Liveblogging "Why We Want To Kill You"; Update–"Wake Up And Smell The Hummus;" Former MSA Student Removed, Audio Of Event Posted

“Wake up and smell the hummus!”–Walid Shoebat and Kamal Saleem

**Update 2–former Muslim Student Association president removed by police (scroll for video)

**Update–here are some pics from the Walid Shoebat/Kamal Saleem “Why We Want to Kill You” event:

There was a heavy police presence, with CU-Boulder, Boulder PD and Boulder County Sheriffs out in force

Spring was in the air, and were soon to be joined by the local MSM’s broadcast signals

Attendees waited their turn to empty their pockets and get the wanding treatment, as security was tight, including metal barricades

Once inside, placed upon every seat was a “formal warning” flier about disturbances, interference, etc.–it was clear that any moonbattery would be dealt with quickly

Audio–Walid Shoebat (48 minutes) and Kamal Saleem (27 minutes)

Recap from the Daily Camera:

Two ex-terrorists who have caused controversy with their criticisms of Islam told a University of Colorado crowd to “Wake up and smell the hummus” Tuesday night.

Walid Shoebat and Kamal Saleem, whose talk was titled “Why We Want to Kill You,” spent 90 minutes in the Glenn Miller Ballroom detailing their terrorist experiences and explaining flaws in American terrorist policy.

“I am standing on (America’s) wall, crying out, saying, ‘Wake up, wake up,’” Saleem said. “We have a saying that goes, ‘Wake up and smell the hummus. If you don’t, you’ll be smelling it for a long time.’”

They say Americans don’t understand the resolve of Islamic fundamentalists and that the public should do more to understand the dangerous aspects of the religion.

The speakers have drawn criticism at many of their tour stops in support of Shoebat’s book of the same name. They drew a crowd of roughly 1,000 on Tuesday night.

Striking a tone of urgency, both speakers felt it important to remind the audience of the threats faced by America, Israel, and the West.

But of course, much attention in the MSM and at the event centered around the fees involved:

The College Republicans invited the speakers to CU, and $10,000 in student fees was used to pay for the event.

According to Kathleen Patrick, College Republicans chairwoman, roughly $5,000 of that was paid to the speakers, while the rest went to a large security presence and other logistical costs. The speakers said they spent $20,000 to come to CU.

Shoebat challenged his opponents in the audience to prove that he and Saleem were making a huge profit from the event–essentially marketing fear and cashing in on anti-Muslim sentiment (as they had been accused of in media leading up to the event, and during the Q & A).

Neither Shoebat or Saleem made the kind of broad generalizations that opponents have alleged they make about all Muslims, and in fact, repeated several times the distinctions between radical jihadist elements planning operations in the West to the vast majority of Muslims. They did note, however, that Muslim affinities and opinion polls suggested that in some cases more than a majority of Muslims in a given area supported jihad, terrorist organizations, attacks on the West, etc. These factors could not be denied:

Both claim to have been Islamic terrorists in the Middle East and to have converted from radical Islam to Christianity. They said they are not anti-Islam and that criticizing a religion is not racism.

The discussion was mainly civil until the end of the question-and-answer portion. Several shouts of “What is your message?” came from the back of the hall. Shoebat’s response was, “What is my message? My message is, ‘Shut up.’”

There were no organized protests, and no one was removed from the room.

Shoebat told the crowd that Islam isn’t just a religion but a “constitution” and that Muslims are told to “fight all nations until they all say they are Muslims.” He also told a story in which a Muslim man was killed as a suicide bomber and his family held a celebration.

Saleem also criticized moderate Muslims in the United States. He said he wants to see those Muslims “wearing the American flag.” But he also said several times that not all Muslims are terrorists.

“Don’t go outside and hate Muslims,” he said. “Know who’s who, and that some are here for propaganda, and some are not.”

Note the bolded section–no organized protests or removals. Au contraire–though the students did not have any coordinated efforts, it was clear that the student opposition was intentionally positioned throughout the venue, and offered clear support to the few who managed to ask questions of the speakers. Not to mention the self-proclaimed former Muslim Student Association president who was escorted from the ballroom, and just so happened to be sitting next to yours truly:

Thankfully, both speakers noted that although the university setting should, in theory, provide an open venue for the exchange of ideas, it was in fact these exact places that offered the most in the way of preconceived opposition and a clear disregard for alternative opinions or even an opening of debate:

The speakers’ tour hasn’t been confined to college campuses, but they criticized the American university structure. Shoebat said, according to statistics he didn’t specifically cite, that for every seven leftist professors on campuses, there is one “for America, you know, ‘God bless America.’”

Shoebat asked if it was worth risking his life to educate others about the dangers of Islam. His answer was, “Yes, but I’m not so sure on university campuses.”

Even the 7-to-1 ratio sounds a bit low. Especially for CU-Boulder.

More at 9NEWS (video), who sat with Shoebat and Saleem for an interview, and have a brief glimpse of one of the hecklers from the Muslim Student Association accusing the speakers of fostering Islamophobia by attacking “one fifth of the world’s population.”

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Liveblogging from the BlackBerry–should any “spontaneous” moonbattery
break out.

Got the camera with video ready to catch it all, despite a bright pink
flier on every seat warning that any “interference” will not be
tolerated, violators will be suspended or expelled (students) and
subject to prosecution (everyone).

Geesh!

Durango May Day Festival–Drum Circle And Really, Really Free Market!

For those of you in Southwest Colorado brimming with the “spirit of resistance” and a taste for moonbattery–

Bike jousting and slingshot competitions–won’t those be violent? Or are they warming up for the DNC?

And of course, the obligatory “drum circle.” How original!

CSU’s Hurricane Forecaster And Climate Change Skeptic Dr. William Gray Faces Cold Shoulder For Global Warming Comments

**Update–Gray and CSU dispute original story:

Gray, who is in Florida this week, spoke with 9NEWS over the phone.

He said he was “very sorry and embarrassed” about the news saying, “CSU continues to support me.”

In response to his comment within the memo, Gray said, “(My stance on global warming) could have been a factor in the talks, but I don’t know.”

He added, “CSU has never come out to say I should restrict my views on global warming… I have absolutely no complaints at CSU.”

Aside from reporting that CSU may pull support from Gray, the national cable news network, Fox News, also wrote on its Web site, “Hurricane expert may lose job over climate views.”

Gray and Woods both said there was never even a whisper about that.

“There has been no change to my status at CSU,” Gray said.

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Via Drudge:

By pioneering the science of seasonal hurricane forecasting and teaching 70 graduate students who now populate the National Hurricane Center and other research outposts, William Gray turned a city far from the stormy seas into a hurricane research mecca.

But now the institution in Fort Collins, Colo., where he has worked for nearly half a century, has told Gray it may end its support of his seasonal forecasting.

As he enters his 25th year of predicting hurricane season activity, Colorado State University officials say handling media inquiries related to Gray’s forecasting requires too much time and detracts from efforts to promote other professors’ work.

But Gray, a highly visible and sometimes acerbic skeptic of climate change, says that’s a “flimsy excuse” for the real motivation — a desire to push him aside because of his global warming criticism.

Among other comments, Gray has said global warming scientists are “brainwashing our children.”

Now an emeritus professor, Gray declined to comment on the university’s possible termination of promotional support.

But a memo he wrote last year, after CSU officials informed him that media relations would no longer promote his forecasts after 2008, reveals his views:

“This is obviously a flimsy excuse and seems to me to be a cover for the Department’s capitulation to the desires of some (in their own interest) who want to reign (sic) in my global warming and global warming-hurricane criticisms,” Gray wrote to Dick Johnson, head of CSU’s Department of Atmospheric Sciences, and others.

As Roger Fraley says, “tow the global warming line . . . or else!”

Colorado Voter Registration And Party Affiliation–April Update

Cross-posted from Schaffer v Udall

The latest numbers from the Secretary of State’s office–

Republicans–1017738
Democrats–900823
Unaffiliated–1013548
Total–2932109

SvU’s voter affiliation tracker has been updated:

Previous coverage here.

Quote Of The Day 042908

“For who he was and the sacrifice he made, he is now, and for eternity, a true American patriot and a hero.”

Blogs4Borders Video Blogburst 042808

Freedom Folks has this week’s edition.

PETA: "Cutest Vegetarian Alive"

**Update–PETA’s female winner:

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University of Colorado freshman Leonard Sun was named “Cutest Vegetarian Alive,” male division, by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ youth division.

Dude–and it is a dude!:

A 19-year-old Coloradan who says “meat is gross and unhealthy,” has been named the cutest vegetarian alive, male division, by the animal-rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Leonard Sun, 19, a student at the University of Colorado at Boulder, says he likes to buy organic and fair-trade products, likes his pants tight, his shades big and his headphones even bigger, according to PETA’s web site.

Sun said he went vegetarian three years ago because “it’s not fair to eat animals just because we can.”

More than 3,500 people vied for the prize, including 1,700 males, said Eva Vieyra-McDaniel of PETA2, the youth division of PETA.

PETA claims that each vegetarian saves 100 animals’ lives each year.

“I got kind of sick of eating meat” about three years ago, Sun said. “I felt really bad for the animal, seeing what they had to go through when you watch the videos. I felt kind of guilty.”

Sun, a film studies major, said he feels better and has more energy now.

He gets his protein from soy products, nuts and whole grain.

Sun will receive an official “Cutest Vegetarian Alive” sash, a package of vegan goodies, and the chance to model a peta2 T-shirt on peta2.com.

Now I know why I eat meat.

Sure it wasn’t a Boy George look-alike contest–”Do you really want to hurt me?”

DNC And RNC Protestors Gather To "Practice" With "Hands-On" Training

Advanced blockading 101–includes “hands-on” training!

Come to DC in June 13-15 to join us for an East Coast Unconventional Convergence. Months before the Republican and Democratic National Conventions we will be hosting a massive training, convergence, and platform for regional consultas for any anti-authoritarian organizers planning to attend the DNC/RNC.

Throughout the weekend we will be working chronologically through the steps of planning and participating in a mass action and demonstration. Contrary to most events like workshops will intentionally run parallel to each other. We recommend you attend with a formal or informal affinity group so you and your friends can be split between the different workshops and report back to each other (please do not let lack of a group discourage you from coming!). Our goals are to provide a structure that will include people of all skill and experience levels. There will be trainings on everything from media to blockading, from legal work to urban guerilla tactics. And for those who consider themselves “too skilled” we would like to remind you that you always have things to learn, share, and of course, PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT!

Workshops will be demonstrative as opposed descriptive wherever possible. This means that we will hopefully be building and using blockades instead of just talking about them so we can walk away with a fuller understanding. These same blockades can certainly be deployed on the streets in the Twin Cities and Denver. PRAXIS [can't have too much of that, I always say, ed.] SIDE BY SIDE WITH THEORY!

There will be a concentrated effort to socialize and meet new people. We will hopefully meet people we didn’t know from our home towns, build connections between close-by cities in our own states, and foster robust lines of communication between states. We will concentrate on the creation of strong, sustainable, networks between many different type of activists. These connections strengthen our organizing power and have practical applications in the streets as we learn how to be effective in groups of five, fifteen, fifty, five hundred, and five thousand. SOLIDARITY OVER SECTARIANISM!

Additionally, please keep in mind that we are a completely unfunded organization. Despite our best efforts to keep costs to a strict minimum we will still need materials for use in demonstrations; (materials that will eventually see time on the streets St. Paul and Denver). This means we need to fund raise in advance of the convergence, so keep abreast of information on pre-registration.

DETAILS:

Date: June 13-15
Location: Washington, DC on the Campus of American University
Cost: $20 with housing, $10 without housing, meals provided
Website: http://ecc.dead-city.org
Contact: dc@unconventionalaction.org

And, of course, fundraiser–bring the kiddies.

You can never be “too skilled” as a protestor. Don’t let the latest chant update, advanced bongo technique, or patchouli accenture pass you by!

Walid Shoebat Interview; CAIR’s Ibrahim Hooper Rails Against CU Boulder Appearance

“What part of ‘kill’ do you Americans not understand?” he says, adding that sharia “is not a set of religious laws for the sole purpose of spiritual raising, raising people spiritually. No, no, no. It is a set of constitutional laws, and that’s the problem”–Walid Shoebat

CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper, reached via phone in Washington, D.C., called Shoebat the a darling of the “extreme wing of the pro-Israel lobby” and said Shoebat’s observations appear designed to do nothing more than whip up the post-9/11 hysteria that Muslims are only out to destroy Americans and Jews

We’ve been tracking the upcoming Walid Shoebat lecture “Why We Want to Kill You”–and the Boulder Weekly now has a featured interview with the ex-jihadist:

And on April 29, likely amid tightened security, Shoebat will speak to the University of Colorado on the invitation of the campus’ College Republicans. He expects to touch on the topic of his book, Why We Want to Kill You: The Jihadist Mindset and How to Defeat it.
. . .
Asked if in his mind Muslims have any redeemable qualities, he says, “I think the Muslims are redeemable, but Islam as a principle is not.” He points to Islamic sharia law and says it is used as a justification to kill outsiders.

“What part of ‘kill’ do you Americans not understand?” he says, adding that sharia “is not a set of religious laws for the sole purpose of spiritual raising, raising people spiritually. No, no, no. It is a set of constitutional laws, and that’s the problem.”

Look at the fawning reception CAIR receives in the following description:

Such statements explain why the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation’s largest Islamic civil liberties group, chided the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs for having Shoebat and other self-described “former terrorists” speak at a prestigious conference earlier this year meant to provide recommendations on “dismantling terrorism” to Congress and the military/intelligence community.

CAIR, which seeks to further America’s understanding of roughly seven million Muslims and battle “Islamophobia,” issued statements to the press and school claiming that Shoebat and his associates had made “bigoted and inaccurate” statements in the past. CAIR cited several examples, including Shoebat’s claims to Missouri’s Springfield News-Leader newspaper a year ago that there are “many parallels between the Antichrist and Islam.”

“Islam is not the religion of God — Islam is the devil,” Shoebat told the paper.

CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper, reached via phone in Washington, D.C., called Shoebat the a darling of the “extreme wing of the pro-Israel lobby” and said Shoebat’s observations appear designed to do nothing more than whip up the post-9/11 hysteria that Muslims are only out to destroy Americans and Jews.
. . .
Shoebat’s invitations to lecture at universities disappoint Hooper.

“It’s disturbing that he’s invited to credible events held by credible groups,” Hooper says.

How magnanimous–the event and the hosting group, the College Republicans–are “credible” in the view of CAIR.

Second look at CAIR? Oh, nevermind.

Now for the “cost” of the event, something that is never discussed when Leftist moonbats are invited to campus:

And bringing Shoebat to CU is costly — roughly $30,000. Shoebat says the expenses are largely security-driven because he has weathered past threats for expressing his views, at times fearing for his life.

Some colleges have struggled with Shoebat’s appearances, including Columbia University, which prior to a recent Shoebat lecture revoked at the last minute many of the invitations sent out by the school’s campus Republicans, citing safety concerns.

CU is aware Shoebat’s visit could spark controversy and is ready to address the accompanying security issues, says Bronson Hilliard, university spokesman.

“There are always security concerns for these kinds of visits,” he acknowledges.
. . .
Hilliard added CU’s College Republicans are bringing in Shoebat and CU’s administration is extremely hesitant to play “Big Brother” or “micromanage” student events, except in rare cases where a speaker could pose a high threat to public safety.

There are always safety concerns because the moonbat opposition groups hate any speech that they disagree with–and show up to protest and disrupt the events. A look back at how Columbia “uninvited” guests to Shoebat’s lecture two years ago.

While there is no confirmed oppositional strategies, one can be assured the event won’t go smoothly:

Jack Anthony Roldan, vice chairman of the College Republicans, has yet to hear any rumblings of a protest. The group, he says, wants to highlight the issue of terrorism.

“We felt this would be a unique opportunity for students and community members to hear from two individuals who not only know terror organizations well, but were also a part of them and, at one point, our adversaries,” Roldan explains. “With the events of Sept. 11, the Madrid bombings, the nightclub bombings in Bali and the London bombings, it is evident this threat is growing and it is important for all of us to understand the roots of terrorism and what we can do to ensure our quality of life sustains.”

The event will also include another “former terrorist,” Kamel Saleem. The university’s cultural events board is providing about $10,000. The Walid Shoebat Foundation, according to Roldan, will provide the remaining amount.

Denver Media And Political Week In Review 042508

Highlights from local media types dishing on Rush Limbaugh, Recreate ‘68, Colorado College–and other political banter from this past week:

Dave and Lois on “The Ride Home” (850KOA):
Dave and Lois press Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO) on his call for Rush Limbaugh to face a “public reprimand” for his comments regarding Denver and the Democratic National Convention (interview starts at about the 1/4 mark of the audio)

Rush Limbaugh defends his comments, discusses the Denver MSM’s coverage of his comments and the relative coverage of Recreate ‘68

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Mike Rosen (850KOA):
Fri–(9am, 10am) Rosen discussing the Limbaugh comments; “winning at all costs” not an option for Rosen
Tue–(11am) Adam Kissel, Foundation for Individual Rights in Higher Education, discusses the Colorado College case

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Jon Caldara (“Independent Thinking”):

Chainsaw Etiquette at Colorado College

Eco-Theology 21st Century Religion