In May 2010, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg posited that the individual who packed a Nissan Pathfinder full of explosives and parked it in Times Square was likely a homegrown American “with a political agenda who doesn’t like the health care bill or something.”

Fortunately, the car bomb did not detonate.

The terrorist turned out to be Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistan-born U.S. citizen. And, not surprisingly, Shahzad wasn’t upset about the health care bill. After pleading guilty in court he said, “I consider myself a Mujahid, a Muslim-soldier.” He was upset, as he put it, over “American occupation of Muslim Lands.”

Shortly after the attack, Bloomberg prematurely asserted that there was no evidence suggesting the bomber was part of any recognized terror network. Shahzad later told the court he trained with the Pakistani Taliban to learn bomb-making and other related skills.

Could it be that Bloomberg has underestimated the threat of Islamist terror, or is there another agenda?

The issue has again become relevant in recent days. The New York Times ran a series of articles and editorials blaming the NYPD for using the film The Third Jihad: Radical Islam’s Vision for America as part of their counter-terrorism training. (more…)

Rice Krispie Treats. They are the perfect metaphor for Neal Stephenson’s latest novel, “REAMDE.” Stephenson likes to make poetic illustrations about junk food in some of his books, most famously his paean to Cap’n Crunch in the “Cryptonomicon.” This time around, it’s the aforementioned Treats, an amalgam of two fully formed foods, puffed rice cereal and marshmallows. “REAMDE” mixes the international thriller and geek gamer novels, seamlessly blending the two with only occasionally forays into obscure tech-speak.

The book, like all of Stephenson’s, is extremely character driven, flipping from one viewpoint to another, often in the same time sequence, allowing the reader to experience the action from multiple viewpoints. It revolves around a growing cast of characters, starting with former marijuana smuggler, now online pole playing game mogul, Richard “Dodge” Forthrast. He brings along his adopted niece, former Eritrean refugee — now Midwestern girl — Zula Forthrast.

The motley lot expands to include an ex-Spetsnaz security expert, a Hungarian hacker, a Hakka guide, a Chinese virus righter, a Welsh convert to Islam cum-terrorist mastermind, an MI-6 agent, and an Irish American CIA agent.

(more…)

You’ll have to click on the image below to watch the video, which is legitimately clever and funny. Christianity takes a few hits, but I don’t know of any Christian who can’t laugh at his or herself as long we’re not — per the usual — being singled out by cowardly satirists posing as “ballsy.”

Thankfully, that is certainly not the case here and as expected, the very same leftists who would praise the bravery of anyone trashing Christians, are now screaming “Islamophobia!”:

—–

Gothamist:

While Leary is probably trying to shock his fans out of their pre-holiday stupor—fueled by a never ending stream of wallpaper Christmas tunes—we had a very tough time sitting through this particularly xenophobic one-note joke.

Islamophobia Watch:

A jaw-droppingly Islamophobic video has been posted by Irish-American comedian Denis Leary on WhoSay. Some years ago Leary took a firm stand against Mel Gibson’s antisemitism. But apparently crude anti-Muslim stereotyping is fine with Leary.

Please note that neither one said anything objecting to Leary’s shots at Christianity.

Who’s the “phobe” now?

(more…)

Here we go again. Prepare to be shocked, appalled — even offended! — by another attack on Christians, namely Catholics, by none other than pope hater Sinead O’Connor. I’m just kidding about being offended; it’s obvious she’s screaming for attention (killing the pope? bet it took her a few weeks to think up that one) and, unfortunately for her, this article won’t just be about her but all of Hollywood. Sorry, Sinead.

What the formerly relevant singer said is not surprising, but then again, it’s never surprising to hear a celebrity disparaging Christianity. Remember this gem from Rosie O’Donnell?

I have news for Hollywood. It’s not risque to attack Christians, and it’s long been a cliché even for our side to say it’s overdone. If you want to be risque, attack Islam, atheists, or agnostics. My husband is a cradle Catholic (meaning raised Catholic), and he says most of these attacks just roll off his back. Most don’t offend or bother him anymore because it’s simply become the norm. But that doesn’t mean it should be ignored or criticism should be spared for trite offense-mongering like Lady Gaga’s “Alejandro” video.

If you don’t want to watch the video, I understand. Lady Gaga is dressed in a blood red habit and swallows a rosary. This desecration of the rosary is offensive to Catholics because of our veneration (not worship) of Mary, mother of God. The director of the video claims Lady Gaga just wanted to take in the Holy. As a lifelong Catholic, Miss Gaga should know better than that, and if she wanted to “take in the Holy,” there are ways of doing it that won’t cause as many digestive problems, like attending Mass and taking Communion. (more…)

This is the second excerpt from my new “Devlin” thriller, Shock Warning. In this chapter, Maryam — Devlin’s fellow agent and lover — has smuggled herself back into her native Iran, investigating the miraculous apparitions occurring over the holy city of Qom. Unfortunately for her, she’s just been confronted by two members of the religious police.

Meanwhile, inside a secret nuclear facility, the evil German billionaire, Emanuel Skorzeny is about to make the deal of a lifetime with the Iranians

CHAPTER 44

Qom

“Why are you alone, sister?”

These were not words Maryam wished to hear, especially from a member of the morality police.  The Iranian vice cops – “vice” in this case applying to the very existence of women – were not as notorious as the mutaween of Saudi Arabia, or the Taliban of Afghanistan, but they were plenty dangerous.

She tensed as she answered.  “But I am modestly dressed, worshipping at the sacred mosque.”

They moved closer to her, boxing her in, forcing her into an alley.  Maryam glanced around and saw there was nobody else in sight.  Whatever was going to happen was going to have to happen fast.

“Where is your husband sister?”

“I have… he is away, on state business.  But he will be here soon, that I can assure you.”

“Then where is your father?”

“My father, may Allah bless him, is dead.”

“Your brother?”

“Alas, I have no brothers.”

(more…)

A couple weeks ago my good friend and gifted songwriter/musician Andrew (BigDawg), Co-Founder of BigDawg Music Mafia, and I were tuned in to “America Akbar” on Radio Jihad Network, a weekly internet radio show hosted by our good friends Gadi Adelman, a counter-terrorism expert, speaker, and author; and his lovely co-host/producer Reese Ccup.  During the show, a gentleman named George called in to share some of his thoughts about 9/11 as he was one of the firefighters there that day who lost so many of his brothers when the towers collapsed and is personally suffering from health issues brought on from the Ground Zero toxins.

Reese wanted George to hear a song they often play on their show that Drew and I had written in 2009 called “A Hero’s Creed” – a tribute to all the 9/11 first responders and our military members fighting the war on terror.  There was a line in the original version that said “Eight years have passed…no attacks on our land…we owe it to those who heed the call.” Sadly, since the new administration moved into our nation’s capital, we can no longer say that.

We needed to update the song, so we did.  Somehow, however, through a slight miscommunication regarding our updating of the song, Gadi was under the impression we were working on a brand new 9/11 tribute song and would have it ready in time for his 9/11 Tribute show on 8 Sep.  We knew we had to write a new song for Gadi’s show.

YouTube "Stairs To Heaven" by Lisa Mei Norton & Andrew (BigDawg)

—–

It did not take long for us to come up with the concept for the song:  a young girl who lost her father – one of the 343 firefighters who died when the towers collapsed – who is now a young woman looking back with sadness on all that she lost that day and a determination to follow in her Dad’s footsteps and serve her country in uniform…knowing one day she would meet him again.

(more…)

The BBC’s entire approach to this subject is wildly dishonest. There are no problems between Muslims and non-Muslims in America. We got along just fine pre-9/11, got along just fine the day after 9/11, and get along just fine today.

The BBC:

Influential American broadcaster Katie Couric has suggested a way to change attitudes to Muslims in the US.

Pointing to the success in the 1980s and 90s of TV sitcom The Cosby Show in improving relations between African-Americans and whites, she argues that a Muslim version of the show may counter some Americans’ negative perceptions of the community.

But just across the border, in Canada, this “Muslim Cosby Show” already exists. Little Mosque on the Prairie, made in Toronto, is recording its sixth and final series. 

However…

(more…)

On April 21, 2010, Comedy Central aired episode “201” of South Park. The previous episode, “200,” which was a celebration of their 200th episode, sparked controversy from a radical fringe Muslim group who threatened violence on the show’s creators because of their use of the character Muhammed. After seeing the season 14 DVD of South Park, the cowards at Comedy Central continue to bow to the wishes of radical Muslims, showing that our free speech can be silenced by violence or the threat of it. Following this path, which runs contradictory to almost anything Comedy Central has done in the past, willingly provides a disturbing upper hand to any groups wanting to limit free speech and the power of our popular culture.

When a new episode of South Park airs, it is generally available for streaming shortly thereafter from South Park Studios. In the case of “201,” we got this message:

Following this message, there was a long list of people upset that the network, who has courageously stood by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone over the years, decided to cower in the corner and bleep important sections of episode “201.” In fact, Muhammed was shown in a bear suit, an obvious play on the fear of showing Muhammed on TV. Even that was censored out (important note: Comedy Central has allowed South Park to show Muhammed in the past). As the dust settled, many people (including myself) felt that the truth would be told and free speech will prevail, on some level, when the episode comes out on the season 14 DVD.

(more…)

There are apparently people out there who not only find Lady GaGa’s music appealing but, further, find her a powerful and insightful musical voice for a new generation.  These people are idiots, and the fact that most of these morons can vote goes a long way to explaining why so many Democrats keep getting reelected.

It’s not just that her music is bad – though it is, an intermittently catchy collection of overproduced beats laid over nonsense lyrics that would embarrass a slow-witted high school sophomore.  It’s not just that her singing is reminiscent of the hum of a dental drill, a monotonous, atonal mind-chisel that – when combined with her inane lyrics – reminds one of the chanting of some unholy love child of Rain Man and Tiny Tim.  

And it’s not just that she’s pretentious, presenting herself as the sorta-androgynous spoke-being for a coterie of alleged nonconformists whose nonconformity is expressed via rigid conformity to GaGa’s vision of pseudo-transgressive fashions and brain-dead self-affirming slogans.

No, the biggest problem with Lady GaGa isn’t that she’s another lame pop star.  It’s that she’s so damn boring.

As an act of personal sacrifice, I listened to the sneak release of her latest song, an atrocity called “Judas.”  If you want to share my pain, be my guest, but don’t say you weren’t warned.  The Huffington Post, your number one source for all things that suck, is right on top of the earthshaking cultural event that is “Judas”:

The song and video are told from Mary Magdelene’s perspective, with lyrics such as, “When he comes to me, I am ready/ I’ll wash his feet with my hair if he needs/ Forgive him when his tongue lies through his brain/ Even after three times, he betrays me/ I’ll bring him down, a king with no crown…”

Wow.  Heavy.  I guess I’m supposed to be one of those bourgeois squares whose mind is going to be blown by GagGa’s willingness to take on those terrifying Christians.  I’m here to report, however, that the only thing that blows is the song.

(more…)

An informative and intelligent discussion that desperately needed to be had outside the world of the news media and inside Maher’s world — the world of popular culture.

The most telling moment here is the audience reaction after Maher pulls no punches and says the following: 

“What it comes down to, is that there is one religion in the world that kills you when you disagree with them. And they say, ‘Look, we are a religion of peace, and if you disagree, we’ll cut your fucking head off.’”

The studio audience … applauds.

In the past, whenever Maher’s brought this truth up in this way, his audience has audibly gasped as the silent tension became thick and immediate. At this point, Maher was always on his own as his guests shifted uncomfortably in their chairs and the audience gulped for air to fight off a case of the PC vapors.

To his credit, though, Maher keeps on keeping on, keeps making this case and telling this truth as he sees it, and it appears now as though it’s finally penetrating.

(more…)

—–

Amazing footage, full of righteous passion and truth. The seven minutes only get better as they unspool, especially when actress Veena Malik completely turns the argument around on both the sanctimonious newsman and the downright frightening Muslim cleric.

In a word, it’s inspirational.

Looks like Pakistan has something in common with America. Like here, their women appear to be the best and bravest badass truth tellers — the biggest threat and enemies to an oppressive media, entertainment and political establishment ready to destroy and punish those who dare stray off of a certain ideological plantation.

(more…)

—–

If you remember, during last Saturday’s “Real Time,” Bill Maher interviewed Representative Keith Ellison, one of two practicing Muslims in the U.S. Congress, but the only one to cry like a little girl during Rep. Peter King’s hearings on radical Islam last week. During the interview, Maher labelled the Koran a “hate-filled holy book,” made clear that a “vast, vast majority” of Muslims are not the problem and then asked Ellison:

Have you read Sam Harris’s book, The End of Faith?… [Harris] says, “On almost every page, the Koran instructs observant Muslims to despise non-believers.”

The Congressman responded with incredulity, calling the claim “absurd, ridiculous, and untrue” and insinuated the translation was wrong and that things were being taken out of context. Yesterday, Project Reason CEO Sam Harris (the same Sam Harris Maher quoted, who’s also an atheist and no fan of Christianity) responded with a lengthy article quoting directly from the Koran, which says in part:

When Maher asked how jihadists can justify their actions by reading these same passages in context, Ellison claimed that jihadists do nothing of the sort. Rather, they think in terms of “political grievances,” not religious doctrine, and those who oppose them have the true doctrine of Islam on their side.

It is not my purpose to defend the House hearing on American Muslims (which I did not get a chance to watch). But it is growing increasingly disconcerting to see moderate Muslims reflexively lie about the tenets of their faith. Of course, it’s hard to know whether Ellison was actually lying or is merely unaware of the contents of the Qur’an. But I have witnessed too many of these exchanges with Muslim apologists, both in public and private, to ignore the general trend. Who will reform Islam if moderate Muslims refuse to speak honestly about the very doctrines in need of reform?

(more…)

A commenter on our TV branch nails it:

Call me crazy but didn’t Ellison lay out exactly why we are having these radicalized Islam [hearings by Rep. Peter] King right now? ‘To weed out those who misuse the words of the Koran for political reasons…?’ Ellison should be supporting King not crying like a baby to undermine what King is doing.

Wish I’d said that, and how nice to once again see Bill Maher stand up for Western Civilization and take the truthful, non-PC stand that radical Islam is in fact a unique and dangerous threat to our country and the world. Maher loathes all religions (and isn’t a fan of King’s hearings), but unlike most of his liberal counterparts who aren’t as upfront about their loathing of Christianity, Maher’s at least willing to admit that comparing Islamists to militias, the KKK and those who shoot abortion doctor makes little sense. Not all evils are equal, and certainly not equal threats. As far as I know, Maher is the ONLY guy in the entertainment world willing to speak this truth and he deserves credit for doing so.

(more…)

So, when I hear of an act of terror, an internal clock starts clicking.

I wonder, how long before we find out the suspect is a radical Islamist.

And then, how long before that affiliation is rejected as vital to the crime.

Witness the murderous acts against our military in Frankfurt: it was only a matter of hours before the killer’s links to radical Islam were exposed.

And it was only a few hours later, that we saw an Administration official dismiss that notion.

Here we have P. J. Crowley, bringing back memories – not only of Tucson, but of Ft. Hood, too.

Reporter: Even if somebody is acting alone, it’s not a terrorist attack?

Crowley: For example, was the shooting of congresswoman Gabby Giffords a terrorist attack. I mean, you have to look at the evidence, you have to look at the evidence and look at the motivation then you make a judgment and that is a process as far as I know that is ongoing.

Yeah. He went there.

P.J., which must stand for “poor judgment,” actually compared a horrible crime linked to radical Islam, to whatever was bubbling in Jared Loughner’s damaged head. (more…)

The venerable Marvel comic book character Captain America has been, well, “Captain America” since 1941. But as of the 2011 release of the new movie “Captain America: The First Avenger,” he won’t be Captain American anymore. At least as far as the film’s  title goes for its overseas release, anyway.

Apparently, Hollywood thinks a character called “Captain America” is too gauche for foreigners to handle. And so he’s to go nameless in such places as Russia, Ukraine, and South Korea. Once again, Hollywood shows that it’s ashamed of America, its traditions, and culture.

This film already raised eyebrows for patriots when the director said that his Captain America wouldn’t be that into America.  Last July, director Joe Johnston claimed that the Captain America in his film would not be a “jingoistic American flag-waver.” Johnston’s anti-American sentiment foreshadows the dropping of the character’s name from the title for overseas distribution. (more…)

The Narnia films are extremely good. The silver screen renditions of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe as well as Prince Caspian were faithful to the books.  The most encouraging aspect regarding the filmmaker’s approach was how they didn’t even try to supplant the openly Christian theme with Hollywood social values.  Somehow the movies would have lost their punch if the messianic nature of Aslan’s death and resurrection were turned into a scene from the Princess Bride where the hero was only “mostly dead.”  There would also have been something missing if, after defeating the evil Witch, the great Lion uttered “Suck on that” instead of “It is finished.”   The question with Narnia is how are they going to deal with the books in the series where the enemy is clearly Muslim in nature, rather than witches who look like they are from Eva Braun’s gene pool? 

The Horse and His Boy is the third book in the chronology of the series and falls right between the books, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian.  In this book the antagonists are a belligerent people called Calormene, who are determined to invade Narnia, and take control of it.  The people of Calormene along with their society are described in a way that leaves the reader with no doubt that C.S. Lewis took his inspiration for these people from the Middle East.  While there are no suicide bombers crashing unwilling griffons into the castle Cair Paraval, the description of the Calormene’s physical appearance, speech, architecture, and attitudes are all things that are easily associated with Muslim nations.  

The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe is the second story in the timeline of the seven books written by C.S. Lewis.  It is also, without a doubt, the most popular of the books.  So the fact that this was the first novel in the series that was turned into a movie is absolutely no surprise. The order of the films mirrors the order that the books were published in.  So it is reasonable to believe that the film producers are following that order. (more…)

Rock and roll and Islam seem about as compatible as oysters and cheesecake, yet probably to the surprise of many Americans, there is a solid (although perhaps not yet omnipresent) rock presence in the Middle East. Canada’s Vice Films sent a crew under Suroosh Alvi to Iraq in 2006 to document a concert by a heavy metal band, “Acrassicauda,” whom they had been following since 2003. And, yes, Virginia, they did play heavy metal.

—–

Alvi has a running under-commentary about the on-going ubiquitous Iraq war, which was strangely (and refreshingly) undefined and unfocused. Certainly a critical view of America’s actions underscored the shots of bombed out hotels, of guard checks, and most of all, of the stories told by the band members. “Firas” (who knows if these were real names, given security issues) the bass player, spoke the best English and thus became the central character; “Tony,” the lead guitarist, though hyped as a spectacular talent, was barely average by western standards. “Marwan,” the drummer, and “Faisal,” the second vocalist that Alvi talked to (the first having fled to Syria) offered occasional pity comments. According to Marwan, “if you can teach every prisoner to play drums . . . you’re gonna have good citizens. . . .” (Here in the United States, I think we have tried that by having them do laundry or make license plates. Not sure if that’s worked yet.) (more…)

If you’re wondering why during the Golden Age of Hollywood, in the era of the studio system, actors were, in a word, “managed,” look no further than the below. Actors certainly didn’t like being controlled — who does? —  but part of the reason the Cary Grants, Katherine Hepburns, Barbara Stanwycks and John Waynes now live forever in the stratosphere of legend (and there was a Golden Age to begin with) is due to the fact that this kind of stupidity – the kind of stupidity that shatters images and deflates box office right along with audience anticipation — was simply not allowed:

Today’s Daily Mail:

Ahead of the release of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader next Thursday, Neeson said: ‘Aslan symbolises a Christ-like figure but he also symbolises for me Mohammed, Buddha and all the great spiritual leaders and prophets over the centuries.

‘That’s who Aslan stands for as well as a mentor figure for kids – that’s what he means for me.’

Neeson, 58, who grew up in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, is a practising Roman Catholic and was named after his parish priest. His actress wife Natasha Richardson died in a skiing accident in March last year.

Two years ago, he teamed up with an order of American Catholic priests to bring out a CD of spiritual meditations for Lent.

Walter Hooper, Lewis’s former secretary and a trustee of his estate, said the author would have been outraged.

‘It is nothing whatever to do with Islam,’ he said.

(more…)

Transcript courtesy of Mediaite:

And when I say Westerner, I mean someone who believes in the values that Western people believe in that a lot of the Muslim world does not. Like separation of church and state. Like equality of the sexes. Like respect for minorities, free elections, free speech, freedom to gather. These things are not just different from cultures that don’t have them. … It’s better. … I would like to keep those values here.

We’re not sure anyone but Bill Maher could get away with telling these truths without losing their job due to a Soros-funded jihad launched by those blacklisters over at Media Matters. That’s what they did to Juan Williams, and we are curious as to why Eric Boehlert and the rest of his lotion boys have been so quiet over this.

Not to mention CAIR.

And what about Jon –meet my fatwa-loving pal Cat Stevens but can’t we all just get along — Stewart?

We don’t want to encourage any attacks on Maher, but consider this Exhibit 11,412 in the open and shut case proving their stunning but always predictable lack of principle.