Prof. Richard Landes of Boston University discusses the context for his presentation at the Assoc for Israel Studies in June, 2013 at UCLA.
Prof. Richard Landes presents "Paradigm, Anomalies, Constriction of Western Intelligentsia"
20140618
Israel re-arrests 51 Palestinians freed under public pressure for Gilad Shalit
Netanyahu: IDF actions ‘send an important message’; West Bank civilian population ‘beginning to realize’ the consequences of the kidnapping, top defense official says in The Times of Israel by Aron Donzis and Spencer Ho
“The activities of the IDF and the Shin Bet last night, during which Hamas terrorists released in the agreement for the return of Gilad Shalit were arrested, send an important message and are a critical component in a series of operations whose purpose is to return the kidnapped boys, and damage Hamas’s infrastructure in Judea and Samaria,” he said.
“Last night’s activities took place across the West Bank,” a senior military official said. “We operated in Jenin, Qabatia and Samaria, Tzurif, Yatta and Samua. In Jenin there was a little friction during the arrests, but the rest occurred without incident. Additionally, we tested the defensive perimeters surrounding Jewish communities in the West Bank and the security fence as part of our efforts to prevent illegal breaches.
Home Front Defense Minister Gilad Erdan, a member of Netanyahu’s security cabinet, said that Israel is “well aware” of the identity of the Hamas cell that kidnapped the youths.
 |
| Israeli soldier looks at Palestinians inside a car near the West Bank city of Hebron June 14, 2014. Reuters. Jerusalem |
With no sign of life from three kidnapped Israelis teens six days after their disappearance, the IDF pressed on with its comprehensive West Bank operation Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, arresting 65 Palestinians, 51 of whom were Hamas members released as part of the 2011 deal for captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.
The army also raided the facilities of Radio Al-Aqsa in Ramallah and Hebron.
In a statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the IDF’s actions.
“The activities of the IDF and the Shin Bet last night, during which Hamas terrorists released in the agreement for the return of Gilad Shalit were arrested, send an important message and are a critical component in a series of operations whose purpose is to return the kidnapped boys, and damage Hamas’s infrastructure in Judea and Samaria,” he said.
Israeli forces have been engaged in a widespread crackdown on Hamas in the West Bank since the kidnapping Thursday night of Eyal Yifrach, 19, Gil-ad Shaar, 16 and Naftali Frankel, 16.
According to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, 240 Palestinians, including 180 members of Hamas, have been arrested as part of Operation Brother’s Keeper, and 800 buildings have been searched, including 10 operations against da’wa institutions where Hamas recruits, disseminates information and transfers finances.
 |
| Welcoming Palestinian terrorists exchanged for kidnapped Gilad Shalit |
“Three hundred thousand people are under curfew, and after eight years of relative prosperity they are beginning to realize [the implications].”
The military source added that out of the hundreds of thousands of citizens in Hebron, “thousands, each of whom support six or seven family members, possess permits to work in Israel. Because of the curfew, they can’t work, and this has a visible impact on the population. With two weeks left before Ramadan, the population’s preparations for the holiday have taken a hit.”
 |
| Palestinians hand-out pastry celebrating kidnapping Israelis |
“The Shin Bet and intelligence officials are interested in investigating as many Hamas operatives as possible to find any leads on the whereabouts of the boys,” he told Israel Radio Wednesday morning. “The end result of any military operation should be the eradication of the Hamas movement.”
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz toured the Gush Etzion area overnight, and met with senior security personnel. The senior defense official said the chief of staff signed off on the continuation of activities.
“There is a lot of determination and we learn from arrest to arrest,” he said.
Finance Minister Yair Lapid took to Facebook Wednesday morning to praise the IDF’s efforts.
“It will not stop here,” his message read. “Hamas will learn the hard way, and even if it takes time, we will pursue the organization everywhere, day and night, just when they least expect it. Until they return the boys.”
Although Hamas welcomed news of the kidnapping, and has been held responsible by Israel and much of the international community, officials of the organization have denied any connection to it.
20140607
Veterans of D-Day invasion of France (and a French spy who landed them) look back on the 70-year anniversary in Los Angeles
 |
| D-Day B-24 airmen Elmo Maiden, Bill Baird, and Wilbur Richardson (l-r) |
Bill A. Jones served as the Master of Ceremonies. Special guest speakers included Marthe Cohn, the WWII French Nurse who Spied against the Nazis (who authored "Behind Enemy Lines"); Hon. Axel Cruau, Consul General of France, and Hon. Sabrina Yoong, Consul for the Consulate General of Canada. Interviewed here: USAF B-24 Pilot Lt. Col. Elmo Maiden, Staff Sgt. Gunner Wilbur Richardson; Capt. Bill Baird, a B-24 Pilot in the 13th Air Force who flew in the Pacific.
Also interviewed in this playlist (advance with buttons on left), Mrs. Marte Cohn, a German-speaking French nurse who divulged Nazi secrets to Allied planners to enhance the effectiveness of the D-Day invasion of France. She documented her story in the book, "Behind Enemy Lines."
 |
| Engine-failure forced B-24 Pilot Lt. Col. Elmo Maiden and crew down in Europe |
20140605
Muslim "Boko Haram" murders 400 Nigerians in Christian villages, officials say
An attack by suspected militants from the Boko Haram
Islamist group left at least 400 people dead in three villages in
northeastern Nigeria, according to local officials. (Bloomberg News, June 4)
Kano, Nigeria (CNN) -- Scores of residents in four
villages in the northeastern Borno state of Nigeria, near the border
with Cameroon, were killed Tuesday in Boko Haram raids, a lawmaker and residents said.
Heavily armed gunmen dressed as soldiers in all-terrain vehicles and on motorcycles attacked Goshe, Attagara, Agapalwa and Aganjara villages in Gwoza district, shooting residents and burning homes.
Villagers fled into neighboring Cameroon to escape the onslaughts, said Peter Biye, a lawmaker from the area who serves in the Nigerian lower parliament.
Kano, Nigeria (CNN) -- Scores of residents in four
villages in the northeastern Borno state of Nigeria, near the border
with Cameroon, were killed Tuesday in Boko Haram raids, a lawmaker and residents said.
They said hundreds of homes were destroyed.
 |
| Her family was killed in front of her |
Heavily armed gunmen dressed as soldiers in all-terrain vehicles and on motorcycles attacked Goshe, Attagara, Agapalwa and Aganjara villages in Gwoza district, shooting residents and burning homes.
Villagers fled into neighboring Cameroon to escape the onslaughts, said Peter Biye, a lawmaker from the area who serves in the Nigerian lower parliament.
 |
| No sign of Nigerian violence slowing |
"We are still trying to
compile a toll of the dead as people on the ground are still counting
the number of casualties," said Biye.
Residents of these
villages fled their homes while soldiers have deployed in the area to
fight the Islamists who have taken control of at least seven villages,
the lawmaker said.
On Wednesday, military
jets carried out aerial bombardment on Boko Haram positions in the
affected area to dislodge the insurgents, he said.
Boko Haram: A bloody insurgency, a growing challenge
Boko Haram: A bloody insurgency, a growing challenge
20140528
French Consulate salutes SoCal Yanks who defeated tyranny, saved world from fascism- Memorial Day ceremony in L.A.
An audience of hundreds of veterans, survivors, and patriots attended a ceremony for Memorial Day, hosted by Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills cemetery.
Cresenta Valley ROTC cadets bear the flags as thee L.A. Police Department Concert Band performs a medley of each of the U.S. Armed Forces theme songs, as veterans of each branch rise to applause. Honor guard from the LA County Sheriff Department performed a 21-gun, rifle salute to America's fallen.
France's Consul General to Los Angeles, Hon. Axel Cruau, salutes Americans who restored liberty. He awarded 3 WWII veterans (Norbert Sizlak, Reed Grier, and Julius Posner) the highest honor that the French government bestows on non-citizens - the Legion of Honor.
Consul General Axel Cruau, explained to DemoCast the esteem his country holds for America in extending "the Legion of Honor," the highest award given to French citizens to foreign national. The Consul says that French scholastic curriculum teaches the history of the Allied American liberation of France from Nazi occupation.
Consul General Cruau says that he is personally touched to meet and bestow this award on American veterans of the Allied invasion of Normandy- and those others who fought to restore liberty to his country in 2 separate wars.
 |
| French Consul Gen. Axel Cruau awards "Legion of Honor" to 90-yr old WWII vets Reed Grier, Norbert Sizlak and Julius Posner |
Cresenta Valley ROTC cadets bear the flags as thee L.A. Police Department Concert Band performs a medley of each of the U.S. Armed Forces theme songs, as veterans of each branch rise to applause. Honor guard from the LA County Sheriff Department performed a 21-gun, rifle salute to America's fallen.
France's Consul General to Los Angeles, Hon. Axel Cruau, salutes Americans who restored liberty. He awarded 3 WWII veterans (Norbert Sizlak, Reed Grier, and Julius Posner) the highest honor that the French government bestows on non-citizens - the Legion of Honor.
Consul General Axel Cruau, explained to DemoCast the esteem his country holds for America in extending "the Legion of Honor," the highest award given to French citizens to foreign national. The Consul says that French scholastic curriculum teaches the history of the Allied American liberation of France from Nazi occupation.
Consul General Cruau says that he is personally touched to meet and bestow this award on American veterans of the Allied invasion of Normandy- and those others who fought to restore liberty to his country in 2 separate wars.
20140525
Los Angelenos seek a reformer to lead vital, but embattled, County Sheriff Department
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department provides law enforcement services in unincorporated areas and 40 cities, operates jails, directs and coordinates emergency services and maintains security in superior courts. On June 3rd, Southern Californians will vote to replace the office of L.A. County Sheriff vacated by the resignation of Lee Baca in January.
Sheriff Baca spoke with DemoCast about his affinity for fellow military veterans at a ceremony at Forest Lawn 3-years ago.
The field of candidates Assistant Sheriff James Hellmold; Long Beach Chief Jim McDonnell; Retired Sheriff's Dept Cmdr. Bob Olmstead; Assistant Sheriff Todd Rogers; former Under-Sheriff Paul Tanaka; LAPD Detective Lou Vince; Former Sheriff's Lt. Patrick Gomez.
"Los Angeles County voters are soon to pick a new sheriff from a field of seven candidates, each with a reasonably decent chance of making it to a runoff, and it's hard to overstate both how unusual and how momentous that is," L.A. Times published in its Opinion/Endorsements section on April 30th.
KCAL9's Dave Bryan reports on the first public debate of the campaign between six of the seven candidates for Los Angeles County Sheriff sparred on March 19th.
The Times continued: "What is needed is a candidate with the law enforcement credentials, the integrity, the backbone and the skills to march the deputies, their leaders and their culture through a rigorous and soul-searching reinvention, all while raising performance standards and recommitting the department to transparency and humane and constitutional treatment of suspects, inmates and the public at large.
L.A. Sheriff candidate Long Beach P.D. Chief Jim McDonnell came to explain his positions to prospective voters and backers at a brunch organized by the family and friends of businessman and philanthropist, Stanley Black, in Beverly Hills on May 17th.
Among those attending were actor James Darren (seen listening with interest) and and City Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who spoke on McDonnell's behalf.
Sheriff Baca spoke with DemoCast about his affinity for fellow military veterans at a ceremony at Forest Lawn 3-years ago.
"Los Angeles County voters are soon to pick a new sheriff from a field of seven candidates, each with a reasonably decent chance of making it to a runoff, and it's hard to overstate both how unusual and how momentous that is," L.A. Times published in its Opinion/Endorsements section on April 30th.
The Times continued: "What is needed is a candidate with the law enforcement credentials, the integrity, the backbone and the skills to march the deputies, their leaders and their culture through a rigorous and soul-searching reinvention, all while raising performance standards and recommitting the department to transparency and humane and constitutional treatment of suspects, inmates and the public at large.
 |
| Janice and Stanley Black, Jim McDonnell, Jill Black Zalben, Jack Black |
Among those attending were actor James Darren (seen listening with interest) and and City Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who spoke on McDonnell's behalf.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)