Claire Berlinski on "The iron Lady"

Have the Turks Been Brainwashed? Were we?

Claire Berlinski, in her post yesterday at Ricochet.com sounds like she might be getting a little more concerned about the future of Turkey (where she's been living for some time) than she was in this prior post.

To view all prior posts on Turkey, click on the label "Turkey" below.

Claire Berlinski: Huge News From Turkey

Claire Berlinski, who lives in Istanbul and writes for City Journal and many other publications, and edits Ricochet.com, just posted this at Ricochet:

Huge News From Turkey: Highest Ranking Military Officers Resign
Claire Berlinski, Ed. · 24 minutes ago
This just came across the transom:

Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. Işık Koşaner announced his resignation Friday afternoon.

His resignation was followed by the resignations of Turkey's Land, Sea and Air Force commanders.

I don't yet know what this means or what the implications will be, but obviously it's a very big deal.

It would be difficult to think this is anything but bad news - very bad news - for Israel (and us), as it appears to be yet another step away from the reforms put in place by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1923, and a step closer to The Islamic Republic of Turkey.

For prior posts on this scary topic go Here and Here.

Claire Berlinski: An Open Letter to Turkey and Israel

Claire Berlinski is not as concerned as some about the drift away from a secular government in Turkey. In fact, she thinks there is a chance that relations between Turkey and Israel can return to what they were not that long ago. She posted this Open Letter to Turkey and Israel at Ricochet.Com, the outstanding Blog she edits. It should be noted that Berlinski lives and writes in Istanbul, and obviously has strong feelings for the country and its people.

There are others who are not as optimistic as Berlinski about the future of Turkey as a secular state, and much less optimistic about current and future relations between Turkey and Israel. You can read some of those views by clicking on the links on this prior post.

Claire Berlinski 1; Helen Thomas 0

Claire Berlinski (top photo) has had enough of Helen Thomas. In a post yesterday on Ricochet.Com, she put the lie to a claim recently made by Thomas (and often made by Anti-Semites) about the amount of influence exerted on America by Israel. According to Thomas:

"We are owned by propagandists against the Arabs. There's no question about that. Congress, the White House, and Hollywood, Wall Street, are owned by the Zionists. No question in my opinion. They put their money where there mouth is…We're being pushed into a wrong direction in every way."

Berlinski provides a partial list of funds paid by the Saudi government (not including Saudi companies) to lobbyists in the U.S. since September 11, 2001, which money can be presumed not to benefit the Israelis.

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP: $220,770

Boland & Madigan, Inc: $420,000

Burson-Marsteller: $3,619,286.85

Cambridge Associates, Ltd: $8,505

Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: $720,000

DNX Partners, LLC: $225,000

Dutton & Dutton, PC: $3,694,350

Fleishman-Hillard: $6,400,000

Gallagher Group, LLC: $612,337

Iler Interests, LP: $388,231.14

Loeffler Group, LLP: $10,349,999.99

Loeffler Tuggey Pauerstein Rosenthal, LLP: $2,350,457.12

Loeffler, Jonas & Tuggey, LLP: $1,260,000.00

MPD Consultants, LLP: $1,447,267.13

Patton Boggs, LLP: $3,098,000.00

Powell Tate, Inc.: $900,732.77

Qorvis Communications, LLC: $60,314,803.80

Sandler-Innocenzi, Inc.: $8,885,722.65

Berlinski goes on to provide a non-exhaustive list of donations to American universities from Arab states:

Arkansas, $20,000,000: Saudi Arabia: King Fahd

Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies, Cornell, $11,000,000: Saudi Arabia

George Washington University, nearly $20 million from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait

Cornell, nearly $11 million from Qatar

The Colorado School of Mines in Golden, more than $19 million from the UAE

University of Virginia, more than $29 million from Saudi Arabia

Harvard, more than $42 million from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Kuwait, and Oman

Rutgers, $5 ,000,000: Saudi Arabia

Georgetown, more than $60 million from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Oman

George Washington, $3,300,000: Kuwait Foundation

Chair for Islamic Shariah Studies, Princeton: $1,000,000: Saudi Arabia

Harvard Law, $5,000,000. Saudi Arabia, King Fahd

Harvard, $2,500,000: Saudi Arabia

Harvard. $2,000,000: Saudi Arabia, Prince Khalid al-Turki

USC: Saudi Arabia

UC Berkeley, $5,000,000: Saudi Arabia—two Saudi sheiks

Chicago: Saudi Arabia

Georgetown, $8,100,000: Saudi Arabia: scholarship from Prince Alwaleed bin Talal

Texas A&M, $1,500,000: Saudi Arabia

MIT, $5 ,000,000: Saudi Arabia

UC Santa Barbara: Saudi Arabia, King Abdul Aziz ibn Saud Chair in Islamic Studies

Columbia: $2,000,000: UAE and other donors, Edward Said Chair

UC Berkeley: $5,000,000: Saudi Arabia—Sultan bin Abdulaziz al Saud Foundation and Sheikh Salahuddin Yusuf Hamza

Harvard: $20,000,000 Saudi Arabia—Prince Alwaleed bin Talal

Abdeljawad: Harvard, $2,000,000—Sheikh Khalid al-Turki

Georgetown: $750,000, Libyan government, Al-Mukhtar Chair of Arab Culture

Georgetown. $20,000,000: Saudi Arabia—Prince Alwaleed bin Talal

Duke University: $200,000, Saudi Arabia—program in Islamic and Arabian development studies

USC: $1,000,000, Saudi government: King Faisal Chair for Arab and Islamic Studies

American University: $5,000,000 Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi

Georgetown: $250,000, United Arab Emirates—visiting professor in Arab civilization

Cornell: $10,000,000, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal

Phillips Academy: $500,000, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal

Carnegie Mellon—nearly $111 million from Qatar

Seems to me like a good argument for encouraging your kids to apply to one of our service academies - or just join the Marines.

Berlinski ends her piece with a personal message to Thomas: "Helen, you Jew-hating gargoyle, I think we've heard quite enough from you."

To read the whole post of Berlinski, click on the link below.

http://ricochet.com/main-feed/Enough-of-You-Helen-Thomas