Don't Ever Dream Of Freedom

While the international community and much of the world's media has been focused on the so-called "Arab Spring" and on events transpiring across the Middle East, they seem to have turned a blind eye to South East Asia and in particular on West Papua and the plight of the West Papuan's.

There was hope that with President Obama's visit last month, that the United States would take a tougher stance on Indonesia's brutal human rights abuses in West Papua but sadly the people of West Papua are coming to the bitter realization that their cries for freedom and self-determination have fallen on deaf ears.

The only crime of the West Papuan's has been to peacefully raise their national flag and declare independence from Indonesia and for that they have and continue to suffer the wrath of the Indonesian government.

There was a time when the United States supported the West Papuans and their right to self-determination, but it would seem no more.

Less than a month ago this is what Hillary Clinton had to say...

"There needs to be continuing dialogue and political reforms in order to meet the legitimate needs of the Papua people, and we will be raising that again directly and encouraging that kind of approach....[sic]"

Take a look at the video above, this is how Indonesia deals with the West Papuans.  The comments in the video regarding the pig sty deserve a closer examination and give a glimpse into the mindset of the Indonesian soldiers who see the West Papuans, the majority of which are Christians, as infidels.

For the Indonesians, the separatist conflict in West Papua has little to do with state sovereignty and more so to do with religious strife. 

The West Papuans deserve more than noncommittal gobbledygook from America.  They deserve freedom.

Obama:  Throwing Papua Under the Bus

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Obama The Terrorist - The Silent Moderates

Osama is mujahid - Obama is a terrorist

While the initial reaction to Osama Bin Laden's death throughout Southeast Asia was surprisingly muted with many expressing disbelief on his demise, the general mood is disturbingly changing.   Yesterday afternoon the mosques were packed full from Indonesia and Malaysia to the Philippines with thousands of Al Qaeda supporters and sympathizers taking to the streets afterwards protesting and marching on the respective United States embassies.  

The show of sympathy for Al Qaeda's leader was stunning with many shocked at the large number of supporters who came out.   To those in America and Europe who still think that Al Qaeda's virulent strain of Islam had but a few supporters, yesterday was an eye-opener.   Manila's Golden Mosque which normally attracts only around 500 worshipers for Friday prayers was filled to the brim with over 5000 worshipers yesterday afternoon.  In Malaysia,  Al Qaeda's sympathizers took to the streets and in Indonesia posters were put up denouncing Obama as a terrorist and Osama as a mujahid.

In provocative displays of religious chauvinism Islam's fieriest orators took this unique opportunity to stoke the flames of recrudescent radicalism from a vast new contingent of self-radicalized moderates, by denouncing the West and praising Osama Bin Laden.   It is this new contingent, the "silent moderates" who will seek no rapprochement  and offer no quarter with the West.  Emboldened by the West's appeasement, deference and lack of resolve, they number in the millions and range from bomb-makers to home-makers but each one shares a common goal and that is absolute victory.

While our adversaries overseas are plotting to one day soon deliver the nuclear coup de grâce - our TSA agents are back home are either busy groping preteens in the nation's airports or attending Muslim sensitivity classes.   Time is not on our side and neither will be victory if we don't pull our heads out of the sand.

To paraphrase Churchill, the West has been offered a choice between war and shame.  She has chosen shame and will get war.

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Obama and Osama - Inspiring Islamic Radicalization

Osama Bin Laden Death Photo - Dear Jihadis, this is what happens when you listen to Al Qaeda

"Conspiracy theorists around the world will just claim the photos are doctored anyway, and there is a real risk that releasing the photos will only serve to inflame public opinion in the Middle East."   

~  Barack Hussein Obama

As if these unwashed reprobates in the Middle East needed an excuse to get inflamed.  Might I remind you that they will always find something to get inflamed about.  And yes,  Mr. Obama they will claim that the photos are doctored because of your indecisiveness and over-concern for Muslim sensitivities in releasing them.   But just who's sensitivities are you  so concerned with?  Moderate peace-loving Muslims or the fanatical extremist Muslims?   Surely moderate peace-loving Muslims will be relieved to see actual proof that this fanatical tyrant who proselytized a perverted form of Islam is dead and gone.  The only people who might be irritated or offended are Al Qaeda's supporters and sympathizers.  

In The Art of War, Sun Tzu said  -   "If your enemy is superior, evade him. If angry, irritate him. If equally matched, fight, and if not split and reevaluate."

Might I remind you Mr. Obama, that we are at war and the majority of Americans could care less about our enemies delicate sensitivities.  You though are different.

Did you ever wonder why so many Americans think you are foreign born Mr. Obama?  It has nothing to do with racism or your lack of transparency in showing your birth certificate, but more so to do with where your loyalties lie.  You are an islamophile Mr. Obama who fails to see the United States as an exceptional nation and who relentlessly spouts his anti-american rhetoric overseas.

Amazed and befuddled at your anti-american rhetoric, Lebanese born Fouad Ajami  said of you - "Steeped in an overarching idea of American guilt, Mr. Obama and his lieutenants offered nothing less than a doctrine, and a policy, of American penance. No one told Mr. Obama that the Islamic world, where American power is engaged and so dangerously exposed, it is considered bad form, nay a great moral lapse, to speak ill of one’s own tribe when in the midst, and in the lands, of others."

It's sad to say, but it you Mr. Obama who has done more to inspire radicalism in the Islamic world than Osama Bin Laden has.   It was Osama Bin Laden  who  professed Islamic superiority to throngs of vulnerable jihadi wannabes around the world and you  Mr. Obama have professed American inferiority to the same people.  In an upcoming post here we will explain in detail exactly how you have changed the face of Islamic radicalization and how Islamic extremism is now changing.

It was in early 2008, well before your world tour that we warned Americans of what was to come  and how Islamic radicalization and extremism would change and they didn't listen, but they will in 2012.
    
"To suitably prejudiced Indonesians Obama's pledge to "rid the American mind-set of militarism" substantiates the position of the Islamic militants by rekindling the prophecies of Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden. That America is a decadent and vile ogre, bloodied with the guilt of imperialism and inescapably tainted by an anti-Islamic history. It is this symbolically violent imagery that Indonesia's fundamentalist orators will use to radicalize a new contingent of militants from the ranks of Islam's moderates. Individuals who are mesmerized by the phantasmagorical image of one of their own now inhabiting the White House and who will see it as a sign of America's impending submission and our nation's acquiescence to the superiority of Islam."

It was a bullet that brought down Osama Bin Laden, it will be the vote of the American people that brings down Barack Hussein Obama.

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Across Southeast Asia Bin Laden Still Lives

Throughout Southeast Asia, the alleged killing of Osama Bin Laden coupled with the delay by the United States government in releasing any photographic evidence to the fact is giving birth to a flood of conspiracy theories, with many refusing to believe that Al Qaeda's leader is actually dead.

The conspiracy theories are varied - some saying this is simply a ploy by Barack Hussein Obama to help his popularity and others saying that this is a lie meant to draw Osama Bin Laden out  -  there is however one common denominator that all these conspiracy theories have, and that is that all this is nothing more than a ginned-up story from the United States and that Osama Bid Laden still lives.

"Where is the proof?" is the common response here in Southeast Asia whenever Osama Bin Laden's demise is mentioned.  

At this point the damage is done, the photographic evidence  and/or proof of Osama Bin Laden's death should have been released immediately without this charade of conflicting stories and  an agonizing delay that has and continues to give birth to a plethora of conspiracy theories overseas - many of them that fuel anti-american sentiment overseas particularly the theory that the photos need to be altered or brushed up before they are released to the public.  This is something that could have been avoided.

For a president who should have learned a thing or two about transparency in the past few months this reflects poorly.  Obama's indecisiveness and over-concern of Muslim sensitivities displays a weakness in character that invites aggression and fuels radicalization rather than suppressing it.  What could have been a win is now becoming a loss.  It is not Osama Bin Laden's death that is going to fuel anti-american sentiment  overseas but rather the secretive circumstances surrounding it.

So what if a photo is gory, as long as the photo is recognizable of Osama Bin Laden,  the message it sends to any young jihadi wannabe is that "this is what happens to your face when you listen to Al Qaeda".   The message it sends it is a powerful message that serves as a deterrent in the same way that the gory before and after photos of meth addicts acts a deterrent to those thinking about trying methamphetamines.

The brutal death of Osama Bin Laden at the hands of American commandos could have been both a  propaganda win and a strategic win in the war on terrorism if it was played out correctly instead it will serve as perhaps one of the biggest mistakes made in the war on terrorism.

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No Hippies Allowed

Immigration Department - Phuket, Thailand

Despite efforts at their eradication, hippies, leftists and liberals continue to be a problem overseas and here at "An American Expat in Southeast Asia" we are doing our utmost to fight the problem, but we need your help.

Donald Trump is right, we have a problem overseas and this problem originates in Washington DC.

We have a problem when our nation's ambassadors and diplomats castigate our fellow Americans  back home for simply exercising their constitutional rights and then having the audacity to say overseas "I wish he were not American".   You can help.

Like Barack Obama, I've lived in Southeast Asia, albeit a long longer than Obama did. But unlike Barack Obama I've never been subscriber to cultural or moral equivalency nor have I felt compelled to deride my own country in a a pathetic effort to establish that equivalency.  I know that deriding my own country overseas only emboldens those who deny freedom and liberty to others.  As an advocate of American exceptionalism, I've always felt myself compelled to spread the message of what is good about America rather than what is bad, but as always we are fighting an uphill battle.

How can you help?  You can help by making a donation, however big or small and support this blog and  the work we do.  

Help us to fight Obama and spread the message of what is good about America.

Related Posts:

America's Leftists "Persona Non Grata"

Osama Bid Laden's "Useful Idiots"

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Janny Scott's Racist Obsession

In her upcoming book, A Singular Woman: The Untold Story of Barack Obama's Mother, New York Times' Janny Scott recounts the life of Stanley Ann Dunham and her life as an expatriate in Indonesia.

In the New York Times' article promoting the book, Janny Scott weaves together a  vast collection of  unlikely anecdotes and interviews that oftentimes overshadows Dunham herself and instead attempts to give us a glimpse into the young life of Barry Soetoro and the experiences that helped to shape his life.

Scott's attempt to understand Dunham and the idiosyncrasies associated with the life of an expatriate in Indonesia seem to be labored, and as a result she resorts to simply linking together a collection of anecdotes and stories related to her by others.  And so, instead of dealing with subjects such as expatriatism and an attempt to understand Dunham's mindset as such,  Scott predictably drifts towards the one subject that she is passionate about and that is racism.

As member of the team awarded the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for "How Race Is Lived In America," Janny Scott knows her stuff when it comes to racism in America and she frequently writes about the subject  for the New York Times.  Judging from how often Ms. Scott writes about racism, one might even think she is obsessed with the subject.

Unfortunately Janny Scott knows little if anything about racism in Indonesia or she would have realized that unlike the United States, where racism is based primarily on skin color, racism in Indonesia  has historically manifested itself through discrimination based on ethnicity and religion.  It is the ethnic Chinese and the non-muslims who are the victims of racism in Indonesia.

Take a close look at the photo above.  Is the color of  Barry Soetoro's skin closer to that of his mother or that of his father Lolo Soetoro? 

In her yet-to-be released book the author claims to shed light on the racial abuse that a young Barry Soetoro  supposedly endured as a child.  In one incident, the author writes:

"...After lunch, the group took a walk, with Barry running ahead. A flock of Indonesian children began lobbing rocks in his direction. They ducked behind a wall and shouted racial epithets. He seemed unfazed, dancing around as though playing dodge ball "with unseen players," [fellow American and friend Elizabeth] Bryant said. Ann did not react. Assuming she must not have understood the words, Bryant offered to intervene. "No, he’s O.K.," Ann said. "He's used to it.""

Used to what and what racial epithets?  Neither Bryant or the author say.  I can't even imagine in  the Indonesian language what racial epithets a young child would use.

I will go so far to say that the recalled incident never took place and is a complete fabrication of Janny Scott.

The author later writes, quoting the the same source,  Elizabeth Bryant as stating:

"We were floored that she’d bring a half-black child to Indonesia, knowing the disrespect they have for blacks."

How can you have a disrespect for someone or some race that you have had no exposure to?

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Poco Poco Boom Boom

"You put your bomb vest in. You take your bomb vest out. You put your bomb vest in and you shake it all about..."

Brought to you by BigCinBigB and Malaysia's Keystone Imams

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The Rise and Fall of Barack Obama

"It is said that Zaphod Beeblebrox's birth was marked by earthquakes, tidal waves, tornadoes, firestorms, the explosion of three neighbouring stars, and, shortly afterwards, by the issuing of over six and three quarter million writs for damages from all of the major landowners in his Galactic sector. However, the only person by whom this is said is Beeblebrox himself, and there are several possible theories to explain this."

– The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Fit the Ninth

One can imagine that there is considerable amount of narcissism required to pen an autobiography. So just imagine someone having the audacity to write two so-called autobiographies and then expect that a gullible readership will accept the contents of those books as a verifiable truth.

Often times I wonder if I'm the only one who feels a sense of profound disquietude whenever I read something that starts off with or contains the phrases "As described in his book Dreams from my Father" or "As he described in the Audacity of Hope". Think about it, if the only source for a particular fact regarding Obama is Obama himself then the truth becomes unverifiable. This is not something accidental, it is by design and once you realize that simple fact the more you will feel like you have been duped.

Parroting any one of Barack Obama's self-serving books or his website the media continues to claim that Obama is a devout Christian despite a plethora of evidence to the contrary. Why?

Barack Obama's religious views are not the only thing that Obama has lied about, he has lied about using any other names other than Barack Hussein Obama. In January of 2007 we reported here that Barack Hussein Obama was registered under the name "Barry Soetoro " in school in Indonesia. Needless to say, Obama would have found it difficult to register for school in Indonesia as "Barry Soetoro" with a birth certificate that stated his name was Barack Hussein Obama. Yes you read that correct. Go back and read it again if you need to and then go look at yourself in a mirror. Pardon the double entendre, but do you need a weatherman to tell you which way the wind blows?

It is understandable that an autobiography or two would be biased, that the author would tend to write overly positive things about themselves and often present both opinions and fiction as fact. The problem with Barack Obama's books is not so much that they are autobiographical though, it is that they contain elements of an autobiography with an exposition of Obama's political ideology. These are not simply books, they are tools, and tools with a purpose.

Barack Hussein Obama has made his intentions and plans for America clear. He has made it clear that he does not see America as an exceptional nation and that our nation's constitution is "fundamentally flawed". So if you drive a SUV, like to eat pizza and cheeseburgers and keep your house cool in the summer you can expect Obama to see you taken down a peg. Like frogs slowly boiling in a pot of water, Americans are losing their freedom.

Ronald Reagan once said, "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected and handed on to them to do the same."

Looking back, how will the historians of the future explain the gullibility of a nation and how we could have elected a man we knew nothing about and how will we ever explain our ignorance to our children and grandchildren?

Related Posts:

Barack Obama vs. America

Jihad: From Jakarta to the White House

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Barry Soetoro versus The Birthers

"I think rational people have — have long ago, many when they first heard and saw the president, come to the conclusion of his citizenship."~ Robert Gibbs

What can you do when no one is buying your imported wares in the market place of ideas?

Well, if you are the president of the United States and your name is Barry Soetoro you can always resort to the bully pulpit.

This isn't just rhetorical flourish my friends, this is about as insulting and divisive as it gets and furthermore it comes from a man who ironically vowed that transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of his Presidency.

The lack of transparency is just one of many issues, one of the most disturbing aspects though of this never-ending charade is the disdain and utter contempt that Mr. Soetoro has, not just for his political adversaries but for America and the American people.

It is Mr. Soetoro who does not see us as an exceptional nation but as a decadent and vile ogre, bloodied with the guilt of imperialism and inescapably tainted by an anti-Islamic history.

It is Mr. Soetoro who bows before despots and who apologizes for America.

It is Mr. Soetoro who took an oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, a document that he has publicly stated is "fundamentally flawed".

It was Mr. Soetoro, the first presidential candidate in our nation's history who set up a website and published the names of his adversaries and then implored his supporters to report anyone who spoke ill of him. Why? Ask yourself, is this the American way?

And now it is Mr. Soetoro who has the audacity to disparage the perspicacity of those among us who simply find themselves unconvinced that Mr. Barry Soetoro is one of us.

Barry Soetoro versus The Birthers

There is no shame in questioning Mr. Soetoro's background, loyalty or nationality, nor is there any shame in demanding that he produce his birth certificate.

At this point you may be wondering why I refer to our president as Barry Soetoro rather than Barack Hussein Obama, quite simply it is because "Barack Hussein Obama" does not exist.

Barack Hussein Obama was known as Barry Soetoro when he was in Indonesia and was registered for school by Lolo Soetoro Mangunharjo as first reported here on this blog on 24 January 2007. It would be August of 2008 before the Associated Press would release the photo of Barry Soetoro's school registration and as such vindicating what I originally wrote.

There is however one document missing, and that is the birth certificate of Barry Soetoro, the original document that was used by Lolo Soetoro Mangunharjo to register his child for school. Barry Soetoro, the son of Lolo Soetoro Mangunharjo and Stanley Ann Dunham was born on 4 August 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The document shown by the Obama campaign is in fact a forgery. The original birth certificate was amended to change both the father and the name on the birth certificate and was used by Lolo Soetoro Mangunharjo register his child in public school in Indonesia. Lolo Soetoro Mangunharjo never adopted Barack Hussein Obama, he didn't need to.

Shortly after the release of the school registration photograph in August of 2008, I would receive a visit from two gentlemen from Virginia who would convince me that is was not in my interest or the interest of the nation to pursue this matter any further - Alea iacta est - It was then that I took a break.

There is a Chinese saying - "If you don't have a big head, don't try to wear a big hat." I've learned a lot since then, one thing I learned was that your voice can be drowned out in the marketplace of ideas and sometimes if you want to be heard you simply need a bigger bullhorn and more resources than your opposition.

Related Posts:

Barack Obama Vs. America

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The Truth About Guantanamo

On the 22nd of December, President Barack Obama had the audacity to claim that the Guantanamo Bay detention facility was "probably the No. 1 recruitment tool" for Al Qaeda and its affiliates.

There is nothing further from the truth.

If anything, Guantanamo Bay is seen not only as beacon of justice but one of American exceptionalism.

Justice insomuch that as Americans we are bound by the rule of law, whereas this maxim is eschewed by almost all Asian and Islamic cultures who traditionally view good governance as the rule by leaders who are benevolent and virtuous, and therefore the rule of law is a principle that many hesitate to embrace. This of course brings light to that simple aphorism that without the rule of law, there can be no justice.

According to Tocqueville, America's exceptionalism lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults. We are and have always been a nation that recognizes our faults and then strives to rectify them. Yes, the world saw the abuses at Abu Ghraib, but they also saw the way that we as a nation dealt with it and how those responsible were tried and prosecuted.

Thanks to the media today the world can see clearly how the inmates at Guantanamo are treated and while these belligerents are denied their freedom, they are in fact treated humanely which is something that many of these prisoners would not experience in their own countries. It's been said that the level of civility in a country can be judged by the way it treats its prisoners. But judged how? and by putting a quantum on civility, that is devoid in many other nations, are we not alluding to our own exceptionalism?

Much of America and the West don't have the slightest clue as what "inhumane treatment" actually is. The liberal media tries desperately to convince us that Julian Assange suffered "in the basement of a Victorian prison" or that Bradley Manning is being tortured because he has a cell to himself and his blankets aren't soft enough. My God, books and magazines, clean clothes, hot water and soap, television and healthy food to eat? I'd say Bradley Manning is getting five start treatment compared to what he would get overseas in another country.

So what actually is inhumane treatment. For me, quite simply, it is when you are treated less than human.

Imagine being overseas locked away, languishing in a crowded dark cell, never seeing the light of day and subsisting on a meager diet consisting of little more than boiled rice and water. A cell so overcrowded that there is not room for everyone to lay down at once and when you do get a chance to lay down you sleep on a a cold concrete floor with cockroaches crawling all over you. Denied any medical treatment and all of what the United Nations deems to be the basic necessities, no soap, no hot water, no television and no reading materials, absolutely nothing. Some more you are afforded absolutely no legal representation, nor are you allowed such. A simple request even to contact your nation's embassy denied. You are alone.

Stripped not only of your dignity but, above all, of your humanity, it isn't the brutal inhumane conditions that you lament so much, but the absence of justice. Quoting Rosenfeld, What I was to learn firsthand was that "no man suffers injustice without learning, vaguely but surely, what justice is."

It was in October of this year I had the misfortune of the spending three weeks locked up overseas in a crowded cell full of Indonesians and Pakistanis, It was during that time I befriended two Pakistanis, Asif and Hafiz. Asif's crime was that his employer had failed to apply for his new work visa. Hafiz's crime, was that his passport had been stolen.

During my detention, I would share my meager rations with Asif and Hafiz and we would communicate in broken English and Malay with each other. The three of us spoke of religion, politics, even of Guantanamo and the basic human rights that should be afforded to detainees such as ourselves. Together we wondered where was the world's outrage was, did anyone even know what was happening. Over and over we kept asking ourselves how could this be happening, how is it that men can be so cruel to one another.

For one three day stretch, there was no drinking water brought to the cell. Asif had turned to me and said "Even a dog does not have to beg for water." and he was right. Another night, delirious with a high fever and curled up in a fetal position it was Asif who would bang the bars of the cell begging for a blanket for me, only to be denied, he would eventually take off his own shirt and cover me so that I could keep warm. The special bond that developed between the three of us is something difficult to explain and to put it simply, we took care of each other in conditions where we were treated worse than animals.

In their mid-twenties, both Asif and Hafiz seemed to know instinctively that such violations of human rights did not exist in America or the West. I asked

Hafiz how he knew this. Hafiz simply replied, "This won't happen in your country because you have the law."

It was the word "Guantanamo" that attracted attention in the cell as a few Indonesians came over to hear what was being said. As they sat down, Hafiz said, "Do you know what is international law?" Hafiz went on to explain we all had human rights. It came as a mild surprise to me that not only did Asif and Hafiz know about the humane treatment of the prisoners in Guantanamo, but the Indonesians did as well. At this point one of the Indonesians said that not only did they hear that the prisoners in Guantanamo got healthy food to eat but he had also heard from a friend that the prisoners in Guantanamo could see a dentist as well. He looked over at me and asked in Indonesian, "Betul tak?" (Is it true?). I nodded my head.

For Asif, Hafiz and the Indonesians, America is an exceptional country because we have the law and with that, we have justice.

As someone who has studied history, traveled the world and spent a considerable amount of time living overseas, I can assure you that in our ever darkening world, America continues to be that shining city on the hill.

There is a part of me that is now gone forever and I only hope one day I might be able to recover it.

Your donations to this blog whether big or small will be deeply appreciated. I hope you find it in your heart to make one.

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The Curse of Cassandra

"I think all Americans were quite taken with the fact that we were able, after the long history we've been through, that initial birth defect of slavery, that we've elected an African-American ... And that's enormously heartening for people in the country, but also people worldwide who still have trouble with differences." ~ Dr. Condoleeza Rice

Dr. Condoleeza Rice was opining shortly after the election of Barack Hussein Obama that his election "encouraged" people in the United States and around the world. It was an interesting choice of words from Dr. Rice, but perhaps a more fitting word would have been "emboldened".

Back in August of 2008 I wrote...

"...Like Barack Obama, I've lived in Southeast Asia, albeit a long longer than Obama did. But unlike Barack Obama I've never been subscriber to cultural or moral equivalency nor have I felt compelled to deride my own country in a a pathetic effort to establish that equivalency. I know that deriding my own country overseas only emboldens those who deny freedom and liberty to others. As an advocate of American exceptionalism, I've always felt myself compelled to spread the message of what is good about America rather than what is bad and for me that normally starts with steaming bowl of chili con carne and a plate of tacos."

One of only a few refuseniks I found myself overwhelmed and dumbfouned as I watched so many of my fellow Americans feverishly licking the Kool Aid straight from the sachet. The reality is though that throughout our world's history the message of hope and change has always trumped the ominous warnings of gloom and doom that I seemed to be purveying. For this I would suffer the curse of Cassandra.

Throughout history in times of frustration and turmoil people have found themselves drawn to either men of destiny or to the false prophets of hope and change.

So here we are now, a year later and despite having elected a prophet of hope and change, the reality is that we are still at war. Worse we have become as Bernard Lewis warned "harmless as an enemy and treacherous as a friend". Our enemies around the world have been emboldened by America's bumbling "Apologist in Chief" and our allies who have stood by us have been left abandoned and confounded.

After Barack Hussein Obama's speech at the United Nations, allies of ours here in Southeast Asia see Obama not only as "idealistic" and "weak" but now as an unreliable partner in the war on terrorism.

Captain Nathan Brittles would have had some advise for Barack Hussein Obama- "Never apologize Mister, it's a sign of weakness."

Islam's Battle for the White House

The Crossing of the Rubicon

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Damn You All To Hell !!

In more ways than one, this is the end.

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Obama: Throwing Papua Under the Bus

In an article entitled "A Forgotten Cause", Peter Tatchell sheds light on the plight of the West Papuans, many of whom are Christians and have suffered under Indonesia's brutal policy of ethnic and religious persecution. The untold story though is how the Obama campaign would sell out the West Papuans in a desperate attempt to protect Obama's presidential bid.

On the 3rd of July 2007, U.S. Congressman Eni Faleomavaega would touch down in Jakarta, Indonesia. A staunch outspoken critic of Jakarta's rule over West Papua, New Guinea and a crusader for West Papua’s right to self-determination, the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Asia, The Pacific and the Global Enviroment, Faleomavaega promised to be a force to be reckoned with.

Having been barred from visiting Papau by the Indonesian government, Faleomavaega would instead settle for a private meeting in Jakarta with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Barnabas Suebu the governor for the Indonesian province of Papau. The Papuan issue though wasn't the only thing on Faleomavaega's mind, being one of Barack Obama's most devoted disciples, Faleomavaega would be seeking the Indonesian government's assistance in supporting Barack Obama's presidential campaign as well as making the requisite pilgrimage to Barack Obama's childhood school.

According to our Indonesian sources, "officials" who accompanied Faleomavaega were interested in acquiring any and all documentation or photographs of a young Barry Soetoro for America's "national archives" and they were offering cash, lots of it. In a show of faith, Barack Obama's childhood school would be one of the very first beneficiaries of this outpouring receiving thousands of dollars to upgrade the school and for the purchase of computer equipment, thanks in part to the benevolence of this visiting junket.

The challenge of course was securing Indonesian goverment records potentially damaging to Barack Obama's candidacy for the US presidency as well as other records pertaining to a young Barry Soetoro and his family wouldn't be so easy to acquire and secure, and for this, the visitors would need the assistance and cooperation of the Indonesian government.

It's not that getting Indonesian government help is difficult, it's not. It's no secret that Indonesia is one of the most corrupt countries on the planet, but we're not talking about the challenge of dealing with corrupt government officials here, but rather, dealing with the "true believers of change". Convincing the Indonesian government that an Obama presidency will be able to deliver that "change" and that it was in the interest of both countries to see that Barack Obama was elected was nothing more than a fait accompli for Faleomavaega's entourage.

For West Papau's governor in attendance, having been pacified at the prospect that an Obama presidency would enable him to make zillions trading carbon credits on the Chicago Climate Exchange, Barnabas Suebu would sit quietly as the fate of West Papau was decided.

The only issue of contention Faleomavaega would face from the Indonesian government would be the issue of West Papau. In the end, it was simply a give and take situation. The Obama campaign needed assistance from the Indonesian government and the Indonesian government wanted a free hand in Papau.

Later concerning Faleomavaega's meeting, Indonesian presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal would have this to say: "One thing that is sure is that Faleomevaega's visit here has changed his views about Indonesia. It has made him realize this country is so vast and complex it cannot be reduced by the Papua issue..." Dino said Faleomavaega was known as a US Congress member who often commented on the Papuan issue but now he had changed his views. "He now sees that Papua is inalienable part of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia."

Faleomevaega's and meeting with Indonesia's president regarding West Papau and his subsequent flipflop on supporting West Papau's right to self-determination is something that you might think would warrant at least a press release on the congressman's website, but there is nothing, nor is there any mention on the House Subcommittee's site. No press release, nothing, not even a mere mention of his trip to Indonesia.

In the end, everyone got what they wanted, all to the detriment of the West Papuans.

The is no denying the fact that the prospects of an Obama presidency has emboldened the Indonesian government's brutal repression in Papau. In an earlier article, we would explain in detail how an Obama presidency would stoke ethnic and religious chauvinism in Indonesia and how Indonesia's Islamic fundamentalists will use an Obama presidency to radicalize a new contingent of militants from the ranks of Islam's moderates. Individuals who are mesmerized by the phantasmagorical image of one of their own now inhabiting the White House and who will see it as a sign of America's impending submission and our nation's acquiescence to the superiority of Islam. Tee-shirts blazoned with messianic images of Barack Hussein Obama are already starting to replace the Osama Bin Laden tee-shirts that have been so popular in Indonesia. In Indonesia Barack Obama is fast becoming the "Che Guevara" of Indonesia's young wannabe Islamists.

The Indonesian government is not only failing to protect the West Papuans from the violence of militant Islam, the government is actively stoking the fires of ethnic and religious chauvinism and supporting intimidation againstWest Papuans with many in recent days taking to the streets protesting the introduction of Islamic law.

For Indonesia's national news agency to refer to the US government as the "George Bush administration" highlights the dichotomy of opposing foreign policy positions that are being both presented and exploited by the left. That Indonesia would feel it was safe to renew their campaign of brutal repression in Papau, in the last few months of the current administration, the diplomatic sabotage conducted by the Obama campaign is partially if not wholly responsible.

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Larry Martin Vs. Time Magazine

I sent Ms. Claire Suddath with Time magazine an email immediately after I read the interview with myself entitled "The Blogger Behind the Obama Hit Job". My email to Claire simply said "There were a few minor errors in your article." For a brief moment I guess I was expecting to hear back from Time magazine acknowledging the error and perhaps printing an apology and retraction, but as I hit the send button on my email I came to the bitter realization that Time magazine had accomplished exactly what they had initially set out to do and that was to damage and discredit both Dr. Corsi and myself.

In their zeal to discredit Corsi, Time Magazine takes on one of Dr. Corsi's main sources for his book "The Obama Nation", that being myself. Superciliously dismissive of both my blog and myself, Time magazine goes on to describe me as being a "less-than-authoritative source" and then proceeds with the character assassination.

"Corsi repeatedly relies on Martin's accounts of Indonesian news reports to bolster his case for Obama's connections to Islam. For example, in a translated article about a secular school that Obama later attended, Martin writes: "Each Friday, all the school childen [sic] must wear Muslim clothes and that also includes children who are non-muslim [sic]." But that line does not appear in the original news report. What was Martin's source for his repeated insistence that Obama's former school requires students to dress in traditional Muslim attire on Fridays?"

Oh, but that line does appear in the original news report and here it is in the complete context. The following line below is from the original Indonesian news report used as a source. Kaltim Post - 27 January 2007

"Itu sekolah Islam? Bukan, itu sekolah umum berstatus negeri sejak 1970. Tiap Jumat, anak sekolah mengenakan pakaian Muslimah, termasuk yang beragama non-Muslim."

It is an Islamic school? No, it has been a State school since 1970. But every Friday, the children are required to wear Muslim clothes, and that includes the non-Muslim children.

Unusual? Hardly, a US State Department report on religious freedom in Indonesia clearly states that elementary and secondary students in Indonesia are at times forced to undergo religious instruction in a religion other than their own and recently there have been reports of female Catholic students being forced to wear the Islamic veil.

Its one thing for the biased Time magazine to be superciliously dismissive of both myself and my blog. It's another to defame and libel me.


To be continued...

CONTINUE READING

Time Magazine Reporting For Duty

It is one thing to be called "The Blogger Behind the Obama Hit Job" and quite another to be referred to as a "less-than-authoritative source". Needless to say, it naturally begs the question - Who would be an authoritative source? For much of America's mainstream media, the answer is of course themselves. But alas the times they are a changing.

On to the rebuttal.

"The first mention of Martin's blog comes on Page 52 of Obama Nation, when it is cited as the source for Corsi's assertion that when Obama's Muslim stepfather registered him at a Catholic school in Indonesia, Obama's religion was recorded as "Islam." No one disputes that."

Actually, the Obama camp and America's mainstream media has been disputing this from the very first day it was reported on this blog.

"In fact, Martin is not the only one who reported the information; on Jan. 25, 2007, the same day that Martin posted it on his blog, the Associated Press reported the same information, from the Fransiskus Assisi Catholic school, and ran a photograph of the document."

Actually, the post Time magazine is referring to was posted here on the 24th of January 2007 and not the 25th. And not to split hairs or anything, but don't forget that over here in Southeast Asia we are a day ahead of you guys back in America. (International Date Line). That would make my posting actually 2 days prior to the Associated Press report.


"Although Lolo Soetero, Obama's stepfather, was nominally a Muslim, Obama (then known as Barry Soetoro), studied Catholic catechism at the school."

Nope false. Obama never studied "Catholic catechism" at school, he studied Islam.


"What was Martin's source for his repeated insistence that Obama's former school requires students to dress in traditional Muslim attire on Fridays? "I've lived [in Southeast Asia] for 20 years; I go to schools all the time," he says. However, he admits that he never visited Obama's former school on a Friday."

Martin's source is... Martin himself. Did you think I was going to use CNN as a source?

Having spent almost my entire adult life in Southeast Asia, I think I might have an idea of what goes on in the schools here and believe it or not, but after 20 years I don't need a weatherman to tell me which way the wind blows.

Obama and the Audacity of CNN


"In a 2007 post, Martin also claims that the Indonesian title of Obama's book The Audacity of Hope — Menerjang Harapan — means "Jihad." This, says Martin, is what Indonesians see when they encounter Obama's book. However, his translation is a distortion of the Indonesian phrase, which in English is literally "To Challenge Hope."'

"Menerjang Harapan" is not an Indonesian phrase nor is it a distortion. It is two Indonesian words that are never used together. Google it (the two words together) and the only references you will find will be Barack Obama's own self-serving book.

In the context the words are used it leaves the actual meaning open to ambiguous interpretation, kind of like poetry if you will. As I stated and as many of the comments have conceded, the translation is incorrect and done in such a way as to excite the Indonesians. How exactly it excites the Indonesians is the only area of contention.

It is the truth that always prevails.


Justice Holmes once wrote, "when men have realized that time has upset many fighting faiths, they may come to believe even more than they believe the very foundations of their own conduct that the ultimate good desired is better reached by free trade in ideas - that the best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market."

Barack Obama can fight back all he wants and accuse his adversaries of bigotry and racism, he can coerce a compliant and malleable mainstream media to do the same, he can publish long-winded rebuttals and set up websites to "fight the smears" and when worse comes to worse he can always threaten his opponents. Why not... it is what they would do in Indonesia.

I've seen many people over the years here in Southeast Asia who have dared to speak out, many who were imprisoned, bankrupted or beaten for simply speaking out. I've seen many who have been denied both political and religious freedom and I've seen their oppressors employ the very same exact tactics that Barack Obama is employing. The accusations of bigotry and racism, the state-controlled media and untimately the threats.

Like Barack Obama, I've lived in Southeast Asia, albeit a long longer than Obama did. But unlike Barack Obama I've never been subscriber to cultural or moral equivalency nor have I felt compelled to deride my own country in a a pathetic effort to establish that equivalency. I know that deriding my own country overseas only emboldens those who deny freedom and liberty to others. As an advocate of American exceptionalism, I've always felt myself compelled to spread the message of what is good about America rather than what is bad and for me that normally starts with steaming bowl of chili con carne and a plate of tacos.

"Peace, Love and American hegemony, one plate of tacos at a time"

Have you seen the look on a Malaysian or Indonesian's face as they timidly for the first time in their lives poke around at a plate of crispy tacos, when they lift that crispy, crunchy tortilla shell and bite into that Tex-Mex goodness? I have seen it and it is a sight of beauty and love that completely transcends all political, ideological and religious differences.



Related Posts:


America's Ambassadors or America's Shame

CONTINUE READING

Barack Obama Vs. America

"His is just one of what will likely be many more lie-filled books rushed to print this election cycle, which are cobbled together from debunked internet sources to make money and advance a partisan agenda. We will respond to these smears forcefully with all means at our disposal."

For freedom loving Americans, the words above should be downright chilling, they are hateful and combined with the ominous threats issued from Obama's team are downright Orwellian. But what is more disturbing though than the words themselves is the collusion of the mainstream media and those who have traditionally assumed the role in America as the vanguards of free speech.

Emboldened and aided by a sycophantical mainstream media eager to tag-team and pummel Corsi relentlessly with vile ad hominem attacks and characterize both him and his book in the most defamatory and vituperative of terms. Where is the outrage? It was Barack Obama himself who touted his foreign policy credentials with the cute anecdotal stories of his childhood in Indonesia. To paraphrase Justice Stewart, where does he get off crying "Smear", when an opponent or an industrious blogger or reporter discovers and proves that Barack Obama or rather Barry Soetoro was all the while being dishonest with the American people. For Obama, the best test of truth is not to get itself accepted in the competition of the market but to kill the messenger. Not only is this un-American, but unacceptable.

Our country's forefathers and those who made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom would be rolling over in the graves at the prospect of Obama's "change" and progression evolving in policy.

For the advocates of this perverse militant egalitarianism, reasoned argument is replaced by a conditioned reflex as Obama's legions of lickspittle automatons mindlessly parrot as "evidence" whatever Obama himself has written in any one of his own self-serving books. You see this has never been about the free interchange of ideas or even the ascertainment of truth, this is all about entitlement and nothing not even freedom or liberty is going to get in the way.

"Unfit For Publication"? I'm sorry Barack Obama, but this is America and not some tinpot dictatorship and if Penthouse Magazine and Jet Magazine are fit for publication then so is Jerry Corsi's book. Having said that though, there is no doubt in my mind that you and your legion of jackbooted apparatchiks would have Corsi's book consigned to the flames if you had the power and that Mr. Obama is why you must be stopped at all costs.

So back to the threat that "We will respond to these smears forcefully with all means at our disposal."

Well Mr. Obama, I am one of Jerry Corsi's "debunked internet sources", now vindicated and I say, bring it on.

CONTINUE READING

Obama: Outside Looking In

I suppose I should apologize for the lack of updates. To all that have emailed, all is well, I've just been terribly busy with work recently. Rest assured that the blogging will return very soon with fresh updates regarding how Obama's campaign is being viewed overseas here in Southeast Asia.

To my compatriots back home, many who are war weary and hopelessy enslaved by political correctness, it is difficult to explain exactly how a vote for Obama = a vote for appeasement, but what Americans are playing with is "fire".

In many ways I'm shocked to hear how my original reporting on Obama has been refered to by the mainstream media as simply rumours and fear mongering. It is amazing how so many Americans will trust CNN and simply dismiss everyone else "out of hand".

With your support we can win, we can expose CNN and Obama for the lies they have told the American people. And with your support I will do all that is required to see that Obama never sees the White House.

Never in my life have I been so outspoken, but then again, I've seen the other side and I know exactly how the prospects of an Obama presidency will be perceived.

Obama must be stopped at all costs.

Say tuned.

CONTINUE READING

Good Luck Barry...! From Indonesia

"Good Luck, Barry!" the shout gave birth to Indonesia's Obama Fan Club established by the childhood friends and alumni of the Democrat party's presidential candidate.

The shout of support was given by 18 childhood friends of Barack Obama from when he went to school at SDN 01 Menteng (Besuki Primary School), Indonesia on Saturday, March 1st at 2:30pm.

18 from the original 40 of Barack Obama's classmates gathered around in the schoolyard against a backdrop on the roof that read "Good Luck Barry".

"Not all of Obama's friends could come" There are those who are deceased and those that no longer live in the area said Sonni Gondokusuman, one of the alumni of SDN Menteng.

The Obama Fan Club was formed to show support for Obama. "This is our way of showing our support for Barry" said the coordinater of the Obama Fan Club, Rully Dasaad

"From the first time I saw him on televison, I knew Barry was ambitious" He has wisdom. I am sure he will win said Rully who is a professional photographer.

Would Rully and his friend's hope be realized?

Obama Fan Club: Good Luck Barry

CONTINUE READING

Obama On Indonesian Television - Part 2

In the video below, the reporter visits Zulfian Mirzan and his wife who bought Obama's childhood home in Jakarta just four years ago from Barack Obama's stepsister Maya Soetoro-Ng for 500 million rupiah (USD 54,500). The reporter describes the inside of the home and shows all the rooms, including the room with the single bed across the hall from the master bedroom which the reporter states was a young Barack Obama's room. According to the current owners, the house including all the interiors has not been changed since the time Obama and his family lived there. The end of the video shows the Zulfian Mirzan's new baby who will be living in Obama's room.

Right click to open in a new window:

*Video* Tracking Barack Obama: Obama's Childhood Home



The beginning of the next video below shows Obama on the campaign trail while the Indonesian reporter in the background explains that before Barack Obama became famous in the United States he attended two schools in Indonesia as a child. The reporter then shows the two schools, the Menteng Primary School and the Franciscus Assisi Primary School where Obama was registered under the name of "Barry Soetoro". The video ends with the reporter stating that Obama was a clever and friendly boy and that he left Indonesia in 1972 for Hawaii.

Right click to open in a new window:

*Video* Tracking Barack Obama: Assisi Primary School and Menteng Primary School


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An American Expat in Southeast Asia: Barack Obama

CONTINUE READING

Obama On Indonesian Television - Part 1

This is the beginning of a two part series here at "An American Expat in Southeast Asia" entitled "Obama on Indonesian Television". The videos below are from DetikTV in Jakarta who ran a small series in February 2008 entitled tracking Barack Obama in Indonesia. The information you will find in the videos below confirms and substantiates much of what we originally translated and reported in our series of posts on "Obama in Indonesia" back in January of 2007.

The picture above is seen in the following video, showing a young Barry Soetoro (Barack Hussein Obama) posing with his mother, Ann, half sister, Maya, and maternal grandfather Stanley Dunham in Hawaii in the early 1970s after the family returned from Indonesia. Ann Dunham would return to Indonesia and shortly after this picture was taken, Lolo Soetoro Mangunharjo would later divorce Ann and then remarry, fathering another two children.

Right click to open in a new window:

*Video* Tracking Barack Obama: From Menteng to Dempo



In the next video below, a photo is shown of a young Barack Obama and his father Hussein Obama, a Muslim from Kenya and then his mother and stepfather Lolo Soetoro.

Referring to a young Barack Obama, the reporter states in Indonesian "juga hidup tengah-tengah orang muslim" (he lived his life in the middle of Muslims) - an interesting choice of words to use which can have an ambiguous meaning depending on how exactly it is translated. Highlighting the United States presidential campaign, the reporter states that Obama's enemies have been making a political issue out of Obama's "life among the Muslims". The reporter then states, "Barry yang punya wajah lucu sering dimainkan teman-teman pernah dipakaikan sarong meski tak pernah ikut solat" (Barry had a funny face and his friends made fun of him by putting a sarong on him even though he didn't pray). The emphasis here is that even though Barry was a Muslim and was in the mosque and was wearing Islamic clothes, that he was only "playing" and not really "praying". I suppose you can interpret that any way you wish.

In the second part of the video, Zulfan Adi, a former neighborhood playmate of Obama's who has been cited in numerous news reports claiming that Obama regularly attended Friday prayers with his stepfather Lolo Soetoro points out the "Musholla Al-Rahman" (Al-Rahman Prayer Room) to the reporter where he then goes out of his way to explain that Obama wasn't "praying" in the prayer room, he only "playing". That Zulfan Adi found it necessary to use and emphasize the English word "praying" in the Indonesian language report leads us to the self-evident conclusion that this part of the report if not all of it was simply staged for foreign consumption.

Right click to open in a new window:

*Video* The Prayer Room Where Obama Played


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Tracking Down Obama in Indonesia

Tracking Down Obama in Indonesia - Part 2

Tracking Down Obama in Indonesia - Part 3

CONTINUE READING