First Daughters Give White House Christmas Tree Thumbs Up
ABC News’ Tahman Bradley reports: An 18 ½ foot Douglas-fir arrived at the White House this afternoon by horse-drawn carriage. It’ll serve as the official White House Christmas tree. At a brief ceremony in front of the White House, first…
Political Punch
Abbas represents jailed terrorist leader at his daughter’s wedding
Palestine Press Agency reports that Mahmoud Abbas gave away Marwan Barghouti’s daughter at a huge wedding ceremony in Ramallah.
The guests included a Who’s Who of Fatah leadership, including Ahmed Qurei (“Abu Ala”,) Tawfiq Tirawi, Mohammed Dahlan, Azzam al-Ahmad, Issa Qaraqe, as well as Arab member of the Knesset Ahmed Tibi.
Abbas told the audience that he was “honored to represent my brother Marwan Barghouti” in giving his daughter away.
Barghouti was a senior member of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terrorist groups responsible for many attacks against civilians on both sides of the Green Line.
Here are some of the terror attacks he oversaw:
Jun 12, 2001 - The murder of a Greek Orthodox monk on the road to Ma’ale Adumim.
Jan 17, 2002 - The shooting attack during a bat mitzva celebration at a banquet hall in Hadera. Six Israelis were killed in this attack, 26 were injured.
Jan 22, 2002 - The shooting spree on Jaffa Street in Jerusalem. Two Israelis were killed, 37 wounded.
Feb 25, 2002 - The shooting attack in the Jerusalem residential neighborhood of Neve Ya’acov. One Israeli policewoman was killed, 9 Israelis were wounded.
Feb 27, 2002 - The murder of an Israeli at a coffee factory in the Atarot industrial zone of Jerusalem.
Feb 27, 2002 - The suicide attack perpetrated by Daryan Abu Aysha at the Maccabim checkpoint in which two policeman were injured.
Mar 5, 2002 - The shooting spree at the Tel Aviv Seafood restaurant. Three Israelis were killed, 31 wounded.
Mar 8, 2002 - A suicide terrorist was killed in Daheat el Barid as he was on his way to carry out an attack in Jerusalem.
Mar 27, 2002 - The interception of an ambulance and the confiscation of an explosive belt which was being smuggled from Samaria into Barghouti’s terrorist infrastructure in Ramallah.
Marwan Barghouti was also directly responsible for operating the terrorist cell of Raed Karmi in Tulkaram which carried out a series of deadly terrorist attacks.
Although Barghouti pretended to be only a political figure, the IDF gathered much evidence linking him to the attacks and to the terror infrastructure of Fatah.
Here is a 2001 letter requesting money to pay “fighting brethren” that Barghouti notated before handing it to Arafat (bottom signature is Barghouti’s, left side is Arafat’s handwritten approval)
But Mahmoud Abbas is a man of peace, so his praise and friendship for a convicted terrorist is not important at all. To mention it would just distract from his wondrous moderation that we hear so much about.
Jon Stewart On The Media And The Palin Daughters: “Who Gives A S**t?”
Apropos of Alex Knapp’s comments today about the whole Willow Palin kerfuffle, I offer this from last night’s Daily Show:
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Jason Jones’ Bayonne | ||||
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Jon Stewart Berates Media For Obsession With Palin Daughters: ‘Who Gives a S-t?’
Jon Stewart is finally flaunting some of that "sanity" we've heard so much about. On his show Wednesday night, he had a simple message for the legions of journalists obsessed with Sarah Palin's children: "Who gives a sh*t?"
"Kids are off limits," Stewart added. "In fact, we should all go out of our way to treat her children with kid gloves and respect to show that we don't judge individuals and mock them purely based on who their parents are."
"Stop making me feel sympathy for the Palins!" he begged - hysterically, I might add. "Stop it!" (Video below the break - h/t Charlie Spiering)
NewsBusters.org - Exposing Liberal Media Bias
Jack Yoest: Rules For Dating My Daughters
Rule Four:
I’m sure you’ve been told that in today’s world, sex without using a “barrier method” of some kind can kill you. Let me elaborate, when it comes to sex, I am the barrier, and I will kill you.
Selling off daughters for $700
We’ve discussed before how rich Saudis take vacations in other countries, notably Egypt, and “marry” women for the summer.
The Arab News adds more detail to this disgusting practice - and it is not only the Saudis who are guilty:
About 900 children born to Egyptian women and Saudi men in what is commonly known as “misfar” or “tourist” marriages are abandoned by their fathers, said an Egyptian activist at a recent forum on human trafficking.
Speaking at the conference in Egypt, Aiman Abu Akeel, chairman of the board of trustees of the Maat Foundation for Peace and Development, said that the majority of men who visit Egypt looking for misfar marriages tend to be Saudi, followed by Iraqis, and that the women they marry are predominantly younger than them.
“Misfar” marriage refers to a union contracted so that a woman may join her “husband” for the period of time he travels in a foreign country.
The women in such unions are divorced after a short time ranging from a week to a month, the Egyptian newspaper Al-Yaum Al-Sabi reported.
Speaking at the same forum, Azza Al-Jazaar, the general organizer of the Anti-Trafficking of Egyptian Girls program, said that these young women do not know they are being treated like commodities.
Their fathers receive up to 4,000 Egyptian pounds from these men for trading off their girls, she said, adding that most of these girls are below 16 years of age. [That's about $ 700 - EoZ]
Statistics show that some SR100 million are spent on misfar marriages, which last for not more than a month, with 90 percent of Saudi fathers leaving behind children born out of such relationships.
However, Najeeb Al-Zamil, founder of the Back to the Roots Foundation, a nongovernmental organization that helps Saudi children abroad, said that although there are many such children in Arab countries, their suffering is less than that experienced by children born in non-Arab countries.
He added that these men abandon their families and children, as they fear what their relatives in the Kingdom will think.
(h/t Arthur)
Jordanian dad changes daughter’s name from “Golda Meir” to “Aisha”
From Jordan’s Ammon News:
The Jordanian Civil Status Department approved the request submitted by a local father to change the name of his 4-year old daughter from “Golda Meir” to “Aisha.”
The approval comes following the pleas made by the father, Eyad Mustafa Ahmad Oudeh, over a radio station to change his daughter’s name.
The father explained that he named his daughter “Golda Meir” to be able to get a visiting permit from Israel to see his three children, who live with their mother (the father’s ex-wife) in occupied Jerusalem, as he said.
Israeli authorities did not allow the children to travel to Jordan to visit their father either, so he decided to change his daughter’s name after losing faith in getting a visiting permit from Israel, Nablus T.V. reported.
This all makes no sense, of course. Did he really think that giving his daughter the name “Golda Meir” would cause Israel to bend rules on visiting permits? And when she was born he was not divorced, so was he clairvoyant?
While the story above is what is being reported in most Arabic media outlets, it turns out that there is more to the story.
I don’t quite understand all the details of when he separated from his wife but a different version of the story mentions his other kids’ names.
He has a 6-year old son named “peace” and a 2-year old named “bin Laden.“
In other words, the father already had a screw loose, and tried to use his kids names to help bring peace to the world. Apparently his frustration with Israel for not allowing him to see his kids (his wife apparently said she was visiting Palestinian relatives for a short time and never came back) caused him to want to change his daughter’s name away from something Israeli.
But he has no problem raising a son named “Bin Laden.”
Christiane Amanpour Gushes to Hillary: Was Daughter’s Wedding as Tough as Peace in the Middle East?
This Week anchor Christiane Amanpour appeared on Thursday’s Good Morning America and offered a softball question to Hillary Clinton about her daughter’s wedding. After discussing Middle East peace, Amanpour gushed, "And of all of the things you have undertaken over the last several months, was your daughter’s wedding- where does that fit in there? And hard? Difficult?"
The ABC host was previewing a longer interview scheduled for Sunday’s edition of This Week.
GMA co-host Robin Roberts cheered, "From the politicians hoping to make history in November, to one politician trying to make history right now."
Amanpour speculated as to whether Tea Party nominees would derail the administration’s efforts in the Middle East: "Is it possible to have the President’s foreign policy agenda, you know, furthered, even if a lot of Tea Party candidates do end up being the candidate [sic]?"
Amanpour has a history of lauding Clinton. On May 14, 1999, the journalist complimented the "dignity" the then-First Lady showed during the Monica Lewinsky scandal:
"A lot of the women that I meet from traveling overseas are very impressed by you and admire your dignity. A lot of the people you meet are people who suffered, people you saw today, and who believe that they identify with you because they have seen you suffer. And in a speech in Africa last year, you spoke about living for hope and reconciliation, living for forgiveness and reconstruction, and living for a new life – have you been able to apply that to your own circumstances? Have you been able to forgive your husband?"
- CNN’s Christiane Amanpour to Hillary Clinton in Macedonia after a tour of refugee camps, May 14, 1999.
For the full interview with the Secretary of State, see Sunday’s This Week.
To read the MRC’s Profile in Bias on Amanpour, go here.
A transcript of the segment, which aired at 7:11am EDT, follows:
ROBIN ROBERTS: From the politicians hoping to make history in November, to one politician trying to make history right now. Hillary Clinton is in Israel this morning, attempting to broker a landmark peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. And that’s where Christiane Amanpour sat down with the secretary of state for an exclusive interview. Did this just a short time ago. Christiane, so good of you to join us this morning from Jerusalem. And is Hillary Clinton making any progress?
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: Good morning, Robin. She says yes. All the officials say yes, including the participants, Benjamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas. Apparently they’ve gotten down to core issues already. And they’re doing that in a serious way. But, the huge ten-ton elephant in the room is the looming end to Israel’s moratorium on settlement building. I asked Secretary Clinton if there’s any progress, any flexibility towards keeping the moratorium on? She wouldn’t go into specifics, other than to say the two sides must stay at the table. There is this moratorium that’s looming on the horizon. Are the talks going in a constructive way?
HILLARY CLINTON: Yes. I would say they’re in a constructive channel. And that has been, you know, very reassuring to us.
AMANPOUR: President Obama has said that given the talks going in a constructive way, there should be- Israel should continue the moratorium on settlements. Do you believe that will happen?
CLINTON: Well, that certainly is our hope. Now, we’ve also said that we’ll support an agreement that is reached between the parties. It took a lot of political capital for Prime Minister Netanyahu to achieve this moratorium. It had never been done before. At the same time, it’s been in effect for the time it was set for. And the talks are just starting. So, we are working hard to make sure there remains a conducive atmosphere to constructive talks.
AMANPOUR: While nobody will confirm exactly what might be flexibility, we’re hearing that there may be an extension or there may be calls or an extension of the moratorium for about three months or so. In addition, Secretary Clinton is now on her way to Jordan, where she will meet with other Arab leaders, such as King Abdullah of Jordan on this issue, Robin.
ROBERTS: But, back here at home, a lot of talk about the Tea Party. I know you asked the secretary about that, too.
AMANPOUR: I did. She refused to talk politics. She said, "I’m not in that anymore." But she did say, when asked how would some of these candidates, if they become senators or representatives, affect U.S. foreign policy, this is what she had to say. Is it possible to have the President’s foreign policy agenda, you know, furthered, even if a lot of Tea Party candidates do end up being the candidate [sic]?
CLINTON: Well, I’ve seen a lot of people run for office and say a lot of things. And then, when they have the burden of holding office and the responsibility that goes with it, I’ve seen them become very sobered very quickly about the challenges that we face domestically and internationally. You know, nobody said it better than Mario Cuomo when he said, "You campaign in poetry and govern in prose." And, you know, sometimes the poetry can get hot and a little over the top. But the prose brings you down to earth.
AMANPOUR: And of all of the things you have undertaken over the last several months, was your daughter’s wedding- where does that fit in there? And hard? Difficult?
CLINTON: It was the most wonderful experience. But, as I confessed leading up to it, it was stressful. I think being a mother of the bride is stressful under any circumstances. Doing it long-distance, jet lagged, on planes, in the midst of diplomatic negotiations, made it a little more so.
AMANPOUR: Now, negotiators are still, now talking about another meeting for when to get the principals together. We don’t know when that will be. But we know it will be soon.
ROBERTS: I know you had a wide-ranging conversation with the secretary. Christiane, thank you so much. Safe travels. We’ll see you soon. And Christiane will have much more on her conversation with the secretary. And also is going to sit down with the Iranian President, Ahmadinejad. And you’ll see it all on This Week, Sunday morning.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: You know, I think doing the seating at that wedding would rival putting together Middle East peace.
ROBERTS: I think she’s on to something there.
NewsBusters.org - Exposing Liberal Media Bias
Leave the Obama daughters alone, except when POTUS needs to sell books
Many times we have been lectured by the White House to leave President Obama’s wife and daughters alone because they are not “public figures.”
Except, of course, when they are needed to…
…reach the all-important Access Hollywood demographic…
…flog the FLOTUS anti-obesity campaign…
…spice up a Gulf swim photo-op…
…and now, sell books for dad’s contractually-obligated children’s book…
As part of the book deal then-Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., inked in 2004, Random House today announced the publication of a children’s book by the president, “Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters.”
The book will be released on November 16 – roughly two weeks after the midterm elections — with a 500,000-copy first printing. …
The book will be published by Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers and is part of the three-book, $ 1.9 million deal that then-Sen. Obama reached with Random House through his powerful attorney Bob Barnett.
The announcement about the book urging children to pursue their dreams comes just as Obama prepares to broadcast his second back-to-school speech to schoolchildren — prime book-buying targets — today striking the same theme.
“Of thee I sing” — or “Of ME I sing?”
Do Daughters Cause More Divorces?
The numbers are interesting. What could be behind it? Some thoughts HERE.
