Dr. Wafaa Sultan

It's been almost a month since I posted the interview which aired on Al-Jazeera with Dr. Wafaa Sultan. At the time I did not have any information as to who she was, but I became smarter since then.

Wafaa Sultan, born in Syria, was taught as a child to hate Jews. "Up to the very first day that I immigrated to America, I used to believe that Jewish people were not human creatures, that they had different features, different voices than the human race. Unfortunately this is the way I was raised," Sultan said in an interview Arutz-7. But her views have changed since then. "I have discovered how wrong we were. The more I work with them the more I find out we are all human beings. The first experience I had in the medical field was with a Jewish doctor. We were four Muslim women in his program, and he treated us very well. My experience is great, so I have to break this taboo and tell my people the truth."

She now lives in Los Angeles, where she is a psychiatrist. While she was in university in Syria she began to question the way she was brought up. "At that time, the Brotherhood of Islam committed very bloody and ugly crimes against innocent Syrian people in the name of their God. I witnessed the killing of my professor, a great human being who had nothing to do with the government. They filled his body with hundreds of bullets before my eyes while screaming Allah is great. At that moment I was traumatized. I had just lost trust in their God and started to question his teachings."

But her bravery comes with a price. Dr. Sultan is now in hiding, fearful of what might happen to her and/or her family as a result of the interview on Al-Jazeera. Perhaps she fears that the Brotherhood of Islam might try to get her. For the sake of humanity let's hope she isn't harmed.

Did You Thank Al Gore Today?

Listen to this clip of Al Gore, who joined Congress in the late 1970's. Nevertheless, during his "service in the United States congress [he] took the initiative in creating the internet." This is something which really amazes me.

Here is a little bit about the history of the internet. The ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency), a project of the United States Department of Defense, wanted to create a network for scientists who are in different locations to be able to communicate and share information. In addition, they wished to create a network which would be able to survive a nuclear attack (remember the cold war?). The network they came up with was called ARPANET, which at first consisted of four computers, and started working in the summer of 1969. Nearly a decade before Al Gore joined the United States congress. Yet he still "took the initiative in creating the internet." Amazing!

I think we should all be very thankful to him for this. It is only because of him that we have this post (and all other posts, too); indeed it is only because of him that we have the internet. So if you feel thankful to Al Gore, please be kind and tell him so. Contact him and tell him how appreciative you are of his efforts in creating the internet. It'll put a smile on his face, I'm sure of it.

Al Gore
2100 West End Avenue
Nashville, TN 37203
Phone: (615) 327-2227
Fax: (615) 327-1323

The Not-So-Secret Service

The Washington Post had an article about the naughty behavior of some Secret Service workers. They were in Mississippi before President Bush visited on March 8. They came to size up the scene from a security point of view, so that when the President arrives they will be able to protect him. At one of the houses they surveyed, they introduced themselves as Fox journalists. Later they told the couple that they were actually from the Secret Service.

Many people were not pleased by the actions of these Secret Service agents (or surveyors, whatever their title is). As a result they will be "reprimanded" for their actions. The government will "discipline (those) who masqueraded as journalists this month." It seems as though the problem here is the fact that they used a disguise - that of Fox journalists. What do people expect the Secret Service to do if not disguise themselves? Is it not called secret service for a reason? Are they supposed to wear signs which clearly identify them as Secret Service agents?

Perhaps people would have preferred if they would have originally introduced themselves as Secret Service agents. But wouldn't that blow their cover? Does the name Valerie Plame ring a bell? What will become of undercover agents if they need to be identified as such to everyone, thereby undermining the fact that they're undercover? You can never win, if you keep it a secret you'll get in trouble for impersonation, and if you reveal an agent's identity, well, we know what will happen. You'll lose your job!

Giuliani vs. Clinton

I remember in 1997 listening to the then Mayor Rudy Giuliani on the radio during his monthly ask the Mayor show on WCBS880. It was his first show since he won reelection as New York City's Mayor and most callers were only calling to congratulate him, while others called to wish him success and also ask him questions. I remember the jubilant feeling I had at the time when he won the election and the mixed feelings I had. On the one hand I wanted his term to last forever so that he can continue to help us New Yorkers. On the other hand, I wanted his term to end so that he will run for President.

One of the callers who called in expressed the second view to him, and he responded, "You sound like my mother." Although he didn't say clearly that he wouldn't run for higher office, he didn't sound too promising either. However, I still hoped and prayed that he would one day be our man in the oval office.

I remember the adrenaline rushes we had when he was running against the then First Lady, Hillary Clinton, for the Senate. At first she was ahead in the polls, but I was sure that her lead was only because people felt bad for her after the Monica scandal. I was sure that as time passed and we would get closer to the election her lead would disappear. Sure enough, Giuliani started closing the gap between them, but he never made it to the elections. Unfortunately he had to drop out of the race for personal reasons, and Hillary won. But I was always hoping that a day would come when there would finally be a showdown between the two of them, and all the world will see that contrary to what many people believe, Giuliani's popularity and sense of leadership is greater than that of Hillary. 9/11 proved what a leader he is (as pictured above).

Now as we approach the 2008 Presidential elections, many people are suggesting that Hillary will run. Perhaps this is my dream come true. Giuliani against Clinton again, but this time the stakes are higher. As reported recently, Rudy Giuliani is the most popular politician in the US today. Hillary is number 8 on that list. Perhaps this election will be the one that almost happened in New York, where Rudy Giuliani will win against Hillary Clinton in the polls and finally make it to the White House.

Secular Islam

After seeing this clip I think that secular Muslims know better than religious Muslims as to what is beneficial to Islam and Muslims, and what is detrimental. All I know is that her name is Wafaa Sultan. She might have an organization of some sort to promote her message, but I don't know for sure. The last minute and a half is, I think, the best part of the clip.

Purim in Nazareth

As reported by the Israeli paper Haaretz, a mentally deranged Jew from Jerusalem, together with his Christian wifre and daughter attempted to celebrate Purim today in Nazareth. They hid firecrackers in a baby stroller and detonated the firecrackers during prayers on Friday. Police were called in to restrain the crowd outside who wanted to attack the firecrackerers. Israeli EMS (Magen David Adom) was unable to reach him after he was injured in the head; crowds had attacked an ambulance forcing it to leave.

The deranged extremist came to Yasser Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah, and told Arafat that the Israelis wanted to take away his daughter from him. Therefore he wanted to remain in PA-controlled areas. Arabs leaders are blaming the Israeli government for not being firm enough against such extremists. The Israeli attitude encourages Jewish extremists to perform such acts of violence and terror, they said.

As if they care about the holiness of churches. Last week they were bombing mosques, and this week they're busy defending attacks against churches. Attacks that caused no direct damage to the church. Labor Party Chairman Amir Peretz said, "Any attempt to damage holy sites destroys the delicate relations between different faiths in Israel." Where was he when, after the Israeli expulsion of Jews from Gaza this summer, the synagogues in Gaza were being burned and destroyed by Palestinians? Does that not matter to anyone?! Only if someone throws a firecracker in a church in Nazareth or blows off the dome of a mosque in Iraq will people feel outraged. We live in a sad world, where equality is a word in the dictionary, but means nothing in actuality.