Policy and an expert on Iran. In this video Ms. Lopez discusses recently released evidence of Iranian government complicity in the 9-11 attacks. She also talks about the “Twelfth Imam” ideology to which Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad adheres, and the fact that the date June 5, 2011 is somehow significant in relation to the reappearance of the “occluded” imam. Another topic of discussion is the collusion between Iran and Hugo Chavez in the building of medium-range missile sites in Venezuela.

Many thanks to Vlad Tepes for YouTubing this interview:

Our Muslim Troubles: Lessons from Northern Ireland

Part One: The Idiot Paradigm

Long-time readers are familiar with the writings of El Inglés. His lucid analyses of the self-destructive trajectory of the 21st-century West — particularly Britain — have been appearing in this space for almost four years.

His most controversial essay to date, “Surrender, Genocide… or What?”, was posted here a little over three years ago. Along with the LGF Wars several months prior to that, El Inglés’ masterwork was one of the major causes of our conversion to what I call “hard-eyed realism”.

Pajamas Media had an attack of the Screaming Nazi Heeber-Jeebers over the essay, and terminated our contract as a result. The shock helped purge us of any lingering fears about what might happen to us. There was nothing to be afraid of any longer — now we knew the worst that could befall us. We had been reviled and shunned, called “neo-Nazis”, “white supremacists”, and “bigots”, and were finally abandoned by our advertisers.

After that we had nothing left to lose. We were free.

And it’s been relatively clear sailing ever since.

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El Inglés’ latest piece is another well-researched analytical paper. Like his previous efforts, it is certain to cause the same hand-fluttering alarm amongst those who decline to contemplate the ugly regions into which our current political mess is ineluctably moving us. This analysis is grimmer, more detailed, and pulls fewer punches than his earlier work. No one who is hoping for an easy way out should read what he has to say here.

For all the good it will do, I’ll provide the same caveat that I did back in April 2008: this paper is descriptive, and not normative. None of us wants to experience any of the possible outcomes that El Inglés is predicting. However, as his irrefutable logic demonstrates, we will have no alternative. Our only choices are between bad, worse, and apocalyptic, and the last option seems to be the hapless preference of British politicians from all three major parties.

The paper below examines the likely violent confrontation that lies ahead. El Inglés compares the coming Muslim Troubles in Britain with the Troubles in Northern Ireland, and highlights their similarities and differences. Some of the differences seem negative — for example, there will be no equivalent of the Good Friday Agreement to end the Muslim Troubles — but there are also surprising reasons for optimism, as you will soon discover.

For those readers who don’t want to contemplate any of these awful scenarios, and think ill of those who predict them: Just skip this series of essays. They contain no good news.

We offer a variety of other articles that are not so grim, and you will find numerous other Counterjihad sites that examine the scandals and shocking news about Islamization without ever taking a hard-eyed realistic look at what lies ahead.

For the rest of you: Take a deep breath. This is the shape of things to come.

This post is the first of five parts. This entire series will be made available as a single document in pdf format after the final part is published here.

Our Muslim Troubles: Lessons from Northern Ireland

by El Inglés

I. Foreword

I was born too late for anything other than the tail end of the Troubles to really enter my consciousness directly. As would have been true for many people of my age, I had no particular interest in politics when the Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998, and lived too far from any area likely to be attacked by the IRA for their increasingly infrequent and non-lethal acts of terrorism to make much of an impression on me. The Omagh bombing is the only Irish republican terrorist attack of note that I can remember being aware of at the time.

My total ignorance of Irish history and the Troubles was something that I became increasingly aware of over time. This awareness heightened fairly rapidly after I somehow commenced a second (and non-remunerative) career as an analyst of the possibility of violent conflict between Europeans and Muslims in Europe. Eventually I decided to address this intellectual deficit and embarked upon an open-ended and entirely self-directed research project into the Troubles. On doing so, I not only discovered much fascinating history, but also a massive treasure trove of insights into the type of conflict likely to erupt eventually between British patriots keen on keeping Britain British and seditious Muslims keen on turning it into something rather different.

However immodest it may sound, the utter lack of concern about or interest in the Troubles that prevailed over the first three-and-a-bit decades of my life has given me one key advantage in trying to draw lessons from them. British though I am, they are nonetheless history to me, in that they do not possess any particular emotional heft one way or the other, and therefore allowed me to approach them in what I hope has been a largely dispassionate manner.

I explain this not out of some sudden autobiographical urge, but out of a desire to have taken seriously by readers the following claim: nothing I say about the Troubles or any actor within them, state or non-state, should be taken as implying any value judgement thereupon. As suggested above, I view the Troubles selfishly, as a huge body of data existing to be mined for an advance understanding of what we British are likely to fairly shortly find ourselves involved in with our Muslim fifth column. Retrospective approval or condemnation of the various parties to the Troubles I will leave to others.

II. Preliminary Note Concerning Assumptions

Arab Drought: Oil for Water

Nicolai Sennels returns with a guest-essay about the looming water crisis in the Middle East, and a modest proposal for how it might be used to the West’s advantage.


Arab drought: An “Oil for water” policy is an option

by Nicolai Sennels

Soon our tankers may not travel empty on their way south, but be filled with water. Soon the West may be able to sell the Arabs water at the same price as we buy their oil.

Maplesoft Water Stress Index calculates “the ratio of domestic, industrial and agricultural water consumption, against renewable supplies of water from precipitation, rivers and groundwater.” The index pinpoints Middle Eastern and North African countries as the ten countries with the world’s greatest water stress:

Ottawa Celebrates Iranian Culture

Late last night I received this note from an Iranian dissident group in Canada:

Attention: Please help.

The invitation below has been circulated by the regime of Iran and its consulate in Ottawa. We need to organize a large protest against it and write articles and letters to the National Arts Centre president and major newspapers.

Their special event is By RSVP...

The text of the invitation:

Gates of Vienna News Feed 5/24/2011

A final phase of the elections to the Dutch Senate was held yesterday, and the ruling coalition (VVD and CDA, supported by the PVV) did not gain an absolute majority, but fell one vote short. Consequently the coalition will look to gain the support of a single senator from a small party of devout Christians, the SGP. This is widely expected to push the coalition to support more conservative social positions as favored by the Christian party.

In other news, the ash cloud from the new volcanic eruption in Iceland is disrupting flights to Europe from Iceland, and also long-distance flights that pass close to Iceland. However, vulcanologists do not expect the ash to move high enough to be blown over Europe itself and ground air traffic there, as happened with last year’s volcanic eruption.

To see the headlines and the articles, open the full news post.

Thanks to AC, C. Cantoni, Caroline Glick, CSP, Fjordman, heroyalwhyness, Insubria, JD, LAW Wells, Mary Abdelmassih, Takuan Seiyo, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

Commenters are advised to leave their comments at this post (rather than with the news articles) so that they are more easily accessible.

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.

Why Libya?

Back in mid-March NATO forces — at that time, led by the United States — began air strikes on Libyan targets to “protect the civilian population”. Two months later, what was supposed to be a brief intervention is still dragging on.

From the very beginning it was clear that the “responsibility to protect” was really just a cover story for a blatant attempt to oust Colonel Muammar Qaddafi from power. The longer the war dragged on, the more obvious it became that the real goal was to unseat the Man of Many Spellings. Hitting Kheddafi’s compound in Tripoli repeatedly is billed as attempt to take out his command center, rather than as an attempt to knock off the strongman, but no one is fooled by the charade.

Up until now NATO has failed to nail the Colonel, but it just keeps on trying. Here’s the latest from The New York Times:

NATO Bombs Libyan Capital in Heaviest Strikes Yet

Tripoli, Libya — In the heaviest attack yet on the capital since the start of the two-month-old NATO bombing campaign, alliance aircraft struck at least 15 targets in central Tripoli early Tuesday, with most of the airstrikes concentrated on an area around Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s command compound.

The strikes, within a 30-minute period around 1 a.m., caused thunderous explosions and fireballs that leapt high into the night sky, causing people in neighborhoods a mile or more away to cry out in alarm.

Just as one strike ended, the sound of jet engines from low-flying aircraft in the stormy skies above the capital signaled the imminence of another. Huge plumes of black smoke rose and converged over the darkened cityscape.

“We thought it was the day of judgment,” one enraged Libyan said.

As long as Qhedafi’s hide remains intact, there will be no definitive conclusion, so the air war must continue. After six weeks or so reporters began invoking the Q-word — “quagmire” — even though this was a war launched by President Obama and approved by the U.N., which postponed the quagmire, but only for a while.

According to the Associated Press:

Analysis: No End in Sight for NATO in Libya

BRUSSELS (AP) — The military campaign in Libya began with what seemed a narrowly defined mission: to enforce a no-fly zone and protect civilians from attack.

Two months later, the campaign has evolved into a ferocious pounding of the country’s capital, Tripoli, in what appears an all-out effort to oust Moammar Gadhafi. But that goal remains elusive, raising the prospect of a quagmire in the desert. And the political will of the countries involved is being sorely tested.

Even if the NATO partners want to extend the action to a ground war — which would seem utter madness, but you never can tell — they’ve got a niggling little problem, namely that the U.N. didn’t give them permission for a ground offensive:

Homophobia vs. Islamophobia: Who Will Win?

The Netherlands has long been in the forefront of tolerance and support for the rights of gay people. With its institution of homosexual marriage and widespread public disapproval of gay-hatred, the Dutch have led the way for the rest of Western culture.

In recent years the cultural enrichment of major Dutch cities has caused an upsurge of violence against gays by Muslim immigrants. This trend — which has become too large to ignore completely — highlights one of the major contradictions of politically correct Multiculturalism.

According to Multiculturalism, the culture of “brown people” is above criticism. Any negative observation about their behavior is evidence of “xenophobia”, and also “Islamophobia” if they are Muslims.

According to Political Correctness, any hostility towards gays is evidence of “homophobia”.

So what happens when Muslims attack gays? Which doctrine holds the trump card?

Well, we all know the answer to that one by now — tolerance of Islam trumps everything else. Gay rights, women’s rights, children’s rights, the rights of Jews or Hindus — all are cast aside when they come into conflict with the accommodation of Islam.

Because of the cognitive dissonance induced by this contradiction, the issue of Muslim gay-hatred is generally ignored in the media. Stories of Muslim violence against homosexuals are excluded, or disguised by omitting a full description of the perpetrators. The problem is swept under the rug as much as possible.

Sometimes, however, the incidents become to egregious or too numerous to avoid, and pop up in the press. One such story was published today by NIS News:

Harassed Gay Couple Taking Police to Court

Utrecht — A homosexual couple is demanding damages from the government because the police allegedly refused to take action against Moroccan youths who systematically threatened them.

The men suffered multiple harassments. For example, their car windows were broken, ‘homo’ was scratched on the car and a brick and fireworks were thrown at their window. The couple made a police report for all these matters, but the police never took any action, says their lawyer Yehudi Moszkowicz.

The Party’s Over

2011 Spring Quarterly Fundraiser: The Wrap-Up

A few straggling balloons on the lawn, some shoes left behind, and cigarette butts stacked neatly in the buckets of sand around the place.

No one had too much to drink, or if they did y’all were the quietest drunks I ever didn’t hear. A few stragglers talked politics quietly in the corner while the band packed up its instruments and headed for their van.

Now all that remains is to finish my acknowledgements of your donations. To give you an idea how long you may have to wait for your note, the Baron just sent me the list from Day Three. Yeah, my “notes” do tend to go on a bit (blame it on the Irish blood I share with Obama). Back in the beginning of our fundraisers, I was determined to get each donation answered the same day it came in. That’s no longer possible so instead I focus on each donor instead. This arrangement is much better and the feedback has been good.

I don’t keep tabs on the amount totals; that — thank heavens — is the Baron’s job. Mine is simply to thank all of you, which I will do barring some catastrophe — say, the tornadoes in the Midwest heading here and removing my laptop as it takes the rest of the house away also. Those poor people!

Tomorrow is back to business as usual for Gates of Vienna. Tomorrow is also the day Netanyahu will speak to Congress. If you click that link, you’ll see one blogger’s interesting analysis regarding the timing of Obama’s speech the other day. Meanwhile, the President and his wife have arranged to be out of the country during Netanyahu’s visit with Congress. Hmmm…

Gates of Vienna News Feed 5/23/2011

The Taliban attacked a Pakistani army base yesterday in Karachi in a battle which lasted almost 24 hours. Eleven people were killed, and a number of others were taken hostage by the terrorist fighters, including Chinese military officers who were visiting the base. The attack destroyed two expensive surveillance aircraft which had been supplied to Pakistan by the United States.

In other news, former President Bill Clinton became the butt of jokes in the Balkans after he referred to his host country as “Macedonia” when he was giving a speech in Montenegro. The gaffe caused numerous humorous comments in the local media, including speculation that Mr. Clinton may have been confused because he was preoccupied by his latest amorous escapade.

To see the headlines and the articles, open the full news post.

Thanks to AC, C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Freedom Fighter, Gaia, heroyalwhyness, Insubria, JD, Kitman, Nick, Steen, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

Commenters are advised to leave their comments at this post (rather than with the news articles) so that they are more easily accessible.

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.

How Much Does Cultural Enrichment Cost?

There has been much discussion in Europe over the last year or two about the costs of immigration. Advocates for immigration insist that migrants enrich European culture, but closer examination reveals that European culture actually enriches the immigrants.

When the average European taxpayer discovers the extent to which his pocket is being picked to support inassimilable and criminally-inclined Muslim immigrants, he tends to become irate, especially given the current recession he is forced to endure. So it’s no surprise that government agencies decline to provide any calculation of the costs of immigration — although the ostensible reason for their reluctance is that such studies would be “racist” and “discriminatory”.

The Dutch government refused Geert Wilders’ demand for an accounting, so his party commissioned its own study, and discovered — surprise! — that immigrants to the Netherlands cost the taxpayer an enormous amount of money, far more than they ever contribute to the Dutch state in taxes.

Other privately-sponsored studies have drawn similar conclusions. The German journalist Udo Ulfkotte has just written a book drawing together all the relevant data on the topic as it applies to Germany. Below is the first part of a two-part video report about Dr. Ulfkotte and his findings. Many thanks to the Counterjihad Collective for the transcription and time-stamping, to JLH for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling. The video is below the jump, followed by a complete transcript:

Camp of the Saints: Trucking Across Europe

Refugees from the “Arab Spring” are accumulating across southern Europe, mainly in Italy, but also in Malta and Greece. Most of them attempt to move onward from these locations to more favored destinations. France serves as the Promised Land for the Tunisians, many of whom already have relatives there, or claim to. Other migrants prefer to enrich the cultures of Germany, the Netherlands, Britain, Norway, Denmark, and Sweden — and expect to be enriched in return by some of the most generous welfare systems in the world.

The news story below from Dutch TV describes attempts by migrants to hide in the undercarriages of long-distance trucks hauling freight from Greek ports. By stowing away in this manner, they hope to travel all the way to the Netherlands and other northern European destinations.

Many thanks to Vlad Tepes for YouTubing this video:

Fjordman: Was Medieval China Superior to Europe in the Sciences?

Fjordman’s latest essay has been published at Tundra Tabloids. Some excerpts are below:

It has often been stated that the Chinese during the Middle Ages were superior to Europeans in “science and technology.” A problem with this claim is that science and technology were traditionally completely separate disciplines. They only started merging after the Scientific Revolution, and then only in the Western world. East Asians did well in applied technology with a limited theoretical basis, yes, but they were not equally good in the physical sciences.

The great Temple of Heaven was constructed in fifteenth century Beijing. Symptomatically, the Earth was represented by a flat square and Heaven by a circle, which accurately reflects the fact that the Earth was widely held to be flat in Chinese cosmology well into modern times. By contrast, it was common in medieval Europe to see a cross-bearing orb on royal regalia, symbolizing Christ’s dominion over the world. One striking aspect of this is that the Earth was here represented as a spherical object. This was for instance the case with the Orb, Scepter and Crown insignia of the Holy Roman Empire, possibly dating back to the tenth century AD. At this time, Europe was barely recovering from the collapse of urban civilization, while China, with the world’s largest and most sophisticated economy, went from the Tang to the Song Dynasty and was in the middle of one of the most technologically creative phases in its history. Another way of saying this is that Europeans had a more scientifically correct understanding of the shape and size of the Earth in a period when urban civilization barely existed there than the Chinese had while performing at their very best.

Pat Condell on Ireland, the EU, and European Totalitarianism

Hat tip: Henrik.

The Undead London Mega-Mosque

A few months ago it seemed that the local council in Newham had managed to kill the plans for London’s Mega-Mosque. However, government higher-ups have now overruled common sense and breathed new life into Tablighi Jamaat’s mega-project.

Alan Craig of Newham Concern just issued this press release about the newly-revenant mosque:

Tablighi Jamaat Islamists “may continue on Olympic mega-mosque site” rules government Planning Inspector

Successful appeal by fundamentalist sect “ominous, unjust and divisive” says opposition campaign

Today’s decision by a government Planning Inspector that separatist Islamic sect Tablighi Jamaat may continue to use the current temporary mosque on the site of their proposed Olympic mega-mosque at West Ham has been roundly condemned by local opposition group Newham Concern who say that the decision will provide succour to Islamic radicals and will further boost the capital’s reputation as “Londonistan”.

“For years Tablighi Jamaat have deliberately flouted building regulations and planning laws,” said Alan Craig, Newham Concern’s campaign director and former leader of the Opposition on Newham Council. “After much delay and procrastination Newham Council at last took the right action and told them to move off site. But the Planning Inspector has overturned this and apparently decided that illegality pays and they can stay on site with temporary planning permission for a further two years.