American Jihad Continues In San Francisco: 1 Dead, 14 Wounded
A few days ago, a man got into his SUV, headed to nearby San Francisco, and proceeded to run down as many pedestrians as he could. He drove on sidewalks, ambushed people in crosswalks, and even backed up to hit some people more than once. He injured at least 14 people before the police stopped him. That man was Omeed Aziz Popal, a 29 year old Muslim immigrant from Afghanistan. He was caught on film declaring himself "a terrorist" by a local news crew as he was being taken away. Film is available at KTVU news.
Omeed has addresses in Ceres, a tiny town next to Modesto, and Fremont, which is across the Bay from San Francisco. Police suspect he's the same man who deliberately ran over and killed a 54 year old man in Fremont around noon. That murder scene is just a few blocks from Omeed's Fremont address, where his family say he's been staying recently. A black Honda SUV with the same license plate was used in both crimes, so the police may be on to something. At 5:30m PM, the unidentified man's body was still lying in a field.
Omeed's human demolition derby claimed its last two victims in front of the Jewish Community Center in the Laurel Heights district. Laurel Heights is known for its popular Jewish delis, and is home to many Jewish residents. A witness at the scene of Popal's arrest said: "He was absolutely indifferent, no fear, no expression. He was like a zombie." This description is consistent with the glazed eyes and slack expression of fanatics reciting Koranic verses, which they often do silently or sotto voce. Muhammad Reza Taheri-Azar looked the same way after he used his SUV to run over 9 people at the University of North Carolina.
San Francisco police public relations officer Neville Gittens said people were struck by Omeed at 12 locations over a period of 20 minutes, and that "the hits were intentional." Gittens expressed puzzlement over Omeed's motive. Mayor Gavin Newsome rushed to a hospital were victims were being treated and told waiting reporters that "These are the things...these are so senseless. They’re utterly inexplicable. They're impossible to rationalize."
A young Muslim male who proclaims himself a terrorist runs down pedestrians with his SUV in a copycat crime of another Muslim who ran down pedestrians in his SUV for "Allah," and the San Francisco authorities are puzzled, and unable to determine a motive? Maybe he was upset over gay marriage? Could he have been a Republican Halliburton employee venting his fury on war protesters? Was he looking to nail Justin Raimondo?
Feigned puzzlement over motive is a common reaction when it comes to Muslim terrorist attacks on American soil. The authorities claim puzzlement, the Establishment Media claim puzzlement, and Muslim leaders claim puzzlement. What's being swept under the rug is the fact that up to 499 people in America have been murdered by jihadis since 1993, but only the six killed in the first World Trade Center bombing were classified as victims of terrorism by the government. (A Jewish boy shot in a van by a Muslim taxi driver on the hunt was later ruled a victim of terrorism at the continued insistence of his aggrieved family, and the terrorist who opened fire on Jews at the El Al ticket counter at LAX was identified as a terrorist 9 months after his crime. The 499 figure obviously does not include the people killed on 911.)
Muslims have murdered people in cars, from cars, at airline ticket counters, at oil refineries, at apartment buildings, at the Empire State Building, and even the World Trade Center (in 1993.) Many of the terrorists openly admitted they were waging jihad. All but one of the victims were complete strangers to the murderers, but Jews were targeted when possible. The perpetrators had names like Mohammed Ali Alayed, Hesham Mohammed Ali, John Muhammad, Ali Hasan Abu Kamal, and El Sayyid Nosair. The victims tend to have names like Ari Halberstam, Meir Kahane, Yakov Aminov, and Victoria Hen.
The 911 attacks weren't the first time American passenger jets have been destroyed by jihadis with the loss off all lives onboard. Probative evidence shows that the explosion of TWA flight 800 on July 17th, 1996, which killed all 230 people onboard, was carried out by Al Qaeda. It was deemed an accident by the authorities, despite knowledge to the contrary.
On October 31st, 1999, Gamil al-Batouti, a Muslim Egyptair copilot, shouted "Tawakit ala Allah!" (I put my faith in God's hands) as he crashed a plane leaving Kennedy Airport into the ground, killing all 217 people onboard. The crash could be construed as an accident by the naive, but evidence suggests it was not. An excellent account of both cases can be found in the books 1000 Years of Revenge, and Cover Up, by investigative journalist Peter Lance.
The April 19th, 1995 Oklahoma City bombing killed 168 people. According to Peter Lance and fellow investigative journalist Jayna Davis, convicted perpetrators Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols worked in concert with jihadis to bring down the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. Lance has convincingly tied the attack to Osama Bin Laden, while Davis has provided links to Saddam Hussein in her detailed book, The Third Terrorist: The Middle East Connection to the Oklahoma City Bombing.
If the 168 people killed in Oklahoma City are included, the figure of 499 people murdered by jihadis on American soil goes up to a whopping 667.
The Establishment Media are already distorting this latest jihadi terrorist attack into a random, purposeless, act by a "motorist." His last name of Popal is used far more often than Omeed Aziz, because 'Popal' doesn't sound like an Islamic name. The excuses of Omeed's family figure large in every news report. According to their unbiased (in the media's eyes,) descriptions, he's a real sweetheart when he isn't trying to murder everyone in sight, or dreaming about being chased by the Devil. Based on his family's inconsistent descriptions, news reports are busily describing him as mentally disturbed, in an attempt to engender sympathy among the public.
According to the Stanislaus County criminal court case index, traffic infraction case #769792 was closed against one Omeed Aziz Popal on March 14th, 2005. Ceres is in Stanislaus county, and Omeed Aziz Popal is an uncommon name, so it's reasonable to assume they're one and the same man.
If the apologists for jihad in the Establishment Media find out about his past traffic violation, they'll probably work even harder to portray him simply as a naughty motorist.
The best way to end racism in America is to discuss cultural issues openly and honestly and to hold all people to the same standards of behavior, regardless of skin color or ethnic heritage.
Tell that to the Left, which reflexively casts people with light skin as 'oppressors' and people with dark skin as ' the oppressed.'
The outcome of that inherently racist dynamic, which based on race excuses and sometimes praises destructive personal behaviors, is predictable--one only has to look at the awful price that inner-city Blacks have paid as a result of the Left's racist policies and attitudes, policies and attitudes that in effect say, 'you're not as intelligent, savvy and motivated as white people are, you can only make it if we (leftists) make things easy for you by holding you to low standards of behavior and performance.'
This insidious, institutionalized racism has been creeping into the nation's elementary and high school textbooks, where minor achievements by blacks, hispanics and 'indigenous' peoples are presented as equivalent, if not superior, to the positive, world-changing achievements of men like Thomas Edison and Wibur and Orville Wright.
How can people of a particular race or culture achieve great things in America if truly great accomplishments are ignored and diminished, and minor ones categorized as major?
Now, it appears that the Left has taken yet another step in its 'diversity'-based, PC encroachment upon the hearts and minds of our youth by outright lying about and misrepresenting the realities of being physically handicapped.
"YOU'RE A publisher of children's textbooks, and you have a problem. Your diversity guidelines -- quotas in all but name -- require you to include pictures of disabled children in your elementary and high school texts, but it isn't easy to find handicapped children who are willing and able to pose for a photographer.
Kids confined to wheelchairs often suffer from afflictions that affect their appearance, such as cerebral palsy or muscular dystrophy. How can you meet your quota of disability images if you don't have disabled models who are suitably photogenic?
Well, you can always do what Houghton Mifflin does. The well-known textbook publisher keeps a wheelchair on hand as a prop and hires able-bodied children from a modeling agency to pose in it. It keeps colorful pairs of crutches on hand, too -- in case a child model turns out to be the wrong size for the wheelchair.
Houghton Mifflin's ploy was recently described by reporter Daniel Golden in a Wall Street Journal story on the lengths to which publishers go to get images of minorities and the disabled into grade-school textbooks. A Houghton Mifflin spokesman claimed that able-bodied models are presented as handicapped only as a last resort. But according to one of the company's regular photographers, the deception is the norm.[emphasis added]
At least three-fourths of the children portrayed as disabled in Houghton Mifflin textbooks actually aren't, she told Golden. In fact, publishers have to keep track of all the models they use for such pictures, so that a child posing as disabled in one chapter isn't shown running or climbing a tree in another.
Faked photos of handicapped kids are just one of the ways in which truth is sacrificed on the altar of diversity. The cofounder of PhotoEdit Inc., a commercial archive that specializes in pictures of what it calls ``ethnic and minority people in all walks of life," advises publishers that images of Chicanos can be passed off as American Indians from the Southwest, because they ``look very similar."
Similarly, Golden notes, a textbook photographer tells clients that since the ``facial features" of some Asians resemble Indians from Mexico, ``there are some times where you can flip-flop."
Yet pictures of authentic Hispanics who happen to have blond hair or blue eyes don't count toward the Hispanic quota ``because their background would not be apparent to readers." In other words, rather than expose schoolchildren to the fact that ``Hispanic" is an artificial classification that encompasses people of every color, publishers promote the fiction that all Hispanics look the same -- and that looks, not language or lineage, are the essence of Hispanic identity.
Some images are banned from textbooks because they are deemed stereotypical or offensive. For example, McGraw-Hill's guidelines specify that Asians not be portrayed wearing glasses or as intellectuals and that publishers avoid showing Mexican men in ponchos or sombreros. ``One major publisher vetoed a photo of a barefoot child in an African village," Golden writes, ``on the grounds that the lack of footwear reinforced the stereotype of poverty on that continent." Grinding poverty is in fact a daily reality for hundreds of millions of Africans. But when reality conflicts with political correctness, reality gets the boot."
How will people educated with such textbooks be able to effectively address the realities that exist in the world? What kinds of decisions will they make when addressing them?
Apparently, to the culture commissars at Houghton Mifflin Publishing, real personal and cultural achievement takes a back seat to promoting 'diversity' -- a false crusade in a country that is already the most culturally and racially diverse nation on earth.
But that folly is to be expected, since it is not true diversity that matters to the Left, but the promoting of a notion that one's skin color is the greatest measure of one's worth.
For almost three years now, the Left has pinned hopes of impeaching President Bush on the Valerie Plame affair. Now, with the revelation that it was Richard Armitage and not Carl Rove or Dick Cheney who 'outed' Plame, that hope is dashed.
"From its very start, the ballyhooed case of who leaked the name of CIA analyst Valerie Plame to columnist Robert Novak has been drenched in partisan politics and media hypocrisy. The more we learn, however, the more it also reveals about the internal dysfunction of the Bush Administration and the lack of loyalty among some of its most senior officials.
The latest news is that the Bush official who first disclosed Ms. Plame's identity was none other than former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage. According to a new book by liberal journalists David Corn and Michael Isikoff, Mr. Armitage was Mr. Novak's primary source for his now famous column of July 14, 2003, that first publicly revealed Ms. Plame's CIA pedigree. In other words, the leaker wasn't Karl Rove or Scooter Libby or anyone else in the White House who has been accused of running a conspiracy against Ms. Plame as revenge for her husband Joe Wilson's false accusations against the White House's case for war with Iraq. So what have the last three years been all about anyway? Political opportunism and internal score-settling, among other things."
Clarice Feldman at the American Thinker points out that the Plame affair was an enormous waste of time and money that damaged the reputation of the U.S. and that of the Bush Administration during a time of war. Feldman offers her advice on what the Bush Administration should do to repair that damage:
"(1) He [Bush] should have Attorney General Gonzales report to him everything the Department knows of the Armitage revelations and when they occurred to ascertain whether any of the Isikoff-Corn report is false.
2) Former Secretary Powell should be summoned and asked when he learned of the Armitage admission and why he failed to report this to him.
(3) If the reports that he knew in September 2003 that Armitage was the leaker prove true, the President should publicly say that he is deeply disappointed in the conduct of the former State Department officials, that he doesn’t question their belief that the Armitage leaks were inadvertent but that there failure to notify him of those leaks was inexcusable.
(4) If the facts indicate that former Attorney General Ashcroft and Comey knew who Novak’s source was, the President should indicate his disappointment in them for having yielded to the press frenzy in appointing a special prosecutor rather than simply having the courage to tell what happened and why.
(5) He should express regret to the country for this unnecessary and longstanding distraction occasioned by these failures.
(6) He should express special regret to Scooter Libby and his family who have been forced to endure so much for no reason whatsoever.
(7) Finally, he should express disappointment in the unprofessional conduct of the Special Prosecutor who misled the public and the Courts, among other things, and he should announce that he is instructing the Atttorney General to dismiss Fitzgerald and drop the case against Libby."
Look for none of these things to happen, since when it comes to defending its self and its policies from Democratic Party and far-Left criticisms and lies, the Bush inner circle is woefully naive, and horribly inept.
John "marked car" accomplished his goal--to get out of Dodge. Whatever mess he'd gotten himself into in Bangkok, he was successful in getting out of it. That's all that mattered to him.
No, he will not be charged with the murder of JonBenet Ramsey. I suggested as much August 22, a week ago. Frankly, I could tell from the perverted look and behavior of the Thailand police. Karr was about to become chopped liver. Literally.
Nothing like coming home to America, where he'll be treated with justice--and apple pie.
Delusional Democrats and weak-kneed Republicans prepare for Democrat takeover that won't happen
The MSM continues trying to make its own reality. Nothing illustrates that better than its predictions of Democrat takeover of the House and Senate in the upcoming elections. From Bloomberg.com:
"Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Chairman Charles Rangel and Chairman -- again -- John Dingell. Those titles will soon sound familiar. Barring an unexpected and big event, Democrats will win control of the U.S. House of Representatives in November and conceivably the Senate, too. Whether it's a tsunami or just a powerful wave, the political dynamics are moving in that direction, or more accurately, against the Republicans and President George W. Bush.
Democratic insiders, who months ago thought their chances of winning a majority in the House were no better than even, and that the Senate was a lost cause, have become far more optimistic. Now, they say, winning the House is a lock, and the Senate is within reach."
What that prediction misses is a basic reality: In order for it to come true, Republican and Independent voters will have to either stay home on election day or-- (in the privacy of the voting booth)-- physically pull the lever in support of the Party of the ACLU, the Party of Harry "we killed the Patriot Act" Reid, the Party of the treacherous NY Times, the Party of traitors like John Murtha, John Kerry and Richard Durbin, the Party of MoveOn, the Party of Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and Ned Lamont, the Party that has consistently demonstrated focused opposition to vital U.S. security and surveillance programs.
Most importantly, in order to believe that the Democrats will take power in November, one must be convinced that the majority of Americans are willing to trust a political party -- with a long history of being anti-military and anti-defense -- to protect them from a worldwide ideological movement dedicated to killing them or converting all of them to Islam.
James Carville, a sharp Democratic operative who likely privately acknowledges this reality says, "We have to go back to 1974 (during Watergate) to find such a favorable environment. If we can't win in this environment, we have to question the whole premise of the party."
On November 8, 2006, amidst much MSM and Democratic Party shock and despair, the questioning will begin.
All we'll have to do to make that happen is to get up off the couch on Nov. 7, and vote.
United Nations: Battlefield Intelligence Unit for Islamic Jihad
As any sane person knows, a vital wartime task for any impartial 'peacekeeping' force is providing real-time battlefield intelligence. Of course, care must be given to provide as much operational detail as possible, do so throughout the entire conflict, and do so only for one belligerent of the conflict, and never the other. Now that's "neutral peacekeeping", right?
No, you say? Wingnut! Bigot! Islamophobe!
According to this Weekly Standard article, during the recent conflict between Israel and Hizballah UN 'peacekeepers' did exactly that [hat tip Dhimmi Watch]:
"UNIFIL--the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, a nearly 2,000-man blue-helmet contingent that has been present on the Lebanon-Israel border since 1978--is officially neutral. Yet, throughout the recent war, it posted on its website for all to see precise information about the movements of Israeli Defense Forces soldiers and the nature of their weaponry and materiel, even specifying the placement of IDF safety structures within hours of their construction. New information was sometimes only 30 minutes old when it was posted, and never more than 24 hours old.
"Meanwhile, UNIFIL posted not a single item of specific intelligence regarding Hezbollah forces. Statements on the order of Hezbollah "fired rockets in large numbers from various locations" and Hezbollah's rockets "were fired in significantly larger numbers from various locations" are as precise as its coverage of the other side ever got."
[...]
"Sure enough, a review of every single UNIFIL web posting during the war shows that, while UNIFIL was daily revealing the towns where Israeli soldiers were located, the positions from which they were firing, and when and how they had entered Lebanese territory, it never described Hezbollah movements or locations with any specificity whatsoever."
The article further states that the information provided on UNIFIL's website was not derived by public sources. As it turns out, the media had more sense and scruples (I can't believe I just typed that!), and did not publish information with anywhere near the level of detail found on the UN's real-time, public website.
And all this time, we thought the problem with the UN was that they were just currupt, weak-willed, politically correct pansies.
Although we are shocked to finally see some decisive action out of the UN, it comes as no suprise that such efforts are for the benefit of murderers and tyrants.
Some questions:
As active combatants, were the UN forces killed by Israeli forces not then legitimate targets?
How does the UN square its vision of impartiality with its policy of providing updated battlefield intelligence to one side of a war?
At what point will the United States finally declare the UN morally bankrupt and terminally corrupt, and withdraw its support and participation from this cowardly, inept, immoral, and treacherous organization?
A blogger for the leftwing Huffington Post wishes for another 911 in order to 'save' American lives.
Russell Shaw, a self-described pacifist, states:
"I am not proud of myself for even considering the notion that another terror attack that costs even one American life could ever be considered anything else but evil and hurtful. And I know that when I weigh the possibility that such an attack- that might, say, kill 100- would prevent hundreds of thousands of Americans from dying who otherwise would- I am exhibiting a calculating cold heart diametrically opposed to everything I stand for as a human being. A human being, who, just so you know, is opposed to most wars and to capital punishment.
But in light of the very real potential of the next two American elections to solidify our growing American persona as a warlike, polluter-friendly nation with repressive domestic tendencies and inadequate health care for so many tens of millions, let me ask you this. Even if only from the standpoint of a purely intellectual exercise in alternative future history:
If you knew us getting hit again would launch a chain of transformative, cascading events that would enable a better nation where millions who would have died will live longer, would such a calculus have any moral validity?"
The fact that Shaw tries so very hard to elicit a 'yes' answer to that question shows exactly where his sentiments lie. I won't waste copious words explaining why Russell Shaw expresses his warped sentiments; ones that many of his 'peace-loving' leftist colleagues no doubt share.
In a nutshell, he is just another garden-variety, leftist hack suffering from Bush Derangement Syndrome (BDS). As such, he routinely ignores reality and facts, in this case a fact that destroys his own logic: Under the Bush presidency that Shaw obviously hates, life expectancy in the U.S. continues to increase. That is in spite of the loss of life Shaw imagines has been caused by Republican policies.
So logically, as far as saving American lives go, there is no need for Mr. Shaw to even suggest such a trade-off. On the other hand, to BDS sufferers like himself, the mass murder of American citizens might be considered a small price to pay to destroy George W. Bush and end Republican control of Congress and the White House.
An outstanding article by Raymond Kraft at ChronWatch conducts a point-by-point analysis of Islam and compares it to basic standards of anything considered to be a 'Civilization'. As a benchmark, the article cites the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as penned from the ruins of World War II in 1948. [hat tip: thereligionofpeace.com].
Although the UN 'mission' has been distorted and hijacked by PC dogma and Left-wing cartoon leadership over the last several decades, we must remember that its founding principles were reasonable and noble indeed. And compared to those principles, we can see how Islam measures up.
From the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
"Article 1. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."
"Article 3. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person."
"Article 5. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment."
And of particular interest for so-called "Islamic Civilization":
"Article 18. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom either alone or in community with others and in public, or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance."
You can imagine how an analysis of Islam holds up against such ideals. Some excerpts:
"A Fatwah called for the death of Salman Rushdie for writing a book critical of Islam (The Satanic Verses), but no Fatwah called for the death of Saddam Hussein for murdering a half million Iraqis. A book, death. A half million murders, no problem. Islam repudiates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is not Civilized."
"Islam today is diametrically opposed to religious freedom and intellectual freedom - it seeks religious hegemony, a theocratic Islamic empire, a region, first, and a world, later, of religious totalitarianism. It repudiates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is not Civilized."
"[Islamists] do not treat others as they want to be treated [i.e. 'The Golden Rule']. One standard for us, another standard for you. We will kill you and eradicate your country, but you must not hurt us. They reject the Golden Rule, they repudiate the Golden Rule, and in doing so, the Islamic world in which militant Islam, Puritanical Islam, Jihadist Islam is politically, socially, culturally, and spiritually ascendant, where militant Islam is accomodated and accepted and supported, has placed itself outside the world of Civilization, in opposition to the world of Civilization, as defined by the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Islam has made itself the antithesis of Civilization." [emphasis in original]
Please make time to read this great 'big-picture' article.
After all the news about England's disruption of a major airline plot by Al-qaeda terrorists, there have been a growing number of disturbances in recent days. A number of planes have been diverted, detained, and disrupted.
American Airlines diverted to Bangor, Maine 8-25-06
Aer Lingus diverted to Shannon Airport, Ireland 8-25-06
One wonders whether the "plot" was foiled or not, with this kind of residue.
This past June, there were other incidents:
Northwest Airlines detained in Oklahoma City 6-28-06
Northwest Airlines detained in Oklahoma City 6-13-06
There are really dozens of reports of delays, detainments, all over the world, almost daily. However, todays reports of three different incidents, all at once, really says something about the psychological condition of the public. It looks like people are beginning to lose it, a bit. And also, there are so many more "professional" security people around, all looking for something to do. It is as if it's all some authority fest before our eyes. Add that to the kooks and unstable people, and of course the real terrorists, and we have a forumla for mass frustration--which will result in more violence, no doubt.
The Muslims murderers have succeeded in forever changing western living--for the worse. Our response?
French film maker Pierre Rehov will soon release his documentary "Suicide Killers," a film delving into the methods and motives of Palestinian suicide bombers.
Rehov interviewed both families of successful bombers and also imprisoned bombers whose bombs failed to detonate. What he found dispels the myth that Arab and Muslim terror bombing is driven primarily by economic forces and a desire to overcome the 'oppression' of the West.
Rehov suggests that suicide bombers are driven by the tenets of Islam and by the sexual misogyny it causes in the cultures where it is prominent.
I have always believed that the sick view of sexuality promoted by strict Islam is one of suicide bombing's prime motivators. Young males, living in Islamic societies where pre-marital sex with women is sometimes punishable by death, and raised by mothers who are treated like chattel, can't possibly have healthy outlooks on sexuality. So it is unsurprising that there's no shortage of young Muslim males drawn to the notion that unlimited carnal delights can be had at the push of a button. In an ultimate perversion, the suicide bomber--and those who fund and recruit them and prepare their missions--draw from an act of creation to create death.
Pierre Rehov elaborates on that perversion:
"I came to the conclusion that we are facing a neurosis at the level of an entire civilization. Most neuroses have in common a dramatic event, generally linked to an unacceptable sexual behavior. In this case, we are talking of kids living all their lives in pure frustration, with no opportunity to experience sex, love, tenderness or even understanding from the opposite sex.
The separation between men and women in Islam is absolute so is contempt toward women, who are totally dominated by men. This leads to a situation of pure anxiety, in which normal behavior is not possible. It is no coincidence that suicide killers are mostly young men dominated subconsciously by an overwhelming libido that they not only cannot satisfy but also are afraid of, as if it is the work of the devil.
Since Islam describes heaven as a place where everything on Earth will finally be allowed, and promises 72 virgins to those frustrated kids, killing others and killing themselves to reach this redemption becomes their only solution."
Rehov described his experinces of interviewing the families of deceased bombers as 'terrifying,' and likened it to interviewing people in an insane asylum who are comfortable with their insanity:
"It was a fascinating and a terrifying experience. You are dealing with seemingly normal people with very nice manners who have their own logic, which to a certain extent can make sense since they are so convinced that what they say is true. It is like dealing with pure craziness, like interviewing people in an asylum, since what they say, is for them, the absolute truth. I hear a mother saying, "Thank God, my son is dead." Her son had become a shaheed, a martyr, which for her was a greater source of pride than if he had became an engineer, a doctor or a winner of the Nobel Prize.
This system of values works completely backwards since their interpretation of Islam worships death much more than life. You are facing people whose only dream, only achievement goal is to fulfill what they believe to be their destiny, namely to be a Shaheed or the family of a shaheed.
They don't see the innocent being killed, they only see the impure that they have to destroy."
Read this important interview with Pierre Rehov by clicking here.
Last weekend, in an interview for the news program 60 Minutes, Old Media icon Mike Wallace licked the bloodstained boots of Iran's despot, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, calling him "an impressive man" and saying "He's actually, in a strange way, he's a rather attractive man, very smart, savvy, self-assured, good looking in a strange way." Wallace also described the Iranian despot as an "impressive fellow."
Now I'm sure that Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin and Pol Pot could be charming and accomodating in a close, personal setting. But all three were responsible for the deaths of millions of innocent men, women and children, just as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is responsible for the torture and murder of many Iranians, Iraqis and --most recently--Lebanese. Ahmadinejad is part and parcel to a religious movement that seeks to impose Islam on the entire earth by any means possible. He is a slavemaster.
Mike Wallace downplays that reality though, since he and his friend Mahmoud have a thick cord that binds them together: seething hatred for George W. Bush.
Ahmadinejad is no fool--he knows that leftwing journalists like Mike Wallace can only help him vilify the West and glorify Islamism and its terrorist foot-soldiers. The interview was tightly scripted, and provocative questions were off limits. Given that control, it would have been to an honest journalist, an interview not worth conducting.
Here are some questions that Wallace didn't ask Ahmadinejad: (hat tip: my dear friend Banafsheh Zand Bonazzi)
"GLOBAL VIEW/By Bret Stephens
Questions for Ahmadinejad (That Mike Wallace Didn't Ask) August 15, 2006
Q: A follow-up to that, Mr. President: Are you aware of a man named Mansour Ossanloo? He is the leader of the independent trade union representing the workers of the Vahed Bus Company in Tehran. A year ago, your security forces raided one of their meetings and cut out a piece of Mr. Ossanloo's tongue. Now he speaks with a lisp. Is this how "dialogue" is conducted in the Islamic Republic of Iran? A:
Q: Let's talk a bit about your government's relationship to Iranian political dissidents. A few weeks ago, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, a member of the Guardian Council who is reportedly close to your boss, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned in his Friday sermon that Iran will execute en masse all dissidents if the U.N. Security Council votes to sanction Iran for your refusal to suspend uranium enrichment. The sermon was broadcast on Iranian state radio. Does Ayatollah Jannati speak for you, Mr. President? A:
Q: Please be specific about the fate of one man: Ahmad Batebi. Mr. Batebi became the face of Iranian dissent when he appeared on the cover of the Economist during the brutally suppressed Tehran University student uprisings in July 1999. After serving six years of a 15-year sentence, Mr. Batebi was furloughed last year and rearrested on July 29; his whereabouts are unknown, which is of special concern because your government recently tortured to death student leader Akbar Mohammadi (www.iranpressnews.com). Can you tell us where Mr. Batebi is and give us assurances for his safety? A:
Q: More on thoughts, dialogue and cultural exchanges, Mr. President. You are possibly the first head of government to write your own blog: www.ahmadinejad.ir. Yet your government has shut down hundreds of Web sites and Web logs, including the BBC's Farsi service, and harassed the lawyers who represent them. An Iranian blogger who goes by the name Iron Shadow accuses you of "pursuing policies that are reminiscent of some of the darkest days of the Islamic Republic." Your government also recently arrested and tortured blogger Abed Tavancheh, 23, who reportedly sustained permanent damage to his kidneys. Is this just your idea of beating the competition? A:
Q: Turn to the past. Kevin Hermening, a Marine sergeant at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran during the hostage crisis, tells this newspaper that you interrogated him personally on Nov. 4, 1979, while brandishing a pistol. For the record, he remembers you as a "very mean SOB" and described a sense of "deja vu" while watching your performance on "60 Minutes." The U.S. State Department also believes that you were one of a group of five who planned the embassy takeover. Do you deny these charges? A:
Q: Numerous Iranian sources allege that in the 1980s you worked as an interrogator and executioner in Evin Prison in Tehran. They say you earned the nickname Tir Khalas Zan, or "The Terminator," for your methods there. You are also suspected of involvement in the assassination of Abdurrahman Qassemlou, a leader of Iran's Kurdish minority, in Vienna in 1989. Do you deny these charges, too? A:
Q: An American federal grand jury has indicted Ahmed Ibrahim al-Mughassil and Abdel Hussein Mohamed al-Nasser as two of the ringleaders in the 1996 attack on the Khobar Towers in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, in which 19 U.S. servicemen were killed. Former FBI Director Louis Freeh believes the two are "living comfortably in Iran." Will you hand over for trial the two to the U.S. or some other international authority, as Moammar Gadhafi did with the planners of the Lockerbie bombing? A:
Q: You are known to be a religious disciple of Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi. Among the Ayatollah's teachings is the view that slavery is justified. Do you agree with your mentor? A:
Q: Your views about Israel are categorical and well known; your views about whether the Holocaust took place have been ambiguous at best. How about the Jews? Do you agree with the December 2004 statement of Iranian academic Heshmatollah Qanbari on Iranian TV, as quoted by Memri, that "all corrupt traits in humanity originated in this group [i.e., the Jews]"? A:
Q: Another of Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi's disciples, Mohsen Ghorouian, has said it is "only natural" for Iran to have nuclear weapons as a "countermeasure" to the U.S. and Israel. And one of your regime's hardliners, Hojjat-ol-Islam Baqer Kharraz, was recently quoted as saying that "we are able to produce atomic bombs and we will do that." Do you disavow these statements, given your repeated insistence that Iran's nuclear programs are for peaceful purposes only? A:
Q: In your May letter to President Bush, you ask whether the attacks of Sept. 11 could have been "planned and executed without coordination with intelligence and security services." Is it your belief that those attacks were orchestrated by the CIA, the Mossad or another Western intelligence service? A:
Q: In the same letter, you discuss the "shattering and fall of the ideology and thoughts of the Liberal democratic systems." Is this a historical inevitability, and do you intend to hasten that fall? A:
Q: The scholar Bernard Lewis recently made note of your repeated references to the 27th day of Rajab in the Islamic year of 1427. That date corresponds to Aug. 22 -- a week from today. Anything special planned for the occasion? Or is it a surprise? A:"
Muslim American Homeland Security Congress -- Friend to America?
The plot had been foiled. Would-be suicide bombers had been arrested and an incredible harvest of death over the Atlantic had been avoided.
It couldn't have been done without the Muslim-American Homeland Security Congress. Its leaders wanted everybody to know that, so they organized a press conference. The conference might have to be repeated though, since Los Angeles is a long way from the scene of the action and 9/11 is not the big thing in the Sunshine State that it is in New York. Besides, a lot of California's dhimmis missed the press conference. They were preoccupied with immigration and Schwarzenegger and maybe the troubles in Lebanon. Some of the beautiful people like Paris Hilton are totally unaware of the existence of the Muslim-American Homeland Security Congress and the wonderful job it has been doing in the War on Islamist Terror. That is precisely what the press conference was meant to accomplish -- making Paris and the rest of the glitterati aware of what is going on.
The conference was a first-class dog and pony show. All the important people in law enforcement were there: Officials from the Department of Homeland Security's Los Angeles Bureau, agents from the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, Los Angeles Sheriff Lee Baca, US Congresswoman Jane Harmon (D-CA), assorted immigration, customs, and border protection officers, and, of course, representatives from the various Muslim-American organizations that comprise the Congress.
Salam Al-Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), made the keynote speech. "I want to acknowledge," he said, "the crucial tip that came from a worried member of the British Muslim community, and was the primary reason that the alleged plot was disrupted. It is that unknown hero that we want to acknowledge today as well as those Muslims in America, Europe and throughout the world who are stepping forward out of their Islamic obligations to protect their communities and their societies that we want to raise awareness about. These are people who are serving their patriotic duty in the United States and elsewhere." (Worried member of the British community? Unknown hero? If MPAC finds out his identity, he will have even more to worry about!)
It's a relief to know that somebody is actually on the job, though it is doubtful if anything could interrupt the Paris Hiltons of the world in their pursuit of fun and games. But hey, they should be able to sleep secure in the knowledge that Salam Al-Marayati and his co-religionists are on the lookout for terrorists. Or should they?
Marayati has said some unsettling things in the past. He described Hezbollah's attack on the Marine Corps barracks in Beirut in 1983 that killed 241 Marines as a 'military operation.' A few hours after 9/11, before the dust had settled over the World Trade Center and the cries of the dying had not yet faded into eternity, he appeared on an LA radio talk show and accused Israel of bringing down the Twin Towers. Maybe he had a hotline to Amiri Baraka. He has called on the US government to unfreeze the assets of the Global Relief Foundation and the Holy Land Foundation that had been raising money for terrorist organization. This is one fine fellow.
Another member of the Muslim-American Homeland Security Congress is Hussam Ayloush of the Council on American-Muslim Relations (CAIR). 'I'm not aware of anyone preaching violence," he said. "Honestly, I can swear that. I don't know of a single mosque that would even think about preaching such ideas." (George Orwell had his 'Double-Think' -- Ayloush has his 'Double-Taqiyya')
"Islam does not bear the responsibility of the actions by the extremists any more than Christianity bears the responsibility for Holocaust or for the genocide in Bosnia and Kosovo," said Ayloush. "Both actions carried significant religious overtones and were supported and cheered by millions of Christians."
Cheered by millions of Christians?
It's people like Ayloush and Marayati that give Pinocchio a bad name. (The Nazis were not Christians; they were pagans. Hitler was their Mohammed and Christians did not cheer the Holocaust. Ayloush has strayed beyond mere taqiyya into the world of Goebbels and Himmler.)
Marayati and Ayloush compose just the tip of the Islamic iceberg. Shakeel Syed of the Shura Council of Southern California is also a member of the Congress. Shakeel is a writer. He wrote the following words for the pro-Islamist aljazeera.info website: "Nine Eleven 'changed everything' has become a popular saying among some. In fact, nothing has changed since 1775. The imperialist mindset remains unchanged. The then founders killed the Native Americans and believed that they are giving themselves a free America."
If Shakeel has such a low opinion of America why does he want to defend it?
This is Shakeel on the Jyllands-Posten Mohammed cartoons: "Freedom of speech is an inherent right and, in many societies, is legally protected. But that doesn't make every expression of it right. The inflammatory content of the Danish cartoons -- comparing Prophet Muhammad to a terrorist -- belies the claim that it was an exercise in 'freedom of the press.' Muslims worldwide see it as anti-Semitism reborn as 'Islamophobia' in a Europe that gave the world the Inquisition, the Holocaust and the recent Bosnian genocide. From the Islamic perspective, freedom of speech and expression is 'vindication of truth' and 'protection of human dignity,' with embedded maxims of morality and legality. Slander and libel are not protected under free speech."
It is not slander and libel to call Mohammed a terrorist -- it is a matter of historical record. There is no human dignity involved in cutting off the hands of thieves, hanging 16-year-old girls who were victims of rape. And there is certainly nothing dignified about the murder of two millions Sudanese Christians and animists for their land.
Sheriff Lee Baca said, "The security of our homeland is important to all Americans . . . So is the understanding and acceptance of our differences . . . Together, we will fight bigotry and work jointly to prevent terrorism." (It would make more sense to enlist the Ku Klux Klan in the fight against racism.)
America's failure is in its inability to accept the fact that there are significant differences between Islam and Christianity, differences so basic to the conduct of a free society that if embraced or allowed to fester it will be the death of free society.
Congresswoman Jane Harmon, (D-CA), said, "The key to winning the peace is in this room. We cannot solve the problem of terrorism without the support of the Muslim-American community. I am proud to associate myself with this import organization."
Please, somebody, hand Jane a roster! Even the Chicago Cubs don't take the field without knowing what they have got in the bullpen. Salam Al-Mayarati . . . Hussam Ayloush . . . Shakeel Syed . . . Not much to put out a fire. And who is that warming up down the left field foul line? Why, it's Dafer M. Dakhil of the Omar Ibn Al Khattab Foundation! He is also a member of the Congress.
Shortly after 9/11, Dafer donated 300 copies of a translated version of the Qur'an to Los Angles schools. Wasn't that generous of him? He thought so -- but it wasn’t appreciated. A teacher noticed some footnotes in the books that weren't kosher. They described Jews as 'illiterate,' 'arrogant,' and 'men without faith.' One footnote was so bold as to say, "Many of them, even if they could read, were no better than illiterates for they know not their own true scriptures, but read into them what they wanted, or at best their own conjecture." The books were removed from the school libraries. Dafer regretted the decision. How could the notes have been 'offensive?' -- they were Allah's words.
Had enough? No? Another member of the Muslim-American Homeland Security Congress is Muzammil Siddiqi of the Islamic Society of Orange County. Musammil throws a great curve ball -- he fools most of the dhimmis all the time. He has been to the White House to advise the President. Muzammil told his followers, "You should think of and treat non-Muslims as potential Muslims. " He has also said, "The United States of America is directly and indirectly responsible for the plight of the Palestinian people. If you (America) remain in such injustice the wrath of God will come."
It's not Ruth and Gehrig and Lazzeri, Jane, but it is a potential murderer's row.
And here is a last word from Salam Al-Marayati, the famous 'Early American' historian. "When Patrick Henry said, 'Give me liberty or give me death;' that statement epitomized jihad," said Salam. "That is a way of looking at the term jihad from an American perspective."
Sure, and Ben Franklin flew a kite loaded with explosives into Big Ben during an electrical storm.
Patrick Henry's 'give me liberty or give me death' was a rhetorical flourish. He would have been aghast at the mere thought of turning Mr. Yankee and Mr. Doodle into human bombs to blow holes in one of General Howe's privies. It's a cultural thing.
One can only hope the time-servers in the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI have run first-rate background checks on their allies in the war on terrorism and that they have enough common sense to ignore some of the sillier instructions coming from the still incredibly gullible White House.
The mujahedeen Shura Council of Iraq (one of many terrorist organizations here) has a website for its press releases. [hat tip: LGF]
Just a couple small samples from their extensive list of "non-religious" accomplishments:
Mujahedeen Shura council of Iraq adopts the explosion aimed at a Beshmerkah' vehicle in Mowsel
In the name of Allah the most Gracious the most Merciful
O' Allah, straighten up our aim and make us stand firm
All Praise and thanks are Allah's, the Lord of all that exists. And peace be upon our prophet Muhammad, his family and companions in entirety.
Your brothers in the Military wing of Mujahedeen Shura Council on Thursday 22/8/2006, detonated a bomb aimed at a Beshmerkah vehicle in al-Baath district on the left side of Mowsel, causing the complete destruction of the vehicle and the passengers fell between killed and injured, all praise and gratitude be to Allah.
Allah is great,
''Honor, power and glory belong to Allah, to his messenger, and to the believers, but the hypocrites know not.''
The media committee of Mujahedeen Shura council of Iraq.
And there's plenty more "non-religious" bragging where that came from:
Mujahedeen Shura council of Iraq adopts the sniper attack on one crusader [American, ed.] soldier in Mowsel
In the name of Allah the most Gracious the most Merciful
O' Allah, straighten up our aim and make us stand firm
All Praise and thanks are Allah's, the Lord of all that exists. And peace be upon our prophet Muhammad, his family and companions in entirety.
Your brothers in the Military wing of Mujahedeen Shura Council on Sunday 20/8/2006, sniper shot one crusader [American, ed.] soldier in al-Kafa'at on the left side of Mowsel where he immediately died on the ground, all praise and gratitude be to Allah.
Allah is great,
"Honor, power and glory belong to Allah, to his messenger, and to the believers, but the hypocrites know not."
The media committee of Mujahedeen Shura council of Iraq.
From this we can see that the terrorists are obviously motivated - to a suicidal degree - by oil rights disputes, ineffective UN resolutions, territorial border disagreements, failed Western aid policies, and post-colonial grievances.
So now everyone please keep clicking those ruby-reds together, and repeat after me:
Christopher Paris , owner of Oxebridge Quality Resources : AKA Mark Spittle -- The Case of the Wrecked Mailbox!
For much more on the strange saga of Christopher Paris click here.
Christopher Paris, A/K/A "Mark Spittle", owner of Oxebridge Quality Resources, with his Haunted Mansion playmates
Yesterday, struggling ISO consultant, Disney Haunted Mansion afficianado, leftist moonbat and former Communist Party member Christopher Paris (also known as Mark Spittle and the superhero, 'Blackstar' ) -- accused me of being responsible for (get this) the destruction of the mailbox in front of his house in Florida! You can't make this stuff up.
From Paris's Spittle and Ink weblog:
"So I guess now it starts. Thanks to Rocco DiPippo posting a "bounty" for my personal information, I've now had the pleasure of having to clean up this mess on my front lawn. It seems some patriotic American good-old boy thought he would send me an appropriate message of terror by tearing up my lawn, smashing apart my mailbox -- including the wooden post used to anchor it -- and demolishing my city garbage container."
Gee, it was Paris who chose to reveal his real identity and list his real address on his Spittle and Ink site--as if anyone really cares that he did. And perhaps there are other potential suspects in the case of the mysteriously nuked mailbox: According to a post on his site, Paris recently chased down and harassed the driver of a construction truck who allegedly cut him off while he was driving. Then he wrote a predictably nasty article on the Florida-based contracting company that owned the vehicle, publishing it on his Spittle and Ink website.
Now I know from experience that men in the construction business don't take kindly to nasty, freaky man-children like the Disney-worshiping Paris. Still, the contractors that Paris abused probably had nothing to do with wrecking the mailbox--one of Florida's numerous octagenarian drivers probably did.
Nevertheless, when you delight in tormenting, harrassing and abusing people like Christopher Paris a/k/a/ 'Mark Spittle' does, paranoia must play a large role in your day-to-day existence. No doubt, Christopher Paris a/k/a Mark Spittle has many enemies, most notably his self. (Talk about a rat chewing on its own tail. . .)
As a compassionate Conservative, I hope that Mr. Paris finds inner peace--perhaps he'll find comfort from the latest rightwing plot to 'terrorize' him by traveling to Disney World and collapsing into the warm embraces of Mickey Mouse, Snow White, Goofy and the friendly ghosts at the Haunted Mansion, as he so often does.
Well, maybe the not-so-friendly ghosts: Last year, Paris was injured while playing at his beloved Haunted Mansion when someone dressed up as the Headless Horseman hurled a prop pumpkin at him, striking him in the chest. (I did not make this up.) Could the Mossad have been involved? Has it now plotted with neocons in the Bush Administration to wreck Paris's mailbox? What's next in the rightwing plot to neutralize him?--a night-time raid to salt his front lawn with grubworms?
Christopher Paris a/k/a Mark Spittle, now joins the illustrious Kurt Nimmo and Justin Raimondo on the list of impotent, semiliterate clowns and crackpots we joyously mock. "Christopher Paris" "Oxebridge Quality Resources" "Mark Spittle" "Spittle and Ink" Oxebridge
"KABUL , Afghanistan -- Afghan and Coalition forces conducted a pre-dawn raid on a compound housing suspected terrorists Aug. 22 near Paru Kheyl village in Khowst Province .Three suspects were taken into custody.
Assorted weapons and ammunition were confiscated in the operation. Weapons included automatic and bolt-action rifles, a shotgun and ammunition-carrying chest racks.
Three other males found in the compound were released after questioning. More than 20 women and children were also located within the facilities. The Coalition notes that extremists are deliberately and immorally surrounding themselves with innocent civilians, knowing the Coalition takes extraordinary measures to prevent civilian casualities. [Empasis added]
The purpose of this operation was to capture a known al Qaeda facilitator. Credible intelligence linked the targeted individual to suspected terrorist activities and attacks against the Afghan and Coalition forces in Khowst Province .
The Coalition is currently assessing information taken from the raid and determining the level of involvement of the three suspected terrorists taken into custody.
No shots were fired and no Afghan or Coalition forces were injured during the operation."
"Trustworthy witnesses in Cuba say an unprecedented tension among the people and a heavy silence filled with expectation has taken over the streets; it is a silence so tangible it could be cut with a knife.
Some even go as far as to say that all it would take is the cry, 'the wolf is naked,' to unleash upheavals like the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of Ceaucescu’s bloody dictatorship in Rumania."
But what does Cuba's Catholic Bishops Conference do to affect that tipping point? Nothing. Instead it helps keep Cubans in chains by urging them to pray for Castro's well being:
"...the Cuban Catholic Bishops Conference (COCC) issued almost simultaneously by the Cuban Catholic Information Agency and the official organ of the Cuban Communist Party, Granma International. It earnestly asked "all" Catholic communities on the island to pray that God "might accompany President Castro in his illness;" that He might "illuminate those who have provisionally received the responsibility of government;" and that the "desire for peace and fraternal coexistence among all Cubans might not be disturbed by any external or internal situation." . . . The Cuban Catholic Bishops Conference (COCC in Spanish) that now urges the faithful to pray for the health of the Red Wolf, has never publicly dared ask for prayers for their decimated flock, including the thousands of political prisoners agonizing in Castro's prisons and all those unjustly condemned and executed. "
Armando Valladares, who wrote the linked article, was a political prisoner who spent twenty years in Castro's hellhole prisons. He recounts the defiance of some of the Cubans who met death in front of a firing squad:
"For years now I have had the painful obligation in conscience to write articles denouncing ecclesiastical collaboration with Cuban communism. I did this for a number of reasons. I had survived more than twenty years as a political prisoner in Castro's dungeons. During that time, my Catholic faith was strengthened by the cries of young martyrs who died by firing squad shouting ‘Long live Christ the King, down with Communism!"
Those brave souls put their faith in Christ and spit on their tormenters. Cuban Catholic Bishops Conference members betray Christ while licking the boots of their slavemasters.
To hell with these, and the rest of the apologetic, gutless leftwing clergy.
"Simply put, liberals have a big baby problem: They're not having enough of them, they haven't for a long time, and their pool of potential new voters is suffering as a result. According to the 2004 General Social Survey, if you picked 100 unrelated politically liberal adults at random, you would find that they had, between them, 147 children. If you picked 100 conservatives, you would find 208 kids. That's a "fertility gap" of 41%. Given that about 80% of people with an identifiable party preference grow up to vote the same way as their parents, this gap translates into lots more little Republicans than little Democrats to vote in future elections."
Do not the cultural elite constantly remind us that leftwingers are smarter and more sophisticated than their rightwing counterparts? Apparently, though, the leftwing mind is a bit deficient in recognizing the importance of continuing the human race.
John Mark Karr, a miserable, life-long sufferer of sexual perversion, suddenly confessed to the murder of six-year-old JonBenet Ramsey--which took place 10 years ago. He was arrested in Bangkok, Thailand recently, and has been brought to the United States for trial. Already his story is suspect.
So why did he want to get out of Bankok? Southeast Asia is one of the most sexually perverted areas of the world. He was obviously drawn there, and in the thick of his element. Why the desperate manoeuver to get out?
In the world of vice, there is always 'clear and present danger.' My guess is they were about to make chopped liver out of him. He obviously offended some other sexual aggressor. Homosexuality, pedophilia, whatever. There are no rules in Southeast Asia. Sex change, was it? Maybe they were suggesting he become an organ donor.
The gap between elite PC blindness and the common sense of ordinary folks in Great Britain continues to widen. This Daily Mail article titled Mutiny on Flight 613 describes how passengers imposed their own standards of security profiling before risking their necks in flight:
British holidaymakers staged an unprecedented mutiny - refusing to allow their flight to take off until two men they feared were terrorists were forcibly removed.
[...]
The trouble in Malaga flared last Wednesday as two British citizens in their 20s waited in the departure lounge to board the pre-dawn flight and were heard talking what passengers took to be Arabic. Worries spread after a female passenger said she had heard something that alarmed her.
Passengers noticed that, despite the heat, the pair were wearing leather jackets and thick jumpers and were regularly checking their watches.
Initially, six passengers refused to board the flight. On board the aircraft, word reached one family. To the astonishment of cabin crew, they stood up and walked off, followed quickly by others.
The Monarch pilot - a highly experienced captain - accompanied by armed Civil Guard police and airport security staff, approached the two men and took their passports.
Half an hour later, police returned and escorted the two Asian passengers off the jet.
Soon afterwards, the aircraft was cleared while police did a thorough security sweep. Nothing was found and the plane took off - three hours late and without the two men on board.
Of course, the elites in Britain see things differently through their John Lennon-style PC spectacles:
Patrick Mercer, the Tory Homeland Security spokesman, said last night: "This is a victory for terrorists. These people on the flight have been terrorised into behaving irrationally.
"For those unfortunate two men to be victimised because of the colour of their skin is just nonsense."
Just when you think that the Antique Media will never admit the real nature of our enemies in the War on Islamist Terror, along comes one of its members who does.
The publisher and editor of the left-leaning Star Newspapers, Franklin Shuftan, recently published an op-ed piece on the fireworks that exploded over Beirut in celebration of Hizballah's 'victory' over Israel. He rips the Hizbo thugs, Kofi Annan and Jacques Chirac, whom he calls 'Vichy-possessed. Here's a taste of the incendiary article:
"For the past few weeks, we'd witnessed, often live and in color, a different kind of fireworks over Beirut and its suburbs. Plenty of footage of Israeli bombing raids and the attendant damage, especially the damage that the Hizballah spinmeisters wanted recorded and replayed to Western audiences.
All at the point of an Iranian-supplied missile.
And all grist for celebration, I guess. And fireworks. A Big Festive Bang over Beirut. A cultural fest.
. . . Death. Destruction. Devastation. Canyons of rubble where high-rise buildings (I guess we'd call them tenements here) once stood. And tears, screams, shrill howls of despair. Death. Destruction. Devastation. And phony images, doctored photos, political spin, manipulation of a gutless and readily complicit international community.
. . . The bearded leader of the gangster thugs, from his cave or hole in the ground or wherever he is hiding out today, believes he won. After all, he believes, he did not lose. And deaf, dumb and blind Kofi and Vichy-possessed Jacques give him no reason to think otherwise."
Shuftan's article gives hope that others in the Old Media will begin forsaking their lockstep political correctness and their hatred of George Bush to finally acknowledge who the bad guys are, and who the good guys are, in the War on Islamist Terror.
It would be great to see the Left and Right unite against the Islamist enemy. If that happened, we could quickly subdue Islamism and then get back to partisan bickering over health care, the economy, abortion and gay marriage.
Anyone who has ever attended summer camp as a child knows what a fun, lighthearted experience it is. But if you're a young Muslim attending this weekend's Young Muslim Sister (YMS) camp in Port Murray, New Jersey, lighthearted fun is probably not part of the program. From FrontPageMag:
"YMS is a subsidiary of the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), a Muslim Brotherhood front that has, in the past, been investigated for possible ties to Al-Qaeda. Young Muslims, for many years, has held children’s camps through ICNA. Prior to the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the events were referred to as 'Jihad Camps.'
One of the 'Jihad Camps' took place only two weeks before 9/11. Three of the advertised invited speakers for the YMS happen to have been three of the featured speakers at the 9/11 camp. They are:
Imam Siraj Wahhaj, the Imam of the Masjid At-Taqwa mosque in Brooklyn and a listed potential co-conspirator to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. About the stoning of women accused of adultery, he stated, 'If Allah says stone them to death, through the Prophet Muhammad, then you stone them to death, because it's the obedience of Allah and his messenger -- nothing personal.'
Sheikh Ibrahim Negm, the Director of ICNA’s Islamic Learning Foundation. In his speech, entitled ‘The Passion of the Youth,’ which is found on the Young Muslims website, he indoctrinated his audience with an ultimatum, by repeating the bigoted statement, 'With Islam youth are going to be something, but without Islam they are going to be nothing.'
Dr. Obeydullah Choudry, the former President of the Muslim Students Association (MSA) at Rutgers University and one of the founders of Young Muslims. He tried to put a good face on the term 'jihad' (holy war), when in his review of the book 'Jihad in Islam,' he stated, 'The disbelievers were fought by the Muslims not for their disbelief but because they showed belligerence or hostility to the Islamic state,' and jihad 'may be offensive, with Muslims taking the lead in averting the enemy's conspiracies and impending plots.' "
Incidentally, this weekend's Young Muslim Sister meeting is being held at the Young Men's Christian Association's (YMCA) Camp Bernie.
Imagine that--the YMCA allowing jihad-preaching Muslims to use its property to indoctrinate young people in the finer points of jihad and death.
Only in America . . . or Germany . . . or France . . . or Norway. . . or Italy . . . or Canada . . . or Great Britain.
This column by Fox News contributor Father Jonathan Morris is an interesting account of an interview he had with Imam Moad Shoeb. According to Morris, Shoeb is the imam for a mosque in Walthomstow, England that was attended regularly by several of the "Airline Bomb Plot" suspects.
According to Father Morris's article, when Morris arrived at the mosque to talk to Shoeb, there were numerous journalists there for obvious reasons. Well, obvious only to some, since Imam Shoeb "innocently" asks, "Why does everyone want to talk to this mosque?"
What? Is that supposed to be funny? Oh, I get it -- it's the "I'm just a simple, persecuted Muslim" bit. OK, good effort, but try not to act as stupid as you apparently think Westerners are, Mr. Shoeb.
Father Morris gently provides the poor, bewildered imam the explanation that people were naturally concerned about terrorists who attempted to murder thousands of people in the name of Islam, and were presumably taught about Islam, at least to some degree, in his mosque.
Ding! Apparently, a light comes on:
"[Shoeb] nodded his head in understanding, but reiterated his unconditional pronouncement that in his mosque, hatred is condemned and peace is promoted. The other bearded men chimed in to confirm their leader’s message."
Whew, what a relief! That, coming from a Muslim cleric, makes me feel soooooo much better!
Father Morris goes on and gets to an apparently touchy subject:
"The members of the mosque, who surrounded me, quickly turned the conversation to politics. They made it utterly clear they were upset at Prime Minister Blair’s and President Bush’s foreign policy. They talked about Lebanon, Palestine, and Iraq. I followed up with this question: Does any given foreign policy validate acts of terror? The group became quiet and the imam responded, 'No, absolutely no.' "
Whoah! By Allah, that was close. Way to jump in and cover for your Believers, Mr. Shoeb -- they sounded pretty stumped there for a minute!
But perhaps most interesting was this tidbit:
"Another revealing element of our conversation came in the imam's response to my question about why Muslim leaders do not come together and make a stronger condemnation of terror in all of its forms. "Because you don't come to us." That was part of his response.
Well.
First of all, we hear from Muslim leaders all the time, like the nuke-hungry President of Iran, the rocket-launching leader of Hizballah, the airline-hijacking leader of Al Qaeda, and the terrorist-funding king of Saudi Arabia, just to name a few.
Second, is it really such a mystery that Mr. Shoeb is kept under wraps by the high-profile Muslim propaganda mechanics . . . er, I mean "moderate civil rights" organizations? He can't even figure out why reporters are in his mosque, and he almost let his minions answer a direct question from a Catholic Priest working for Fox News! I mean, be serious!
Most disturbingly, besides the unfounded (indeed suspect) presumption that Imam Shoeb is some sort of "moderate Muslim" as Father Morris seems to believe, let me get this straight: It is the responsiblity of Westerners to approach "the nice Muslims" to get them to stop their fellow Muslims from cutting off people's heads, blowing up crowded cafes, and shooting children in schoolyards? These attacks by themselves do not inspire revulsion among the Western-transplanted umma? These attacks are not intrinsically and universally horrifying to anyone with a heart and a brain?
No, apparently they are not. We must ask why, and we better do it nicely.
A large body of audio tape containing conversations between rescue workers and those trapped in the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001, has been released by New York City authorities.
On most of the tapes, the voices of those in the Towers have been edited out. But one of the tapes contains unedited sections of a conversation between 32 year old Melissa Doi, a woman trapped and murdered on the 83rd floor of the South Tower, and rescue dispatchers on the ground.
It is horrific.
May it serve to remind us of the cruel, heartless nature of our Islamist enemies and help us focus on their destruction. They must all be killed, or there will never be peace.
Below is the tape, which I edited for length. Be forewarned: it is unnerving, and terribly sad.
-September 11, 2001: Never Forgive. Never Forget.-
John Kerry, (who served in Vietnam), and whose current run for the presidency will end in abject failure, is now fundraising for a slate of antiwar Democratic Party candidates. A recent 'pep talk' email from the Kerry camp reveals as much:
" . . .We say America needs candidates who take strong positions and have the courage of their convictions. We've got them. We're searching for leaders who understand that we can't change George Bush and Don Rumsfeld's aimless course in Iraq if we don't stand up in this fall's campaign and demand change. These leaders are standing right in front of us.
So now the question is: Can Ned Lamont, Daniel Akaka, and Bob Menendez count on us to act right now and pull them through to victory? . . . Despite the "warnings" coming from consultants, political pundits and naysayers in Washington, each of these candidates is making the mess in Iraq a central issue in their campaigns for the Senate. They aren't afraid to talk about why the war is wrong and what must be done to change course and start doing what is best for our troops and our country. And they aren't afraid to stand up for a better way that will bring our heroes home and put Iraq in Iraqis' hands.
It's time to reward their courage.
Support Strong Leaders Who Aren't Afraid to Tell the Truth About Iraq
In Connecticut, Ned Lamont has caused a national stir by successfully challenging the Bush position on Iraq that ignores the utter failure of the President's policy and calls for a deeply misplaced reliance on a dangerous course of action. In the Senate, Ned Lamont will go head to head with Don Rumsfeld, and our troops will benefit from Lamont's leadership. He knows that patriotism isn't reserved for those who defend a President's position; patriotism is doing what's right for our troops and our country."
Right. Antiwar Democrats are about as patriotic and as pro-troop as Karl Marx was a capitalist. That especially goes for Ned Lamont, who comes from a long line of wealthy radical leftists and whose ultra-rich uncle, Corliss Lamont, was a life-long shameless supporter of Josef Stalin.
Go to Lamont's official website -- there is no mention of the War on Terror on it, but plently of talk of 'progressive' solutions to this and 'progressive' solutions to that. 'Progressive' is lefty code for Communism lite or Socialism heavy.
Speaking of John Kerry, (who served in Vietnam), my cousin, Tommy, sent me the following joke about him. It has the ring of truth:
On a Saturday afternoon, in Washington, D.C., Senator John Kerry's campaign manager visited the Cardinal of the Catholic cathedral.
He told the Cardinal that John Kerry would be attending the next day's sermon, and he asked if the Cardinal would kindly point out Kerry to the congregation and say a few words that would include calling Kerry a saint.
The Cardinal replied, "No, I don't really like the man, and there are issues of conflict with the Catholic Church over some of Kerry's views."
Kerry's manager then said, "Look, I'll write a check here and now for a donation of $100,000 to your church, if you'll just tell the congregation you see Kerry as a saint"
The Cardinal thought about it and said, "Well, the church can use the money, so I'll work your request into tomorrow's sermon."
As Kerry's manager promised, Senator Kerry appeared for the Sunday sermon and seated himself prominently at the edge of the main aisle. And during the sermon, as promised, the Cardinal pointed out that Senator Kerry was present.
Then the Cardinal went on to explain to the congregation, "While Senator Kerry's presence is probably an honor to some, he is not my favorite person. Some of his views are contrary to those of the church, and he tends to flip-flop on many other views.
John Kerry is a petty, self absorbed hypocrite and a nit-wit. John Kerry is a liar, a cheat, and a thief. John Kerry is the worst example of a Catholic I've ever personally witnessed. He turned on his buddies in Viet Nam. He wrote a book and portrayed himself in the best light when he was a traitor to his fellow servicemen. He has lied about his military record and had the gall to put himself in for a medal. He married for money and is using it to lie to the American people. He also has a reputation for shirking his senatorial obligations both here and in Massachussetts.
The Cardinal completed his view of Kerry with, "But, when compared to Senator Ted Kennedy, Senator Kerry is a saint".
According to British authorities, today was the day that British Muslim terrorists planned to explode up to ten airliners over U.S. cities. Imagine the horror had that occurred.
Thanks to the surveillance programs utilized by President George W. Bush (deeply criticized by the Democratic Party and Antique Media) and the investigative work done by the British and Pakistani intelligence services, the plot was dismantled.
Be thankful that in this time of war our safety and security is not in the hands of the Ned Lamont Left, which considers America and George Bush greater threats to peace and freedom than terrorists who target and then murder innocents in the name of God.
It's a question nobody wants to ask: In an age of 'Islamo-fascist' terrorism can Muslim-Americans be trusted?
The answer is, in my opinion, no -- not today, not tomorrow, not the next day, maybe never. Muslim-Americans cheered, some of them openly (though they will deny this), when the World Trade Center came crashing down. Muslim-American cooperation with law enforcement in ferreting out terrorists has been minimal. Muslim-American FBI agents refused to tape-record fellow Muslim-Americans suspected of terrorist activities, halting or thwarting ongoing investigations.
Thousands of Muslim-American college students with their radical-left running dogs have turned Berkeley and Durham into cesspools of hatred. Death to America! Death to Israel! Lee Boyd Malvo 's jailhouse thought for the day was: "Islam is the only true guidance, the way to peace."
Peace through murder.
Sergeant Hassan Akbar wrote from Kuwait: "As soon as I am in Iraq, I am going to try to kill as many of them (American GIs) as possible." In the end he couldn't wait that long. He had to get on with the killing. Hatred does that to people.
Were these people insane? No, they were not insane; they were normal, ordinary Muslims taking Islam's irrational fear and hatred of things non-Muslim to the next, logical step: Jihad. It isn't easy, it isn't done in a day -- it's an indoctrination that begins at birth or at the moment of conversion. Islam means submission and the Mohammads and the Hassan Akbars and the Lee Boyd Malvos submit. They become slaves -- slaves to Islam, slaves to the Qur'an and slaves to Jihad.
The experience of someone like Opie Taylor is totally different. Sure, make fun of Mayberry, but Opie was born free, a lion cub with unlimited acreage to roam. He was allowed to grow up on his own, to do all the silly things Tom and Huck did. And why not? -- he was a kid, a child. It was a time to learn, to explore, to make disgusting noises, to make mistakes and be forgiven, to form friendships with other kids because he liked them. Sheriff Andy and Aunt Bea were on hand to make sure he didn't run off with the first band of gypsies to come along.
On the other hand, 'Mohammed' comes into the world bearing a terrible burden -- 1,400 years of Islam. He has scarcely drawn his first breath and the Qur'an is already regulating his life. The first words he is likely to say may well be, "Allahu Akbar." The brainwashing starts early. The spin cycle is continuous. His mind is poisoned from birth. "The Jews are pigs." "Christians will suffer a painful doom." "None has the right to be worshipped but Allah." The only differences between Mohammed's education and the education of Heinrich Himmler Jr., is that Mohammed's education starts earlier, is more thorough and lasts a lifetime.
Every Muslim is a Manchurian Candidate waiting to happen.
When Opie goes to camp or to college or to basic training -- (take your pick) -- he enters a strange new world. Almost immediately, he will form friendships that will last a lifetime, and the great thing about these friendships is that politics, religion, ethnicity, facial warts or standing in the Chicago Cubs Die-Hard Fan Club will have little or nothing to do with them. They will be friends because they are friends. There will be no desperate phone call to some priest or rabbi or minister. "Can I be friends' with Hulk Halfwit, padre? His mother's one-third Choctaw and his father's a Pleistocene." Or: "Is it okay if I sleep over with Gravel Gertie, reverend? She's a Sorority Sister. She says she's a 7th Day Adventist who quite after six days."
Friends can be friends for life and should be. Religion shouldn't intrude on non-religious matters. People who are worried about their friends' religion are even more worried about their own. Can Muslim-Americans be trusted to maintain deep friendships with non-Muslims? No. Islam produces more Hassan Akbars and Mohammed Reza Taheri-azars than Gayle Sayers' and Brian Piccolos.
Is it true Muslims cannot take non-Muslims for friends? It depends -- the Arabic word for friend, 'awliya', has several meanings. It can mean friends, allies, protectors, guardians, etc., etc. Some Muslim scholars insist the word 'friends' in "Take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors" is incorrectly interpreted. They say that the correct meaning is 'allies': as in, "Do not take them for Allies and protectors."
In spite of this minor point of contention, we do know that to Muslims there is nothing wrong with developing personal friendships with non-Muslims to help them understand, appreciate and ultimately to convert to Islam. However, fraternization for reasons other than Dawa is considered un-Islamic. And people who say, "There are no Gods and no prophets, only Devils and liars," are to be avoided at all costs. Do not seek out atheists or agnostics as friends, allies or protectors . . . or Hindus . . . or Buddhists . . . or animists . . . or those who believe the son of Mary is God. They are all infidels. They could, (horror of horrors!), insist on discussing religions other than Islam.
Little Mohammed's knowledge of other religions is next to zero. He reveres Jesus as one of the prophets and despises Him as the Son of God. Tolerance is lopping the heads off infidels. Peace is dhimmis paying the jizya. Stagnation is a way of life. The sixth and seventh Pillars of Islam are hypocrisy and slavery.
Extremely limited in his contacts with the non-Muslim world, Mohammed is a dull boy. As if this weren't bad enough, the Qur'an and the Mad Mullahs are constantly urging him to engage in Jihad:
Qur'an 8:39 "So, fight them till all opposition ends and the only religion is Islam."
Qur'an 8:59 "The infidels should not think that they can get away from us. Prepare against them whatever arms and weaponry you can muster so that you may terrorize them. They are your enemy and Allah's enemy."
Did that come out of the Qur'an or out of Mein Kampf? It's the kind of talk the Brownshirts listened to around pitchers of ale in the Burgerbraukeller in Munich in 1923. The similarities between the two are frightening. Hitler and Mohammed, two angry, violent and vengeful men, imposing their iron wills on as bloodthirsty a set of jackals as ever crawled out of Dante's Inferno.
Has anybody told Mike Wallace about this? Howard Dean? Michael Moore?
Can Muslim-Americans be trusted? No, not any more than Willie Sutton could be trusted with the key to the bank or Wile E. Coyote could be trusted with ten pounds of dynamite five seconds before the arrival of the Beep-Beep Express.
Jesus versus Mohammed -- that is the question. Christianity was born in Christ's love for mankind, though atheists will certainly argue that point. But there is no doubt about Islam. Like Nazism, it was born out of hatred for others. And haters simply cannot be trusted to consider the best interests of those whom they hate.
If numbers alone were what mattered in rating the ferocity of Muslim jihad, then the 9/11 attacks would rate #1 compared to all other jihadist atrocities. But sheer numbers alone don't illustrate the cruel nature of our Islamist enemies, nor do they tell us much about the nature of this war.
The sadistic treatment and subsequent massacre of school children, teachers, and parents at Beslan in 2004 was less shocking than 9/11 in terms of scale and body count, to be sure. But the personal, hands-on evil required by the Muslim terrorists involved -- who suspended bombs over families, forced old women to drink urine, and shot bleeding, fleeing children in the back -- provides piercing insight into the vicious, black heart of violent Islamic jihad in a way that 9/11 cannot.
These insights into ultimate evil are now relayed by Beslan's survivors in a gripping article in this month's Esquire magazine titled, 'The School.' The article is lengthy, because the Muslims took days to inflict torture and horror upon the 1,000+ children and adults at that Beslan elementary school.
This Muslim atrocity, like 9/11, should never be forgotten.
One point: There was, and still is, a underlying story about the mismanagement and incompetence of the Russian police and military during this vicious attack. Their rescue tactics left much to be desired, and should be subject to reasoned criticism.
But we must never forget that, absent Muslim jihadists, there would be no need for anyone to become a tactical expert on how to liberate an entire school full of dehydrated children from fifty bomb-strapped, hate-crazed, ice-blooded murderers.
Great Britain: Cognitive Reasoning Skills Detected!
The post-coma recovery of Great Britain continues. The latest miracle: British officials are actually beginning to see correlations between Islamic terrorism and the Islamic people who commit Islamic terrorism. Such displays of basic cognition and logic are key to a full recovery, and also show signs that permanent brain damage may be less than previously feared (we can only hope).
THE Government is discussing with airport operators plans to introduce a screening system that allows security staff to focus on those passengers who pose the greatest risk.
The passenger-profiling technique involves selecting people who are behaving suspiciously, have an unusual travel pattern or, most controversially, have a certain ethnic or religious background.
[...]
Officials at the Department for Transport (DfT) have discussed the practicalities of introducing such a system with airport operators, including BAA. They believe that [passenger profiling] would be more effective at identifying potential terrorists than the existing random searches.
As Great Britain strives to rediscover its sense of the obvious, we all wish her Godspeed in her recovery efforts, and hope that other patients in the Western wing of the global coma ward find similar inspiration.
We could be making money off liberals. We should be taking bets. We could have predicted that Hezbollah would be first to claim victimhood, the first to claim the other side (Israel) broke the truce. We know the media was involved, and is probably complicit.
The Muslims will stop at nothing just to accuse Israel. What a glorious and sick existence they lead. They don't die for peace, for freedom, or for prosperity. They die to defame Israel. Some of them die for the god of death, and no other reason.
On the morning of December 7th, 1941, Admiral Yamamoto, Commander of the Imperial Japanese Navy, feared his attack on America at Pearl Harbor would "awaken the sleeping giant."
Fast forward to today, 5 years after 9/11, the West seems more than just asleep - it's in a coma. But the jihadists have been trying their best to wake us up, with their latest splash of cold water being for anyone who might have been flying over the Atlantic this week, especially Britons.
At last, Great Britain begins to stir from her deep and troubled sleep.
To be sure, the noises creeping in from the real world are strange to them, and atrophy has taken its toll on their limbs as well as their senses. But we now find our beloved cousins at the first and most critical step towards coma recovery: consciousness. As the light begins to shine through their fluttering, crusty eyelids, they feel the sting of their dilations, and a tinge of remorse at the thought of losing the comfortable dreamland in which they have lived all this time.
But reality has a way of getting your attention, and its harshness is telling our bewildered patient that they have been dreaming long enough. Great Britain's haze of rabid multiculturalism, strict political correctness, and domestic Muslim appeasement, is starting to lift at last:
It is a war fought with planes crashed into buildings or blown up in mid-air, roadside bombs, kidnappings, beheadings and other unspeakable instruments of terror. It is decentralised but global in scope, from madrassas in Pakistan, to mosques in London, to "charities" in America, to banks and boardrooms in the Middle East.
[...]
The warriors in this jihad are identified, indoctrinated and recruited by men who manipulate the power of faith to induce a fanaticism whose ultimate expression is the martyrdom of suicide missions. Among them are clerics who have rewarded their welcome into our liberal, open societies by preaching our destruction.
[...]
But combating Islamist extremism may require rethinking the idea of imminence in judging the dangers, and the appropriate response to them, of the insidious process leading ultimately to acts of mass murder. It is the act of recruitment into the swamp of a world divided into believers and infidels that may well be the more appropriate line dividing acceptable from unacceptable advocacy.
Relations between Ministers and Muslim leaders have soured after [the Muslim's open letter called for a shift in foreign policy "to show the world we value the lives of civilians wherever they live and whatever their religion". John Reid, Home Secretary, retorted that foreign policy could never be dictated by terrorists.
"I'm not going to question the motives of anyone who has signed this letter," he told BBC News 24. "But I think it is a dreadful misjudgement if we believe the foreign policy of this country should be shaped in part, or in whole, under the threat of terrorist activity if we do not have a foreign policy with which the terrorists happen to agree."
A BBC Article quotes British Foreign Minister, Kim Howells:
"I have no doubt that there are many issues which incite people to loath government policies but not to strap explosives to themselves and go out and murder innocent people.
"There is no way of rationalising that.
"I think it is very, very dangerous when people who call themselves community leaders make some assumption that somehow that there's a rational connection between these two things."
It is now self-evident that there is an enemy within Britain who wants to destroy our way of life. Most of this relatively small group of fanatics are British-born Muslims who have been educated here and brought up within our tolerant democracy. Those looking for the outward signs that identify them as full of hatred would be hard-pressed to find them. Many seem all too ordinary, perhaps enthusiastic about football and cricket and living "normal" westernised existences in neat terraced houses. They work, study or run small businesses. Most show little indication that they have signed up to the distorted ideology of radical Islam, with its millennial ideology of bringing destruction to the corrupt West. As "sleepers", they are perfect.
If young British Muslims are alienated, that is sad and their anger should be addressed. But anyone whose alienation leads them to want to kill indiscriminately has crossed a line into psychopathic criminality. Policy cannot be dictated by the need to placate such people.
British Muslim leaders are entitled, along with everybody else, to raise questions about the conduct and consequences of Mr Blair's foreign policy. But they have a more immediate responsibility to promote the truth: that Britain is not the aggressor in a war against Islam; that no such war exists; that there is no glory in murder dressed as martyrdom and that terrorism is never excused by bogus accounts of historical victimisation.
And Best for Last: Lord Stevens, Former Metropolitan Police Commissioner of Great Britain, in an letter heart-warmingly entitled, If You're a Muslim -- It's Your Problem:
"Equally important, those British politicians who have seemed obsessed with pandering to, and even encouraging, this state of denial, must throw off their politically-correct blinkers and recognise the same truth -- that Muslim terrorism in Britain is the direct responsibility of British Muslims."
[...]
"My heart sank this week as I saw and read the knee-jerk reaction of friends and neighbours of those arrested in this latest incident, insisting it was all a mistake and the anti-terrorist squad had the wrong people.
I have no idea whether those arrested are guilty or not. But neither have those friends and neighbours. They spoke as if it was inconceivable such a thing could happen in their community; that those arrested were all good Muslims; that Islam is a religion of peace so no Muslim could dream of planning such an act.
But we heard the same from the family and friends of the 7/7 bombers, didn't we?"
[...]
"Muslim terrorism in Britain is based in, has its roots in, and grows in, our Muslim community. The madmen of 7/7 and other suicide bombings didn't hide among the Hindu communities, worship in the Sikh temples, recruit at Catholic churches, did they?"
Now, these little excerpts are heart-warming indeed, as our trans-Atlantic cousins start coming to their senses. But the full articles still show that we're not out of the woods yet -- there is some equivocating, some calls for more "dialogue", and more futile searches for dreamland phantoms, such as that "vast majority of peaceful Muslims" that everyone keeps talking about, but no one seems able to find.
There is much to learn, much to do, and many of us still yearn for that whimsical netherworld of "peace, love, and tolerance". But we must remember the maxim of all coma-recovery miracles: baby steps.
(Author's Note: As a sign of hope, I have deliberately reinstated the term "Great Britain" in this post, as opposed to the PC-cleansed form of just "Britain". May God Save The Queen.)
On Saturday, some of America's internal enemies protested in Washington, DC, and in San Francisco. The AP reported on both protests and portrayed them (as usual) as benign:
"Speakers in Lafayette Park energized the mostly Muslim crowd with chants and speeches condemning Israeli involvement in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, U.S. support for Israel and U.S. involvement in Iraq.
"Occupation is a crime," the crowd chanted, equating the situations in the three areas. But they also called for peace and justice for all.
"We all stand united against the violence and the killing in the holy land," said Esam Omesh, president of the Muslim American Society, a co-sponsor of the demonstration, along with the American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee and the National Council of Arab Americans.
"There is no difference between Muslim life, Christian life or Jewish life," said Omesh.
In San Francisco, about 2,000 people marched in support of Lebanese and Palestinians and against the Israel military action. Read the rest of this lie.
Yesterday, in the context of the recently foiled airliner terror plot, I mentioned Operation Bojinka--a 1990s plan by Islamists to bring down multiple airliners simultaneously. That plan ended when one of its architects, Ramzi Yousef, accidentally burned down the apartment where he was building bombs to be placed aboard the planes. Below is an article on some aspects of the Bojinka plot. Even though a plot similar to it was recently foiled, it's almost certain that adjustments will be made to this diabolical terror model until it succeeds.
From the San Francisco Gate:
"Terrorists planned to detonate a series of bombs on planes flying over major cities; several thousand could have died as planes and debris crashed into densely populated areas.
Descriptions of the alleged plot uncovered by British authorities have distinct echoes of the so-called Operation Bojinka, an attempt by supporters of al Qaeda in the mid-1990s to simultaneously destroy airliners over the Pacific using liquid explosives.
The 1995 plot, which involved Khalid Sheikh Mohammed -- who later became al Qaeda's No. 3 man and is now in U.S. custody -- failed when a fire broke out in a Manila apartment where some of the plotters were working. According to "The 9/11 Commission Report," police at the apartment found dolls wearing clothes containing nitrocellulose.
But one of the hallmarks of Osama bin Laden's followers is that if they don't succeed once, they will try again. Read the Rest"
The August primaries have been an embarrassing disaster for the Democratic Party. This is not surprising for a political party that is defined by its negative platform. The bitterness displayed in Democratic Party political infighting has been revealing. Compare the maturity of the moderate Senator Joseph Lieberman, who stands in stark contrast to the temper tantrum throwing lunatic leftist firebrand, Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney.
Gentleman Joe
The hard-left dominated Democratic Party has accused its incumbent Senator Joe Lieberman of being "too close to Bush," but he has handled its criticism with stoic charm. The NY Sun quoted Lieberman as saying, "We did not answer, adequately answer, the distortions of my record on Iraq and my relationship with George Bush that the Lamont campaign put out." He was quick to add that he didn't blame his campaign workers for his loss.
It's nice to see a politician who doesn't respond to a smear with a smear and it is even better to see a politician that accepts responsibility for his own actions.
As McKinney floats all kinds of conspiracy theories that she was robbed of her reelection bid, Lieberman actually suffered from a vicious hacker attack on election eve. He was forced to shut down his website and it seriously impeded his ability to coordinate his campaign. Lieberman's staff lost access to all of their email accounts, but the media didn't make much of it because Lieberman is a moderate, 'old school' Democrat. If this had happened to a liberal like McKinney the topic would have dominated headline news.
Hurricane McKinney
Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you already know that Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney has been accused of assaulting a police officer and has made many embarrassing and just plain idiotic statements during her career. True to form, she suffered a public meltdown when she lost her re-election bid.
McKinney was originally favored to retain her congressional seat, but her lead slowly ebbed away shortly before the election. In an outrageous attempt of censorship she tried to stop a local newspaper from publishing polls that showed her opponent in the lead. In an interview, McKinney said, "We notified them (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution) of their libelist writing. We advised them to cease and desist and offer a retraction."
Now that she has lost the election, taking only 41% of the vote to her opponent's 59%, will she offer an apology? Probably not, unless she was once again under the threat of a Grand Jury like she was when she stood accused of punching a Capitol Hill policeman.
It's not surprising that in the aftermath of her defeat McKinney's staff is accused of a series of attacks on reporters who were at her campaign headquarters when she finally conceded the race. In one instance a police officer writes that after reviewing a video tape of the incident he determined that one of the security guards pushed and punched photojournalist Gary Stillwell.
The Bottom Line
The ousting of Lieberman is evidence that the Democratic Party is increasingly intolerant of dissent from within. While McKinney was thankfully booted, her replacement, Hank Johnson, is firmly in the anti-Bush camp, so his politics still fit the Party's leftist agenda.
Lieberman is now running as an Independent because he is aware that he is favored by the majority of voters in his district (over both his Democratic and Republican opponents). That means the political infighting of this campaign will most likely cost the Democrats a seat in the Senate.
Rocco pointed out that with two Democrats running against each other it is possible that the Republican candidate, Alan Schlesinger, could be rewarded with a victory in a traditional stronghold of the Democratic Party. While Schlesinger has been running behind his opponents in the polls, the Democrat's voter base is almost evenly split between Lamont and Lieberman. The primary was won with Lamont earning 52% of the Democratic vote to Lieberman's 48%.
Either way you cut it, the Democrats lose. The cannibalistic feuding within their Party is a portent of a self-inflicted disaster on election day, 2006.
A major Islamist terror plot has been thwarted. According to U.S. and British officials, members of the Religion of Peace had planned to simultaneously explode bombs aboard British airplanes headed to the U.S.
The bombs were to be smuggled aboard the airliners in a most ingenious way--each piece of each bomb was to be carried aboard by individual terrorists and then assembled on the planes. The bombs appear to have been designed in such a way that their separate components were undetectable by conventional airport security screening methods.
Recently, Princeton Middle East scholar Bernard Lewis published an article in the Wall Street Journal pointing out the significance to Muslims of the date August 22. That bears noting, since Lewis is not an alarmist or a political partisan but one of the most knowledgable and respected Middle East scholars in the world. Here's some of what he said:
" What is the significance of Aug. 22? This year, August 22 corresponds, in the Islamic calendar, to the 27th day of the month of Rajab of the year 1427. This, by tradition, is the night when many Mauslims commerorate the night flight of the prophet Muhammad on the winged horse Buraq, first to "the farthest mosque"usually identified with Jerusalem, and then to heaven and back (c.f., Koran XVII.1). This might well be deemed an appropriate date for the apocalyptic ending of Israel and if necessary of the world. It is far from certain whether Mr. Ahmadinejad plans any such cataclysmic events precisely for Aug.22. But it would be wise to bear the possibility in mind."
Though Lewis was specifically writing about Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's belief in a Muslim version of the apocalypse and of his desire to affect it, it is worth mentioning that all radical Muslims, and many non-politicized ones, attach great significance to such dates. It is likely that the symbolic significance of Aug. 22 has not escaped the notice of groups like Al Qaeda.
As more becomes known of the airliner bomb plot, it will be interesting to see if Aug 22 was the date that the Islamist had picked to execute their terror attack.
In related matters, suspected Muslim terrorists recently arrested in Dearborn, Michigan, had compiled lists of Wal-Mart stores. They also had airline passenger lists. I've always said that lone suicide bomber attacks on American stores, movie theaters and the like, are only a matter of time. Were the Dearborn suspects plotting such attacks? Were there activities related to the foiled airliner bomb plot? We'll see.
Speaking of Dearborn, Michigan, it seems that Hizballah has the backing of many of its residents. A recent pro-Hizballah rally in that city drew thousands. Fifteen thousand people have immigrated from the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil, a Hizballah stronghold, and now live in Dearborn.
A special thanks goes out to Congressman Barney Frank (D-Ma), whose immigration legislation has made it difficult to keep such people out of America, and nearly impossible to deport them once they have arrived.
The following is a letter the the editor of the Washinton Post written by Major General William McCoy, Commanding General over Iraq Reconstruction. It describes his having accommodated a WaPo reporter for several days last week, only to find gross distortions, innaccuracies, and bias in what the reporter ultimately published.
(please insert collective gasp of suprise here.)
I do not know if this letter has yet been published. A search revealed no hits, but it was partially referenced on Global Security's website. I obtained it via e-mail from personal sources here in Iraq.
The e-mail below is unedited by me, except formatting where noted.
From: McCoy, William MG GRD Sent: Sunday, August 06, 2006 11:48 AM To:'letters@washpost.com' Subject: Letter to the Editor
I am submitting this as a Letter to the Editor based on the terrible, and largely inaccurate, article I read by Andy Mosher. He knows there is a good side to the story of Reconstruction in Iraq; he saw it! yet he chose to write a negative story based on old SIGIR findings. Why? Don't you want the American people to know the truth?
Why Won't They Tell You the Truth? [emphasis appears in original as underscored]
After spending almost three days traveling with and being interviewed by one of the co-writers of a very poorly written article ('Much Undone in Rebuilding Iraq, Audit says', Washington Post, August 2, 2006), I'm astounded at how distorted a good story can become and what agenda drives a paper to see only the bad side to the reconstruction effort here in Iraq. Instead of distorting the facts, let's get to the truth. [article cited in original; link added]
There is no flailing reconstruction effort in Iraq. The United States has rightfully invested $20 billion in Iraq's reconstruction -- in the opinion of many here, we should do more. This massive undertaking is part of a wider strategy for success in Iraq that involves the establishment of a democratic government, the development of professional Iraqi Security Forces, and the restoration of basic essential services and facilities to promote the sustained economic development of this new country.
Yes, this reconstruction effort has been challenged occasionally by security, poor materials, poor construction program management practices, and in some cases poor performance by contractors for a variety of reasons. The Department of State and Defense professionals over here, many of them civilian volunteers, and the Iraqi associates who risk their lives every day to have a future that approximates what America has today, continuously see the challenges and develop and implement solutions. This is a core part of managing construction anywhere in the world and, while somewhat more complex here, it is successfully being accomplished. Have we been guilty of poor planning and mismanagement? The answer to that is, at times, yes. But professionals constantly strive to overcome challenges that arise and we are succeeding and making Iraq better every day! [emphasis appears in original as underscored]
The heart of the article rests on several old statements by the Special Investigator General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) which infer these are recent or recurring problems. The SIGIR knows that, in fact, program management, construction quality, progress, and accountability have all improved significantly since the early days of the effort some three years ago. Yet, the reporters' "project problems" comments infer that these are recent issues. Such actions inflame public opinion in the United States and create resentment by the very people so many conscientious Americans over here are trying to help here in Iraq and worse, embolden our very enemies.
When I arrived here a year ago we planned to complete 3,200 reconstruction projects. Today we are focusing on the completion of 3,700 projects. We've started 3,500 of those projects and completed almost 2,800 . . . and work is continuing! This is not a failure to meet our commitment to the Iraqi people as the article states. In some cases we are not executing the same projects -- we have changed to meet new priorities of three government changes in Iraq since our arrival -- but in all cases, rest assured, these projects will be completed. We discussed this at length with the reporter . . . and he was taking notes and recording our conversations.
We told the reporter that, while 141 health clinic construction projects were taken away from a U.S. contractor who failed to perform, they were re-awarded to Iraqi contractors who are already demonstrating progress, have improved quality and shown their great desire to work with the United States to help Iraq improve . . . and they are doing so phenomenally! We did talk to the reporter about electricity. Three-quarters of Iraq gets twice as much electricity today as they did before the war. Furthermore, we are working with the Minister of Electricity to improve the situation in Baghdad daily and have doubled the hours of power from four to eight in the capitol in the last six months in spite of the fact that demand is markedly increased with Iraqis' new ability to buy personal electrical products. What is truly amazing to me is that we took the reporter to the Nasiriyah prison project and, while it is true that we terminated the prime U.S. contractor for failure to perform, the Iraqi sub-contractor continues to work there (now directly for us) and his progress and quality have improved significantly . . . and he saw that! We are not turning unfinished work over to the Iraqis as he stated in his article; we are fulfilling the U.S. commitment to the people of Iraq and using Iraqis to do it!
The reporter didn't tell you about the hundreds of dedicated military and civilian professionals he saw over here working to make Iraq better, or the Iraqis who come to work every day at their own peril because they believe in what we, and they, are accomplishing together. He failed to tell you about Aseel or Salah who worked for the Corps of Engineers since we arrived in 2003, because they wanted to make their country like ours, but who were recently brutally murdered in the streets because they worked for the Americans. He never wrote about the Water Treatment Plant he visited that will provide fresh potable water to over half a million people in southern Iraq in just two more months, or the one in northern Iraq that is providing water for the 330,000 citizens of Irbil. He never told folks back home about the thousands of children that are now in 800 new or rebuilt schools, or about oil production now being back to pre-war levels and getting better everyday, or raw sewage being taken out of the streets and put back in the pipes where it belongs, or about the thousands of miles of new roads, or post offices, police stations or courthouses or . . . well, he just left a great deal out now, didn't he? [bold emphasis in original]
Why? Perhaps it's because some in the press don't want the American people to know the truth and prefer instead to only report the negative aspects of the news because "it sells papers." We deserve better from those who claim the protection of the Constitution we are fighting to support and defend. America, don't give up. You are doing much better over here than all too many of your press will tell you. If you are tired of fighting for freedom and democracy for those who so strongly long for the country we have, then think of the alternatives for a moment. Iraq will be better for our efforts and so will the world. And you are making it happen. Be proud and keep supporting this vital effort. It is the most important thing America can do.
Thank you. I invite you and your staff to come over at any time to get the facts. I took a risk with Mr. Mosher and obviously got what I consider to be a very unbalanced representation of what he saw, personally. But I still believe in general in the press and will always be open to helping you tell a balanced story.
Essayons! Deliverance!
MG Bill McCoy CG, Gulf Region Division/Dir, Project and Contracting Office Multi-National Force-Iraq [bold and red-colored emphasis in original]
Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah icon and media idol, today warned all Israeli Arabs to leave the port city of Haifa so the militant group could step up attacks without fear of shedding the blood of fellow Muslims. AP August 9, 2006.
As if Hezbollah hasn't already shed the "innocent" blood of "fellow Muslims" in southern Lebanon? As if Hezbollah has any hesitancy to slaughter any human life, anyway, for any reason? With blood on his hands, this fake religionist expresses imitation compassion on "fellow Muslims," hundreds of whom he has already slaughtered. What a prankster this brat, Nasrallah. Every person in Lebanon who has been killed is the victim of Hezbollah!
There's something really "Left" about these Islamic hoodlums. They strike first, then they condemn those who defend themselves, then they verbally imitate the compassion shown them by those whom they attacked. They don't fool anyone but themselves, and all the other self-righteous lying Leftists in the world.
They have the right to slaughter. No one else. Anyone who defends himself is considered evil.
More and more evidence of the Mainstream Media's shilling for terrorists, enemies of Israel and enemies of the U.S. continues surfacing. On the heels of the Reuters fake photos scandal comes this shocking example:
See any problems with the above picture?
Well, for one, there isn't a speck of concrete dust on the guy--not bad for someone supposedly buried in rubble when the 'Evil Zionists' bombed the building.
The other major problem with the photo is that the 'victim' was photographed walking around, apparently unharmed, after he was supposedly injured: Note backwards baseball cap. (These clowns might hate Westerners, but they sure like imitating them.)
Michelle Malkin has much more, and continual updates on all of this, along with example after example of the LeftMedia's Orwellian photographic attempts to cast the good guys as bad, and the bad guys as good.
I've said many times before that the most shameful aspect of the Iraq War has not been misconduct at Abu Graib or even the sickening beheadings committed by terrorists. Those who commit evil acts are bad - we get that. But those who pretend to work on our behalf, and instead betray our trust and deceive us, are worse.
The most shameful aspect of the Iraq War, in my experience, has been the gross misconduct of the media: the pathologically repeated distortions, 'stay-the-course' one-sidedness, political axe-grinding and editorializing instead of reporting, pathetic laziness in addressing local cultural bheaviors and perceptions, and the complete self-imposed ban on any information that could reflect positively on American/Coalition efforts here.
Because of the chaotic conditions in Iraq, it has been generally difficult to catch MSM fraud and bias red-handed. But not so in the Israeli/Hizballah conflict. The Hizballah-controlled environment, coupled with the lazyness, incompetence, lack of judgment, misplaced ambition, and flagrant ideological bias of the vast majority of Western journalists, have combined to allow some daylight to finally be cast on the business-as-usual fraud that characterizes modern MSM journalism. Reuters, AP, and the New York Times are desperately searching for that long lost tube of sunblock they tossed when they started reporting on Iraq.
Some may say that the journalists in Lebanon have no choice but to gather and report what they can, even under the guidance and supervision of Hizballah handlers. Their job is to report the news, and if their only means of access to the scene is under the control of Hizballah, then that is what they must do. But that view suggests that seeing a photo - even a false one - is more informative than seeing none at all. That view suggests that being told something - even a lie - is better than silence.
Well, for those of use who consider facts to be more useful than opinion, and truth to be more useful than lies, we can all be incredibly thankful for the 'pajama warriors' of the blogosphere. Their efforts to finally bring some accountability to the MSM continue to prove to be much needed, indeed.
An outstanding and balanced overview of the various types of frauds being perpetrated by the MSM, including photos, captions, staging, and theories on media motivations, can be found here. (hat tip: littlegreenfootballs.com)
Robertson clearly tries to remain "objective" throughout the interview regarding news coverage of the conflict. But the interviewer (CNN's Howard Kurtz) presses the point about reporting from southern Lebanon at the behest of Hizballah propagandists, yielding this, among other, telling exchanges:
KURTZ: "Nic Robertson, we were speaking a moment ago about the way journalists cover Hezbollah and some of these tours that Hezbollah officials have arranged of the bomb damage in the areas of Southern Lebanon. You, I believe, got one of those tours.
Isn't it difficult for you as a journalist to independently verify any claims made by Hezbollah, because you're not able to go into the buildings and see whether or not there is any military activity or any weapons being hidden there?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Howard, there's no doubt about it: Hezbollah has a very, very sophisticated and slick media operations. In fact, beyond that, it has very, very good control over its areas in the south of Beirut. They deny journalists access into those areas. They can turn on and off access to hospitals in those areas. They have a lot of power and influence. You don't get in there without their permission.
Now maybe I've been missing something, but in most MSM news reports about this conflict that I've read, I haven't seen a lot of disclaimers saying that what I'm reading or seeing is from a Hizballah media "tour".
Update:Oleg Atbashian translates the script in the picture, with some explanation:
" It says
Yatsek Malchevsky LOVE THE RUSSIAN WAY How fair Maria washed those lovely feet with heavy water
(it's a take on an archaic expression from an old folk song - can hardly be translated adequately)
Yatsek Malchevsky is a prominent Polish artist (1854 - 1929) who used to play with religious themes and surrealism. I couldn't find any English sources on him but here's a Russian page with a bio - scroll to the bottom to see the pictures. "
Lanny J. Davis, a prominent Democrat and personal friend and campaigner for Joe Lieberman, has just written a scathing column denouncing the "hate and vitriol of bloggers on the liberal side of the aisle" after having received unwelcomed doses of 'liberal tolerance' from the moonbats of his own party.
An excerpt:
"But the issue is not just emotional outbursts by these usually anonymous [liberal] bloggers. A friend of mine just returned from Connecticut, where he had spoken on several occasions on behalf of Joe Lieberman. He happens to be a liberal antiwar Democrat, just as I am. He is also a lawyer. He told me that within a day of a Lamont event--where he asked the candidate some critical questions--some of his clients were blitzed with emails attacking him and threatening boycotts of their products if they did not drop him as their attorney. He has actually decided not to return to Connecticut for the primary today; he is fearful for his physical safety. [emphasis added]
Davis also gave examples of some of the multicultural, open-minded, humanitarian love he experienced from Leftist bloggers while on the campaign trail for Lieberman, including this gem:
"as everybody knows, jews ONLY care about the welfare of other jews; thanks ever so much for reminding everyone of this most salient fact, so that we might better ignore all that jewish propaganda [by Lieberman] about participating in the civil rights movement of the 60s and so on" (by "tomjones," posted on Daily Kos, Dec. 7, 2005).
Kudos to Davis. It's not often you see a Lefty display some introspection - and guts - publicly.
At a July 19 rally, Zapatero was photographed wearing a kaffiyeh, the Palestinian headress that in Europe symbolizes the radical anti-Israeli left. Even though Zapatero didn't put the kaffiyeh on himself--a member of the Al Fatah youth group did so--the prime minister later said he didn't regret posing for the photo, and would do it again.
Regarding Spaniards' view of Israel, conservative legislator Jose Maria Lassalle recently referred to "the numerous anti-Zionist parish that is in our country."
Saramago, for your general edification, was born in Portugal, but chose to relocate to the occupied territories of the Canary Islands. These islands were settled by the Guanchi Tribe who were shepherds and peaceful toilers of the land. Then the Spaniards arrived and conquered the islands. Through carrying out a number of massacres, they almost succeeded in exterminating the entire tribe. In the 1970s the Guanchis established an underground resistance which tried to achieve independence for the islands but was defeated by the Spanish government's military. Never mind. The important thing is to allow Saramago to preach to us.
Can American-Muslims be trusted? Perhaps -- like the Road Runner trusted Wile E. Coyote; like Eliot Ness trusted Al Capone; like Joseph E. Johnston trusted Jefferson Davis; like Andrew Jackson trusted John C. Calhoun; like Fay Wray trusted King Kong; like Prisoner Number 76345 trusted the Beast of Bergen- Belsen.
As Ronnie Reagan once said, "Trust but verify." Yet for hundreds of thousands of Americans, Muslim-American professions of innocence are enough to convince them that Islam is a religion of peace and toleration, jihad is an internal struggle between good and bad -- it has nothing to do with 9/11.
Former Congressman John Kasich, among others, never tires of talking about the "handful" of Islamo-fascist thugs who hijacked Islam. Maybe he missed the Muslim masses dancing in the streets of Lebanon, in the Gaza Strip, in Indonesia, in Egypt and in Iran when the World Trade Center came crashing down. Maybe he also missed the dancing at Berkeley and in the State Department too. For an ex-politician with an hour-long TV show he has missed a lot. But if Islam was, indeed, hijacked, how did the 'hijackers' do it and where did they take it? -- (It's never been reported missing.)
The mosques are still in place and so are the mullahs, many of them still regrettably 'mad,' and they are still reading the same verses from the same Holy Book and the putative hijackers are reading the same verses from the same Holy Book whether in Tora Bora or Bora Bora or the Aurora Borealis, wherever they are hiding, and there doesn't appear to be any scriptural differences in their interpretations.
For every fatwa issued against Osama bin Laden, thousands have been issued against Salman Rushdie and hundreds of thousands against Israel and America.
The truth is no one hijacked Islam, Islam hijacks others: It hijacked Syria and Egypt; it hijacked Persia and Carthage. In Mohammed's mad rush to obliterate the non-Muslim world he and his subsequent followers hijacked one ethnic or religious enclave after another, including Palestine from the Jews.
Muslims resent resistance, and the more tenacious and successful the resistance the more it is resented. They resented the Crusades, Europe's belated attempt to regain the Holy Land and its environs from Muslim hijackers. In the end the Crusades were a delaying action -- and that was a thousand years ago. More ground has been lost in the interim and now Islam is back as strong and as threatening as ever and its apologists are saying the Hijackers' religion has been hijacked. Who is to be believed?
There was once a notorious gangster named Roger Touhy who was sent to jail for a kidnapping that never took place. A rival mob, Al Capone's, wanted Touhy out of the way. A consummate swindler and stock manipulator named 'Jake the Barber' Factor was desperately in need of an excuse to avoid deportation as an undesirable alien. The two parties were brought together and a deal was struck. Factor would pretend to be kidnapped, the mob would provide the witnesses and the safe havens and Touhy would be accused of kidnapping. Given the amount of corruption during the 1930s the scheme worked like a charm and Touhy went to jail for a long time. It was a sham and should have been recognized as such. A lot of people knew about it but either played along or kept silent.
Nobody kidnapped Jake the Barber and nobody has hijacked Islam, not Hezbollah, not Osama bin Laden, not the Taliban, not Omar Bakri, not the Muslim Brotherhood. It never happened. Almost nobody in the Muslim world believes their religion has been hijacked. But in the West, even before 9/11, blinders were the recommended eyewear for viewing Islam. Back then, President William Jefferson Clinton said, " . . . so many people unfairly identify Islamic terrorism" with the forces of radicalism and terrorism. Terrorism is not a principle of any major religion, including Islam . . . Islam, like Christianity and Judaism, preaches peace and non-violence."
Clinton was not known for whiling away hours in the Oval Office reading the Qur'an or contemplating Islam's much vaunted family values, which include segregating women from men, dropping homosexuals from the tops of buildings and stoning adulterous women to death.
Then came 9/11 and suddenly Islam has been hijacked? Yes, hijacked! Muslim theocrats murdered two million Christians and animists in Sudan in the 1980s and '90s and abck then nobody said Islam had been hijacked. A hundred thousand Catholics were slaughtered in East Timor at about the same time by rampaging Muslims and nobody said Islam had been hijacked. A Saudi Arabian princess was convicted of sexual relations with her lover and beheaded and nobody said Islam had been hijacked. Yet today, many Western intellectuals say Islam has been hijacked.
If so, where did the hijackers take Islam . . . to one of Jake the Barber's safe havens?
The hijacker myth was created to salvage the reputations of a lot of bonehead politicians and their expert advisors who got caught with their pants down on 9/11/2001. It was also created in the name of leftwing 'tolerance' for all belief systems and religions (except Christian ones, of course.) Even in the face of 9/11 some still haven't learned a thing. Here is George W. Bush:
"Some call this Islamic radicalism; others militant Jihadism; still others, Islamo-fascism. Whatever it's called this ideology is very different from the religion of Islam . . . (it distorts) the idea of Jihad."
Here is Tony Blair:
The terrorists are not "proper Muslims;" their extremism is "not the true voice of Islam."
Really?
Osama bin Laden reads from the same book as Ibrahim Hooper of CAIR and Tariq Ramadan. John Esposito and Kevin Barrett and neighborhood mad mullahs believe the same truths and are working for the same universal Islamic state -- the enduring Caliphate. There is little or no difference between what goes on in a mosque in Los Angeles, a madrassa in the Gaza Strip or in a cave in northwest Pakistan.
Roger Touhy was lucky John Kasich and George Bush and Tony Blair were not on his jury. He would have been sentenced to death instead of 99 years.
In case anyone has been living under a blog-o-rock for the past couple of days, a huge firestorm is brewing over some photos that have been doctored and posted by the MSM (Reuters, mainly).
Pursuant to my earlier post (Propa-Qana), it just keeps getting better and better. A Reuters "stringer" (freelance photo "journalist" named Adnan Hajj) has been fired by Reuters after he submitted photos that had been clearly (and amateurishly) doctored for propaganda effect. Reuter's, in typical MSM form, focuses all blame on Hajj, yet is deafeningly silent as to how these photos got through their "rigid and professional" editorial process.
Rightfully so, the blogosphere is now going nuts combing through MSM photos of the Israeli/Lebanon conflict and looking for staging, altering, phony captions, etc. Smoke has been digitally added to photos; Israeli defensive flares have been falsley identified as "missiles" and then photo-replicated in pictures; civilian "victims" have been appearing in shots, wearing the same clothes, wailing in the same manner, of incidents that were supposed to have taken place weeks apart in different villages.
It seems that the blogosphere fact-checkers are striking gold with virtually every turn of the shovel.
There are way, way, way too many links on this hydra of stories by now. Michelle Malkin is all over it, Jihad Watch is keeping people posted, and it's appearing on Drudge. I've yet to see anything on FoxNews - disappointing.
All acknowledge that the main credit for blowing this issue out into the open goes to littlegreenfootballs.com.
Some of the commentary resulting from Fidel Castro's recent medical problems implied that things in Cuba would loosen up upon his death. I don't think that will happen, since Fidel's brother, Raul, is as staunchly Communist as he is.
For nearly 50 years, Cuba's cultural and political landscapes have been shaped mainly by the intimidation and terror tactics of its leaders. With Raul Castro in power, physical intimidation--that favorite tool of all despots--will remain in use, since it is only the fears of physical harm and death and humiliation that have prevented ordinary Cubans from abandoning the Communist blueprint enslaving them. Without Communism, there is no place for Raul Castro and his cronies in any future Cuban government.
Below is a clip from an interesting article that comes to similar conclusions. From Spiegel Online:
". . . The Cuban version of the medieval pillory is called 'Acto de Repudio' -- act of repulsion. Paya is Cuba's most well-known dissident and he often has to endure this kind of treatment. The government regularly drums together groups of people and urges them to pay visits to critical citizens and to brand them as counter-revolutionaries. Usually undercover policemen or other strangers are recruited for the purpose. Sometimes the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution pressures neighbors to do the job. 'Afterwards a few of them come by and say they're sorry,' says Jaime Leygonier, a journalist critical of the regime.
'The counter-revolutionaries are under control'
This method of alienating and humiliating dissidents helps nourish the culture of fear that enables Castro's regime to continue ruling the tropical island 47 years after the dictator took power. The harsh treatment of non-conformists isn't likely to change after the temporary transfer of power to Fidel Castro's younger brother Raul. In fact, the opposition's current options are even more restricted than they were before. Castro's so-called 'Rapid Deployment Brigades' have stepped up their presence in order to intimidate would-be demonstrators." Read the whole article
The broad and deep intellect of Victor Davis Hanson never ceases to enlighten. Unfortunately, he often repeats himself - because he has to.
His latest column, The Brink of Madness (A Familiar Place), puts it all together and lays out our greatest obstacle to confronting Islamic jihad - ourselves.
Excerpts:
"When I used to read about the 1930s -- the Italian invasion of Abyssinia, the rise of fascism in Italy, Spain, and Germany, the appeasement in France and Britain, the murderous duplicity of the Soviet Union, and the racist Japanese murdering in China -- I never could quite figure out why, during those bleak years, Western Europeans and those in the United States did not speak out and condemn the growing madness, if only to defend the millennia-long promise of Western liberalism . . . Not any longer."
"These past few days the inability of millions of Westerners, both here and in Europe, to condemn fascist terrorists who start wars, spread racial hatred, and despise Western democracies is the real story, not the "quarter-ton" Israeli bombs that inadvertently hit civilians in Lebanon who live among rocket launchers that send missiles into Israeli cities and suburbs."
" . . . if we wish to learn what was going on in Europe in 1938, just look around."
Mel Gibson continues paying the price for his recent drunken stupidity and anti-Jewish remarks by being relentlessly smacked around by the Press. Since the success of his movie, "The Passion of the Christ," the Antique Media and leftwing cultural elites have been itching for a piece of Gibson, and he finally handed it to them. Gibson deserves to be criticized for his remarks. But the question is, does he really hate Jews?
"Mel Gibson may have a problem with Jews -- they're responsible for all the wars, they've inflated the number of dead in the Holocaust, etc.
But Gibson likes one Jewish person a lot. His personal bodyguard for more than a decade turns out to be an Israeli. . . .It's ironic, since Korein [the bodyguard] is Jewish. But so is Gibson's publicist."
Anyone offering their political opinions on the internet is subject to the occasional death threat, or nasty email or personal attack from disturbed types who find cyberworld a safe place to vent rage, exercise personal kinks or exorcise personal demons. Most of these people are harmless, impotent cranks with too much time on their hands, who do no real harm. But some are so obsessive, persistent and focused on harassment--or worse-- that they demand exposition and retaliatory action.
Readers of this blog might remember the frustrated wanna-be communist, 'John Brown,' of the website 'Savage Justice.' I banned 'Brown' so many times that I lost count. And in between bans, he'd harass me with crazy emails. I finally contacted the people who had provided him with server space -- (a trustafarian-inhabited quasi-commie 'commune' called the "Emma Goldman Finishing School') -- and informed them of Brown's not-so-peace-loving activities on their server. Coincidentally or not, his obsession with me ended almost immediately thereafter.
Prior to that saga was the strange case of the professor from a Well Known Mid-Atlantic University. The 'professor' (yes, he was tenured), had an extreme obsession with me. Day and night I would receive his disturbed emails. And no matter how often I banned him from commenting on this site he'd find a computer (usually on the campus he worked on) to log into from in order to bypass the bans and leave unwanted comments. After months of his nonsense, I emailed him a cordial letter strongly urging that he stop.
When that failed I took time to find out who he was, contacted him and informed him that unless he quit his obsession I'd complain to his academic superiors about it. I never heard from him again.
Now, there's a leftist blogger who publishes under the pseudonyms "Mark Spittle" and "Epstein Llewelyn." "Spittle/Llewelyn" currently runs a venomous little far-Left blog called 'SpittleandInk.com from his basement in Tampa, Florida. On it he has seen fit--in his trademark foul and abusive style--to personally malign and libel my wife and her art business. He has been contacted twice and been asked to remove the libelous material fom his site. He has--so far-- not done so.
In preparation for what is now to come, I did some research on 'Mark Spittle' to find out who he really is. What I found is creepy, pathetic and also hilarious. Mark Spittle's story is also interesting, in the sense that it provides a glimpse into the whimpering soul of someone who is as wretched, mean, unaccomplished and tormented as he is lonely and pathetic. It is also interesting since 'Spittle' is that rare breed of political blogger who is almost as disliked by his leftwing compatriots as he is by the Right.
An internet search shows 'Mark Spittle' to be an incredibly prolific troll--one who skips from rightwing blog to leftwing blog and back again, leaving often vile, almost always inflammatory comments on them. Few of the major rightwing internet sites have escaped a visit or two (or more) from him. Same for many on the Left. Curiously, his blog is still linked to a few leftwing sites including the popular Liberal Oasis. He has also appeared on the leftwing DailyKos.
Rightwing blogs, bloggers, writers, and cartoonists including Michelle Malkin, Chris Muir, Matt and Aaron Margolis of 'Blogs for Bush' and 'Pardon My English,' the Objectivist Francois Tremblay, the leftwing blogger Chris Bowers of MyDD.com, the popular leftwing Daily Kos and myself (to name a few) have all been targets of his obsession, jealousy, abuse and harrassment. Spittle has a particular obsession with the popular writer, blogger and news personality Michelle Malkin. He often attacks her by making vile, gross sexual comments about aspects of her anatomy.
Between the time he spends tormenting other bloggers, creating vile, unfunny cartoons, calling Michelle Malkin vile names, exhibiting a fascination with feces, telling sophomoric 'dick jokes,' threatening to "piss on conservative cartoonist Chris Muir's cheek," expressing deep-seated disdain for homosexuals by calling people 'queers,' 'polepuffers,' 'spunkplungers' and other homophobic slurs, dabbling on his 'MySpace' site and inhabiting 'gamer' sites where he torments fellow forum members, it is amazing that Mr. 'Spittle' has found the time to live the life of a superhero.
Yes, that's right -- when not spewing hate-filled leftist claptrap on SpittleandInk.com or taunting and abusing people as the faux movie critic, 'TheFacer' on his now-defunct website of the same name, 'Mark Spittle,' -- that intrepid leftist provocateur -- battles his personal demons and otherworldly evil as:
BLACKSTAR!
Yes, I fell down laughing when I discovered the archives of Mark Spittle's now-defunct superhero blog. And I almost croaked when I discovered that Spittle is also a huge fan of the sci-fi outer-space series, 'Millenium.' Spittle (in the guise of 'Blackstar,' has his very own members' page on the 'Millenium' (an outer-space movie series) website. He describes himself thusly:
"Hi there. My name is BlackStar and I just started writing a blog about my life. I don't pretend that it's particularly interesting or anything, but I am a superhero, so maybe you guys might like it.
Oh yeah, I fly and shoot lasers out of my eyes. I know, it's not much, but it's better than the stuff that Hat-Man or The Shuffler does. My site is at www.BlackStarsBlog.com. It's ad-free, just for fun. I will add a talkback section if people want." OK, gotta run. Check it out. Or not.
BlackStar "
Spittle/Blackstar/Facer is also a huge comic book fan and alternative music afficianado with a long-standing obsession with the once-popular rock star, Morrisey. It is noteworthy that on his now defunct 'Blackstar's Blog' site he links to a single Morrisey album cover, titled "Tormentor."
Oh, I forgot to mention something: In real life, BlackstarA/K/A 'The Facer' A/K/A 'Mark Spittle' A/K/A Lord-knows-who-or-what-else,is a 42 year old man.
"I've decided I'm going to California. I sent a note over to Captain Commander to take over my crime fighting here in Carlinville after I'm gone. I probably should have called him on the phone, but I really don't like talking to him. He's so freakin' pompous.
I think I'll leave in a few weeks. I'm in the middle of this big struggle with the Steel Men again, and not getting much sleep these days. Plus every time I land a punch on one of them, I get all these little metal shavings in my hand which hurt like the dickens for a week. Anyway, I want to make sure I wrap up that fight before heading out of town. I'm pretty excited though. I hope something comes through for me in LA." (It appears that Spittle/Facer/Blackstar did in fact travel to Los Angeles a few years ago seeking fame and fortune--and returned home to Tampa with neither.)
Didn't grab you? How about the following passage, where Blackstar/Spittle ponders the existence of a villain called the 'KillerStain': (Star Wars-type background music, please. . .)
"October 17, 2003 I'm beginning to think this KillerStain guy is a fake, just someone pretending to be a super villain. I've heard of people pretending to be someone different on the internet because it allows complete anonymity, but I never actually figured anyone would do it. Weird. Get a life, people! From now on, unless I see a building being toppled by a psychic blast force, or a giant robot destroying the Carlinville coffee house, I'm not going to believe anyone is a super villain."
Still unimpressed with Mark Spittle's (oops, I mean Blackstar's) adventures? How about this following genuinely creepy -- (and in my opinion autobiographical) -- passage:
October 3, 2003 "My birthday. Spent it alone in the apartment with BeeBee[Blackstar/Spittle's puppy]. Had a great time in retrospect. Turned 39. [when this was written Spittle was in fact 39 years old] is that old? Not sure. I know my body doesn't work like it used to. It's harder to get up in the morning, and I'm flying much slower than when I was 16. Gotta leave more time in the mornings when flying off to a crime scene. Sometimes leave the house without showering, which I hate. Nothing worse than spending a whole day stinky.
Still no word on the anonymous villain. Beginning to think it was a goof. Fought the Octopus yesterday. Kicked major butt. Captain Commander showed up and took the credit. I'd like to slap him, but whatever.
Really starting to take stock of my life. 39 and spending my birthday alone? This is lame. Wish I had some superpower that could get a woman to wink at me once in a while. Well, the upside is that I don't have to worry about diseases, I guess. No chance of that!" [Emphasis added]
Nope, no chance of that is right. But what is the chance that the following passage, written by Spittle under the alter-ego-superhero-pseudonym of 'Kevin Phoenix," is autobiographical?:
"Far too long have I sat in the shadows, watching Blackstar's ramblings! It's gotten to the point where it has made me sick just looking at it! But then, if it makes me feel such a way then why would I subject myself to it? It's quite simple...Blackstar was my partner! My name is Kevin Phoenix. But unlike him, I have no freak superpowers. I have something far greater than that. but I'll get to that soon enough. First, I want to bring a little history to light.
You see Blackstar...oh I know his real identity, but I'm going to enjoy hanging that over his head. He may not admit it, but he really values his privacy. But anyway, before the accident, me and him were not just partners. We were the best of friends. I always had his back in a crunch just as he had mine. Then one day, it all changed when the accident that gave him his powers occured. I wasn't with him when it happened obviously. When he got back, he wasn't the same. And I don't mean just his newfound powers, but also his personality. He suddenly acted like I didn't even exist anymore. Suddenly I was an inconvenience to him! I since vowed to wreak vengeance in the worst possible way. To kill him, nay. He doesn't deserve such a mercy! To reveal his true identity? Let's just say that I'm going to enjoy holding that over his head while he spends every waking moment in the back of his mind fearing if I'll let the cat out of the bag. I have gained my own special ability. But it wasn't from some power-endowing freak accident. I have always resented anyone who falls under that category, which makes my hatred for Blackstar [self?] all the more prominent.
I have taken it upon myself to study and perfect the fine art of computer literacy [ note: Spittle is in real life proficient in writing XML code, at least.] I may not be able to fly or shoot energy beams...yet. But I have always been a highly intelligent person since years past. And I have finally become able to make Blackstar's life a living nightmare by doing the only sane thing possible, to join your website and pick you apart piece by tiny piece.
I'm going to draw the torment out as slowly and excruciatingly as possible. That and I'll provide my own views on many a subject. And don't think that you can shut me out because you might notice an unfamiliar line of code in the key script file of your blog system. I have devised a new encryption method that will prevent you from removing it or replacing it with backups without causing your entire database to crash and be deleted. It's what has enabled me to post here as well. Oh don't worry, I'm not going to post rubbish and gibberish. I'm going to slowly torment you while entertaining the people who read about your adventures at the same time. I'm beyond that inferior state of mind. [Emphases added]
Like his superhero alter-ego, the 42 year old man operating under the pseudonyms 'Mark Spittle,' 'The Facer' (a wordplay on 'defacer'), and 'Blackstar' also seems to value his privacy and has, in some aspects, gone to extraordinary lengths in keeping his real identity hidden.
This will to anonymity, while an important aspect of the concept of Free Speech, is not a legitimate shield for those who hide behind it while attempting to destroy someone's business or business relationships, as Spittle/Facer/Blackstar has done.
We have confirmed that the person behind the Spittle/Blackstar/Facer pseudonyms did not receive a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law as stated on his SpittleandInk site. Multiple conversations with the Washington Post ombudsman, Deborah Howell, also confirms that he never wrote for the Washington Post. Contrary to his SpittleandInk bio, the man behind the alias 'Mark Spittle' never, ever wrote for the Washington Post--under any name at any time. Neither did he ever work as a 'congressional lobbyist for the biotech industry'. (Oops, that SpittleandInk parody disclaimer again!)
It is likely, however, that he attended Long Island University as either a film major or graphic designer and then, shortly after a string of professional failures, moved to the Tampa Bay area of Florida where, (still harboring a dream of being famous for doing just about anything), he now resides as a low-level, self-employed 'internet marketing consultant'. He is also a member of the Tampa-based "Southeast Music Alliance" where he scouts out unknown alternative bands to appear on what is, by any objective measure, his poorly produced podcast.
Now, here's the real kink: In a move classic to those lonely, friendless types begging to be 'found out' he currently publishes pictures of himself on his SpittleandInk website. Below are three of them (Note: all pictures below are as they appear on the SpittleandInk website) :
hidden subtext: I not only fantasize about being a superhero, I also fantasize about martyrdom that will never happen.
are pipes accurate Freudian indicators?
hidden subtext: Seratonin inhibitor, Lithium and extreme lonliness zone
We'd like to cure the sad Mr. Spittle of his habit of interfering in the business affairs of others, especially with individuals with whom he has no political axe to grind. We'd also like to alleviate him of his vile habit of aiming personal attacks at the loved ones of those with whom he does have political disagreements. A real University of Virginia School of Law graduate (class of 1969) has something he'd like him to have.
By sending us his real name and address so that we might hand deliver a request for him to remove the crude and libelous material on Mrs. DiPippo from his website, you'll be doing a good deed--and also saving future victims of Spittle/Blackstar/Facer from similar, unwarranted hassles and abuse. (ip address removed after dinner awarded ) In appreciation for your good deed, we offer the first person to comply accurately with this request (Mr. Spittle/Blackstar/Facer excluded, of course) a choice of the following gifts as tokens of our gratitude:
(8) Omaha Steaks Filet Mignons, and a fine bottle of wine (red or white) delivered to your door. Your choice of a Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir or (my favorite) Sangiovese.
or
(4) Fresh lobsters, and a bottle of fine white wine shipped from Best in the Bay Seafood, next door to me in my town of Warren, RI.
or
Gourmet dinner for two, delivered--at your convenience-- to your home from the Gourmet Station. (Yes, they do make vegetarian dishes.)
All replies, and the identity of the recipient(s), will be kept strictly confidential.
Remember, this is not so much a matter of Left vs Right--it's much less complex than that--it's simply a matter of right, and wrong.
Bon Apetit!
We have a winner. A business competitor of Mr. Facer's/Blackstar's/Spittle's/Paris's/ has confirmed his real identity. He has chosen the 'gourmet dinner for two'.
Update: 8/07/2006 11:23AM 'Mark Spittle' now denies having been 'The Facer' or the online superhero 'Blackstar.' Well, Okay...
Update: 8/07/2006 8:47pm 'Mark Spittle', spinning like a top on methamphetamine, pulls the libelous post injurious to Mrs. DiPippo and admits to having been 'The Facer' and 'Blackstar.' Currently claims to really, really, really be someone who advises some companies doing business with the Defense Department on ISO implementation. He claims the identity, 'Christopher Paris.' He jokes about his children thusly: "This is a particularly bad time for the Spittle family because our youngest son, Bettina, found out his new vagina isn't working properly. So it's back to the hospital for him."
Sick. I'm sure those 'kids' will be proud of 'Dad' when they grow up and read his stuff. Crazy. After that, I need a shower. And this freak 'Spittle', if he actually has kids, needs a long visit from DCF.
Update:8/8/2006 9AM 'Spittle' continues spinning out of control. It is sometimes sad watching a fool self-destruct--but not in this case.
By choosing to publicly reveal his real name as 'Christopher Paris' on his website, (or by adopting the name of the real Christopher Paris and claiming to be the founder and current VP of Operations of Oxebridge Quality Resources), 'Mark Spittle' has either opened himself up to a massive defamation suit from the real Christopher Paris, or has effectively destroyed both his business and himself.
Update: Mark Spittle is indeed Christopher Paris, the owner of Oxebridge Quality Resources.That's shocking, since Oxebridge does some of its business with the US Department of Defense. Does DOD know about Paris's online activities and his history of harrassing and tormenting people and trying to destroy their reputations and their businesses by libeling them? Should someone like Paris even be allowed to do business with DOD? How about Paris's other clients? Would they risk doing business with him if they knew of his disturbing and possibly illegal activities?
Addendum: This is too good not to post: Christopher Paris, A/K/A "Mark Spittle" is a huge Disney fan, more specifically, he engages in a childish obsession with Disney World's "Haunted Mansion." (Did he move near Orlando, Florida, to be close to Disney World and his beloved Haunted Mansion? ) Based on his weird obsession with it, I'll bet he did.
Christopher Paris, A/K/A "Mark Spittle" is so obsessed with the "Haunted Mansion" that he built and runs a fancy website dedicated to it (www.hauntedmansion.info). He is so immersed in that fantasy world that he actually got married on the "Haunted Mansion" grounds.
No doubt Mickey and Goofy and the Seven Dwarves (whom he is also infatuated with) were his esteemed guests.
Check out the "Haunted Mansion" site (www.hauntedmansion.info)--Paris, while attending a $300 per person "Haunted Mansion" dinner, actually got injured when someone dressed up as a 'headless horseman' threw a prop pumpkin at him and nailed him in the chest. Too funny. "christopher paris" "oxebridge quality resources" "mark spittle"
Say it isn't so, but for once, I think the PC powers-that-be at the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, CNN, BBC and the rest have been on to something.
Debate continues -- as it has for years -- about when to call a terrorist a "terrorist", as opposed to the PC-preferred term of "militant." The Right (including yours truly) has tended to reject such waterings-down as PC drivel, but now I'm starting to wonder if a re-evaluation of these terms isn't warranted.
Mirriam Webster's Online Dictionary has this to say about terror (as employed by terrorists):
"violent or destructive acts (as bombing) committed by groups in order to intimidate a population or government into granting their demands"
As we came to know terrorism over the last 35 years or so, this description seemed adequate. Terrorists and terrorism seemed to belong to "groups", and as such, were considered primarily a criminal justice matter. Muslim terrorists, like their radical leftwing or rightwing Western counterparts, were hunted down by the FBI and Interpol for having hijacked this jet or bombed that cafe or thrown this body onto a tarmac or that old, disabled terrorist murder victim overboard.
But as we learn more about Islam, Islamic jihad, and the "Arab Street", the term seems to apply less and less to the specific brand of terrorism that is Islamic.
Islamic jihadists certainly employ the classic tactics of terrorism, such as deliberate targeting of civilians, civilian kidnappings, intimidating propaganda, cowardly avoidance of conventional combat, and using civilian areas within their sphere of operation as cover. But jihad-style Islamic terrorism certainly cannot be confined to "groups", like narco terrorists, or the leftist terrorist organizations of the 70's, or the McVeigh survivalist types of the 1990s.
The "group" notion of terrorism is the crux of the question. True to our outdated perception of Islamic terrorism, the Bush Administration continues to hold this fallacy as truth, by continuing to label our efforts as a "War on Terror". But Islamic jihad is not a group with a gripe; it is a core ideology, with a proven track record, of a 1500-year-old religion. It currently enjoys the allegience of over a billion people worldwide - something most would consider above and beyond "group" status.
It is obvious that the jihadists share common motivations and common tactics. To the world they present themselves (Mohammed: "War is deception.") as disparate groups with regional political grievances (Israeli "occupation"; a "free" Chechnya; trespassing infidels on the Arabian Peninsula, corrupt government in the Philippines, etc.), but we now know that they share common cause in a much broader "struggle", and that these grievances are merely the beginning of a long list of demands that, if appeased, would ultimately coalesce into a simple demand of the entire world: submit to Islam or die.
It is time we distinguish Islamic terrorism from isolated "group" terrorism, for the objectives of simple terrorists pale in comparison to the aspirations of the Islamic enemy.
As it turns out, the term "militants" that we've rejected from the MSM for so long might actually be more fitting. Mirriam Webster's definition:
Main Entry: mil.i.tant adjective1 : engaged in warfare or combat : FIGHTING 2 : aggressively active (as in a cause) : COMBATIVE synonym: see AGGRESSIVE
Of course "militant" evokes less concern than "terrorist" in the minds of rational people, which is why the Left has been predisposed to using it. But, paradoxically, this is a good thing for the debate.
We are told that groups like Muslim Brotherhood and Al Qaeda hold "extreme" beliefs of Islam, and have "hijacked" these from a 'religion of peace'. But I think we should recognize all of these groups as merely militant units of the same Islamic Army. They all use the same manual: the Qu'ran. They haven't hijacked Islam or turned Islam into anything more extreme than it already is. They have merely taken up their assigned roles in the structure of the overall organization. They do not operate independently; they operate autonomously - a key differentiation. They do not represent culprits of criminal groups; they represent The Sword of Islam (a weapon that is displayed on the national flag of Saudi Arabia, home of Mecca).
The term "terrorist" connotes specificity of actions; the term "militant" connotes allegiance to a cause. Preferring the term "militant" vs. "terrorist" broadens our target choices and enhances our understanding of the enemy - two capabilities that are long overdue.
When we see new attacks and new conflicts emerge from the Islamic militants (which sprout up around the globe nowadays faster than mushrooms in a cow pasture) , we should not be thinking in terms of "terror groups" (the numbers of which are surely infinite by now). We should consider them to be what they are: the militant (i.e. aggressive, fighting, combative) front of the violently expansionist religion of Islam.
Agreeing with the MSM scares me. Is this the first sign of dementia? How old do you have to be to start getting Alzheimer's? Has someone been slipping leftist Kool-Aid into the local water supply? I brush my teeth with that!!!
I'm wide open to comments on this most unexpected development.
Hezballah is Targeting and Slaughtering Israeli Civilians
Where's the outrage from Kofi Annan, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the Antique Media and the rest of the terrorist-coddling Left in reaction to the following item?
"A barrage of Hezbollah rockets slammed into northern Israel on Thursday, killing six people. Three people were killed when a rocket crashed directly into a house near the northern town of Tarhisha, and another three were killed when a rocket exploded near their vehicle in Acre.Three other people were wounded in the strike on Acre, and another four were wounded when rockets hit the town of Horfesh."
Since the start of Israel's invasion of Lebanon, Hezballah has lobbed many hundreds of rockets into Israel with the clear intent of murdering as many Israeli civilians as possible. When Hezballah rockets kill Israelis, there is virtual silence from the very people who sanctimoniously howl in self- righteous indignation whenever Lebanese civilians (some of whom are actually Hezballah operatives) are accidentally killed by the IDF.
That silence implies agreement with Hezballah's methods and goals. No surprise there, since it's been obvious for a long time that the Left hates Israel and actively supports those intent on destroying her.
ROME - Jewish shops across Rome were vandalized and defaced with swastikas in an apparent neo-fascist attack linked to fighting in theMiddle East, officials said Wednesday.
Owners of about 20 shops in the center and outskirts of the Italian capital reached their workplace Tuesday morning to find door locks filled with glue, shutters nailed closed and swastikas defacing nearby walls, said Riccardo Pacifici, a spokesman for Rome's Jewish Community.
Why has this attack been labeled as one apparently committed by neo-fascists? No neo-fascist group has been named, nor have neo-fascist suspects yet been arrested. Is it not more likely that, given Rome's sizable population of Middle Eastern immigrants and that population's hatred of Israel, it is an apparently Islamo-fascist attack?
Democratic Party Incompetence Gets Its Own Websites
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), whose mission it is to help Democrats get elected to the US Senate, has just rolled out two new online tools to help get that job done.
One is called 'The Fudge Report' and is a website that visually is almost an exact duplicate of the news site, 'DrudgeReport.' The other is called 'From the Roots,' and is described as a blog "committed to electing a Democratic Senate."
To be effective, any website directly sponsored by or directly associated with a major political party must be positive in message, respectful and (most importantly) clearly lay out the party's platform and ideas. It must also be a place where party luminaries and intellectuals can express their ideas and directly engage their base in a friendly, partisan atmosphere.
The notion that political opponents should be given equal, or, for that matter, any time at all on such a site, is ludicrous. But in the case of 'From the Roots,' that's what the DSCC has done. Even worse, it appears that the site is, at present, a place where rightwingers can freely trash Democrats and Democratic Party candidates. Below is the text of the first three blog entries on the DSCC blog:
What's wrong with the Democrat agenda? by Jake40515 Wed Aug 2nd, 2006 at 07:59:55 PM EST
You people disgust me! The inept GOP has become totally unsupportable. But all you guys can do is attack them. You offer nothing tangible!
Secure at Home? But you don't explain anything positive that you'd do. Then your own websites just go negative on the GOP.
Strength Overseas? Through international alliances? When are you guys going to understand that the average Joe out here see's all these international alliances as just pointless bologna. And lay off Bush and the military. Win the damn war!!!! And for the next war, why don't you follow the Constitution where Congress declares war?
A strong Economy? Get this straight - most people hear Democrat and automatically think more taxes. Why don't you address this concern rather than attack the GOP? Retirement Security? Yeah, right. Most people my age just look at SSI as another tax. When are you going to give US the freedom to choose? Since you love the "choice" option so much why don't you give me the freedom to choose where my retirement goes? If you did that you'd likely get my vote. And millions of others too. But your solution - attack the GOP and raise taxes to spend more. You're failures!
Affordable Health Care? What you're advocating is socialized medicine. It's never worked! Here's a constructive idea for ya............Pass legislation to get rid of the drug ads that so many of us don't have to turn off during the evening so we do have to explain to our 10 year olds what erectile dysfunction is. Then REQUIRE the drug companies to pass the savings onto we the consumers. What's that amount to? Three or four BILLION dollars. Duh! If you can do what you did to the tobacco industry this would be a chinch. And you'd have the support of millions and the drug companies wouldn't be put under either. That's what we'd call a Win/Win. Honest Government? Please. You guys are as big if not bigger liars than the GOP. So stop shouting from the mountain top about the GOP, be open and honest and get on with it. You're trying to sell something here that just won't sell.
Election Reform? How about term limits? Stop being the "anti-GOP" party. Be Democrats and be Americans! Love 'em or hate 'em the Republicans are Americans too. Protecting Our Environment? Sure. But your message is just scaring people. How about being constructive? How about letting some people build a few power plants so that California doesn't burn up.
Civil Rights & Justice? Democrats are unwavering in our support of equal opportunity for all Americans? How about my right not to have the color of my white skin held against me in a job application? Most people out here in middle-class America see civil rights as something that now needs to be PRESERVED. What some elements in your party are doing looks like a CRUSADE or a LEFTIST REVOLUTION. It's a major turn off. Thank God for our Constitution and the Civil Rights Act! Celibrate that, rather than tear it down and you'll earn more support.
Enforce the laws!!! Stop this endless tirade for more, more, more.
Change your tone, change your message and you'll get my vote. Until then I can't tolerate voting for a single Democrat. General :: Entry Link :: Comment
just lil kids dhammatao Wed Aug 2nd,by 2006 at 07:59:49 PM EST
I have just read a few of the feedbacks from from both sides, and u all sound like lil kidz, like if i dont get my toy i will cry, can u please try to act like an adult? or at least an alien who is amused at your disgraceful behavior? or maybe if i have a toy...............could it be a laser gun so i can destoy what bothers me? General :: Entry Link :: Comment
And Now the News... by Ifiygd Wed Aug 2nd, 2006 at 07:51:06 PM EST
This is the nuttiest "idea" the hapless donkeys have come up with since they thought it wise to run Michael Dukakis or George McGovern.
I see desperation in their eyes and fear in their hearts. November 2006 will be their first dose of reality that they can no longer deny, when they lose seats in both houses. I heard today that Charlie "Bring back the Draft" Rangel says if the donkeys don't win the House back, he will resign. Better start packing, Charlie.
Diana Irey will send Murtha packing easily. Other Democrats will wonder what hit them and as is their nature, will point fingers in every direction. In the interest of "unity" the DNC chairman and Vermont abortionist Howlin' Howie Dean will tell everybody to cool it, citing the 2008 election right around the corner.
Then will come another Republican victory, this time a landslide in the face of a pacified Iraq, a booming economy, and the lack of a good illegal immigration reform blamed on the donkeys, and rightfully so, too.
Then the heads will roll. Those now in prestigious positions will become pariahs. Dean will be finished. Kerry will hear dems say, "Kerry who?" Reid - out. Pelosi - out. Heads will roll. And when the dems finally figure out what's wrong with their "message," a very popular Republican president will be running for re-election. Don't look good for the party of the jackass, boys and girls. Don't look good. General :: Entry Link :: Comment
Even the first entry, (clearly from a Democrat), reads as if written by a rightwinger. Who is minding this blog, which was set up to aid Democratic Senatorial candidates? Who advised the Democratic Party that leaving this blog open to scathing criticisms from rightwingers and extremely disgruntled traditional Democrats was a good idea?
Of course, brutally honest opinion and soul-searching is essential to building any effective political organization, but a wide open, public blog directly associated with a political party is not the place for that.
A look at the home page of the DSCC 'From the Roots' site illustrates the folly inherent in that approach. Here are some of the comments, in the order they appear, in a blog entry announcing the new 'FudgeReport', website:
Wow, this is amazing. Forget just a regular smear campaign. The dems are actually organizing a site so they can categorically smear as many republicans as possible at once. By the way, you're copying someone's format with fudgereport.com. Try using a new idea, if the democrat party can come up with one. by anonymuss on Wed Aug 2nd, 2006 at 11:15:29 AM EST Re: The Fudge Report (none / 0) You have got to be kidding me....The dems can't do something original? Appearantly morality and courage isn't the only thing the dems lack....they lack brains as well. Nice job on copying better sites than this one. by Blackwulff on Wed Aug 2nd, 2006 at 01:29:14 PM EST [ Parent ] Re: The Fudge Report (none / 0) The Dimocrats should give up. I swear, they act like spoiled children in elementary....what with all the pranks and temper tandrums they pull. by RedStateDave on Wed Aug 2nd, 2006 at 04:09:12 PM EST [ Parent ] Re: The Fudge Report (none / 0) Wow. "Dimocrats" "Tandrums" You look like someone of high intelligence...That was sarcasm if you didn't pick up on it. I swear, that spelling makes you seem like an elementary school child. Maybe you should use a spell check next time. It really discredits your argument. Which has no real value to intellectual debate as it is.
Yes, coppying the drudge report was shallow and it will most likely hurt them more than it will help. Being someone who supports the real values the democrat party is supposed to stand for I'm always a little insulted when they do things like this. I read The Drudge Report every day and find it to be one of the more ballanced sites out there. Considering that most of it's links are to a.p. stories This is ridiculous. by Dontbeaninidiot on Wed Aug 2nd, 2006 at 06:25:53 PM EST [ Parent ]
The last comment is particularly amusing, since the commenter, likely a Democrat, criticizes 'RedStateDave' for spelling 'tantrums' wrong and then goes on to incorrectly spell 'copying', and 'balanced.'
That bit of humor aside, both websites are disasters. The 'FudgeReport' is an unoriginal, unintentionally negative farce. 'From the Roots' is accidentally a place where rightwingers can have fun bashing Democrats and Democratic Party candidates. Neither site will help the Democratic Party achieve its election goals, but both well serve to illustrate the incompetence that has turned a once rightfully proud and patriotic political organization into an unpatriotic, disorganized mess.
If Raul is in charge, moderation will not be a foregone conclusion. Despite his reputation for warmth, Raul can be impulsive, dogmatic, and, at times, brutal. In 1959, he oversaw the surrender of Santiago, Cuba's second-largest city, while Castro made his way toward Havana. There, in the most notorious act of retribution to follow the guerrillas' victory, Raul presided over the execution of more than seventy soldiers and officers, who were machine-gunned and then dumped into a pit. More recently, in 1996, Raul orchestrated a purge of Party intellectuals, whom he accused of being contaminated by "capitalist ideas."
For more information about Raul Castro, see Dr. Miguel Faria Jr.'s two-part series. If anything, expect more repression as the regime seeks to preserve its vile rule.
"Damascus, 1 August (AKI) - Syrian intellectuals and activists have come out in favour of a proposal by their Egyptian counterparts to persuade top cultural Arab and international figures to act as 'human shields' for civilians under Israeli attacks in Lebanon. Promoters of the campaign say that, since the Israelis, fearing negative publicity, are not likely to target them, the famous personalities will be able to guarantee the aid consignments get to the needy. Syrian activists have responded to the appeal, first launched by the EgYptian-based Kifaya movement, and are now trying to enlist the support of prominent religious, political, cultural and sports figures.Kifaya has started drawing up a map of pinpointing isolated villages in southern Lebanon as well as routes that can serve as "humanitarian corridors" to deliver assistance. Activists say they hope some of the "human shields" will be able to take up their positions next week."
What an excellent idea, one that could only be made better by members of the American Left joining them! Code Pink, anyone?
By now you know that Fidel Castro might soon be heading to the 'gulag down below.' The Autonomist got an online visit from the Cuban Ministry of Cuture this morning, while someone there was Googling "cuba forbidden books." Below is a screenshot of the site statisitics for that visit.
The Autonomist article clicked on by the Culture Ministry member is titled, "The Wonders of Castro's Paradise." Before opening the article he must have thought that based on its title, the article fawned over Castro. Instead he found this:
Well, the reality of being a Cuban living in Cuba doesn't have much to do with feeling great. And if you speak out against the dictatorship, you have a very good chance of feeling downright awful, and of dying in one of Castro's hell-hole prisons. At the very least, you'll be harassed, harangued and probably beaten by thugs and criminals who take their marching orders directly from Castro himself. Just ask Carlos Alberto Montaner:
"When a mutual friend complained to Abel Prieto, the Cuban culture minister, about the beating administered by a mob to Martha Beatriz Roque, an infirm 60-year-old economist, he lowered his head and begged out of the question, saying that those were ''Fidel's doings.'' He was ashamed that such a cowardly act could be committed. He would have liked to prevent it, but the matter was out of his hands. All he could do was to resign from government, but he didn't have the nerve to do it. He was right. Except for international pressure, nothing and nobody in Cuba can stop the wave of violence and abuse suffered by the democrats inside prisons and out, because it's the Comandante himself who has ordered his numerous thugs to beat, humiliate, spit upon and insult anyone who dares to criticize his government publicly. It is not a question of isolated acts perpetrated by sadistic characters. It's a carefully thought-out plan. Inside the prisons, the guards have been instructed to kick political prisoners mercilessly and to let them die if they fall ill, as is happening to Hector Maseda, Hector Palacios, Oscar Elias Biscet and a dozen other democrats incarcerated for writing articles, lending forbidden books, asking for a referendum or distributing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights." Read the rest "
Based on the visit's length, it seems that the Culture Ministry person quickly exited the site. I wonder if he experienced a tinge of fear at the possibility of being caught reading the entire article?
In Iraq, CENTCOM reports the capture of a terrorist with links to high-level Al Qaeda members:
"Security forces targeted associates of a terrorist leader who is reported to be linked with attacks against Iraqi civilians, security forces and Coalition troops. This individual is reported to have significant links to several high level al–Qaida in Iraq leaders. Credible intelligence has indicated that he had been attempting to obtain rockets for a future attack.
The assault force quickly secured the target areas and captured the terrorists without incident. After the target was secured, the troops found five grenades, one AK-47, seven ammunition magazines, and one assault vest.
These raids are another example of how Iraqi and Coalition forces continue deliberate and methodical operations in order to hunt down and capture or kill all terrorists threatening the security and stability of Iraq. These operations will continue to be successful with the support and cooperation of the Iraqi people."
"Pakistan's claims that it does not have terrorist training camps in its territory is being strongly contested by FBI which has told a US court that satellite pictures pointed towards such a camp.
In the trial of 23-year-old Pakistani American Hamid Hayat, who has been accused of terrorism-related charges, Defence Intelligence Agency's expert Eric Benn has stated that there was as much of a 70 per cent 'probability' that the satellite images pointed to a militant training camp near Balakot in northeast Pakistan.
Much to Pakistan's embarrassment, Benn told the district court in California that although he did not 'detect any formal weapons training', including firing ranges, targets, rocket launchers or explosives testing, it did not mean they were not taking place.
The structures and trail in the remote terrain fit the 'signature' of 'militant training', as opposed to regular training of Pakistani armed forces, he said."
That revelation is trivial in comparison to the fact that Pakistan has been a major contributor to Islamic extremism for decades. Some of the biggest players in politicized Islam have been indoctrinated in the madrassa in Binori, Pakistan. Here's a little background on what goes on at that Islamic school:
"The Darul Uloom Islamia Binori town mosque has one of the largest seminaries in Pakistan. It is perceived as one of the most influential centres of Deobandi Sunni ideology in the world. It has led the anti-Ahmadiya and anti-Shia movements in Pakistan for the last 50 years.
The Binori madarsa gives religious education to some 3,500 students at a time. Curiously, a bulk of the students are not drawn from Sind, where it is located, or even Punjab which provides the ballast to Pakistan. A majority of Binori students are Afghans and Pushto-speaking Pushtuns from Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province. Smaller numbers come from Africa, the Philippines, and Malaysia. Binori has a large number of smaller affiliated madarsas in Karachi and outside.
Binori is funded largely by Deobandis in Saudi Arabia, the United States, Britain, France, Germany and Switzerland. It is also closely linked to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence. Analysts say that Binori advances the political-Islamic aims of the Pakistani state represented by the ISI. On one hand, it strives to decimate the Shia population much in the manner that the Ahmadiyas were massacred so that Pakistan becomes a Sunni state."
For more on ISI (Pakistan's intelligence services) complicity with extremist Muslims, read Bernard Levy's "Who Killed Daniel Pearl?" Levy is one of the few non-Muslims to have visited the school at Binori. His account of it is chilling.
Speaking of Levy's book, I recommend that all Autonomist readers get a copy of it. Not only is it a compelling read, reading it is essential to understanding the magnitude of conviction displayed by our Islamist enemies. Purchase it now by clicking here.
Wafa Sultan recently appeared on Al-Jazeerah TV, where she once again characterized the battle between the West and radical Islam as one between 'civilization and backwardness.'
During the interview, Sultan said, "The clash we are witnessing around the world is not a clash of religions, or a clash of civilizations. It is a clash between two opposites, between two eras. It is a clash between a mentality that belongs to the Middle Ages and another mentality that belongs to the 21st century. It is a clash between civilization and backwardness, between the civilized and the primitive, between barbarity and rationality. It is a clash between freedom and oppression, between democracy and dictatorship. It is a clash between human rights, on the one hand, and the violation of these rights, on other hand. It is a clash between those who treat women like beasts, and those who treat them like human beings. What we see today is not a clash of civilizations. Civilizations do not clash, but compete."
At one point in the interview, Egyptian religious studies professor Dr. Ibrahim Al-Khouli, asked Sultan (a secularist) if she was a 'heretic,' and then implied that Allah would punish her if she was. At that point, Sultan 'took off the gloves' and using the successes of Jews as a backdrop, explained why the Arab Muslim world is a failure:
"The Jews have come from the tragedy (of the Holocaust), and forced the world to respect them, with their knowledge, not with their terror, with their work, not their crying and yelling.
Humanity owes most of the discoveries and science of the 19th and 20th centuries to Jewish scientists. 15 million people, scattered throughout the world, united and won their rights through work and knowledge. We have not seen a single Jew blow himself up in a German restaurant. We have not seen a single Jew destroy a church. We have not seen a single Jew protest by killing people. The Muslims have turned three Buddha statues into rubble. We have not seen a single Buddhist burn down a Mosque, kill a Muslim, or burn down an embassy. Only the Muslims defend their beliefs by burning down churches, killing people, and destroying embassies. This path will not yield any results. The Muslims must ask themselves what they can do for humankind, before they demand that humankind respect them."
For her views and honesty, Sultan has been rewarded by the Religion of Peace with a death warrant.
It is now established fact that Hezballah has been hiding behind Lebanon's civilian population, setting up rocket launchers and other weaponry in residential neighborhoods. Now an anti-Hezballah group in Lebanon says that the terrorist group set up a rocket launcher on the roof of the building destroyed in Qana where approximately sixty people were killed. The group also said that after it had set up the launcher, Hezballah members packed the building with disabled children.
"The Lebanese website LIBANOSCOPIE , associated with Christian elements in the country and which openly supports the anti-Syrian movement called the 'March 14 Forces,' reported that Hizbullah has masterminded a plan that would result in the killing of innocents in the Qana village, in a bid to foil Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's 'Seven Points Plan', which calls for deployment of the Lebanese army in southern Lebanon and the disarming of Hizbullah.
'We have it from a credible source that Hizbullah, alarmed by Siniora's plan, has concocted an incident that would help thwart the negotiations. Knowing full well that Israel will not hesitate to bombard civilian targets, Hizbullah gunmen placed a rocket launcher on the roof in Qana and brought disabled children inside, in a bid to provoke a response by the Israeli Air Force. In this way, they were planning to take advantage of the death of innocents and curtail the negotiation initiative,' the site stated. "
"The prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay during the war on terror have attacked their military guards hundreds of times, turning broken toilet parts, utensils and radios into makeshift weapons, Pentagon reports say.
Incident reports reviewed by the Associated Press indicate Military Police guards are routinely head-butted, spat upon and doused by "cocktails" of feces, urine, vomit and semen collected in meal cups by the prisoners.
The guards have been repeatedly grabbed, punched or assaulted by prisoners who reach through the small "bean holes" used to deliver food and blankets through cell doors, the reports say. Serious assaults requiring medical attention, however, are rare, the reports indicate.
Guards stationed at Guantanamo describe a tense atmosphere in which prisoners often orchestrate violence in hopes of unnerving their captors, especially with attacks using bodily fluids."
Once again, the Left's animus: 'love thy enemy, hate thyself,' yields predictable results.
