I Took This Shift Because Of Her ---
Politics - Justice - And Wrestling With The Angel
Monday, July 31, 2006
I Know The Pieces Fit
Schism A song by Tool A song for today, unfortunately.
I know the pieces fit 'cause I watched them fall away Mildewed and smoldering, fundamental differing Pure intention juxtaposed will set two lovers' souls in motion Disintegrating as it goes, testing our communication
The light that fueled our fire then has burned a hole between us so We cannot see to reach an end, crippling our communication
I know the pieces fit 'cause I watched them tumble down No fault, none to blame, it doesn't mean I don't desire To point the finger, blame the other, watch the temple topple over To bring the pieces back together, rediscover communication
The poetry that comes from the squarin' off between And the circling is worth it, finding beauty in the dissonance
There was a time that the pieces fit but I watched them fall away Mildewed and smoldering, strangled by our coveting I've done the math enough to know the dangers of our second guessing Doomed to crumble unless we grow and strengthen our communication
Cold silence has A tendency to Atrophy any Sense of compassion Between supposed brothers Between supposed lovers
I know the pieces fit, I know the pieces fit I know the pieces fit, I know the pieces fit I know the pieces fit, I know the pieces fit I know the pieces fit, I know the pieces fit
Many of you may wonder where I got the name Pastorius. It is the name of my favorite musician; Jaco Pastorius. Here is a videoclip of Jaco playing bass guitar with the band Weather Report circa 1978.
This morning the big news was that Israel had bombed a building which housed civilians, killing 56 people, "mostly women and children." Here's how the LA Times reported it: In Qana, A Gruesome Scene
QANA, Lebanon -- Hour after gruesome hour, the bodies came to light on Sunday: Corpses with limbs snapped into unnatural poses. Women with arms frozen upward, as if they died grasping at the sky. Children with blue faces, their mouths packed with dirt.
The two families had moved into a basement of a half-built home because they hoped it would protect them from Israeli attack; but by sunrise, they were dead.
As many as 56 people were suffocated or crushed to death by the Israeli airstrike on the home in this southern Lebanese town. Many of them were children.
The few who survived sat in hospital cots with haunted eyes on Sunday. They spoke of the long hours trapped beneath heavy heaps of rubble, and recalled the dying groans of their loved ones that faded through the night to silence.
"When I woke up, I started screaming, and I kept screaming for two hours," said Heyam Hasham. Her fingernails were broken and caked with earth. She couldn't remember how they got that way. "I thought I'd die because everybody was dead around me," she said.
Something horrible did happen in Qana, and many innocent people did die.
Seven hours later, and the innocent civilians were still in the building. Why is that?
And, why is it that the photojournalists documenting this incident for Associated Press, Reuters, and other major news distributors, are giving us blatant propaganda photos?
What is going here?
An IDF investigation has found that the building in Qana struck by the Air Force fell around eight hours after being hit by the IDF.
“The attack on the structure in the Qana village took place between midnight and one in the morning.
The gap between the timing of the collapse of the building and the time of the strike on it is unclear,” Brigadier General Amir Eshel, Head of the Air Force Headquarters told journalists at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, following the incidents at Qana.
Eshel and the head of the IDF’s Operational Branch, Major General Gadi Eisnkot said the structure was not being attacked when it collapsed, at around 8:00 in the morning. The IDF believes that Hizbullah explosives in the building were behind the explosion that caused the collapse.
Another possibility is that the rickety building remained standing for a few hours, but eventually collapsed.
“It could be that inside the building, things that could eventually cause an explosion were being housed, things that we could not blow up in the attack, and maybe remained there, Brigadier General Eshel said. ”I’m saying this very carefully, because at this time I don’t have a clue as to what the explanation could be for this gap," he added.
The mainstream media (in this case, Associated Press) mindlessly report that an Israeli attack killed 56 Lebanese, including 34 children. That is horrible. But, what AP doesn't tell you is that Hizbollah purposely makes war against Israel from civilian zones.
A “ceasefire” would occur should Hezbollah give back kidnapped Israelis and stop launching missiles; it would never follow a unilateral cessation of Israeli bombing. In fact, we will hear international calls for one only when Hezbollah’s rockets are about exhausted.
“Civilians” in Lebanon have munitions in their basements and deliberately wish to draw fire; in Israel they are in bunkers to avoid it. Israel uses precision weapons to avoid hitting them; Hezbollah sends random missiles into Israel to ensure they are struck.
“Collateral damage” refers mostly to casualties among Hezbollah’s human shields; it can never be used to describe civilian deaths inside Israel, because everything there is by intent a target.
“Cycle of Violence” is used to denigrate those who are attacked, but are not supposed to win.
“Deliberate” reflects the accuracy of Israeli bombs hitting their targets; it never refers to Hezbollah rockets that are meant to destroy anything they can.
“Disproportionate” means that the Hezbollah aggressors whose primitive rockets can’t kill very many Israeli civilians are losing, while the Israelis’ sophisticated response is deadly against the combatants themselves. See “excessive.”
Anytime you hear the adjective “excessive,” Hezbollah is losing. Anytime you don’t, it isn’t.
“Innocent” often refers to Lebanese who aid the stockpiling of rockets or live next to those who do. It rarely refers to Israelis under attack.
The “militants” of Hezbollah don’t wear uniforms, and their prime targets are not those Israelis who do.
When a human being has no choice in whether to go to school or not, whom to marry, what to wear, whether to go outside, whether to drive or not, whether to pursue a vocation, what religion to follow;
when a human being has no choice in the fundamental decisions of their life, then that human being is a slave.
A slave, absolutely.
The burqa is the chains of Islamic slavery.
The burqa is a portable concentration camp for women.
NABLUS, West Bank - Israeli troops killed two Islamic Jihad militants on Saturday, including the man the group described as the leader of its militant wing in the West Bank city of Nablus.
The group initially said in an announcement over mosque loudspeakers that the slain militant, Hani Awijan, 29, was the leader of its military wing in the West Bank. However, other members of the group later said Awijan headed gunmen in Nablus only.
Initial reports said Awijan was shot by Israeli undercover troops trying to arrest him while he played soccer with friends and relatives.
TMZ has learned that Mel Gibson went on a rampage when he was arrested Friday on suspicion of drunk driving, hurling religious epithets. TMZ has also learned that the Los Angeles County Sheriff's department had the initial report doctored to keep the real story under wraps. TMZ has four pages of the original report prepared by the arresting officer in the case, L.A. County Sheriff's Deputy James Mee.
According to the report, Gibson became agitated after he was stopped on Pacific Coast Highway and told he was to be detained for drunk driving Friday morning in Malibu. The actor began swearing uncontrollably. Gibson repeatedly said, "My life is f****d." Law enforcement sources say the deputy, worried that Gibson might become violent, told the actor that he was supposed to cuff him but would not, as long as Gibson cooperated.
As the two stood next to the hood of the patrol car, the deputy asked Gibson to get inside. Deputy Mee then walked over to the passenger door and opened it. The report says Gibson then said, "I'm not going to get in your car," and bolted to his car. The deputy quickly subdued Gibson, cuffed him and put him inside the patrol car.
TMZ has learned that Deputy Mee audiotaped the entire exchange between himself and Gibson, from the time of the traffic stop to the time Gibson was put in the patrol car, and that the tape fully corroborates the written report.
Once inside the car, a source directly connected with the case says Gibson began banging himself against the seat. The report says Gibson told the deputy, "You mother f****r. I'm going to f*** you." The report also says "Gibson almost continually [sic] threatened me saying he 'owns Malibu' and will spend all of his money to 'get even' with me."
The report says Gibson then launched into a barrage of anti-Semitic statements: "F*****g Jews... The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world." Gibson then asked the deputy, "Are you a Jew?"
Deputy Mee then wrote an eight-page report detailing Gibson's rampage and comments. Sources say the sergeant on duty felt it was too "inflammatory." A lieutenant and captain then got involved and calls were made to Sheriff's headquarters.
Sources say Mee was told Gibson's comments would incite a lot of "Jewish hatred," that the situation in Israel was "way too inflammatory." It was mentioned several times that Gibson, who wrote, directed, and produced 2004's "The Passion of the Christ," had incited "anti-Jewish sentiment" and "For a drunk driving arrest, is this really worth all that?"
We're told Deputy Mee was then ordered to write another report, leaving out the incendiary comments and conduct. Sources say Deputy Mee was told the sanitized report would eventually end up in the media and that he could write a supplemental report that contained the redacted information -- a report that would be locked in the watch commander's safe.
Yeah, you wouldn't want people to know the truth.
Mel Gibson got one thing right in there. He is fucked.
If you don't think this is a big deal, imagine the outrage that would be expressed had he said these things about blacks, or Muslims.
UN Ambulances Giving Palestinian Terrorists A Lift
That's the way the UN plays it, my friends.
Here's a photo of the Hizbollah flag flying alongside the UN flag at the Lebanon border.
Yes, the UN and its people in the field are in bed with the terrorist legion.
The most egregious example is from just this past week. You know those UN peacekeepers who were killed by the Israeli army? Remember how Kofi Annan said Israel did it on purpose?
Truth is, one of those peacekeepers had been warning people that Hizbollah had been setting up its rockets just outside their facility in an attempt to use the UN people as human shields.
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - The UN Security Council would consider sanctions against Iran if it does not halt uranium enrichment by August 31, under a resolution drawn up by six major powers, diplomats said.
A text of the proposed resolution was to be distributed to the 15 council nations on Friday, and a vote could be held early next week, US ambassador John Bolton told reporters at the UN headquarters.
If Iran continues to pursue uranium enrichment, "the next step will be the consideration of sanctions in the Security Council, and it would be our intention to move forcefully to get those sanctions adopted," Bolton said.
Russia and China have led opposition to any talk of sanctions in the resolution. Russia's ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, stressed that the new resolution would not threaten sanctions and that it was "an invitation to dialogue" with Iran.
But he also acknowledged that if Iran did not respond, the Security Council would then consider "measures of pressure, like sanctions" under Article 41 of the UN Charter. Article 41 would not allow the use of force.
Churkin insisted that sanctions would be "the next step, a possibility along with other possibilities."
Diplomats said the resolution would increase pressure on Iran to respond to an offer of economic and political incentives to halt its nuclear production that was made by Britain, France and Germany in June.
Iran has said it will not reply before August 22, nine days before the proposed UN deadline.
I mean, really, you have to wonder what is up with the UN. Do they want Iran to build a bomb?
That seems a rational conclusion.
Bolton is looking mighty weak here, if you ask me.
And, by the way, that August 22nd date? It corresponds with an Islamic day of reckoning:
... the Supreme National Security Council of Iran chose the August 22 date “for a very precise reason. August 21, 2006 (Rajab 27, 1427) is known in the Islamic calendar as the Night of the Sira’a and Miira’aj, the night Prophet Mohammed (saas) ascended to heaven from the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem on a Bourak (Half animal, half man), while a great light lit-up the night sky, and visited Heaven and Hell also Beit al-Saada and Beit al-Shaqaa (House of Happiness and House of Misery) and then descended back to Mecca.…” Is Ahmadinejad giving the West a warning?
Yes, the hateful, racist Islamofascists do. The world had better wake up. Anti-Semitism has ratcheted up to levels not seen since the early 1940's. This is evidence of a mental sickness which is going to take over the world like a wildfire in the collective unconscious
SEATTLE – At least two people have been shot at the Jewish Federation at 2031 Third Ave. in downtown Seattle. One or two people have been taken into custody but it’s not known if they are suspects.
One person was reportedly shot in the abdomen and another in the arm. They are being taken to Harborview Medical Center.
Part of Third Avenue has been closed to traffic. Police are urging people to stay away from the area. It’s not known if more suspects are at large but policemen were seen handcuffing one person and others were searching the area.
At least three people were seen emerging from the building, escorted by police. It’s not know if they were hostages.
Medics have been taking other people from the building.
Sources told KING 5 the suspect is a Pakistani man with a criminal background. He is from the Tri-Cities but his citizenship is unknown. Officials are on the way to the Tri-Cities to interview his family.
At least five people were shot - one fatally - this afternoon at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle by a man a witness said was upset about “what was going on in Israel.”
Police spokesman Rich Pruitt said there was one shooter, who was apprehended without incident outside the Jewish Federation Building located on the corner of Third Avenue and Virginia Street. Pruitt said there were at least two victims on the third floor of the building.
Police got reports of shots fired shortly before 4 p.m. Early reports were that the victims were shot in the stomach.
The alleged shooter was taken away in a patrol car after being handcuffed on the sidewalk outside the building. Pruitt could not immediately say what motive the alleged gunman had.
One witness, who declined to give her name, said a man walked into the Jewish Federation building with a gun, said he was upset about what was going on in Israel, then opened fire. After the shootings, the man said to call 911, the witness said. The witness said the man identified himself as an American Muslim.
This is the first volley in the promised wave of "martydom." We'd all better get used to this. To the Jew first ...
As Israel began its latest campaign of self-defense, the Vatican’s leading government official rushed to join his peers on the speeding bandwagon of international disapproval.
Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican’s secretary of state and effectively its prime minister, condemned Israel’s attack against Hezbollah’s positions in Lebanon and the resources the terrorist group could exploit.
“In particular, the Holy See deplores right now the attack on Lebanon, a free and sovereign nation, and assures its closeness to those people who already have suffered so much to defend their independence,” he told Vatican Radio on July 14. “The right of defense on the part of a state does not exempt it from its responsibility to respect international law, particularly regarding the safeguarding of civilian populations.”
Perhaps someone should ask the good cardinal how Israel should respond to enemies who have publicly expressed their desire to destroy it, who have rejected various peaceful settlements, ignored concessions and who continue to murder and maim Israeli civilians. Perhaps someone should ask the cardinal how any nation facing a similar situation should respond. In any event, Sodano’s words expose three facts of life in Rome. One is the Vatican’s remarkable lack of empathy or compassion for Israeli victims of terrorist atrocities. Another is a policy toward Israel that has outlived its usefulness. The final fact is Sodano’s pending obsolescence.
And now I know you've always been Out of your head, out of my head I sang
And I wonder When I sing along with you If everything could ever feel this real forever If anything could ever be this good again The only thing I'll ever ask of you You've got to promise not to stop when I say when She sang
“I came to the conclusion that the hostile comments about Israel on these liberal blogs are not coming from true liberals. Most of the anti-Semitism comes from racism and most of the racism I have experienced has come from the far right, not the left.
“So my conclusion is that the bloggers who violently hate Israel and see it in black and white terms are not really liberals. They may even be anti-Semites, but they are not representative of the liberal community that was so active in achieving racial and ethnic equality. It is a contradiction for a true liberal to be an anti-Semite.
Furthermore, I would not put it past the right wing to flood the liberal blogs with hateful criticisms of Israel to advance a perception that liberals are anti-Israel or anti-Semitic. And I see Karl Rove’s fingerprints all over this.”
Charles comments:
Note similarities to radical Islamic turnspeak and conspiracy delusions.
Yes, Muslims will often deny that this or that act of terrorism was commited by a Muslim, because, they say, Islam does not support terrorism.
That's called circular logic, or tautology. Basically, it's saying, "It's true, because it's true," or, "It's not true, because it's not true."
Amazing, huh? That's a child's play world, isn't it? That's the world of the modern left, as they try vaingloriously, to deny reality.
Hitler, The Mufti Of Jerusalem, And Modern Islamo-Nazism
This news report from Bayerischer Rundfunk explains in detail the cooperation between the Nazis and the Muslim Arab leaders during WW2.
It goes on to explain how high ranking heads of the SS fled to the Arab world and carried on their activities under the protection of leaders such as President Nasser and how modern Islam has adopted a Nazi style ideology of hate and conspiracy against the Jews.
Thanks to the Editrix (www.editrixoffice.com) for providing the translation and revealing this ray of light in the darkness of vitriolic reporting about Israel in the German media.
(Please note that the Editrix does such translation services for a living. If you are ever in need of help in that area, click over to her link. Support your local blogger.)
Two Connecticut professors got curious about the constant denials that extremely harsh critics of Israel were anti-Semitic. Edward H. Kaplan, the William N. and Marie A. Beach Professor of Management Sciences, and Charles A. Small, Director of Urban Studies, Southern Connecticut State University, decided to examine the issue in formal way. Their paper, “Anti-Israel Sentiment Predicts Anti-Semitism in Europe,” appears in the August issue of the Journal of Conflict Resolution.
... The correlation was almost perfect. In a survey of 5,000 Europeans in ten countries, people who believed that the Israeli soldiers “intentionally target Palestinian civilians,” and that “Palestinian suicide bombers who target Israeli civilians” are justified, also believed that “Jews don’t care what happens to anyone but their own kind,” “Jews have a lot of irritating faults,” and “Jews are more willing than others to use shady practices to get what they want.
Finally, the world is accepting that the Middle East problem was never about so-called occupied land -- but only about the existence of Israel itself. Hezbollah and Hamas, and those in their midst who tolerate them (or vote for them), didn't so much want Israel out of Lebanon and Gaza as pushed into the Mediterranean altogether. And since there will be no second Holocaust, the Israelis may well soon transform a perennial terrorist war they can't easily win into a conventional aerial one against a terrorist-sponsoring Syria that they can.
For its part, the United States has spent thousands of lives and billions in treasure trying to birth democracy in Iraq. We wished to end our old cynical support for Middle East dictators that earned us such scorn and instead give liberated Iraqis a choice other than either theocracy or autocracy.
In multilateral fashion, America has also welcomed the help of the European Union, the United Nations, China and Russia in convincing the Iranians of the folly of producing nuclear weapons. But like Hezbollah and Hamas, Iran does not wish to parley -- the beheaders and kidnappers in Iraq don't, either.
The two most liberal societies in Europe -- Denmark and the Netherlands -- welcomed almost anyone to their shores from the Middle East. Their multicultural hospitality was supposed to have led to a utopian "diverse" nation of various races, nationalities and religions. Instead, such liberality has earned both small nations pariah status in the Muslim world for the supposed indiscretions of a few freewheeling filmmakers and cartoonists.
Yet for all their threats, the Islamists -- from Hezbollah in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley to the Iranian government to the jihadists in Iraq's Sunni Triangle -- don't understand they are slowly pushing tired Westerners into a corner. If diplomacy, or aid or support for democracy, or multiculturalism, or withdrawal from contested lands, does not satisfy radical Islamists, what would? Perhaps nothing.
What would be the new Western approach to terrorism? Hard and quick retaliation -- but without our past concern for nation-building, or offering a democratic alternative to theocracy and autocracy, or even worrying about whether other Muslims are unfairly lumped in with Islamists who operate freely in their midst.
He forgot to mention brutality. It will be brutal and sad.
On The Verge Of World War III: The Rising Tide Of Anti-Semitism
I expect the anti-Semitism to be ratcheted up in our world. I've been expecting it for a long time. Much of the left is mentally ill, and anti-Semitism is part of that illness. No one on the left has done anything to combat the illness, so it has just gotten worse.
Really, I think much of this anti-Semitism comes from fear.
How?
Well, it is fear of confronting evil. When the rational world presents you with a great and powerful evil, the rational thing to do is to confront it, to fight against it, and to eliminate it. Confronting evil is something you are compelled to do if you live in the rational world.
If you are afraid to confront the evil - because it appears to be too powerful, or because you think there is too much to lose - then, you must find a way of living with the evil, a way of explaining the evil, so that it is tolerable. In short, you must retreat into the irrational.
You must find someone else to blame for the evil, which you would prefer to live with than confront.
For whatever reason, the Jews have been the scapegoats of history. They have been blamed for Germany's failings, for the Great Depression, for the Black Plague, for the death of Jesus Christ, etc. etc. etc.
And, now they are being blamed for the problems in the Middle East.
Never mind that there is not a single country in the world with a large Muslim population, that does not have trouble with its Muslims. Never mind that there is Muslim violence in Malaysia, East Timor, Indonesia, India, the Philipines, Somalia, the Sudan, Paraguay, the Balkans, Chechneya, China, all places that do not have an appreciable Jewish population.
Still the irrational among us - those who fear having to confront this evil - tell us that if we could just solve the Israel problem, then the Muslim beast would be tamed.
As we stand perched on the verge of World War III, do me a favor, do yourselves a favor, do the world a favor, and do God a favor, do not succumb to fear, do not succumb to the irrational, do not succumb to appeasing evil and sacrificing your hold on the good.
The history of anti-Jewish sentiment is a history of terrible, malevolent evil. It is the history of death and destruction. It is not a future history you would want to contribute to. It is not something you would want your name associated with. It is not the legacy you want for yourself, you family, or your nation.
Choices will be hard, and will become harder in the coming days. Confronting evil is frightening. We may not win. We may lose our lives, our loved ones, our civilization. But, to do nothing in the face of evil is to ensure that evil will win. Let us make the hard choices. Let us live in the rational world, and reinforce the rational world, so that it will have a chance of living on into the future. Let us fight to give our children a rational world to live in, a world which has been rid of the evils we must now confront.
Watch and listen to the whole thing. Do not turn it off in the middle thinking you understand. His point is nuanced and deserves a complete consideration.
Let's all roll one, light it up, and draw in a deep cleansing breath (don't forget to exhale). There, you feel better now. Unburdened with rationality. Able to glimpse beyond the doors of perception. If George Bush smoked herb, the world wouldn't be in the mess it's in, I'll tell you that, bra
Let me polish up my old peace symbol, slip into a tie-dye t shirt, and fire up the roach clip. Gather my children and I will divulge to you the secrets of Peace. As we San Francisco Hippies figured out long ago, the way to peace is through weakness. If another country or culture wants to kill us, it's only because we offended them or because they find us threatening. To defuse their anger, let us apologize and accept guilt for every bad thing that has happened to anyone anywhere since the beginning of time. Just ask our leader Noam Chomsky. The death of the dinosaurs (early global warming), the Bubonic Plague (no free health clinics or medical marijuana); you name it, we did it. Or at least we would have done it had we the chance, as a matter of white skin privilige and cultural arrogance. After we've apologized, we need to disband our military and renounce war as a matter of policy. In this way we will no longer be seen as threatening, e.g. by disarming, by refusing to go to war when the offended downtrodden destroy the Twin Towers or kidnap Israeli soldiers. Once they see we are very kind and forgiving and that we bear them no malice, they will become docile as lambs. We will then all gather at the crash pad where we will lounge on bean bags while passing around the water pipe and singing "Blowin' In the Wind." Yes brothers and sisters, if we just got rid of our military there would be no more wars. It's perfectly logical. When did you ever see a war that didn't involve the military? Aha! I rest my case. Following this scintillating logic, we could also eradicate crime by getting rid of the police force. Where there's crime there are police forces, so it is obvious that the former is a product of the latter. No more need to lock your doors at night! Who are burglars, but lonely people looking for acceptance? When they see locks on doors, they see it as a clear message: "You're not welcome. We don't like you." But when the doors are opened, they will be overcome by our love and trust, and so blinded by their tears of humility and gratitude that they will be unable to steal anything. Rape can be stopped in its tracks once the rapists realize that women are defenseless, will not report them and will not resist. Beautiful women in bikinis can wander through Central Park in the middle of the night, perfectly safe. Once the thugs, punks and hoodlums realize that women mean them no harm, perfect peace will descend on the neighborhoods like a shower of pink lilac blossoms sprinkled by gossamer-winged, harp-playing cherubim singing in harmony like the chorus of an Italian opera. Trust me on this, dudes and dudettes, I saw it all in a vision the last time I dropped acid.
The new Anti-Semitism is basically the same old anti-Semitism dressed up to look like opposition to Israeli policy, or "anti-Zionism."
However, when criticism of Israel is out of proportion to criticism of the rest of the evil in the world, then the dressing up just doesn't work, no matter how trendy it is. An example of this lack of proportion is the fact that every year between 1/3 to 1/2 of United Nations condemnations for bad behavior are directed at the state of Israel.
Often when a person or group are accused of this new for of anti-Semitism, they will deny the truth of the assertion saying it is not that they don't like Jews, instead, they simply disagree with the behavior of the state of Israel.
Only about 1,300 Jews live in Norway, but because of the tensions and the current events in the Middle East, they are at risk of being attacked. The Norwegian newspaper Vårt Land reports that a Jew was assaulted by Arabs in the streets of Oslo last Saturday. In response, The Mosaic Community in Oslo has sent out a recommendation to its members to leave the kippah at home, or cover it under a cap. It is also warning its members against speaking Hebrew in public. During the past few days the Community has received several threats and other unpleasant messages.
The Jewish journalist Mona Levin declared she was shocked by the Mosaic Community's recommendations. In a reaction she said she was going to wear her Star of David again: "We should not hide that we are Jewish. If we do that, we betray ourselves."
At the same time, the cartoonist Finn Graff published an anti-Israeli cartoon in the popular Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet. The cartoon shows Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as a Nazi commander in the concentration camp of Auschwitz. The scene comes from the movie Schindler's List, in which the commander shoots down a random Jew from his balcony. For the sake of clarity: Finn Graff is the same cartoonist who declared only half a year ago that he would not draw a cartoon about Muhammad out of fear and "respect." Apparently he has no problems with his fear, nor does he need to show any respect when he can insult Jews or Israel, or Christians for that matter.
The Protocols Of The Learned Elders Of National Public Radio
Our tax dollars pay for National Public Radio, a station which airs programming which couldn't make it in the marketplace of ideas, if they weren't being propped up by someone. If one is ever tempted to believe the Bush is Hitler meme, one only needs to consider the fact that the government-funded NPR continually runs programming which attacks his policies, and generally slanders America.
As per usual, those who slander America are also wont to slander Israel. A couple months back two college professors named Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer wrote a paper which repeated many of the anti-Jewish tropes contained in the notorious anti-Semitic tract, The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion. Their paper was published in a journal affiliated with Harvard University, but that seal of approval was soon retracted when Harvard renounced the papers assertions.
But, that doesn't stop NPR from airing an fauning interview with the professors. Check this out:
Leave it to National Public Radio to give a helping hand to professors Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer, authors of the notorious study, “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy.” Assailed by scholars, policy analysts, pundits and diplomats for their crude disregard of fact and scholarly standards, the two have generally ducked open debate with their critics. They opt for exchanges in print or safe broadcast venues – such as C-Span – where they allege that supporters of Israel systematically and traitorously undermine American interests in the service of the Jewish state.
Now NPR too has given the duo an unfettered opportunity to air their slanderous claims without a word of substantive challenge or interaction with knowledgeable critics. On July 6 anchorman Steve Inskeep pitched soft-ball questions at his guests, neglecting to mention even one of the errors, false and selective citations or glaring omissions cited by the many commentators faulting their paper. In prime listening time, Walt and Mearsheimer leveled one distorted charge after another.
Walt and Mearsheimer alleged that “neo-conservatives” who are “closely identified with Israel and have been pushing American policy for a long time to support Israeli objectives” drove the U.S. against its own interests into war with Iraq. Inskeep didn’t bother to mention any of the many counter-arguments to this scapegoating of Jews for the Iraq war, including, for instance, stories in The New Yorker, New York Times, The Washington Post and The LA Times that record Israeli ambivalence and even dismay at Bush administration intentions to invade Iraq.
Washington Post Magazine A Beautiful Friendship? In search of the truth about the Israel lobby's influence on Washington By Glenn Frankel, Page W13 In search of the truth about the Israel lobby's influence on Washington.
"A Beautiful Friendship," huh? That would be the Washington Post and Nazi Germany?
This is the same kind of anti-Semitic crap that flew around Europe in the leadup to WWII? Why is it the Jews are always picked on like this?
This makes me sick at heart.
Oh yes, I can be rational and explain that, yes, Jewish groups do lobby in Washington, but that there are very few things Jews can actually agree upon in this world. I can point out that many of the major peace activist/anti-War people leading the charge against Israel at this point are themselves Jews. I can point out that the same people who say we are in bed with Israel, also claim we are in bed with the Saudis; a people who hate Jews so much that not a single Jew is allowed to enter Saudi Arabia.
Yes, I can point out all these things, but I have this feeling like I'm climbing a steep hill and all the dirt is crumbling and I am falling down instead of climbing up. The people of our time are determined to believe lies. They are determined to find answers in conspiracy theories. No rational explanation will suffice.
It doesn't suffice to explain that Israel is the only real human-rights protecting democracy in the entire Middle East, and that is what explains our "beautiful friendship. It doesn't suffice to explain that Israel and America are the two most technologically innovative nations on the face of the Earth, and perhaps that explains our friendship. It doesn't suffice to explain that Israel was granted status as a country for the Jews in 1948, and that the Arab world's response to that was to attack them on the first day of their nationhood, and that Arab nations have been attacking them ever since.
Meanwhile, Israel continues to try to trade land for peace. Most recently, they just gave away the land, and didn't even demand anything in return.
And, what they got in return was more of the same. Hizbollah, an official political party in the Lebanese Parliament attacks Israel. The nations of the Earth recognize that Hizbollah is a proxy army funded by Iran. But still, the nations of the Earth condmen Israel for using "disproportionate force."
Maybe another reason America has a "beautiful friendship" with Israel is because we also are condemned when we defend ourselves, and condemned even when we try to do good.
Anti-Semitism never leads anywhere positive. I am frightened for the world.
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts -- Katherine Albrecht is on a mission from God.
The influential consumer advocate has written a new book warning her fellow Christians that radio frequency identification may evolve to become the "mark of the beast" -- meaning the technology is a sign that the end-times are drawing near.
"My goal as a Christian (is) to sound the alarm," said Albrecht, in a conversation over tea at a high-end grocery store.
Albrecht has been a leading opponent of RFID, which is fast becoming a part of passports and payment cards, and is widely expected to replace bar-code labels on consumer goods. RFID chips contain unique identification codes, and can be read at varying distances with special reader devices.
Albrecht hopes her new book, The Spychips Threat: Why Christians Should Resist RFID and Electronic Surveillance, will be embraced by the millions of Americans (59 percent of them, according to a 2002 Time/CNN poll) who share her belief that the Book of Revelation in the Bible forecasts events that are yet to come.
The Spychips Threat is in fact a Christianized version of its secular predecessor, Spychips: How Major Corporations and Government Plan to Track Your Every Move with RFID, which came out last fall.
Both books are published by the Christian publishing powerhouse Thomas Nelson. Both lay out the same totalitarian scenarios, based on documented plans by Philips, Procter and Gamble, Wal-Mart and other companies, along with the federal government, to track consumer goods and people individually.
Absent from the Christian version is the original foreword by the science fiction author and blogger Bruce Sterling. In its place, Albrecht and co-author Liz McIntyre have written an introduction that says that RFID chips, particularly the VeriChip subcutaneous implant designed for humans, bear an uncanny resemblance to "the mark" described in the Bible's Book of Revelation.
If the VeriChip becomes a common payment device similar to the "contactless" payment system in the Exxon Mobil Speedpass, all who wish to buy and sell goods will be compelled "to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads," as it says in Revelation, the Spychips Threat authors contend.
Another passage in Revelation describes a vision in which "a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image." Albrecht and McIntyre write, ""Interestingly, an implanted RFID device like the VeriChip could potentially cause such a tormenting sore if it is subjected to a strong source of electromagnetic radiation," such as a directed energy weapon.
But fear not, says Boston University professor Richard Landes, who specializes in the history of apocalyptic thought. New technologies often trigger alarm among millenarians -- those who believe Christ is returning to Earth to set up a theocratic kingdom, but only after nonbelievers die most unpleasantly in a battle with the anti-Christ.
Y2K, bar codes and Social Security numbers all triggered end-times warnings, said Landes, who was co-founder and director of the Center for Millennial Studies at BU, which studied contemporary cult activities and end-times literature prior to 2000.
"Even the introduction of the Gutenberg press caused waves of apocalyptic thinking," said Landes.
Albrecht does not believe those who said bar code labels and Social Security numbers were "the mark of the beast" were completely wrong. Rather, those technologies were precursors to RFID, and steps toward totalitarianism, she said. "All of these technologies are of concern," said Albrecht. "I'd like to think I'd be speaking out against them, too, if I was around at the time they were introduced."
Albrecht's entry into the Christian book marketplace has not marginalized her voice in the media or with the RFID industry. Last week, Albrecht and her Spychips co-author, Liz McIntyre, made appearances on ABC-TV, The Osgood Files on the CBS Radio Network, and on the late night radio program, Coast to Coast AM. McIntyre was also quoted in a Financial Times article last month.
"I don't see any evidence of her being ostracized," said Mark Roberti, editor and founder of RFID Journal, an industry trade magazine. Roberti has appeared opposite Albrecht in debates in the media and at industry conferences.
But Richard Landes, the BU history professor, believes Albrecht may be among those who are seduced by the power of feeling like they are players at the center of world events.
"It's enormously attractive," said Landes. "If you believe you live in the end-times, then everything you do has meaning. You become a warrior, and everything is at stake."
Landes compared the feeling of sharing a collective, apocalyptic experience or narrative as like a near-death experience. "It's an intense, incredibly intimate experience," Landes said.
Albrecht sees little joy in what she predicts for RFID, however. "I hope I am wrong," she said, before leaving for an interview with ABC. "I'll take no pleasure in being proven right in a few years."
And, what is the Palestinian cause with which Zapatero feels solidarity? Both the PLO Charter and the Hamas Charter unequivocally call for the destruction of the Jewish state. So, that's what Zapatero is calling for.
Do not believe that he is not sophisticated enough to know what those charters say.
I am a big, dumb sales guy at a medium-sized company in Souther California. I am not a political sophisticate. I am not paid to understand geopolitical events.
But, I friggin' know what the Palestinian Charters say. You think Zapatero doesn't?
He does, my friends. He does.
He's just another blip in the long tradition of European anti-Semitism.
Oh, and get this. Zapatero also warned Israel that their behavior has hurt relations with Spain. I guess that means Israel can't count on any help from the fearsome Spanish military which was defeated when the Jihadis bombed a train station in Madrid.
That's right, one bombing of a train beat the entire Spanish military into defeat. And, the funny thing is, there weren't even any Spanish military stationed on the train.
Just hearing about the bombing scared them so bad they ran away.
Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Prime Minister of Spain and Secretary General of the Socialist Party, arrived to power at a time nobody expected, not even inside the Party.
Keen on populist tirades against the United States "Dickhead Bush" and "Ketchup Queen Kerry", his whole campaign did not bring much attention until the moment Al-Qaeda decided to blow up Madrid trains, killing almost 200 people and bringing to an end Spain's membership of the West.
From that moment on, everybody knew nothing would be the same, and Spanish Jews knew there were hard times ahead. Prime Minister Zapatero has not disappointed them.
'Understand Nazis'
Although many experts had foretold of the imminent disappearing of European Jews, nobody expected such a virulent explosion of anti-Semitism in Spain, not even under a Leftist government.
The first signal came on Monday, 5 December, when during a dinner with the Benarroch family, Zapatero and wife began claiming what Vidal Quadras, member of the European Parliament, described on the radio as "a tirade of anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism".
By the moment the Benarroch couple had left the table to express their regrets, Zapatero was explaining his lack of surprise about the Holocaust: according to the people present, Zapatero claimed to understand the Nazis.
It's not often I hear a clear case of media bias in favor of Israel. So, when I do, I have to note it.
I live in the Los Angeles area. Here is La-la Land, we have a very popular talk radio station called KFI. All day, KFI has been running, at the head of their news segments every half hour, the news that Hizbollah shot a rocket into Nazareth, "where Jesus Christ grew up."
Believe me, the people at KFI do not sound like they give a half a hoot about Christ, so this is clearly an attempt by KFI to elicit anger at Hizbollah.
Any anger which can be elicited against Hizbollah, is more support for Israel in her time of need, so I'm all for it.
The BBC's reporting on the war between Israel and Hizbollah is total BS. (From Atlas Shrugs):
You may not be surprısed to learn that BBC's storylıne ıs sımple. The Lebanese suffer and you should see ıt. A BBC sent a reporter to Damascus to show how generously the Syrıans have been wıth the fleeıng Lebanese though not to leave the ımpressıon that fleeıng to Syrıa may provıde Lebanese wıth a way to escape the bombs, the reporter explaıned that the camp he vısıted has reached ıts lımıt. To cover hıs tracks, the reporter admıtted ın passıng that many of the refugees are famıly members of Hızbullah terrorısts!
Reports from Israel mentıon destructıon but downplay casualtıes. Lebanese chıldren are terrıfıed but not Israelıs. Lebanese are evacuatıng areas Israel suggests they evacuate.
Northern Israelıs are fındıng shelter ın the South where many volunteers opened theır homes to them but that ıs not reported by the BBC. Haıfa ıs just as much a ghost town as Beırut but you would not know ıt from the BBC coverage.
My sıster, brother ın law, her son, daughter ın law and theır chıldren - 10 year old Enav and 7 years old Lıad and Shıran have been spendıng long hours ın a 5 by 10 secure room as dıd thousands of theır neıgbors but you wıll not hear about that. Hızbullah Katyusha rockets hıt an Arab vıllage ın the Galılee, the Arab town of Nazereth and the Arab part of Haıfa but you wıll not hear about that.
There are whole hours when no reporter from Israel got on the aır. When one fınally dıd, ıt was to show one destroyed house and move to the questıonıng of an offıcıal about Israelı cooperatıon wıth foreıgn governments tryıng to evacuate theır natıonals. I cannot but wonder whether they are tryıng to compete wıth Al Jazeera or are merely arm chaır romantıc terrorısts lovers.
If you wonder about whether anybody ın Lebanon blames Hızbullah for the troubles, you can fınd the answer ın a BBC artıcle ARABIC MEDIA UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT. There you wıll discover that Lebanese are complaining that Al Jazeera's pro-Hızbullah coverage. Yes, BBC, lıke any enemy publication can be most useful. And, yes, ıt ıs an enemy outlet to anyone who opposes terror.
So, check this out; it got very hot here in SoCal over the weekend (as it did across the nation). A transformer blew in my neighborhood, so they routed all power for several blocks through the transformer outside my house. This caused the lights in most of my house to go out. To top it off, the air-conditioning went out completely.
It was 100 degrees in the house for two days. Oh yes, and the cable kept going down as well. I don't know why.
Then, when the electric company came out to fix the transformer, there was a power surge which blew out my cable modem. So, I called the cable company, and they came out and gave me a new modem. But, still my friggin' computer won't work. So, the cable guy tells me he thinks the surge also blew out my wireless unit.
Well, nope that wasn't it.
The surge blew out something in my computer which is causing my web browser to not work.
Now, I could easily go out and buy a new computer, and set it up. However, the problem is, I have well over 1000 iTunes on my computer which I first need to copy to CD.
That takes some time.
Meanwhile, I am stuck with my wife's Mac, which does not interact with blogger in the same way. With a Mac, I have to write all links, bolds, italics, etc. in html or I can't have anything but straight script.
So, that's what you see here.
Once again, sorry, but this is the best I can do for now. Oh yes, and my wife wants her computer back.
How unreasonable of her. Can't she see I have a world to save.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday promised a “rejoicing” for Muslims in the Middle East “soon,” the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
Speaking to university officials in the town of Mashhad, Ahmadinejad said the “volcano of rage” at the “arrogant powers” was “on the verge of eruption.”
Referring to escalating violence in Lebanon and northern Israel, he was quoted as saying, “The Zionists themselves have realized that they have launched a risky move and are aware that the flame of the fury of the regional states will set them ablaze.”
The Christian Church has been warned, yet I have not heard Christian Pastors stand up and speak out on this Hitler-like lunatic. I guess they think the problem is someone else's. Of course, that's what they thought when the first Hitler was beginning to rattle his saber.
I am sickened by the silence of my fellow Christians.
John McCain, being interviewed on MSNBC, was asked whether, perhaps, the Israelis ought to exercise restraint in their war with Hamas and Hizbollah:
Norah O’Donnell: As you know the President is in Russia with the G-8 leaders at this time. On the way there…uh, he spoke on the phone with several Arab leaders. In particular the Lebanese Prime Minister, uh…who asked if the President is going to try and rain in the Israelis.
Tony Snow was asked about that, uh…and he says, “No. The President is not going to make military decisions for Israel.” But let me ask you, should Israel exercise some restraint?
John McCain: sh…wha…should…shouldn’t…shouldn’t the question be, shouldn’t Hezbollah exer…and…Hamas exercise restraint? Their the ones who initiated this. Shouldn’t they be the one’s who say: “Ok we’ll still be launching rockets, we’ll stop killing and capturing Israelis? Uhh… And then we can sit down and have a roadmap for piece. Wh…why is it that the Israelis are somehow the ones to be [reined] in? Shouldn’t we [rein] in those wh…who initiated these attacks?
Why is america currently the location for so many new startups and innovators? Why are there certain locations in america, inside the US and Canada, where startups are particularly likely? Writer Paul Graham has a few ideas, which he penned in his essay, "Why Startups Condense in America."Here is a list of his reasons:
The US allows immigration.
The US is a rich country.
The US is not a police state.
American universities are better.
You can fire people in america.
In america, work is less identified with employment.
America is not too fussy.
America has a large domestic market.
America has venture funding.
America has dynamic typing for careers.
Then, Graham goes on to explain how a country might incorporate these traits, then go further yet to beat america.
What an upside down time we live in. Our moral compass is spinning around and around, as if it is anarchy is being loosed by some frightening magnetic force.
Since 9/11, we have been headed towards World War III. George Bush, rightly in my opinion, articulated that there was an Axis of Evil (Iran, Iraq, North Korea) which must be put down. We put down Iraq. Now, we need to move on, or our enemy will gain nukes, and thus become able to hold us off completely, unless we are willing to wreak terrible havoc.
In recent weeks, I believe, North Korea and Iran have coordinated their agressive moves against Western power. I do not believe it is a coincidence that Iran began a war against Israel (using their proxies, Hamas and Hizbollah), while at the same time North Korea decided to test-fire missiles (with unknown payload) towards Japan and Hawaii. They have done this for the purpose of diverting attention away from the UN Security Council where their sits the still unresolved issue of what to do about Iranian nukes.
Considering the apparent fact that the world seems hellbent on ignoring Iran's progress towards nuclear capability, this is not as stupid a strategy as it may seem on paper. However, it is a strategy which can only work if the countries it attacks lack the will to fight back in a serious manner. And, let's face it, recent events have indicated that neither the US, nor Israel, are serious.
The United States seems to have lost all momentum in its war on Islamofascism. Bush's poll number have been at pathetic lows. And, the best we have been able to come up with in response to Iran has been a package of gifts aimed at trying to bribe the Mullahs to pretty please be nice. And, at the same time, Israel's foreign policy has been primarily focused on giving up land to a terrorist government without bothering to negotiate for any tangible progress.
When Western powers such as the United States and Israel - who have spent the lives of their nations progressing on a forward march towards greater freedom, and greater rationality -suddenly begin being subservient lapdogs to the fascists in Iran, one has to wonder if there could, perhaps, be a larger strategy at play.
Yes, one would have to wonder. Could the United States, and their ally Israel, possibly be holding out fresh juicy bait to the fascist forces of the world? Could it be that Israel's strategy of land for terrorism, and the United States strategy of feeding the dragon in Iran, possibly be the setting of a trap?
I have always thought so. It seems that I am not alone.
Follwing are various comments and posts positing the idea that there is a larger, more intelligent strategy at play in current events:
Me thinks the fix is in! Sharon's pullout of Gaza was done knowing full well Hamas couldn't resist the temptation. All they know is war. They don't know how to govern and collect the trash.
Isreal pulls out of Lebanon with a tacit agreement with Syria to moderate Hezbollah.
Syria misteps and gets thrown out of Lebanon.
Hamas and Hezbollah can't control themselves and cross Israel borders.
Now Israel has wink/nod from everyone involved to take out Hezbollah and Hamas.
A similar thing is happening with President Mad and the Mad Mullahs. They taken the bait hookline and sinker. It was never thought they would take the deal (the package of incentives offered by the US). That would be a rational act.
President MAD will get his next! --- The author, Robert Tracinski, suggests that Iran has forcibly brought the war to the U.S. by aggressively using its proxies (Hamas and Hizbollah) to draw the US out. Why? Because Bush has been content to let the diplomatic process play itself out; and if allowed to do so, then it would place Bush in a stronger position for military action. It is no coincidence--as others have pointed out--that Iran has taken action on the eve of its nuclear deadline. The war it has initiated is designed to 1)deflect attention away from its nuclear program (not quite ready yet, are we?); and to force the U.S.'s hand in the region--i.e., forcing us to act before they think we were quite ready to act.In all this, Iran is counting on the appeasement of both the UN and the EU ;and they haven't been disappointed, have they? But in all this maneuvering, Iran betrays its fundamental ignorance of the psychology of both Israel and the U.S.
Iran has revealed its hand, challenging the US and its allies and openly demonstrating its desire to dominate the Middle East through force and terror. While we have been trying to delay the war with Iran, it has brought the war to us, in a manner so obvious that even the mainstream media cannot evade it. In doing so, they have made their threat to America and its interests more obvious and more urgent--providing a stronger case for war than their nuclear program could provide. There can be no question here about whether Iran really has aggressive designs in the Middle East, whether it really seeks the weapons to attack the US and its allies, and how long it might take for such a threat to materialize. The threat is here and Iran's newest war on the West has already begun. Iran is risking everything on this new strategy, and the only hope they have of success is the expectation that, as they bring the war closer and closer to America, we won't fight back. But that means that we have an easy way to blow their strategy to smithereens. All we have to do is to start fighting back. --- This is a long-running chess match, on a national scale. Give George W time and let the current game play out. He has proven time and again he is an expert chess player and has good advisers, including Dr. Rice.
This is an opening move, in no small part to defang the anti-war left, pin down the drive-by media, and limit the ability of Europe to cut and run when things get hot. The Mullahs will never take the offer - they think we are weak and unable to respond. They'll spit on it and proceed with developing their nukes. Their goal is armageddon and world domination, not peace or salvation.
Neo Neocon has a great post up today about diplomacy and its limitations. The point is, one can not negotiate endlessly with evil men, because evil men will simply use the negotiation process as a stall until they are ready to kill you. Besides think about how absurd the idea of meeting evil halfway is, when you really get down to it.
Here's a quote, mentioned in Neo's post, from William Garrison, the New England Abolitionist:
With reasonable men, I will reason; with humane men I will plead; but to tyrants I will give no quarter, nor waste arguments where they will certainly be lost.
We've been told for some time now — against common sense and the weight of our own national experience — that the way to defeat international jihadism is to spread democracy.
So now the Lebanese democracy can't control Hezbollah (which has been freely elected and controls about a fifth of its legislature), while the Palestinian Authority IS Hamas (the Palestinian people having democratically put them in power).
How much do we figure that Israel is hoping democracy breaks out in Egypt, with the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic Jihad waiting in the wings? All it needs right about now is yet another democratic neighbor.
Democracy has many enduring benefits, but it doesn't stop terrorists from operating — and in many ways, it makes life easier for them. When are we going to stop talking about it as a national security cure-all?
We have to kill al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas and the rest. This is harder work than the administration's rhetoric is preparing the nation for. We are not going to democratize these savages into submission.
True, true, Andy. And I am happy you are saying it.
But, the right question to ask is not, "how is that democracy project going?" Instead, the right question is, why did our democracy project work in Japan?"
Japan was also dominated by fundamentalist religious fanatics willing to blow themselves up out of dedication to their god. Japan was also an honor/shame culture, willing to fight to the very end. Japan was also bent on destroying everything about Western Civilization, in order to establish a kingdom based upon its barbarism. Japan was also willing to terrorize entire populations, killing, raping, lopping off women's private parts, just for the terrorizing effect of it.
So, how did we change them?
We banned, outlawed all their barbaric ways. We said, "If anyone is caught preaching or teaching any of this crap, you are going to jail, and that's that."
And, then we enforced it.
The problem is, we implemented a democracy without enforcing human rights. In Japan, we enforced human rights by outlawing anything that went counter to human rights. In a country like Iraq, or Lebanon, that would mean outlawing all barbaric vestiges of Sharia. It would mean banning the burqa. It would mean making it illegal to preach Jihad against the Infidels and Jews.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair called for restraint on all sides but kept closer to the US line.
"I totally understand the desire and the need for Israel to defend itself properly and I also understand the plight of Lebanon and the Lebanese government, not to say the many Palestinians that are suffering as well," Blair said in London.
Perhaps I missed it, but it's hard in the Middle East obsessed media to find any substantive information about what Bush really said to Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. The Lebanese seem to be spinning as fast as they can:
As the crisis entered its third day, Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora met in Beirut with ambassadors from the United Nations Security Council and spoke with President Bush by telephone, the prime minister's office said.
According to a statement from Siniora, "President Bush affirmed his readiness to put pressure on Israel to limit the damage to Lebanon as a result of the current military action, and to spare civilians from harm," The Associated Press reported. The Bush administration did not comment on the conversation.
I'm hardly surprised. More likely it ran like this: "Seems to me, Mr. Prime Minister, that half of your country was being run by a homocidal maniac cult. I'd be glad to have someone come in and clean that up if I were you.... Now, you go say anything you want for public consumption, but just sit back and relax and let things happen. Comprende, amigo?"
FOX is reporting that Bush will call on Israel to stop the airstrikes. If this is true, Bush has become part of the problem. Effecting dhimmitude will not solve this culture of murder.No country, no "group" firing rockets at civilian cities and towns should be sanctioned. Israel has gone out of their way to fire on military installations, and infrastructure that aids the terrorists. Israel is not shelling at civilians.
President Bush, move away from Condi Rice. Step away from the Arabist tool.
If, in the face of repeated threats and provocation by an aggressive dictatorship, you refuse to go to war, the war will eventually come to you.
All militias in Lebanon, including Hizballah, must disarm and disband immediately and the Lebanese government must extend and exercise its sole and exclusive control over all Lebanese territory.
President Bush has made clear that Syria and Iran must be held to account for supporting regional terrorism and their role in the current crisis. Syria provides safe haven to the militant wing of Hamas and provides material support to Hizballah, which also maintains an active presence in Syria. Iran's extensive sponsorship and financial and other support of Hizballah is well known and has been ongoing for decades. No reckoning with Hizballah will be adequate without a reckoning with its principal state sponsors of terror.
We call on Syria and Iran to cease their sponsorship and support of terrorist groups, in particular Hizballah and Hamas. For the third time in two weeks, we again call on Syria to arrest Hamas leader Khaled Meshal, who currently lives in Damascus. There is no excuse for a member state of the United Nations to continue to knowingly harbor a recognized terrorist.
Why is out government talking out of two sides of its mouth?
Charles, at Little Green Footballs, calls this "the New Anti-Semitic Meme." That's a good name for it:
Thanks mostly to U.S. President Harry S. Truman and his “susceptibility to Zionist influence,” Israel came into existence in 1948. [1] Humanity, and in particular, the Palestinians, have paid dearly for his decision. The land on which the Palestinians had been living for centuries, in peace, with a minority Jewish population, has been gradually transformed into an Apartheid state by the machinations of the Zionist Movement. That Apartheid state, in turn, is today dominated by Israel’s Death-Mayhem-and- Occupation Machine. [2]
One wonders: What would the world look like today, if the state of Israel had not been created in 1948? Its improvident formation seems to have set in motion a chain of events, mostly negative, in the affairs of Mankind. In the movie, “Click,” the lead character finds a “universal remote” that allows him to rewind to different parts of his life and to change what had happened. If I possessed such a “universal remote” and could stop President Truman from aiding and abetting the establishment of an Israeli state, then, it is my speculation, (a theory), that the following 25 propositions would probably be our present day reality. They are:
1. The U.S. would not have any enemies in the Islamic World.
2. There would be no Al-Qaeda Terrorist Network.
3. Gasoline would be selling for less than $1 a gallon.
4. There would have been no 9/11.
5. There would be no USA Patriot Law.
6. There would be no Homeland Security Agency.
7. The Israeli Lobby’s “unmatched power” over the U.S.’ foreign policy, for over four decades, would not had existed. (Its support for the Iraqi War was deemed by the experts to be “critical.”) [3]
8. There would also not have been any Neocon ideologues; like Paul Wolfowitz, William Kristol, Richard Perle, et al, to help, (along with other “Special Interests”), to push the U.S. into an illegal war with Iraq. [4]
9. Iran would not be the next target for U.S. aggression. (No Israel. No “A Clean Break” document. No Israeli Lobby. No Neocons. No need for the U.S. to attack Iran.) [5]
10. The Zionist fink, Jonathan Pollard, wouldn’t be in prison for stealing U.S. military secrets and hawking them to Israel.
Look for variations on this to begin coming at you from all directions. I believe we will see a deluge of anti-Semitism in coming months. Such hatred will become so commonplace that it will seem like normal public dialogue. Now is the time when individual human beings need to have principles which stand against bigotry, because if one doesn't, one will be swayed by current public opinion.
Think now, will you become like the Germans of th 1930's? Will you, like the Germans, fall prey to the anti-Semitism which was so commonplace, and seemed so reasonable?
Or, will you make a decision today to not succumb to the court of public opinion? Will you resist the warped trends of thought which have come, and are coming to dominate our media and political dialogue?
You know how France prides itself on its citizenry taking to the streets to express themselves. Well, not this time:
A demonstration in Paris planned by the Iranian opposition movement the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to coincide with talks on Tehran's nuclear programme has been banned because of a threat to public order, police said Wednesday.
Let's see now. Actual moderate Iranians want to protest in favor of regime change and France bans the demonstration.
Hmm, could it be they are afraid the "youths" may get upset at the threat to Islamofascist tyrrany?
Israeli planes struck the main highway linking Beirut to the Syrian capital Damascus, a Lebanese security source said.
The jets struck at least five separate times along different points of the international route, the source said. Israeli officials said on Thursday that Israeli forces planned to strike the key highway as part of an assault aimed at retrieving two soldiers seized by Lebanese Hizbullah guerrillas.
Israel had already bombed Lebanon’s airports and blockaded the country from the sea, bringing trade and tourism to a halt.
Lebanese officials said Israeli aircraft dispersed thousands of leaflets above the Shiite-dominated areas of southern Beirut warning citizens to stay clear of Hizbullah offices and operatives.
"For your own safety and because of our desire not to harm any civilians who are not involved (with Hizbullah), you should refrain from staying in areas where Hizbullah is present and operating," said the Arabic-language leaflets, signed "The State of Israel". Eyewitnesses said hundreds of residents were seen leaving the capital.
IDF sources said several senior Hizbullah members have gone into hiding.
I Picked A Fine Friggin' Time To Go On Hiatus, Didn't I?
Look, I've been on the road working on another project. I did 10 hours on freeways today. I am tired as hell. But, I have to say, if you go to Drudge and read all the articles on what is happening in the Middle East right now, I think it is clear that Iran is just angling to find an excuse to hit Israel:
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday an Israeli strike on Syria would be considered an attack on the whole Islamic world that would bring a "fierce response", state television reported." If the Zionist regime commits another stupid move and attacks Syria, this will be considered like attacking the whole Islamic world and this regime will receive a very fierce response," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying in a telephone conversation with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The U.S. intelligence community has not been surprised by Iran's refusal to respond to a Western incentive package to suspend its uranium enrichment. Intelligence sources said Iran, following North Korea's model, intends to delay any response or negotiations for as long as possible. The European Union and the United States demanded that Iran reply to the Western incentive package of nuclear technology, fuel and aircraft by June 29. But Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said Teheran would submit an answer by Aug. 22. The U.S. intelligence community has been trying to figure out why Ahmadinejad chose that date. Sources said the community was stumped until some Islam experts translated the Gregorian date to that of the Muslim calendar.
Then came the surprise that has the intelligence community worried.
Aug. 22 corresponds to Rajab 27 on the Muslim calendar. The date is called Lailat Al Israa, when Mohammed ascended to heaven from the Al Aqsa mosque to receive the five daily prayers. Later, Al Aqsa came to represent Jerusalem.
The Muslim commemoration is meant to be a night of struggle, accompanied by thunder and lightening, resembling the story of Moses ascending Mount Sinai to receive the Old Testament. Ahmadinejad could be hinting to the West that he is preparing a major attack on Israel. Or, the Iranian president could be warning that unless the West caves in, he would escalate tension in the region. The lightening in Mohammed's story could represent Iranian missiles.
What is clear is that Ahmadinejad does not see himself as an Iranian leader, but a Muslim prophet, using imagery to portray himself as a messiah for both Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims.
TOKYO - Japan said Monday it was considering whether a pre-emptive strike on the North's missile bases would violate its constitution, signaling a hardening stance ahead of a possible U.N. Security Council vote on Tokyo's proposal for sanctions against the regime. Japan was badly rattled by North Korea's missile tests last week and several government officials openly discussed whether the country ought to take steps to better defend itself, including setting up the legal framework to allow Tokyo to launch a pre-emptive strike against Northern missile sites.
"If we accept that there is no other option to prevent an attack ... there is the view that attacking the launch base of the guided missiles is within the constitutional right of self-defense. We need to deepen discussion," Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said. Japan's constitution currently bars the use of military force in settling international disputes and prohibits Japan from maintaining a military for warfare. Tokyo has interpreted that to mean it can have armed troops to protect itself, allowing the existence of its 240,000-strong Self-Defense Forces.
A Defense Agency spokeswoman, however, said Japan has no attacking weapons such as ballistic missiles that could reach North Korea. Its forces only have ground-to-air missiles and ground-to-vessel missiles, she said on condition of anonymity due to official policy.
I'm sure our defense contractors would be happy to supply Japan with the offensive missiles they will need.
Lord - I have gazed into books - into pools - into jewels - Just to find my own self Lord - I have willed - I have killed - stolen fire - built up higher - Just to buy me some wealth Lord - I would do anything - just about anything - To put out this burning inside Lord - Is it love - beautiful - is it truth - lasting youth - Where the hell does it hide?
But - If I could - just be still - and let you - show your love through the cracks in my life Then - I would see - what you gave - when you gave me the meaning of my wife
Lord - Why did we - split the world - flags unfurled - endless swirl - get the girl - Don't want her no more Lord - Why did you - split in two - all we do - can't believe - it was me - Who built this big wall Lord - How we hate - our own fate - our own face - every race - all we chase Don't want it to end Lord - Want to live? - got to give - need something - that will bring Us together again
And - If I could - let you kill - the old man - cut through me - With the edge of your knife Then - I could know - what you told - when you told me - The Meaning of my life Then - I coud see - what you gave - when you gave me The Meaning of my Wife
The Burqa dehumanizes women. It is a tool which instantly turns a living, breathing human being into a slave. When the shroud goes over the face of a human being, they are dead to the world. The human being, so enshrouded, can see out through the veil darkly, but no one can see in.
She is windowless, and alone.
(The photograph accompanying this post is the view of a human being from inside the death shroud of a burqa.)
"Women you should not step outside your residence. If you go outside the house you should not be like the women who used to go with fashionable clothes wearing much cosmetics and appearing in front of every men before the coming of Islam." --- Edict (religious decree) announced by the Taliban’s "Religious Police".
Two months back, I was on an assignment in Afghanistan. Defying another Taliban edict - this one banning taking photographs of "any living thing" - I looked for ways to illustrate how three years of drought and 22 years of war had affected the lives of men, women and children in Afghanistan.
In an environment created by the edicts restricting the behaviour of women it was difficult to get a single picture of women. Basically, I had to "steal" such pictures while pretending to be tying my shoelaces, looking the other way or trust my luck in accidental drive–by snapshots from car windows.
In the end, I tried another approach; one I felt more comfortable with. This approach did not force me to try to cheat the women within range of my lenses and, it even appeared truer to my own experience of travelling as a male in Afghanistan.
Over 14 days, I had next to no interaction with Afghani women and saw only three women’s faces directly. As a sort of compensation, I started focusing my lenses on some of the traces of the women I glimpsed or sometimes just missed where ever I went – villages, streets, bazaars, hospitals, clinics or restaurants and mosques.
Traces of the millions of Afghan women concealed by the rules of the Taliban, the cloth of the head to toe long blue Burqa, local traditions and in some cases the 4 to 5 meter high mud brick walls surrounding their own homes.
In the wake of the Taliban rule, women are still forced to wear the Burqa across the Islamic world. Let us be clear, the burqa is not clothing. It is a portable concentration camp.
Thanks to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran, a new word has entered the political vocabulary: mahdaviat.Not surprisingly, it’s a technical religious term. Mahdaviat derives from mahdi, Arabic for “rightly-guided one,” a major figure in Islamic eschatology. He is, explains the Encyclopaedia of Islam, “the restorer of religion and justice who will rule before the end of the world.” Mahdaviat means “belief in and efforts to prepare for the Mahdi.” In a fine piece of reporting, Scott Peterson of the Christian Science Monitor shows the centrality of mahdaviat in Ahmadinejad’s outlook and explores its implications for his policies.When he was still mayor of Tehran in 2004, for example, Ahmadinejad appears to have secretly instructed the city council to build a grand avenue to prepare for the Mahdi. A year later, as president, he allocated US$17 million for a blue-tiled mosque closely associated with mahdaviat in Jamkaran, south of the capital. He has instigated the building of a direct Tehran-Jamkaran railroad line. He had a list of his proposed cabinet members dropped into a well adjacent to the Jamkaran mosque, it is said, to benefit from its purported divine connection. He often raises the topic, and not just to Muslims. When addressing the United Nations in September, Ahmadinejad flummoxed his audience of world political leaders by concluding his address with a prayer for the Mahdi’s appearance: “O mighty Lord, I pray to you to hasten the emergence of your last repository, the Promised One, that perfect and pure human being, the one that will fill this world with justice and peace.” On returning to Iran from New York, Ahmadinejad recalled the effect of his U.N. speech: "One of our group told me that when I started to say “In the name of God the almighty and merciful,” he saw a light around me, and I was placed inside this aura. I felt it myself. I felt the atmosphere suddenly change, and for those 27 or 28 minutes, the leaders of the world did not blink. … And they were rapt. It seemed as if a hand was holding them there and had opened their eyes to receive the message from the Islamic republic." “Mahdaviat is a code for [Iran’s Islamic] revolution, and is the spirit of the revolution,” says the head of an institute dedicated to studying and speeding the Mahdi’s appearance. “This kind of mentality makes you very strong,” observes the political editor of Resalat newspaper, Amir Mohebian. “If I think the Mahdi will come in two, three, or four years, why should I be soft? Now is the time to stand strong, to be hard.” Some Iranians, reports PBS, “worry that their new president has no fear of international turmoil, may think it's just a sign from God.” Mahdaviat has direct and ominous implications for the U.S.-Iran confrontation, says an Ahmadinejad supporter, Hamidreza Taraghi of Iran’s hard-line Islamic Coalition Society. It implies seeing Washington as the rival to Tehran and even as a false Mahdi. For Ahmadinejad, the top priority is to challenge America. Taraghi predicts trouble ahead unless Americans fundamentally change their ways. I’d reverse that formulation. The most dangerous leaders in modern history are those (like Hitler) equipped with a totalitarian ideology and a mystical belief in their own mission. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad fulfills both these criteria, as revealed by his U.N. comments. That combined with his expected nuclear arsenal make him an adversary who must be stopped, and urgently.
The fact that Ahmadinejad is an End Times freak has been making me think of the very real possibility that we could be headed for massive destruction in our world. If this man does detonate a nuclear weapon in Israel, or in an American city, the world will fundamentally change. The response to such an attack will be horrific, and could very well involve multiple nations lobbing missiles at each other in a kind of nuclear feeding frenzy.
I don't want to see that happen. We can not allow loose cannons like Ahmadinejad to possess nuclear weapons. We must bomb the Iranian nuclear facilities before they achieve their goal.
TEHRAN (AFP) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called on Islamic countries to mobilise against Israel and "remove" the "Zionist regime".
"The basic problem in the Islamic world is the existence of the Zionist regime, and the Islamic world and the region must mobilise to remove this problem," the president said in a speech to regional officials.
He was speaking at the opening of a two-day conference in Tehran on security in Iraq.
"Today there is a strong will... to remove the Zionist regime and implement a legal Palestinian regime all over Palestine. The continued survival of this regime (Israel) means nothing but suffering for the region," Ahmadinejad said.
"The biggest threat today for the region is the existence of the fake Zionist regime," he added, before going on to attack Israel's supporters.
"I am reminding them to stop the crimes of this corrupt government before it is too late, and open the way for a government arising from the votes of the indigenous people of Palestine, all over Palestine," the president said.
He also issued an ominous warning to Western powers.
"Nations in the region will be more furious every day, and it will not be long before this intense fury will lead to a huge explosion," Ahmadinejad said.
"The waves of fury of Muslim nations will not be confined within the boundaries of the region, and the people who close their ears to the cries of the Palestinians and blindly support this regime will be responsible for the consequences," he warned.
Iran does not recognise Israel and is opposed to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Ahmadinejad has already called for Israel to be "wiped off the map" or moved as far away as Alaska.
I was walking up the stairs of a parking garage today, and as I turned a corner I found a man sitting on the stairs, reading a paper and eating his lunch. He was wearing a guard uniform which indicated that he was the security man for the parking garage.
When he looked up at me, I saw that he was an Arab man, and that he had a Hitler mustache. Yes, it's true.
It was not a subtle little mustache. It was a full-on Hitler mustache without a doubt.
I suppressed the urge to beat him senseless, to yell at him, to try to embarass him. I suppressed all my urges, said hello in a cheery voice, and that was that.
Ricin toxin is found in the bean of the castor plant. UNMOVIC inspections since December 2002 have verified that the bombed caster oil extraction plant at Fallujah III has been reconstructed on a larger scale.... UNMOVIC inspections and Iraqi declarations confirm that Iraq continues working with organisms that could be used as BW agent stimulates. The documents display after each section the actions that Iraq could take to help in resolving the issue and convincing the UN inspection teams that the activity have stopped or were fruitless and so on.
What if Saddam had been given a clean bill of health from Hans & UNMOVIC and the US had been pressured to stand down...what would Saddam be doing today? Why is this question not asked on Meet The Press or in the NY Times?
I believe that in war, if you watch your enemy's behavior with discerning, he will tell you how to beat him. That which most frightens your enemy is buried at the heart of that which gets him the most angry. That which most frightens him is his Achilles Heel. If you can discover what it is that most frightens your opponent, then you know how to beat him.
One of the greatest things about our Islamofascist enemies is they are simply incapable of shutting their mouths. They talk and talk and talk and talk, and in talking they tell us everything we need to know.
So, what is it that gets our cute little Islamofascist enemies the most angry? What makes them burn with a white-hot rage? What is it that will set them into a worldwide temper tantrum of rioting and murder?
Humiliation.
It has been noted that the Islamic world is an Honor/Shame culture. If they are not being honored, they feel they are being shamed. The egos of Islamofascists are particularly fragile.
And, of course, insulting their prophet and humiliating Allah does get them very angry. But really, all that serves to do is expose them. When we draw cartoons of Mohammed with a bomb in his turban, yes, then the Islamofascists fly into a tantrum and reveal themselves for the childish morons that they are. But, in the practical world, it does little to help us win the war, other than to make more Westerners aware of how unreasonable they really are.
So, we need to understand how to truly humiliate our enemy. What humiliation is so utterly horrible to those darling little Islamofascists that the very thought will render them a quivering gelatinous mass in a puddle of its own urine and feces?
The Islamofascist mental universe is basically the world of the pre-game football locker room metality writ large. If one wants to understand what will anger and, ultimately, humiliate the Islamofascists, one need only think of what would start a fight in a locker room. What gets testosterone-charged men really angry and/or humiliated?
1) Being called a fag, or having one's manhood called into question. 2) Having one's mother insulted. 3) Having one's girlfriend insulted, violated, or stolen.
Sure, we could sit around and play the dozens with the Islamofascists from here to eternity, and believe me it would be a riot, but the truth is, the real insult to their manhood has to be performed on the battlefield. That's where we will ultimately demonstrate what a pathetic bunch of pussies they really are.
But, there's something else we can do right now which would drive a stake right through their sad, shriveled hearts; Steal Their Women.
"Steal their women?!?" you say. Pastorius, are you crazy? What are we, a barbarian culture, reducing women to chattel and servitude? Are we to act in ways which would make us no better than the Islamofascists? No, we are better than that, and that's exactly why we can steal their women, and their women will actually be happy about it.
Here's my idea:
We put out an announcement across Iraq and Afghanistan that any woman who wants to escape from the slavery of the burqa and Sharia need only present herself to an American official (soldier, or member of the government) and request asylum. She will be whisked away from her former life and brought to America, where she will receive a free education, free housing, and an opportunity at life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
She will not be allowed to bring her husband, son, or father, or any male family member. This is an opportunity which is only open to those women whose servitude is so painful that they are willing to completely sever ties with their old selves, or should I say, lack of selves.
I call this "An Immodest Proposal" because I want to be clear that I am serious as hell, and that this idea is not proposed in the tradition of Jonathan Swift's satire. I believe this idea is not only a strategically sound way to beat our enemy, but also a just and compassionate way to help the women of the Islamic world who are locked up in the ideological slavery of Sharia.
This idea, if implemented successfully will shatter the fragile egos of the Islamofascists precisely because it goes to the heart of male identity. Men, more than anything, want to believe they can take care of their women. If they find that they are unable to, they feel they have been judged to be useless and impotent human beings. A man who believes himself to be useless and impotent is a defeated warrior.
The booty of American military conquest is more free, productive and happy people. Let's keep in that tradition and free the slaves of the Middle East.
Yes, that's right, even though we are all armed to the teeth, you are 84% more likely to be murdered in Belgium than you are in the United States of America.
Neo-Nazis interrupted a German gala to burn a copy of The Diary Of Anne Frank. But, that's not all they burned:
German neo-Nazis tore up and burned a copy of The Diary of Anne Frank after hijacking a traditional gala.
Around 100 skinheads cheered and shouted Sieg Heil as the most poignant memoir of the Holocaust years went up in flames.
They also burned a U.S. flag and sang banned Nazi songs.
Germans were horrified by the latest outrage from the far Right, which comes as the country rides a new wave of peaceful patriotism as it hosts the World Cup.
Uwe Hornburg, a prosecutor investigating the incident, said: 'I am appalled. In 20 years as a prosecutor I have never had a case quite so disturbing.'
The book-burning, which has chilling parallels to the 1930s when Nazi supporters made pyres of books written by Jews, follows a string of high-profile attacks by racist gangs on blacks.
LONDON — The Finsbury Park mosque, where the one-eyed, hook-handed militant cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri once delivered his fiery sermons and helped turn a religious facility into the target for dozens of international terrorism investigations, is going through a makeover.
During his time at the helm, Hamza, now sitting in a British prison and awaiting possible U.S. extradition, allowed the mosque to become a haven of radical Islam in Europe — a “suicide factory” as one book has called it — which hosted such figures as Zacarias Moussaoui, Richard Reid and, reportedly, three of the four London bombers.
Now, far from being allegedly al-Qaida-linked ...
Pastorius question: Who said they are "far from being al-Qaeda linked? Note that within this article, no Muslim explicitly says that anything has fundamentally changed about the philosophy behing the Mosque.
... the mosque is quietly repairing its reputation from that of a hotbed of radicalism to one of a more moderate institution — albeit a mosque run by a group linked to the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood and with an alleged former Hamas commander as a co-trustee.
“This mosque was a national problem, not just a local problem. (In fact) it was an international problem — it wasn’t even a national problem,” said Abdirahman Warsame, the new executive manager of the mosque, now officially named the North Central London Mosque. “Still we are struggling to change the image of the mosque since the extremist group, the Abu Hamza group, was here.”
“While Abu Hamza was there, it became very much a focal point for radical Islamist activity in Britain,” said Sean O’Neill, who along with a fellow reporter for The Times of London, Daniel McGrory, co-wrote, “The Suicide Factory: Abu Hamza and the Finsbury Park Mosque,” which was published this spring.
“There were plots and links to activities stretching to, I think, 26 countries,” O’Neill added. Gathering place for moderates?The new leadership has been working closely with the local community to turn this mosque into a moderate place of worship, with a program of community and social outreach.
“We are here to engage with the young people who have already been — some of them — maybe politicized by the previous group or who have extremist views,” said Warsame, a tall, soft-spoken Somali who was chosen by the Muslim Association of Britain to manage the mosque.
Note that Warsame says he is there to engage with the young people who have extremist views. He does not say he is there to help change those young people.
Last week, the same association launched a mosques' watchdog intended to tackle extremism by monitoring imams and the content of their sermons.
“Instead of young Muslims seeking guidance outside of the mosque, we need to train spiritual leaders to preach the right religion in our mosques,” Ahmad Sheikh, president of the Muslim Association of Britain and one of five co-trustees of the Finsbury park mosque, said.
These young people were not seeking guidance outside the Mosque. They were getting their extremist views from the Mosque itself.
In Finsbury Park, Warsame brings in different preachers each week to deliver the main Friday sermon — a sharp contrast to the days of Abu Hamza’s absolute control of the mosque. “We don’t want — how should I say it? — a ‘star imam’ like Abu Hamza. So, they don’t keep a high-profile,” he said.
They don't want a preacher who keeps a "high-profile" because they don't want people to know what is going on in this Mosque.
Still, Warsame echoes common complaints of the British Muslim community that the government is not attentive to its needs.
“The mosque was a national crisis when Abu Hamza was here. Now when Abu Hamza has gone off, and the government sees there is no problem, they just say, ‘Goodbye’.”
Both Sheikh and Warsame pointed out that British Muslims overwhelmingly oppose Prime Minister Tony Blair's foreign policy — notably in relation to Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — and suggested the government should be willing to shoulder some of the blame for the radicalization of Muslim youth.
“We want the government to have a public inquiry as to the real cause of the radicalism among British Muslim youth. Where is it coming from? If it is the mosque, we can do our part. If it is the foreign policy, the government has to do its bit,” Sheikh said.
And that, of course, means they want to dictate an Arabist foreign policy to the federal government of the United Kingdom.
The audacity of that statement is astounding. Imagine that your church had become not just a national, but an international problem, extending its poison into 26 countries around the world. Imagine that you try to fix the problem and bring in new preachers, and implement programs to repair the damaged psyches of the young people in your church.
Ok, so now you are imagining that, right?
Now, imagine that all in the same breath your new Pastor demands that the United States fundamentally change its foreign policy to fit the needs of your troubled church.
Imagine that.
Imagine that the New York Times publishes an article selling your churhces bullshit. Imagine that.
Well, I guess that's not too hard to imagine, is it?
It's Fourth of July and I have my flag flying in front of my house, I've got my barbecue at the ready, and I have a box of fireworks all set to burn down the neighborhood.
All three extistent generations of my family will be spending the day together. We're going to eat pork chops, drink Coca Cola and Sam Adams, throw a baseball around the yard, and then later in the evening, we're going to head downtown (as we do every year) and watch the freakin' HUGE fireworks display our city puts on.
Of course, the fireworks are a thing of magic for me and the kids. But, they are also a reminder of the truth that our freedom was born of war. In fact, I believe that fireworks would not be so prevalent had not Francis Scott Key penned the following lyric:
Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
On 3 September 1814, Key and John S. Skinner of Baltimore, Maryland, an American prisoner-exchange agent, set sail from Baltimore aboard the sloopHMS Minden flying a flag of truce on a mission approved by U.S. President James Madison. Their goal was to secure the release of Dr. William Beanes, the elderly and popular town physician of Upper Marlboro, a friend of Key's who had been captured in Washington, D.C., and had been accused of harboring British deserters. Key and Skinner boarded the British flagship, HMS Tonnant, on 7 September and spoke with General Robert Ross and Admiral Alexander Cochrane over dinner, while they discussed war plans. At first, Ross and Cochrane refused to release Beanes, but relented after Key and Skinner showed them letters written by wounded British prisoners praising Beanes and other Americans for their kind treatment.
Because Key and Skinner had heard details of the plans for the attack on Baltimore, they were held captive until after the battle. During the rainy night, Key had witnessed the bombardment and observed that the fort's smaller "storm flag" continued to fly, but once the shelling had stopped, he would not know how the battle had turned out until dawn. By then, the storm flag had been lowered, and a larger flag had been raised. Key was inspired by the American victory and the sight of the large American flag flying triumphantly above the fort. This flag, with fifteen stars and fifteen stripes, is today on display in the National Museum of American History, a treasure of the Smithsonian Institution. It was restored in 1914 by Amelia Fowler, and again in 1998 as part of an ongoing conservation program.
Aboard the ship the next day, Key wrote a poem on the back of a letter he had kept in his pocket. At twilight on 16 September, he and Skinner were released in Baltimore. He finished the poem at the Indian Queen Hotel, where he was staying, and he entitled it "Defence of Fort McHenry."
July 4th is, of course, a day to celebrate our Freedom, but it is also a day to remember that we are blessed to have it, to have defended it, and to have the will to still be defending it to this very day.
I pray that we will continue to find the will to defend our Freedom in coming years.
My wife is a first-generation immigrant. Our family knows firsthand how precious the United States of America is to the world at large. We are a beacon of hope and a bulwark against tyranny. God help us to remain so.
And a profound Thank You to our fighting men. I couldn't do what you do.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --
That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Egyptian Children's Programming Teaches Kids To Kill Jews And Infidels
Dateline: Egypt
Husband: What's on TV tonight, honey?
Wife: Well, there's a great new family-friendly show where the host talks directly to children about morality and all the possibilities life has to offer.
Husband: Great, fire up the popcorn. I'll get the kids and start a fire.
On Egyptian TV the other night, Egyptian Cleric Sheik Muhammad Sharaf Al-Din hosted a children’s show on Egypt’s Al-Nas TV, teaching kids to:
1) Hate and kill Jews.
2) Hate and kill infidels, and aspire to “martyrdom” and jihad.
... let’s compare the crime rate in lawless New Orleans with the crime rate in, say, the city it was named for: Orléans, France. In New Orleans, the per capita rate is given in the hundred thousands. Thus, according to this report, the 2004 rate for New Orleans, for all crime, was 6,110.3 per 100,000 population. Pretty awful, when you compare it to say, Minneapolis, which is only 6,278.2 per 100,000 people. Oops. There goes Minneapolis.Well, never mind. There’s a law-abiding city out there somewhere. Let’s try the gang city - Los Angeles. 4,347.4 per 100,000. Hmm…all those illegal aliens and Los Angeles comes in below New Orleans? Are we missing something here? Find the moral, Waldo. But wait. I set out to compare the gun-owning, rip-snorting, trouble-making American criminal element in New Orleans with its counterpart in Orléans, France. Everyone knows Europe is more evolved than America, more sophisticated, more law-abiding – they sure have plenty of laws to abide by, don’t they? The European species is more restrained, civilized, blah blah, than the crude Homo americanus vulgaris. Heh. Orléans’ crime rate is 109.24 per thousand people. In our terms, that translates to 10,100 per hundred thousand. So, extrapolating further, Orléans, France, has roughly sixty seven percent more crime than Mayor Nagin’s soggy fair city. I got this idea from Paul Belien, who reported that
According to Urban Audit, Liège has the highest crime rate of all European cities (EU27), with 256.13 recorded crimes per 1,000 population in 2001. Here are Interpol 2001 crime statistics (rate per 100,000):
4161 — US 7736 — Germany 6941 — France 9927 — England and Wales Thus the US has a substantially lower crime rate than the major European countries!
The controversy surrounding Irvine’s new sister city relationship with the Chinese city of Shanghai and the bizarre snub of neighboring Taiwan began with numerous “irregularities,” including breaches of protocol, “odd” outside influences and possible “deliberate deception,” according to a June 21 memo obtained by the Weekly. Written by Irvine Sister Cities Foundation president James E. Dunning, the three-page document outlines how Henry King, the Shanghai native and husband of Councilman Larry Agran’s executive aide, allegedly usurped the foundation’s authority, embarrassed Irvine, and—improbable as it sounds—set the stage for an international confrontation over Taiwan. Dunning charges that King, a foundation member, secretly communicated with Communist officials in China before and during the trip, refusing repeated requests to inform fellow delegates; unilaterally crafted a roster for the trip, inviting one person with no ties to the Sister Cities program; and shifted the agenda in Shanghai to include business unrelated to sister city matters. Perhaps most egregious, King allegedly helped dictate scheduling, at one point putting himself and Irvine city staffer Valerie Larenne in a room alone with Tina Tian, a representative of Shanghai’s Xuhui district. As King stood by without complaint, Tian demanded that Larenne, Irvine’s Community Partnerships Administrator, sign a bizarre agreement. The contract, which requires nothing from the Chinese, demands that Irvine officials follow Beijing’s lead, and treat the Republic of China, also known as Taiwan, as a breakaway province of the People’s Republic of China. Larenne signed—and then allegedly said nothing of the agreement to her bosses for more than a week.The deal has been blasted in the local media, on blogs and in the streets. Mayor Beth Krom said she doesn’t understand her critics. She told Orange County Register editorial writer Steven Greenhut she’s “mystified” that anyone could be alarmed about an agreement that “isn’t as controversial as it’s made out to be.” For starters, Krom might consider that Irvine already has a successful, six-year-old Sister Cities relationship with the Taiwanese city of Taoyuan, and that the United States is formally committed to defend Taiwan if attacked by the People’s Republic China. The Krom Concordat pledges that “from now on” Irvine’s elected officials won’t visit Taiwan, display Taiwan’s flag, play its national anthem or attend any Taiwanese government functions.
SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea would respond to a pre-emptive U.S. military attack with an "annihilating strike and a nuclear war," the state-run media said Monday, heightening anti-U.S. rhetoric amid close scrutiny of its missile program. The Korean Central News Agency, citing an unidentified Rodong Sinmun newspaper "analyst," accused the United States of increasing military pressure on the isolated communist state and basing new spy planes on the Korean Peninsula.
The North Korean threat of retaliation, which is often voiced by its state-controlled media, comes amid U.S. official reports that Pyongyang has shown signs of preparing for a test of a long-range missile. North Korea claims it has the right to such a launch.
On Friday, Pyongyang accused the United States of driving the situation on the Korean Peninsula "to the brink of war," and said it is fully prepared to counter any U.S. aggression.
Monday's report accused Washington of escalating military pressure on the country with war exercises, a massive arms buildup and aerial espionage by basing new spy planes in South Korea.
"This is a grave military provocation and blackmail to the DPRK, being an indication that the U.S. is rapidly pushing ahead in various fields with the extremely dangerous war moves," the dispatch said.
"The army and people of the DPRK are now in full preparedness to answer a pre-emptive attack with a relentless annihilating strike and a nuclear war with a mighty nuclear deterrent," the report said. DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
I've noticed some grumbling from Israel supporters over what they perceive as a lack of coherent strategy in Gaza: Here, from Guysen.Israel.News, is some information which sheds a little light on how Israeli leadership is thinking:
During a ceremony at the ''House of the Soldier'' in Tel Aviv, Defense Minister Amir Peretz, specified that the IDF incursion into Gaza would be brief. (Guysen.Israël.News) "The disengagement gave us the legitimacy to act against terrorist organisations that threaten Israel. These organisations are encouraged by Iran and Syria, who fund their efforts and give them orders, while the Palestinian people pay the price for their actions", he declared.
And there's this:
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has declared that the solution to the crisis surrounding the abduction of the soldier Guilad Shalit "lies in Damascus" . He added that the IDF operation in the Gaza Strip "would be terminated immediately" if Shalit was released.
The "Youths" are rioting again in Paris (From Guysen.Israel.News):
''Much violence occured last night on the Champs Elysees (Paris), causing more than 20 casualties (wounded) in the police, as well as many among the Portuguese and French fans. These are the same individuals that participated in the November 2005 riots and in the demonstrations against the CPE (First Employment Contract) in March'', declared the ''Action Police CFTC'' union. (Guysen.Israël.News)
"Around 01:00 this morning, a number of youth on the Champs Elysees, carrying Algerian, Morrocan or Tunisian flags, and often concealing their faces under Palestinian keffiehs or hoods, attacked Portuguese fans celebrating the victory of their team. Many fans were beaten and recovered by firemen and police, some of who were injured by flying objects thrown by these rioters. A car was set on fire at the entrance to the Champs Elysees, near the Place de l'Etoile, and properties were ruined. Many people who came to celebrate France's victory were attacked. We can only praise the police intervention, but regret the small number of arrests. These rioters numbered around 1 000 and their sole intent was to steal and disturb the celebration. We praise the exemplary behavior of the Portuguese community who did not respond to the provocations of the rioters. "
Sometimes You Just Gotta Love Your Enemies: Hamas Leader Admits They Have Not Recognized Israel
UPDATED AT BOTTOM
The second in comman at Hamas, Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook, was interviewed the other day by the German paper Der Spiegel. As per usual, our enemy is telling us the truth:
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Now, Hamas has approved the so-called "Prisoners' Paper," which recommends a two-state solution. Does that mean that Hamas is now prepared to recognize the state of Israel?
Abu Marzook: With this agreement, we have primarily agreed to strengthen the resistance in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Aside from that, we have agreed on the goal of establishing a Palestinian state in these areas.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Doesn't that mean that Hamas inevitably accepts the Israeli state in the rest of that area?
Abu Marzook: The paper does not say that at all. It is purely about the future of our people and about how a government uniting all Palestinian factions can work on building their independent state.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: And does Hamas also believe that an Israeli state can exist alongside a Palestinian state?
Abu Marzook: Hamas has always said clearly: We will never accept the occupation, because it is not legal, not correct and not just.
You gotta love your enemies, when they tell the truth.
Thanks, Mousa.
UPDATE: Gormless Norman comments:
Good luck to Hamas trying to convince the MSM that they actually don't recognize Israel, even though this has been Hamas' "platform" since their birth. Hamas could drop a nuke on Tel Aviv, and the MSM would call that "reaching out" or "seeking to interact" with Israel, and the Israelis would be blamed for melting into glass instead of offering more concessions as they should. It must be very frustrating for our enemies. They say, "We hate you because you are filthy infidels, and we hope to wipe you off the face of the Earth as soon as possible." Our MSM and leadership say, "oh, I see, you are frustrated about the lack of job opportunities in the banlieux!" I wonder anyone has had the bright idea that perhaps we should take them at their word?
The end of the day is a tough time for journalists these days. What to do? What to do? Best blame others:
NEW YORK - Headline by headline, a trickle of news leaks on Iraq and the antiterror campaign has grown into a steady stream of revelations, and from Pennsylvania Avenue to Downing Street, Copenhagen to Canberra, governments are responding with pressure and prosecutions. The latest target is The New York Times. But the unfolding story begins as far back as 2003, when British weapons expert David Kelly was "outed" as the source of a story casting doubt on his government's arguments for invading Iraq, and he committed suicide.
And it will roll on this fall, when Danish journalists face trial for reporting their government knew there was no evidence of banned weapons in Iraq.
In London's Central Criminal Court, too, accused leakers will be in the dock this fall, for allegedly disclosing President Bush talked of bombing al-Jazeera, the Arab television station. The British government threatens to prosecute newspapers that write any more about that leaked document.
Media advocates are alarmed at what they see as a mounting assault on press freedom in country after country, arguing it is potentially chilling the pursuit of truth as U.S. and European leaders pursue wars on terror and in Iraq.
"It's grotesque that at a time when political rhetoric is full of notions of democracy and liberty that we should have this fundamental right of journalists to investigate and report on public interest matters called into question," Aidan White, general-secretary of the Belgium-based International Federation of Journalists, told The Associated Press.
Keep blaming others, guys. I'm sure you find some compassionate ears among your friends. Meanwhile, your stock just keeps going down and down and down.
The people are taking over. Blogs are the new reality of the media world. Citizen journalists are democratizing the flow of information. It is the second American revolution, but this time it is spread across the globe.
And Yet More On The Disgusting Decadence Of Mainstream Islam
We have often heard it said that Muslims are offended by the decadence and immorality of the West, specifically America. But, the reality is, it is the Islamic world which is decadent and immoral.
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - An Egyptian couple living in southern California have pleaded guilty to slavery charges involving a now-16 year old girl they forcibly kept working in their home for two years, according to US attorneys Friday.
Abdelnasser Eid Youssef Ibrahim, 45 and his ex-wife, Amal Ahmed Ewis-abd Motelib, 43, are accused of harboring an illegal alien, obtaining labor by force, and conspiracy.
The girl worked as nanny and housekeeper for a family of seven up to 16 hours a day, seven days a week.
"She had to work all day long," Assistant US Attorney Robert Keenan said. "They used unlawful forms of coersion such as hitting and slapping, and threats of arrest by the police if she ever went outside on her own."
The girl began working for the couple as a domestic servant in Egypt in 1999, and the couple brought her into the United States in 2000 where her forced servitude continued for two years. The couple kept the girl in an unfurnished, unventilated, and unlighted garage that building inspectors deemed "deplorable."
In America, she has legal recourse, as the couple is ordered to pay her over $100K in restitution:
The slaveholders, who pleaded guilty Thursday, are expected to be sentenced to three years in prison and required to pay the girl 101,516 dollars in restitution.
But, in the Islamic world this is a common practice:
The case shed light on a common though illegal practice in Egypt in which children from poor families are sent to work for the well-to-do. The servants, known as Khadamah, usually range in age from 9 to 18 and often are forced to sleep in kitchens.
Two of the girl’s older sisters had worked in Ibrahim’s home in Egypt before he moved to Irvine in 2000. Ibrahim caught one of the sisters stealing, prosecutors said. He threatened to have her charged with theft unless the girl’s impoverished parents sent their 10-year-old daughter to work as his family maid in the United States. The girl’s parents signed a document offering her for a “10-year sponsorship” with the family in exchange for about $30 a month, Keenan said.
“It works out well for everyone except the girl. Her parents are happy, the defendants are happy, and she has 10 years of her life flushed away,” Keenan said.
This article says slavery is illegal in Egypt, and yet it is common. Well, it may be illegal, but it is certainly permitted by Islam
