Commentary
on Jewish, Israeli, American, and international issues
by Arlene Peck
We are pleased to feature the insightful commentary of Arlene Peck, internationally syndicated columnist and television talk show hostess.
All articles Copyright © Arlene Peck. Reprinted here by permission of the author. |
Sticks, Stones and Words
by Arlene Peck
When I was a little kid, we had a nursery rhyme that said, "Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt us." Well, folks, the Muslim community has learned how to do both. Except their sticks and stones are stuck in the terrorist bombs that they are so prone to leaving at restaurants, nursery schools, discos and buses.
Their words are not only hurtful, but also fatal. What amazes me, though, is how the Arabs have no problem stating to anyone who will listen that their ultimate goal is the destruction of Israel and the removal of whatever Jews are left from the Jewish state.
There are a few - very few - Arabs who are speaking out, and I fear for their safety. Walid Shoebat, for one, has been on my television show. He's a former terrorist who is now a supporter of Israel. He speaks to large audiences relative to those of progressive Egyptian intellectual Dr. Amr Isma'il, whose articles are regularly published on the secular Arab website www.rezgar.com and the progressive Arabic website www.elaph.com.
Let me share a few quotes (courtesy of the Middle East Media Research Institute [MEMRI]):
"Why do we talk by means of bullets and, hasten to make sweeping accusations of unbelief?
"Why can't we see things as the rest of the world sees them? Why do we always feel that someone is conspiring against us, and that he is the cause of our problems and our cultural and economic backwardness? ...Why are we not able to criticize ourselves and [why do] we view anyone who tries to do so as an enemy of the nation and of its principles, and other things of this kind that make some people afraid to think?
"Why are we the only nations in the world that still use religion, Islam, and the name of Allah in everything - in politics, economics, science, art, and literature. We kill in the name of Allah, blow up cars in the name of Allah, and slit throats in the name of Allah and Islam, and then we protest when others depict the Muslims as terrorists. We indiscriminately kill doctors who went to provide medical care to Afghans, and then we protest when the world describes these acts as acts of terror. We blow up embassies and trains [and consequently] children, women, and citizens with no connection to our cause are killed, and then we protest when the world describes these extremists, who view themselves as Muslims, as terrorists."
I could go on, but you get the idea. There is actually one Arab journalist questioning why no other religious group has made a career out of killing and terrorizing people. He's one. Two? Hey, there could even be ten at this point who are actually speaking out against the evil violence being done in the name of Islam. Ten out of 1.3 billion.
I find it interesting that Dr. Isma'il asks questions that he knows the answers to. Yet, how many people are out there listening to him? How many really don't want to hear about the evil that comes out of the hate spewed by leading Muslims? Truly, I hate to sound negative, but it frightens me. The view from here is pre-1938, and the Muslims have such an edge now that no matter what they say, the United Nations is going to gleefully meet and vote to condemn the state of Israel.
It is as though the Muslims have been given a 'pass' as a 'special' religious group, allowed to commit regular atrocities, such as beheading and cutting off hands and bombing anyone within range. And, folks, they can do it all in the name of Allah, but they truly believe Satan makes them do it - oh, and those nasty old Israelis.
I usually don't fill my articles with quotes. However, it is just such a slam-dunk to throw their words back at them.
It doesn't usually matter that no other religious group perpetrates their monstrous atrocities. Nobody ever questions how Muslims are the only ones out there who are doing their evil deeds just for the hell of it; it's sure not for defense of homeland or self-defense. It is the sheer pleasure of killing that motivates them.
I look at these savage figures on the nightly news, all covered with mask and dirty rags, making their videos and demands, and I think to myself, "You can cover up now, but one day you are going to have to deal with the results of your deeds - and you won't be able to cover up then."
Meanwhile, the world suffers. To my way of thinking, Islam has been so mutilated and corrupted that it no longer bears any resemblance to a religious entity. Islam today is a political solution that has no conception of what the word democracy means. Everything in their culture is based on submission. Which is strange, as they have taught their children Islamic supremacy from the very first days of childhood. Naturally, all the rest of the faiths must be destroyed.
What started out as a religion has broken down into a mutation that hasn't a clue about freedom of choice, religion, expression, equality between people regardless of their sex, color or religion. Farm animals are treated better than women in most Islamic countries, and they want to keep the status quo. The right to vote isn't even considered.
I could write books on how the Muslim culture is bent on the destruction of the West. Let there be no mistake, Muslim terrorists want us all, not just the residents in the Jewish State, dead.
Need I say more? Naw, they say it all. It's just a shame that the rest of the world could care less. Worse, refuses to even listen. Maybe the sight of what these animals are doing daily in Iraq is finally getting our attention. Now, we are seeing American boys being brought home in body bags, dead at the hands of the same savages who bomb the discos and buses in Israel.
I could write pages more, but you get the idea. It's so much more effective when I quote for you what the Arab progressives are saying. I just wish that more of you were listening.
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by Arlene Peck
January 02, 2005
Sometimes, after writing one of my politically incorrect columns, I get e-mail - lots and lots of email. Most times, they arrive after my "dissertations" on how I cannot - no way, no how - understand how the government in Israel continues to kowtow to the American State Department and European Union's demands, acting like a 'banana republic'.
Truly, it amazes me how the same band of old and destructive men continue to call the shots in the Israeli government. Then again, as big as our country is, it is a wonder that the Democrats could not find anybody other than John Kerry to save the party. And how is it that the Republicans could not do any better with what they came up with? We also had slim pickings.
Yet, as bad as our decisions are, and they are sometimes very bad, I sit amazed at the fact that citizens of Israel are not demonstrating by the millions over the appalling lack of leadership that continues to plague them daily among the powers-that-be. Shimon Peres? Good Lord! How are people still listening to him after the fiascoes this man has caused over the decades?
I think it's time to 'get the hook', as they did in the old Vaudeville days, and drag Peres off the international stage before he causes his usual destruction while pretending to be a "statesman". Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't Shimon Peres the same man who is the perennial prime minister and holder of various other key positions, yet who has never won an election by the citizens of Israel? Naw, this isn't possible. Is it? Could this be - a man who is appointed by his Likud counterpart, Ariel Sharon, on what seems to be a regular basis from the opposition, to keep the band-aid of unity on Sharon's government? And it is allowed to happen? Truly, I do not understand it (but I know that Israel does not have a written constitution or direct election of government leaders or Knesset members by the people themselves).
Has nobody remembered the thousands of Oslo-related murders of innocent civilians in Israel, and the many more thousands of maimed or wounded Israelis as a result of actions initiated by Peres and his self-serving commentaries? Well, for one thing, the current prime minister, Ariel Sharon, appears to be suffering from dementia and complete loss of memory.
How does it work? It seems that every time the Likud gets into trouble, they do the "appease" dance and rush to bring back the very same politicians who got them into that situation in the first place. Then Labor comes to the rescue, and they both celebrate by re-opening the jails and releasing a couple of hundred terrorists as another 'good-will' gesture.
So, I read and I listen to the news. And, frankly, I was a little surprised to read in the Los Angeles Times a headline that said, "Labor OK's Alliance with Sharon". Ok, that didn't surprise me. They are always sharing these alliances with Sharon. We have all seen them do this dance before. What does surprise me, though, is how there is not more outrage and how these same men keep being voted in or appointed to powerful positions decade after decade. How long are they going to play musical chairs with the same tired old men before letting fresh blood make some of the decisions? And they talk about the old Palestinian leadership?
Now, what do I know? I am just an American interloper sitting in the comfort of my Marina del Rey home watching the same savages on our television who have been bombing and terrorizing the citizens of Israel for years. Silly American me. I actually thought at one time that if a party such as Labor were roundly defeated by the electorate, then that's it. However, that's not how it works in Israel.
From what I understand, only as an outsider mind you, socialism is so entrenched in the culture of Israel that no matter how many times the Likud is actually voted in by the country, Shimon Peres will always be there to pick up the pieces for Sharon. They will never have to worry about having a date for the prom, as they always seem to have each other. The hell with the voters!
Which reminds me, how come nobody notices that though the majority of Sharon's own party voted overwhelmingly against the establishment of a Palestinian state a couple of years ago, and again an over two-thirds majority voted against his unilateral disengagement plan, he is still able to proceed on his merry way?
Hey, what do I, as a tourist, know? It seems to me that refusing to allow your own people the right to go to the polls by way of a referendum - before this disastrous disengagement plan leads you guys to the brink of civil war - might not be the way to go. I don't think that dividing and wounding your constituents is the way to go, other than for the purpose of making a lot of people in my State Department happy.
I know if George W. would wake up one day and say he wants to turn California over to Mexico, we'd need a vote (although, come to think of it, I think that's already happened).
Folks, to me it looks like this is only the first step of a further withdrawal from most of the Jews' ancient land, from Judea and Samaria. I wouldn't be surprised if the next step would be broaching the subject of how Tel Aviv or Haifa is Muslim. Hey, they've already staked a claim to Jerusalem as their capital. And maybe you could move Abraham and the rest of the family to Toledo since Islam has already set Hevron up for destruction - in the name of Allah.
Just a thought now, even though I'm only a 'tourist' from America. I like the fact that the nine million of us Jews who are living like me, outside Israel, have a place to find refuge. In fact, silly as this sounds, I consider myself as an American-born Israeli. Hey, if American Blacks, most of whom have never even set eyes on Africa are called African-Americans, then why not the Jews? And with anti-Semitism at an all-time high, it might be a prudent thing to do. So, shouldn't the million-plus European Jews who are once again facing dangers from Jew-haters have a place to go when the time comes? Does Sharon really have the right to give away to the sworn enemies of the Jews part of their and our home and refuge?
Incidentally, the same article in the LA Times quoted the front-runner in the upcoming election, Mahmoud Abbas: "Arafat will remain the beacon that will lead us in the struggle for the end of the Israeli occupation of our land occupied in 1967, where we will build our independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital and by fairly solving the refugee problem, which is the heart of the Palestinian issue." Ain't that grand? I wonder if he thinks anything should be done about the nearly 1 million Jews who were forced out of Muslim nations?
I'm not even very religious, but somehow, it's important to me that the Muslims aren't given a Palestinian state, which is obviously going to be an Islamic springboard to remove what will be left of Israel. But, then, what do I know?
Dell & the New 'Huggy Feely' Attitude
By Arlene Peck
I will be the first to admit I am a bit opinionated. In addition, if the truth were told, I have gotten myself in a lot of trouble over the years by being a strong-minded woman. But, hey, it doesn’t make me a bad person! However, in the eyes of conglomerate Dell Computers, I am an “argumentative and opinionated reporter", not worth the time of their spokesperson, David Frink.
Actually, Mr. Frink was partly right. Except, he made his mistake when he accused me of being a ”bad reporter”. I never said I was a reporter. I am a syndicated columnist. A columnist is someone who writes their feelings about issues, and right now, my issue is Dell Computers.
It all started when one of my readers sent me a notice from the American Congress for Truth that Dell has”buckled under pressure by CAIR to allow Muslim employees to disrupt their work for the five times daily Islamic prayer.” Well, that didn’t sit too well with me. I had visions of the gradual take-over by this culture happening at the offices of Dell the same way our prisons have been turned into hotbeds of Islamic Fundamentalism and the way some school districts are buckling and teaching Islam. The work place is supposed to be just that. Not a "feel good" refuge for Muslims or any religion to go and pray five times a day no matter how nice they are.
Being a curious woman, I called the corporation and was transferred to their spokesperson, Mr. Frink. I proceeded to ask a few of the questions that had been bothering me. Initially, we got along beautifully. That is, until I began to ask tougher questions and to bring what he called "my obvious biases into the interview."
I suppose I sounded a little dubious, or possibly incredulous, when, questioning how they could spare the time for employees to leave for their "pray-ins.” I was told, “Our guidelines instruct managers and supervisors to grant paid time away from employees work area for prayer as long as those request are reasonable, don’t disrupt our business operations and are consistent around our policy of operating a respectable work place."
I kind of pushed it “with regard to five times a day.” I was told, “Most of these prayers are handled during their lunch breaks or on other regular scheduled breaks, depending on what shift they happen to be working on.” How lovely.
I wondered what started this pray-in policy and was told words to the effect, “In early February, there was an issue regarding a number of Muslim contract workers employed at our Nashville plant who, feeling they were not going to be able to do their sunset prayers, left their jobs."
Actually, for any of you readers out there that might be a little curious yourself... why don't you click on the CAIR website (http://www.cair-net.org/) and you can read yourself about how they are ever so thrilled with the benevolent support people at CAIR received from the advocacy groups. So now, all of those 31 traumatized Muslim employees of Dell Inc. at their Nashville, Tennessee plant are now happily praying back at work.
They also report that CAIR has "reached a settlement with the computer giant on issues related to a recent dispute over prayer in the workplace.” Not only have their CAIR attorneys made sure that "they will be reinstated, they will also receive back pay and be granted continued religious accommodation policies and practices.” Oh, and this is the best part, "Other terms of the settlement will not be made public." Hmmmm, as a stockholder in Dell, I wonder how much of my dividend money is not being made public. I'm curious as to whether they have gotten Dell to agree to sending the homicide bombers' families regular paychecks too! Sounds to me like another one bites the dust and the cave-in to CAIR from Dell makes all of us a little less safe.
Now, I suppose Mr. Frink thought I began to get a bit testy when I calmly asked, “Were they all legal immigrants?" Moreover, that is when the tone changed and I was told, “I cannot tell you that. I will not argue with you.”
He continued, “As a company, we have a strong history of providing prayer in the workplace as it extends to all faiths." Hmmmm, I questioned aloud, "If Holy Rollers come and want to set up meetings, which would be acceptable if it does not disrupt your respectful work place. Should they try to use the prayer sessions to attract non-believers, would such proselytizing be permitted? Is wearing the head gear or a bursa permissible if it doesn’t disrupt the workplace?” He assured me that proselytizing would not be looked upon favorably. Ah, but how would they know? Would a representative of Dell sit in on the Muslim prayer sessions five times a day?
I asked whether Dell has a large Muslim population. He said, "We are a global company, headquartered in Texas, we do not provide specifics on the diversity of our workforce. This will be at all Dell offices and the first one is Round Rock, Texas. Prayer is an individual issue and those needing a special area will be provided with special areas outside the normal traffic flow the same as we provide for the needs of nursing mothers." Gee? I wonder if they have a special place, maybe behind the copy machines for Kaballah study in a room, perhaps, behind the nursing mothers. As for Muslim studies, I was told, "This is not new. Most of these prayer breaks can be accommodated as long as they do not interrupt their jobs."
This got me to thinking. I wonder if Dell, other large and small companies, school districts, and local governments have, in their haste toward finding well-meaning and obviously politically correct solutions, opened up Pandora’s Box. Will we now use this as justification for prayer rooms for Muslims in schools, sporting events, and even public buildings around the country? Why do I ask? Well, we have denied Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus and others those same privileges, yet make exceptions for Muslims. Why? What is going on here? In addition, where and when will it end? Dearborn, Michigan is already a Muslim city right here in the USA. Holland and Sweden are so concerned about being politically correct that they are well on the way also. Is the next target for CAIR going to be with Dell? If you have a moment, check out http://www . anti-cair-net.org/ for ...the rest of the story....
My questions about the legality of the immigrant status of the Muslims who left the job in Nashville were not greeted warmly. They must be secure in their employment if they could walk off their jobs because they did not have arrangements for prayer at the office.
Nor was my comment that I was a stockholder AND a member of the press greeted with a positive attitude. I was getting a queasy feeling that a public company such as Dell did not seem to have a policy of Church vs. State. And was now sponsoring Muslim Prayer sessions five times a day.
Did this new "long-standing" policy on religious freedom have anything to do with a threatened lawsuit by CAIR? About that time, Mr. Frink told me, “Your questions are argumentive. You have been argumentive for fourteen minutes and sixteen seconds and I think we have covered the subject.” He then hung up the phone.
Actually, I had a few other questions that I e-mailed to the nice Mr. Frink at Dell. So far, I have not heard anything back. Maybe he thought I was too argumentative. However, I really do want answers to these and other questions. And, I promise to be more politically correct. Maybe just a little biased but, hey, you already know that!
Dell is setting a precedent that the rest of us just may not want to follow.
Insurgents? Militants? Hell No, They’re Terrorists!
by Arlene Peck
May 18, '05 / 9 Iyar 5765
I cannot even bear to open the newspaper or watch the television as of late. We are either so stupid or politically correct that we cannot say the words that tell it like it is. The cretins murdering everyone in sight in Iraq are barbaric and evil beyond belief. Yet, all we can find to refer to this evil entity are, “insurgents” Gawd.
What is that song we used to sing? ‘This land is our land.’ etc. Well, it sure ain’t no more. In fact, I hate to think of how many of the same kinds of terrorists who surprised us on 9/11 are coming in from Mexico and Canada every day. We are a nation literally stuffed with illegal immigrants who are slipping into our shores to get everything we have in the way of services, education, jobs etc. However, they have little or no intention of integrating into our way of life
Most of the Muslims reaching the U.S. refuse to learn our language and take over our neighborhoods with their codes of dress and education. Then, they pressure the residents, as they did in Dearborn, Michigan, to leave by razing the churches and putting mosques in their places, displacing the local delis with Middle Eastern food. The Arabic signs go up and another neighborhood bites the dust. Now, everyone can be serenaded five times a day with loudspeakers calling them to prayer. Fast learners, they are now armed with the knowledge of how to beat us with bullets and ballots.
So-called Moslem charities, such as CAIR to which Theresa Kerry donated millions, are known terrorists organizations, working to gain control of our communities.
What is frightening is how they have learned to use our courts and legal systems, and, especially that wonderful ACLU, to subvert our freedoms. Recently, Dell computer, and later General Motors, caved into threatened lawsuits by this Muslim “charity”, giving a large group of Muslim workers their claims of back pay, and undisclosed monetary settlements. Why? Because the companies didn’t offer prayer sessions during work hours for these employees, some of whom may have been illegal aliens.
I remember not so long ago when I sat in on a town meeting at a local mosque. For two hours we listened while the U. S. representatives who were sent there, two with Arab names informed us of their ‘rights’ via our government. They were told how the next move should be to have their children major in journalism at university and train to enter our political system. Honest! I sat there while the audience was just about given a road map on how to manipulate our system to achieve their gains.
The only cheerful spot in the scenario that I watch each evening on the news is that the terrorists, because of the protective shield, the so-called Security Fence around Gaza and the West Bank can no longer cause the carnage in the nightly “suicide” (aka homicide) bombings in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Nor, do they seem to be attacking the U.S. soldiers with the same tenacity because of the forceful response they receive.
So, who are they going after now? Their own compatriots. Brother Muslims! Would you think I was a terrible person if I smile and hope they kill each other and the hell with their “democracy”? And, while we’re there, we should take some of the oil to compensate our economy for the damage they’ve done to us fighting for their freedom.
I have no doubts that we’ll continue to stay ignorant, as will officials in our government and the biased press, to the full depth of danger we’re facing from the Islamic threat within our country. It is tedious to read but the Koran is a manual of destruction and war for the world. It even gives specific directions how to train for jihad in the most barbaric and violent ways. Need directions for mutilations of women, honor killings or how best to be-head? Go to your local mosque and you, too, can be enlightened if you get in and know Arabic.
I wish the leaders in Israel could take a few classes in "reality". Somehow, they continue to believe American leaders who are incapable of having the Jewish state’s best interests at heart despite the supposed heart-felt religious beliefs they so often talk about. Now that we are paying over three dollars a gallon for gas, that old expression, "money talks", comes to mind. Bush and company listen to “our good friends” in Saudi Arabia but not to our only REAL ally in that region.
Our President is quite cavalier about giving back "occupied land" and signing over the State of Israel. However, I'm not hearing too much from Crawford, Texas about signing over Texas to Mexico. Apparently, what is good for the goose (Israel) is not good for the gander (the US). But, hey, I can also bury my head in the sand with the best of them. So can we all if I'm right.
America is caught fast in the quicksand of politically correct rhetoric, realpolitik, and multicultural Arab/Muslim appeasement. And in the meantime, the "insurgents," "militants," and "rebels" are killing us and our allies left and right in the name of their God.
Copyright © 2002 Arlene Peck . Reprinted here by permission of the author.
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