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A second flotilla of ships is going to the Gaza Strip. Or should I say, trying to go there since it will be stopped if necessary by a legal Israeli blockade. In the first flotilla, the Islamist holy warriors organized by the Turkish government-backed IHH group all gathered on one ship. The other boats, the ships of (political) tools cooperated, no one was injured, and they were towed into port. The ship of jihadists attacked Israeli soldiers, kidnapped and beat up a couple of them, and had the “victory” of getting nine martyrs out of it. Let us never forget that when the Israeli Defense Forces made public a video showing these facts the New York Times blog in a particularly shameful moment dismissed it alleging that the soldiers might have been shooting down unarmed civilians just standing around the deck before the film began. (Thus posing the twenty-first century journalistic question: Who are you going to believe, the facts and your eyes or your predetermined ideological bias?)
Now, of course, any actual humanitarian aid could be taken into the Gaza Strip through Egypt, showing that this is a purely political operation designed to end all sanctions on the Gaza Strip so that weapons, money, terrorists, and all necessary equipment can flow in freely. In addition, the goal is to undermine international support for Israel. This time there’s also a different strategy for the flotilla itself. The would-be terrorists have dispersed themselves among the naive “peace activists”…
Naguib Sawiris is an Egyptian business tycoon. He’s also the founder of the new, liberal Free Egyptians Party. He also tweets and has an Internet site. He’s also in big trouble. For something he posted. Pictures of Muhammad founder of Islam? Anthony Weiner type photos? No. Cartoons of Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Read on.
Our “allies” in attendance at an Orwellian Counter-terrorism Conference in Tehran (June 25-26, 2011) were Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and Pakistani President Zardai. Not only did these “allies” apparently fail to object to the conference agitprop of their Iranian hosts — “defining” the U.S. and Israel as the primary sources of global terrorism — these specific anti-American views of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei were endorsed by the Iraqi, Afghan, and Pakistani Presidents:
During the two days of the conference, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei met with the presidents of Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan. In his meeting with Afghan President Karzai, he said that U.S. President Obama’s statement regarding the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan by 2014 was meant for domestic consumption, and that the U.S. planned to use Karzai’s country as a permanent base for its forces. Karzai replied that he hoped Obama would keep his promise, and asked Iran to extend aid to Afghanistan. In his meeting with Iraqi president Jalal Talabani, Khamenei said that U.S. power in the Middle East had declined, and that this fact should be taken advantage of against the U.S. Talabani replied that the Iraqis were united in their opposition to the ongoing U.S. presence in their country, and likewise asked for Iranian assistance. In his meeting with Khamenei, Pakistani President Asif ’Ali Zardari told the Iranian leader that the U.S. was trying to sow division in Pakistan for its own ends, and promised that his country would work toward expanding its relations with Tehran.
1NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, [a]the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]. — Amplified Bible
1CALL NOW–is there any who will answer you? And to which of the holy [angels] will you turn?
2For [a]vexation and rage kill the foolish man; jealousy and indignation slay the simple.
3I have seen the foolish taking root [and outwardly prospering], but suddenly I saw that his dwelling was cursed [for his doom was certain].
4His children are far from safety; [involved in their father's ruin] they are crushed in the [court of justice in the city's] gate, and there is no one to deliver them.
5His harvest the hungry eat and take it even [when it grows] among the thorns; the snare opens for [his] wealth.
6For affliction comes not forth from the dust, neither does trouble spring forth out of the ground.
7But man is born to trouble as the sparks and the flames fly upward.
8As for me, I would seek God and inquire of and require Him, and to God would I commit my cause–
9Who does great things and unsearchable, marvelous things without number,
10Who gives rain upon the earth and sends waters upon the fields,
11So that He sets on high those who are lowly, and those who mourn He lifts to safety.
12He frustrates the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise or anything of [lasting] worth.
13He catches the [so-called] wise in their own trickiness, and the counsel of the schemers is brought to a quick end.
14In the daytime they meet in darkness, and at noon they grope as in the night.
15But [God] saves [the fatherless] from the sword of their mouth, and the needy from the hand of the mighty.
16So the poor have hope, and iniquity shuts her mouth.
17Happy and fortunate is the man whom God reproves; so do not despise or reject the correction of the Almighty [subjecting you to trial and suffering].
18For He wounds, but He binds up; He smites, but His hands heal.
19He will rescue you in six troubles; in seven nothing that is evil [for you] will touch you.
20In famine He will redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword.
21You shall be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, neither shall you be afraid of destruction when it comes.
22At destruction and famine you shall laugh, neither shall you be afraid of the living creatures of the earth.
23For you shall be in league with the stones of the field, and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you.
24And you shall know that your tent shall be in peace, and you shall visit your fold and your dwelling and miss nothing [from them].
25You shall know also that your children shall be many, and your offspring as the grass of the earth.
26You shall come to your grave in ripe old age, and as a shock of grain goes up [to the threshing floor] in its season.
27This is what we have searched out; it is true. Hear and heed it and know for yourself [for your good]. –Amplified Bible
Footnotes:
Job 5:2 This was written many centuries ago, but physicians and psychiatrists today are continually emphasizing the importance of recognizing the principle it lays down if one would avoid being among the constantly increasing number of the mentally ill and those killed by avoidable illnesses.
“The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion; he will no more carry thee away into captivity: he will visit thine iniquity, O daughter of Edom; he will discover thy sins.”—Lamentations 4:22.
2. But—but—and here comes the solemn, soul-searching part of our discourse—Is the punishment of mine iniquity accomplished? Let us see to whom this message is sent. Will you open your Bibles at the book of Lamentations—it is but a slender volume—and follow me a moment with your eyes and with your hearts, for this promise is sent to a certain character, and I know there are some here who will read their own history therein.
In the first chapter and at the sixth verse you find it said of her—“From the daughter of Zion all her beauty is departed.” We should have thought that Christ would have died for those who had some form and comeliness, but no. “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” At the coming of the Holy Spirit into the soul, all self-righteousness melts away, our merit is dissolved like the rime of the morning frost before the heat of the rising sun. In the light of the Holy Spirit the darkness of the creature is removed, and the fancied goodness of fallen humanity dies like a dream. Now the man perceives himself to be utterly vile; that which once he esteemed as making him lovely in the sight of God has withered before his eyes, and all his glory is trailed in the mire. My hearer, has all thy self-righteousness been taken from thee? for rest assured thou art not this daughter of Zion unless thy beauty has all departed, and all thy boastful thoughts have been utterly slain.
Wonder of wonders! the eighth and ninth verses tell us “Jerusalem hath grievously sinned,” and the ninth verse tells us yet more, that “her filthiness is in her skirts.” Thus, those for whom Christ died are made to feel their sin. While their righteousness becomes as filthy rags, their unrighteousness becomes loathsome and detestable in their sight. Holy Scripture rakes up the most terrible figures to set forth the abominable character of sin, some, even, which we would hardly dare to quote to meet the public ear, but which the renewed heart feels to be perfectly true. The heart discovereth itself to be all wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores, till it abhorreth itself before God. “O Lord, I am vile.” “We are all together as an unclean thing.” “We are laden with iniquity.” Such are the cries of awakened souls, and it is to such as these that the gracious message is directed.
Look on, again, to the seventeenth verse, and there you find that this filthiness has brought her into utter distress—”Zion spreadeth forth her hands, and there is none to comfort her.” So those to whom this message is sent are brought, through a sense of sin, into a comfortless state. Ceremonies, Baptism, the Lord’s Supper—all these yield them no peace. They can no longer rest in their Church-goings and Chapel-goings. A formal, notional religion would once satisfy them, but they find no rest for the sole of their foot in such a presence now. Time was when if they went through a prayer at night and morning, and read a verse or two of the Bible, they thought all would be well; but now there is none to comfort them. These refuges of lies are all swept away, for the furious hail of conviction has laid them level with the ground. Let us be certain of this, that there is no word of peace or comfort for us in our text until the beauty in which we once boasted has all been withered before the wintry blasts of the law; till our filthiness has been discovered before our sight, and we have been led to an experimental acquaintance with our ruined and comfortless condition on account of our iniquities.
To make the case worse, this poor daughter of Zion is obliged to confess that she deserved all her sufferings. In the eighteenth verse she says—“The Lord is righteous: for I have rebelled against his commandments.” The soul feels now that God is just. Unrenewed persons find fault with God’s justice. Eternal punishment they cavil at; hell is such a bugbear to them, that, just as every culprit will, of course, find fault with the prison and the gallows, so they rail at the wrath to come, though that wrath is just as sure, notwithstanding all their objections to it. But when the heart is really touched by divine grace, then it has no more to say for itself, but pleads guilty at the bar of God’s great assize; and if the Judge should put on the black cap, and condemn it to be taken instantly to the place of execution, that soul could only say, “Thou art righteous, O Lord, for I have sinned.” I despair of ever finding a word of comfort for any man or woman among you, if you have not been brought to feel that you deserve the wrath of God. Come with the ropes about your necks, ready for execution, and you will find a God ready to forgive.
Further still: in the first verse of the second chapter you find that her prayer was not yet heard—”How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in his anger, and cast down from heaven unto the earth the beauty of Israel, and remembered not his footstool in the day of his anger!” Well do I remember the time in my own experience when I prayed in vain; when I bowed my knees and the heavens were as brass, and not a word or answer of comfort was given to my languishing spirit! All who are converted do not pass through this, for no one experience is a standard for all, but remember I am seeking out a certain class this morning, for my text is addressed to a special character. If thou hast been for months, ay, even for years, crying for mercy, and still hast not found it, let not this cast thee down, for to thee is this message sent this morning. Thou art this daughter of Zion covered with a cloud, and I have to say unto thee that “the punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished.” Thy prayer has come up with acceptance, for the Spirit inspired it and Jesus offered it. God absolves thee, from heaven thy forgiveness comes. Oh, believe the word of the Lord, and rejoice therein. “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.”
Further: as her prayer was not heard, so every place of refuge was broken down. In the eighth verse of the second chapter you find—”The Lord hath purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion: he hath stretched out a line, he hath not withdrawn his hand from destroying, therefore he made the rampart and the wall to lament: they languished together.” Even what few stones of the ruined wall remained as an heap behind which the Israelitish warriors might defend themselves were to be broken down. So God goes on overturning, overturning, overturning in the sinner’s heart till Christ comes in. After every hope has been broken down we are apt to build up another. “Peace, peace, where there is no peace,” is the sinner’s constant cry. Our Lord, who is determined to bring us to the obedience of faith, continually beats down the sinner’s confidences, till at last there is not one stone left upon another that is not thrown down; then the sinner yields himself a captive, and free grace leads him in triumph to the cross. Is this your case this morning, my dear hearer? If it be then, my sweet message is for you. “Go in peace, they sins which are many are all forgiven thee!”
Further still: this daughter of Jerusalem was now brought into a state of deep humiliation. Look at the tenth verse of the second chapter: “The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the ground and keep silence; they have cast up dust upon their heads: they have girded themselves in sackcloth: the virgins of Jerusalem hang down their heads to the ground.” Here is a state of deep prostration of spirit! I do not want to enlarge on these points, because we have not time; and, what is more, there is no necessity for doing so, for you that have been brought through them understand them; and some of you who are in this state now will say, as I read the verses, “There is my picture; as face answereth to face in a glass so does the description of Jeremiah exactly answer to my condition.” Well then, to you who lie in deep soul prostration, conscious that the lowest position is not too low for you, to you is this gracious message sent—”The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished.”
Furthermore: it seems from the thirteenth verse that all her foes here let loose against her, and her grief exceeded all bounds and prevented all comparison:—”What thing shall I take to witness for thee? what thing shall I liken to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? what shall I equal to thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Zion? for thy breach is great like the sea: who can heal thee?” So the sinner feels as if he stood all alone. That sorrowing young woman over yonder thinks that no one has ever suffered what she is now enduring. That trembling conscience there is writing this bitter thing against itself—”There was never such a sinner as I am, never one who had so hard a heart, and was so terribly broken on account of it!” Ye give a full vent to your sorrows, till your distress rolls like a torrent deep and wide. Yet it is not true that you are thus the only wayfarer in the path of repentance. Oh, but remember, that even though this were true, though all thine enemies, thine own heart, and all the devils in hell should conspire against thee, yet to thee, even to thee, thus saith the Lord, the God of hosts, “Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people; speak ye comfortably unto Jerusalem, and say unto her that her warfare is accomplished.”
Not to keep you longer on this point let me take you on to another. In the eighteenth and nineteenth verses of the same chapter you will see that at last this afflicted daughter of Zion was brought to constant prayer:—”Their heart cried unto the Lord, O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night: give thyself no rest; let not the apple of thine eye cease. Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches, pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift up thy hands toward him,” and so on. Thus the soul is brought to abide fast by the mercy-seat, and clings to the horns of the altar. At last the awakened spirit enters into a constant state of prayer, and its prayer is not so much an act as a condition. You know that hymn—that litany I was about to call it—
“Wealth and honor I disclaim,
Earthly comfortd, Lord, are vain,
These can never satisfy, Give me Christ, or else I die.”
Every verse ends with that intense desire—”Give me Christ or else I die.” This comes to be the state of a soul which God intends to bless; it falls into such a condition that it must have the blessing—”Give me Christ or else I die.” “I can no denial take.” Again, and again, and again, the sound of its moaning goeth up before the Lord God of Sabbaoth; its knocks at the gate of mercy are as frequent as the moments of the hour. Now, to you who are thus brought to pray because you cannot help it, who do not pray at set times merely, but whose very life has become one perpetual prayer for mercy—to you the Master speaks to-day. (Lord! open the ear that it may hear!) “The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished.”
I have no time to go further into this case of the daughter of Zion. If you read the whole book of Lamentations through, it will well repay you. If you have ever passed through a state of conviction, if the law has ever had its perfect work in you, you will find that the Lamentations of Jeremiah will suit you, and when you get to the verse with which we commenced our reading this morning, you will read it with a holy unction resting on it—”It is of the Lord’s mercy that we are not consumed, and because his compassions fail not.” Now if you thus can read it, then remember there is no doubt at all about the fact that the precious word of this morning is for you; lay hold on it by faith; feed on it, live on it, and rejoice.
Psalm 141:2-3
Let my prayer be set forth before Thee as incense, and the lifting up of my hand as the evening sacrifice. Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.
An obedient mind will sometimes be led in prayer, as a blind man is led by his guide, – in the right way, and yet unable to see the path or trace the footsteps.
Oh, blessed privilege sometimes accorded to God’s saints, to be so in the spirit that thoughts come unbidden, language shapes itself, and desires breathe spontaneously, as though we were in the unbroken circuit between the throne and the footstool, and God’s desires were only flowing through us and returning to Himself again. – A. J. Gordon.
The incense was burned with fire from the altar of sacrifice, and that fire came from heaven.
Incense is therefore a symbol of true prayer. Its starts from God, and it goes to God.
If the Holy Spirit keeps the door of our lips no prayer will issue therefrom but what He has first of all inspired.
- Daily Meditations for Prayer.
The more Vladimir Putin’s policies come a cropper in Russia, the harder he cracks down on opposition political forces. It’s not surprising given that Putin is a proud KGB spy; he’s just doing what he learned to do in Soviet times. What’s surprising is that the President of the United States is helping him get away with it, and even worse is the failure of the Republicans to call him on it. With the coming confirmation hearings for a new ambassador to Russia, the GOP has its last best chance for action.
On Sunday, June 26, 2011, RIA Novosti, the Russian Kremlin’s state-owned answer to Reuters, reported that a gas tank for an apartment building in Vladikavkaz had exploded, right in the midst of a wedding ceremony. Fifty-five people were injured. But that wasn’t the worst part of the tragedy. Two other items in the story told the real tale of life in Vladimir Putin’s Russia, where fires and explosions are commonplace (Russia’s rate of death by fire is ten times that of the United States).
First, a dozen of the victims (nearly a quarter of all those injured) had to be air-lifted to Moscow, two thousand kilometers away, because that was the nearest location with medical facilities that could address the victims’ injuries. Lack of adequate medical facilities is one reason, of course, that Russia’s fire fatality rate is so high.
And then came RIA’s advice for persons faced with similar situations in the future (remember, this is the voice of the Russian government talking): Step 1, put out the fire yourself; Step 2, call a private fire emergency crew on retainer of your landlord or employer; Step 3, call the city fire department. If you think I’m kidding, read it for yourself.
Imagine living in a country where the first question you have to ask your potential landlord or boss is: Do you have your own fire department?
This report (and RIA always seeks to minimize the extent of the horror it reports when it would make the Russian government look bad) speaks volumes about the state of Russia under Putin, a state of absolute failure ever nearer to collapse.
Investors know it. Last year, Russia experienced nearly $40 billion in capital flight. Money flowed out of Putin’s Russia at a stunning rate of $3.2 billion per month. Russians voted with their wallets, and they voted that Putin could not be trusted and that a future ruled by him was bleak indeed. So far this year, despite a crude oil price above $100/barrel (and a stock market up one-fifth compared to last year), money is leaving Russia at a rate more than double that of last year. Already, in just the first four months of this year, Russia has hemorrhaged a stunning $26.3 billion — more than half the total it lost in all of 2010.
The landslide financial vote against Putin in 2010 has turned into an absolute rout in 2011. In just the past eight months, Russia has seen a genuinely appalling $55.6 billion in capital flight — showing unquestionably that Russia’s financial problems, already at horrific levels, are getting even worse as the price of oil rises. Investors are simply not fooled by the Kremlin’s propaganda, and in fact they clearly understand that a rising price of oil only encourages the Kremlin not to reform, meaning that the Russian economy is getting more and more dangerous by the hour.
Another profound example of Putin’s failure came in the skies above Russia. First, a TU-134 airliner crashed while attempting to land near Petrozavodsk, killing all of its nearly four dozen passengers. Russia has one of the worst air safety records in the world, with an incident rate that is a shocking thirteen times higher than the world average — even worse than the fire risk. This model drops out of the sky with metronomic regularity, and Russia was soon ordering it out of service.
But it could only leave all intelligent people wondering: Why did Russia wait so long?
Next, a MiG-29 fighter jet went down in Astrakhan, and the Kremlin was forced to ground the entire fleet of fighters as well. Two entire lines of Russian airplane taken out of service in the same week as unflyable! Worse still, the jet had been bound for India, which had just spent billions buying numerous copies of the fighter for its carrier force, and now has to worry about grounding its own fleet. Who in their right mind would now do business with Russian aircraft manufacturers?
None of it is surprising to those of us who know Russia. We know that instead of focusing on life-threatening social ills Putin has spent the last decade frittering away Russian resources on Cold-War confrontation and outright imperialist aggression (remember the Georgia invasion of 2008).
Putin’s response to these types of debacles has been just as predictable: Instead of seeking reform, he is cracking down on opposition. Just days ago, he refused to allow a new political party headed by former prime minster (Mikhail Kasyanov) and a former first deputy prime minister (Boris Nemtsov) and a former senior parliamentarian (Vladimir Ryzhkov) to register to compete in upcoming legislative and presidential elections.
And all the while, U.S. President Barack Obama says and does nothing. His choice of Michael McFaul as the new U.S. Ambassador to Russia sends a clear message to Putin that the US will not stand up for American values in Russia, that Putin has a free hand to blight the landscape with misguided social policies and draconian repression.
Commentators are already wondering if the disastrous presidency of Jimmy Carter is a best-case scenario for the Obama regime. Where Russia is concerned, it’s likely not. That’s because we know from history that after Carter came Ronald Reagan, who brilliantly righted American policy and led us to victory in the Cold War. But who on the Republican horizon might achieve a similar result? If there is nobody, than a Carteresque defeat by Obama could turn into the worst American foreign policy defeat in our history.
How the Senate responds to McFaul’s nomination will tell us a lot about what we can hope for from the Republicans. If they make a fight of it, then maybe we have a small chance that genuine leaders will step forward to stand up for our values and protect our national security. If they roll over for Obama on this one, we may be consigned to decades more trouble and another collapse behind the Iron Curtain.
The conviction of former Governor Rod Blagojevich (D-IL) will likely do little to end corruption in a state whose largest city, Chicago, is a byword in wheeling and dealing. Plus thoughts on a surprisingly “flaky” Chris Wallace of Fox News.
Before we are too quick to celebrate the successful vindication of our judicial system, we should remember that Mr. Blagojevich was also taken down on nearly two dozen other scurrilous charges.
From one Facebook group set up in response: “Spread the message, we have to cut the tongues of those who defame our faith.” Sawiris apparently didn’t get the Khomeini Memo: “There are no jokes in Islam. There is no humor in Islam. There is no fun in Islam.” Therefore, never…
CAIR-California distributed this poster The New York chapter of the Hamas-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) presented a “‘Know Your Rights’ workshop” featuring Islamic supremacist lawyer Lamis Deek last Thursday in Brooklyn. Along with Hamas-linked CAIR, Brooklyn’s Community Board 5 and Officer Marcus Johnson of the 75th Precinct were involved…
Maybe this is why the TSA was so suspicious of Jean Weber. “Suicide bomber in wheelchair kills two in Iraq,” from AFP, June 26 (thanks to Zulu): BAGHDAD: A suicide bomber in a wheelchair attacked a police station north of Baghdad on Sunday, killing two people and wounding 17, nine…
New York Times’ ridiculous lie: “Immigrant crime not visible in statistics” by Nicolai Sennels Denmark has decided to reinstitute national border control. With the euro losing credibility on the world market and the present Danish attack on the freedom of movement within the European Union, the two legs that the…
I tried to tell you. “Arab spring could become an Islamist winter,” by Prem Shankar Jha in Tehelka, June 26: [...] But what is most important is that there is an abundance of evidence that while the Assad regime is authoritarian and rife with cronyism, it is not unpopular. The…
The German site Politically Incorrect has an excellent commentary on the acquittal of Geert Wilders on Sharia-inspired “hate speech” charges: “A Historic Victory for Freedom!,” by Frank Furter, translated by Anders Denken: Dear PI Community, We finally made it! The movement for Islam criticism is celebrating a great, and even…
The TSA: protecting us from 95-year-old wheelchair-bound leukemia sufferers. But hey — at least they’re not profiling Muslims, and that’s all that matters! “Elderly woman asked to remove adult diaper during TSA search,” by Lauren Sage Reinlie for NWF Daily News, June 25 (thanks to Pamela Geller): A woman has…
Islamic supremacists give the film “Neither God nor master” a big thumbs down in their inimitable fashion. Sharia Alert from modern, moderate “Arab Spring” Tunisia: “Islamists attack Tunisia cinema over secular film,” from AP, June 26 (thanks to JCB): TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — A gang of ultraconservative Islamists have attacked…
The Federal Aviation Administration has been asked to investigate, the Saudi Arabian government is denying it discriminates against Jews, and Delta Air Lines is getting incinerated by critics on its own website as the dispute over the airline’s plans for a cooperative program that would ban Jews from certain flights heated white-hot today.
WND reported two days ago on the plan to have Saudi Arabian Airlines join the SkyTeam Alliance with Delta, a move that would require the American carrier to ban Jews and holders of Israeli passports from boarding flights from New York or Washington bound for Jeddah.
Now at least two legal organizations are reviewing the possibility of legal action, and Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., reported he wrote to FAA Administrator J. Randolph Babbit requesting an investigation to determine “whether Delta violated American law.”
“I request your investigation into this matter to determine whether Delta Air Lines violated U.S. law or regulation and to ensure no U.S. citizen is denied their right to fly solely on the basis of their religion,” Kirk told the agency. “Since a core mission of the FAA is to promote civil aviation, I would expect the FAA to use its full statutory and regulatory power to ensure that America’s civil airways are not restricted for persons regardless of faith.”
Colby M. May, director and senior counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, told WND his organization was researching U.S. law, precedents and the status of Delta’s arrangement to determine whether there has been discrimination in matters of public accommodation.
Ultimately, he said, he would suggest to the airline, “Don’t do it. Listen to your better angels … Whatever the new apartheid looks like you need to stand against it.”
The argument will come down to Delta recognizing it should not put itself in the position of implementing discrimination against U.S. citizens on American soil, he said.
Whether the organization launches any legal challenge to the airline remains for a future decision, May confirmed. But another attorney, Larry Klayman, founder of the government watchdog Judicial Watch and now of Freedom Watch USA, was succinct.
“I, for one, will sue Delta Air Lines,” he told WND. “This is outrageous, repugnant and illegal.”
The airline maintained its position that any discrimination is required by Saudi law, and it has nothing to do with the airline, even though the restrictions would be imposed by the airline on American citizens at American airports.
“First and foremost, I think one of the most important things to mention here is that Delta does not discriminate nor do we condone discrimination against anyone in regards to age, race, nationality, religion, or gender,” said an airline blog statement by Trebor Banstetter of the Delta Media Team.
“We, like all international airlines, are required to comply with all applicable laws governing entry into every country we serve. You as passengers are responsible for obtaining the necessary travel documents, such as visas and certification of required vaccinations, and we’re responsible for making sure that you have the proper documentation before you board.”
The airline did not respond to a WND request to answer questions.
Banstetter’s statement continued, “Some have raised questions about whether Saudi Arabian Airlines’ membership in SkyTeam means Delta is adopting any type of policies that could present barriers to travel for some passengers, including Jewish customers. For this particular concern, it’s important to realize that visa requirements to enter any country are dictated by that nation’s government, not the airlines, and they apply to anyone entering the country regardless of whether it’s by plane, bus or train.”
But the airline’s customers weren’t buying the story.
One participant in the Delta forum said, “You don’t condone it yet you gladly do business with the devil. These words are contradictory and empty. … Of course it is a traveler’s responsibility to obtain travel documents. This isn’t the point. This is a distraction from the argument. There is only one fact any of your customers need to know about this: You do condone this behavior, because Delta is going to make money in this deal.”
Other comments on the Delta blog were:
•From “pvoltz”: Your silly excuse is sickening. You should refuse to enter any relationship with any count[r]y in which it is illegal to carry a Bible openly. You make me sick!
•From Jacob Scharff: In a nutshell, you’re saying, ‘We didn’t make the laws that make it illegal for Jews to travel to Saudi Arabia. But, for the amount of money we’ll make servicing those routes, we’ll happily enforce those laws. And, we’ll enforce them by checking the paperwork of everyone on flights bound for Saudi Arabia, and if any of them are Jews, kicking them off of the flight.’ Sounds like a pretty weak argument. And, strangely familiar.
•From “aggiebrandi”: It is pretty offensive to me still that you skirted around the issue this way. … By partnering with an airline that so overtly does [discriminate] makes you just as guilty of it.
•From GregD: Will you be telling people they cannot wear crosses on planes going to Saudi Arabia? Will you be telling them they can’t bring Bibles? What, exactly are the responsibilities that Delta will be assuming by letting Saudi Arabian Airlines join SkyTeam?
•From Octopus: So, you’re ignoring your own complicity and blaming the Saudies? Real nice.
•From “weeznotflyin”: This is a pathetic excuse to justify Delta’s business venture with Saudi Arabain airlines…. Hypothetically speaking, with this reasoning, Delta would not have had any issues in respecting Nazi Germany’s laws against the Jewish people.
And those were just the first few of pages of comments.
The dispute even pulled the Saudi government into the fray:
“Rumors being circulated via the Internet regarding passenger flight restrictions on Saudi Arabian Airlines are completely false. The government of Saudi Arabia does not deny visas to U.S. citizens based on their religion,” the government said on PRNewswire.
“Liars,” said Pamela Geller on her Atlas Shrugs blog. She noted that on Delta’s own website is the statement, “The government of Saudi Arabia refuses admission and transit to nationals of Israel.”
Delta’s website also states, “Visitors holding passports containing any Israeli visa or stamp could be refused entry.”
At Jihad Watch, the dispute was spelled out in a statement attributed to Detroit rabbi Jason Miller, “The issue here is one of principle. Delta isn’t being forced to include Saudi Arabian Airlines into its SkyTeam Alliance. In fact, Delta could stand on principle and refuse to include Saudi Arabian Airlines based on its discriminatory policy.”
On that site’s forum page, from “desidude”, was: “This stinks to high heavens, since when are we now enforcing racist and discriminatory policies of a racist regime? Would anyone stand it if any country has a strict policy of not accepting Jewish travelers or black traveler[s] or Hindu travelers or Christian orthodox travelers? Heads should roll for this in the high offices of Delta airlines. If they uphold this I and my family are not using this airline.”
Added “duh_swami”: “Indifference to racism is racism … Making up excuses for racism, is also racism…Cooperating with racism, is racism … If Delta is not racist, it should stand on principal, as stated above, and reject it … If they refuse to do that they have condemned themselves…”
Raven Blackwolf added, “A business based in a free country has no reason to deal with a country whose laws and culture are inimical to its own home country, except for sheer greed. … The U.S. government DOES tell U.S. based companies where it can and cannot operate already – can Delta fly to Cuba under U.S. law? It’s about time that all Islamic countries were treated exactly like Cuba, actually. They deserve it a LOT more than Cuba _ever_ did.”
According to a Fox News radio report, Michael Salberg, chief of international affairs for the Anti-Defamation League, said Delta should not “be enabling” discrimination.
Delta set the dispute in motion in January when it announced it was supporting Saudi Arabian Airlines’ decision to join SkyTeam.
“Saudi Arabian’s growing hub in Riyadh and extensive network throughout the Middle East will bring Delta customers greater access to destinations across one of the world’s most important economic regions,” Charlie Pappas, Delta’s vice president-Alliances, said in the statement. “We are honored that Saudi Arabian has chosen to link its future growth and success with Delta and our SkyTeam partners, while bringing our alliance greater access to destinations across the Middle East.”
Delta boasted of the 35 new destinations that the move would include.
WND reported earlier the issue first was presented to Congress, the public and others by talk radio host and former U.S. Rep. Fred Grandy, whose engaged in his own battle against discrimination when his former radio station demanded he tone down criticism of Islam on his program. He then left the station.
Grandy and “Mrs. Fred,” – Catherine – recently were interviewed by Talk 1200 show host Jeff Katz about the controversy, which was described as “outrageous.”
Their conversation has been posted online as well as embedded:
“Creeping Shariah? Now [it is] jetspeed Shariah. Hat’s off to Delta. It looks like Delta will be the first Shariah-compliant airline in the United States,” Catherine Grandy said.
Katz noted, “As a Jewish man, I might not be able to fly on Delta Air Lines in the future.”
Fred Grandy told Katz that he spent time already this week in Washington briefing members of Congress and other policy makers “on this kind of threat.”
“This creeping Shariah, economic jihad, gets you everywhere you turn,” Catherine Grandy said. “This is just not right. I’m sure this will be tested.”
Fred Grandy said there were several questions raised by the controversy, including would passengers continue to fly on Delta, what should the government do and the advance of Shariah in the United States.
“If this isn’t one landing strip at a time, I don’t know what is,” he said.
The challenge to Delta was raised by Washington attorney Jeffrey Lovitky, who told WND that he personally brought up the issue with the Delta CEO Richard Anderson when he discovered the plan while making travel arrangements. He said Anderson didn’t respond, but Kathy M. Johnston, a coordinator for the airline’s “Customer Care” did write a letter.
She blamed the plan to discriminate on Saudi Arabian requirements and said Lovitky should consult the State Department.
“Delta must also comply with all applicable laws in every country it serves and by the same token passengers are responsible to obtain the necessary travel documents required for entry into another country prior to their day of travel,” she wrote. “If a passenger travels without proper documents, the passenger may be denied entry into that country and our airline may be fined. Delta assumes responsibility for ensuring that each passenger boarding our aircraft has the proper documents for travel to their ticketed destination.”
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