Char Sui Bao ( Chinese BBQ pork buns)

Char siu bao are Cantonese-style sweet barbecue pork buns. They usually have an almost cake-like bun and are very fluffy and sweet. Unlike most steamed buns, they are made with cake flour rather than bread flour to achieve that cake-like texture. These buns are a dim sim house staple and a street food favorite. I prefer my steamed buns to taste more like a bun rather than a cake, so I've come up with a bun recipe that keeps the light and fluffy texture of the original char siu bao, but with a regular bun-like texture and flavor.

Ingredient: 

Yields 2 people

For the bao (bun) 

1 1/2 ~ 2 Cups all purpose flour
1/2 Cup warm water
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 Cup warm water

For the fillings

1/2 lb pork
1 Tbsp honey
2  tsp soy sauce
2 1/2  tsp oyster sauce
1 T brown sugar
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/8 tsp Chinese Five Spice
2 scallions
1 clove of garlic
1/2 onion
1 tsp corn starch
few Tbsp vegetable oil
Salt and pepper

Direction: 

Start by dicing the pork into small pieces. When you choose your pork, try to get it some that has fat on it. This will give your bun a very juicy filling. Mix all of the filling ingredients (except the onion and corn starch) and add 1 Tbsp cold water. Marinate for an hour.

Mix the bun dough and knead it until smooth and elastic. Baking powder and baking soda seem like pretty unusual ingredients to put in the bun, but these two ingredients are what are going to make your bun light and fluffy and burst the top of the bun open. Let the buns rise in a warm, draft-free place for an hour or until they double in size.

In a sauté pan on medium low heat, cook the onion with a few tablespoons of vegetable oil until caramelized. Once the onion is caramelized, turn the heat on high and toss in the marinated pork. Cook until the pork is cooked through. Mix 1/8 C cold water with the corn starch in a separate bowl right before turning off the heat. Whisk in the corn starch mixture with the pork. This will thicken up the juice and keep the filling moist in the bun.

Once the dough has doubled in size, shape it into a log and cut it into 6 or 8 pieces. Roll the individual pieces into a round disk with the middle thicker than the edges.

Here's a tip to rolling out the buns: Roll your rolling pin back and forth with your other hand spinning the dough counter clock wise. Make sure the rolling pin is only touching the edges of the dough. By doing so, you will keep the middle of the dough thicker, which will hold your fillings together nicely. Keep doing the motion until you get a flat disk about the size of your palm.

Once the dough is rolled out, place about one table spoon full of filling in the middle of the dough and pinch to seal the buns together.

Steam the buns on high heat for 12 minutes. After 12 minutes, turn the heat off and crack the lid of your steamer open slightly. Let the buns sit for five minutes.

The top of the buns will burst open. That is also one of the signatures of a good char siu bao. But since this isn't the original cake-like bun, it will not burst as dramatically as the original char siu bao.

Anytime I make or eat char siu bao, I think of the char siu bao song in the film God of Gamble II starring Stephan Chow:

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Sorting the Candidates

BY THOMAS SOWELLAUGUST

Despite a nuclear Iran looming on the horizon, the media seem to be putting most of their attention on two candidates for their respective parties’ presidential nominations next year.



Moreover, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump each make their own party nervous.



If next year’s election comes down to Clinton versus Trump, a lot of people may simply stay home in disgust.



When we are this far away from the official start of the primary election season, we can usually just say, “It’s still early days.” Many a front runner this early in the process ended up out of the running by the time the party conventions were held, and totally forgotten by election day.



That is the way it usually is. But that is not likely to be the way it will be this time.



This is Hillary Clinton’s last hurrah. It is now or never for her. And the Democrats have nobody comparable as a vote-getter to put in her place.



Even if an investigation finds Mrs. Clinton found guilty of violating the law in the way she handled e-mails when she was Secretary of State, the Obama administration is not likely to prosecute her. And President Obama can always pardon her, so that the next administration cannot prosecute her either. So Hillary doesn’t even have to take a plea bargain.



Someone with a sense of shame might well withdraw from the contest for the Democratic Party’s nomination, now that public opinion polls show that most people distrust her. But since when have the Clintons ever had a sense of shame?



On the Republican side, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has pointed out that if Donald Trump can continue to get 20 or 25 percent of the Republican voters on his side, he can build up a formidable lead of delegates in winner-take-all primaries.



It will not matter if 60 percent of the Republican voters turn against him, if that 60 percent is split up among all the other Republican candidates, with none of those candidates getting more votes than Trump.



Sometimes financial backers can withdraw their support and force a stubborn candidate to drop out of the race. But Trump has enough money of his own to stay in the race as long as he wants to, even if that ruins the Republicans’ chances of winning the 2016 elections.



Ironically, the Republicans have a much stronger set of presidential candidates than usual to choose from this year. But the media obsession with Trump means that even the best of these candidates are not likely to get enough exposure for most voters to get to know much about them.



Governors with superb records — such as Bobby Jindal in Louisiana and Scott Walker in Wisconsin — may not have much name recognition on the national scene. And certainly the little sound bites in the so-called “debates” are not likely to tell the voters much.

This is not just the candidates’ problem. With this country facing historic dangers, both internally and internationally, we urgently need to find someone with depth, insight and courage as the next President of the United States.



But, with the media obsessed with Donald Trump’s show biz talents and persona — and covering everything he says, does or might do, 24/7 — how are the voters to sort through the large number of Republican candidates to find a couple that are worth getting to know more thoroughly?



It will be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. And never was finding that needle, the right leader, more important for the nation.



Internally, we are so polarized over immigration that our current “leaders” have left our borders wide open to terrorists from around the world, rather than take the political risks of offending voters on one side of this issue or offending voters on the opposite side. Instead, they risk American lives by their inaction.



Internationally, our “leaders” have written a blank check for our most dangerous and fanatical enemy — Iran — to get both nuclear bombs and the missiles to deliver them. And the Obama administration, with a track record of huge shameless lies, offers us its reassurances.



We had better find that needle in a haystack, someone who can salvage a desperate situation. Flamboyant rhetoric is not enough.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Kimch and Kimchi Dumplings

 

The end of Summer is usually the time to freeze and can all the vegetables from your garden. Here's a fun way to "can" your cabbage without all that heat in your kitchen.

As a half Korean, I grew up with always having Kimchi on our dining table almost every single meal — from my grandmother’s Kimchi to my mother’s Kimchi and now coming up with my own. Here’s my Kimchi recipe followed by a very simple way I use it to make dumplings.

You will need:

For the Kimchi:
Yields 1 quart jar
1 Napa cabbage (1.5 to 2 LB)

1 Gallon Water
1/4 Cup Salt (plus a little more to taste)
3 Tbs Koren pepper crust /powder (or dried pepper flakes)
5 Cloves Garlic
1Tbs Ginger
1Tbs Sugar

For the Dumplings:
Yields for 4 to 6 people 
1/2 Cup Kimchi
4 Scallions
1/2  Onion
1 Pack Ground pork (16 oz)
4 head Shiitake mushrooms 
1 pack Wonton wraps
1/2 bunch Glass noodles (bean threads)
2 Tbs Soy sauce
1 Tbs Sesame oil
1/2 Tbs Vegetable oil (plus more for pan frying)
1/2 Tbs Cold water
1 Tbs Corn starch
2 tsp Sugar
Salt & pepper

Directions:

Clean the cabbage and cut into bite sizes and soak it in a gallon of water along with the salt for 5 to 6 hours until it shrinks down to half the size. You can also use regular cabbage with this recipe.

Rinse the cabbage and mix in the remaining ingredients plus a little more salt to taste. You can find the Korean pepper crust in Asian grocery stores or online, but you can absolutely substitute regular dried pepper flakes if you have those on hand.

Note: If you are not used to eating spicy food, you can cut down the amount of pepper flakes in half or to your taste.

Mix until all is combined and seal it with plastic wrap and let it sit in room temperature for 2 to 4 days; time may vary depending on the temperature. Stir it around every day and taste it; it will get more and more sour as it ferments. Let it ferment to the taste you desire and transfer it into a jar and keep in the refrigerator. This Kimchi will keep in the refrigerator up to 3 months.

You can eat this Kimchi on rice, in sandwiches or just on its own. However I’m going to share with you my recipe for very simple Kimchi dumplings (pot stickers) which would be perfect to bring to parties or potlucks.

You want to start by soaking the dried shiitake mushrooms in boiling hot water for a few minutes until they soften; if you have fresh Shiitake mushrooms, you can use those too. Cook the glass noodle in a sauce pan for 2 to 3 minutes, drain them and then shock them in cold water. Dice up all the ingredients into small pieces and mix well to combine. The water and the oil will keep your fillings moist and juicy when you cook them. Here I’ve also added some extra garlic and ginger because I like the flavor, but since the Kimchi already has a really strong garlic and ginger flavor, you can leave them out.

For the sake of this simple dumpling recipe, we are using store-bought wonton wrappers. In a future column, I will show you how to make your own dumpling skins. The only wonton wraps I was able to get in the local store come in this square shape; they are great for folding into wontons. It was a little awkward to make into a dumpling shape, but it did work out fine. Place about a teaspoon full of filling in the middle of each wrap and brush the edges with some egg wash; fold them in half and squeeze out any air bubbles and pinch the edges to seal them. Add some vegetable oil to a large, no-stick sauté pan that’s on high heat. Fry these dumplings for a minute or two on each side until golden brown, and then add a few tablespoons of water in the pan. Cover with a lid and steam for 3 to 4 minutes — this will make sure the filling is cooked through.

I like to dip my dumplings in a mix of soy sauce and vinegar with a little bit of dried pepper flakes — it’s a little something I learned from my mom — but you can pretty much serve them with anything or just on their own.

 

Sponsored by The Free Press

http://www.freepressonline.com/

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Welcome to The Way Rice Should Be

Hi, my name is Hanji Chang and I am Korean Taiwanese — born and raised in Taiwan. I’ve lived in Maine for about six years now. I am an artist and animator, but I also have a huge passion for food. 

I  love living in Maine but the only thing I miss is real Chinese food. Besides having to take the Concord Trailways bus down to Chinatown in Boston every once in a while to get my dose, there really is no other way but to make the food myself. So I want to share with you how you can make real, affordable, healthy and authentic Asian meals, and I guarantee you can find all of the ingredients at your local grocery store, farmer’s market and even discount stores and your garden!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

A Question of Patriotism

By Tabitha Korol



The more we Americans began hearing about the possible nuclear pact with the Islamic Republic of Iran, aka “the Iran deal,” and the more President Obama saw that Americans of all faiths and political opinions realized that the pact was not in our best interest, and the more we heard the old anti-Semitic canards from the White House and the media. Things soured for Obama when Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cautioned against this arrangement, clarifying that the funding of $150 billion for Iran, with cash assets, sanctions relief, and all strings severed could serve to fund its global terrorism operation and defense. In essence, we would be subsidizing Iran’s undertakings and boost its efforts to eradicate Israel. Obama is also setting the stage to turn U.S. citizens against American Jews, a tactic that Jews have experienced through the centuries.



To simplify, America was in a position to be the victor with an agreement to prevent Iran’s becoming a nuclear power, force it to dismantle much of its nuclear infrastructure, prevent it from enriching uranium, close the Fordo enrichment facility, demand that Iran expose all past nuclear activities, close its Inter-continental Ballistic Missile Program (ICBMs aimed at our continent), allow round-the-clock inspections, and continue sanctions until all conditions were met.



Rather, the deal has been called “utterly disastrous.” Kerry agreed to lifting sanctions so that Iran could join the global market and sell oil, all the while increasing our own debt and weakening our own economy by gifting our closet collaborator with $150 billion – he’s bonding with the Islamic entity. By lifting the conventional arms embargo and allowing Iranians to flout the travel ban, Iran could secure more weapons and imperil Israel, “the Little Satan.” It wouldn’t even take much to have their brainwashed, suicidal adults and children detonate themselves in a crowd of Israeli children, shoppers, and general work force. The contract would also allow the lifting of sanctions over Iranian ICBMs after eight years, thereby providing Iran with the means to target the United States, the “Great Satan,” although ineffective provisos would actually free Iran from obligations far sooner – a matter of months.



Instead of the 24/7 inspection America originally stipulated, Iran gets a 24-days’ notice, during which they may move or conceal their activities. Even now, UN inspectors (not to include Americans and Canadians) may not speak with key scientists and military officers about concealed operations. Submission to these stipulations reveals America’s cooperation in the face of Islamic tyranny.



As more Americans voiced their opposition to the pact, the more often we heard snide statements, such as AP’s references to “the money,” and “the lobbyists,” deviously implying that Jews were the only ones to differ with our US government. One of the oldest lies in the world is again in use, as in the past, to provoke pogroms against Jews by classifying them as unfaithful citizens. We hear nefarious references to the “Jewish lobby,” but never the “Arab lobby,” which brings in the unvetted, possibly jihadist, immigrants, the gradual changes in our schools to install Sharia, the 102 million working-age Americans unemployed, the $818 billion taken from Medicare to fund Obamacare, the refusal to submit a budget to prevent the collapse of Social Security, the blatant disregard for our Constitution, and the growing evidence of treason in the White House.



People of all faiths and convictions weighed in against the pact with the terrorist nation. Christians United for Israel (CUFI) stands firmly against making a deal with an entity whose citizens are hair-trigger ready to re-enact another 9/11 or Benghazi, or any of the numerous attacks on Israeli citizens, with cries of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.” Our nation’s veterans have come out against the deal as well. In fact, an overwhelming majority of Americans do not want to sign a pact with the Islamic Republic, and our administration is betraying the will of the majority of the people. But armed with pen and phone, the undeterred Obama warned that he would implement the deal regardless of Congress, and that he would make life miserable for those who oppose him.



When non-Jewish democrats, Juan Vargas (CA), Albio Sires (NJ) and Grace Meng (NY), voiced their opposition, Obama could not lash out at an ethnicity. But once the anti-Semitic hate speech was unleashed, an administration’s pro-deal twitter account began using more blatant Jew-hatred attacks, which was soon to be followed by the New York Times, with its roughly half-dozen “Jewish” references and a smear against Senator Chuck Schumer. Obama provoked a bigoted campaign, calling Schumer a traitor, warmonger, and Israeli agent. Unaccountably, the majority of Jewish voters have blindly and deafly supported Obama in all his problematic demands, and polls show that twice as many Americans, including the Jews, are against the deal, believing it will lead to a more dangerous world.



Yet it is times like these that the President resorts to blatant bigotry and accusations that Jews have dual loyalty, a tactic designed to discourage, silence, and intimidate Jews from acting in their own behalf, lest they be seen as unpatriotic – an efficient, centuries-old technique. Obama has gone so far as to accuse Israel, and Netanyahu specifically, for meddling in America’s business, although it wasn’t so long ago that Obama meddled in Israel’s elections and threatened to tie Israel’s hands. He is determined to continue his modus operandi, “divide and conquer,” to defy and coerce those who work against his “diplomatic triumph.” This will undoubtedly be extended to demonize the Tea Party, AIPAC and other Jewish groups, and go so far as to vandalize, audit and sue them. The threats have been issued – capitulate or be destroyed.



The word is out: President Obama sent then-Senate Foreign Affairs Committee chairman John Kerry to Iran four years ago, and he promised them the bomb. The Washington Free Beacon reported, “President Barack Obama approved of Iran’s right to operate a nuclear program in 2011 during secret meetings with Iranian officials, according to new disclosures by Iran’s Supreme Leader.” Khamenei also revealed in a recent speech that talks began in secret with the anti-Semitic, Holocaust-denying former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.



It is not the Jews who are unpatriotic.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

HILLARY:THE SERIAL LIAR

by Marshall Frank



It is stunning to me, that a confirmed serial liar could be the recipient of even one vote for elective office. What does that say about our electorate?



This is not a party matter. It’s an integrity matter. Gross dishonesty in public office is a sign that the person cannot be trusted with what they say. We had a president who, in 1974, resigned from the presidency in disgrace for being a serial liar. Yet, there are millions of people who are willing to wear blinders and cast a vote for the most despicable liar in the current political arena, Hillary Clinton.



Imagine for one second, you are the father of a fallen son who was killed in a terror attack while trying to save the lives of others. Within hours, the source of that attack in Benghazi was confirmed as terrorism, though the Obama administration was still spinning a deflective line about an anti-Muslim video, which had nothing to do with the attack.



Four days later you – the dad – are at the receiving ceremony where the bodies lay in coffins. As Mrs. Clinton performs her perfunctory duties extending condolences to the families, she says to you, the father of Tyrone Woods, “We’re going to have that person arrested who did that video.”



How comforting.



Never mind that it was the Secretary of State and her department hierarchy who declined numerous pleas over a period of six months from the Benghazi compound for heightened security. Instead, not only were the requests denied, security was diminished, gutted, almost as though it was timed perfectly so that the attackers were provided an open door.



Never mind that military and intel personnel in Washington and overseas, had established the attack was not because of any video. Never mind that the Clinton and Obama cartel continued to spin the “video” propaganda for three weeks, knowing it was a lie. Never mind that the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, refused to appear on television news programs to answer questions, rather, she cowardly dispatched Susan Rice to appear in her stead on five Sunday network interviews to blather the same lie about the video.



Never mind that Hillary – the head of the state department – took charge of nothing, rather, she disappeared on a three-month tour of planet earth to do nothing more than hide behind the diplomatic mask, flying, shaking hands, photo-ops and no questions.



I cannot imagine any American voter who would think this person would make a trusted president.



In 1974, Nixon’s lies were about a bungled burglary. Hillary’s lies were about the killings of four distinguished American heroes.



I am highlighting this incident because it was a whopper. It pertained to murder. Hillary’s lies are so common, they are laughable. Maybe that’s why no one takes them seriously.



Try this: Click here: Hillary Clinton dodges sniper fire in Bosnia – raw footage – YouTube



Yes, that’s a video from 2008 when Hillary told an audience how she had landed in Bosnia under sniper fire, and had to duck while running from the plane. When on-site people challenged her story as being false, she dismissed saying, “Well, I misspoke.”



She made it up! It was not exaggerations, or a half truth. It was a total lie! And people amazingly continue to give her credibility?



News anchor Brian Williams lost his job at NBC for making up a similar story. Well, maybe he should run for president.



Here’s a few more…cherry-picked because this is only a blog, not a book.



Hillary said that her daughter, Chelsea, was jogging around the World Trade Center during 9/11. Not true. Later, Hillary admitted that Chelsea was safely in her apartment when the attack occurred.



She claimed she was named after Sir Edmund Hillary because he was a hero who climbed Mt. Everest. One problem: Hillary climbed the mountain six years after Clinton was born.



Her family was dead broke when they left the White House in 2001. Boo hoo. That won’t sent well with truly poor people, to know that she was worth about $12 million, not to mention the litany of high-priced speeches she and Bill embarked on.



She claimed to be instrumental in the Northern Ireland peace process. However, the people who were there negotiating the peace say Hillary was never there.



Here’s a few more:



Click here: List of 10 Verified Hillary Clinton Lies | The North Coast Curmudgeon



Now of course, we have all the lies about her government e-mails on her private account and server, not to mention the dishonest act of deleting e-mails before any sub-committee personnel could see them.



Some folks will say this is a political witch hunt. Was the Nixon scandal a political witch hunt, or a disclosure of dishonesty by a government servant? When politicians lie and commit crimes, it is the duty of congress, and the executive department, to investigate and take action. They are not witch hunts. And those who would knowingly protect serial liars like Hillary Clinton ought to think twice, if they are not aiding and abetting a criminal.



I’m hoping Joe Biden enters the race for the Democrats. If the presidency should be retained by the Democrats, at least he’s likeable and far more credible than this woman, who has spent her adult life looking the other way (from philandering Bill) so she could ride on his power train to acquire her lifelong obsession: The Presidency.



God forbid.



Click here: PICKET: (AUDIO) Father of killed Navy SEAL – Hillary told me she would have filmmaker ‘arrested and prosecuted’ –



Click here: Clinton says she ‘misspoke’ about sniper fire – CNN.com



Click here: The Top 7 Hillary Clinton Lies That The Liberal Media’s Trying To Hide…



Click here: Hillary Clinton: We Were Dead Broke – YouTube



Click here: Clinton Aide Cheryl Mills Told to Destroy Emails: Report



Click here: Hillary Clinton deleted all email from personal server – CNNPolitics.com

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Dawa* at Chautauqua (*proselytizing of Islam)

By Tabitha Korol



The Chautauqua Institution, deemed an adult education center, is less education than it is indoctrination to the world of The Left. In the month of July, in an idyllic setting, the Institution invited Islamists who speak of “Love and Justice in a World of Suffering,” hiding the truths about the suffering caused by Islam – both the harsh Sharia law already in effect for its adherents and to establish it in Dar Al-Harb (House of War), the countries not yet under Sharia – until the entire world will writhe under Islamic oppression.



Omid Safi, appointed director of Duke University’s Islamic Studies Center in July, 2015, spoke in terms to please the underinformed. He and they would prefer that hideous acts of violence, such as perpetrated by ISIS, ISIL, Boko Haram, Hamas, and countless others with like purpose, be removed from the news media and replaced with stories of compassion. In so doing, of course, he would silence the reporters and critics and destroy our freedom to speak, report, and inform the masses about the evils perpetrated by Muslims, so that we would remain oblivious to Islam’s stealth control over our media and our minds. He would then pursue and obtain legal accommodations without obstacle, force Sharia law over our Constitutional laws without hindrance, and threaten all our freedoms through influence, treachery, and force.



The “pain and suffering” he referenced in Ferguson, Baltimore, and Staten Island, have been shown to be largely incitement encouraged by outsiders who represent Islam and the Left; conquest is best accomplished during turmoil and disorder. The mayhem forces the unprepared, unarmed victims into appeasement mode, to cede their rights and ability to speak and defend in favor of assuaging the unmanageable horde that cries “victimhood.” Peace at any cost. The chaos allows the aggressive to dominate and, under the guise of “love and justice,” impose its law on all nations – thus implementing the laws of Allah through jihad.



Safi was also sure to remind that there was insufficient money for social issues but a glut for our military – an absolute inverted fabrication to which the unaware nod in assent because Chautauqua provides no discussions, no debates, no visitors to provide an opposing view. The rhetoric that passes for intellect remains unchallenged; the audience is never encouraged to analyze and grasp that the narrative undermines their very survival.



In fact, the growth in national health spending and welfare programs have accelerated to levels that, unchecked, will bring our country to bankruptcy. The federal government’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have expanded to cover additional and improved services for 200 million people; and an average of 46+ million people received food stamps on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program during 2012, with more illegal aliens and “new Americans” still coming to our shores – unvetted for physical and mental illnesses, crime, or productivity. The programs thwart incentive to strive, inhibit growth and achievements, and cut back funds for investments, new jobs and opportunities for the many – a future of prosperity.



He advocates cuts to our military budget, already at a pre-World War II low, when the threat to our national security is at an all-time high. Severe cuts in defense spending have already subjected our nation to accumulating strategic risks to such as crisis-readiness, sustaining pilot skills with sufficient flying hours, and maintaining a Naval presence in key regions. Our military must continue diplomatic, economic and intelligence elements for preserving trade routes and stability in vital regions, and serving global interests. Financial support is crucial for military infrastructure and civilian and contractor defense workforce. Safi instigates his audience to desire further increases in social expenditures (higher taxation and prices, shrinking wealth, increased poverty, and compounded national debt) and to diminish our self-defense and military superiority against Islamic or any tyrannical expansionism. Disarmed, submissive subjects are easier to rule and more likely to provide the revenue and manpower needed for further conquest.



Safi reminded his audience of the human condition, always to plead for Muslim suffering, as though they are the eternal victim rather than the perpetual offender. As I mentioned in my previous essay, Mosquitoes in the Mosque, Islam is guilty of jihadi expansionism and the slaughter of hundreds of millions of victims since its inception in 624 A.D., unparalleled by any other people, and ongoing. The FBI has reported that ISIS exists in “every single state,” and Chautauqua has its numerous visitors from the Muslim Brotherhood, including the notorious Imam Rauf, who failed to develop his Cordoba Mosque on Ground Zero but is planning one for this vacation spot in southwestern New York state.



While Safi urged his audience to love and empathize with “the human condition everywhere,” he fails to address those who have fallen prey to Islam. An ardent champion for the end of a Jewish Israel, this corrupt jihadist has written fallacious articles that blamed Israel of atrocities against Arabs, using Holocaust-era photos of bodies from Buchenwald concentration camp! Who invites these speakers to so misinform those who presumably come to learn? How are they vetted and allowed these opportunities to propagandize against our liberties, our nation, and against Israel?



The Chautauqua Institution, originally designed to bring culture, hope, and promise during the Great Depression, now presents a façade of scholarship, intellect, and critical thinking, its attendees duped at a critical time in American history. Alas, idealism does not protect one from ignorance, dogmatism, and foolishness.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Money Jihad

Sharia banks that fund terrorism

The relationship is simple. Jihadists know they can trust sharia-compliant banks to maintain their anonymity, not ask too many questions, and facilitate high-dollar transactions on behalf of their terrorist groups. Some Islamic financial institutions, such as National Commercial Bank and Islami Bank Bangladesh, have taken the relationship a step farther by donating a portion of their bank profits in the form of zakat as an act of corporate “charity” to terrorist organizations, or in the case of Al Rajhi, through private zakat donations of leading bankers. Saudi Arabia and Iran are key bases for these activities, but this is a global phenomenon. Here’s Money Jihad’s short list of the worst offenders:



Al Rajhi Bank: The Saudi financial institution has served as the sharia bank of choice for the world’s jihadists, including East Africa embassy bomber Mamduh Mahmud Salim, Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, and organizations like Indonesian Kompak and Al-Haramain. Bank co-founder Sulaiman Al-Rajhi appeared on the infamous Golden Chain document of Al Qaeda financiers. These allegations were reinforced by the recent U.S. Senate investigation into HSBC’s correspondent relationships.



Al Shamal Islamic Bank: Osama Bin Laden co-founded the Al Shamal in Sudan and invested $50 million there. During the 1990s and early 2000s, Al Qaeda distributed money to its cells through Al Shamal. Funds passed through Al Shamal were used in preparation for terrorist attacks.

National Commercial Bank: Offering conventional and sharia banking services, Saudi Arabia’s self-described first, largest, and most prominent bank is NCB. Among other misdeeds, a Saudi audit revealed that NCB transferred $74 million in the 1990s as zakat through its charitable front organizations to Al Qaeda (see here, here, and here). Khalid bin Mahfouz, the head of the bank, exploited libel laws to sue author Rachel Ehrenfeld in an effort to silence accusations about his role in financing terrorism.



Arab Bank: This conventional bank in Jordan maintains a wholly-owned subsidiary (Islamic International Arab Bank PLC) that offers full-range sharia services. Arab Bank has transferred money on behalf of Comité de Bienfaisance et de Secours aux Palestiniens (CBSP), a notorious French charity, to a known financial subunit of Hamas. The Jordanian bank has paid out insurance benefits to families of suicide bombers for the Saudi Committee—another charity that funds Hamas. Arab Bank has handled transactions for the Holy Land Foundation, whose leaders now sit behind bars for financing terrorism. It has been the subject of American investigations, but the bank has consistently refused to turn over related documents to the U.S.



Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited: IBBL, Bangladesh’s biggest sharia bank, has handled Wahhabi accounts to propagate radical Islam since its inception. In 2011, the Bangladeshi home ministry intelligence revealed that 8 percent of the bank’s profits were diverted as corporate zakat to support jihad in Bangladesh. One of the men on IBBL’s board of sharia advisors was arrested in connection with a terrorist attack against Bangladeshi police officers. The U.S. Senate slammed British bank giant HSBC for maintaining relationships with IBBL despite evidence that it served terrorists like Shaikh Abdur Rahman of Jamatul Mujahideen Bangladesh and terror-funding Islamic charities like IIRO. The Senate’s report also implicated HSBC for disregarding evidence of terror financing at another Bangladeshi sharia bank with whom it worked: Social Islami Bank.



Bank Melli: The Iranian Islamic bank sent “at least $100 million to an Iranian Revolutionary Guard branch that supports Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist groups, the Quds Force” between 2002-06.



Bank Saderat: Another major Iranian sharia finance house, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned the rocket-funding Bank Saderat, stating that “The bank is used by the Government of Iran to transfer money to terrorist organizations, including Hizballah, Hamas, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. A notable example of this is a Hizballah-controlled organization that has received $50 million directly from Iran through Bank Saderat since 2001.”



Other culprits include Dubai Islamic Bank, which is active in both the U.A.E. and Pakistan, and Tadamon Islamic Bank.

So much for “ethical finance.” For further developments, please continue reading Money Jihad, Shariah Finance Watch, and @moneyjihad on Twitter.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Mosquitoes in the Mosques

By Tabitha Korol



The guidelines for Letters to the Editor of The Chautauquan Daily include warnings that libelous, demeaning or accusatory statements are unacceptable. This also means that the truth must be curtailed, for it is the truth that supremacist Muslims find inappropriate and offensive, even by those who perpetrate the acts.



Nevertheless, I refer to guest speaker Hussein Rashid, who denied the intensity and frequency of religious violence, citing that Muslims kill a mere 17 Americans per year (surely, not in the year 2001), while mosquitoes kill an average of 750,000. This is the new Moral Inversion, that Sharia law is now moral and mosquitoes immoral. Are we to flick a wrist at jihadists and the growing body count? (According to Muslim historian Firistha, Muslims killed ~400 million Indian people during invasions and occupation of the Indian continent alone, bringing the worldwide total to more than 890 million victims since the birth of Mohammed.)



Are we to disregard the religious bigotry? sadistic cruelty? kidnappings? rapes? lifelong captivity? persecution of women? and worldwide terrorism? and arm ourselves with cans of repellant and netting? This may well be the Enlightenment that Rashid attempted to explain – that we misinterpreted the Middle East, that the wretched mosquito kidnaps young girls for sexual slavery, burns churches, and espouses destructive propaganda in America’s universities.



Rashid did eventually declare religions to be violent, but I submit that all religions cannot be so classified. Religions are not equal; their doctrines differ greatly. Buddhism promotes peacefulness, loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. Hinduism’s many philosophies prescribe honesty, patience, self-restraint, and refraining from injuring living beings. Judaism and Christianity are commonly guided by the Torah and Ten Commandments. Islam’s guide is the Trilogy: Quran, Hadith and Sira.



Compare one Commandment, “Thou shalt not kill/murder,” with the Qur’an’s 109 verses that call Muslims to war with nonbelievers, to kill infidels wherever they hide, to chop off heads and fingers, threatening Hell if they do not slaughter.



Unlike the Old Testament’s verses of violence that are explained in context of history, those in the Qur’an are open-ended, as relevant today as in the past. Islam’s ideology promotes violence until the nonbelievers accept humiliation, convert to Islam, or are killed – a history of bloodshed and suffering.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad