Egyptian Magazine: Muslim Brotherhood Infiltrates Obama Administration
by John Rossomando • Jan 3, 2013 at 1:10 pm
An Egyptian magazine claims that six American Islamist activists who work with the Obama administration are Muslim Brotherhood operatives who enjoy strong influence over U.S. policy.
The Dec. 22 story published in Egypt’s Rose El-Youssef magazine (read an IPT translation here) suggests the six turned the White House “from a position hostile to Islamic groups and organizations in the world to the largest and most important supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood.”
The story is largely unsourced, but its publication is considered significant in raising the issue to Egyptian readers.
The six named people include: Arif Alikhan, assistant secretary of Homeland Security for policy development; Mohammed Elibiary, a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council; Rashad Hussain, the U.S. special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference; Salam al-Marayati, co-founder of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC); Imam Mohamed Magid, president of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA); and Eboo Patel, a member of President Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based Neighborhood Partnerships.
Alikhan is a founder of the World Islamic Organization, which the magazine identifies as a Brotherhood “subsidiary.” It suggests that Alikhan was responsible for the “file of Islamic states” in the White House and that he provides the direct link between the Obama administration and the Arab Spring revolutions of 2011.
Elibiary, who has endorsed the ideas of radical Muslim Brotherhood luminary Sayyid Qutb, may have leaked secret materials contained in Department of Homeland Security databases, according to the magazine. He, however, denies having any connection with the Brotherhood.
Elibiary also played a role in defining the Obama administration’s counterterrorism strategy, and the magazine asserts that Elibiary wrote the speech Obama gave when he told former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to leave power but offers no source or evidence for the claim.
According to Rose El-Youssef, Rashad Hussain maintained close ties with people and groups that it says comprise the Muslim Brotherhood network in America. This includes his participation in the June 2002 annual conference of the American Muslim Council, formerly headed by convicted terrorist financier Abdurahman Alamoudi.
He also participated in the organizing committee of the Critical Islamic Reflection along with important figures of the American Muslim Brotherhood such as Jamal Barzinji, Hisham al-Talib and Yaqub Mirza.
Study: Facebook Could Cause Obesity no coloration found by reading the Ridgewood blog
December 23, 2012 11:46 AM
ATLANTA (CBS Atlanta) – Researchers at Columbia University have learned that using Facebook may be tied to obesity, due to the negative eating habits that could result from frequent visitation of social networking sites.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, obesity is a problem for approximately 35 percent of all American adults – a number that is reportedly rising with each passing year.
The study, led by Keith Wilcox, Ph.D., surveyed almost 500 people about their Internet use, specifically as it pertained to Facebook, Men’s Health is reporting.
Of the 470 participants asked, those who used Facebook the most had reportedly higher body mass indexes than those who were not as frequently engaged.
Researchers additionally learned that binge eating was commonly associated with high involvement with the social networking site.
Something different, I know this is a bit off the beaten track for this blog but we though readers may enjoy the insights in this article. Chryssoula Katsikoudi is Middle East Analyst, education and human rights activist .
Is Jordan the next Middle East conflagration of political and social
December 23,2012
Chryssy Katsikoudis
Geostrategic Forecasting Corporation
The recent protests that swept through Jordan in response to the governments decision to cut fuel subsidies has now turned into calls for overthrowing the Monarchy of King Abdullah II. Some of the extreme slogans included chants from the “Arab Spring” favoring “democracy,
justice, and freedom.” However, the Middle East has been known for not particularly being engaged in democratic reforms, especially intervention from the West, such as the United States, has caused further American hostility. Jordan has been politically unstable in the last few years,
and many argue that the hopes and chants for “democracy, justice, and freedom” are another set of extreme slogans used among a generally reformist opposition.
In today’s world, many Muslims and non-Muslims believe that democracy is at constant odds with the Islamic faith. The issue is not about transition, but whether Islam can support a democratic order. What makes democracy so controversial in the Middle East, also in many
other cultures around the world, is the fact that it has a unique historical root in the West. However, as much politically unstable as Jordan is, it is unlikely it will collapse or be exposed to Jihad Islamist fanatics like we are seeing in Somalia at the moment.
Unlike Syria or Iraq at the moment, Jordan is a fairly middle-income country – despite its budget crisis – with a strong and respectable military. Its state legitimacy and the people of Jordan interacting allows the country to invest in jobs, medical care, and most importantly education. Women’s issues have also taken a step forward, however, many women’s rights activists argue there is still a lot to be done. Ever since Jordan’s independence from Britain in
1946, women’s movement have fueled the engine of gender-inequality in the country. Educated women were granted suffrage by 1955, but it was not until 1974 where all women were granted the right to vote. In 1993, the first female candidate was elected in the lower house of Parliament
soon after following the first women appointed to the upper house of Parliament.1 Despite its past and recent turmoil, as a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy, Jordan seems to be the most “democratic” government in the Arab world today. A country exposed to conflict in the
North and financial crisis, it is the least corrupt. Or so it seems;
In Jordan, murder is punishable by death, but so called “honor killings” which are still happening on many occasions, the courts have the right to commute or reduce the sentence, particularly if the victims family is asking for leniency. Why is it that men are not fully
prosecuted for murdering female relatives over honor-crimes? How can a country who represented to the international community as a legitimate, and prosperous state, by celebrity Queens such a Noor and Rania, to be so patriarchal; at the same time when current Queen Rania
is portrayed as a symbol for female equality by her people?
Ahmad Ghashmary, a unique and rare male feminist, has been a passionate advocate to stop social and legal acceptance of men murdering female relatives to honor-crimes. In 2006, the Jordanian Supreme Court suspended Fatima Habib from her position as a trial judge because she
had sentenced Saleh Radwan to death for killing his younger sister, Dana, when he discovered that she was having an affair with a male friend of his. Saleh went on saying that his sister has
ed. Sanja Kelly and Julia Breslin, “Women’s Rights in the Middle East and North Africa,” (New York: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2010), pp. 193.
“dishonored the family.”2 Outraged by the sentence, some of the male judges wanted to sign a petition to appoint a male judge to the Supreme Court to give “proper justice to the dishonored man.”3 And so they succeeded; Habib was believed to be in favor of women and that was a good
enough reason to welcome the Courts decision to replace her. Judge Habib said in one of her statements that the Supreme Court decision to reverse her sentence was “barbaric.” She went on saying, “It will take us ages to convince people here that women are human beings, that they are
as wise as men if not wiser sometimes.”4 This case was only a sheer example of how extremists spread propaganda claiming that women’s emancipation is a Western plot designed to eliminate Islamic morals. Khaled Abou El Fadl, a Professor of Law at the University of California in Los Angeles, and a Muslim, argues in his book “The Great Theft” that Jihad and the treatment of women in Islam are the two most controversial and misunderstood topics about the Islamic faith; and I believe he is absolutely right. The issue of women in Islam, as well as Jihad, invokes the images of oppression and cruelty against women. However, the sole problem does not lie with Islam as a religion itself, but the fact that ultraconservative and extremists have adopted the truth about the Islamic faith and formed Islam’s image into a dominant role to be misunderstood by the world, especially the West. This patriarchal society lead by supremacy has turned honor killings justifiable, when in reality it has absolutely nothing to do with Islam.
After all, when we see all the turmoil and protests going on in Jordan recently, the media and many lead us to believe that Jordan is nowhere near from collapsing, and all this is just another “riot” that will pass; but the problem lies much deeper that that. Yes, Jordan does have
strong international relationships and a strong military, but is that all it takes for a developed, and “democratic” country as many claim, to be on verge of collapse? What if women were suddenly to take the streets of Amman and started a revolution as they have in Tunisia a few years ago?
Isn’t the oh so influential Queen Rania a symbol for women’s emancipation?
In the midst of all the struggle for women’s equality in Jordan, Ahmad Ghashmary believes there is hope. In 2007, he has launched a new group called “LAHA” which means “For Her” in Arabic to encourage activism for women’s rights. He believes changes must come for women if they are not to lose half of their society. However, as much as we love to hope this fine activist will succeed to get his massage through, the real problem is not only social attitudes in families but with the “government” itself, or more so the Courts.This attitude of understanding the motives for killing relatives as an excuse to reduce or pardon the sentence will guarantee the social collapse of Jordan; if murder is punishable by death, then so shall honor killings be. A country cannot prosper “democratically” is distinctions like that are made. Women can no longer be trapped in a maze; trying to find their way out of a
long road ahead.
ed. Nasser Weddady and Sohrab Ahmani, “Arab Spring Dreams,” (New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2012), pp.
110.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid, pp. 111.
American Dream Fades for Generation Y Professionals
By Elliot Blair Smith – Dec 21, 2012 12:00 AM ET
After being dismissed from her job as a Midtown Manhattan securities attorney in October 2009, Christina Tretter-Herriger hitched a used horse trailer to her Dodge Ram pickup and drove 1,628 miles to Texas.
The 32-year-old lawyer sold skin-care products in Houston before finding work as the assistant general counsel of a futures-trading firm where an irate customer punctuated a recorded voice-mail message with gunfire.
“No one was left with the impression that he just happened to be phoning from a sporting clays range,” she says.
Eighteen months and two busted jobs later, the daughter of a retired physician and a former editor at Vogue circled back to upstate New York and hunkered down at a small legal office that pays about one-quarter of her former $165,000 salary.
Generation Y professionals entering the workforce are finding careers that once were gateways to high pay and upwardly mobile lives turning into detours and dead ends. Average incomes for individuals ages 25 to 34 have fallen 8 percent, double the adult population’s total drop, since the recession began in December 2007. Their unemployment rate remains stuck one-half to 1 percentage point above the national figure.
Three and a half years after the worst recession since the Great Depression, the earnings and employment gap between those in the under-35 population and their parents and grandparents threatens to unravel the American dream of each generation doing better than the last. The nation’s younger workers have benefited least from an economic recovery that has been the most uneven in recent history.
Ridgewood Lacrosse Association (RLA) registration for the 2013 season
Ridgewood Lacrosse Association (RLA) registration for the 2013 season is underway through January 7. Participation in RLA programs is open to all Ridgewood residents and students registered in a Ridgewood Public school in Grades 3-8. Complete descriptions of the boys and girls programs can be found on the RLA website at www.ridgewoodlax.com.
All registrations must be performed on-line using the Community Pass website at www.ridgewoodsports.org. Registrations are by credit/debit card only. Those without Internet access may use the public access computer at the Ridgewood Public Library. All applicants after
January 7 will be waitlisted and accepted on a space available basis and subject to a $50 late fee.
“Christmas Tea”: Holiday Decorations at The Hermitage
Wednesday, November 14, 2012, through Sunday, January 20, 2013
For the sixth year in a row, the Ho-Ho-Kus Garden Club will decorate The Hermitage for the holiday season. This year’s theme is “Christmas Tea.” The decorations also feature period costumes from the Hermitage Collection. The decorated house is open for viewing through the holiday season during regular museum hours (Wednesday through Sunday, 1- 4 pm), depending on availability of volunteer docents. (We recommend calling the Museum Office on weekdays to ensure that the house is open for tours.)
Viewing of the holiday decorations is included with regular admission to the museum: $7 for adults; $5 for seniors; and $4 for children age 6-12. Museum members and children under 5 are admitted free of charge. The decorations will remain on display through Sunday, January 20, 2013. Special group tours are also available by contacting the Hermitage Education Department at (201) 445-8311, ext. 33.
The Museum is closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day.
335 North Franklin Turnpike Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ 07423
(201) 445-8311
YWCA Registration for 2013 Classes Begins December 17th
December 4, 2012—Registration for the next session of YWCA Bergen County programs starts Monday, December 17 at 8:30 a.m. Classes run from January 2 through February 23, 2013, and members can register at www.ywcabergencounty.org, by phone, or in person.
New for Adults: Bollywood Hustle combines belly dancing, traditional Indian dance, and jazz, for a class that takes dance workouts to new heights. Restorative Yoga offers physical, mental and emotional relaxation to help eliminate stress and fatigue.
New for Kids & Teens: Zumbatomic (ages 7-12 yrs.) lets kids crank up the music and have a blast with their friends while boosting coordination, energy levels, and self confidence. Lil’ Dragons Judo (ages 4-7 yrs.) and U.S.J.A. Judo (ages 5 to adult) teach self-defense as well as important life skills like self-confidence and discipline.
The YWCA offers dozens of other fitness, wellness, and enrichment programs for kids, teens, adults, and seniors, as well as American Red Cross certified swim classes for swimmers at every age and level. Drop-in child care is also available at the 112 Oak Street, Ridgewood facility. Visit www.ywcabergencounty.org or call 201-444-5600 for a free brochure
PSEG Estimates the Utility’s Cost of Superstorm Sandy Restoration at $250 – $300 million
December 4, 2012
Company maintains 2012 operating earnings guidance of $2.25 – $2.50 per share
(December 4, 2012 – Newark, NJ) – PSEG estimates that the cost associated with the restoration of PSE&G’s distribution and transmission system following the impact of Superstorm Sandy and the subsequent Nor’easter as approximately $250 – $300 million.
Superstorm Sandy left 1.7 million of our electric customers without power during the course of the storm and caused severe damage to our transmission and distribution system throughout our service territory as well as to some of our generation infrastructure in the northern part of New Jersey.
Superstorm Sandy’s strong winds and heavy rainfall resulted in a storm surge which caused the Hudson, Hackensack and Passaic rivers to overflow causing damage to switching stations, substations and generating infrastructure.
Over the two-week period following the storm, including the Nor’easter, we restored power to more customers than in any other storm in our history. We brought in 1,000 out-of-state line workers and tree trimmers in preparation for the storm and that number grew to more than 4,000 at the height of the restoration. As part of the storm restoration process, approximately 48,000 trees were removed or trimmed and we replaced/repaired over 2,400 utility poles.
Crews have continued working to make repairs permanent and return the system to its normal design. At the same time, we are analyzing the best ways to protect the system from this type of storm in the future.
The estimated cost of restoration of $250 – $300 million associated with Superstorm Sandy includes both expenses and capital related to the restoration, and the Company expects at least 85% of those costs to be deferred or capitalized for future distribution or transmission recovery. The estimate does not include potential future costs to permanently repair PSE&G’s damaged infrastructure or to modify the infrastructure to reduce the risk of damage of future storms.
PSEG continues to forecast operating earnings for 2012 of $2.25 – $2.50 per share. The forecast recognizes the impact of storm-related costs to be expensed at PSE&G. However, storm-related expenses at PSEG Power, which are still being assessed, will be treated as one-time in nature and excluded from operating earnings given the unusual nature of the storm on Power’s operations. PSEG expects to provide investors with estimates for the costs at Power prior to the release of the Company’s fourth-quarter earnings.
We intend to seek recovery for insured property damage at both PSE&G and at PSEG Power, however, no assurances can be given relative to the timing or amount of such recovery.
Village of Ridgewood: Operation “One Final Pass”
November 02.2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Employees from the Village of Ridgewood Parks Department using heavy equipment to facilitate the disposal of brush/tree debris generated by Superstorm Sandy from curbs along South Irving Street, on Sunday, December 2, 2012.
Photos by Boyd Loving
Due to extensive storm brush and debris, the Village Council determined that an additional collection cycle is needed for bush pick up.
Photos by Boyd Loving
All part of the “One Final Pass” being made by the Village to collect Brush and Debris in each Area following the schedule below. Brush and debris material should be placed in a pile between the curb and sidewalk by the first day of collection for your Area
Ridgewood’s “tradition” Downtown for the Holidays & Tree Lighting Celebration
The Celebration will be starting early this year
Friday, November 30, 2012
5:30pm-9:00pm
Ridgewood Chamber Downtown for the Holidays Santa in the Park: Free Trolley Rides
Sat, December 01, 2012
Time: 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Ridgewood, Ridgewood, NJ
This is a wonderful day in Ridgewood.
8:00am – 10am
Have breakfast with Santa at The Office Bar & Grill – reservations 201-652-1070.
10:00am Santa will be riding up E. Ridgewood Ave. in a big red firetruck heading over to Columbia Bank on S. Broad St. – here all children will receive lovely gifts from Santa.
10:30am – The will be a FREE movie at Warner Clearview Cinema.
2:00-4:00pm Santa will be at his house in the
Park at Van Neste Square.
12N-4pm FREE Trolley rides through town for family fun.
Join us in Ridgewood the best of “boutiques” in Bergen County – you will not find these beautiful shops or restaurants at the Mall.
Christie Administration Extends Initiatives to Boost Retailer Access to Supplies of Gasoline and Diesel Fuel
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Trenton, NJ – Today, the Christie Administration extended two initiatives aimed at increasing access to fuel supplies by New Jerseys fuel retailers. Governor Christie signed Executive Order 115, extending the action taken in Executive Order 110 on November 4 to ease restrictions on fuel sales in New Jersey, removing limitations on the source of fuel particular and branded fuel retailers are allowed to sell.
A copy of Executive Order 115 [pdf 10kB]
Treasurer Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff signed an Administrative Order extending from November 7 to November 21 an emergency waiver that allows all fuel merchants to buy fuel from out-of-state suppliers, a measure that will help ensure that New Jersey drivers and truckers continue to have the fuel they need to speed recovery from Hurricane Sandy.
“Fuel merchants say the suspension of the licensing requirement has been a powerful tool for boosting gasoline and diesel supplies to the State’s service stations,” Treasurer Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff said. “Continuing this waiver will maintain the rapid progress that New Jersey has made in restoring its fuel network to normal operation.”
This is the second time the waiver has been extended. The original deadline, which was November 7, was extended last week to November 14. When the waiver wasn’t in effect, merchants not licensed to import fuel couldn’t legally buy gasoline and diesel fuel from out of state and import it. The waiver has helped ease storm-related fuel shortages by allowing all merchants temporarily to buy fuel from out of state for their New Jersey customers.
Fuel merchants who buy fuel from out of state who aren’t currently licensed importers must document their purchases and pay required New Jersey taxes. Fuel merchants who import must fill out form MFA-12 available at the following link to register their purchases and calculate taxes: https://www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/pdf/other_forms/motorfuel/mfa12.pdf .
Any questions on the Administrative Order can be addressed to the New Jersey Division of Taxation at (609) 633-8536, or sent to the e-mail address [email protected].
Mike Cutler “The Threat of Illegal Immigration” Tonight at the Larkin House
West Bergen Tea Party Meeting 7 pm, Tuesday, November 13 at the Larkin House
West Bergen Tea Party Meeting features guest speaker Mike Cutler
“The Threat of Illegal Immigration”
Join us 7 pm Tuesday November 13
at the Larkin House, 380 Godwin Avenue, Wyckoff
(1/4 mile North of Stop & Shop on the right)
More information: 201 891-5918 [email protected]
https://www.westbergenteaparty.com/
Gas rationing to end at 6 a.m. Tuesday
November 12, 2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ ,Governor Christie announced that New Jersey’s gas rationing system, put in place in 12 northern counties to deal with fuel shortages after super storm Sandy will officially come to an end tomorrow morning at 6 a.m.
At a mid day press conference in Middletown, Christie said the state’s gas supplies are now plentiful and that the long lines of motorists waiting to fill up after the storm have all but disappeared.
Christie had claimed correctly that the gas lines were caused by a combination of gas station power outages and logistical obstacles rather than a shortage of gasoline in the state.
Super storm Sandy not only took Port Newark out of commission, knocked out power to both gas terminals that feed gas stations as well as gas station pumps throughout North Jersey, which lead to hours-long lines.
Christie thanked Michele Brown head of the state’s Economic Development Authority, for leading the effort to solve the gas crisis, saying she coordinated a response with the White House and other federal officials.
Layoff bomb detonates; Large corporations join small businesses in announcing mass cuts
Posted at 7:14 pm on November 8, 2012 by Twitchy Staff
Earlier today, Twitchy related some heartbreaking stories of small business owners laying off workers to avoid the economic impact of the Obamacare tax that isn’t a tax. Comedian Jon Lovitz, a small business owner himself, was no barrel of laughs either as his timeline filled with stories of impending downsizing. So, what about those big corporations? Boeing’s defense division announced yesterday it would cut 30 percent of management staff, and the company was not alone, we’re learning.
45 companies announce layoff’s in the past 48 hours! This is what the people wanted! The people have spoken!
IN PAST 48 HRS, FOLLOWING COs ANNOUNCED LAYOFFS: Westinghouse, Research in Motion, Boeing, US Cellular, Commerzbank, Iberia, ING, (cont) IN PAST 48 HRS, FOLLOWING COs ANNOUNCED LAYOFFS (cont): Ericsson, Bristol-Myers, corning, Boston Scientific, Abbott Labs, St. Jude, (cont)IN PAST 48 HRS, FOLLOWING COs ANNOUNCED LAYOFFS (cont): Caterpillar, CVPH Medical Center, Lightyear Haqwker Beechcraft, Hawker Beechcraft
Bristol-Myers To Cut Nearly 500 Jobs j.mp/PHK5n8
Research in Motion lays off workers at US HQ in TX bit.ly/WDjrjp
Groupon lays off 80 sales employees chicagotribune.com/business/break…
Announced November 7th ,Flatotel in NYC is closing in February
Hawker Beechcraft closing facilites, laying off more than 400 employees in Arkansas, AZ & TX. bit.ly/T5y1dw
Boeing has announced plans to cut $1.6 billion of costs in its defense divis… bit.ly/TbJLuY
Energizer Holdings to lay off 1,500, close 3 plants bizjournals.com/stlouis
