Bill O'reilly Wins "The View" Joy/ Whoopi Walk-Off Brawl!

Bill O'Reilly vs. Joy and Whoopi: Who won?

The Fox News host had a fiery brawl on the "View" couch with hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar. Did anyone come out looking good?

Fireworks erupted Thursday on "The View," when co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar briefly stormed off the set during an argument with Fox News personality Bill O'Reilly.

The source of the much-discussed blowup was the proposed Park51 Islamic center in lower Manhattan which O'Reilly said was "inappropriate" to build "because Muslims killed us on 9/11."

Who came out looking better in this high-profile brawl?

O'Reilly won the day!

"I am not Bill O’Reilly's biggest fan," but Joy and Whoopi "looked like immature brats," says Emma Brady in Babble. If they disagree with O'Reilly that it is "inappropriate" to build a mosque near Ground Zero, they should at least have shown their guest enough respect to listen to his views.

By walking off, "the truly inappropriate behavior came on the part of the ladies from 'The View.'"

Behar and Goldberg did what they had to: "Girlfriend, please," says Mary McNamara in the Los Angeles Times. "O’Reilly has built a very successful career on his patent refusal to have a conversation," and other than walking out, there is nothing "short of physical violence" that Goldberg and Behar could have done to pierce "his oratorical fusillade." But the goal was never dialogue, it was "puttin' on a show," and in that sense, everybody won.

We all lost a shot at airing an important discussion: Yes, "genius television, ladies," says Melissa Bell in The Washington Post. But if you look "past the yelling and stomping and showmanship," the conversation O'Reilly and the "View" ladies could have had is important, and one that has been percolating "for some time: What do you call terrorists?" Is it right, or smart, to link Islam and terrorism? I guess we'll have to discuss later.






Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg Walk Off 'The View' After Fiery Exchange With Bill O'Reilly

Things got so heated between Bill O'Reilly, Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg on "The View" that the co-hosts walked off the set of the show.

The incident occurred during a fiery exchange about the proposed Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero. O'Reilly said President Obama's qualified support of the center was evidence of the "gulf" between him and the American people. Goldberg and Behar objected strongly to O'Reilly's claim.

"This is America!" Behar said.

"Listen to me because you'll learn!" O'Reilly interrupted her, to gasps from the audience.

Goldberg asked if O'Reilly was saying that Americans were not smart enough to agree with Obama's position.

"We're Americans! We agree with him!" Behar added.

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"70% of Americans don't want that mosque there. So don't give me the we business!" O'Reilly replied.

More heated crosstalk followed, until O'Reilly said, "Muslims killed us on 9/11!" That really set Behar and Goldberg off.

"Oh my God!" Behar said.

"That is such bullshit!" Goldberg said. "Extremists did that!"

Behar then stood up, saying, "I don't want to sit here now. I don't! I'm outraged by that statement."

She and Goldberg proceeded to walk off the set to loud applause. After it died down, Walters cut in, admonishing her co-hosts.

"You have just seen what should not happen," Walters said. "We should be able to have discussions without washing our hands, and screaming, and walking offstage."

Walters also criticized O'Reilly for his statements about Muslims.

"You cannot take a whole religion and demean them because of what some [did]," she told him.

Behar and Goldberg returned to the set following a commercial break. O'Reilly also apologized for his comments, saying, "If anyone felt that I was demeaning all Muslims, I apologize."

Last December, Goldberg almost walked off the set after proclaiming she was "bored out of my gourd" with a segment on Tiger Woods.


Sources: ABC, Babble, Bill O'Reilly, Fox News, Huffington Post, NY Daily News, O'Reilly Factor, The View, Yahoo News, Youtube

Feds Seize Islamic Assets, NY Skyscraper...Forget Political Correctness! Protect Us!

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Feds move to seize N.Y. skyscraper, 4 mosques


Federal prosecutors Thursday took steps to seize four U.S. mosques and a Fifth Avenue skyscraper owned by a nonprofit Muslim organization long suspected of being secretly controlled by the Iranian government.

In what could prove to be one of the biggest Counter Terrorism seizures in U.S. history, prosecutors filed a civil complaint in federal court seeking the forfeiture of more than $500 million in assets of the Alavi Foundation and an alleged front company.

The assets include Islamic centers in New York City, Maryland, California and Houston, more than 100 acres in Virginia, and a 36-story office tower in New York.

Seizing the properties would be a sharp blow against Iran, which has been accused by the U.S. government of bankrolling terrorism and seeking a nuclear bomb.

A telephone call and e-mail to Iran's U.N. mission seeking comment were not immediately answered.

Religious backlash possible

It is extremely rare for U.S. law enforcement authorities to seize a house of worship, a step fraught with questions about the First Amendment right to freedom of religion.

The action against the Shiite Muslim mosques is sure to inflame relations between the U.S. government and American Muslims, many of whom are fearful of a backlash after last week's Fort Hood shooting rampage, blamed on a Muslim American soldier.

The mosques and the office tower will remain open while the forfeiture case works its way through court in what could be a long process. What will happen to them if the government ultimately prevails is unclear. But the government typically sells properties it has seized through forfeiture, and the proceeds are sometimes distributed to crime victims.

There were no raids Thursday as part of the forfeiture action. The government is simply required to post notices of the civil complaint on the property.

Prosecutors said the Alavi Foundation, through a front company known as Assa Corp., illegally funneled millions in rental income back to Iran's state-owned Bank Melli. Bank Melli has been accused by a U.S. Treasury official of providing support for Iran's nuclear program, and it is illegal in the United States to do business with the bank.

Government officials have long suspected the foundation was an arm of the Iranian government; a 97-page complaint details involvement of several top officials in foundation business, including the country's deputy prime minister and ambassadors to the United Nations.

"For two decades, the Alavi Foundation's affairs have been directed by various Iranian officials, including Iranian ambassadors to the United Nations, in violation of a series of American laws," U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement.

The skyscraper, known as the Piaget building, was erected in the 1970s under the shah of Iran, who was overthrown in 1979. The tenants include law and investment firms and other businesses.

The sleek, modern building, last valued at $570 million to $650 million in 2007, has served as important source of income for the foundation over the past 36 years. The most recent tax records show the foundation earned $4.5 million from rents in 2007.

Rents collected from the building help fund the centers and other ventures, such as sending imprisoned Muslims in the U.S. educational literature. The foundation has also invested in dozens of mosques around the country and supported Iranian academics at prominent universities.

Extremely rare

If federal prosecutors seize the skyscraper, the Alavi Foundation would have almost no way to continue supporting the Islamic centers, which house schools and mosques. That could leave a major void in Shiite communities, and hard feelings toward the FBI.

Legal scholars who specialize in religious liberty issues said they know of only a few cases in U.S. history in which law enforcement authorities have seized a house of worship. Marc Stern, a religious-liberty expert with the American Jewish Congress, called such cases "extremely rare."

The Alavi Foundation is the successor organization to the Pahlavi Foundation, a nonprofit group used by the shah to advance Iran's charitable interests in America. But authorities said its agenda changed after the fall of the shah.

In 2007, the United States accused Bank Melli of providing services to Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs and put the bank on its list of companies whose assets must be frozen.

The United States has imposed sanctions against various other Iranian banks and other businesses.



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Sources: MSNBC, CAIR, McClatchy Newspapers, Charlotte Observer, Youtube, Google Maps