Obama

[Soldier4Christ]

The Indonesian media have been flooded with accounts of Obama's childhood Islamic studies, some describing him as a religious Muslim.

Speaking to the country's Kaltim Post, Tine Hahiyary, who was principal of Obama's school while he was enrolled there, said she recalls he studied the Quran in Arabic.

"At that time, I was not Barry's teacher, but he is still in my memory" claimed Tine, who is 80 years old.

The Kaltim Post said Obama's teacher, named Hendri, died.

"I remember that he studied 'mengaji (recitation of the Quran)," Tine said, according to an English translation by Loatze.

Mengaji, or the act of reading the Quran with its correct Arabic punctuation, is usually taught to more religious pupils and is not known as a secular study.

Also, Loatze documented the Indonesian daily Banjarmasin Post interviewed Rony Amir, an Obama classmate and Muslim, who described Obama as "previously quite religious in Islam."

"We previously often asked him to the prayer room close to the house. If he was wearing a sarong (waist fabric worn for religious or casual occasions) he looked funny," Amir said.

The Los Angeles Times, which sent a reporter to Jakarta, quoted Zulfin Adi, who identified himself as among Obama's closest childhood friends, stating the presidential candidate prayed in a mosque, something Obama's campaign claimed he never did.

"We prayed, but not really seriously, just following actions done by older people in the mosque. But as kids, we loved to meet our friends and went to the mosque together and played," said Adi.

Friday prayers

Aside from a new website to fight purported smears, Obama's official campaign site has a page titled "Obama has never been a Muslim, and is a committed Christian." The page states, "Obama never prayed in a mosque. He has never been a Muslim, was not raised a Muslim, and is a committed Christian who attends the United Church of Christ."

But the campaign changed its tune when it issued a "practicing Muslim" clarification to the Los Angeles Times.

An article in March by the Chicago Tribune apparently disputes Adi's statements to the L.A. paper. The Tribune caught up with Obama's declared childhood friend, who now describes himself as only knowing Obama for a few months in 1970 when his family moved to the neighborhood. Adi said he was unsure about his recollections of Obama.

But the Tribune found Obama did attend mosque.

"Interviews with dozens of former classmates, teachers, neighbors and friends show that Obama was not a regular practicing Muslim when he was in Indonesia," states the Tribune article.

It quotes the presidential candidate's former neighbors and third-grade teacher recalling Obama "occasionally followed his stepfather to the mosque for Friday prayers."

Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum, notes the Tribune article "cited by liberal blogs as refuting claims Obama is Muslim" actually implies Obama was an irregularly practicing Muslim and twice confirms Obama attended mosque services.

In a free-ranging interview with the New York Times, Obama described the Muslim call to prayer as "one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset."

The Times' Nicholos Kristof wrote Obama recited, "with a first-class [Arabic] accent," the opening lines of the Muslim call to prayer.

The first few lines of the call to prayer state:

    Allah is Supreme!
    Allah is Supreme!
    Allah is Supreme! Allah is Supreme!
    I witness that there is no god but Allah
    I witness that there is no god but Allah
    I witness that Muhammad is his prophet ...

Some attention also has been paid to Obama's paternal side of the family, including his father and his brother, Roy.

Writing in a chapter of his book describing his 1992 wedding, the presidential candidate stated: "The person who made me proudest of all was Roy. Actually, now we call him Abongo, his Luo name, for two years ago he decided to reassert his African heritage. He converted to Islam and has sworn off pork and tobacco and alcohol."

Still, Obama says he was raised by his Christian mother and repeatedly has labeled as "smears" several reports attempting to paint him as a Muslim.

"Let's make clear what the facts are: I am a Christian. I have been sworn in with a Bible. I pledge allegiance [to the American flag] and lead the Pledge of Allegiance sometimes in the United States Senate when I'm presiding," he told the Times of London earlier this year.

[HisDaughter]

I saw this article today at work but couldn't post it so I'm glad to see that you did PR.
Yeah, "not Muslim" my foot.  If he's not Muslim then why is every Muslim in the world rooting and conniving to get him elected?  I just wonder what BIG promises he has made to them to get all their "contributions".  Actually, it's not too a big a stretch of the imagination and nothing would surprise me.
I would just love to see a big earthquake and the Rapture happen on Inauguration Day just to make it a bit more interesting for him!  Can you just imagine the destruction he'd have to deal with before he even steps off of the podium? 
I'm sure the Rapture would be destructive and confusing enough but I'm one of those that loves a good "payback" movie, so I think a good old fashioned, judgmental earthquake just as he finishes his acceptance speech would be classic!
But hey....that's just me. 

[Soldier4Christ]

Radio host scolded over Obama coverage
Network censors talk personality, offers 3-hour program slot to Dem candidate

A talk-radio host was reprimanded on air by his executive producer Wednesday after he received complaints about his coverage of Sen. Barack Obama.

KDKA-AM 1020 host Kevin Miller was silenced when executive producer P.J. Kumanchik read a CBS statement accusing Miller of being unfairly biased against Obama.

"We want to apologize to listeners who have found your show offensive," Kumanchik said to Miller on the air.

Kumanchik referenced phone calls and e-mails from listeners who criticized Miller for his statements about Obama. In a move considered by some to encourage "fairness," he also offered Obama a three-hour spot on the Pittsburgh, Penn., station in place of Miller's regularly scheduled noon to 3 p.m. program.

The executive producer of the CBS affiliate said Miller, a Marconi Award nominee and former Army Reserve journalist, had featured guests who were not objective when reporting information about Obama. Miller had recently conducted an Oct. 9 interview with "The Obama Nation" author and WND senior staff reporter Jerome Corsi about his investigation of Obama's connections to opposition leader Raila Odinga in Kenya. He called Corsi "a true patriot" upon his return from detention by Kenyan immigration authorities.

In the interview with Corsi, Miller revealed his personal concerns about efforts to silence Obama critics.

"Well Dr. Corsi, what scares me is, we've seen this from the Obama campaign, that they clearly target people such as yourself, talk radio stations – whether it's WGN or others or people like myself – that speak out," he said. "And if [Obama is] elected, we're going to have a different chorus when it comes to discourse in this country."

Another one of Miller's recent shows featured John Murtagh, a man who survived Weather Underground firebomb attacks on his home, to discuss Obama's relationship with Bill Ayers.

This week, after Kumanchik finished his statements condemning Miller's coverage, people began calling to criticize the station, suggesting it was censoring the talk-radio host. Others remain confused and wonder whether the broadcast was simply a publicity stunt. Some online rumors even suggest Miller could be taken off the air.

On Thursday, Miller apologized for his comments concerning censorship of his show following airing of the CBS statement, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. The station has not released a transcript of the show.

The on-air incident occurred in the wake of a campaign coverage study that revealed the "big three" networks – ABC, NBC and CBS – have routinely favored Obama in their election coverage. Findings released by the Center for Media and Public Affairs at George Mason University show 61 percent of the networks' reports aired between Aug. 23 and Sept. 30 cast the Democratic Party candidate in a favorable light – leaving Sen. John McCain with only 39 percent of positive coverage.

KDKA program director Marshall Adams declined to comment on circumstances surrounding the talk-show segment or indicate whether McCain had been offered a three-hour spot as well.

[HisDaughter]

Yep.  There's a conspiracy, headed up by Satan himself, to get this guy into office and to take away our freedoms.

[Shammu]

Barack Obama vows to 'change the world'

Barack Obama has vowed that he will "change the world" even as he urged his supporters to guard against complacency.
 
By Toby Harnden in Londonderry, New Hampshire
Last Updated: 11:42AM BST 18 Oct 2008

The supremely confident demeanour and exalted rhetoric of the Democratic nominee at a New Hampshire event betrayed that he is a man convinced he is poised to make history.

While his Republican opponent John McCain, trailing in the polls, is pursuing a strategy of eking out a victory in traditional swing states, Mr Obama is transferring resources to conservative strongholds like Georgia, West Virginia and even Kentucky in pursuit of a landslide victory.

Speaking in an apple orchard against the picture-perfect New England backdrop of an red, green and yellow autumn foliage on a stage adorned with pumpkins and hay bales, Mr Obama reminded voters of the dangers of hubris.

Polls indicated that the young Illinois senator was cruising towards a crushing victory over Hillary Clinton in the state's Democratic primary. His rallies were two or three times the size of hers. The media had declared him the victor, a conclusion shared by Obama aides.

On election day, however, Mrs Clinton won. "We are 19 days away from changing this country. Nineteen days away. But for those who are getting a little cocky, I've got two words for you: New Hampshire," said Mr Obama.

"I learned right here, with the help of my great friend and supporter Hillary Clinton, that you cannot let up, you can't pay too much attention to polls. We've got to keep making our case for change. We've got to keep fighting for every single vote. We've got to keep running through the finish line."

At a glitzy fundraising event in Manhattan at which Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel performed Mr Obama warned high-roller supporters: "Don't underestimate the capacity of Democrats to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Don't underestimate our ability to screw it up."

But much of Mr Obama's speech in Londonderry - punctuated by cries of "We all love you Obama", "I love you" and "We will work with you" - was devoted to the kind of quasi-religious sentiments and motivational-coach style exhortations, the kind of pride that set him up for a big fall in January.

"I want you to believe," said the candidate, clad in an open-necked shirt and barn jacket. "Not so much believe just in me but believe in yourselves. Believe in the future. Believe in the future we can build together. I'm confident together we can't fail."

There was a carnival atmosphere among the crowd of some 4,000, who almost drowned Mr Obama out as he reached his crescendo and said: "I promise you. We won't just win New Hampshire. We will win this election and, you and I together, we're going to change the country and change the world."

Mr Obama was described as "preternaturally confident" in a gushing endorsement by the Washington Post on Friday.

His supreme self-belief has also been the target of late-night comedians. "With just 19 days left until the election, Barack Obama warned supporters today to guard against overconfidence," Tina fey of Saturday Night Live reported.

"Then he boarded Air Force One, blasted 'We Are The Champions' and shouted 'I'm King of the World'."

Both Democrats and Republicans in New Hampshire appear convinced that Mr Obama will win.

"We feel we're on the brink of a whole new life in this country," said Betsy Whitman, 69.

"Sure, he'll win," said Marlene Hulme, 70, at the Londonderry event. "Our expectations were high today and he knocked it out of the park."

A lone McCain supporter at the rally said she too was convinced that the Republican nominee was finished. "McCain has lost," said Deborah Barnhart, 48, who runs a landscaping business.

"He's lost because the Messiah has spoken and we're going to change the world. That's all people want to hear after eight years of Bush. Obama thinks he's won. Everyone here thinks he's won."

Barack Obama vows to 'change the world'

[Shammu]

"We feel we're on the brink of a whole new life in this country," said Betsy Whitman, 69.

A lone McCain supporter at the rally said she too was convinced that the Republican nominee was finished. "McCain has lost," said Deborah Barnhart, 48, who runs a landscaping business. "He's lost because the Messiah has spoken and we're going to change the world. That's all people want to hear after eight years of Bush. Obama thinks he's won. Everyone here thinks he's won."

Yup. We are definitely on the brink of a whole new life in this country. She's got that part right.

Now, I am not saying Obama-nation is the anti-christ, but, I can certainly imagine the anti-christ speaking these same words some day! I think, Obama believes he is the chosen one and the only one who can make all these changes.

[Shammu]

Obama's Farrakhan Problem

Mark Hyman on 10.16.08 @ 6:08AM

Barack Obama has a Louis Farrakhan problem and not because of his endorsement from Farrakhan. Instead, it is because of Obama's more-than-passing association with Farrakhan and those who are close to the Nation of Islam leader.

In spite of Farrakhan's long history as a racist, bigot and anti-Semite, Obama thought favorably enough of him to join Farrakhan's 1995 march on Washington, D.C. Reportedly, Obama joined Reverends Jeremiah Wright and Al Sharpton in organizing the march.

Farrakhan's bona fides as a purveyor of hate are well-documented. He called Jews "bloodsuckers," Judaism a "gutter religion" and referred to Adolf Hitler as a "great man." Farrakhan said, "The God who taught me calls the white man the skunk of the planet earth."

Farrakhan promoted the anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that "the AIDS epidemic is a result of doctors, especially Jewish ones, who inject the AIDS virus into blacks." According to Farrakhan, blacks are prevented from progressing in the arts, sports, academia and politics because of Jews. "When I talk to the Jews, I am talking to a segment of that quorum that holds my people in their grip," he told the Chicago Sun-Times.

Farrakhan claimed that the POWER line of toiletry products he launched in the 1980s failed to succeed because of pressure from Jews. Obama blamed the failure of Farrakhan's products on whites. In Dreams from My Father, Obama wrote "That the POWER campaign sputtered said something about the difficulty that faced any black business -- the barriers to entry, the lack of finance, the leg up that your competitors possessed after having kept you out of the game for over three hundred years."

This should not be quickly dismissed as merely guilt by association because the overall narrative is one of someone continually associating with a group of repugnant individuals. Consider Obama's 20-year close relationship with Reverend Jeremiah Wright, a long-time Farrakhan supporter.

Wright's close friendship with Farrakhan goes back at least to the 1980s. Wright joined Farrakhan on a 1984 trip to Libya to visit Moammar Gadhafi. Wright predicted that once this became public knowledge "a lot of his [Obama's] Jewish support will dry up quicker than a snowball in Hell."

In his 1996 book When Black Men Stand Up for God, Wright called Farrakhan's black critics "'colored' leaders," "Oreos," "house niggras," and "enemies." Wright praised Farrakhan as recently as last year. "Minister Farrakhan will be remembered as one of the 20th and 21st century giants of the African-American religious experience," he said. "His love for Africa and African American people has made him an unforgettable force, a catalyst for change and a religious leader who is sincere about his faith and his purpose."

Trumpet, a magazine operated by Wright and Trinity Church, honored Farrakhan in November 2007 with the "Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. Lifetime Achievement Trumpeteer" Award.

Farrakhan was knee-deep in a racist and anti-Semitic scandal the year before his D.C. march. Senior Nation of Islam official Khalid Abdul Muhammad delivered three hours of remarks at New Jersey's Keane College that attacked whites, Jews, Catholics, homosexuals and white South Africans.

Muhammad called Jews "the blood suckers of the black nation and the black community." He warned the audience of "Columbia Jew-niversity over in Jew York City." He called the U.N., the "Jew-nited Nations." He said Jews were named Reubenstein, Goldstein and Silverstein because they "[have] been stealing rubies and gold and silver all over the earth. That's why we can't even wear a ring or a bracelet or a necklace without calling it Jewelry ... but it's not jewelry, it's Jew-elry." Muhammad argued Jews who perished in the Holocaust had it coming to them. He asked, "[D]on't nobody ever ask what did they do to Hitler?" Then he answered his own question with, "They had undermined the very fabric of the society."

A public outcry erupted and several public figures implored Farrakhan to repudiate Muhammad. Instead, Farrakhan backed Muhammad at a rally saying, "We know that Jews are the most organized, rich and powerful people, not only in America, but in the world. They are plotting against us even as we speak." Then Farrakhan clasped Muhammad in an embrace on stage. Yet, this did not dissuade Obama from joining Farrakhan's march the following year.

Obama admitted to showing interest in the Black Muslim faith when he was in his 20s. "I would occasionally pick up the paper [The Final Call, the Nation of Islam's newspaper] ... sometimes because my attention was caught by the sensational, tabloid-style headlines (CAUCASIAN WOMAN ADMITS: WHITES ARE THE DEVIL)," he wrote in Dreams. "Inside the front cover, one found reprints of the minister's speeches, as well as stories that could have been picked straight off the AP news wire were it not for certain editorial embellishments ("Jewish Senator Metzenbaum announced today ...")."

Renewed scrutiny of Obama's decades-long associations is not helpful to his candidacy especially considering the concerns of many in the Jewish community over Obama's ties to noted anti-Semites and critics of Israel. It has not gone unnoticed that it was not until after he began his presidential run that Obama first offered mild criticism of Louis Farrakhan.

Obama's Farrakhan Problem

[Shammu]

Farrakhan Says 'New Beginning' For Nation of Islam
CHICAGO (AP) ― The Nation of Islam, a secretive movement generally closed to outsiders, has planned a rare open-to-the public event at its Chicago-based headquarters in what the Minister Louis Farrakhan deemed a "new beginning" for the group.

Hundreds of religious leaders of different faiths have been invited to the event planned for Sunday, a rededication of the group's historic Mosque Maryam on the city's South Side. Farrakhan is scheduled to speak.

"We have restored Mosque Maryam completely, and we will dedicate it to the universal message of Islam, and the universal aspect of the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad," Farrakhan said in an invitation letter. "It represents for the Nation of Islam, a new beginning."

The event comes just weeks after the death of Imam W.D. Mohammed, the son of Nation founder Elijah Muhammad who broke with the group and moved thousands of African-Americans toward mainstream Islam.

The Nation purchased the mosque, a former Greek Orthodox church, in 1972 and has since been making renovations. The stately 1948 structure, embellished with a golden dome and topped with an Islamic crescent moon, is adorned with Quranic verses in Arabic.

Experts say opening the mosque's doors to the public is a calculated move.

"It is a very conscious effort to open the mosque up to the community and to rededicate the community to learning about Islam," said Aminah McCloud, a professor of Islamic studies at DePaul University. "Previously, the Nation has been open to people coming to visit it, but its members don't generally go anywhere else ... now there is a concerted effort."

While the Nation has espoused black nationalism and self-reliance since it was founded in the 1930s, in recent years members have reached out to other groups. For instance, the Nation has a Latino liaison and has become involved in immigrant rights rallies and marches. Also, the Minister Ishmael Muhammad, a top assisting minister at the mosque and widely thought to be a potential successor to Farrakhan, has talked about unity between all people, at times speaking in Spanish.

Farrakhan, 75, has haltingly tried to move the Nation toward traditional Islam, which considers the American movement heretical because of its view of Elijah Muhammad as a prophet -- among other novel teachings. Orthodox Islam teaches that there has been no prophet after Prophet Muhammad in the seventh century.

He's also played down some of the group's more controversial beliefs. The Nation of Islam has taught that whites are descended from the devil and that blacks are the chosen people of Allah.

The event on Sunday also wraps up a week of events marking the 13th anniversary of the Million Man March, which Farrakhan began in 1995. That year, hundreds of thousands of people traveled to Washington, D.C. to participate.

On Thursday, Farrakhan spoke to inmates at Cook County jail urging self improvement, atonement and reconciliation, principles the Million Man March promoted.

Those values "can help reduce violence and anti-social behavior ... and have universal significance and will benefit those willing to listen," according to a statement from the Nation.

Farrakhan's Sunday speech will mark his second major public address this year and is among several smaller community and religious events he has attended.

His public appearances have surprised many since in 2006, he seceded leadership to an executive board while recuperating from serious complications from prostate cancer.

In February, Farrakhan appeared at an annual Saviours' Day event in Chicago and called Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama the "hope of the entire world" that the U.S. will change for the better. The Obama campaign quickly denounced Farrakhan's support, because of past comments about Jews that many have called offensive.

In the past months, Farrakhan has attended funeral services of W.D. Mohammed and Jabir Herbert Muhammad, both sons of the late Elijah Muhammad.

Farrakhan Says 'New Beginning' For Nation of Islam

[HisDaughter]

"Then he boarded Air Force One, blasted 'We Are The Champions' and shouted 'I'm King of the World'."

I think I'm gonna be sick.

[Soldier4Christ]

I think I'm gonna be sick.

Yeah, even though that was a joke on Saturday Night live making fun of him the thought of it actually being a possibility of it happening it is still quite sickening.

[David_james]

I am really starting to think obama will be the anti Christ or the false prophet

[Soldier4Christ]

I am really starting to think obama will be the anti Christ or the false prophet

I'm sure that he will not be the false prophet but as for the anti-Christ??

At least we can consider him an anti-Christ that could be unknowingly setting things up for the coming Anti-Christ.

[David_james]

I don't doubt that. I also don't doubt that we are in the last generation. Meaning, the children today, won't reach 50.

[Shammu]

I'm sure that he will not be the false prophet but as for the anti-Christ??

At least we can consider him an anti-Christ that could be unknowingly setting things up for the coming Anti-Christ.

Ditto!!

[Soldier4Christ]

The Deep Relationship Between Obama and Ayers

We’ve all heard that they served on the same committees and boards, and the media yawns at this. However, if only they would dig just a little they would find that things are deep even just below the surface.

In 1997, Obama gave Ayer’s book rave reviews!



Obama’s review of Ayers’ book says, “A searing and timely account of the juvenile court system, and the courageous individuals who rescue hope from despair.”

This information was found in a library in San Francisco, using the library’s Lexis-Nexis access and its archive of microfilm versions of major newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune.

It was accompanied by a photo of Obama, standing by his statement. The review was part of a column called “Mark My Word,” in which Chicago notables praise their favorite current books.

Just a few weeks before this review was published in the Chicago Tribune, Obama and Ayers appeared together on a panel about juvenile justice organized by Michelle Obama on November 20, 1997:

    Children who kill are called “super predators,” “people with no conscience,” “feral pre-social beings” — and “adults.”

    William Ayers, author of A Kind and Just Parent: The Children of Juvenile Court (Beacon Press, 1997), says “We should call a child a child. A 13-year-old who picks up a gun isn’t suddenly an adult. We have to ask other questions: How did he get the gun? Where did it come from?”

    Ayers, who spent a year observing the Cook County Temporary Juvenile Detention Center in Chicago, is one of four panelists who will speak on juvenile justice at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 20, in the C-Shop. The panel, which marks the 100th anniversary of the juvenile justice system in the United States, is part of the Community Service Center’s monthly discussion series on issues affecting the city of Chicago. The event is free and open to the public.

    Ayers will be joined by Sen. Barack Obama, Senior Lecturer in the Law School, who is working to combat legislation that would put more juvenile offenders into the adult system; Randolph Stone, Director of the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic; Alex Correa, a reformed juvenile offender who spent seven years in Cook County Temporary Detention Center; Frank Tobin, a former priest and teacher at the Detention Center who helped Correa; and Willy Baldwin, who grew up in public housing and is currently a teacher at the Detention Center.

On page 82 of the book itself, Ayers mentions Obama. So there’s no question they knew each other.

….and Obama and Ayers shared an office together for 3 years!

A little more than crossing paths huh?

The information on the office is gleaned from tax returns, other legal documents and a web site on the Chicago Annenberg Challenge and Ayers’ Small Schools Workshop.