FrontPage Magazine » Apolitical

NewsReal’s New Sub-Blogs

David Swindle — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 19:56:25 +0000

Beginning today NewsReal Blog has begun expanding and organizing its content by way of several sub-blogs, all of which are listed in the sidebar to the right. Below is a brief explanation of each subblog’s purpose:

The Cover Page is the same old Newsreal Blog that you’ve always known. It will collect every post from all of the sub-blogs.

Featured Posts are NewsReal Blog’s standard 250-450 word commentaries about the media.

NewsReal Twog features shorter posts, primarily of breaking news. Our live-blogging and live-chats will also be featured here.

The Radical Spirit will be our venue for discussion and debate within the blog. It will also feature interviews and debates with those outside the blog. The title of this sub-blog obviously does not refer to radical politics but to the radical spirit to pursue truth and justice.

The Feminist Hawks’ Nest focuses on issues relating to women and conservatism. It’s inspired by the “Feminist Hawk” meme described in articles here and here.

The Concession Stand features NRB’s apolitical posts, in the tradition of our Lunch Break and Midnight Snack posts.

David’s Blog collects all posts by our Editor-In-Chief David Horowitz as well as all of the daily quotes from his works and interviews.

Headlines features all of the articles and blog posts around the web that we’ve felt worthy of sharing with you.

Over the next few weeks we’ll be developing these sub-blogs with enhanced banners and specific NRB bloggers assigned to them. We’ll also be adding new sub-blogs as the need arises for them. If any of our readers have specific ideas for sub-blogs we should add then I invite you to discuss them in the comments below.

U.K.: Plans halted for mega-mosque near site of London Olympics

Marisol — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 09:03:36 +0000

Good news, in an update on this story. Background on Tablighi Jamaat, the group that had planned the mosque, can be found here. "Plans halted for mosque near London Olympics site," from Agence France-Presse, January 19 (thanks to Robert W.):

Plans to build a giant mosque near London's 2012 Olympic stadium have collapsed after local authorities said Monday an Islamic group failed to submit a planning application in time.

Tablighi Jamaat, a group with roots in India, wants to build a complex with space for 12,000 worshippers in east London which would be a hub for Muslim competitors and spectators at the Games.

But the group missed a deadline this month to formally outline its plans to the local London authority, and it has now been issued with a warning that it must close a temporary mosque it is operating on the site by Thursday.

There was an outcry when the group unveiled its plans for the site in 2007, with 48,000 people petitioning the government to prevent the development.

Tablighi Jamaat was founded in India during the British Raj. It says it is apolitical, but opponents of the mosque plan have expressed concern at the group's strict interpretation of Islam.

A spokesman for the local Newham Council said: "The council has a responsibility to be reasonable in such cases and the (mosque) trust was encouraged to submit a long-term strategy for the site, which is identified as having significant developmental opportunities for the local community.

"This did not happen.

"Temporary planning permission expired on October 31, 2006 and any operations since then have been unlawful.

"The trust was given until January to submit a master plan for the site, although failed to meet this deadline."

A spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain said Tablighi Jamaat had been "subjected to some unfair coverage".

"We would hope that they will be able to work in cooperation with the local council if they wish to set up a mosque in the area," spokesman Inayat Bunglawala said.

He added: "Tablighi Jamaat has no ties to terrorism. It has been subjected to some unfair coverage."

The mosque trust was unavailable for comment.

Jonathan Schanzer and Madeleine Morganstern: Rashid Khalidi Headlines Taxpayer-funded Palestinian Fest – Jewish Policy Center

Jacob Laksin — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:12:45 +0000

The Palestinian American Research Center (PARC), a U.S. taxpayer-funded organization noted for the virulent anti-Israeli attitudes of its academic members, held a conference in October at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. Most of the conference was apolitical, but two lectures in particular raise (again) the question of whether PARC should be the recipient of taxpayer monies. Indeed, this is not the first time the public has been warned about PARC’s questionable scholar-activism.

via Rashid Khalidi Headlines Taxpayer-funded Palestinian Fest – Jewish Policy Center.

Lunch Break

David Swindle — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:00:01 +0000

Today’s lunch break was suggested by David Horowitz and comes courtesty of MEMRI:

“The Women of Paradise Are Pure, Unblemished, Menstruation-Free, Free of Feces, Urine, Phlegm, Children”

Interviewer: “How does one conduct relationships in Paradise – whether with the black-eyed virgins or with Muslim women who entered Paradise?

[...]

“Muhammad Al-Munajid: Allah said that the black-eyed virgins are beautiful white young women, with black pupils and very white retinas, whose skin is so delicate and bright that it causes confusion. Allah said that they are like hidden pearls. They have wide eyes, and they have not been touched by man or jinn. They are virgins, who yearn for their husbands. They are all the same age, morally and physically beautiful. They are like precious gems and pearls in their splendor, their clarity, their purity, and their whiteness. They are like hidden pearls – as pure as a pearl within a shell, untouched by man. Each one of them is so beautiful that you can see the bone-marrow through the delicate flesh on their legs.

“Such brilliant beauty does not exist in this world. Where can you find such beauty? Whereas the women of this world may suffer, for days and nights, from menstruation, from blood for 40 days after childbirth, from vaginal bleeding and from diseases – the women of Paradise are pure, unblemished, menstruation-free, free of feces, urine, phlegm, children… Moreover, Allah cleaned them of all impure and foul things, both in appearance and character.

“In character, they are not jealous, hateful, or angry. They are not greedy.” [...]
In Paradise, The Women “Are Restricted to Tents, Locked Up for the Husband – There Is No Such Thing as Going Out”

“They are restricted to tents, locked up for the husband. There is no such thing as going out. When he comes home – they are there. There is no such thing in Paradise as a man coming home and not finding his wife there. Allah described them as women who lower their gaze, and never look at anybody but their husband. As for deriving pleasure – the man is given the strength of…”

Interviewer: “Sheikh Muhammad, you said she looks only at her husband, but today, things are different. Today, husbands don’t look only at their wives, or vice versa – except for a few, on whom Allah has taken mercy.”

“In Paradise, a Man Gets the Strength of 100 Men When It Comes To Eating, Drinking, Passion, And Sex”

Muhammad Al-Munajid: “There are some pious, pure men, who have eyes only for their wives, and there are some pious, pure, and obedient wives, who have eyes only for their husbands. But today, in the marketplace, in films, and so on, people’s eyes roam freely. The Internet… The people of this world… There is a big difference when it comes to deriving pleasure.

“In this world, men work hard and tire themselves out in order to derive pleasure. The Prophet Muhammad says that in Paradise, a man gets the strength of 100 men when it comes to eating, drinking, passion, and sex.”

—–

Lunch Break is NewsReal’s daily apolitical post. (We all need a break from this political stuff every now and then!) If you would like to submit a video (humorous/music/film trailer/intriguing/etc.), image, or poem for this feature then please email it to DavidSwindle {@} Gmail.com. (Sunday Lunch Breaks are often of a spiritual nature.) Please include:

1. A link to where it’s from.

2. Any Comments you would like published with your submission

3. A link to your blog or homepage if you have one.

4. How you’d like your name published.

Also please keep it no more than PG-13 rated.

Lunch Break

David Swindle — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:00:26 +0000

Today’s Lunch Break was submitted by Peter B. For more of this amusing web comic click here.

–

1. A link to where it’s from.

2. Any Comments you would like published with your submission

3. A link to your blog or homepage if you have one.

4. How you’d like your name published.

Also please keep it no more than PG-13 rated.Lunh

Lunch Break

David Swindle — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:00:21 +0000

Today’s lunch break was submitted by Helene who said:

Oldie but goodie, one of my favorites. Keep up the good work!

–

1. A link to where it’s from.

2. Any Comments you would like published with your submission

3. A link to your blog or homepage if you have one.

4. How you’d like your name published.

Also please keep it no more than PG-13 rated.Lunh

Lunch Break

David Swindle — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:00:11 +0000

Today’s Lunch Break was submitted by NewsReal blogger Paul Cooper in response to this Open Thread submitted by Julie Trevor.

Classic cartoons (and cartoons in general) are especially good choices for Lunch Breaks.

1. A link to where it’s from.

2. Any Comments you would like published with your submission

3. A link to your blog or homepage if you have one.

4. How you’d like your name published.

Also please keep it no more than PG-13 rated.

Sunday Lunch Break

David Swindle — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 18:00:32 +0000

This video was submitted by Chana who commented,

This God and Dog is of a spiritual nature to be sure - but people of any and all religions, or of no religion at all, should find something lovely in it.

–

1. A link to where it’s from.

2. Any Comments you would like published with your submission

3. A link to your blog or homepage if you have one.

4. How you’d like your name published.

Also please keep it no more than PG-13 rated.

Lunch Break

David Swindle — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 18:30:36 +0000

Click here for more of Jim Walter’s work.

–

1. A link to where it’s from.

2. Any Comments you would like published with your submission

3. A link to your blog or homepage if you have one.

4. How you’d like your name published.

Also please keep it no more than PG-13 rated.

Lunch Break

David Swindle — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:00:42 +0000

George and the Dragon

October 10, 2008

The dragon only wants a child or two,

The townsmen said, and perhaps some oxen too;

The actual situation isn’t bad;

Let’s confer before we make it mad.

Who are we to know what’s true?

Let’s not take an action that we’d rue.

We may find some data that we’ve missed–

What if dragons simply don’t exist!

It’s alive and real, George said, I know,

We have to make a stand, someone must go;

It wants our land, and means to kill us all,

Send forth the word, we are not men who crawl.

The call went out to all the sleepy folk,

But from the dreamy land no heroes woke;

No one from the crowd to face the strife,

No one who valued honor more than life.

No man of history who understood

The feebleness of force against the Good,

The cowardice of villains in the night,

How Evil cannot stand against the Right.

George drank some brew from a wooden cup,

Then took another swig and mounted up;

He fumbled with the flag and heavy shield,

And rode off to an eerie foreign field.

And sure enough, he found the dragon squat

Upon a mound with skulls and carcass fraught;

A body like a lizard, long and broad,

Wallowing in power like a god.

Though he was deafened when the creature roared,

George flailed in frenzy with his holy sword,

And hacked away in his lonely war

Until the hulk was reeling in its gore.

Though in his heart the battle hadn’t ceased,

His weakened arm couldn’t kill the beast;

George took a breath and wiped his sweaty face,

‘Twas time to heal and find a leafy place.

He turned and left the bloody battleground,

The whisper of the wind the only sound;

A few glanced up as he rode through the towns,

And heard his awful tale with yawns or frowns.

Evil is not dead, you failed, his fellows said,

Yet he had saved the world awhile, and bled,

Without the hope of accolades and bells,

When monsters came, and there was no one else.

–July 2008, by Jim Douthit

–

Today’s poem was submitted by Jim Douthit. Read more of his poetry here.

–

1. A link to where it’s from.

2. Any Comments you would like published with your submission

3. A link to your blog or homepage if you have one.

4. How you’d like your name published.

Also please keep it no more than PG-13 rated.

Open Thread

David Swindle — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 21:00:07 +0000

Everyone meet Maura, our family's Siberian Husky. She's at the VET today getting spayed. My wife April is very worried about her. Maura is usually with me while I'm blogging and editing NewsReal. That's half of yours truly on the left there.

Lunch Break

David Swindle — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:30:21 +0000

Sonnet: The Unwanted Sword

‘Tis thus a wicked century begins—

With slaughtered innocents—like all the rest,

And God is mocked by pious, bloody sins

The blasphemy of thinking murder blest.

Our people cry for peace—they bring us war.

We long for love—they bring us death and hate.

So we appeal, as we have done before,

To let the Lord of Battles choose our fate.

The way ahead is hard and long and bleak,

The sword is thrust, unwanted, in our hand.

But for our murdered children we must seek

To extirpate this terror from our land.

A grim and angry nation counts the toll,

And bids our waiting legions now, “Let’s Roll.”

Robert A. Hall

Former SSgt, USMC

–

1. A link to where it’s from.

2. Any Comments you would like published with your submission

3. A link to your blog or homepage if you have one.

4. How you’d like your name published.

Also please keep it no more than PG-13 rated.

Lunch Break

David Swindle — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:00:06 +0000

Today’s Lunch Break was submitted by Sara

–

1. A link to where it’s from.

2. Any Comments you would like published with your submission

3. A link to your blog or homepage if you have one.

4. How you’d like your name published.

Also please keep it no more than PG-13 rated.

Lunch Break

David Swindle — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:30:15 +0000

See more of Jim Walter’s work here.

–

1. A link to where it’s from.

2. Any Comments you would like published with your submission

3. A link to your blog or homepage if you have one.

4. How you’d like your name published.

Also please keep it no more than PG-13 rated.

Lunch Break

David Swindle — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:00:25 +0000

“David, one of the finest renditions of our National Anthem, ever. My daughter, Tiffany Megan Dierdorff Enos (introduced here as Megan Enos) performed this at a Memorial Day game of the Portland Beavers (AAA baseball). Listen to how she hits the phrase “Our flag was still there.” Fabulous!”

–

1. A link to where it’s from.

2. Any Comments you would like published with your submission

3. A link to your blog or homepage if you have one.

4. How you’d like your name published.

Also please keep it no more than PG-13 rated.

Lunch Break

David Swindle — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 19:00:55 +0000

Today’s lunch break was submitted by Julie Trevor.

–

1. A link to where it’s from.

2. Any Comments you would like published with your submission

3. A link to your blog or homepage if you have one.

4. How you’d like your name published.

Also please keep it no more than PG-13 rated.

Open Thread

David Swindle — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 21:00:41 +0000

Just a suggestion regarding some of the more irritating commenters on NewsReal.

Lunch Break

David Swindle — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 18:00:57 +0000

This music video was recommended by my wife April.

–

1. A link to where it’s from.

2. Any Comments you would like published with your submission

3. A link to your blog or homepage if you have one.

4. How you’d like your name published.

Also please keep it no more than PG-13 rated.